To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Hackers invited to muck up mock ballot
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 08:28:43 -0500
Hackers invited to muck up mock ballot
By Janet Kornblum
Calling all hackers: A California company testing the possibility of online
voting wants hackers to try to break into its system -- and is even giving
them a few tips. Safevote has set up an online voting system in Martinez,
Calif., the seat for Contra Costa County, as part of a four-county test
commissioned by the secretary of state's office. Voters going to Martinez for
early voting through Friday are being asked to cast mock ballots using
computers set up at the office.
The idea is to test whether online voting would be secure, says Alfie Charles
of the secretary of state's office. The results will help the state determine the
risk of tampering before moving from paper to pixels.
While three companies and four counties are participating in the test, only
Safevote, of San Rafael, is inviting hackers to test its system, even giving
necessary addresses to help them ''get closer to our inner circle of defense,''
CEO Ed Gerck says. The company also is setting up a phone hotline and e-
mail address for questions; answers will be posted online. ''What we are
asking is to help us understand our limits,'' he says.
But there are some concerns that hackers might misinterpret the invitation.
''What they're trying to do is to have people test their system,'' Charles says.
''We want to make sure that it does not get seen as a challenge to break into
traditional elections systems.''
Lest anyone be confused, Charles says anyone caught tampering with any
other computer systems ''will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.''
'Not-coms' to get help in high-rent districts
Non-profit arts groups that are being pushed out of San Francisco by high
rent, a situation that many blame on the dot-com boom, will be getting some
relief from the city and county of San Francisco. The San Francisco Board of
Supervisors voted to give groups $1.5 million in grants for rent. The move
comes amid growing tension between the dot-coms and not-coms. While it's
not going to solve the problem overnight, it's a start, says board president
Tom Ammiano. ''This has been a tsunami with no chance of escape. What
we're trying to do is come up with some escape hatches.''
Sold-out 'Spider-Man' available online
Marvel is putting its Ultimate Spider-Man comic on the Net to give fans
access to the paper version of the sold-out first issue. Each issue will be in
four installments. The Ultimate line reintroduces Marvel's most popular
characters in 21st century settings.
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20001102/2802496s.htm
via: cyberwar@egroups.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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Defector says Iraq close to having nuclear bomb
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 08:30:34 -0500
Defector says Iraq close to having nuclear bomb
November 2, 2000
6:21 PM EST (2321 GMT)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Iraq has designed a crude nuclear bomb and has
the equipment to build it but lacks the necessary uranium or other
fissile material, a former Iraqi nuclear physicist who defected said
Thursday.
"I would say (a bomb of) a few kilotons can be done in Iraq now," said
Khidhir Hamza, who once headed Iraq's nuclear weapons design program.
The bomb would probably be too bulky to be fired on a missile, but could
be transported by an airplane and dropped on a target, he said.
"The design was considerably improved after the (1991) Gulf War," Hamza
said at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "Right now I
don't know if they have the uranium, but the design is there."
The construction of the bomb would probably take a few months and it
would also have to undergo another process, called hardening, to
transport it safely, said Hamza, whose book "Saddam's Bombmaker," was
recently published.
A U.S. intelligence official said Iraq currently does not have the
infrastructure to build a nuclear bomb. "We don't believe they have the
fissile material," he added.
If Iraqi President Saddam Hussein started his own program to develop
fissile material, a key ingredient for nuclear weapons like separated
plutonium or highly-enriched uranium, it would take two or three years
to complete, Hamza said.
"Or he can get some from abroad if he can, then he will have it
immediately," Hamza said, suggesting Russia might be a potential
supplier.
If Iraq built more than one nuclear weapon, Saddam would probably not
keep it secret, he said. "He'll test one, declare himself a nuclear
power, and get the whole region polarized in his direction," Hamza said.
Iraq initiated its nuclear weapons program in the early 1970s to be on
par with Israel, and in 1974 Hamza and other Iraqi scientists went to
France and purchased a nuclear reactor which was to be monitored by the
French atomic energy agency.
Then Israel "made a mistake" by bombing the reactor in 1981, relieving
Saddam of the monitoring, Hamza said. In 1982 Saddam started a secret
nuclear program that was more ambitious and bigger than the original, he
added.
Hamza said in his book that it became apparent to him during debriefings
by the CIA that Iraq had persuaded U.N. inspectors that Baghdad's
nuclear effort had never progressed beyond basic research, that the
bomb-design center was a materials research facility and that equipment
to make explosives had been destroyed.
"I informed them it (the equipment) had been removed a week before the
allied (Gulf War) bombing," the book said.
The CIA appeared surprised that Iraq learned through a Hungarian
connection to manufacture nuclear triggers and about the role of two
German firms in supplying Iraq with equipment and components, the book
said.
The book describes Hamza's escape from Baghdad in 1994 and efforts to
defect to the United States which finally succeeded at the U.S. embassy
in Budapest in August 1995. His one nonnegotiable demand was that in
return for information his wife and children must be extracted from
Iraq.
In October 1995 his oldest son was sitting in a Baghdad coffee shop when
a "deranged looking man in rags" approached and started muttering as if
begging but then whispered his son's name when he got close, the book
says.
The son walked away and the beggar followed and when it appeared no one
else was around, the beggar handed the son a letter from Hamza and told
him to be in Mosul the next day.
The family was hidden by members of the Kurdish opposition until Rick
Francona, an Air Force intelligence officer, and "a tall blond CIA man"
arrived and got them out and on a flight to Germany, where they lived in
CIA safe houses for months waiting for clearance to go to the United
States, the book said.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001102/wl/saddam_s_bombmaker_1.html
via: Third_Watch@egroups.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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Wearable Java Computer
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 08:41:52 -0500
Thursday November 2, 11:13 am Eastern Time
Press Release
Wearable Java Computer from Dallas Semiconductor has Large, 200 Kbyte
Memory for Secure Corporate Log-on and Personal Uses
New iButton with 2-in-1 Fob Speeds Smart Card Deployments with USB
Reader in Handle
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 2000-- Dallas Semiconductor
(NYSE:DS - news) today announced a new wearable, Java(TM) technology-
based computer with ample storage for safekeeping all the credentials of an
individual.
The DS1957B Java-powered iButton=AE on a 2-in-1 Fob serves as both a
physical key for touch and go access to buildings and a computer key for
secure network log-on as well as trusted e-signatures for the Internet. Inside
the 16mm steel-encased iButton is a Java computer with a 64 kbyte ROM
and 134 kbyte RAM that can store over 30 certificates with 1024-bit keys
using ISO X.509v3, the most widely recognized public-key certificate format.
In addition, the DS1957B can store hundreds of user names and passwords,
a color ID picture, and the application programs of many different service
providers.
All personal credentials are both cryptographically and physically secure on
the steel-armored chip, wear-tested for 10 years of durability to insure
extreme up-time--paramount because of the critical role this hardware token
plays in establishing a person's digital identity. Because the iButton is
carried on a key chain, it is always close at hand.
Whether issued by a corporation for its employees or acquired by an
individual from Dallas Semiconductor's online store (www.iButton.com), the
Java-powered iButton can span personal, corporate, financial and
governmental applications. With its large memory, the iButton can have
multiple Java applets resident at the same time for applications including:
Access control to buildings and equipment
Secure network log-on using challenge/response authentication
Storage vault for user names and passwords
User profile for rapid Internet form-filling
Digital signatures for e-commerce
United States Postal Service Postal Security Device for PC Postage(TM)
downloadable over the Internet
Digital ID photo and fingerprint biometrics
The iButton can be updated for Web-based applications not yet invented.
Because its memory contents can be revised after issuance as often as
desired, future software can be downloaded from the Internet, adding new
services to the iButton.
According to Michael Bolan, vice president of product development, ``As
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) emerges in the marketplace, users will want
to get rid of the cumbersome user name/password sign-on methodology
wherever possible. A much more secure method of logging onto computers
is based on a challenge/response algorithm that never reveals the private key
stored in a hardware token. This security protocol requires keeping the key
private at all costs.''
If logically attacked, the firewall of the iButton prevents access to the private
keys. If physically attacked, the iButton has a tamper response that erases
the private key rather than reveal it in order to preserve confidentiality.. These
protective measures comply with
United States government specifications for secure e-commerce under the
NIST FIPS 140-1 cryptographic module validation program
(http://csrc.ncsl.gov/cryptval/140-1/1401val.htm#list1). FIPS 140-1 validation
of the Java-powered iButton is a major step for the Java Card platform. The
third party testing of cyrptographic modules establishes a basis for very
sensitive transactions on the Internet. In addition to the strong 1024-bit keys
for secure log-on, the Java-powered iButton has a true time clock inside its
cryptographic boundary for time stamping the e-signatures that are now legal
signatures under laws enacted by the U.S. congress and other governments.
The iButton is a safe place to keep the private key and a certificate issued
by a trustworthy entity. In this way, the private/public key pair stored in the
iButton is associated with the individual. Software development tools for
integrating the certificates issued by certificate authorities like Verisign,
Entrust Technologies, Baltimore Technologies, and Microsoft are available for
free download at www.ibutton.com/pki.html. The DS1957B is shipped with
application software that issues a digitally signed document following the US
Postal Service IBIP Performance Criteria (http://56.0.78.92/pdf/pcibo223.pdf)
that attests to the originality of the iButton. This begins the chain of trust for
certificates issued on behalf of other service providers.
``The Java-powered iButton can be worn on the accessory of choice,'' said
Bolan. ``Dallas Semiconductor offers a ring, watch, wallet, badge holders,
metal card, and key fob--accessories that are for close keeping at all times
and that people are well-practiced at not losing. To gain access to buildings
or PCs, the user simply touches the iButton to a device called a Blue Dot
that transfers information to/from the iButton with a momentary contact. The
read of the iButton can be as short as 10 milliseconds for very fast
transaction times. Blue Dot Locks are manufactured by door hardware
companies (www.weblocksmith.com, www.lares.com/references/index.html,
and www.smartsystemstech.com/sst/products/smartwin.html) and follow
standards that allow any iButton to operate with any Blue Dot Lock. For the
fastest way to unlock a door, just press the Blue Dot on a door lock with
your iButton and you are in.
``Dallas' newest accessory, the 2-in-1 Fob, supports dual use for both
physical and computer access control. One end of the fob holds an iButton
for door entry and the other end has a protected Universal Serial Bus (USB)
connector for universal access to computers. The iButton/fob is a super-
capacity smart card with the reader built in. The combination is
indistinguishable from an ISO 7816 smart card and its reader. Deployments
are greatly simplified by direct connection to the USB port, standard
(www.usb.org) on the hundreds of millions of PCs manufactured since 1997.
Legacy computers manufactured before 1996 can use serial or parallel port
adapter cables to connect. The open standards of the Java Card platform,
Open Platform specifications and Universal Serial Bus connector keep
deployments free of proprietary hardware and software interfaces.''
Windows' smart card authentication is based on hardware tokens. The
procedure to log on to a Windows=AE 2000 computer is simple: insert the 2-in-
1 Fob into a USB port (www.lock-out.com). Software to support WIN2000
logon is available at www.ibutton.com/pki.html. An LED on the fob can light
to acknowledge the connection and blink to indicate a successful
transaction. The USB port can be hot-socketed and has the advantage of
auto-detecting the arrival or departure of the fob so the application software is
notified of its presence to make usage intuitive and quick.
Sun Microsystems Java Card 2 platform was chosen because it gives
versatility for many new services that will unfold once strong authentication
technology is deployed. With six times the memory of the American
Express ``Blue Card'' smart card, the Java-powered iButton is a very personal
computer. This higher capacity allows the storage of many certificates so
that the individual can choose which one to use on a specific transaction to
protect privacy.
Bolan said, ``No one wants a pocket full of buttons any more than they want
a pocket full of cards. The versatile Java-powered iButton permits revisions
after issuance so that this very personal computer can open doors for touch-
and-go physical entry, provide strong authentication to log onto a network,
sign an electronic document, safely store a list of user names/passwords,
keep a copy of an ID photo, and accept updates for the e-commerce
transactions of new service providers.''
The 2-in-1 Fob can accept any iButton from the simplest (DS1990), which
sells for $1.23 in 1,000-piece quantities, to the most sophisticated, the new
DS1957B. The DS1957B Java-powered iButton mounted on the 2-in-1 Fob is
available for $32 in quantities of one from www.iButton.com. Free software
tools make application development quick and easy. The Java Development
kit is available at www.javasoft.com/products/jdk/1.2.1/download-
windows.html. The iB-IDE tool from Dallas Semiconductor
(www.ibutton.com/jibkit/index.html) provides online help to edit, emulate, and
debug software for the iButton.
Dallas Semiconductor manufactures specialty semiconductors focused in
three areas: Communications, 1-Wire=AEand Network Computing, and Mixed
Signal. The Company combines proprietary fab and circuit technologies to
create innovative products that are sold to over 15,000 customers worldwide.
Applications include broadband telecommunications, wireless handsets,
cellular base stations, secure Internet communications, networking, servers,
data storage and a wide variety of industrial equipment. The iButton brand
product is directly available from www.iButton.com or authorized software
developers and service providers worldwide.
iButton and 1-Wire are registered trademarks of Dallas Semiconductor.
Java and Java Card are all trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun
Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and all other countries. PC Postage
is a trademark of the U.S. Postal Service. Windows is a registered
trademark of Microsoft.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001102/tx_dallas_.html
via: End_Times_News@egroups.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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Friday News Brief 10:05-IST-NOV/3/00
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 08:51:44 -0500
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: 3 Nov 2000 08:26:59 -0000
To: List Member <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
From: BreakingNews-Israel <YeshBB@netvision.net.il>
Subject: Friday News Brief 10:05-IST-NOV/3/00
BreakingNews-Israel
Friday News Brief – 10:05-IST
(IsraelWire-11/3) Residents of northern Samaria, between Alfei Menashe
and Tzofim, were blocking the road to Arab motorists on Friday morning
in retaliation for heavy stone-throwing attacks on Thursday night in
that area. No additional information available. In a related matter,
residents of the Hebron/Kiryat Arba areas took to the streets in protest
on Thursday night.
2) THE PA IS WAITING – Radio Palestine announced on Friday morning that
PA officials are waiting for the cease-fire declaration from Israel
since PA Chairman Yassir Arafat has already complied with his end of the
agreement. In the agreement reached on Wednesday night in Gaza between
Minister Shimon Peres and Arafat, both sides would publicly announce the
start of the cease-fire agreement. In the Radio Palestine report, Arafat
was quoted as saying he opposes such attacks as the one in Jerusalem on
Thursday afternoon, in which two Israelis were killed and ten wounded.
3) FUNERAL SERVICES
a. The second victim of Thursday´s terror attack in Jerusalem, Jerusalem
attorney Chanan Levy, 33, will be laid to rest on Friday at 12:00pm in
Givat Shaul.
b. Sergeant Shlomo Adishne, 19, the third IDF soldier killed on
Wednesday in fighting against PA military forces near el-Hader, in the
Gush Etzion area of Judea, will be laid to rest on Friday at 12:00 noon,
in the military section of cemetery in Kibbutz T´zeilim.
4) MORE ATTACKS
a. Border police in the Ras el-Amud section of Jerusalem were attacked
on Thursday night with a fragmentation grenade. No injuries.
b. Soldiers safely neutralized a bomb found on the Israeli/Egyptian
border. There were no injuries. A large IDF tractor ran over the device
to blow it up. While dealing with the device, soldiers came under fire
from Rafiah. They returned fire. No injuries.
c. An IDF patrol on the Rafiah border was fired upon on Friday morning.
No injuries. Soldiers returned fire.
5) CALLS FOR MORE TERROR – The Hamas, Islamic Jihad, PFLP, & DFLP terror
organization stated they do not recognize any cease-fire agreements with
Israel and issued a call for increased attacks against Israeli targets.
The head of Arafat´s Tanzim force, Marwan Barghouti stated that the
Intifada must continue until the “occupation forces are driven out.”
ROAD DEATHS – In a Friday morning motor vehicle accident, four persons
were killed in Haifa, at Paz Junction. The car they were traveling in
struck a pole.
++++
BreakingNews-Israel will resume publication following the Sabbath.
++++
Courtesy of IsraelWire News Service – http://www.israelwire.com
To subscribe to the BreakingNews-Israel list, send a request to
44828-subscribe@listbot.com
------- End of forwarded message -------
_____________________________________
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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Ballast Water Brings Diseases From Far Off Ports
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 08:57:08 -0500
Ballast Water Brings Diseases From Far Off Ports
By Cat Lazaroff
WASHINGTON, DC, November 2, 2000 (ENS) - Ballast water carried by
ocean going ships are carrying diseases around the world, a new study
reveals. The microbes carried in ballast water can infect plants, wildlife and
even humans.
Taking ballast water samples on a ship (Photo courtesy SERC)
Researchers are reporting in today's issue of the British journal "Nature," that
ballast water discharges by ships "create a long distance dispersal
mechanism for human pathogens, and may be important in the worldwide
distribution of microorganisms as well as the epidemiology of waterborne
diseases affecting plants and animals."
Ballast water stabilizes ships, and is discharged at ports of call and en
route. The United States receives more than 79 million metric tons of ballast
water from overseas each year.
It has long been known that such discharges have unintentionally spread
plankton, shellfish and fish from one body of water to another, sometimes
with major ecosystem impacts. But the global movement of microorganisms
via ballast water discharges has been virtually ignored.
Now a team of researchers from the Smithsonian Environmental Research
Center (SERC), the Center of Marine Biotechnology (COMB) of the University
of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, and Old Dominion University, have
expanded the range of known problems associated with ballast water.
Lead researcher Gregory Ruiz from SERC, reports in "Nature" that he and
his colleagues have found high concentrations of microbes, including
bacteria and virus like particles, in the ballast water of ships arriving in
Chesapeake Bay from foreign ports.
A microorganism known as
a copepod, found in a
sample of ship ballast water
(Photo courtesy SERC)
Ruiz said that although there is no reported evidence of outbreaks of human
diseases from non-native microbes in ballast water, the findings indicate the
need for much greater concern than has been shown.
"Despite growing concern about biological invasions and emergent diseases,
the extent and effects of the transfer of microorganisms in ballast water are
virtually unexplored," write Ruiz and his colleagues. "We know of no
published estimates of microbial genetic diversity in ballast water, and the
fate of microorganisms discharged from ballast tanks remains unknown."
"Given the magnitude of ongoing transfer, and its potential consequences for
ecological and disease processes, large scale movement of microorganisms
by ships merits attention from both invasion biologists and epidemiologists."
For example, Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes human epidemic
cholera, was detected in all ships tested. Samples even included a recently
emerged type of the cholera bacteria - serotype 0139 - which was recently
isolated in Bangladesh.
While V. cholerae and other potential pathogens are a normal part of coastal
waters in the U.S., they do not ordinarily occur in high enough
concentrations to cause human health problems. However, with expanding
world trade and increasingly larger vessels moving among international ports,
the impact of these non-native microorganisms could be profound, the
authors said.
The study authors write that laboratory observations have "revealed that
some bacteria are viable upon arrival, and that their release creates an
opportunity for the colonization of coastal ecosystems."
Zebra mussels are now widespread in the
Great Lakes and inland rivers (Photo courtesy
University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute)
The impact of invasive species on aquatic ecosystems over the last 25 years
has in some cases been overwhelming. Zebra mussels may be the most
infamous aquatic invader of the U.S. in recent years.
A native of the Caspian Sea, the zebra mussel was most likely released by a
freighter into the Great Lakes in the mid-1980s. Since then, it has caused
extensive environmental and economic damage throughout the Great Lakes.
Overwhelming native species, the zebra mussel has spread to ecosystems
in 22 states throughout the Great Lakes, and the Hudson, Ohio and
Mississippi river drainage basins.
Numerous examples of harmful invasive species are now found throughout
the world. The Baltic Sea's green crab is now found on the northeast and
west coasts of the U.S. Aquatic plants such as phragmites, water milfoil and
hydrilla are taking over many near shore areas.
The rapa whelk from the Sea of Japan is in the lower Chesapeake Bay, while
the comb jelly from the Chesapeake arrived in the Black Sea and has grown
uncontrollably without any natural predators.
Yet the transfer of microbes could well be the most insidious problem in
ballast water discharges. Management efforts are underway to limit the risk
of non-indigenous species in such discharges, said Ruiz.
Exotic lamprey eels, shown
attached to a native lake
trout, may have traveled to
the Great Lakes in boat
ballast waters (Photo courtesy
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency)
These include exchange of ballast water at sea, the installation of filtration
systems, and heat and chemical treatments. However, the transfer of
microorganisms may be especially difficult to control with such options
because of their small size, their tolerance to high temperatures and their
ability to form so called "resting stages."
"Our research has clearly demonstrated that a potential problem exists and
that we must concentrate on clarifying the impact and developing effective
strategies to address this issue," warned Ruiz.
The research was funded largely by the Maryland Sea Grant and the National
Sea Grant College programs.
http://ens.lycos.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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Barak gives PA another day to make truce work
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 09:03:57 -0500
Friday, November 3, 2000
Barak gives PA another day to make truce work
By Aluf Benn, Amira Hass and Amos Harel
Ha'aretz Correspondents and Agencies
Prime Minister Ehud Barak resolved last night to give Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat a day longer to implement a new cease-fire agreement, even
after a car bomb exploded on a side street of Jerusalem's Mahaneh Yehuda
market yesterday, killing two and lightly injuring 11. Islamic Jihad claimed
responsibility for the attack.
The bomber(s) parked the car and then escaped.
Barak suggested at an inner defense cabinet meeting, convened last night
after the car bomb explosion, that Israel wait a day and watch developments
in the territories before determining its next move. Despite the intimations of
a possible truce, unrest continued in the territories yesterday, with three
Palestinians killed and dozens wounded in scattered violence.
Arafat condemned the attack. "We are completely against it," he told
reporters.
The car bomb, which killed Ayelet Shahar Levy, 28-year-old daughter of
National Religious Party leader Yitzhak Levy, and Hanan Cohen, 33, a
Jerusalem lawyer, exploded at about 3 P.M. This was about an hour after
Barak and Arafat had been scheduled to simultaneously announce a truce,
brokered by Regional Cooperation Minister Shimon Peres late Wednesday
night in a meeting with Arafat in Gaza. It is unclear when exactly that
announcement will be made.
Barak also told his ministers last night that he wanted to hold off
implementing an inner cabinet decision taken on Wednesday evening to
strike hard against the Palestinians for attacks on Wednesday that killed
three Israeli soldiers. The prime minister said he wanted to give the Gaza
truce a chance to take hold.
Earlier yesterday, Barak called on Arafat to re-arrest Hamas and Islamic
Jihad extremists, saying that the car bombing was the result of Arafat's
decision to set free extremists a month ago.
Israeli security sources say the Jerusalem attack was carried out using a
stolen Mazda, loaded with 10 kilos of explosives and nails.
Flames leaped into the air, sending up huge black plumes of black smoke as
ambulances rushed to the scene. One witness said he tried to pull a woman
out of the flames. "I saw her on the ground, and her legs had been blown off,"
said Yaakov Hassoum, who owns a store nearby. "I hoped she was alive but
she was dead." Some young Israelis chanted "Death to Arabs" and "We
want revenge."
In Washington, President Bill Clinton condemned the car bomb attack and
called on all sides to stop the bloodshed. "We were reminded once again in
Jerusalem that there are those who seek to destroy the peace through acts
of terror. This cannot be permitted to prevail," he said.
Israeli tanks earlier in the day had pulled back from the Karni border crossing
in the Gaza Strip and lifted the siege on several West Bank towns. Israeli
sources said there were indications that Palestinian police had tried to
persuade demonstrators to tone down their protests on orders from Arafat. In
addition, PA officials showed up for a security coordination meeting with their
Israeli counterparts.
"Maybe, maybe, maybe, there is still some chance for a truce. I am doubtful
but we must give it every chance," Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh
told Israel Television after the Mahaneh Yehuda attack.
Under the Gaza truce agreement, 48 hours after the Palestinians halt the
violence, Israel will ease its closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, after
which the United States will announce the members of an international
committee to investigate the causes of the violence and Clinton will invite
Barak and Arafat to Washington to discuss reopening diplomatic talks.
PA statement differs from agreement
The Palestinian Authority released yesterday an official written statement
disclosing understandings it has reached with Israel "so that the two sides
invest maximal efforts to carry out the Sharm al-Sheikh understandings."
However, this was not the same statement that had been agreed upon by
Peres and Arafat in their Wednesday night meeting.
The PA leadership declared that it has consistently "exercised restraint, and
endeavored to ensure that the Intifada has a popular character, and sticks to
a peaceful course." The statement called on Israel to stop Jewish settlers
from harming Palestinians. @12345:The agreement that was never
announcedThe Peres-Arafat agreement, containing the statement that Arafat
and Barak were to have broadcast to their respective public announcements,
was as follows:
"The Israeli and Palestinian sides have agreed tonight to issue a joint call for
the cessation of violence.
I hereby call on all forces and parties to refrain from violence, incitement and
the use of force in order to restore peace and calm.
We undertook to work together to implement the Sharm al-Sheikh
understandings as presented by President Clinton at the closing of the
Sharm al-Sheikh summit last month. These understandings shall be
implemented in the manner concluded between Chairman Arafat and Prime
Minister Barak on the night of November 1, 2000.
The sides share the hope of a future of stability, prosperity and peace, when
two separate political entities will coexist side by side in good neighborly
relations. The sides undertake to exert every effort to realize this dream of a
peace of the brave in dignity, fairness and mutual respect."
3 Palestinians killed
In a series of violent clashes with Israeli security forces throughout the
territories yesterday, three Palestinians were killed and dozens injured. Two
Israelis were injured, one in a shooting incident against the settlement of
Migdalim.
During the morning hours, the intensity of the clashes was moderate, but
following the car bomb explosion in Jerusalem, there was a noticeable
intensification of Palestinian violence, including shootings against Israeli
settlements.
In the morning hours, a serious incident occurred at the village of Hizma,
north-east of Jerusalem, in which a 17-year-old Palestinian was killed by
border policemen firing rubber-coated steel bullets.
Incidents occurred yesterday in the Gaza Strip, at the usual points of friction,
near the junctions of Netzarim, Karni and in Gush Katif.
During the evening hours, shooting resumed from Beit Jala toward Gilo, in
spite of the impending cease-fire
http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=11/03/00&
id=99332
_____________________________________
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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Princess Diana the Ghost -- in Fun or Bad Taste?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 09:16:54 -0500
Thursday November 2 7:29 AM ET
Princess Diana the Ghost -- in Fun or Bad Taste?
LONDON (Reuters) - Princess Diana is to reappear on Britain's television
screens -- as a ghost in a satire program.
But not everyone is amused.
Impressionist Rory Bremner plays the ghost of Diana in a sketch in which
she sympathizes with a troubled looking Prime Minister Tony Blair (news -
web sites), according to extracts published by British newspapers on
Thursday.
``You are the People's Prince,'' Diana the ghost tells Blair.
``The King of Hearts?'' he asks.
``And much more. Up here everyone is saying your destiny is in the heavens,
you wear the crown of stars,'' she says.
The ghost then vanishes saying she is going to be late ``for a Versace thing.''
Teddy Taylor, a senior member of Britain's opposition Conservative Party,
told the Daily Telegraph that the sketch could cause ``hurt and distress'' to
the princess's family.
He said it should be scrapped before its scheduled screening on Channel
Four on November 19.
``This program does sound in bad taste,'' said Jo Bexley, spokesman for the
Diana Memorial Fund, a charity set up after the princess's death in a Paris
car crash in 1997.
Bremner defended the sketch. ``This is a satire about contemporary Britain
and no one can pretend that she doesn't figure in people's thinking,'' he said.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001102/od/diana_dc_1.html
_____________________________________
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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pope donates money for Orthodox Church
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 10:04:36 -0500
POPE DONATES MONEY FOR ORTHODOX CHURCH, REPORT SAYS
BUCHAREST, Romania, NOV. 2, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Romanian Orthodox
clergy said today that John Paul II has donated $100,000 toward the
construction of an Orthodox cathedral here that will accommodate up to
2,000 people, Agence France-Presse reported.
The Pope made the donation shortly after his historic visit to Romania in May
1999, the agency, quoted by Radio Free Europe, said.
Construction of the cathedral is expected to begin later this year or early
next year in downtown Bucharest. Construction costs are estimated at $100
million. ZE00110221
ZENIT, November 2, 2000 - DAILY DISPATCH - The World Seen From Rome
_____________________________________
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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Why is the media biased?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 10:04:36 -0500
WHY IS THE MEDIA BIASED?
THE AISH RABBI REPLIES:
Let me first say that a certain percentage of the media is not
biased. While CNN, BBC and others notoriously weigh heavily
to the Palestinian side, other outlets give balanced coverage
to the Israeli position. For example, I've found USA Today and
the Washington Post to be generally fair.
As a consumer, you should exercise your economic clout and
only patronize those media you find objective. Of course, you
can always get your news from the Jerusalem Post
(http://jpost.com), which gives fair coverage to the Israeli side.
Why is the media biased? I think there are three answers (I
saved the most interesting one for last):
#1 -- The two sides maintain different guidelines for journalists.
We expect journalists to maintain independence and
objectivity -- and certainly not pledge "cooperation" with one
side of an armed struggle. But in the current violence,
journalists often weigh favorably toward the Palestinians
because they are intimidated into doing so. This has been well-
documented.
On October 18, a representative of Italian state television
issued an apology in Arabic over the filming of the brutal
lynching of two Israelis in Ramallah, and promised to
cooperate more fully with the Palestinian Authority in the
future.
By apologizing, the Italian journalist revealed that there are
indeed Palestinian Authority guidelines placed upon reporters,
restricting their ability to objectively report the news. In the
case of the Italian film crew, they had reportedly been
receiving death threats.
British photographer Mark Seager told how he was "scared for
my life" -- as he was punched in the face by a Palestinian and
had his camera smashed to the floor -- when he tried to
photograph scenes of the Ramallah lynching.
How can a journalist report honestly if his life is being
threatened?
There are many more examples. BBC World Service reporter
Paul Adams was recently assaulted by a Palestinian mob as
he was covering an explosion in the Bethlehem headquarters
of a Palestinian militia. Furthermore, the BBC chose not to
cover the attack on its reporter, for fear of reprisals.
By contrast, Israel is the only democratic country in the
Middle East. No other country in the region allows
photojournalists to film riots, wars or police actions within their
borders. So by that fact alone, coverage gets skewed.
* * *
#2 -- It's more exciting to root for the underdog.
In almost every competition -- military, political, business, or
athletic -- there's not much excitement if the stronger side
wins as expected. So Western society has made a habit of
rooting for the underdog. Not only does it make the event more
exciting, but it gives us hope that our own less-than-perfect
lives can also make a dramatic turnaround.
We all know the Biblical story of David, armed with only a
slingshot, who slew the giant Goliath. That image was applied
to the Israelis who repelled attempted annihilation by invading
Arab armies in 1948 and 1967.
But now, with Israel's superior military might, and the
Palestinians brandishing their slingshots on CNN, the world
has reversed the labels -- Israel as Goliath.
That's exciting. It sells newspapers and increases TV ratings.
And in a world fed a steady diet of Super Bowls and Academy
Awards, the moral truth is often less important than the thrill of
an underdog victory.
* * *
#3 -- The world applies a double-standard of morality to Israel.
Charles Krauthammer writes in The New Republic:
"It is plain that compared with the way its neighbors treat
protestors, prisoners and opposition in general, Israel is a
beacon of human rights. The salient words are Hama, a town
where Syria dealt with an Islamic uprising by killing perhaps
20,000 people in two weeks and then paving the dead over;
and Black September (1970), during which enlightened Jordan
dealt with its Palestinian intifada by killing at least 2,500
Palestinians in ten days, a toll that the Israel intifada would
need ten years to match."
So why does the world apply this double-standard?
It was the Jews who introduced to humanity the concept of
monotheism and a divine moral code. Before the Torah was
given, people built their lives on a subjective concept of right
and wrong. Through the Ten Commandments, the Jewish
people told the world that you can't just live as you please;
there is one God for all humanity who makes moral demands
on human beings. And despite the fact that Jews were never
more than a tiny fraction of the world's population, these ideas
became the basis for the civilized world.
Why would people hate the Jewish message? Says Aldous
Huxley in his book "Confessions of an Atheist":
"I had motives for not wanting the world to have meaning;
consequently, I assumed that it had none and was able
without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this
assumption. For myself, as no doubt for most of my
contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was
essentially an instrument of liberation. The liberation we
desired was simultaneously liberation from a certain political
and economic system and liberation from a certain system of
morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered
with our sexual freedom."
Jews became a lightening rod for those opposed to the moral
message. If Jews behave well, they made those around them
feel deficient. If they misbehave, those around them felt
relieved of the moral demands the Jews represented in history.
So... many people (journalists among them) have a vested
interest in portraying Jews in a negative light.
Hitler expressed it bluntly:
"Providence has ordained that I should be the greatest
liberator of humanity. I am freeing man from the restraints of
an intelligence that has taken charge, from the dirty and
degrading self-mortifications of a false vision called
conscience and morality, and from the demands of a freedom
and personal independence which only a very few can bear."
For more on this topic, visit our "Why the Jews" online
seminar, which explains the roots of anti-Semitism.
(http://aish.com/seminars/whythejews/index.htm)
I hope this answer has been helpful.
via: Ask the Rabbi <Ask-Aish@aish.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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Radio Analysis and Excerpts: The Voice of Pales
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 10:04:37 -0500
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: "IMRA Newsletter" <imra-l@lyris.vcix.com>
Subject: [imra-l] Radio Analysis and Excerpts: The Voice of Palestine-Combined Edition Friday, November 3, 2000 Thursday Night, November2/3, 2000
Date sent: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 16:01:19 +0200
Send reply to: imra@netvision.net.il
Radio Analysis and Excerpts: The Voice of Palestine-Combined Edition Friday,
November 3, 2000 Thursday Night, November 2/3, 2000
Prepared by Michael Widlanski, lecturer at the Hebrew University, doing
doctoral research at Bar Ilan on Palestinian broadcast media.
Israel Resource News Agency
Beit Agron Int'l Press Center
Jerusalem, Israel
tel. (+972-2) 623-6368 or cellphone (+972-53) 710-737
http://www.israelbehindthenews.com/
SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS
At 11pm and 12-midnight (Nov2/3), the Voice of Palestine broadcast a
statement in the name of PA President Yasser Arafat expressing Arafat's
"opposition" to the car bombing near Mahane Yehuda in Jerusalem, following a
4pm PA statement accepting the Sharm summit "understanding."
But the term "irhab" (TERROR) was not mentioned in either the PA
communique or Arafat's statement-except as a description of Israeli
activities such as settlements.
Shortly after the broadcast of the communique, VOP returned to what has
become its "war-time" format of beginning news programs with a a list of
martyrs and wounded, funeral times and a litany of Israeli aggression.
Israeli actions are still habitually described as "war crimes."
Similarly, the martial music-with patriotic tunes and Islamic themes
highlighting the need for martyrs-has resumed. These songs often include
lyrics that can only be interpreted as an attempt to incite further
violence and religious extremism.
For example, listeners are exhorted to march on Holy Jerusalem with the
knowledge in their hearts that the march began in Sabra and Chatilla, the
Palestinian camps in Lebanon where Palestinians were murdered during the
1982 war.
For the first time in perhaps more than a month, HAMAS leader Sheikh
Ahmad Yassin was quoted on VOP-perhaps a sign that HAMAS and the PA are
drawing closer (see QUOTES OF THE DAY).
*****
During the morning broadcasts of November 3, (7am,8am,9am), the
announcers of VOP said Arafat had taken "a strong position against" the car
bombing and similar acts.
BUT AT NO TIME did the VOP announcers or Arafat's statement use the term
"Yastankiru" (condemn) or even "yantakidu" (criticize) that are habitually
used to express disapproval and consternation of Israeli actions ( even
such as closures and curfews).
This followed the fitful and halting approach of the VOP and Arafat
himself to a statement condemning the attack as well a similarly tentative
and trepidatious approach to making a statement in his voice announcing the
reaching of mutual understanding with Israel based on the Sharm al-Sheikh
summit.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres (currently Regional
Development Minister) declared this morning that Arafat and two of his
ministers (Yasser Abd-Rabbo and Nabil 'Amr) made clear statements on
Palestinian radio affirming the Palestinian-Israeli understandings.
This comment lies somewhere between a deliberate falsehood and an
accidental prevarication for the following reasons:
*--Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), considered by many to be the most
influential PA official except Arafat himself, wasquotedwidelythrought
Friday's morning shows explaining that the Intifada would continue until the
Palestinians reached their goals.
*-- The PA cabinet communique, which was read at 4pm November 2 on
Voice of Palestine Radio, actually came more than two hours later than
originally expected, and it followed PA President Yasser Arafat's decision
to pull back from his original agreement to read the communique himself on
both Palestinian television and radio. (According to Israeli officials,
Arafat first pulled back from the idea of a tv statement, and he
subsequently refused to make any live statement on radio as well.)
*-- Indeed, when the communique was released at 4pm, it followed several
hours of halting hints to the communique's content-as released in
controlled quotations by three close advisors of Arafat: spokesman Nabil
Abu-Irdeineh, Information Minister Yasser Abd-Rabbo and Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Nabil 'Amr.
*--Palestinian execution of the agreement, 'Amr asserted, "is subject to
a complete cessation of the aggression against our people." (Mr. 'Amr used
the strong Arabic term "rahnun" which means "is being kept hostage," i.e.
Palestinian compliance is being kept hostage to Israel's meeting all
Palestinian demands.
*--The PA's communique also included a demand for a restoration of the
borders of June 4, 1967, "safeguarding" the Palestinian right of return and
the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its
capital.
In addition, the PA statement inserted the commentary of President
Mubarak (NOT JUST PRESIDENT CLINTON) as the basis for renewed agreement-A
CLEAR CHANGE FROM THE SHARM AL-SHEIKH FORMULA IN FAVOR OF THE PA, BECAUSE
MUBARAK WAS OPENLY PRO-PALESTINIAN IN HIS STATEMENTS.
It is no accident that the PA began its communique with the following:
"The Palestinian National Authority and the government of Israel reached
an understanding for the two sides to implement the understandings of Sharm
al-Sheikh as set forth in the statement of President Clinton and the speech
of President Mubarrak."
The tone of the subsequent paragraphs that are the core of the Palestinian
communique underscore that the Peres interpretation is incorrect:
"The Palestinian leadership always conscious of its desire to abide by
mutual obligations will closely observe what the Israeli side carries out,
regarding its commitments to withdraw its occupation and its military units
from populated areas occupied after September 28, as well as ceasing
hostilities against the innocent sons of our people along with the removal
of closures."
"The Palestinian leadership sees the Israeli government's ability to
restrain settler gangs who have committed crimes against our people as a
fundamental element in the cessation of violence and terrorism to which our
people have been continuously exposed."
"The Palestinian leadership which always stands by the popular and
peaceful nature of the Intifada.calls on the masses and the national forces
to adhere to its stance, to continue mass demonstrations and expressions
while clinging to peaceful means in all proceedings.."
QUOTES OF THE DAY:
The Israelis did not succeed in their attempts to murder our people."
(Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, leader of HAMAS in remark at press conference;
quotation broadcast at 3:05 pm Nov. 3)
"The Palestinian Authority rejects Israeli threats meant at continuing
Israeli aggression. The Intifada of our people was a response to Israeli
aggression, and it will continue until the elimination of the occupation and
the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as
itscapital."
MORNING HEADLINES:
7am Nov3
*--"President Yasser Arafat says that he continues to wait an official
Israeli response regarding the mutual understandings reached the day before
yesterday-to wit: Israel will cease aggression against the sons of our
people. And the Leadership communique states our obligation to keep our
side of the understanding;
*--Our Leadership expresses its strong position against the incident of
the explosion ((yes, that's the way they describe it) in Western Jerusalem;
*--Despite the understanding reached between President Arafat and
Development Minister Shimon Peres the day before yesterday, occupation
forces attacked residences in the town of Silat al-Zaher
------- End of forwarded message -------
_____________________________________
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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Government prepares public for lack of Israeli
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 10:13:42 -0500
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: "IMRA Newsletter" <imra-l@lyris.vcix.com>
Subject: [imra-l] Government prepares public for lack of Israeli response? 3 items
Date sent: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 16:10:00 +0200
Send reply to: imra@netvision.net.il
Government prepares public for lack of Israeli response? 3 items
Step #1 Cabinet accepts Barak suggestion to avoid Israeli retaliation
By Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz Diplomatic Correspondent Ha'aretz 3 November 2000
The security cabinet, meeting last night in the Prime Minister's Office for
an emergency session after the bombing in Jerusalem, agreed to Prime
Minister Ehud Barak's suggestion to wait and see how the "Gaza
understandings" for a cease-fire are expressed, and not retaliate
immediately. The security cabinet debated the "Gaza understandings," reached
Thursday between Minister for Regional Cooperation Shimon Peres and
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Though the cabinet agreed to
give the understandings a chance, a source says that they are not being
upheld in the field, pointing to 18 shooting incidents, a number similar to
recent days before the Peres-Arafat agreement.
The simultaneous radio announcements of the cease-fire to be delivered by
Barak and Arafat were cancelled Thursday. Barak decided to cancel his
apparently after it became clear that Arafat had cancelled his address. The
diplomatic source indicated that Arafat had indeed given instructions to
lessen the violence, but not to stop entirely. "We withdrew tanks, and
coordination meetings were held, but the shooting has not yet stopped," the
source said.
In a sign of United States pressure on Arafat to carry out the
understandings, CIA head George Tenet and Ambassador Martin Indyk spoke with
him, and emphasized the importance of both the understandings and a
cease-fire.
Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said that the attempt to realize the
understandings has not yet occurred, and refused to define the period that
he government was willing to wait to see them achieved.
Step #2 Israel believes Arafat is trying to stop clashes
By Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz Correspondent and Agencies Ha'aretz 3 November 2000
Danny Yatom, Prime Minister Ehud Barak's security adviser, said the
Palestinian Authority is trying to stop outbreaks of violent clashes between
Palestinians and the Israel Defense Forces, despite gun battles during the
night.
"Despite the shooting and the clashes, I know that there are attempts, and
there are intentions from the Palestinians to bring calm to the
territories," Yatom said, though he noted that these efforts have not yet
yielded many concrete results. "I am sure that in the coming hours, in the
coming days we will see more effective attempts and we will see better
results," he added.
[IMRA: Israel Radio reported in the afternoon that there are clashes with
stones, firebombs, and shooting in various locations in Gaza and the West
Bank. The Palestinian Police are not intervening and in some locations
stone and fire bomb throwers are using ambulances as shields.]
Step #3 Prime Minister Barak "no quick solutions - we won't be dragged into
adventures"
Yediot Ahronot website YNET (ynet.co.il): Speaking this afternoon at a
memorial ceremony for Yitzchak Rabin, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said "We
will try to minimize as much as possible the number of losses and will not
be dragged into adventures that have results that are dangerous to
Israel...Recent events make the blood of the ministers boil but we must act
with composure. The IDF is strong and we will act exactly in the place and
in the way that is needed for the State of Israel...There are no quick
solutions. We are strong enough to stand as much as necessary."
[Footnote to this memorial ceremony: Israel Radio reported that the film
covering Rabin's life that is traditionally shown at the ceremony was edited
so that Oslo is no longer mentioned and Arafat does not appear in the film.]
------- End of forwarded message -------
_____________________________________
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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Bridges for Peace website threatened by Hizbollah
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 10:16:39 -0500
BRIDGES FOR PEACE WEBSITE THREATENED BY HIZBOLLAH
Abdullah Ahmed who claims to be from Alquds, Palestine (Alquds is the
Arab name for Jerusalem) and has a hizbollah email address wrote to us on
November 3. He said: "I do not really like this page, so in a coupple of weeks
it will be totally messed up. And remember, nobody feel sorry for the
settlers in Gilo!
We are making sure our site is secure, and making a complete backup so
we don't lose data in case he follows through on his threat. At the same
time, we feel complimented that Hizbollah thinks we are such a threat. They
are right to be worried, there is power in prayer, and the 5000 + people who
receive this update are praying for Israel and Bridges for Peace. Keep it up!
via: BFP Israel <BFPIsrael@compuserve.com>
http://www.bridgesforpeace.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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News items (11/3/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 10:44:44 -0500
ON HIGH ALERT IN JERUSALEM
Police and security sources are deployed in large numbers throughout
Jerusalem today, in light of non-stop warnings of possible terrorist attacks
there. Security sources say that yesterday's car-bomb was not the end of
Palestinian terrorist plans to launch such attacks against Israelis. Policemen
are checking the ID cards of even middle-aged suspicious-looking
passersby, and ambulances are stationed on several downtown streets.
Large police forces were deployed around the Temple Mount for today's
Moslem prayers, and allowed entry only to those aged 45 and up. At the
conclusion of the prayer service, rocks were thrown at Israeli police officers
nearby; as has become the custom of late, Hizbullah and Hamas flags were
waved and unfurled atop the Dome of the Rock.
PALESTINIAN ATTACKS INCREASE HOURLY
While the world continues to wait for the implementation of the Peres-Arafat
ceasefire understandings, Palestinians shot at Israeli targets in at least four
places today: At Shdemah, south of Jerusalem, at Mt. Eval near Shechem,
in Hevron, and near Tulkarm; two of these occurred in the last hour. In
addition, there were many incidents of Palestinian rioting and violence
against IDF forces throughout Judea and Samaria, including at the Ayosh
Junction and near Tulkarm. In Hevron, 1,000 Arabs rioted (see below), and
two clashes erupted in Gaza.
An IDF convoy traveling along the Israeli-Egyptian border was shot upon
today. The soldiers returned fire; no one was hurt. Last night, too, the
Palestinians continued their offensive: Among other violence, a grenade was
thrown at a Border Guard post in Ras el-Amoud, and an Israeli motorist was
shot in the leg in a drive-by terrorist shooting near Ma'aleh Ephraim.
Yasser Arafat told CNN today that he has fulfilled his part in the
understandings he reached with Shimon Peres, and that he is now waiting
for Israel to fulfill its part. Several Palestinian organizations have announced
that they do not accept the ceasefire understandings.
HAMAS TARGETS RABBI
Hamas terrorist leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin has directly targeted Shas
spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef. Yassin said today that because of the
safety net provided by Shas for the Barak government, "he will be liquidated
within a few days."
Israeli security forces have arrested nine Arabs suspected of membership in
the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization over the past several days.
HEVRON RESIDENTS CLOSE MARKET
The Jewish residents of Hevron are fuming over the re-opening of the Arab
market adjacent to their neighborhood - and have done something about it.
When the market was re-opened today, after several weeks of almost-
uninterrupted army-imposed closure, several Jewish residents went to the
area and began arguing with some of the Arabs. A mob of Arabs soon
crowded around and began throwing rocks and bottles; the army then
dispersed them and closed the market - which is exactly what the Jewish
residents wanted. Hevron spokeswoman Orit Strook explained:
"We have sat quietly for the past month in the face of continuous shooting
attacks upon us, in the knowledge that the army was taking care of it. But
now, the situation is that every single army officer, from the local commander
here up to the Chief of Staff himself, demands that the closure continue - but
the government ignores them, out of diplomatic considerations, and re-opens
the market anyway. This is a clear and present danger to every one of us
here, and we will take it quietly no longer. They want to impose Grapes-of-
Wrath style understandings here, and we will not tolerate it. We will not
accept a Lebanonization here."
Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Friday, Nov. 3, 2000 / Cheshvan 5, 5761
_____________________________________
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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - THANKS
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Drakes")
Date: Fri, 03 Nov 2000 12:12:49 -0500
Dear Moza,
Please accept our deepest thanks to you and the members of the list who
held our Ministry to the children up in prayer. The children were never
aware of the battle but we say thanks on their behalf.
Today, miraculously we have found a building most suited to our needs.
There were MANY miraculous situations tied into this happening -- too
intricate to explain, we saw God;s hand on our lives today in a very
awesome way. We say thanks, thanks, we give God thanks, for all He has
done. We give God thanks for His people thousands of miles across the
ocean. His people who join together through the Spirit and lift up one
another's burdens as His Word commands us to do. God bless all of you
and THANKS.
We will be moving on December 15, so we will be very busy between now
and then continuing to minister and teach plus moving a school with all
the attendant challenges. Please continue to remember us in prayer and
please let us know if there are any prayer requests that we can lift up
to the Father on your behalf.
In His service,
Sydney & Frances Drakes
Barbados
_____________________________________
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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Four Roman-era shipwrecks found
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 13:16:30 -0500
Shipwreck Chemistry
Oxygen-Poor Water of Black Sea Preserves Ancient Wooden Ships
Carrot-shaped pots called amphorae that once carried liquids like wine and olive oil now lie on the bottom of the Black Sea near a shipwreck. Scientists says the water of the Black Sea is the ideal environment for a sunken ship. (National Geographic Society/Institute for Exploration)
By Willow Lawson
Nov. 3 - Four Roman-era shipwrecks, including one elaborately hand-carved wooden vessel, have been discovered in the depths of the Black Sea, members of a National Geographic expedition announced Thursday.
Researchers said the ships were preserved by a lack of oxygen in the deep sea that lies just north of Turkey.
One ship is almost perfectly preserved, according to Cheryl Ward, a nautical archaeologist at the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, who took part in the expedition. "We thought it couldn't possibly be ancient," she says of the ship, which measures 45 feet in length, with a 35-foot-tall wooden mast sticking up from floor of sea.
"No archaeologist has ever been able to study anything like this," she said at a news conference. "We've never been able to look at the deck of an ancient ship."
Ancient shipwrecks are usually in bad shape when they are discovered, according to Robert Ballard, the expedition's leader, who also discovered the Titanic and the German battleship the Bismarck. In many bodies of water, tiny animals called wood bores quickly eat away any uncovered portion of a wooden shipwreck, often leaving the cargo stacked on the sea bottom after the ship has been consumed.
Black Sea Chemistry
But 650 feet below the surface of the Black Sea, there is no oxygen in the water for the wood bores to breathe, says Ballard.
He compared the sea to a giant bathtub, with steep sides and no drain. Because no river feeds into or out of the Black Sea, the water is still and doesn't circulate oxygen to the bottom. The Black Sea, he says, is the perfect environment for preserving shipwrecks. The researchers predict there are perhaps hundreds still to be found.
Ward says the well-preserved ship comes from a time, 1,500 years ago, when ships were custom-made to order. The ships were designed "skin-first," she says, and the inside of the ship was filled in later.
No cargo was visible near the wreck site of the ship with the mast, so the vessel's purpose remains unknown, say researchers.
The Grave of Three Ships
The three other vessels were probably trading ships from the Roman/Byzantine era, say researchers. The three other shipwrecks lie close together on the bottom of the Black Sea, at a depth of about 330 feet, between the oxygen-rich water near the surface and the oxygen-deprived water on the bottom.
All three ships contain huge amounts of terra cotta pots, the kind that were used to transport wine, olive oil and honey in ancient times. The long, carrot-like shape of some of the pots (see top photo) was typical of pottery from Sinop, Turkey, which borders the Black Sea to the south.
Earlier Black Sea Find
The shipwreck discovery follows the find of an underwater archaeological site in the Black Sea. In September, members of the expedition found part of a wooden building, 12 miles off the coast of Turkey, with a few scattered wooden tools, originally thought to be stone, that may date to more than 7,000 years ago.
Some scientists have speculated that the origins of stories about a great flood, including the one in the Bible, may have come from the flooding of the area after the end of the last Ice Age, when water levels as glaciers melted. Whether scientists find clues to such stories or not, Ballard believes the waters of the Black Sea present the best hope of learning more about ancient mariners and the societies they lived in.
"The Black Sea probably has more preserved history, in great detail, than any other place in the world," he says.
But he worries that his announcement of such discoveries will also put them at risk. He has called for same protection of underwater archaeological sites as exists for those on land. "The treasure hunters will be right on our heels," he warns.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/shipwreck_blackse a001102.html
_____________________________________
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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russia touts billion dlr radar plane deal in China
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 13:19:18 -0500
Russia touts billion dlr radar plane deal in China
By Jeremy Page
BEIJING, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Russia is lobbying for a billion dollar deal to
supply China with early warning aircraft after the United States blocked Israel
from selling an airborne radar system to Beijing, defence analysts and
diplomats said on Friday.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who arrived in Beijing on Friday,
was expected to discuss with Chinese officials the sale or lease of up to five
Beriev A-50 early warning aircraft -- the Russian equivalent of the U.S.
AWACS, they said.
Israel cancelled the sale of the Phalcon, the Israeli version of AWACS, to
China in July after pressure from the United States, which feared the system
could give China an edge over Taiwan and U.S. fighters.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, also in China this week, was
quoted by Russian media as saying Moscow and Beijing would sign "very
serious, strategic contracts" and were discussing the A-50 in particular.
A Russian embassy official confirmed Klebanov's remarks but declined
further comment.
INFERIOR BUT WORRYING
Although the A-50, known to NATO as Mainstay, is thought to be inferior to
the AWACS and the Phalcon, a deal would still worry the United States,
analysts said.
Washington made clear its resolve to protect Taiwan, which Beijing regards
as a rebel province, by sending two aircraft carrier groups in 1996 when
China held intimidating wargames.
Anxious to maintain air superiority, the U.S. Congress threatened to cut the
$2.8 billion it gives Israel annually if the Jewish state went ahead with the
$250 million Phalcon deal.
"The United States will be concerned about this (the A-50) but there's not
much they can do," said Paul Beaver, spokesman for defence industry
publisher Jane's Information Group.
"It's not a weapon of war," he said. "You'd put it up 200 km (125 miles) from
Taiwan and watch Taiwan operations going on there."
The A-50, comprising a mushroom-shaped radar mounted on an Ilyushin IL-
76 aircraft, can be used for reconnaissance, air support and early warning of
missile attacks to a range of up to 400 km (250 miles), defence analysts
said.
"It would give them an early warning capability that they don't have at the
moment," said one Western diplomat.
"It doesn't seriously change the balance of power but it does give the
Chinese greater capability as part of their overall modernisation programme,"
the diplomat said.
LONG SHOPPING LIST
The deal would also consolidate a new strategic partnership between
Moscow and Beijing that many analysts call a relationship of convenience
based on opposition to U.S. dominance in world affairs.
"The Chinese would like to be able to buy from wherever they want, but they
can't and the Russians are prepared to sell up to a point," said the diplomat.
"I don't think they have any other options."
However, China was unlikely to rush into a deal on the A-50, worth $200
million each, without agreeing on extensive upgrades to its outdated radar
system, analysts said.
"They don't want to do a knee-jerk reaction and buy the first piece of
equipment they're offered," said one Asian defence analyst, who declined to
be identified.
"And they want to make sure given the state of the Russian defence industry
that if they buy it the Russians can actually pay to produce it and maintain
it."
Nor is the A-50 the only item on Beijing's shopping list.
China has also requested more than 30 Russian Sukhoi-30 jet fighters worth
$2 billion and is looking at Russian frigates, submarines and missile
systems, according to defence analysts.
"They have a shopping list and they keep adding to it," said Beaver. "I would
imagine these A-50s are pretty close to the top of the list."
01:17 11-03-00
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=216760
via: Third_Watch@egroups.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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - When Seeing and Hearing Isn't Believing (2/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 18:39:00 -0500
When Seeing and Hearing Isn't Believing
By William M. Arkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Monday, Feb. 1, 1999
"Gentlemen! We have called you together to inform you that we are going
to overthrow the United States government." So begins a statement being
delivered by Gen. Carl W. Steiner, former Commander-in-chief, U.S.
Special Operations Command.
At least the voice sounds amazingly like him.
But it is not Steiner. It is the result of voice "morphing" technology
developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
By taking just a 10-minute digital recording of Steiner's voice,
scientist George Papcun is able, in near real time, to clone speech
patterns and develop an accurate facsimile. Steiner was so impressed, he
asked for a copy of the tape.
Steiner was hardly the first or last victim to be spoofed by Papcun's
team members. To refine their method, they took various high quality
recordings of generals and experimented with creating fake statements.
One of the most memorable is Colin Powell stating "I am being treated
well by my captors."
"They chose to have him say something he would never otherwise have
said," chuckled one of Papcun's colleagues.
A Box of Chocolates is Like War
Most Americans were introduced to the tricks of the digital age in the
movie Forrest Gump, when the character played by Tom Hanks appeared to
shake hands with President Kennedy.
For Hollywood, it is special effects. For covert operators in the U.S.
military and intelligence agencies, it is a weapon of the future.
"Once you can take any kind of information and reduce it into ones and
zeros, you can do some pretty interesting things," says Daniel T. Kuehl,
chairman of the Information Operations department of the National
Defense University in Washington, the military's school for information
warfare.
Digital morphing — voice, video, and photo — has come of age, available
for use in psychological operations. PSYOPS, as the military calls it,
seek to exploit human vulnerabilities in enemy governments, militaries
and populations to pursue national and battlefield objectives.
To some, PSYOPS is a backwater military discipline of leaflet dropping
and radio propaganda. To a growing group of information war
technologists, it is the nexus of fantasy and reality. Being able to
manufacture convincing audio or video, they say, might be the difference
in a successful military operation or coup.
Allah on the Holodeck
Pentagon planners started to discuss digital morphing after Iraq's
invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Covert operators kicked around the idea of
creating a computer-faked videotape of Saddam Hussein crying or showing
other such manly weaknesses, or in some sexually compromising situation.
The nascent plan was for the tapes to be flooded into Iraq and the Arab
world.
The tape war never proceeded, killed, participants say, by bureaucratic
fights over jurisdiction, skepticism over the technology, and concerns
raised by Arab coalition partners.
But the "strategic" PSYOPS scheming didn't die. What if the U.S.
projected a holographic image of Allah floating over Baghdad urging the
Iraqi people and Army to rise up against Saddam, a senior Air Force
officer asked in 1990?
According to a military physicist given the task of looking into the
hologram idea, the feasibility had been established of projecting large,
three- dimensional objects that appeared to float in the air.
But doing so over the skies of Iraq? To project such a hologram over
Baghdad on the order of several hundred feet, they calculated, would
take a mirror more than a mile square in space, as well as huge
projectors and power sources.
And besides, investigators came back, what does Allah look like?
The Gulf War hologram story might be dismissed were it not the case that
washingtonpost.com has learned that a super secret program was
established in 1994 to pursue the very technology for PSYOPS
application. The "Holographic Projector" is described in a classified
Air Force document as a system to "project information power from space
.. for special operations deception missions."
War is Like a Box of Chocolates
Voice-morphing? Fake video? Holographic projection? They sound more like
Mission Impossible and Star Trek gimmicks than weapons. Yet for each,
there are corresponding and growing research efforts as the technologies
improve and offensive information warfare expands.
Whereas early voice morphing required cutting and pasting speech to put
letters or words together to make a composite, Papcun's software
developed at Los Alamos can far more accurately replicate the way one
actually speaks. Eliminated are the robotic intonations.
The irony is that after Papcun finished his speech cloning research,
there were no takers in the military. Luckily for him, Hollywood is
interested: The promise of creating a virtual Clark Gable is mightier
than the sword.
Video and photo manipulation has already raised profound questions of
authenticity for the journalistic world. With audio joining the mix, it
is not only journalists but also privacy advocates and the
conspiracy-minded who will no doubt ponder the worrisome mischief that
lurks in the not too distant future.
"We already know that seeing isn't necessarily believing," says Dan
Kuehl, "now I guess hearing isn't either."
William M. Arkin, author of "The U.S. Military Online," is a leading
expert on national security and the Internet. He lectures and writes on
nuclear weapons, military matters and information warfare. An Army
intelligence analyst from 1974-1978, Arkin currently consults for
Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, MSNBC and the Natural Resources
Defense Council.
Arkin can be reached for comment at william_arkin@washingtonpost.com.
© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
http://www-wp9.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/dotmil/arkin020199.htm
_____________________________________
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.
Contacts: Moza (moza@butterfly.mv.com);
(owner-bpr@philologos.org)
See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.
Please be advised that this domain (Philologos.org) does not endorse 100 per cent any link contained herein. This forum is for the dissemination of pertinent information on an end-times biblical theme which includes many disturbing, unethical, immoral, etc. topics and should be viewed with a mature, discerning eye.