Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
July 10, 2000


Digest Home | 2000 | July, 2000

 

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - RE: The year 2000,the year of social acceptability ofthealternative lifestryle
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Neil ")
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 10:14:52 +0200

Hi Harry

Forgive me if I have offended you. All I promote is that those who's voice
should be heard, firstly the Church, are instructed by the Word of God to
exercise the authority they have been given to root out all ungodliness, and
in this case, the liberal stand the goverment are taking towards homosexuals
and lesbians. The Church are representative of the truth, and should take
the necessary step in admonishing this open practice. In the O.T.
homosexuality is classed as an abomination. (Lev. 18:21). The Scriptures
tell us homosexuality implores God, and the judgement He brought upon Sodom
and Gomorrah is enough to convince all of us of His disgust of it. When
God's judgement came upon those cities there was no Law as the criterion for
homosexual behaviour, yet God rained brimstone and fire upon them despite.
It was not necessary for God to judge those cities by a written code, as it
stands by natural reasoning what they were doing was abominable, therefore,
certainly our natural reasoning should condemn its practice. That one need
to be saved does not deem them enlightened to the fact that the practice of
homosexuality and lesbianism are wrong. The first chapter of book of Romans
tells us exactly this, that "...men, leaving the natural use of the woman,
burned in lust one toward another; men with men working that which is
unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which
was meet." (Rom 1:27). Those who commit such acts are reprobate or have been
given over to a reprobate mind. We cannot allow this to become acceptable
within society. Homosexuals and lesbians must be rebuked by the Church, as
its the Church's divine obligation. Showing the homosexual love is telling
him that his practice of it is sinful, and ignoring God's call to abstain
from it will be detrimental and eventually eternally punishable.

Neil

----- Original Message -----
From: "Harry" <bpr-list@philologos.org>
To: BPR Mailing List <bpr-list@philologos.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 08, 2000 8:57 PM
Subject: [BPR] - RE: The year 2000,the year of social acceptability
ofthealternative lifestryle

> Neil
>
> It's amazing to me that in the year 2000 there are still intelligent
people
> who hide their biogotry behind the cloak of carefully selected religious
> moral concepts and who distort the truth with convenient falsehoods. My
God,
> man, in the early days of Christianity, Christian's lifestyles were
> considered "alternative." The Bible doesn't condemn homosexuality anymore
> strongly than it condemns other "sins." In fact, it proposes significantly
> harsher punishments for the sins of adultery, inhospitality etc.
>

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - July 10, 2000 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 08:31:50 -0400

8:00 PM Eastern

 DISC - ATF - The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
          pieces together crime scenes.(CC)

 HIST - SHIP OF GOLD - A steamship vanishes with 400
          passengers and 21 tons of gold bullion.(CC)(TVG)

9:00

 PBS - FINEST HOUR: THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN - "May Through
          August 1940" - Hitler's armies dominate Europe; Winston
          Churchill becomes prime minister; British
          navy.(CC)(TVPG)

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Japan Hit by Volcanic Eruption, Earthquake, Typhoon
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 08:36:08 -0400

     Japan Hit by Volcanic Eruption, Earthquake, Typhoon

           AFP
           July 9, 2000

       TOKYO - Residents of a small Japanese island chain were left
       wondering what else nature could throw at them Sunday after they
       were hit by a powerful earthquake, a deadly typhoon and a volcano
       - all in 24 hours.

       The quake, which measured 6.0 on the Richter scale and was the
       latest of a series, hit the Japanese Pacific island of Kozujima south
       of Tokyo just before four in the morning.

       The tremors triggered 10 landslides and cracks appeared in sides of
       a mountain at two spots but no one was injured, a spokesman for
       Kozujima police station said.

       The earthquake came just nine hours after Mount Oyama erupted
       on the nearby island of Miyakejima, spewing white pillars of ash
       and steam hundreds of metres into the air.

       It was the first activity recorded for 17 years at Mount Oyama.

       Across the archipelago, authorities played down the threat to life
       and no order was given for islanders to evacuate.

       The island chain was also recovering from the effect of Typhoon
       Kirogi.

       In some parts during the height of the storm early Saturday, more
       than a foot of a rain fell in a matter of hours.

       Japan's meteorological agency recorded 411 millimeters (16.44
       inches) of rain on Oshima, just north of Kozujima and Miyakejima.

       The heavy rain sent mud and sand crashing into two houses and a
       shrine office and forced 120 people to take shelter.

       Although four people died when Kirogi hit Japan's southeast coast,
       two swept away by floodwaters in irrigation canals, there have been
       no reports of deaths or injuries in nature's latest onslaught on the
       islands.

http://www.newsmax.com/uk/archives/articles/?a=2000/7/9/34808

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

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - homosexuality
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("John in NZ")
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 07:45:04 -0500

Hello,

Normally I would be inclined to stay out of a discussion on this
subject
in the public forum. However I do feel that I have some knowledge on
the
subject. For the past six years I have been involved in a Christian
recovery program for homosexuals. This program began in the United
States.
It is now in many countries. It is called Living Waters.

I am not myself a homosexual. The course, while originally designed
for
the recovery of homosexuals, has been found to be effective for people
recovering from abuse. I got involved because of several bad
experiences
of spiritual abuse. I have found the program incredibly helpful. At
the
moment I am involved at leadership level. In my group I have people
with
abuse backgrounds, homosexual background, and other backgrounds. I
feel I
have some insight and input into this discussion.

Firstly, yes it is true that homosexuality is a sin. But it is untrue
that
there is no graduation of sin and the Bible. This is a common Western
misconception-that all sin is equal. This is not so. The Bible clearly
distinguishes between sin, trespass, transgression and iniquity. And
these
are clearly an ascending scale-in the nature of the sin, the effects
of
it, and in the judgment of God on it.. But Some sins are specifically
called "Abominations". These have a particular judgment of God on
them.
All sexual sin, along with all false worship, is called an
abomination. In
this sense homosexuality can be considered to be a worse sin than some
others, but clearly is no worse than any other sexual immorality.

Secondly, homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. But then often so is
heterosexual immorality. So is alcoholism, so is any addiction.
Homosexuality is a lifestyle choice for many reasons-one of which is
that
it is often an addiction. What is an addiction? It is a habit pattern
adopted by someone to mask the pain inside. Oh yes it is a sin, but to
yell at the sin is to miss the point. And this is where Christians
often
miss the point. The sinful lifestyle has been adopted because of
pain. We
become false counsellors if all we do is challenge the sin and never
bring
healing to the pain behind it. I have met many homosexuals over the
past
six years. The common feature in their lives is the incredible amount
of
pain they have inside. Most of the homosexuals I have met have tried
the
church to see if their pain could be healed there only to find that
the
church gave rejection, condemnation, criticism, judgment. There was no
real understanding of what was inside. Often the pain had been caused
by
sexual abuse, but physical or emotional abuse can pain just as much.
In
fact I found that spiritual abuse is just as painful as sexual abuse.

Thirdly, homosexuality is a destructive sin, but usually only for the
homosexual himself. My experience of spiritual abuse has shown me that
sins like gossip, slander and criticism are far more destructive on a
far
wider front than homosexuality will ever be.

Fourthly, the general tone of the discussion so far has indicated to
me
that most of the participants know John 3:16, and probably live it,
but
none seem to know and live John 3:17. Try imitating Christ in John
3:17.
Your attitude to any sinner will radically change, and you may learn
the
heart of the gospel.

I do not condone homosexuality in any way, but I am beginning to
understand what pain lies behind that sinful choice. In one sense
homosexuality is like smoking, the sin we see-whether homosexuality or
smoking-is really only the tip of the iceberg. When we deal with the
pain
behind the addiction then the addiction goes and the sinful behavior
with
it. In my group I would never be able to minister to my homosexual
brothers in Christ, and such they are, and obtain access into their
deep
pain if I held the judgmental attitude I have seen in this discussion
to
date. They allow me in, knowing that I totally reject their sin, but I
totally accept them and hurt with them in their struggle. To me their
sin
of homosexuality is not the issue, the issue is the abuse and pain
they
have suffered at the hand of parents, relatives and others, often
church
leaders and representatives.

For many homosexuals the gay community and lifestyle is not what they
want, but their hearts are craving love, and the gay community is the
first place and often the only place, where they have found anything
approaching love. Until we Christians learn to love and accept without
judgment and condemnation, we will never turn them from their sins.

John in New Zealand.

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Homosexuality
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Lambert")
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 07:53:00 -0500

"Finally, though I have had to speak at some length about sex, I want
to
make it as clear as I possibly can that the centre of Christian
morality
is not here. If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity as the
supreme vice, he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but
they
are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely
spiritual: the pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of
bossing
and patronizing and spoiling sport, and back-biting; the pleasures of
power, of hatred. For there are two things inside me, competing with
the
human self which I must try to become. They are the Animal self, and
the
Diabolical self. The Diabolical self is the worse of the two. That is
why
a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far
nearer
to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be
neither."
(C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

The proverbs of Solomon list seven things which God hates. Sexual
immorality is not on this list at all.

"There are six things which the LORD hates, seven which are an
abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed
innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make
haste to
run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and a man who sows
discord among brothers." (Proverbs 6:16-19)

The Word of God is even-handed and balanced in regard to the kinds of
behavior which disqualify:

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of
God?
Do not be deceived; neither the immoral (fornicators), nor idolaters,
nor
adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor
drunkards,
nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such
WERE
some of you. But you were washed, you WERE sanctified, you WERE
justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." (1
Cor. 5:9-11)

The whole message of the New Testament is about God's love for all
manner of sinners. To single out any one group and pronounce them
condemned by God and ineligible for grace and forgiveness is a
serious distortion of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lambert Dolphin
http://ldolphin.org/
lambert@ldolphin.org

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Discussion Closed
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 09:28:22 -0500

Dear members,

The messages that were sent out this morning dealing with
homosexuality will be the last I will allow on the
discussion. Both sides of the issue have been clearly and
eloquently expressed. I'm not sure why I allowed such
posts on the list to begin with, nevertheless it did
provide some interesting insight into our readership.

I will clarify our (i.e., BPR's) position on the issue of
homosexuality briefly.

Homosexuality is a sin. God very clearly states this in
the Torah. As far as I know, He has not changed His mind
on that. I believe the Messiah (the Living Torah) didn't
discuss homosexuality because it was not a problem in the
Jewish society. It was the pagans, the gentile society
that were engaging in such activities. That is why we find
the first mention of homosexuality in the New Testament in
Paul's letters to the gentiles. The converts that he was
addressing were coming out of such activities. He
admonished them not to return to their former pagan
lifestyles -- lifestyles, that among other things, involved
sexual immorality.

There are numerous sins mentioned in the bible, so why
isn't BPR posting news articles that deal with murder,
infidelity, lying, covetousness, slander, greed,
haughtiness, etc.? Because our schools aren't holding
seminars on the "art of lying", however, some of our school
districts are holding seminars on how to have homosexual
sex. Our society doesn't have a marketing campaign geared
exclusively to adulterers, but Subaru has decided to have
such an ad campaign that is designed to appeal to
homosexuals. When we come across a news article detailing
the events of "Incest Pride Week," rest assured, we'll post
it the list. When we see news articles that advocate the
tolerance and acceptance of murder, rest assured, we'll
post them to the list as well. When our churches start to
proclaim that "rapists were born that way," and therefore
it can't be a sin if that's how God made them, we'll post
such articles to the list.

Our society hasn't decided yet that incest, murder and
adultery are acceptable and therefore tolerance should be
shown. If that ever happens, we'll give equal air time to
those matters as well. Sin is nothing new. However,
society's, and even more so, the church's teaching of
tolerance toward sin is an "endtime sign post" and that is
why we share such articles with the list. Should we close
our eyes to society's' norms and those behaviors that are
passed off as not being sin anymore? Lot did. And in the
end, he had to run for his life.

BPR will continue to post items on such topics as
homosexuality if we deem them newsworthy.

Thank you,
owner-bpr@philologos.org

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Storms force shutdown at Chernobyl
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 10:01:03 -0500

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 08:38:40 -0400
From: hblondel@tampabay.rr.com

7/10/2000 06:18:00 ET

Storms force shutdown at Ukraine's Chernobyl plant

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the
world"s worst nuclear accident, shut down its only functioning
reactor on Monday after a heavy rainstorm flooded several parts of the
facility, officials said.

Volodymyr Shenchenko, the station"s duty engineer, told Reuters from
Chernobyl that the station had been shut down in the morning and there
had been no increase in radiation levels. He said the plant would be
restarted on July 17.

"It was a powerful rainstorm and unfortunately water flooded our
diesel-powered generator and we were forced to stop the reactor,"
Shevchenko said.

"It is not really serious because there are no problems with our
reactors and turbo-generating equipment."

Shevchenko also said staff at the plant had pumped out almost all of
the water from the generator.

"Now we have to check all the equipment," Shevchenko said, after a
week of fierce storms which killed two and injured more than 10 swept
across the ex-Soviet state.

The third reactor is the only one operating after the fourth exploded
in April 1986, spewing a radioactive cloud over Europe and
contaminating large areas of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

Another reactor was halted in 1997 after it exhausted its safe
lifespan and the other has not been used since a fire nine years ago.

Ukraine promised last month to close the stricken plant on December 15
after Western leaders pledged additional funding. Over the past six
years, Ukraine has been locked in difficult talks with the West aimed
at winning hundreds of millions of dollars in return for the closure
of the station. Ukraine needs the money to build two new replacement
reactors.

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma conceded recently that Chernobyl,
located just 110 km (70 miles) north of the capital Kiev which has 2.6
million people, was no longer safe from a technological point of view.

------- End of forwarded message -------

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Stratfor: Camp David, Good Intentions and the Road to Hell
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 11:39:39 -0500

Stratfor.com's Global Intelligence Update - 10 July 2000
__________________________________________
It's not news; it's intelligence.

Camp David, Good Intentions and the Road to Hell

Summary

In the final months of his administration, President
Clinton has summoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and
Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat to Camp David. The
president's goal is a breakthrough and a permanent, lasting
peace. But the administration risks hurting both Barak and
Afafat, causing them severe - if not fatal -political harm
at home. The president's search for his legacy and the
reality of Israeli-Palestinian relations are on a collision
course. Both will likely be damaged at Camp David.

Analysis

The latest Camp David talks are part of a chain,
stretching back to Wye Plantation and Oslo. All were
supposed to lay the groundwork for lasting peace. But why
will the latest talks succeed where all the others have
failed? To begin, what exactly is the president trying to
achieve?

With his tenure winding to a close, Clinton is looking to
his legacy. Camp David, after all, is where President
Carter presided over an Israeli-Egyptian settlement.
Clinton would clearly like to leave behind the equivalent
of Carter's Camp David accords. In itself, this is not an
ignoble motive. Presidents have a right to be concerned
with their place in history, and striking an Israeli-
Palestinian settlement is not a bad legacy.

The problem that will arise is not one of intention. The
problem is whether the goal - a formal settlement - is
first attainable and second, worth attaining. The attempt
to move beyond informal settlements to formal ones may make
the situation worse, rather than better. In seeking his
place in history, Clinton's good intentions may set the
stage for a substantial deterioration of the situation.

To understand the profound difference between the first
Camp David accords and these, consider the difference
between Israeli-Egyptian relations and Israeli-Palestinian
relations. In strict geopolitical terms, Egypt and Israel
shared nothing but a border. Indeed, the border itself was
artificial; Israel proper and Egypt proper were separated
physically by the Sinai wasteland. The Sinai created the
opportunity for peace because it allowed the separation of
two nations.

But no such buffer is conceivable between Israel and the
Palestinians. Even when Israel blockades the West Bank,
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Israeli citizens
are intermingled in Israel proper. In Jerusalem, boundaries
are measured not in miles but in streets and buildings.

These two peoples are intimately connected by the economy,
as well. The Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza occupy
territories that are simply not viable without access to
other markets, both for products and labor. Countless
Palestinians have migrated to other countries, true, but
those who remain need Israel as a place to work. In turn,
Israel depends on the Palestinian labor force for cheap
labor.

Economics aside, the fact is that Israelis and
Palestinians cannot get out of one another's way. Nor can
they easily define their relationship to each other. In a
fundamental sense, Israelis and Palestinians both regard
the other as usurpers and intruders. Each regards the other
as a historical victimizer, and each can make eloquent and
persuasive arguments in defense of its own victimization.

Instead of being marginal, these sensibilities go to the
heart of the political culture of each people. Zionism
cannot dispense with the idea that the Jewish exile and
return was a moral imperative and so, whoever inhabited the
land during their absence was a squatter. Palestinian
nationalism is built on the idea that the inhabitants of
the land now called Israel were the unique victims of alien
settlers who stole the land and dispossessed the people.
Each political culture is defined over and against the other.

A formal settlement at Camp David would require that one
side give the other some formal, explicit acknowledgement
of claims to the land. To do so, each side would have to
modify its own understanding of history. Israelis would
have to treat Palestinians as other than interlopers, with
legitimate rights. Palestinians would have to formally
accept that Israelis have real rights, too. To do this
formally would require a wrenching redefinition of both
Zionism and Palestinian nationalism.

The thorn in the heart of this problem is not whether each
leadership is prepared to live with such an understanding;
both sides live each day with the inescapable reality of
the presence of the other. The question, however, is
whether the political systems of either Israel or the
Palestinians could endure the formal acknowledgement of the
reality. Can either side cross the chasm between tacit
understandings and formal agreement?

The Israeli political system, for one, is a fragmented
constellation of political parties. In election after
election, regardless of whether Labor or Likud wins,
neither side has enough votes in the Knesset to govern
without a coalition. As in any democracy, coalition
building in Israel is a mixture of high-minded principle
and pork barrel politics. Who controls the housing budget
is intermingled with the relationship between secular and
religious authorities.

The question of the Palestinians is thrown into this
melange of interest group politics and deep, principled
division. After all, Palestinians and their rights
intersect everything from housing strategy to a Jew's
obligation to the Torah's understanding of the land that
was promised. The Israeli political system is not only
fragile, but also brittle. In this context, minor parties
threaten to bring down governments over pork barrel issues
and can hold matters of grand strategy hostage to those
issues.

Simply raising the Palestinian issue provides minor
parties with tremendous leverage over any government. The
result is the rapid destabilization of any Israeli
government that tries to deal with the matter; most
governments are unstable even if the Palestinian matter is
never raised. Until there is a revolution in Israeli voting
patterns, Israelis simply don't have the political ability
to deal with the fundamental issue on the table.

Nor, for that matter, do the Palestinians. The structure
of the Palestinian polity is such that it must always
generate a faction that stands in opposition to dealing
with Israel. Conditions in Gaza are wretched, and
conditions in the West Bank are nearly as bad. Any
agreement with Israel threatens to lock into place a system
of political and economic relationships that are at best
barely tolerable. An argument can be made that Israel is an
unavoidable reality and that, for better or worse,
accommodation has to take place.

This was the position of Arafat's elders. Once, he opposed
it. Now, this is Arafat's position, criticized as it is by
younger opponents. The problem here is the Palestinian
version of pork barrel politics. The misery of the
Palestinian people is not equally distributed. Arafat
maintains his position within Fatah and within the
Palestine National Authority by practicing the carrot- and-
stick strategy of rewarding friends and coercing enemies.
He is therefore perceived - by some - as an Israeli
collaborator.

But more important, he is seen as an obstacle to their
economic interest and political ambition. As in Israel,
fundamental matters of principle intersect with more
prosaic political and economic interests. Given the poverty
of the Gaza and West Bank, a fairly large segment of the
population sees itself as the simultaneous victim of both
Israel and Arafat's Palestinian Authority. Arafat simply
doesn't have enough chips with which to build a broad
enough coalition to support him.

As a result, the promise of peace is only minimally
enticing, since it seems to promise long-term economic
misery. Many are frightened by a formal peace, because they
are afraid that it will lock them into a double
marginalization: first behind the Jews, second behind the
PNA. This is compounded by the deep ideological and
national principles that block acknowledging the permanence
of Israel.

The result is a permanent faction prepared to block any
formal settlement. This faction understands fully the
deepest Israeli fears, fears carefully fanned by their
Israeli counterparts. The Israeli fear is rooted in
geography: Any Palestinian entity will become a staging
ground for an army rolling across Israel's narrow waist. At
the very least, it will be a staging ground for terrorists.

Even if the Clinton administration thinks it has the
implicit acquiescence of Hamas, another faction will arise
to carry out the role of spoiler, giving Israeli hard-
liners an excuse to crack down. As the Israelis clamp down,
the anti-Arafat faction in Hamas and elsewhere can claim
that Israel has no intention of allowing Palestinian
autonomy. Further, they can argue that Arafat himself is
either a dupe or an agent of the Israelis. As the situation
grows out of control on the Palestinian side, the brittle
Israeli political structure shatters, leading to a
political vacuum - a new election that settles nothing.

It is important to understand that Israeli-Palestinian co-
habitation has come a long way since the end of the
Intifadah. While the more extreme dreams of Oslo have not
come to pass, there is a Palestinian government, however it
is called, in increasing control of the West Bank. This is
a tremendous event, unimaginable say, in 1973.

But the most important elements have been the implicit
ones, not the explicit ones - the formal announcements of
talks aimed at a final, breakthrough agreement. In a very
practical way, rooted in the Middle East, the formal
understandings and the way in which things actually work
are not intimately connected. Far more progress has been
made in accommodating the fears and needs of both sides -
by not addressing them formally.

Which brings us back to Camp David. It seems the
president, at the very least, has chosen the wrong place.
It is not that he won't get a document out of Camp David.
Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are going to be
the ones to sabotage the talks. Each side is too savvy
about American power and about the media's perception to
simply walk out of the summit. Some piece of paper is
likely to emerge.

The problem is that whatever emerges will hurt both Barak
and Arafat, the very figures to which U.S. policy is tied.
Washington actively supported Barak against Netanyahu just
as it backs Arafat against Hamas. It is, therefore,
extraordinary that the administration is forcing both men
into a negotiation that can cause severe, if not fatal,
political damage at home. Formal recognition - on paper -
will provide opportunities for political destabilization
rather than increased security.

Two metaphors are likely to apply. The first - that the
road to hell is paved with good intentions - quickly comes
to mind. The second - that a straight line is not
necessarily the fastest route to peace - will do, as well.
Peace is not always best achieved by peace talks.
Sometimes, not discussing peace is the best course.
Clinton's need for a legacy and the reality of Israeli-
Palestinian relations are on a collision course. It is
likely that both will lose at Camp David.

For more on the Middle East & Africa, see:
http://www.stratfor.com/MEAF/default.htm

(c) 2000 WNI, Inc.

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - (Fwd) Massive Fireball Lights Up Ontario Sky
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 12:12:57 -0500

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 11:12:43 -0400
From: hblondel@tampabay.rr.com

Massive Fireball Lights Up Ontario Sky

[London Free Press, July 8 2000]

It was like the famous Jerry Lee Lewis song -- a great ball of fire.

Londoners [Ontario] out early yesterday morning [July 7] were shocked
to see a massive fireball streaking across the northern sky about 1:15
a.m.

Maggie McClinchey was at a drive-in theatre south of London with her
boyfriend when she saw the large meteor.

"It was just amazing. It was a huge ball," McClinchey said. "It looked
like it was going to hit London. It really scared me."

Meteors aren't rare, but from what experts could deduce from witness
reports, the size of this one was unusual. Only a few meteors of this
size reach the Earth each year.

"People should consider themselves fortunate if they saw it," said
David Gray, an astronomy professor at the University of Western
Ontario. "I would have liked to see it."

From what Gray could tell from the reports called into his office, he
said the meteor was likely mid-sized.

"It was light blue with white and orange," McClinchey said. It
travelled from the east to the west, and then disappeared. "It looked
like a big comet . . . it lit up the whole sky."

Gray said the colours are caused by gases in the air being burned and
by the makeup of the meteor. Red and green are the most common
colours, he said.

Peter Jedicke of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's London
chapter said the really bright, large meteors are actually called
fireballs.

"It sounds like that's what folks saw in London," Jedicke said.
"People should appreciate it as a stupendous natural event."

McClinchey said the meteor looked like it was right over London. Since
the meteors are so bright and move at speeds between 20 to 40
kilometres a second, your perception can be easily skewed. "It could
have been anywhere," Jedicke said.

------- End of forwarded message -------

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - (Fwd) Meteorite hits western Queensland
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 12:12:57 -0500

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 11:19:45 -0400
From: hblondel@tampabay.rr.com

Meteorite hits western Queensland

Source: AAP|Published: Monday July 10, 11:25 AM
http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/0007/10/A63287-2000Jul10.shtml

Residents of the western Queensland town of Windorah were today on the
lookout for the crash site of a meteorite that fell to earth
yesterday.

Queensland police senior constable Mick Hewitt said residents reported
an explosion for a 100km radius around Windorah.

"We heard and saw a smoke trail across the sky before a loud bang that
rattled houses and shook windows," he said.

"A pilot from Windorah conducted an aerial search north of the town
but was unable to find anything."

Snr Const Hewitt said property owners in the district also reported
cotton like material falling from the sky shortly after the crash.

"We've had it confirmed there was a large amount of meteor activity
from Emerald to Roma yesterday," he said.

The senior constable said locals had no idea where the meteor landed
but would keep a look out for it.

------- End of forwarded message -------

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Synod paves way for women bishops
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 12:41:28 -0500

Synod paves way for women bishops=20

http://www.the-times.co.uk/ & INDEX 7/10/2000

BY RUTH GLEDHILL, RELIGION CORRESPONDENT

SIX years after the ordination of women priests begin, the Church of England
took the first steps last night towards the consecration of women bishops.

The General Synod, meeting in York, voted overwhelmingly to begin "further
theological study" on the episcopate and to report back in two years. The
study, by the Church's bishops, is to be done explicitly in preparation for
the debate on women bishops.

The decision, backed by 36 of the 37 bishops who were present at the synod,
means that women bishops could be consecrated in England within seven to ten
years.

Sister Teresa White, an Anglican nun from the Community of St Andrew told
the synod: "We cannot be fully human and the Church cannot be fully united
in its ministry unless there are some women as well as men bishops."

Three provinces - New Zealand, America and Canada - already have women
bishops. The Episcopal Church in Scotland is expected to consecrate women
before England.

The Church of England voted to ordain women priests in 1992 and the first
women were ordained at Bristol Cathedral in 1994. More than 470 male clergy
left the Anglican ministry as a result, of whom 58 subsequently returned as
priests. Nearly 400 of the clergy who left received conscience payments,
costing the Church Commissioners =A315.6 million.

However, opposition to women bishops is not as strong as it was because many
of the traditionalists who remained in the Church, while still against the
ordination of women, believe it is illogical to have one without the other.
The motion setting up the theological study was brought by the Ven Judith
Rose, Archdeacon of Tonbridge and one of only two women archdeacons.

Archdeacon Rose, who retires in two years and so is out of the episcopal
running herself, said: "It was in 1975 that the General Synod said there
were no theological objections to the ordination of women to the priesthood.
It took another 17 years before synod was ready to put that into effect.
During that period we explored the issues in great depth. The decision in
1992 was not taken lightly.

"Most of us do not want to go back over that ground again, but I believe
there are further questions to be addressed as we consider whether or not
women should be eligible for the episcopate."

The Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, one of the leading opponents of women
priests, was among those who backed the motion. He said it was absurd to
allow women to be ordained to the priesthood while explicitly barring them
from becoming bishops.

He said: "The threefold nature of Holy Order as it has been traditionally
understood in the Church of England is that in theory at least a deacon may
become a priest and a priest become a bishop.

"Certainly, that is how it has been both understood and practised thus far
for male persons, so why not for female persons?"

The Bishop of Rochester, the Right Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, supports women
bishops but admitted their consecration might create difficulties. "Some
provinces do not recognise the orders of women priests. With women bishops
the difficulty becomes even more acute as some will not recognise the orders
of both men and women ordained by them."

He said a bishop should be a focus of unity in a church or diocese, but
those unable to recognise a woman bishop would feel excluded.

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat news items (7/10/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 14:48:10 -0400

*** Lloyd's offers hacker insurance

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Lloyd's of London will offer up to $100
million in insurance coverage to clients of computer security
management firm Counterpane Security Inc. against hacker losses to
their business or their customers. Counterpane in its announcement
Monday claimed to be the first Internet security service provider to
provide a guarantee of direct financial reimbursement in the event a
hacker breaks through its defenses and uses customer data. The
guarantee is underwritten by insurance brokers Frank Crystal & Co.
and SafeOnline, with additional coverage available for purchase from
Lloyd's, the world's leading insurance market. Standard computer
security includes firewalls, antivirus software that is updated
weekly and systems that can prevent the entry of hackers. But experts
say much of that software contains weaknesses that can be exploited
by enterprising hackers. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2568005333-01e

*** Rats outnumber humans in NYC

NEW YORK (AP) - Swarms of foot-long, mangy rats are the stuff of
nightmares, but for residents of the Baruch Houses it's just another
evening in lower Manhattan. Thousands of rats, stirred from their
homes by construction, have swarmed into the public housing
development. But New York's rat problem extends far beyond the halls
of its public housing. Bill Perkins, chairman of the City Council's
Select Committee on Pest Control, estimates that there are nine rats
for every person in the city - a rat population of about 70 million.
Perkins blames the growing rat problem on increased construction,
poor garbage disposal and a lack of coordination in the city's
response to rat infestation. The danger is the diseases the rats can
carry, including leptospirosis, which can lead to liver failure, and
hantavirus, which can cause respiratory illness. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2567995118-290

*** Cities may make their own weather

ATLANTA (AP) - Forecasters have known for decades that big cities
trap the sun's rays, holding the heat in asphalt and concrete and
staying consistently warmer than their suburbs. But new research
suggests that the "urban heat islands" of sprawling metropolises can
actually create weather, churning out thunderstorms that dump rain
hundreds of miles away. Major cities soak up heat all day in asphalt,
concrete and buildings. In Atlanta, for example, a NASA team of
scientists found that 95-degree days could cook rooftops to
temperatures higher than 170 degrees. When the sun sets, the cities
release what they've stored in a sweltering sigh, giving off heat in
a column of low pressure. The low pressure sucks in cooler air, and
the collision creates clouds and thunderstorms. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2567989771-696

*** Prince William's coat of arms shown

LONDON (AP) - Prince William's royal coat of arms was revealed Sunday
and included a unique addition - a tribute to his late mother,
Princess Diana. The coat of arms, which marks the prince's 18th
birthday, incorporates aspects of the royal arms used by Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Charles in addition to a small red escallop
shell derived from the Spencer coat of arms. The escallop motif, used
by Princess Diana, has been borne by the Earls Spencer since the 16th
century and was a popular symbol for medieval pilgrims. The design
was incorporated at Prince William's insistence, a palace spokeswoman
confirmed. The design was also approved by the queen and Prince
Charles. "It is a welcome innovation to incorporate maternal symbols
into the royal family's arms and it is something that Prince William
and his family wanted to do," said Peter Gwynne-Jones, who organizes
coats of arms on behalf of the royals. ###

  [For more please see "Coat of Arms of Prince Charles of Wales"
  http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-022-a.htm]

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - (Fwd) Arutz-7 News: Monday, July 10, 2000
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 14:48:10 -0400

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 18:02:25 +0300
To: arutz-7@arutzsheva.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, July 10, 2000
Send reply to: netnews@a7.org

Arutz Sheva News Service
 <www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Monday, July 10, 2000 / Tammuz 7, 5760
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
  --- See below for subscription instructions ---

*******************************************************
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<a href=3D"http://BeitOrot.org/concert.htm"> http://BeitOrot.org/concert.h=
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*************************************************
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July 17-Aug 7 only! $90/night <rivka@IsraelNationalNews.com>
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
  1. PALESTINIANS MAY MARCH ON EASTERN JERUSALEM
  2. BARAK STANDS ALONE
  3. NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE WILL FAIL, BUT WILL EMBARRASS BARAK
  4. PROTESTING THE GIVEAWAY
  5. IN AND AROUND THE SUMMIT
  6. WEIZMAN RESIGNS TODAY
  7. "IF YOU ONLY KNEW WHAT WE KNOW"
  8. THE TWO LARGEST FLAGS EVER

1. PALESTINIANS MAY MARCH ON EASTERN JERUSALEM
The IDF is preparing for a possible eruption of Palestinian violence in
Jerusalem. According to a senior Home Front Command officer, the
Palestinians will attempt to mass-march towards the Jewish neighborhoods i=
n
eastern Jerusalem - something for which the IDF presently has no response.
He said that hundreds of photographers from around the world are preparing
to capture these marches on film, and have already rented spots around the
Old City from which to do so. Arutz-7's Kobi Sela reports that the IDF is
making preparations to station sizeable forces in the Old City.

2. BARAK STANDS ALONE
The NRP became the third coalition party - after Yisrael B'Aliyah and Shas
- to resign within 24 hours, when Housing Minister Rabbi Yitzchak Levy
submitted his letter of resignation to Prime Minister Barak this morning.
The letter blamed Barak for violating the coalition guidelines, which stat=
e
that the Yesha settlements will not be disrupted before the final-status
agreement. Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman explained that though Barak claims t=
o
be aiming for a final-status agreement, it is an "open secret" that an
interim-agreement, involving the immediate transfer of at least 80% of
Yesha to the Palestinians, is all that will be achieved.

Barak received Levy's resignation letter as he boarded the plane for Cairo=
,
on his way to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The Prime
Minister will then return to Israel for the no-confidence votes in the
Knesset, and then - assuming his government is not toppled - will depart
for the Camp David summit.

"Never before has a national leader left for such a fateful mission so
internally weakened, as is Barak today... The disintegration of the
government is the price Barak is paying for both his arrogance and his
political inexperience..." So wrote Yoel Marcus in a front-page op-ed in
today's Ha'aretz. Opposition leader Ariel Sharon said today, "He who think=
s
who knows everything himself, and consults with no one, ends up going to
Camp David by himself."

Barak addressed the nation last night in a televised speech, and said, "No
one will teach me what security is." He said that he was not elected by
the Knesset or by the parties, but rather by the populace, and he draws hi=
s
strength from "each one of you." He noted that Rabbis Lichtenstein and
Amital had come to "strengthen and encourage" him several hours earlier,
together with Yechezkel Cohen, father of GSS agent Noam Cohen, who was
murdered in February '94 by Palestinian terrorists in Ramallah. "I head
for Camp David," Barak said, "as a representative of Yechezkel Cohen, and
of Yitzchak Frankental, and of the many who have lost loved ones to
terrorism..."

Other family members of Arab terrorism victims later issued an announcemen=
t
objecting to the above statement. Aryeh Bachrach, whose son Ohad and a
friend were murdered by Arab terrorists while swimming in Wadi Kelt severa=
l
years ago, wrote a letter of protest to Barak, saying that he sees the
government's territorial concessions as a framework for further killings.
"Don't pour salt on our wounds," he wrote.

3. NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE WILL FAIL, BUT WILL EMBARRASS BARAK
The Knesset was abuzz with frantic activity all day in anticipation of thi=
s
evening's no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Barak. The newly-bolstered
opposition needs 61 MKs to topple the government, but at present only has
53 sure votes - Likud (19), Shas (17), National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu (7)=
,
National Religious Party (5), Yisrael B'Aliyah (4), and Herut (1). The
five MKs of United Torah Judaism will abstain (see below), while the
position of 8 other MKs is uncertain - those of Shinui (6) and Am Echad
(2). In addition, at least two coalition party MKs are also considering
voting against Barak - Maxime Levy (One Israel) and Roni Milo (Centrist).
If the no-confidence bill passes, new elections must be held within 90 day=
s.

MK Rabbi Meir Porush (UTJ) said that his party has always voted on the
"side of Eretz Yisrael," but "we must also vote for Torah in Eretz
Yisrael." He noted that even if his party voted against Barak, the
government is not likely to fall, "since there would still only be 58
votes, and not 61." When asked how his party would vote if its vote would
provide the crucial margin, Rabbi Porush answered, "As always, we will
submit our recommendations to the Torah sages, whose view on these issues
is above that of regular politicians." The party's Council of Sages issue
its decision later in the day to abstain in the vote.

Shinui's view was explained by party leader MK Yosef Lapid in a talk with
Arutz-7 today. He said that Labor party leaders are making major efforts
to convince him to vote with the government:
        "I don't think they have the right to expect us to vote in favor the
government... We don't owe Prime Minister Barak any favors, given his
efforts at pushing through the Tal Committee recommendations [on yeshiva
students' military exemptions]... On the other hand, we would have a hard
time voting against peace. We are in favor of the diplomatic process, and
don't feel it is proper to put a stumbling block before him as he heads to
negotiate a peace deal. It's legitimate to vote against whatever deal he
may come back with from Camp David, but to vote against the trip itself
takes away any chance of us knowing what deal could have been struck."
Lapid says that he is opposed to any form of return of Arab refugees, and
predicted that no agreement will be signed with the Palestinians at Camp
David, because "the Arab demands are such that they cannot be met under an=
y
circumstances." Arutz-7's Haggai Segal asked, "What if the Prime Minister
signs a deal, and then returns to Israel with the threat that if it is not
accepted by the Knesset or the nation, a war could ensue?" Lapid answered=
,
"I hope that he brings back an agreement that we can accept without
threats, but if we don't think the agreement is satisfactory, we will vote
against it."

MK Chaim Katz of the two-seat Am Echad party told Arutz-7 today that he
leans towards voting against the government, although his colleague MK Ami=
r
Peretz - a former Labor MK - will vote for Barak.

Justice Minister Yossi Beilin sent a letter to the Arab parties last night
containing a list of "advantages" they could gain by voting against the
no-confidence motion today. The list includes: the improvement of
infrastructures in the Arab sector, bolstering the number of Israeli-Arabs
in governmental institution positions, and taking action to stop
"desecration of Moslem holy sites." The letter, which was read aloud to
Arutz-7's Haggai Seri by the leader of the Israeli-Arab Ra'am party, also
promises the allocation of new lands for construction within Arab towns,
and pledges to drop legal proceedings against the massive illegal
construction that continues in Arab towns. Ra'am reportedly rejected the
offer, demanding also the implementation of all UN resolutions obligating
Israel, and more. Ha'aretz reports this afternoon that the government
denies any connection between the reported offers and the present politica=
l
crisis.

4. PROTESTING THE GIVEAWAY
The Prime Minister's route to the airport this afternoon will be lined by
thousands of protestors, showing their displeasure with Barak's planned
concessions to Arafat at the upcoming summit. Left-wing activists tore
down the dozens of anti-Barak signs that lined the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem
highway last night. The Yesha Council called upon its people to re-post
the signs, and said that for every poster that is taken down, "we will han=
g
ten. If this is what they want, then the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway will
be totally ours."

Aryeh Bramson, whose jaw was broken by pro-Barak agitators while he was
hanging anti-Barak posters, was operated on last night. The Yesha Council
is considering supplying its activists with tear gas for self-defense.
Bramson was visited in the hospital today by Likud MKs Livnat, Eitan, and
Livny, as well as Centrist MK Roni Milo (formerly of the Likud).

5. IN AND AROUND THE SUMMIT
A Gallup/Ma'ariv poll shows that 45% of adult Israelis oppose the summit,
while less than two weeks ago this number stood at 26%.

Palestinian demands for the Camp David summit include the following (with
thanks to Arutz-7 reporters and Middle East News Line):
* No partial agreement, and no pushing off of issues such as Jerusalem, th=
e
refugees, and a full Israeli withdrawal.
* A full withdrawal to the pre-Six Day War border and the dismantling of
all Jewish settlements.
* The right of return for four million Palestinian refugees.
* A totally sovereign state, with no armaments or air-space limitations.
* Capital in Jerusalem.
* Israel and the West must pay the new state $40 billion, to cover
infrastructure projects, a new pension system, and as compensation for los=
t
Palestinian homes in the 1948 war.

6. WEIZMAN RESIGNS TODAY
President Ezer Weizman will submit his resignation today. The Knesset wil=
l
vote for a new President in three weeks' time - Shimon Peres and Moshe
Katzav are vying for the post - and until then, Knesset Speaker Avraham
Burg will serve as Acting President. Shas announced today that it would
support Likud MK Katzav.

Aryeh Shumer, Director-General of the President's Residence, accompanied
Barak to Egypt today, in an attempt to free Israeli Druze businessman Azza=
m
Azzam. The latter has been imprisoned in Egypt for alleged espionage sinc=
e
November '96. Egypt has hinted that it would free him as a good will
gesture if an agreement is signed in Camp David.

7. "IF YOU ONLY KNEW WHAT WE KNOW"
Esther Pollard, whose husband Jonathan has sat in American prison since
1985 on charges of espionage, wrote a letter to U.S. President Clinton las=
t
month, asking that he take note of an article written on June 20 in The
Jerusalem Post by Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA. She wrote that her husband's
rabbi, "the Rishon Le Zion, former chief Rabbi of Israel, His Honor, Ha'Ra=
v
Mordecai Eliahu, shlita," had requested that she call Clinton's attention
to the article by Lerner, entitled, "Finally, the Truth about the Pollard
Affair."

In article, Dr. Lerner notes "some shocking information that recently came
to my attention [that] makes the already-powerful arguments for Pollard's
immediate release just that much stronger..." He wrote that an Israeli
report written shortly after Pollard was sentenced to life imprisonment
found that Israel agreed to return the American documents that Pollard
obtained for them only on condition that they would not be used to convict
him. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney John R. Fisher later wrote that
Pollard pleaded guilty only after American investigators returned from
Israel with the said papers. "Not only did the Americans break their
agreement with Israel and use the documents to prosecute Pollard," wrote
Lerner, "[but] the government's own lawyer states for the record that
Pollard pleaded guilty thanks to those documents." Furthermore, Pollard
did not know, during his appeal in 1991, that the papers were not supposed
to have been used against him.

Lerner continues,
        "From day one, proponents of the [severe life] sentence have defended
their position by claiming that the damage assessment in Pollard's
classified file is so shocking that it justifies the sentence. For years,
this 'if you only knew what we know' argument has provided refuge for
people who, for whatever reason, did not want to help put an end to this
grossly disproportionate punishment. But now we do know. New York Senato=
r
Charles Schumer did not rely on what others claimed was in the classified
Pollard file. He saw it himself. And after reviewing the "if you only
knew what we know" file, he revealed the shocking truth - There was nothin=
g
to know!... Schumer, after seeing the file itself, states that there is
nothing in it to justify the harsh and unprecedented sentence that Jonatha=
n
Pollard is serving."

8. THE TWO LARGEST FLAGS EVER
An almost 800-square meter Israeli flag - the largest flag in the world, a=
s
certified by the Guinness Book of World Records - was set on fire by Arab
hoodlums this past Friday night. Fashioned by the youth of the Yesha
township of Karnei Shomron, the giant banner was spread out over a nearby
hillside and was visible for miles around. Only three days later, it was
set afire by local Arabs; weeping citizens watched it burn, but did not
extinguish the blaze, in keeping with Jewish Sabbath laws. The Karnei
Shomron municipality organized a youth camp, beginning today, for the
purpose of making an even bigger flag.

Hebrew News Editor: Haggai Segal
English News Editor: Hillel Fendel

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ARUTZ-7 ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Forgot what it was like in Israel when Yesha was in Arab hands? Read
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