To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Spain Ice Blamed on Weird Weather
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 08:18:30 -0500

From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>

Spain Ice Blamed on Weird Weather

Associated Press
Jan. 21, 2000; 6:02 p.m. EST

MADRID, Spain =96=96 Scientists who spent days studying chunks of ice that
have been dropping on Spain said Friday that most were practical jokes but
some were the result of a freak weather phenomenon miles above the
Earth.

Much of Spain has been captivated by the phenomenon, which began Jan.
8 when the first of some 30 projectiles, some the size of basketballs, came
crashing down in southern Seville province. Since then, ice chunks have
been found all over the country.

The enigma grew to acquire front-page status for virtually every
newspaper, with varying degrees of tongue-in-cheek coverage.

Hypotheses as to the origin of the ice ranged from comets to human urine
expelled from airplanes.

At least a preliminary verdict came Friday at a packed news conference led
by Jesus Martinez Frias, the head of the group of scientists assembled to
come up with an explanation.

While many chunks were most likely planted in the streets by pranksters,
Martinez said at least some of the ice pieces had probably been formed
through sudden temperature drops in the stratosphere, which begins
about seven miles above Earth and extends to about 30 miles.

Martinez said similar cases had been reported in China and Brazil in 1995,
with even bigger pieces of ice =96 up to 440 pounds. Still, he called the
phenomenon "very unusual."

The researchers said that while this was the most likely explanation, they
were still unsure and would continue their study.

In previous days, chemists at the University of Valencia had ruled out the
possibility the chunks were frozen human waste from airplanes because
there was no evidence of microorganisms that would be present in urine.

Still, questions remained. Fernando Lopez, a professor at Madrid's
Autonomous University questioned how ice could form in the
stratosphere because that layer has very little moisture.

And, he added, once a piece starts forming, how does it remain suspended
long enough to grow to weigh nearly 9 pounds, as some of the Spanish
chunks did?

via: <hblondel@tampabay.rr.com>

_________________________
To subscribe to BPR send a message to bpr-list@philologos.org
with the word "subscribe" in the subject. To unsubscribe send a
message to the same address with the word "unsubscribe" in the
subject.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Dutch archaeologists uncover earliest Egyptian temple
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 08:24:20 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

Dutch archaeologists uncover earliest
 Egyptian temple
                                         Further Information
 Posted: 18 January 2000 15:16
 Was embargoed until 19 January 2000
 Keywords
 Archaeology

 During excavations at Tel Ibrahim
 Awad in the eastern Nile Delta, Dutch
 archaeologists discovered a large
 Middle Kingdom temple. Beneath this
 building, which dates from around
 2000 BC, there were traces of five
 earlier temples, the earliest dating
 back to around 3100 BC. This is at
 least as old as the oldest temple
 previously discovered, namely at
 Hierakonpolis. Heavy-duty
 groundwater pumps had to be brought
 in to make it possible to reach the
 earliest remains. Financial support for
 the excavations was provided by the
 NWO=92s Council for the Humanities.

 The ground plan of the earliest of these
 temples is unlike anything previously
 discovered in Egypt, and no other sites
 are known where a similar series of
 temples was built one on top of the other
 and which date back so far. The
 archaeologists do not yet know which
 gods were worshipped in the temples. In
 the third-earliest, they discovered about a
 thousand "disposable ritual objects",
 including statuettes of baboons and
 pottery. According to the laws of the
 ancient Egyptians, objects which had been
 used in religious worship must not be
 profaned and they therefore had to be
 preserved within the walls of the temple.
 The objects are currently being studied to
 see what they can tell us about temple
 rituals at this early date. No inscriptions
 were found to provide any clues.

 Alongside the temple, a burial ground was
 discovered containing 50 small-scale
 tombs from various periods. Excavation
 of a large First Dynasty tomb (about
 3000 BC) uncovered rich finds of pottery
 and of stone and bronze vessels.

 The archaeologists are collaborating under
 the auspices of the Netherlands
 Foundation for Archaeological Research in
 Egypt, linked to Amsterdam University
 (UvA). They chose the area to be
 excavated ten years ago on the basis of
 the remains of walls and fragments of
 pottery visible on the surface. Increasing
 population pressure in the Nile Delta is
 making archaeological investigations more
 difficult. Only five percent of Egypt is
 habitable, so that archaeological research
 has to compete with land cultivation,
 infrastructure and urban expansion.
  

  http://www.alphagalileo.org/fetchpn.asp?id=3D2899&accept_language=3Den

_________________________
To subscribe to BPR send a message to bpr-list@philologos.org
with the word "subscribe" in the subject. To unsubscribe send a
message to the same address with the word "unsubscribe" in the
subject.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Jan 23, 2000 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 13:07:54 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

8:00 PM Eastern

 A&E - FACE TO FACE: THE SCHAPPELL TWINS - Conjoined
          twins try to lead normal daily lives.(CC)(TVG)

9:00

 CNN - CNN & TIME - "Holocaust on Trial" - David
   Irving questions the existence of Nazi gas
          chambers.(CC)

 HIST - SWORN TO SECRECY - "The Wizard War" - Electronic
   weaponry; weapons guidance systems; electronic
          jamming.(CC)(TVG)

_________________________
To subscribe to BPR send a message to bpr-list@philologos.org
with the word "subscribe" in the subject. To unsubscribe send a
message to the same address with the word "unsubscribe" in the
subject.

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