BPR Mailing List Digest: 08/22/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
August 22, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | August, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Alexandria Library
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 08:40:34 -0400

World´s greatest library gets new life Egypt,
U.N. build modern version of ancient Alexandria Library

The sloped roof of the Alexandrina library was designed to look like a
computer chip wafer.

MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, Aug. 21 — What was once the world´s greatest
library is just a few months away from being reborn. The Bibliotheca
Alexandrina, a $200 million project, will include the largest reading
room in the world — a tribute to the library that 3,000 years ago helped
anchor civilization.

THE 11-STORY building, on what is thought to be the original site of the
ancient Alexandria Library, tilts about 20 degrees toward the sea to the
north, with the front part sunk below ground. To the south, a windowless
wall of granite, a favorite Pharaonic building stone, carries alphabetic
letters from all of the world´s languages. “The circular shape of the
library symbolizes the entire knowledge of the world,” said project
architect Christoph Kapellar, who works for the Norwegian firm Snohetta.
Its design was chosen over 526 other architects who bid for the project,
sponsored by the U.N. cultural body UNESCO. “We also chose the picture
of a microchip for the roof to express an institution that would not
just be a repository for books but an active institution that exchanges
information from the outside in and the inside out.” A curved wall
around part of the library shows alphabet characters from languages
around the world.

MYSTERY OF ORIGINAL LIBRARY

The original library, built under the Greek Ptolemies dynasty that ruled
Egypt for the last 300 years of the first millennium BC, also doubled as
a university. Its fate is still shrouded in mystery. Some historians say
it burned down when Julius Caesar´s legions sacked the city in 48 B.C.,
others say parts of it survived until the Arab invasion of Egypt more
than 600 years later. “The Bibliotheca has never disappeared from its
ancient site. In physical reality maybe, but the contributions of the
scholars, the knowledge emitted from this library, has formed the basis
of our current civilization,” said project manager Mohsen Zahran. “As
the ancient library has been the source of knowledge for our present
civilization,” he added. “this one is also ours. We owe the Bibliotheca
Alexandrina its revival.”

10,000 VISITORS A DAY The brainchild of Alexandrian historian Mustafa
al-
Abbadi more than 20 years ago, the modern library will contain around
half a million volumes initially, with an eventual capacity of eight
million books. It will accommodate around 2,500 people in 300 study
cells at a time. An estimated 10,000 visitors are expected to visit it
daily. The inside of the library includes what's billed as the largest
reading room in the world. The library will include space for
audio-visual items such as slides, tapes, CDROMs, Internet access and
videos. A planetarium and conference center will seat over 3,500 people.
“This hall is the greatest single reading hall in any library in the
world,” Zahran said. The project began five years ago and construction
will be completed in October. Zahran said more than a thousand workers
were working 24 hours a day in two shifts to meet the construction
deadline. The inauguration in early 2001 is expected to attract
dignitaries from all over the world. But even before that, anyone with a
Web connection can visit the library project via several sites: Egypt´s
Web site is at http://www.bibalex.gov.eg/ UNESCO has its own Web site at
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/alexandria_new/ And Snohetta has
background information at http://www.snoarc.no/

GUARDING AGAINST CENSORS

Zahran said there were no problems from the state regarding censorship
of books or volumes received through donations from abroad. “It is known
that this is a public research library,” said Zahran. “According to a
policy drawn up by UNESCO experts in the late 1980s, we are required to
use various research library references to comply with world-class
standards.” He said a panel of local and international experts were
brought in to recommend which reference works would be used in
specialized fields.

The $200 million project benefited from donations from countries around
the globe. Arab countries contributed around $65 million to the library,
Norway donated furniture worth $3.5 million, Japan gave audio-visual
equipment, and Germany contributed a high-tech system to move books
around the stack area. “This is an Egyptian project from the very
beginning that has been implemented with international support,” Zahran
said. “It is everybody´s project now. It is going to serve the world
community.” Reuters contributed to this story.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/443724.asp

Link via:
http://www.newsviewtoday.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Mayor Under Fire For Performing Homosexual Marriage
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 08:58:07 -0400

Mayor Under Fire For Performing Homosexual Marriage

FERNDALE, MI (CNSNEWS) -- The mayor of a Detroit suburb finds himself in
the middle of a controversy for presiding over a marriage-like ceremony
between two homosexual men in July. One family organization recently
filed a report with the Oakland County, MI sheriff's office, calling for
the mayor's prosecution and resignation.

"Formally or informally, if the mayor presided over a marriage ceremony
between two homosexual men, he has illegitimately lent credibility and
authority of his office to a political act that not only is a subversion
of the law but also is an assault on the institution of marriage,"said
Gary Glenn, spokesperson for the American Family Association of
Michigan. "And if found guilty of having so fundamentally abused the
authority of the office, he should resign."

According to Michigan state law, Mayor Chuck Goedert of Ferndale, MI,
could face up to a $500 fine or up to 1 year of imprisonment if he is
found to have performed the homosexual ritual. According to Michigan
law, "marriage is inherently a unique relationship between a man and a
woman...a marriage contracted between individuals of the same sex is
invalid in this state."

Glenn was tipped off about the mayor's actions by a newsletter sponsored
by a local homosexual advocacy group called "Friends and Neighbors" or
FANS. In a letter from the president of FANS, printed in the August
edition of the newsletter, Kevin Rogers wrote: "Tuesday, June 20. We
witnessed the wonderful commitment ceremony of John V--- and Michael
T---, performed by Ferndale Mayor Charles Goedert..."

Goedert denied the ceremony was a "marriage," because law prohibits such
a ceremony. According to Goedert, it was considered a 'commitment
ceremony.'

"In the matter of law, you cannot [perform a marriage], because a
marriage has to be between two people of different genders," he said.
"There is no way to prosecute me legitimately under law. This was not a
wedding. The two people are not married. It was a purely ceremonial
expression of their commitment and love for each other."

Goedert expressed his resentment of the actions of AFAM, calling them
'anti- family' and said the group "aims to ruin a memorable moment
between two people who love each other."

"This 'anti-family' association has taken a beautiful ceremony where two
people have expressed that they will take care of only each other for
the rest of their lives and rather viciously try to attack me and say
that I, the father of three children, should be put in jail," he said.
"That is quite shocking to the conscience."

"In today's society, we hear an awful lot about people seeming so
transient. They don't commit themselves for life to one person, and
here, we have two people who are willing to do that," Goedert said. "I
find it to be a rather anti- family move to viciously attack them and to
so outrageously make claims under the law that make it something other
than what it is. It is a real shame."

Glenn said he believes it is unbecoming of an elected official to
preside over such a ceremony, officially or not, and claimed Goedert is
making a political statement in doing so.

"Whether his role was formal or informal, Mayor Goedert has lent the
credibility, the authority of his office to a ceremony, an overtly
political act," Glenn said. "It is part of a broader campaign to
pressure the legislature to recognize homosexual marriage and is
intended to campaign to legitimize homosexual marriage, desensitize the
public to it and therefore inform the public to it, and ultimately
legalize homosexual marriage."

Goedert has long taken an interest in the homosexual community in
Ferndale, and in FANS. In the January/February 1999 issue of Between the
Lines magazine, Detroit's local homosexual publication, Goedert was
photographed with leaders of FANS after a breakfast and in the article,
Goedert praised the organization's push for equal rights for
homosexuals.

Goedert also headed an effort to pass an ordinance that would create a
clause for gay rights in Ferndale. Glenn said when the ordinance was
being considered, Goedert was a "leading cheerleader for the gay rights
movement."

Goedert said the criticism will not deter him from performing similar
ceremonies in the future.

"People who want to commit themselves for life to take care of each
other are doing nothing wrong," he said. "I would be more than willing
to do it again."

http://www.mcjonline.com/news/00b/20000821b.htm

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (8/22/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 09:09:49 -0400

*** Groups sue city over video game ban

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Two video game industry groups filed a lawsuit
Monday claiming a new city law banning minors from playing violent
and sexually explicit video games is unconstitutional. The law
requires coin-operated games featuring graphic violence or strong
sexual content to have warning labels and be kept at least 10 feet
from nonviolent game machines. The machines must also be separated by
a curtain or wall so minors cannot see them. The law bars people
under age 18 from such games unless accompanied by a parent or
guardian. The American Amusement Machine Association and the
Amusement and Music Operators Association hope to obtain a temporary
restraining order to keep the law from taking effect Sept. 1. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569097644-75c

*** Study: World's arms spending rising

WASHINGTON (AP) - Reversing a downward trend, the U.S. and most other
nations are spending more on weapons despite a sharp decline in
Russia and Eastern Europe, a State Department study shows. The U.S.
is by far the biggest arms exporter with shipments more than four
times greater than runner-up Britain's. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is
the leading importer of military goods, buying more than 2 times as
many as China, ranking second. On the average, the world spent $145 a
person for military forces in 1997, the most recent year covered in
the study. That was a sharp drop from the peak of $271 per person in
1987. U.S. spending comprised 33% of the world's total in 1997,
compared to 27% a decade earlier. Overall, world military spending
rose to $842 billion in 1997, an increase of $32 billion, or 2%, from
the previous year. "This may represent the beginning of an upturn in
the world trend following a 1995-96 low," the report said. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569088528-61b

*** Brit news crew indicted in Liberia

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) - A detained British television news crew was
indicted Monday on espionage charges in Liberia, with officials
saying they entered the country to produce a "damaging and injurious"
documentary about the West African nation. The 4 journalists from
London-based Insight News Television - two Britons, a South African
and a Sierra Leonean - stood silently in a courtroom Monday in the
capital Liberia as a sheriff read the charges against them. Their
arrest Friday at their hotel after nearly 3 weeks in Liberia has been
criticized by press freedom groups. The American civil rights leader,
Rev. Jesse Jackson, has appealed for their release and former South
African president Nelson Mandela said Monday he planned to raise the
matter with Taylor. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569097015-f79

*** 'Love Bug' virus charges dropped

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A lack of applicable laws forced
prosecutors to dismiss all charges Monday against the man accused of
releasing the "Love Bug," a computer virus that caused billions of
dollars in damages worldwide. President Joseph Estrada signed a new
law in June covering electronic commerce and computer hacking, but it
could not be applied retroactively in the "Love Bug" case, which
happened in May. Investigators had charged Onel de Guzman, a former
student at the Philippines' AMA Computer College, with traditional
crimes such as theft and violation of a law that normally covers
credit card fraud. The "Love Bug" virus, unleashed May 4, rapidly
replicated itself via e-mail, overloading corporate e-mail systems in
many countries and causing damage estimated at up to $10 billion. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569089022-8fb

*** Study: Biotech corn kills monarch

WASHINGTON (AP) - Genetically engineered corn designed to kill an
insect pest spreads enough of its pollen on nearby weeds to kill
monarch butterflies, researchers said Monday in the latest study on
the biotech crop's environmental effects. Iowa State University
scientists found that one in five monarch larvae died after being
exposed to the toxic corn pollen for two days. Three days after the
initial two-day exposure more than half of the larvae died. The
biotech corn, known as Bt corn for a bacterium gene that makes it
toxic to the European corn borer, became controversial last year
after a laboratory study at Cornell University showed it was toxic to
monarch butterflies. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2569089771-39f

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Germans can hire satellite tag to mind the children
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 09:19:04 -0400

August 20, 2000

Germans can hire satellite tag to mind the children
By Michael Leidig in Berlin

PARENTS in Germany will soon be able to keep track of their children
with satellite-linked equipment that works on the same basis as devices
used to locate stolen cars.

A device the size of a cigarette packet can be put in a child's satchel
or clipped to a belt. Parents will be able to tell almost exactly where
a child is, and will be alerted by a telephone call if the youngster
strays beyond the limits of predefined areas fed into a computer.

Ingo Brunn, a German engineer who owns the Hamburg-based IBE
Navigationssysteme company which devised the system, known as Kid
Track, said it would stop parents worrying unnecessarily about their
child's whereabouts. Mr Brunn explained: "Parents can tell Kid Track
where their child is allowed, and they will know within 15 seconds if
the child strays from that area.

"We have tested it with children and they liked it. It means they know
where they can be and have the freedom to move around in that area.
Parents know to within five metres where their child is. It gives them
the street and house number of the location. If the tracker is taken
outside a certain area, it sends an alarm signal to a mobile phone."

The system can be reprogrammed to scan new "permitted areas" when a
family goes on holiday abroad. It will go into operation in October.
Users will be charged a monthly fee of just under £15.

The idea has not met with universal approval, however. Some children's
groups say it could give parents an excuse to pay less attention to
their youngsters and not worry about teaching them to be wary of
strangers.

Monika Bruhns, from a children's project, the Missing Children's
Initiative in Kisdorf, northern Germany, said: "A device cannot give
parents security. It will only make them feel they no longer have the
responsibility to look out for their children themselves or bring them
up to be careful."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001669821461706&rtmo=V66kkwkK&atmo
=hhhhhhhe&pg=/et/00/8/20/wger20.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Satellites give nosy neighbours their big break
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 09:25:09 -0400

August 20 2000
BRITAIN

Satellites give nosy neighbours
their big break

Nick Fielding and Michael Burke

SCIENTISTS are offering to replace the twitch of the net curtain
next door with a satellite surveillance system that will provide
the ultimate way to snoop over the garden fence.

For less than =A3100, people will be able to spy on their
neighbours using cameras in the sky that beam live pictures to
their internet screen.

The system, using up to 12 satellites orbiting Earth, will enable
subscribers to look at anything from the house next door to a
nudist colony or a terrorist training camp in Libya.

While it might tell you if the folk next door have dug a
swimming pool or planted leylandii, keeping up with what the
Joneses are not wearing while sunbathing will not be so easy.
The maximum resolution will be about 2.5 metres.

The spy system has been christened, rather darkly, Orwell. Its
inventors insist it is not named after the author, whose own
vision of Big Brother in the book 1984, first published in 1948,
predated the Channel 4 version by more than half a century.
Instead, it is supposed to be an acronym for Observing Radar
for Whole Earth Low-cost Looking.

Because it operates by radar, it is unaffected by cloud or
darkness. "If you wanted a system that could take a radar
picture of any spot, at any time, then you would, of course,
need many more satellites than in the Orwell constellation,"
said Dr Stephen Hobbs, head of aerospace design at Cranfield
University, who has led the project team.

"But when you know exactly where you want the image taken,
say the centre of Portsmouth, you get the satellites to 'snap'
that spot every time they pass over it." From there, the data
would be made available on the net.

The radar-based system's main advantage over existing
satellites is that it will offer constantly updated pictures of the
Earth's surface every two hours.

Uses could include checking that your holiday caravan on the
coast has not blown away in a gale, or making sure that a
garage has started work on your car.

Commodity brokers on the futures market could check the
progress of crops on the other side of the globe, owners of
trawler fleets could use it to monitor where plankton, the tiny
organisms that fish feed on, are gathered, and insurance firms
could evaluate the risk of flooding to houses in low-lying areas.

Orwell's main backer is a European consortium including
companies from Britain, Spain and the Netherlands, which has
been given a European Union grant to take the research
towards a fully commissioned system. Several commercial
organisations and a government research laboratory have also
backed the research at Cranfield. Scientists there hope to
launch the system by 2005.

At present anyone can pay for a picture from space showing
almost any spot on Earth, but by the time it is received it is
likely to be several weeks old. If the weather is poor, optical
systems cannot take pictures at all.

Hobbs added: "It is no longer a question of if, but when. The
information being made available through the internet is
developing rapidly, and Earth observation will be the next big
breakthrough. It is also a liberating technology, giving ordinary
people as well as institutions the power to look at what they
want."

http://www.sunday-
times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2000/08/20/stinwenws01011.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Foreign policemen to patrol British streets
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 09:27:31 -0400

Sunday 20 August 2000

Foreign policemen to patrol British streets
By David Bamber, Home Affairs Correspondent

FRENCH, German or even Greek nationals will be allowed to patrol the
streets as British policemen under Government plans to recruit officers
from the European Union.

In an attempt to solve the recruitment crisis, the Home Office is
proposing changes in the law to allow European Union nationals to serve
in British forces without becoming United Kingdom subjects. A
consultation document containing the proposal has been sent by the Home
Office to the Association of Police Authorities. The police are
currently exempt from European Union legislation which gives nationals
of one EU country the right to apply for jobs in another. Ministers are
expected to approve the change this autumn.

The proposal has been attacked by the Police Federation, which
represents rank and file officers. Fred Broughton, its chairman, said if
pay and conditions were improved more Britons would be willing to join.
"More time should be spent improving the pay and conditions of police
officers in this country before looking abroad to recruit."

The latest official figures suggested that cuts in police numbers are to
blame for a crime wave in villages and country towns. Where police
manpower has fallen in a year by 4.8 per cent - more than twice the
national reduction of 2.2 per cent - reported crime has risen to 4.7 per
cent, compared with a national average increase of 3.8 per cent.

John Bercow, the shadow home affairs minister, accused the Government of
abandoning rural communities to a tide of burglaries and robberies. He
said: "With nearly 2,000 fewer rural police officers, fewer village
police stations and crime up by 70,000 offences in rural areas,
countryside people are right to ask why they have been let down."

However, local police forces around the country are welcoming the
proposed change. Neil Taggart, the chairman of West Yorkshire Police
Authority and a member of the APA's policy group, is in favour of
casting the net even wider. He said: "The APA's view is, why restrict
ourselves to European nationals? As long as potential recruits have the
necessary attributes to do the job, then they should be considered."

Poor pay and conditions are largely to blame for the lack of recruits in
Britain, according to the Federation. The salary of a constable,
currently around £19,000, would be very attractive to recruits from
poorer countries.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001669821461706&rtmo=wAAiisob&atmo=
HHHHHH8L&pg=/et/00/8/20/npol20.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Real World News - 08/22/00
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 11:57:47 -0500

Selected items from:

REAL WORLD NEWS 08/22/2000

Visit Real World News online at http://www.realworldnews.net

IS IRAQ PLANNING TO NUKE U.S.?
Ten years ago this month, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. To most
Americans, Saddam is a has-been, old news. But the Iraqi dictator may
be planning a 10th anniversary gift of sorts for America and the
world -- an Iraqi nuclear bomb. Some experts believe Hussein's
scientists are nearing completion on one or more nuclear bombs. "I
think he's very close," says Shyam Bhatia. "If you can think of the
nuclear bomb as a gun and a bullet, then Saddam has assembled the
gun, right?" he says. "He's tested the barrel; he's pressed the
trigger; he has even used dummy bullets. Everything works. The only
thing he lacks is the live ammunition.
http://www.cbn.com/Newsstand/stories/000821a.asp?wnd

BOY SCOUTS TARGETED FOR BAN ON GAY LEADERS
Homosexual rights groups kicked off a national campaign against the
Boy Scouts of America yesterday to force the private organization to
rescind its policy barring homosexuals from acting as troop leaders.
The groups plan to use laws enacted by state and local governments
that ban discrimination against homosexuals to limit Boy Scout
troops' access to public funding and use of public facilities.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-2000822222922.htm

TWA FLIGHT 800 CRASH REPORT SLAMMED
An independent panel of experts today lambasted the results of an
official investigation into the 1996 fatal TWA Flight 800 crash, and
maintained its theory the plane was downed by a missile. According to
the Flight 800 Independent Research Organisation, the official
investigators had concealed crucial pieces of information from a
final report to be presented Tuesday and Wednesday. Many former
investigators, military experts, and airline pilots continue to
insist the Boeing was shot down by a missile.
http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/0008/22/A20001-2000Aug22.shtml

NTSB: FATAL SPARK DOOMED FLIGHT 800
Four years after TWA flight 800 exploded and plunged into the ocean,
federal investigators are making their case as to what brought down
the Boeing 747 and killed the 230 people who were on board.
Investigators said the evidence confirms what they've long suspected:
the jumbo jet was blown apart in flight on July 17, 1996, by a
catastrophic explosion of the plane's center fuel tank shortly after
takeoff on a New York to Paris flight.
http://cbsnews.cbs.com/now/story/0,1597,226608-412,00.shtml

U.S. REPORT - BIN LADEN PLANNING ATTACKS IN ISRAEL
Supporters of Osama bin Laden may be planning attacks in Israel to
try to thwart the Middle East peace process, a U.S. congressional
report warned Monday. The Congressional Research Service said the
presence of bin Laden operatives in Jordan and Lebanon suggested his
organization may be planning bombings and other attacks on
neighboring Israel. In its annual report, called "Terrorism: Near
Eastern Groups and State Sponsors, 2000," it said some members of the
Islamic resistance movement Hamas may be gravitating to bin Laden,
who lives in exile in Afghanistan.
http://news.excite.com/news/r/000821/17/mideast-binladen

WEATHER AIDING FIGHT AGAINST WESTERN BLAZES
Firefighters across the U.S. West took advantage of calmer winds in
their battle against blazes that have showed little mercy in the
worst fire season in nearly 50 years. Fire officials said there were
89 large fires burning nearly 1.4 million acres in eight western
states, Texas and Florida. But officials said Monday that
firefighters have managed to contain 8 blazes since Sunday, with only
four new ones breaking out. ``We've made some progress but at the
same time some of the large fires have ground along and continued to
spread,'' said the National Fire Information Center.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000822/ts/environment_wildfires_dc_1
2. html

PALESTINIANS DEMAND EASTERN JERUSALEM - OR NO DEAL
The Palestinian leadership convened in Ramallah today, and came up
with a decision that seems to have placed yet another obstacle along
the Oslo path. No final-status agreement will be reached with Israel,
reads the decision, until the Jerusalem issue is resolved and until
eastern Jerusalem is transferred to Palestinian control. The decision
emphasized that the Palestinians negate any form of Israeli
sovereignty over eastern Jerusalem.
http://www.virtualholyland.com/channels/israel_n/arutz.htm

PA OFFICIALS: STATEHOOD LIKELY TO BE POSTPONED
The Palestinian Central Council, scheduled to meet in early September
to decide the issue of Palestinian statehood, may vote at that time
to delay a statehood declaration until November, Palestinian
Authority officials said yesterday.
http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2000/08/22/News/News.11186.html

ISRAEL SMASHES 'BIN LADEN RING'
The authorities in Israel say they have broken up a network of
Islamic militants allegedly linked to the Saudi exile Osama Bin
Laden. The ring was uncovered by the Israeli secret service, Shin
Bet. More than 20 Arabs have been arrested by Israeli and Palestinian
security in recent months in connection with the case.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_891000/89130
5. stm

ISRAEL'S NEW SUB FLEET UPSETS ARAB NEIGHBORS
Arab officials are quietly expressing concern over Israel's new fleet
of diesel submarines. Arab officials and defense analysts said
Israel's fleet of three Dolphin-class submarines will bolster the
strategic deterrence of the Jewish state. They also said the fleet
will enable Israel to launch long-range attacks against such targets
as Iran, Iraq and Libya. The officials said the United States has
helped Israel in testing the submarines, including persuading Spain
to allow the vessels to travel through its territorial waters on the
way to a secret test in the Indian Ocean.
http://www.worldtribune.com/tout-5.html

FORMER SOVIET STATES PRAISE GLOBALIZATION
"Greater peace and security" in the world are due to "the increased
influence globalization is having on mankind's political and economic
progress," according to a joint statement released by a group of
former Soviet republics preparing for the upcoming United Nations
Millennium Summit to be held in New York City Sept. 6-8. The
signatories of the joint statement hope that the Millennium Summit
will work toward "building a multi-polar world and promoting global
security." The former Soviet republics issuing the statement are all
members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, successor entity
to the defunct U.S.S.R.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_westerman_news/20000822_xnwes_for
me r_sov.shtml

FOREIGN DIVERS' SUCCESS PILES ON RUSSIAN HUMILIATION
The success of foreign divers in entering the Kursk submarine within
30 hours, after the Russian navy failed at the task for a week,
further humiliated Moscow and fuelled criticism of President Vladimir
Putin's hesitation to seek foreign help. The relative ease with which
a dozen Norwegian and British divers descended into the Arctic waters
of Barents Sea to reach the crippled nuclear submarine and open its
escape hatch is a severe blow to the credibility of Russia's Northern
Fleet.
http://sg.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/afp/article.html?s=singa
po
re/headlines/000821/world/afp/Foreign_divers__success_piles_on_Russian
_h umiliation.html

NEWSPAPER CLAIMS KURSK CRASHED INTO U.S. SUBMARINE
The Russian daily Sevodnya on Friday published what it claimed was
credible evidence suggesting the nuclear submarine Kursk had crashed
into U.S. submersible, which then limped to a Norwegian port. The
Moscow daily reported, without citing its sources, that Russian ships
detected after the catastrophe on Saturday the presence of another
submarine also lying grounded at the bottom of the Barents Sea.
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=190463§ion=default

BRITAIN SNUBS U.S. ON WORLD COURT
The British government will formally break ranks with the US on
Friday by supporting the creation of an international criminal court
to prosecute those responsible for genocide and other crimes against
humanity. Downing Street confirmed yesterday that the foreign
secretary, Robin Cook, is to publish a consultation paper and a draft
bill paving the way for British participation in the court. Britain
would become a founder member. Washington claims that it cannot
allow its soldiers or politicians to fall under the jurisdiction of
an international court over which it might have little or no control.
http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Distribution/Redirect_Artifact/0,46
78,0-357166,00.html

AUGUST TURNS WHITE IN FREAK STORMS
Homes and businesses were hit by freak storms which caused up to five
inches of hail, torrential rain, lightning and even a tornado. The
abnormal weather affected parts of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Wales.
In the area between York and Hull at least 60 properties were
flooded, closing businesses. Lightning disrupted rail services.
Humberside Fire Service received more than 80 calls from the village
of Hedon, east of Hull, and snow was reported in several parts of
Humberside and North Yorkshire.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_890000/890338.stm

ARMY GIVEN SHOOT-TO-KILL AUTHORITY AT OLYMPIC GAMES
The Australian Government is under mounting pressure to water down
draconian new security laws that would give the military the right to
shoot civilians on sight during the Olympic Games next month. Civil
rights campaigners fear that the Government is using the threat of
terrorism at the Games to introduce laws that could be used during
strikes and legitimate protests.
http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/08/22/timfgnaus01001.ht
ml

HOME SCHOOLERS NO. 1 ON COLLEGE-ENTRANCE TEST
Home-schooled students have scored higher than their traditionally
educated peers on the ACT, one of the nation's two major
college-entrance exams, for the third consecutive year. While the
average ACT assessment score was 21 nationally, home-educated
students scored an average of 22.8 - yet another academic benchmark
that has given the movement increasing credibility and attention.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-2000822222739.htm

WORLD FARM AREA COULD SUPPORT 10 BILLION PEOPLE
Current world cropland has the potential to support up to 10 billion
people, almost twice the world's population, but disease, weather
problems and water shortages ravage food production, scientists said
Tuesday. "More than 50 percent of the yield potential is lost to
diseases, weather conditions, a shortage of water and inadequate
research," Hartwig Geiger, professor of genetics at the Hohenheim
University, told a conference on crop science.
http://news.excite.com/news/r/000822/10/food-world

NEW BOOK CLAIMS IRISH HAVE EGYPTIAN ANCESTRY
Are the Irish descended from the pharaohs of Egypt? According to a
new book, the ancient Egyptians established a colony in Ireland 3,500
years ago, after landing in Co. Kerry. Corbis A decorative
Celtic Gravestone in an old cemetery near Loch Cloon in County Kerry.
The invaders were led by Princess Scota, the daughter of a pharaoh
who fled her native land, according to Lorraine Evans, an
Egyptologist and author of Kingdom of the Ark, due to be published
this week. http://www.foxnews.com/science/082200/times_egyptian.sml

GENOCIDAL, RACIST BIBLE?
Two Bavarian lawyers are trying to protect children from reading the
Bible because of its purportedly violent, homophobic and anti-Semitic
content. The two have written German Family Minister Christine
Bergmann on behalf of a few parents of minors, asking the Bible to be
put on a list of books considered dangerous for children.
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/ed-house-2000822201015.htm

RIVALS FOR HOLY CITY MAY HAVE TO TURN TO GOD
Today it is the turn of King Abdullah of Jordan to meet Yasser
Arafat. Yesterday it was President Mubarak of Egypt's. In the
seemingly endless round of meetings, the only thing everyone agrees
on is that Jerusalem has become the main stumbling block in the
Middle East peace process.
http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Distribution/Redirect_Artifact/0,46
78,0-357018,00.html

THE RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE SUNKEN SUBMARINE
Henry Marconi of Sydney, Australia, monitors the Russia news sources
from time to time. From his perspective, the events surrounding the
sunken Russian sub are looking more like a manipulated media event.
http://www.watch.org/showart.php3?idx=8213&rtn=/articles.html&showsubj
=1 &mcat=1

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - UT scientists achieve skin transparency
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 13:27:27 -0400

Aug. 21, 2000, 10:11PM

UT scientists achieve skin transparency
By TODD ACKERMAN
Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle Science Writer

It doesn't exactly produce the Invisible Man, but a team of University of
Texas at Austin scientists have learned how to make flesh temporarily
transparent.

In experiments that could lead to better medical diagnosis and therapy, UT
biomedical engineers succeeded in making windows out of areas of rat and
hamster skin. When injected with a substance, small parts of their flesh
stayed transparent for 20 minutes or more.

"We could actually see blood vessels not previously visible," said Ashley J.
Welch, a professor of biomedical engineering and the chief investigator on the
project. "We're not sure how deep we can take this, but this discovery holds
promise for improving procedures ranging from laser surgery to the detection
and treatment of tumors."

The research team has not done any experiments on human skin.

Although the team is working with other substances, the rat and hamster
skin was turned transparent with injections of glycerol, a colorless, syrupy liquid that
absorbs water. The substance is often used in manufacturing, medicine and
many other applications.

Thus far, the transparency extends only a couple of millimeters deep, but
that's at least five times and as much as 20 times deeper into the body than
doctors can currently see with optical devices such as lasers. Doctors can
now see only about a tenth of a millimeter deep with light.

The inability to see deeper into the body restricts treatment. Therapeutic
procedures that depend on accurately focusing lasers on a particular area --
such as eye surgery and the accurate targeting of tumors and other laser
surgeries -- are limited by the fact a beam of light cannot pass directly
through overlying tissue.

By contrast, transparent human skin would allow optical devices to penetrate
further and illuminate tissue properties that suggest tumors; direct light to
the precise problem area rather than cutting away healthy tissue to reach it;
and deliver therapeutic light without diffusing stray light that can damage
capillaries.

The advantage of attaining transparent skin has to do with the fact that
light is scattered as it moves through skin. Just as fog scatters light, so do
small components of tissue, as can be demonstrated by placing a penlight
against the thin tissue between the fingers. Because none of the light passes directly
through the skin, the scattering prevents the viewer from seeing sharp
images -- in this case, blood vessels near the surface of the skin.

Glycerol changes the degree of diffusion by absorbing water: It shrinks the
tissue and modifies the way light is scattered.

"It's really a simple idea," said Welch. "To make it useful will be the more
difficult task. For instance, we'd rather the process not be by injection. We'd
like to make it as non-invasive as possible -- say, by pricking holes in the
skin and then just rubbing the substance on."

The UT team's research was originally published in the journal Lasers in
Surgery and Medicine in 1999. A second paper, quantifying the research, was
recently submitted to the same journal.

The researchers said the next steps will involve discovering other agents
that have similar effects and determining the safest to use; finding how
deep they can make the transparency; and identifying the exact medical
applications for it.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/641259

via: isml@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (8/22/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 19:26:31 -0400

ALL-TIME record: Most active 5 yrs. of Hurricanes!

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: USA Today

Tue Aug 22,2000 -- The 1999 hurricane season helped push the 1995-1999
period into the record books as the most active five years for
hurricanes since reliable records began in 1886: 41 hurricanes and 20
major hurricanes with winds exceeding 110 mph. In addition, this period
had an average of 8 hurricanes, another record for the Atlantic basin,
which includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
Added to that, all five major hurricanes in 1999 reached category 4
status - the most in a single season since records began in 1886. The
1999 hurricane season will also be known for hurricanes that often had
minds of their own.

Forecasters say the 2000 hurricane season may be a continuation of 1999
with more than an average number of storms. In fact, forecasters are
finding that we are already 5 years into what could potentially be a 20-
to 25-year cycle of increased tropical activity. And remember, we have
already broken several all-time records recently, as listed above. Neil
Frank, National Hurricane Center director from 1975 to 1987, who sifted
through the wreckage and interviewed victims after some of the 1960s
storms, agrees. "The impact is going to be awesome; we're going to have
staggering insurance problems." In the 1950s, he says, "people put up
little fishing shacks at the beach. If they blew away, they blew away.
Now you have dredged-out canals so people can drive their big boats up
to their expensive homes." If this is happening, "we're going to see
damage like we've never seen before," Gray says from his Colorado State
University office. "More people live on the coasts and everyone owns a
lot more now than in the 1950s." Gray theorizes that the Atlantic Basin
is entering an era that will see many decades of increased hurricane
activity and which will include particularly intense or major
hurricanes.

*Luke 21:25 And there will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On
earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and
tossing of the sea.

Japanese Volcano spews more ash

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: Yahoo/ AP

Tue Aug 22,2000 -- A volcano on an island south of Tokyo again spewed
ash Tuesday and forced the cancellation of flights. Mount Oyama, a
2,686-foot volcano on Miyake island, expelled ash about 360 feet into
the air shortly before 5 a.m. The latest volcanic activity came one day
after an evacuation order was just lifted for the remaining residents
who fled to shelters when Mount Oyama erupted Friday. Friday's eruption
was the fifth and largest since the mountain rumbled back to life on
July 9. Its located about 120 miles south of Tokyo. The islands have
also been rocked by many thousands of earthquakes in recent months.
Japan's Meteorological Agency said that rising underground magma was
likely to blame for the recent volcanic activity. It has warned
residents to be prepared for further eruptions. Mount Oyama last erupted
in 1983. Five hundred homes were destroyed when lava flowed over its
western flank, though timely evacuations prevented any casualties.

Killer heatwave suffocates Croatia

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: Discovery Earth Alert

Tue Aug 22,2000 -- The worst heat wave in more than a half a century has
killed at least nine atpeople so far in Croatia, and there is no end in
sight to the blistering heat. Ivan Cacic, a meteorologist at the state
forecasting bureau, said on Sunday that the season is the hottest summer
so far since 1950. Temperatures have hovered at 104 degrees Fahrenheit,
and meteorologists predict that it will still get even hotter weather
for the coming week. Temperatures at midnight in the capital city of
Zagreb have stayed as high as 84 degrees Fahrenheit, bringing no relief
at night from this stifling
ongoing heat wave.

Earthquakes in Italy, Aegean Islands, Taiwan, Turkey

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Weekend Staff
                         Source: yahoo!

Tue Aug 22,2000 -- 4.8 strong earthquakes rattled northwestern Italy
Monday, leading authorities to rope off medieval buildings and order
scattered evacuations for fear of collapses.

A moderate earthquake with magnitude 4.9 rattled islands in the central
Aegean Sea on Tuesday morning.

A moderate earthquake with magnitude 4.6 shook southern Taiwan on
Tuesday at 12:42 a.m., the third straight day moderate temblors have
rattled the area.

A moderate earthquake with magnitude 4.3 shook central Turkey on Tuesday
at 2:40 p.m., rattling buildings in the capital.

Taiwan jolted by 11 quakes in two days

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: Discovery Earth Alert

Tue Aug 22,2000 -- Southern Taiwan was rocked by 11 earthquakes on
Sunday and early Monday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries
or damage from any of the tremors. The series of quakes began at 9:46
a.m. local time on Sunday when a magnitude 4.0 tremor hit the city of
Chiayi, located about 125 miles south of the capital Taipei. The quake
was followed within a half hour by seven more shallow and more powerful
tremors of magnitudes between 4.0 to 4.8. Early Monday, three
earthquakes shook Kaohsiung County during a half hour period beginning
at 3:02 a.m. The magnitude 4.5, 4.6 and 4.0 tremors also occurred very
near the earth's surface. The earthquake-prone island of Taiwan is
located above two tectonic plates. All this while they were supposed to
be preparing for the Super Typhoon on its way. As of Tuesday, they're
now being slammed by that very Super Typhoon with wind gusts at almost
200mph. During earthquakes people are usually running out into the
streets, but that definitely is not possible right now.

Super Typhoon strikes Taiwan

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: Weather.com/ AP

Tue Aug 22,2000 -- Super Typhoon Bilis continues to slam southern Taiwan
this morning. The typhoon brought torrential rains and landslides to
southern Taiwan as it approached overnight (Eastern Time). As of early
this morning, Bilis was near the southern coast of Taiwan, with top
sustained winds of 160 mph and gusts nearing as much as 200 mph. The
government of Taiwan has urged all residents to remain indoors and
closed government offices, banks and the stock market. The typhoon is
forecast to cross the southern end of Taiwan today. “The system will
weaken as it moves across Taiwan, then slightly re-intensify as it
enters the Taiwan Strait,” the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported.
Bilis is forecast to make a second landfall on the southeastern China
coast within 36 hours with winds as high as 115 mph. Bilis is the tenth
typhoon to hit the region this year and the second strong typhoon to hit
Taiwan in recent weeks. Last month, Typhoon Kai Tak swept across
southern Taiwan with winds of 93 mph.

Texas metro area scorched by heat and no rain

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: Weather.com

Tue Aug 22,2000 -- The summer of 2000 will be remembered as one of the
driest on record in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. They haven´t had any
rain at the DFW airport in 52 days. Scattered thunderstorms and showers
have brought measurable rain to some parts of the metroplex, but most
areas remain very dry. It's also been one of the hotter summers in
Dallas-Fort Worth. The temperature has soared above 100 degrees for the
last seven days. So far there´s been at least 30 days of 100 degree or
above temps this summer. That's already twice the average for the season
and there´s still a month left of summer to go. Smog has also been
adding to the problems in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. They´re under a
code red smog alert for today. The air quality is considered to be
unhealthy and people are encouraged to avoid outdoor activity.

http://www.upway.com/cgi/readnews.cgi?day=00_08_22&item=#966973164

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News items (8/22/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 19:33:59 -0400

ARAFAT DIGS IN
Meretz party leader Yossi Sarid, who met with Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak yesterday, says that Egypt is not willing to take steps to
moderate Palestinian demands on Jerusalem. "I saw no signs of Egyptian
flexibility," Sarid said. "Mubarak told me that the Palestinians should
insist on full sovereignty over all of eastern Jerusalem, except for the
Jewish quarter and the Western Wall." Palestinian Television, in its
Hebrew broadcasts last night, announced that Arafat will not agree to
give up even the Jewish quarter and the Western Wall.

TWO MORE BLOWS TO BARAK
The prestige and leadership of Prime Minister Barak suffered yet
additional blows over the past 24 hours. Attorney-General Elyakim
Rubenstein ordered him yesterday not to assign any further diplomatic
missions to businessman Yossi Ginosar until the potential "conflict of
interests" problem is conclusively examined. The decision follows a
petition to the Supreme Court by MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union-Yisrael
Beiteinu), who asserted that Ginosar's business ties with leading
Palestinian figures disqualified him from acting as an Israeli
diplomatic representative.

In addition, Barak-aide Tzvi Shtauber resigned from his position as
diplomatic advisor yesterday - the third close aide to leave Barak's
team within a week. Barak announced that he will not name a successor
to Shtauber for the time being.

Editorials in both Ma'ariv and Ha'aretz have strong criticism of Prime
Minister Barak today, in light of the recent resignations. Ma'ariv
claims that loyalty seems to be the sole qualification for senior
officials at the Prime Minister's Bureau:

"Forget ability, capability, qualifications for the post... If the
person is loyal this is enough to get him the job... Regrettably,
loyalty is also the sole yardstick for dealing with those who are
leaving… Instead of listening to what [those who resigned are]
complaining about, most of the rage and fury being directed at them is
over their reneging on the debt of loyalty…"

From Ha'aretz:

"The Prime Minister's Bureau is falling apart... From numerous reports,
one receives the impression that Barak is unable to control his team,
and also that he is the cause of their frustration and confusion... The
officials who are leaving… lack an independent political agenda, [and]
their criticism is, therefore, worthy of attention... The failures in
his office are... testimony to [Barak's] amateurish management... The
breakdown in his office is strengthening the impression that the end [of
the present government] is near... [He should] set up an office which
runs harmoniously... Otherwise, the people will increasingly demand to
know how he can possibly manage complex affairs of state if he cannot
even achieve peace in his own bureau."

BARAK'S MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR GIFT TO ARAFAT
Three oil companies demand that Israel actualize its legal rights and
allow them to drill for oil off the Gaza coast. Their Supreme Court suit
of yesterday maintains that the government is refusing to take advantage
of its Oslo- mandated oil rights there, in areas that contain billions
of dollars worth of gas and oil. The three companies requested a permit
to drill there as early as a year ago, and attached a legal opinion
stating that according to international law, Israel - not the
Palestinian Authority - is sovereign over the area and is authorized to
grant drilling permits. Then-Infrastructures Minister Eli Suissa (Shas)
agreed that Israel is sovereign, but in light of the diplomatic
sensitivity of the issue, transferred the final decision to Prime
Minister Barak. Suissa told Arutz-7 this morning, "I proposed to the
Prime Minister, in writing, that we explore the waters jointly with the
Palestinian Authority… I received no answer from him, despite further
queries on the issue, and only later found out that Barak had given in
and granted exclusive drilling rights to the PA. This was a clear
surrender for no reason, and with nothing in exchange, of something that
belongs to us - not to mention the loss of billions of dollars for the
State. Barak simply made a decision by himself, without consulting me,
or anyone else, exactly as he usually does..."

Arafat wasted no time after receiving such a nice gift, and a British
company immediately paid the PA millions of dollars for the privilege of
preparing a seismological mapping of the area. The mapping has recently
been concluded, and with the British company preparing to begin initial
drilling, the companies could take it no longer, and turned to the
courts. They demand that the government fulfill the Oslo agreement and
jointly develop the potential oil fields, and prevent the
PA-commissioned British company from drilling.

GSS BLOCKS BIN-LADEN
International arch-terrorist Osama Bin-Laden has set his sights on
Israel, but the General Security Service has apparently nipped his
attempts in the bud for now. Three Palestinian terrorists who trained
in Bin-Laden's camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan have been arrested of
late, as well as ten Arabs who were enlisted in the terrorist efforts by
one of the three. They were in the midst of planning various mass
attacks on Israeli targets, as the many explosives and weapons found
with them attested.

Palestinians in the Shomron have been asked by PA security personnel to
refrain from shooting in the air at wedding celebrations. Arutz-7
correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that the request was rooted not in
the disturbance and fear caused to the neighboring Jewish residents, but
rather - according to the Palestinians - in the "waste of precious
ammunition, which will be needed in the future."

IDF and police forces arrested ten Arabs from the Calandia refugee camp
in northern Jerusalem several days ago. They were allegedly responsible
for the burning of four Israeli buses that were on their way to the
Yesha Council's large demonstration in Tel Aviv several weeks ago. The
drivers had made a wrong turn, and were attacked by dozens of
stone-throwing rioters. The drivers abandoned three of the buses, and
escaped in the fourth - although it, too, was half-burnt.

An Israeli was injured by rocks thrown at his car near Ariel last night.
He was taken to the hospital for treatment.

ABDULLAH IN TEL AVIV
Jordan's King Abdullah arrived for a quick two-and-a-half hour visit in
Tel Aviv today. He landed first in Ramallah, then flew to Tel Aviv,
where he placed a wreath at Rabin Square, took a stroll on the coastal
Boardwalk, and met with Prime Minister Barak and acting-Foreign Minister
Shlomo Ben-Ami. The Likud says that Barak's willingness to host the
King in Tel Aviv proves that his commitment to Jerusalem is nothing more
than "the parroting of slogans written for him by his public relations
advisors."

President Moshe Katzav also expressed regret over the fact that King
Abdullah did not see fit to respect Israel by visiting its capital.
Katzav refused to meet with the King outside Jerusalem.

IF WE CAN ONLY MAKE IT THROUGH THE SUMMER...
Shmuel Tal, Israel's new Water Commissioner, is already warning of tough
times ahead. Even if this coming winter's rainfalls are average,
farmers' water quotas will still have to be cut by 50%, he said
yesterday. Tens of thousands of dunams of orchards will have to be
abandoned in case of a dry winter. Tal said that under no circumstances
will he agree to a further lowering of the Kinneret's "red line," such
that water will not be drawn from the sea if it reaches a low of 214
meters below sea level. It currently stands at -213.20, and is dropping
an average of a centimeter each day.

BLOCKING THE ROAD TO KIDMAT ZION
A new Jewish neighborhood called Kidmat Zion is under construction in
eastern Jerusalem, adjacent to the village of Abu Dis. Aryeh King, who
is active in the building efforts, told Arutz-7 today that although the
new area is planned to house some 250 Jewish families, and although it
has all the municipal approvals, Jews can no longer access the area by
road. "The only approach road to our site is through a road that passes
100 meters into Abu Dis, which is presently classified as 'Area B'
(Palestinian civil control). Oslo allows the Palestinian Authority to
place roadblocks on roads in Area B. When we cleared away an Arab-set
blockade last Friday, PA workers responded by constructing an even
larger one. A situation has therefore been created whereby, even before
the PA receives full control over Abu Dis, we cannot get to our lands,
which are located within sovereign Jerusalem."

King added that there is an additional approach into Kidmat Zion that
does not entail entering Abu Dis, but that it is only accessible by
four-wheel drive vehicles. He noted that he does not attribute the
placing of the barrier to Palestinian schemes to block Kidmat Zion, but
because of the proximity of the planned Palestinian parliament
building. According to King, neighborhood planners are in touch with a
top aide of Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, and are keeping the city posted
on the latest developments. "Whatever happens with the Abu Dis
entrance," King concluded, "we are certain that Kidmat Zion will become
a reality - since the city is behind our efforts, and is likely to pave
other roads from the western part of Jerusalem to Kidmat Zion." King
said that planners are hoping that yet another Jewish neighborhood will
be constructed nearby, directly linking Kidmat Zion to the southeastern
Jerusalem neighborhood of Talpiot.

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2000 / Av 21, 5760

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

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