To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Baptist Temple Update 6:45 PM ET
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 08:26:28 -0500
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "SierraTimes.com" <citizen@mindspring.com>
To: "SierraTimes.com" <sierratimesalert@involved.com>
Subject: Baptist Temple Update 6:45 PM ET
Date sent: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 17:56:48 -0800
http://www.SierraTimes.com
SierraTimes.com Update
11/15/00 IBT Update 6:45 p.m.
I've received a number of e-mails asking me "why doesn't the IBT think
that they have to pay taxes?" and I'd like to address this question.
I've discussed this in the past and the church's press releases have
explained their position in detail, but as an old preacher explained
when he was asked how he gives a sermon, "first you tell them what
you're going to tell them, then you tell them, then you tell them what
you've just told them." So here goes.
First a disclaimer: I am not a member of the Indianapolis Baptist
Temple. I am not a Baptist. I am not a theologian or an attorney.
The IBT's position is quite simple: Jesus Christ is their lord and
savior and is the head of the church. If they incorporate their
church or become a 501(c)3 not-for-profit entity the government, not
Jesus Christ, is the head of the church. A corporation is an
artificial entity created and sanctioned by the state and must follow
the guidelines set down by the government.
A corporation must collect withholding taxes (federal and state income
taxes, FICA and medicare taxes) and pay these to the government. The
IBT is not incorporated and is not a not-for-profit organization, but
rather is a "New Testament" church. They do not have employees but
ministers. Their ministers are paid based upon the love offerings
that the church receives and the individuals themselves are
responsible for paying their taxes (just like an independent
contractor or the self-employed).
The individual ministers have all been audited by the IRS and the IRS
determined that all taxes have been paid. The issue isn't that the
taxes have not been paid, but that the church did not withhold the
taxes and pay them to the government. The $6 million amount that the
IRS says that the church owes is based upon an IRS assessment that
said that the church should have withheld and paid approximately
$200,000 to the government and the remainder of the $6 million figure
consists of interest and fines. Again, the taxes were paid, not by
the church in the form of withholding taxes, but by the individual
ministers.
This is more than the spitting of hairs. A 501(c) organization is
forbidden by the government from engaging in lobbying. You may recall
that there was a church in New York state that was prosecuted by the
IRS for taking out a full page ad in USA Today urging people to not
vote for Bill Clinton and speaking out against abortion and other
activities which they saw as evil. That church lost it's
not-for-profit status and was severely damaged as a result. By
incorporating and/or being a not-for-profit organization a church
serves two masters.
The IBT sees this as a fundamental issue and one that has cropped up
throughout history. In the past, churches have been persecuted for
not being an officially state sanctioned church. Ministers and
congregations have been jailed, tortured and/or killed for not having
a license from the state. People fled from the Old World to the New
World to practice their religion in peace and without seeking the
permission of kings or queens. Today, in countries such as China,
people who wish to worship as they please without government approval
do so at their own peril and many are arrested and jailed (or worse)
each year for the crime of following their conscience.
By refusing to bow to the demands of the IRS tyrants the IBT is
practicing what they preach and are bearing witness to Christ.
Like Rev. Dixon has stated many times: this is not a tax issue, but a
control issue.
Hopefully, my brief explanation will clear up any continuing confusion
regarding the genesis of this crisis.
Today I returned to the IBT and found at least a couple of hundred
people occupying the building. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits
and were settling in for a long stay. In fact they'd draped a banner
over the pulpit that read "Jesus says: Occupy till I come. Luke
19:13"
Several young men were playing their guitars. Children were playing.
Men and women were drinking coffee and eating donuts and laughing and
visiting.
I spoke with Kim Borges, a member of the IBT for the past 18 years.
She told me that her little sister was a graduate of the IBT's school.
I asked her if she'd gone to the church's school and she said "no"
she went to the government schools.
She has two daughters, ages 6 and 8, and they both attended school at
the IBT. If the church doesn't find a building she'll have to find
another Christian school for her children or she might home school
them until the end of the school year. She said she'd never send her
children to the public schools and that while her children were
attending school at the church she had never had to worry about their
safety.
Kim, a small business owner, said she "wished people would come in and
see what we stand for. We're not fanatics. We get up, go to work and
come home and eat dinner like everyone else. It's our right to
believe what we want to believe. If believing in the Bible is wrong,
then something's wrong."
After I spoke with Kim I walked around the church and saw that flowers
had just been delivered to the front door. It was a large funereal
looking arrangement with a ribbon banner that read "Rest in Peace-
First Amendment".
I later ran into Bruce Evan Murch. I heard him speak the previous
night about his activism with Operation Rescue. He related his many
experiences with "rescues" and especially the summer that Operation
Rescue spent in "saving babies" in Wichita, Kansas 9 years ago. He
has an e-mail list of approximately 500 people and he's sent out
requests asking them to come and help occupy the church. He also
asked all those individuals to forward his request on to others, ad
infinitum.
He stressed to me that this is not about saving a building, but about
witnessing for Christ to the nation.
Due to professional obligations I will not be able to go to the church
everyday, but I will keep in touch with them and report as best as I
can.
In Liberty,
Paul Zimmerman
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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Daily World Affairs Report items (11/15/00)
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 09:47:30 -0500
GERMANY CALLS FOR E.U. PRESIDENCY
Germany has repeated its calls for a directly elected head of the European
Commission. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told Belgian MPs in
Brussels that an elected president would give Europe a recognisable
political figure with real democratic legitimacy. Mr Fischer first raised the
prospect of electing the EU president last May in Berlin. The call provoked
concerns in some countries, including the UK, of a federal Europe with
powers concentrated in Brussels.
Mr Fischer said the institutions of the EU needed to be strengthened if it
was to enlarge. He added that the European parliament should have a
second chamber for MPs from national governments and that the powers
of Brussels and the nation states should be more clearly defined. The
German minister said the proposals were part of institutional reforms
necessary to enable the EU admit as many as 13 new member states. Mr
Fischer avoided use of the word "federal" and in what seemed an effort to
put the record straight, he said Europe could never become a superstate - it
was too diverse, he said, and could never be like the United States of
America. (BBC)
* But, in remarks to Belgian lawmakers, Mr. Fischer said that the Union
was heading for much closer political integration and that for the sake of
democracy and transparency this required a radical review of the way its
institutions worked. "Europe will never be a federation on the U.S. model
because it will never have a homogeneous national population. It is made up
of different languages, cultures," he said after talks with Foreign Minister
Louis Michel of Belgium. "Building up a US-style system is therefore an
illusion." (Reuters)
* Tony Blair's campaign to sell the benefits of closer European integration
was dealt an embarrassing blow yesterday by Joschka Fischer. Less than
24 hours after Mr Blair had dismissed fears of a European superstate, Mr
Fischer made clear that Germany was keeping up the pressure for further
political union. In a speech to the Belgian Parliament, Mr Fischer said the
president of the European Commission - currently appointed by EU
governments - should be elected, so gaining legitimacy to represent all of
Europe.
Mr Fischer said next month's European summit in Nice would complete the
biggest enlargement in the history of the EU and set the "keystone in the
edifice of European integration - that is political integration". "The essential
principle resides in a very clear sharing of sovereignty between Europe and
the nation states."
Downing Street sought to play down Mr Fischer's remarks. A spokesman
said Mr Blair did not share his views and the "time was not right" for ideas
such as an elected EC president. The spokesman said Mr Fischer's
proposal was not on the agenda for the Nice summit. "We want to bring
Europe closer to the people. We see an important role for the Commission,
but that means a Europe of nation states where the European Council has
primacy." The European Council is made up of ministers or heads of
government of the member states. (The London Telegraph)
IF THIS ISN'T A SUPERSTATE IN THE MAKING, THEN WHAT IS?
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in Strasbourg examines the logic behind the
current raft of European reforms in defence, policing, human rights and
taxation
The baton has been passed. The Western European Union shut up shop this
week after half a century of yeoman service, agreeing to transfer its 40-
man military staff to the European Union, along with its satellite centre and
strategic institute. By 2003, the EU will have a rapid reaction force
comprising up to 80,000 men - 240,000 men with rotation - backed by 300
aircraft and a naval force, to be deployed for up to a year anywhere in the
world, including war zones. The force has an embryonic military staff
headquarters in Brussels - chaired by a British major general - which will
become the European Military Staff next year. It is all moving with
"lightning speed", says the EU's defence secretary-in-waiting, Javier
Solana.
For better or for worse, it certainly is. This may not be prima facie evidence
of an emerging "European superstate", but it is evidence of something that
goes far beyond the collective security of sovereign states. And, of course,
the same push for integration is taking place on every front. Look at the
legislative agenda this week at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
MEPs are voting for a European Police College tasked with "developing a
European approach in the field of crime-fighting, border surveillance,
protecting internal security and maintaining law and order". They will also
be voting for a judicial co-operation unit, Eurojust, "composed of
prosecutors, or magistrates, to reinforce the fight against serious organised
crime", and separately for a set of measures to create a "genuine European
Area of Justice" that will lead to "the emergence of a European criminal
law". In other words, a typical week in Strasbourg.
I am not saying that these are necessarily bad ideas, but something big is
happening here, and it is happening fast. Proposals on the table for next
month's Nice Treaty summit include a European Public Prosecutor to
combat fraud against the EU budget, creating an EU criminal jurisdiction
for the first time. Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, has vowed to
"oppose" it - EU code for saying that he will not actually veto it: indeed, that
he will, in fact, "accept" it if Britain ends up isolated.
Europol, the EU's emergent FBI, is being given powers to investigate
money-laundering stemming from all forms of crime. This sounds routine. It
is not. It provides the EU with the equivalent of the US federal mail fraud
clause, the instrument used by Washington to assert federal jurisdiction over
state crimes. Once the Europol Convention comes into full force, Europol
officers will be able to initiate probes and take part in field operations
against suspected criminals in Kent, or indeed against xenophobes in Kent,
since the Europol mandate covers "xenophobia".
Is Euro-sceptic dissent xenophobic? I ask the question only half in jest,
because the EU institutions have a habit of outdoing parody. The Advocate
General of the European Court of Justice issued an opinion on October 19
(Case C-274/99 P) arguing that political criticism of the EU can be akin to
blasphemy, and can therefore be restricted. He denies it. Read the case for
yourself - in Spanish or French; English is not provided. He misuses a
blasphemy case, Wingrove vs United Kingdom, as a building block in
arguing for repressive powers to limit free speech.
No matter that this violates the European Convention on Human Rights,
which prevents governing bodies from restricting criticism to protect their
reputation. This is the same court that will rule on the new Charter of
Fundamental Rights, accepted by Tony Blair in Biarritz. The Government's
assurance that the Charter will have no more legal force than "the Beano"
is contradicted by everybody involved, including the European Commission,
the European Parliament and the French EU presidency.
As for the Government's claim that the Bill of Rights is intended only to rein
in the EU institutions, and will have no effect on Britain: it is a shameless
lie. Mr Blair can hardly be surprised at the combative tone of the Euro-
sceptic press if he is willing to use public officials to propagate strategic
falsehoods about the most important European issue of the day.
The Commission is said to be weaker now than at any time for decades.
You could have fooled me. Over the past 6 months, the social affairs
directorate, a junior department in the EC hierarchy, has pushed through a
directive banning bias on the grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief,
age and disability, and another one banning racial discrimination. Both shift
the burden of evidence in civil litigation, compelling British employers to
prove their innocence. The Government could have vetoed this. Keith Vaz,
the minister for Europe, told me that it would in fact veto the race directive.
But Labour succumbed, signing away the principle of presumption of
innocence in a stuffy room full of bored, yawning, half-informed EU
ministers.
The Commission tells me that these directives are only starters. More
ambitious plans - banning single-sex clubs - will have to wait until after the
Nice Treaty, which, in its current draft, abolishes the national veto over the
social provisions in Article 13. The draft also eliminates the veto over direct
taxation where it relates to the functioning of the single market, social
security and environment. In fairness, the Commission is surely correct in
saying that decision-making will be impossible in an enlarged Union of 25 or
30 states unless majority voting becomes the norm, but that is the nub of the
EU problem: one step always demands the next.
And the euro is the biggest step of all. Joschka Fischer put it most honestly
when he called the euro a "quantum leap" towards federalism, creating a
"federal bank" that imposes an inexorable "federal logic" on all the
participants. Already, the French are calling for a single economic
"authority" to compensate for the incoherence of a currency that lacks a
state to back it. The French are right. Either such a state will be created, or
the currency will fail, and with it the EU. The die has been cast already.
(The London Telegraph - Opinion)
IT'S TIME FOR EUROPE TO LEAD THE U.N.
The next U.S. president is unlikely to have much leeway to improve the
sour relations between the United States and the United Nations.
Ferociously anti-UN congressional Republicans have dominated that issue
for many years, and congressional Democrats have seen no tangible
advantage in defending the world organization. Into this affair comes a
fresh and unorthodox proposal from a former deputy U.S. representative to
the UN, William vanden Heuvel, now an investment banker and lawyer in
New York. He thinks that the EU should - and could - take the UN's crisis
out of U.S. hands.
Speaking to the American Academy in Berlin in September, he said that the
time has come to put an end to the "increasingly destructive" influence the
US is having on the UN. Even though it sponsored the creation of the UN
at the end of WW2, Washington is now estranged from the organization
and has lost much of its past influence over both the General Assembly and
the Security Council.
The election of a Republican Senate majority in 1994 made Senator Jesse
Helms chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He regards the UN
as an irrelevant bureaucracy that not only wastes money but also poses a
threat to U.S. sovereignty. Many of his Republican congressional
colleagues agree. His influence was responsible for Washington's demand
that it be given a veto over the UN budget. The UN accepted this.
Washington demanded major budget and administrative reforms, and the
UN again agreed. But after each UN concession, Congress imposed new
conditions on U.S. payment of its dues.
Mr. vanden Heuvel says that the effect of these demands, coupled to
nonpayment of America's obligations, has caused the UN agenda to
become "dominated by the nonpayment, the partial payment, the conditional
payment of America's assessed dues." With no authority to borrow from
external sources, the UN has been "strangled by the cash-flow crunch that
the American indebtedness had deliberately created."
Mr. vanden Heuvel says Congress's "assault on the UN is not to save
money; the objective is to undermine the UN that its founders envisaged, to
diminish it as an obstacle to American hegemony in international affairs, to
make it marginal and irrelevant to the exercise of American power." Mr.
vanden Heuvel's radical proposal is that the EU break off this destructive
stalemate. The EU, he says, should accept that no U.S. president or
congressional majority is willing to defend the UN.
The Europeans, he says, should simply accept the U.S. demand that its
membership and peacekeeping assessments be reduced, so as to remove
the issue from debate. They should assume UN leadership by convincing
other members as well to accept it. He notes that Sweden, under Prime
Minister Olof Palme, argued that no country should pay more than 15% of
the UN's budget so that no single government would have a
disproportionate influence. Washington vigorously opposed this idea at the
time, recognizing that it would reduce American leverage.
Mr. vanden Heuvel would next have the EU take the lead on structural
reform of the UN, moving to make Germany, Japan and India permanent
members of the Security Council and to give permanent representation to
Africa and Latin America. He proposes new UN emphasis on providing
assistance to disintegrating states - "failed" or failing states - by reviving one
of the fundamental charter organs of the UN, the Trusteeship
Council,which lost its function when the last trust territory became
independent in 1994.
The EU, he argues, could fill the existing vacuum of UN leadership with
positive action on this new form of trusteeship and in urgent reform of UN
peacekeeping. The Europeans could impose such reforms, he argues, by
blocking the Security Council from ordering UN missions without providing
the resources to carry them out - a pernicious past practice that has been
the greatest obstacle to effective peacekeeping. There is undoubted irony in
a former U.S. official's proposing that Europe take domination of the UN
away from the US, but the situation invites unorthodoxy. (Int'l Herald
Tribune - Opinion)
CROAT HARDLINERS PUSH NATIONALISM WITH FASCIST
EDGE
Fiveyears may have passed since the end of the Bosnian war but in
Ljubuski, one of dozens of Croat villages scattered through the mountains of
south-western Bosnia, hardliners are still in control. By way of greeting the
Croat party official said: "I hope you're not a Jew or an American. My
father fought at Stalingrad. He wore the German insignia with pride. At the
end it was only us Croats who stayed faithful to the SS."
The venue was the Ljubuski branch of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP)
high in the snake-infested mountains of south-western Bosnia. Zdravko
Hrstic, head of HSP, said: "History was always written by the winners. The
Croats of Bosnia suffered huge losses against the Communists in WW2, but
nobody talks about that." Many here see themselves as the spiritual
descendants of the Ustashe, WW2 Croatian fascists who served as Hitler's
proxies in the Balkans.
In the cafes in Ljubuski the mood is staunchly nationalist. An 18-year-old
waitress said: "We have to live in a separate state. We need to recreate
Herceg Bosna." Herceg Bosna, a Croat proto-state in Bosnia, was formed
in 1992 but disbanded in 1994 under a deal between late Croatian president
Franjo Tudjman and America. Officially, Croat territory in Bosnia is now
run by the multi-ethnic government in Sarajevo. But locals want nothing to
do with the Muslims or Serbs who make up the rest of Bosnia. The
currency of choice here is the Croatian Kuna.
Elections held at the weekend confirmed the dominance of Croat nationalist
parties who led their people through the war. The strength of the nationalist
vote in the hinterland was expected to be confirmed by election results
showing that the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), founded by Mr
Tudjman, had also polled more than 70% of the vote. The only political
argument of significance is whether Croats should push for control of the
whole of Bosnia - the position of the HSP - or a Bosnian Croat mini-state.
Under the present political arrangement neither option looks likely.
A western body, the Office of the High Representative, is running Bosnia
as a virtual protectorate from its offices in Sarajevo and has leaned hard on
the Croat nationalists to curb secessionist talk. In the run-up to the election
it banned a HDZ poster telling voters they faced "self-determination or
extermination" and strongly condemned a polling day referendum calling for
greater Croat autonomy. (The London Telegraph)
ISLAMISTS EMERGE AS THE LARGEST OPPOSITION FORCE IN
EGYPT
Islamists were set to form the largest opposition force in the new
parliament announced here Wednesday after having weathered a police
crackdown before and during the Egyptian elections. Marking a return to
parliament for the first time in a decade, the Muslim Brotherhood said
"independent" candidates it supported won 17 seats in the 454-seat
legislature. Another 2 Islamists, not linked to the Brotherhood, also won
seats, giving the Islamist bloc 19 seats, compared to 17 seats held by 4 legal
opposition parties combined in the outgoing assembly.
The Brotherhood has set its immediate priorities on reforming the political
system rather than establishing an Islamic state, with analysts seeing their
support for a newfound liberal agenda. "There must be freedom and the
people must be able to participate in the political life," Brotherhood
spokesman Maamun al-Hodeibi told AFP after final results were
announced. "Not just freedom for the Islamists, but freedom for everyone."
Democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim told AFP "the Islamists have now
decided to become very liberal," recalling the Brotherhood supported a
Coptic Christian candidate against one from the ruling National Democratic
Party (NDP). Voters indeed elected the Coptic candidate, Munir Fakhri
Abdel Nur of the liberal opposition Wafd party, despite NDP supporters'
calls for them not to choose a "non-believer".
Such support amounted to "a very smart, very shrewd message" which
demonstrates that the Brotherhood understands politics better than the
NDP, Ibrahim said. Indeed, Ibrahim has said the Brotherhood captured the
"protest votes" of those expressing both discontent with Egypt's economic
recession and turmoil in the Middle East over the foundering Arab-Israeli
peace process.
Islamist MPs were also seen by many voters as straight arrows who stick
to their principles, in a country where the opposition repeatedly complains
that parliament is dominated by self-interested politicians, analysts said. The
Brotherhood was also admired for delivering health and educational
services to the poor. Finally, the presence of members of the judiciary in
each polling booth, following an unprecedented court ruling, had helped to
bring the results "closer to the truth," Brotherhood spokesman Maamun al-
Hodeibi told AFP.
The Brotherhood calls for setting up a state based on Islamic law, but
insists it would use peaceful means to do so. The government has
frequently accused the Brotherhood of encouraging Islamic groups which
had waged a campaign of violence here in the 1990s before being crushed
by the security forces. The new parliament, dominated by 388 NDP
deputies, is set to open December 13. (Agence France-Presse)
MICHAEL TURNER
(mykelturner@airmail.net)
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Subject: [bprlist] Soldiers test `Digital MP System'
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 09:47:30 -0500
Soldiers test `Digital MP System'
by Trish Warrick
FORT POLK, La. (Army News Service, Nov. 13, 2000) Military Police
could see around corners, through trees and in the dark as they tested the
Army's new "Digital MP System" this month at Fort Polk, La.
Patrolmen wore eyeglass-mounted miniature cameras providing "streaming
video" to their partners. Viewing screens in the eyeglasses also allowed
the MPs to check the faces of suspects they stopped against digital mug
shots of known offenders.
Fort Polk's 91st Military Police Detachment soldiers became the first MPs
to test the system Oct. 30 to Nov. 3. Representatives of the U.S. Army
Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass., brought the Digital MP System to
Fort Polk. They were joined by members of the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency and a number of contractor teams wanting to see how the
system would work on real soldiers.
The Digital MP is a durable, lightweight, wearable communications and
information management system designed to help carry out reconnaissance,
checkpoint security, anti-terrorism operations and other MP missions, said
program manager Henry Girolamo, Natick Soldiers Center.
The backbone of the Digital MP is a wearable computer developed by ViA
Inc., MicroOptical Corp and Honeywell Inc. and tailored to the mission
requirements of the MP soldier, Girolamo said. The Digital MP's support
features include a hands-free, voice-operated interface and a battery that
provides day-long power on a single charge. It features peripherals such
as:
* An audiovisual system with built-in miniature camera for face
recognition and image display plus a noise-cancelling microphone
and bone-conduction microphone/earphone for voice recognition, all
incorporated in a pair of normal-size eyeglass frames
* A BDU-pocket-sized "military e-book" readable even in strong
sunlight or pale starlight (with night vision goggles) that emits
no light to give away a soldier's position
* An electronic glove that can function like a computer mouse with
the e-book and translate hand signals into words on other
soldiers' eyeglass-mounted viewers
The Digital MP system can connect a military police team
wirelessly and in ways never before possible, officials said.
The eyeglass-mounted camera provides streaming video, which means
"it can transmit to me what another MP is looking at even though I
can't see him," said Sgt. Michael Sauer, Special Reaction Team
noncommissioned officer in charge, 91st MP Det.
An MP making a traffic stop or manning a checkpoint can take live
videos which are checked against digital mug shots stored in the
National Crime Interdiction Center database, Sauer said, so he's
quickly alerted if the person stopped has a criminal record. On
deployment, the system can warn him that he's dealing with a
suspected terrorist or war criminal.
An MP on patrol can use the e-book to quickly help others locate
what he sees. "Say he's on recon, looking at the terrain," said
Sauer. "He sees enemy tanks." Using traditional methods, the
soldier plots coordinates on a paper map, calls the TOC on the
radio and another soldier plots the coordinates on another map.
With Digital MP, "He puts the icon on the map and sends it to the
operations center," Sauer said.
With the electronic glove, MPs separated by thick woods, buildings
or darkness can still communicate silently with the familiar hand
signals for "Suspect armed!" and other vital information.
The adapted Nomex flight glove, with bend sensors in each finger
and in the wrist, pressure sensors in the index and middle
fingertips and 2-degree tilt sensors, renders preprogrammed
gestures as words in fellow MPs' eyeglass display monitors. The
glove works when the signaler doesn't have line of sight
communication with the others and doesn't want to give away his
position by speaking, said Sauer.
The glove also functions like a mouse with the e-book, guiding the
cursor with the tilt sensor and using the pressure sensors as
right and left clicks. When silence is necessary, as on patrol,
the glove can override the voice-operated system.
The Digital MP can be programmed to continuously translate speech
from English to another language and vice versa with only a
five-second lag. Presently it can handle Spanish, Korean, Arabic,
German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Thai and Turkish, and
officials said they plan to add "militarese" -- translating the
soldier's "clicks" into the civilian's "kilometers," for instance.
(Editor's note: Trish Warrick is editor of the Fort Polk
Guardian.)
http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/news/Nov2000/a20001113digitalmp.html
via: transhumantech@egroups.com
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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Barak mothballs documents attacking PA
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 09:47:30 -0500
IDF Radio: Barak mothballs documents attacking PA
Aaron Lerner Date: 16 November, 2000
Ma'ariv's website (http://images.maariv.co.il/cache/ART84673.html )
notes that this morning Army Radio revealed that Gilead Sher and
Minister Shlomo Ben Ami succeeded to convince Prime Minister Ehud
Barak to block the publication of a 60 page document prepared by
Danny Yatom that details a long list of incidents of corruption and
bribe taking by senior members of the Palestinain Authority.
The document presents examples of violations of agreements by the
Authority. The report, called the "white book" cites massive tax
evasion by Jibril Rajoub, the use of stolen Israeli cars by senior
members of the Authority and corruption directly associated with
Yasser Arafat.
Barak decide to edit out references to Arafat and limit the
distribution of the sanitized document because "it will be impossible to
convince the Israeli public to reach an agreement with the Palestinians
after it is published."
Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director
IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-548-0092
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
pager 03-6750750 subscriber 4811
Website: http://www.imra.org.il
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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] European organization worried about US election turmoil
From: research-bpr@philologos.org
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 09:47:31 -0500
A list member sent me the following as a follow-up to the Russians watching
our elections:
Excerpt from:
U.S. Election Turmoil Raises Questions About Global Security
Friday, November 10, 2000
"...the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a multi-
national European organization which has provided election monitoring help
to troubled countries, expressed its concern about the presidential ballot.
"'We are worried about the development in the United States and we are
watching it very closely,' Danish news agency Ritzau quoted Hrair Balian,
head of the election section of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights, as saying.
"Balian said the 55-nation OSCE, which also includes the United States and
Canada, might offer its expertise to the U.S. authorities if it felt it could
contribute something new. But Balian added he expected the well functioning
U.S. judicial system to solve the problem, which has confounded many
observers outside the United States."
http://www.foxnews.com/world/111000/worldreax.sml
Moza
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Subject: [bprlist] Barak meets Russiam FM Ivanov
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 09:47:31 -0500
PM BARAK MEETS RUSSIAN FM IVANOV asked him to unequivocally
demand that PA.Chmn Yasser Arafat halt the violence and incitement
immediately
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Jerusalem Thursday, November 16, 2000
Prime Minister Ehud Barak met this morning (Thursday), 16.11.2000, with
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and asked him to unequivocally demand
that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat halt the violence and
incitement immediately. The Prime Minister said that instead of
proceeding towards an agreement with Israel which would lead to the
establishment of a Palestinian state, Chairman Arafat has chosen the path
of violence which endangers regional stability and the interests of the
international community.
Prime Minister Barak emphasized that Israel would be unable to remain
indifferent to the risks that would stem from a unilateral declaration of
Palestinian statehood and would be compelled to take steps to protect its
interests.
Foreign Minister Ivanov expressed his concern that continued escalation
would be liable to bring about a regional deterioration and stressed his
support for a continuation of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under US
auspices. He added that Russia would not support a decision on the issue
of international observers that goes against the Israeli position.
The two men agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would make an
official visit to Israel next year and decided to deepen links between
their respective countries' national security councils.
"IMRA Newsletter" <imra-l@lyris.vcix.com>
Thu, 16 Nov 2000 14:43:42 +0200
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Subject: [bprlist] Animal Sacrifice at Roman Catholic "New Mass"
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 09:47:31 -0500
The following is from another list I am on.--Moza
-----begin-----
Archbishop on the Verge of Approving Animal Sacrifice at "New Mass"
Readers of TRADITIO are aware that moves are underway to permit animal
sacrifice at the "New Mass," to do obeisance to the Vatican II god of
"inculturation." This was the notion introduced into the Catholic Church
at council to permit authentic Roman Catholicism to be absorbed into pagan
practices to please local cultures that are not Roman Catholic. This
condemnable theology has permitted such atrocities as women serving as
lectors of the Gospel in Africa nude from the waist up, the pope smearing
his face with tree pitch in Australia after the aboriginal fashion rather
than incensing the altar in the Roman Catholic fashion, and the presence
of men dressed only in grass skirts holding spears at the high altar of
St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. These, and many other such incidents are
approvingly reported by the Vatican Press itself. Dead wrong are those who
contend that Vatican II was fine, but only its interpretation afterward
was flawed. Inculturation, as well as false ecumenism, and religious
indifferentism, can be found right in the documents of Vatican II
themselves.
London, 20 October (ENI Daily News Service, Geneva) -- A
leading animal rights theologian, Andrew Linzey, has spoken out against
moves to include symbolic sacrifice of animals in Christian worship,
describing it as "subversive of the Gospel". Some Christians in Africa
have suggested that traditional local non-Christian rituals such as
sacrificing sheep and cows should be included in services to give an
authentic indigenous dimension to worship. Earlier this year, Buti
Tlhagale, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bloemfontein, South Africa,
suggested that blood libations to honour ancestors should be incorporated
into the Mass. "Even sophisticated black Christians slaughter animals as
part of their tradition of communing with their ancestors at important
occasions in their lives," the Catholic archbishop said. "Is there a way
to integrate this custom with their Christian belief as a step towards
meaningful inculturation [in which Christianity is absorbed into and
re-expressed through local cultures]?" But Professor Linzey, speaking to
ENI from his home in Oxford, England, disagreed. "I support inculturation
as a principle, but it would be an odd view to argue that everything about
a culture is right." Professor Linzey, an Anglican priest who was
appointed to the world's first academic post in theology and animal
welfare, based at Oxford University, and is now a member of the faculty
of theology of Oxford University, continued: "Animal sacrifice is
subversive of the Gospel of the one true sacrifice of Christ by suggesting
that something has to be added...." However, he insisted, Christ set the
example by abstaining from the animal sacrifices that were at the heart of
Jewish religious practice at the time. There were no recorded cases in
the Bible of Jesus or his disciples sacrificing animals, and "a whole
range of examples where Jesus shows consideration for animals", including
his statements about the good shepherd and his sheep (John 10: 11), the
sparrows who were not forgotten before God. (Luke 12:6), and love as worth
more than sacrifices (Mark: 12:32-34). The church abolished sacrifice,
which it would not have done if Jesus himself had followed the practice,
Professor Linzey said. He also pointed out that liberating animals was the
immediate cause of Jesus' arrest and execution. "In cleansing the temple,
Jesus was not attacking sellers of postcards and candy floss. What was
being sold there were animals for sacrifice. "By his actions in the temple
Christ was attacking the thing the authorities held dearest - the
sacrificial system." Blood sacrifices were one of the principal targets of
Western Christian missionaries in 19th-century Africa. They saw the
ritual killing of animals and in some areas of human beings as an
encouragement to superstition.
See also:
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/plains/2594/paganism.htm
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=======
To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Air force attacks West Bank towns with cabinet approval
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 09:53:09 -0500
Thursday, November 16, 2000
Air force attacks West Bank towns with cabinet approval
8 die as Palestinians mark independence declaration anniversary
By Amos Harel, Baruch Kra and Amira Hass
Ha'aretz Correspondents
The air force attacked houses in Beit Jala, Tul Karm, Jericho, Nablus and
Hebron last night after several hours of heavy firing from Beit Jala toward
Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood.
The attacks followed a stormy day of demonstrations across the territories in
which eight Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded. The Palestinians
were marking the anniversary of their declaration of independence at the
Algiers Conference 12 years ago.
The decision was in response to both the shooting on Gilo and the general
escalation of violence over the last few days. However, the measures
approved by the cabinet last night are little different than those approved in
the past - they are not a new response policy. The IDF asked the cabinet to
approve harsher responses, including the right to act in PA-controlled
territory, but Prime Minister Ehud Barak prefers to continue a policy of
restraint.
The IDF told the cabinet that Palestinian security services are refusing to
resume security cooperation with Israel and many of their members are
actively participating in attacks on soldiers and settlers.
The attack on Beit Jala, which included missiles and tank rounds, took place
at about 11 P.M. The air force targeted houses from which shots had been
fired. A building was destroyed, and there were apparently some injuries.
Earlier, three Palestinians were injured by IDF fire in response to the
shooting. The shooting caused property damage in Gilo, including a fire, but
there were no Israeli casualties.
The eight Palestinians killed yesterday were Ahmed Bassel, 15; Fathi
Salem, 18; Samer Khader, a Palestinian policeman, 29; Jadu'a el-Kebbash,
16; Abd el-Hafez Gharuf, 20; Ahmed Shaaban, 16; Mohammed a-Shrafi, 17;
and Ibrahim Jaidi, 15. Five were killed in the West Bank and three in Gaza.
In addition, Mohammed Abad died yesterday of wounds incurred earlier.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, another 164
Palestinians were wounded yesterday.
The IDF, however, denies that all of the killings occurred during
demonstrations yesterday. Army sources say some of the men were killed
during gun battles the night before, but the Palestinians report them as
having died during demonstrations where there was no shooting from the
Palestinian side.
Two days ago, for instance, the Palestinians said the IDF killed two men
during daytime demonstrations in Gaza, but IDF soldiers and officers told
Ha'aretz that the IDF had used neither live fire nor rubber bullets at that
particular site on that day. There had, however, been shooting incidents in
the area the previous night.
Some of the heaviest fighting yesterday took place at the Ayosh Junction
near Ramallah. The IDF fired at a position from which Palestinian snipers
were shooting.
There was also heavy fighting near Kfar Darom in Gaza last night. According
to Palestinian sources, the IDF responded with tank shells and antitank
missiles. Other gunfights took place near Nablus, near Tul Karm, at several
locations around Jericho, at Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem, in Beit Sahur, in
Hebron and in several other locations in Gaza.
Palestinians claim the IDF fired on civilian houses in some sites. Near the
Rafah border crossing in Gaza, grenades were fired at an IDF force.
Two Palestinians were injured, one seriously, when, according to police, a
border policeman's gun accidentally went off in Emek Ha'ela, near Beit
Shemesh. The policemen were there to catch Palestinians trying to enter
Israel illegally. When they saw a van carrying Palestinians, they surrounded
it, and one policeman drew his gun. According to the police, the gun then
went off accidentally, injuring the two men. The Justice Ministry's police
investigations division is looking into the incident.
Four Israelis were lightly injured yesterday - two soldiers and a civilian by
stones, and one soldier by shrapnel in Hebron.
Dozens of firebombs were thrown at Israeli targets throughout the West Bank
yesterday. A firebomb was also thrown at an Arab house in the Beit Safafa
neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Police are investigating. The owner,
Mukhtar Daoud Alian, said he has suffered several such attacks in the past.
At about 8 P.M. last night, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured
Gilo, where he was mobbed by residents shouting for his return to power.
Netanyahu infuriated police by insisting on visiting Ha'anafa Street, then
under fire, since they feared they would be unable to prevent the crowds from
following him out onto the street - which proved true. However, no one was
hurt.
http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=11/16/00&
id=100869
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=======
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Subject: [bprlist] We wanted 2 babies not 3 says IVF mother suing clinic
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 12:25:06 -0500
16 November, 2000
We wanted 2 babies
not 3 says IVF mother
suing clinic
BY HARRY COOKE
A MOTHER who is suing a fertility
clinic after giving birth to triplets
instead of twins told yesterday
why she is seeking more than
=A3100,000 compensation. Patricia
Thompson, 34, said: "I wouldn't
have wanted three children. I think
two at once is enough for anyone to handle."
She recalled: "My husband was shocked to learn I was expecting
three babies. He went white when I told him." Mrs Thompson and
husband, Peter, 57, formerly an engineer, want the money to
cover the cost of raising one of the triplets to adulthood.
They are bringing the High Court action - the first of its kind in
Britain - claiming breach of contract, rather than medical
negligence, because they paid for private treatment at Sheffield
Fertility Clinic, a charity. The couple say they insisted that only
two embryos should be implanted and the clinic agreed.
The Sheffield court was told the couple had been trying to
conceive for nearly five years before they tried in vitro
fertilisation. After they learnt that Mrs Thompson was pregnant
with triplets they refused an offer to have one foetus aborted. If
they had undergone IVF treatment on the NHS, they would have
been barred from seeking the payout because of a House of
Lords ruling last year.
The babies, two boys and a girl, were born in 1997. Twelve
weeks later Mr Thompson, who has three children from a
previous marriage, had a heart attack and then a by-pass
operation. The couple, of Thrybergh, near Rotherham, South
Yorkshire, now have four children because Mrs Thompson
unexpectedly became pregnant in 1998 with a daughter who is
now two years old.
Ronald Walker, QC, for the clinic, suggested to Mrs Thompson
that the reason she did not want three embryos replaced was
that she was afraid it might affect the health of any children
born - not because she didn't want to have three babies. He
added that out of 350 women treated and having three embryos
replaced only Mrs Thompson had given birth to triplets. Mr
Walker said that if she had asked about the prospect of having
triplets with three embryos she would have been told it was
minimal.
Mrs Thompson told the court: "We never thought of having
triplets. Just one child would have been nice. The reason we
didn't want three embryos replaced was because we were given
such good advice at the beginning of our treatment." She said
she had been advised there could be health risks to all three
babies if three embryos were replaced. She added: "I wanted
two babies or one. I don't agree with abortion. Once the egg is
inside you it becomes a baby so there is no way I would have an
abortion."
Mr Walker told Mr Justice Hooper that even with the replacement
of two embryos there was a possibility of triplets if one embryo
divided into two. He suggested to Mrs Thompson: "You have
three healthy children and I guess you wouldn't want things to
have gone differently now. Three children have brought you a
great deal of joy." Mrs Thompson agreed.
The couple were granted legal aid to bring the case which is
expected to last three days.
=A9 Express Newspapers, 2000
http://www.lineone.net/express/00/11/16/news/n1520-d.html
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To: bprlist bprlist <bprlist@egroups.com>
Subject: [bprlist] Science may have caught up with the Bible
From: Shophar_Sho_Good
Date: 16 Nov 00 14:17:49 EST
Science may have caught up with the Bible
http://www.timesofindia.com/161100/16hlth4.htm
WASHINGTON: Science may have caught up with the bible, which says that Adam
and Eve are the ancestors of all humans alive today.
But in the scientists' version, based on DNA analysis, ''Adam,'' the genetic
ancestor of all men living today, and ''Eve,'' the genetic ancestor of all
living women, seem to have lived tens of thousands of years apart.
How could this be?
Peter Underhill and colleagues at Stanford University in California have an
explanation. ''They had different molecular clocks,'' Underhill said in a
telephone interview. ''Fewer men participated in reproduction than women
did.''
His team, working with top geneticists across the United States, Europe,
Israel and Africa, did a genetic analysis of DNA samples from the Y
chromosomes of more than 1,000 men from 22 geographic areas and determined
that their most recent common ancestor was a man who lived in Africa around
59,000 years ago.
Only men have Y chromosomes and researchers can look at gradual genetic
mutations in them to ''count'' generations.
Other studies have used Mitochondrial DNA, which women seem to pass down
virtually unchanged from mother to daughter, to show that the genetic ''Eve''
lived 143,000 years ago.
The latest study, published in the November issue of the Journal Nature
Genetics, reconciles the two findings, and in the process the researchers came
up with new tool for looking at how people are different from one another
genetically.
They also added a great deal of detail to the family tree of all men living
today, information that can be used by historians, anthropologists and other
researchers. ''We can look at the tree and see, 'oh, this section of the tree
is where Asians go. We can say, 'oh, here is a Japanese Y chromosome and this
is a Chinese Y chromosome,'' Underhill said.
What the tree does not do, he stresses, is identify so-called races.
Geneticists have long agreed there is no genetic basis to race -- only to
ethnic and geographic groups.
''People look at a very conspicuous trait like skin color and they say, well,
this person's so different' ... But that's only skin deep,'' Underhill said.
''When you look at the level of the Y chromosome you find that, gee, there is
very little difference between them. And skin color differences are strictly a
consequence of climate.''
But the differences, while tiny, are enough for experts such as Underhill's
team to try to figure out how many generations you have to go back to find a
single man who is related to all living people today. ''the history of our
species is something on the order of 4,000 or 5,000 generations,'' Underhill
Said.
Women were good at passing on their genes, while some men were less lucky.
Underhill's team found evidence of genetic bottlenecks that shortened the male
genetic legacy.
What could explain them? real-life scenarios from recorded history provide
plenty of explanations.(Reuters)
____________________________________________________________________
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Subject: [bprlist] Arutz-7 News items (11/16/00)
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 19:00:18 -0500
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Thursday, Nov. 16, 2000 / Cheshvan 18, 5761
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. YESHA DEMANDS END TO RESTRAINT
2. NO CHANGE IN POLICY
3. RIOTING AND TERRORISM
4. BARAK VETOES ARAFAT-SMEAR CAMPAIGN
5. RECOGNITION, AT LAST
6. RABBI LIOR: KINDNESS TO THE CRUEL IS CRUEL
7. LESS THAN ONE INJURY PER ATTACK
8. NO END TO INCITEMENT
9. BUSES TO KEVER RACHEL
10. BACKTRACKING IN AMERICA
***QUOTE OF THE DAY
1. YESHA DEMANDS END TO RESTRAINT
The Yesha Council leaders' sit-down strike outside the Prime Minister's
Office in Jerusalem continues, as visitors and sympathizers continue to
stream in. The strikers, who were joined in their efforts today by
residents of the Binyamin (southern Samaria) town of N'vei Tzuf, demand
that the government "allow the IDF defeat the Palestinians." N'vei Tzuf,
where lived Sarah Lisha, a victim of Monday's murderous Palestinian
terrorist attacks, is striking altogether today - no school and no work.
The residents drove slowly along the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway,
demonstratively causing traffic foul-ups.
Rabbi Yaakov Libi, principal of the Beit El Yeshiva High School, explained
why he has called upon his colleagues to follow him in transferring his
students and their studies to the protest site: "We feel that there is a
time at when we must not continue in the regular routine. We must express
that there are very very critical things going on now to the People of
Israel, namely, that blood is being spilled, and when this happens, the
students must know that they cannot sit by quietly. Instead, they protest
and express their lack of acceptance of this reality." Students from the
Ma'aleh Levonah girls' high school, where Sara Lisha taught, held signs
saying, "They murdered our teacher!"
Prime Minister Barak dismissed criticism of his policy of restraint, and
said that the right-wing is "talking nonsense" when it says that he is
holding the army back from acting strongly. He said that the diplomatic
process will not continue until the firing ends, but noted that he does
not demand "total calm" before resuming the talks with Arafat. Arutz-7's
Haggai Segal summarized the right-wing objections to Barak's position by
saying, "The question is, of course, whether the government wants to win,
or would rather simply prepare the way for the renewal of the negotiations
and further withdrawals."
2. NO CHANGE IN POLICY
As expected, Prime Minister Barak and the security cabinet decided last
night to continue the policy of restraint. The explanation: They do not
wish to play into the hands of Arafat, who is trying to "drag us into an
escalation that will invite international intervention." The government
itself seems not to mind such intervention, however; the Washington Post
reports today that Israeli and Palestinian diplomats met in Washington
last night to discuss the possibility of stationing 400 international
observers in Judea and Samaria. MK Danny Naveh (Likud) said that the fact
that Israel is even willing to discuss such an option proves to Arafat
that his violence pays off.
American mediator Dennis Ross, who met last night with Ehud Barak, met
today in Gaza with Yasser Arafat. It was reported that they discussed
"new ideas." Shas leader Eli Yeshai said that his party will remove the
"safety net" that it granted the Barak government if the latter resumes
talks with the Palestinians on the basis of the Camp David understandings.
Yeshai said that the safety net would also be removed if the talks resume
before the "violence" has ceased.
The continued nod to restraint, however, does not rule out offensive
actions - and in fact, Israel Air Force helicopters bombed four Tanzim
installations at 1 AM this morning in several Judea and Samaria locations.
In addition, following seven hours of a heavy barrage of fire from Beit
Jala to Gilo yesterday afternoon and evening, the army responded sharply;
among other targets, helicopters destroyed an abandoned building from
which a terrorist cell was shooting.
3. RIOTING AND TERRORISM
Palestinian rioting started a bit early today, and disturbances were
registered this morning near N'vei Dekalim, Rafiach, and Ayosh Junction.
After Palestinian fire was directed last night at Jewish homes in Hevron,
Psagot, Rachel's tomb, and several other locations, Palestinians blocked
A-Tor junction in eastern Jerusalem this morning by burning tires.
In the Galilee, also, Israeli-Arabs have resumed rock-throwing; four
Jewish cars were hit in the past 24 hours near Arabeh, 25 kilometers west
of the Sea of Galilee.
Terrorism, too, resumed early this morning. In an imaginative attempt to
murder Israelis, a group of ten terrorists burst out of a sand truck - one
of many that the soldiers were allowing to pass and unload their cargo -
and opened fire; the soldiers returned fire, and hit at least two of the
terrorists... A civilian convoy from Netzarim in Gaza was attacked with
gunfire this morning, just as two explosives blew up as it passed near the
Karni checkpoint. Miraculously, no one was hurt in the two-pronged
attack, although a jeep was damaged... An Israeli car on the Jenin
by-pass road in northern Samaria was shot at by a Palestinian car that
pulled out to pass it; a soldier in the attacked car shot in the air; the
terrorists escaped... An Israeli was lightly injured when terrorists shot
at his car outside Einav, near Kalkilye; nine bullets hit his car...
Other, but not all, of today's Palestinian violence: An ambulance on its
way to Eli, north of Shilo, was stoned and damaged by Arabs. Arabs in
eastern Jerusalem shot at Israeli Border Guard troops near a police
station there. Along the Israel-Lebanon border, a roadside explosive was
detonated as an IDF patrol passed by; no one was hurt in any of these
incidents.
4. BARAK VETOES ARAFAT-SMEAR CAMPAIGN
Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) reported today that Prime Minister Barak ordered
a near-total censure of a 60-page document detailing many incidents of
corruption by senior Palestinian Authority leaders, including Yasser
Arafat. The document cites large-scale tax evasion by Jibril Rajoub, the
use of stolen Israeli cars by PA leaders, and corruption by Muhammad
Dahlan and others. Other tidbits: Arafat's popularity within the PA has
dropped significantly, largely because of the wide-spread corruption, and
it has not invested at all in helping the refugees, despite the large
amounts of funds donated for this purpose by foreign countries.
The document, prepared under the direction of Barak's chief security aide
Gen. (res.) Danny Yatom, was originally meant to be sent to Israeli
missions abroad, as well as to the Israeli public, as part of Israel's
information campaign against the Palestinian Authority. Foreign Minister
Shlomo Ben-Ami, however, together with senior Barak aides Sher and Liel,
convinced the Prime Minister not to publish more than a handful of copies
of the document. Army Radio quoted Barak as explaining, "It will be
impossible to convince the Israeli public to reach an agreement with the
Palestinians after it is publicized."
In a related issue, Yasser Arafat has apparently pulled off another
successful talking-out-of-both-sides-of-his-mouth. He taped a video of
himself warmly eulogizing Leah Rabin, who was buried yesterday, with the
promise that it would be broadcast on Palestinian television. The two
Israeli channels broadcast the video with Hebrew subtitles, relying on the
above Palestinian promise. Israeli officials rushed to interpret Arafat's
warm gesture as a signal by the PLO leader to his people that negotiations
with Israel would resume soon. In the end, Arafat's message was not
broadcast on PA TV. Israelis thus saw Arafat speaking words of peace -
but his own people did not.
5. RECOGNITION, AT LAST
The suffering of beleaguered residents under constant fire from
Palestinian terrorists has been recognized by the Prime Minister's office.
Prime Minister Barak has ordered the allocation of some 11 million
shekels - not to Psagot, or to Netzarim, but to the southern Jerusalem
neighborhood of Gilo. An official statement by the Prime Minister's
Office states, "Given the events of recent weeks and days, and in light of
the needs raised by the Gilo neighborhood administration, the funds will
be budgeted, inter alia, towards protecting educational institutions,
bolstering activities at community centers, providing for additional
teachers, psychologists and social workers, and for Jewish National
Fund-sponsored trips and camps for Gilo children. Prime Minister Barak
said that he commends the residents of Gilo who have been at the forefront
of the struggle and who deserve maximum support from the government."
6. RABBI LIOR: KINDNESS TO THE CRUEL IS CRUEL
Rabbi Dov Lior, the Rabbi of Kiryat Arba and Hevron, related today to
various questions connected with our relationship with the Palestinians.
He told Arutz-7's Tuvia Rosenfeld that the government's policy of
restraint and 'not hitting innocent civilians' does not "jibe with the
Torah's outlook:"
"It is true that Nachmanides [13th century Torah giant] rules that the
army must not encircle the enemy and must allow it an opening from which
to escape, but Maimonides [12th century Torah giant] differs and says that
this is merely strategic advice - in that an army with no means of escape
will fight more strongly. In war, when one nation attacks another nation,
there is no such thing as 'innocent civilians...' Even collective
punishment is allowed, according to the decisions of the military leaders.
If, for instance, it is decided that the proper military response to the
constant shooting at Gilo would be to bomb Beit Jala, or even to bomb
large parts of Gaza, then this is what should be done. Of course, it
could be that because of various weaknesses, the army does not make these
decisions... It is clear to me that we are being too merciful, and in the
wrong places - such that it is a 'mercy of cruelty;' as our Rabbis teach
us, 'Whoever is merciful to the cruel, will end up being cruel to the
merciful.' ... Furthermore, it's not enough to learn Eastern Affairs in
universities - we must know our enemy and his characteristics. Maimonides
wrote in his Epistle to Yemen, 'Whenever we try to seek their [the
Moslems'] welfare, they will respond with curses and war.' This means
that if we behave toward them with proper manners and with gentleness,
they don't take this as a sign of strength - but rather as weakness, and
it will actually invite further attacks upon us."
Rabbi Lior also related to the claim by the left-wing that "conquest
corrupts," and that we should therefore rid ourselves of the "conquered
territories." He said,
"The Torah promises us, as explained by various commentaries to Deut. 13,
18, that when we are engaged in a Torah commandment, we need not worry
that it will leave any immoral defects in our character. If we were
engaged in military conquest of other lands, this would be against the
Torah and basic ethics. But in this case, it is not conquest - it is the
liberation of our own land, and the protection of our own people from
enemies who threaten our very existence. I have no doubt that whoever is
engaged in this act for the purpose of saving the People of Israel will be
saved from any character blemishes, as the Torah promises."
7. LESS THAN ONE INJURY PER ATTACK
Col. Daniel Reisner of the IDF Legal Division gave a briefing to the press
yesterday, on the legal ramifications of the present situation. An
excerpt [with thanks to IMRA, <http://www.imra.org.il>:
"The claim against the IDF is that we're using excessive force. Let's
try
and see if the numbers bear this out... Let's say that an average
incident [rock-throwing riots, shooting, or both] will involve several
dozen people and will last half an hour, on average... There have been,
up to the day before yesterday, 1,351 armed attacks against Israeli
targets. There have been 3,734 attacks without live weapons - a total of
just under 5,100 attacks instigated by the Palestinians. Now, if this is
the number, based on our military reports from all units, who report every
incident, and if we take the number of people who have been injured [3,000
- 4,000], we find that on average, less than one person is being injured
per incident. Is that excessive use of force?"
8. NO END TO INCITEMENT
Itamar Marcus, whose organization Palestinian Media Watch regularly
reviews anti-Israel incitement in the Palestinian press, spoke to Arutz-7
today about his most recent findings: "We now hear that the PA wants to
direct its war more directly against soldiers and residents in Yesha. An
article in the official PA newspaper Al Hayat Al-Jadida talks about the
Palestinian ability to 'make the settlers run away in fear, to save their
necks from our sword... The settlers are a polluted stain in our land.
Whatever Israel can do to save them, it won't be able to save all of
them... We feel that it is time to expel them... they will turn into
rats hiding in their holes...'"
Marcus said that Arafat and the PA continue to encourage children to take
part in the violence: "For instance, we saw one of their new television
clips yesterday where an Israeli helicopter is depicted as 'chasing' a
little terrified girl until she falls, dead. The goal, of course, is to
implant in the children the image of Israelis as cold-blooded murderers.
We see a teacher asking her 2nd-grade student if he is afraid to throw
rocks at Israeli soldiers, and when he hesitates, she signals the correct
answer by shaking her head 'no'... A final clip shows one boy
encouraging a smaller boy as they both throw rocks at IDF soldiers; the
older one tells the younger one not to be afraid, that Allah is with them,
and that the 'rock has turned into a Kalachnikov [rifle]...' - and then
Arafat goes around the world denying that the PA is inciting its children
to violence and hatred."
9. BUSES TO KEVER RACHEL
Bulletproof buses to Rachel's Tomb leave every hour on the hour, from 9
til 11 AM, from the Gilo-Bethlehem intersection. Large groups can also be
accommodated. The demonstrators there call upon the public to take
advantage of the army-approved service, in order to cement the Jewish
People's hold on Rachel's Tomb.
10. BACKTRACKING IN AMERICA
"It takes a big organization to admit it was wrong. We think we were
wrong about you, Chairman Arafat..." So declared the American Jewish
Congress in a full-page New York Times ad this past Sunday, joining the
crowd of other American-Jewish organizations and individuals who have
begun to publicly regret their previous support for the Oslo process.
Morton A. Klein, President of the Zionist Organization of America, lists
several of the "born-again" groups in a recent article. Among them, he
counts the New York Jewish Week, Reform leader Rabbi Alexander Schindler
(who passed away this week), and others. Some excerpts:
"The peace that seemed so near seems to have been swept from grasp in a
cruel wave of violence, terror, and the cynical sending of children into an
armed conflict fomented by the Palestinian leadership." - from the American
Jewish Congress NY Times ad Gary Rosenblatt, editor the largest
Federation newspaper in the U.S., the New York Jewish Week, wrote that
"the premise of the Oslo peace process has gone up in the flames of the
renewed intifada." Rosenblatt urged Israel to take back some of the territory
it has given to Arafat, and stop transferring tax revenues to the PA. John
Ruskay, a veteran left-wing activist and Executive VP of the NY UJA-
Federation, said that "the events of the last three weeks have certainly
challenged if not shattered the fantasies of an early, quick, peaceful
coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians." "Wrong About Arafat" - the
headline of a Washington Post op-ed by U.S. Labor Zionist leader
Menachem Rosensaft, one of the first Jews to meet with Arafat. Mel
Shralow, former president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of
Philadelphia, authored an op-ed for the Federation's Jewish Exponent titled
"From Peace Advocate to Supporter of 'Not One Inch!'" Longtime Oslo
supporter Neil Rubin, editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times, wrote, "At this
moment we American Jews cannot push the peace agenda. We must focus
on explaining Israel's right to defend itself... We must add that the
Palestinians need to drop absurd denials of the Temple Mount's centrality to
the Jewish soul, that they rebuild the destroyed Joseph's Tomb..."
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"This time it's not either Kahane or the Likud - this time it's either
Kahane or Arafat!... If, Heaven forbid, we don't get elected, in another
ten years we will have here Arafat!" - Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the
Jewish Defense League and former Knesset Member, during his bid for
election to the Knesset in 1984. His students and followers will tonight
mark the tenth anniversary of his murder by an Arab in New York. A
memorial rally will be held in his honor in Jerusalem, outside Binyanei
Ha'Umah.
Hebrew News Editor: Haggai Segal
English News Editor: Hillel Fendel
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To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Weekend News Today items (11/16/00)
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 19:00:18 -0500
Floods causing State of Emergency in Venezuela
Weekend News Today
Lead: faith
Source: Weather.com
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- Several days of flooding rains have prompted a state of
emergency in Venezuela, with at least 3 victims and thousands losing their
homes. The rain is drenching the same region where massive flooding and
mudslides killed approximately 15,000 people just last December.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared the state of emergency in 10
states during an emergency cabinet meeting Wednesday night. The rain is
concentrated along the north coast and western portions of the country.
Rivers have spilled over their banks and mudslides have buried shanty
houses. Thousands of Venezuelans who lost their homes during last year=92s
flooding are still living in shelters.
6.2 earthquake rocks New Britain Region (P.N.G.)
Weekend News Today
Lead: faith
Source: USGS
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- After the enormous 8.0 & 7.7 in the Papa New Guinea
area of New Ireland, quakes continue to hit nearby areas.
Now, a 6.2 and three 5.3 quakes have hit the nearby New Britain Region as
well.
A few other quakes today: Northern Algeria was shaken by a 5.0 magnitude
quake. The Vanuatu Islands had a 5.2 quake, while Nevada, USA had a 4.1.
EU calls for Palestinian state in near future
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: AFP
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- The European Union on Thursday called for the creation
of a "sovereign, democratic Palestinian state ... in the near future," acco
rding
to a final statement concluding a Euromed meeting here. Concluding a tense
two-day meeting of the EU states and their southern Mediterranean partners,
the 15 EU nations voiced their "support for the Palestinians' right to thei
r own
state."
No peace force in Mideast possible before peace: Ben Ami
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: AFP
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- Israel on Thursday raised the possibility of an
international peace-keeping force to intervene between warring Israelis and
Palestinians, but only after a peace accord is struck. However, Israeli act
ing
foreign minister Shlomo Ben Ami effectively discounted that such a force
would be European-based, saying the United States was universally
considered the central referee in the dispute that has left more than 230 d
ead
since September 28, most of them Palestinians.
"Days before the eruption (of the current violence) I met with (French)
President (Jacques) Chirac and I told him it would be interesting if he wou
ld
advance this idea," Ben Ami told a press conference on the sidelines of a
Euromed meeting here. "Chirac said this would not be possible without
consulting the Americans," said Ben Ami. "They want the United States to
have and to keep the central role in this. Europe accepts the centrality of
the
US. They don't want an active role."
Rebels bring risk to UN peacekeeping mission in Ethiopia
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Stratfor Report
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- The United Nations is about to launch another massive
peacekeeping mission in Africa. Final preparations began the week of Nov. 7
for the deployment of approximately 4,200 soldiers to monitor a Temporary
Security Zone along the 620-mile Eritrean-Ethiopian border. Despite
extensive preparations and an elite U.N. force at the core of the mission,
several complications could undermine the security of U.N. troops.
Simmering hostilities between Addis Ababa and Asmara have yet to be
resolved, and the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Eritrea will likely i
nvolve
at least low-level violence. More important, numerous rebel groups in the
region could benefit greatly by capturing supplies intended for the Blue
Helmets. The well-armed peacekeepers may be able to preserve security
along the border; however, it may be nearly impossible to ensure the securi
ty
of vital transport routes.
Arafat hopes to reach agreement before new U.S. president is sworn in
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Ha'aretz
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat said
Thursday in a meeting with U.S. negotiator Dennis Ross that he hoped that
the PA and Israel could reach a peace agreement before the term of U.S.
President Bill Clinton ends. At the end of the meeting, Arafat said that in
spite of the violence he believes that it is possible to reach a peace
agreement. "Do not forget that Arafat does not want to leave the White
House empty handed," Arafat said. Arafat would not object to a meeting
between himself, Clinton and Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Turkey invited to EU rapid deployment force
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Middle East Newsline
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- Turkey, despite its failure to enter the European Union,
is
being offered a role in the EU's rapid deployment force. Turkey is one of s
ix
NATO countries being offered to participate in planning a majority of the r
apid
reaction force operations. The offer is meant to assuage Turkey's concerns
that it would be eliminated from decisions affecting European defense.
The EU has proposed three ways for Turkey to participate in the decision-
making process. They include involvement in the decision-making concerning
potential operations in its regions, input in any operation that utilizes N
ATO
equipment and assets and the establishment of a military committee. In
addition, Ankara will also have a military liaison with the EU. Turkey is a
member of NATO.
Israel increases activities in Lebanon
Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Middle East Newsline
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- Israel has quietly resumed military activities in Lebano
n.
Israeli warplanes are flying regularly over Lebanon and patrol boats are
skirting territorial waters amid an alert of attacks by Hizbullah and
Palestinian guerrillas. Military sources said the activities resumed after
the
Oct. 7 abduction by Hizbullah of three Israeli soldiers from the northern
border. The soldiers are believed to be dead. The resumption came after
more than three months of a halt in Israeli activity in Lebanon amid the Ma
y
24 withdrawal. Israel pledged to the United Nations not to violate Lebanese
air space, waters or territory.
On Tuesday, Israeli fighter-jets flew over Lebanon near Sidon and over the
Bekaa valley, strongholds of the Hizbullah. UN monitors said Israel violate
d
Lebanese air space more than 130 times since Oct. 8. The Lebanese
government has also protested the overflights. In New York, the UN Security
Council informed Lebanon that it must abide by international law and deploy
troops along the border in positions in southern Lebanon vacated by Israel.
Hizbullah guerrillas have taken over the vacated positions. The security
council also urged both Lebanon and Israel to end the "dangerous violations
"
that have occurred across the Israeli-Lebanese border over the past six
months.
National Council of Churches courts Catholics, Evangelicals and
Pentecostals
Weekend News Today
Lead: Leo
Source: AP
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- The National Council of Churches, a mainline Protestant
and Orthodox group, is reaching out to Roman Catholics, evangelicals and
Pentecostals to create a "new national expression of Christian life." The
council is expected to pass a resolution Friday committing the group to ask
to meet with the other Christian denominations sometime next year.
The National Council - comprising 35 mainline Protestant, black Protestant
and Orthodox denominations - has been a leading voice in the movement for
Christian unity, or ecumenism, for more than 50 years. But most Christians
in the United States are not in the council. "The difference this time is t
hat
we have invited the Roman Catholics, evangelicals and Pentecostals to build
a new table together without dictating what that table will look like," sai
d
council General Secretary Bob Edgar. The council is meeting in Atlanta this
week. The resolution, approved unanimously by the council's executive board
in May and October, sets no specific expectations for the meetings and is
intentionally vague, Edgar said.
Conservative Protestants, including Southern Baptists, have been indifferen
t
or hostile to the National Council of Churches in the past, accusing it of
being too theologically liberal and promoting political causes. Bill Merrel
l, the
Southern Baptist Convention's vice president for convention relations, said
Thursday his denomination, the nation's largest Protestant denomination,
has no plans to attend the proposed meeting. "We cooperate with others
with various moral and social issues that we find we have common ground,
but we find that it is very problematic to work with many religious groups
on
theological grounds," Merrell said. Michael Kinnamon, a professor at Eden
Theological Seminary in St. Louis, said evangelical denominations "feel tha
t
the ecumenical movement sacrifices truth for unity."
Strong earthquake hits Philippines
Weekend News Today
Lead: faith
Source: Yahoo news/AP
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- A strong earthquake jolted the NW Philippines. No
immediate damage or casualties were reported. The magnitude 5.5 quake
was centered about 200 miles NW of Manila and hit the area Wednesday
evening.
Quake Rattles Northeastern Japan
Weekend News Today
Lead: faith
Source: Yahoo news/AP
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of
5.3 rattled NE Japan on Thursday, but there were no reports of damage or
injuries. The quake struck at 6:31 p.m. and was centered 37 miles beneath
the seabed off Fukushima state. There was no known connection between
the tremor and a powerful earthquake that hit New Guinea earlier Thursday.
Fukushima is about 150 miles NE of Tokyo. Japan is one of the world's most
earthquake-prone countries because it sits atop four tectonic plates, slabs
of
land that move across the Earth's surface. But this year, scientists have s
aid
they have gotten a very unusually high number of quakes and volcanic
eruptions.
India wants to amend divorce law for Christian women
Weekend News Today
Lead: Leo
Source: Yahoo News/Reuters
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- India's federal cabinet on Thursday approved the
introduction of a bill in parliament which seeks to amend a 131-year-old
divorce law and end discrimination against Christian women.
Cabinet spokesman and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan told
reporters the cabinet had approved the introduction of the Indian Divorce
(Amendment) Bill in parliament next week to amend the Indian Divorce Act of
1869. ``The objective of the amendment is to end the outdated and
discriminatory provisions against Christian women in divorce cases,''
Mahajan said.
Christians account for a little over two percent of the country's more than
one
billion people. He said under the present law, if a Christian man seeks
dissolution of marriage, he needs to prove only adultery on the part of his
wife. But Christian women seeking dissolution of marriage needs to prove
some other marital offence in addition to adultery, Mahajan said.
Britain to force Carribean Islands to accept homosexuality
Weekend News Today
Lead: Leo
Source: LifeSite.net
Thu Nov 16,2000 -- The British government will force the legalization of
homosexuality on its Caribbean territories after having cajoled the Islands
'
legislators unsuccessfully. The Sunday Times reports that the affected
Islands have devout Christian populations and its leaders have thus refused
to cave in to the foreign pressure.
The Times was privy to a secret government letter outlining the plan. The
letter from Baroness Scotland, the minister responsible for overseas
territories, to Jenny Tonge, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on internationa
l
development states, "None of the relevant territories were willing to legis
late
themselves . . . We will therefore shortly be proceeding with an order in
council to make the necessary change to the law of the five Caribbean
territories. I expect to do this before Christmas." According to the Times,
the
move will affect the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, the Turks and Caic
os
Islands, Anguilla and the Cayman Islands.
http://216.219.160.226/cgi-
bin/readnews.cgi?day=3D00_11_16&item=3D#974407158
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=======
To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] (Fwd) [BFP-UPDATE] Solidarity Mission Schedule
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 19:00:18 -0500
------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 03:06:06 -0700
Send reply to: BFPIsrael@compuserve.com
From: BFP Israel <BFPIsrael@compuserve.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list BFP-UPDATE <bfp-update@grmi.org>
Subject: [BFP-UPDATE] Solidarity Mission Schedule
Bridges for Peace Solidarity Mission
December 2 - 7
Bridges for Peace is dedicated to standing with the nation of Israel during
this critical time of crisis. Delegates are coming from a number of
nations on the Solidarity Mission to say, "Israel, you are not alone." The
participants will show support for the people of Israel, see the facts on
the ground to enable them to speak out effectively for Israel, learn how
they can more effectively stand with Israel and have opportunities to pray
for the peace of Jerusalem on location.
Since 1995 Israel has made a sincere and noble effort to establish
peace with her Arab neighbors. Most Israeli citizens, weary of sending
their sons & daughters to war, were eager for peace and hopeful that it was
just around the corner.
But with recent events, those hopes have been dashed, and Israel
is again under attack, both in the streets and in the press. Israelis are
feeling increasingly isolated and alone. World opinion, organized and
directed by a hostile United Nations, accuses them of unnecessary force and
barbarism, while they attempt to defend themselves against those with whom
they once sought peace.
BFP represents vast numbers of Christians worldwide who believe
that those who bless Israel are blessed. We give thanks for the Jewish
heritage of our own faith, and we have committed ourselves to stand with
Israel and the Jewish community in good times and bad. More than any time
in her short history, Israel needs us now!
Please join with us as we stand up to be counted, as lovers and
supporters of the Land and People of the Bible. Help us say to Israel, "you
are not alone!"
We know it's asking a lot of you, to drop everything and get on an
airplane with us to make this very important statement. We wouldn't ask you
to do it if we didn't believe our voices must be heard and will have an
impact once they are heard.
Following is the planned schedule of events.
Sunday - December 3
Arrive in Israel.
Proceed to Haas Promenade for an overlook of Jerusalem. We will have an
inter-faith ceremony, as we join together in prayer for the Peace of
Jerusalem.
Monday - December 4
What is the Current Situation?
1. Tour of Gilo, Jerusalem neighborhood which has been repeatedly fired on
in recent weeks.
2. Military briefing by Israel Defense Force (IDF) Spokesman.
3. Tour and briefing of the security situation at a Jewish community in the
territories (name withheld for security reasons). We will be
addressed by a spokesman
4. Lunch Break
5. Meeting at Knesset (Israel's Parliament) with Yossi Beilin (Minister of
Justice) for a government position on the political perspective of
the peace process as it relates to the current situation.
6. Jerusalem in the current conflict - meeting with Mayor Ehud Olmert, at
the municipality
7. Evening briefing with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Tuesday - December 5
What is Influencing the Situation Behind the Scenes?
1. How did Israel get to this current situation? Clarence Wagner,
International Director, Bridges for Peace
2. Islamic persecution of Christians and Jews - Justus Weiner
3. Questions and answer session with Clarence Wagner and Justus Weiner
4. Lunch Break
5. Effects of terrorism on the nation and individual families - Nadia or
Ruth Matar of Women in Green
6. Religious Jewish Perspective on land and peace with Rabbi Yechiel Leiter
7. Evening meeting - Media Influence and Influencing the media - Avi Golan
of the Jerusalem Post, and Michael Friedman of Jewish Horizons Radio.
Wednesday - December 6
What Can We Do?
1. Visit to the BFP Outreach Center to see how Christians are standing with
Israel
2. Tree planting in the Jerusalem Forest
3. Visit the Western Wall for a time of individual prayer and reflection.
4. Lunch Break
5. A Crisis of Faith; Effects of the situation on Christian and Jewish
Communities - Rev. Petra Heldt, Ecumenical Fraternity in Israel and
Rabbi Ron Kronish, Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel.
6. Activism for Israel - Panel discussion with Clarence Wagner,
International Director of Bridges for Peace, Esther Levins of
National Unity Coalition, JoAnn Magnuson, Education Director, BFP - US,
Rabbi Ron Kronish, and Petra Heldt.
7. Evening meeting - Natan Scharansky, Head of Israel b'Aliyah Knesset
Party and former Minister of Interior and meet and hear the story
of an immigrant family who has been assisted through the
immigration process by Christians.
Thursday - December 7
Departure for home
Note: Schedule may be subject to changes because of the tense security
situation.
HOW TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE ON THE MISSION
This is not a sightseeing tour, but maybe the most meaningful
trip you have ever taken! This Solidarity Mission is originating in the
United States. If you are from another country and wish to participate
please write us at bfpisrael@compuserve.com. The Land Only price listed
below would apply to you (please obtain your own airfare).
For North Americans Registration is through our US office in Tulsa. Contact
Donna Hobbs
Bridges for Peace
Tel: 800-566-1998
Fax: 918-461-8808
Email: BFP_US@compuserve.com
Mail: P.O. Box 33145
Tulsa, OK 74153
You can register by phone, fax, e-mail or snail mail. If you wish to
register by e-mail or fax, we need to receive the following information
from you without delay!
1. Your full name, as it appears on your passport.
2. Your complete street address, as a PO box will not be sufficient for
sending tickets and travel documents.
3. Your telephone numbers (day and evening) your fax and e-mail addresses,
if available.
4. Your passport number.
5. Date of issue and Date of Expiration.
6. Place of issue (national passport center, Seattle, etc.).
7. Your date of birth and place (state in the United States, or country )
of birth.
8. Who is your roommate? If you don't have one already, would you like us
to try and find you a roommate?
9. Do you want the land-only package? This is for people traveling on
frequent flyer tickets or flying to Israel from outside the USA. Land-only
passengers will have to arrange transfers on their own. The cost of the
land-only package is $497 in double occupancy.
10. How do you wish to pay for the mission services?
By check
By Credit Card
If you are paying by credit card, a 3% supplement will apply to cover our
cost of the credit card transaction.
11. Where do you want to depart from? (I.e., New York, Seattle, Tulsa,
etc.) Since we have access to flights from practically anywhere, let us
know your most convenient departure point so we can arrange your flights in
the most convenient and least expensive way possible.
12. If you want or need a single room, the supplement is $230. Tips and
taxes are $106 in addition to the tour prices. The tips cover the hotel
dining room and the driver of your bus. Taxes cover airport departure taxes
and the amount may vary slightly if your flight itinerary requires you to
pass through several airports, but for most itineraries, the amount quoted,
$106, is correct.
We have very good through fares from most U.S. cities, so let us know where
you would like to depart from and we will let you know by phone the exact
cost from your home city. As soon as you send your details to Donna Hobbs
at the BFP office in Tulsa, we will contact you directly with costs and
other information regarding travel.
Prices for some gateways are listed below. This list will give you an
indication of the cost from your home city, as the sample list below pretty
well spans the US continent.
New York $1098
Minneapolis $1245
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle $1250
Des Moines $1298
Tulsa $1210
Dallas, Houston, Kansas City $1225
Upon receipt of your reservation, we'll send you updated information
regarding the program, travel insurance application form, and other
instructions.
Please pray about the success of our mission. This is a moment unlike
others we have seen in recent years. We need your help as never before, and
please remember that if you are unable to join us but have the means,
please pray about donating to the mission so that someone who can go but
doesn't have the means can participate in your place.
------- End of forwarded message -------
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