To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Patent allows creation of man-animal hybrid
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 13:08:09 -0000

Patent allows creation of man-animal hybrid
Antony Barnett, public affairs editor
Sunday November 26, 2000

A biotech company has taken out a Europe-wide patent on a process
which campaigners claim would allow 'chimeric' animals to be
developed with body parts originating from humans.

An Australian company, Amrad, was granted the patent last year, which
covers embryos containing cells both from humans and from 'mice,
sheep, pigs, cattle, goats or fish'.

Church groups have already reacted with outrage, denouncing the
patent as 'morally offensive'.

Details in the patent do not make it clear what use these mixed-
species embryos would be put to, but experts are in no doubt that the
potential is there to create a hybrid creature.

Dr Sue Mayer, director of Genewatch, said: 'The company is saying
that it wants a patent on a process which could produce chimeric
animals using cells from a whole range of species including humans.
Many people will find the thought abhorrent.'

A spokesman for the Catholic Church said: 'To patent a process where
human life is used as a kind of bank to deposit into animals is
morally indefensible.'

Dr Donald Bruce, a spokesman for European churches on bioethics,
said: 'This patent should never have been passed. If people are
talking about using human cells in animals, that is completely
unacceptable.'

Full story at:
http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,403160,00.html

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======= To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Britain's flooding 'not caused by global warming', say scientists
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 13:10:34 -0000

Sunday 26 November 2000

Britain's flooding 'not caused by global warming', say scientists
By Robert Matthews

Prescott is humiliated on climate

CLAIMS by Government ministers and the media that Britain's recent
spate of bad weather is caused by global warming will be dismissed as
scientific nonsense this week by leading climate experts.

An international conference of experts on the European climate will
be told that the heavy rainfall and flooding of recent months is
entirely consistent with a well-known weather system, and shows no
signs of being linked to global warming. The rebuttal comes as John
Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, returns from negotiations in The
Hague aimed at cutting greenhouse gas levels and reducing global
warming. According to environmentalists, global warming is to blame
for the stormy weather and floods of recent months.

It is a claim which Government ministers have repeatedly endorsed,
with Mr Prescott claiming that Britain's recent floodings were "a
wake-up call" on global warming. Yet climate experts will reveal this
week that the most likely cause is the so-called North Atlantic
Oscillation (NAO), a pattern of atmospheric pressure which forms over
the ocean.

Full story at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

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======= To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Zenit News items (11/26/00)
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 08:59:44 -0500

"HOUR OF THE LAITY HAS STRUCK," JOHN PAUL II SAYS
Urges Catholics to Embrace Documents of Vatican II

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 26, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Saying "the hour of the laity
has struck," John Paul II urged lay Catholics to delve into the documents
of the Second Vatican Council.

The Holy Father made the announcement during the Mass marking the
climax of the Jubilee of the Lay Apostolate in Rome. The Bishop of Rome
told the 40,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square that lay men and
women must reread the documents of Vatican II to "rediscover the great
wealth of doctrinal and pastoral stimulants" which their vocation implies.

In a symbolic gesture at the end of the ceremony, the Pope gave copies of
Vatican II documents to 10 lay people from around the world. "I give you this
text of the council as the witness you must transmit to the new generations
of committed laity, so that that singular event will also continue to be in the
third millennium, the passage of the Holy Spirit in his Church," the Pope
said.

The pilgrims in the square, who endured intermittent downpours of rain,
represented the millions of laity of all ages who are active in the numerous
works within the Church, including associations, movements of "apostolic
action" (as the Pope describes them) and diocesan service.

Among those present were superiors and founders of ecclesial movements
who attended to show their support for John Paul II and adherence to the
magisterium. Seven cardinals helped concelebrate the Mass.

In his homily, John Paul II said, "To be Christians has never been easy, and
it isn't easy today either. To follow Christ means having the courage to make
radical choices that often go against the current."

The Pope said that many lay faithful "have understood their own Christian
vocation with greater clarity, which, by its very nature, is a vocation to the
apostolate." He emphasized that the laity will be missionaries because
"contemporary man hears witnesses more easily than teachers. ... [I]f he
listens to teachers he does so when they are witnesses."

The laity's mission is enormous. The Pope sketched its main lines: "Suffice
it to think of social conquests and the revolution in the genetic field; in
economic progress and in the underdevelopment that exists in wide areas of
the planet; in the tragedy of hunger in the world, and in the difficulties to
safeguard peace; in the fiber network of communications, and in the drama of
loneliness and violence that are chronicled daily."

In this atmosphere, the laity are called to build the Kingdom of God on earth,
the Holy Father said. "Do not be afraid to accept this challenge: Be holy men
and women! Do not forget that the fruits of the apostolate depend on the
depth of the spiritual life, on the intensity of prayer, of continual formation and
sincere adhesion to the directives of the Church."

John Paul repeated his message from World Youth Day in Rome: "You will
be what you must be if you live Christianity without compromises, thus you
will be able to set the world on fire." ZE00112609

------------------

PATENT REPORTED TO ALLOW MAN-ANIMAL HYBRID
European Office Granted It to Australian Firm in 1999, Paper Says

LONDON, NOV. 26, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- A biotechnology company has taken
out
a patent in Europe on a process which it claims would allow animals to be
developed with body parts originating from humans, The Observer newspaper
reported today.

An Australian company, Amrad, was granted the patent last year, which
covers embryos containing cells both from humans and from "mice, sheep,
pigs, cattle, goats or fish," the newspaper reported.

Church groups have already reacted with outrage, denouncing the patent as
"morally offensive," The Observer said.

In October the European Patent Office claimed it would never grant a
patent on mixed-species embryos since they as considered against "public
order and morality," The Observer said. But this patent, discovered by a
researcher in Greenpeace's German office, was taken out in January 1999
and has since been sold to a U.S. company, Chemicon International,
according to the newspaper.

According to the patent the hybrid-creating process starts by isolating a
special hormone, the objective of which is to stimulate the growth of
embryonic cells, or stem cells, The Observer said. These stem cells are
the "master cells" which could in theory be used to produce virtually any
type of replacement tissue for a damaged body.

John Grace, Amrad chief executive, said the patent would not be used to
create animals with human cells, The Observer said. He reportedly said the
process was mainly used to produce genetically engineered mice for
research. ZE00112621

----------

NIGERIAN STATE INTRODUCES FULL ISLAMIC LAW
Potential for Conflicts with Christian Minority Foreseen

KANO, Nigeria, NOV. 26, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Kano, northern Nigeria's most
populous state, is due to bring the Islamic legal code Shariah into effect
today, BBC reported.

Shariah was formally launched in Kano in June at a rally attended by
hundreds of thousands of people, but it is only now that the laws will be
fully introduced, BBC said.

The governor of Kano, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has been under tremendous
pressure
to follow the example of several other northern states in introducing a
complete Shariah code, the British news organization said.

Earlier this year proposals to extend the jurisdiction of Shariah in the
neighboring state of Kaduna led to fighting between Christians and Muslims
which resulted in many hundreds of deaths, BBC said.

A spokesman for the Kano state government told the BBC that the new
Islamic laws would not apply to the Christian minority in the state. Yet,
at a signing-in ceremony, the governor warned against any breaches of the
peace, and against any attempts by people to take the new laws into their
own hands, BBC said. This amounted to a tacit acknowledgement of the
potential for conflict with Kano's Christians, who are mainly migrants
from southern Nigeria, BBC said.

Aspects of Shariah have been incorporated into the legal code since
colonial times, but now punishments such as amputation for theft are being
introduced, BBC said. There is also a complete ban on the sale and public
consumption of alcohol. ZE00112622

ZENIT, November 26, 2000 - DAILY DISPATCH - The World Seen From Rome
ZENIT News Agency <english1@zenit.org>

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======= To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Russia Votes to Keep Mir in Orbit Unmanned
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 09:07:42 -0500

Russia Votes to Keep Mir in Orbit Unmanned

MOSCOW, Nov 26, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Russian deputies from
the State Duma lower house of parliament have protested the government's
decision to destroy the aging Mir space station by voting to keep it in orbit
on autopilot.

Deputies argued at Friday's session that keeping Mir alive would "frustrate
U.S. ambitions of taking over in space as well as on earth", before voting 262
in favor, 34 against and one abstention.

The deputies said that if Mir stayed in orbit, some 100,000 scientists and
engineers could keep their jobs and that important space research could
continue.

The ongoing saga of whether to destroy 14-year-old Mir was brought to an
apparent close last week when the Russian space agency announced it
would be brought down to earth on February 27-28 because of a lack of
finance and for safety reasons. ((c) 2000 Agence France Presse)

http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=224249

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======= To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Stratfor: Middle East - Tensions
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 10:12:04 -0500

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 06:51:50 -0600 (CST)
From: <alert@stratfor.com>
To: redalert@stratfor.com
Subject: Middle East - Tensions

Stratfor.com's WorldView - 27 November 2000
www.stratfor.com
_________________________________________________
Stratfor.com introduces new, expanded analysis for readers seeking
more insight on the entire range of global affairs. Our new site
features more intelligence on more subjects, easier navigation and
expanded coverage.

Coming soon: Subscribers will soon receive our new Monday morning
analysis, the Global Economic Forecast, by e-mail. And later this
month, we launch the e-mail Daily Intelligence Report, summarizing the
day's coverage -- exclusively for Stratfor.com subscribers.

http://www.stratfor.com/COMPANY/subscribepromo.asp
_________________________________________________

Mounting Pressure Leaves Barak Few Choices
By George Friedman

Israeli-Palestinian relations have entered uncharted waters.
Palestinians are now engaged in low- to mid-intensity combat with
Israeli forces. Israel is uncertain whether this is a super- intifada,
another Lebanon, or simply an episode that will pass. Israel's
confusion is illustrated by its combination of recent responses.

Both sides are acutely aware that Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat's goal is getting the Arab world - especially Egypt - into a
united anti-Israel front, both for its own sake and on the theory that
it would force the United States to restrain Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, internally isolated and
politically weakened by the crisis, is trying to resist that
outcome by restoring legitimacy to the peace process.

The first signs emerged Nov. 22 when Barak announced Israel would not
retaliate for a vehicle bombing on the coastal road north of Tel Aviv
at Hadera. This response was striking in two ways. First, Israel has a
policy of direct and immediate retaliation for attacks. Second, the
attack was carried out deep inside Jewish territory, an area where
Islamic Jihad and other extreme Palestinian groups normally find it
difficult to operate.

The bombing caught Barak in a riptide. On one hand, the attack was
serious enough to warrant a heavy response. On the other hand, the
bombing was a sobering warning of some Palestinian groups'
capabilities, as well as an indication of Israeli security services'
failure to penetrate Islamic Jihad to the extent that the group could
mount undetected operations along the coast. Palestinian commanders
are aware their infrastructure is not yet broken. At the same time,
given the effectiveness of Israeli security forces, they must
anticipate that Israel will soon identify, attack and destroy that
infrastructure. This places the Palestinians in a classic "use it or
lose it" situation. It is in their interest to launch a spasmodic wave
of attacks rather than to husband their resources.
__________________________________________________________________

Subscribe today to our expanded global coverage!
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_____________________________________________________________

In an attempt to create a government of national security, Barak
has courted Likud leader Ariel Sharon for weeks. Sharon refuses to
participate; he wants an all-out assault against the Palestinian
infrastructure. Sharon also knows the intelligence community's
weaknesses and does not want to share responsibility for failure to
contain Palestinian attacks, content instead to allow the failure to
be Barak's. In fact, a "use it or lose it" burst by the Palestinians
would play into Sharon's strategy.

This leaves Barak with only two choices. One involves an escalating
cycle of violence in which he relies on security and intelligence
assets to achieve a steep learning curve providing the needed
intelligence to contain and crush the Palestinians. But Barak faces a
simple question: if Israeli security and intelligence don't have
enough knowledge of Islamic Jihad and others to prevent attacks right
now, what confidence can Barak have they will attain that intelligence
in short order?

The second option is another desperate attempt to deal with Arafat,
the only one who can possibly control the situation. What remains
unclear is whether Arafat wants or is capable of imposing an
agreement.

Barak is doing whatever he can with his available assets to prevent an
even greater escalation of violence that would certainly sweep away
his government and possibly irrevocably transform both the landscape
of the region's geopolitics and the internal structure of Israeli
politics. For this to work, he needs Arafat. For Arafat to cooperate,
he needs to believe Barak can weather attacks both from forces within
Islamic Jihad and from Sharon-led opposition. At this point, Arafat is
not likely to bet on Barak.

Arafat spent last week in Russia and Egypt flexing his diplomatic
muscles. While in Moscow and Cairo, the Palestinian leader lobbied for
a United Nations peacekeeping force to be deployed to the West Bank
and Gaza Strip, the first step in stripping Israel of control of these
territories. Arafat does not expect Israel to agree to this force, but
rejection of an international coalition would only further isolate the
Barak government.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is pivotal to the unfolding
events. Shifting his policy towards Israel would redefine the
geopolitical structure of the region. Thus far, he has only
withdrawn his ambassador pending a cessation of fighting, rejecting
calls for a new oil embargo against the United States and resisting
any escalation in the Egyptian position. The Palestinians hope to see
a break in diplomatic relations, an announcement the Egyptian- Israeli
peace treaty is frozen - a purely symbolic but psychologically
important event - or an outright repudiation of the treaty.

The Israelis are increasingly trapped. While they must crush the
Palestinian rising, their response increases pressure on Mubarak
and other Arab leaders. As pressure on Mubarak mounts, so does that on
the United States, further isolating Israel. This gives the
Palestinians every motivation to rapidly escalate violence to force a
military confrontation. If Israel does not respond, they cede control
to the Palestinians. Barak's current middle ground achieves the worst
of both worlds, violence coupled with increasing isolation.

Ariel Sharon is the odd hope for the situation. He is allowing
Barak to carry the burden alone for now. However, should Barak lose
control, Sharon is ready to step in. If Barak permits an erratic
military repression, Sharon can intercede as peacemaker.

Though it is too early to tell how the political situation will
play out, watch Mubarak and Sharon closely for clues to the next
phase of events.

SUBSCRIBE to our new service. Just go to
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======= To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Real World News -- 11/27/00
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 16:54:32 -0000

Selected items from...

REAL WORLD NEWS 11/27/2000

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

ARAFAT FLIES OUT OF MOSCOW AFTER SUMMIT WITH PUTIN
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat flew out of Moscow late Friday
highlighting the "very important results" of his crisis summit with
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Interfax reported. Arafat also
described as "very important" his dramatic telephone conversation
with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, which took place after Putin
interrupted the two-hour meeting to call Barak from his private
office. http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=224130

ISRAELI OPPOSITION SEEKS BARAK OUSTER
Israel's hard-line opposition appealed to the Supreme Court on Monday
in a new bid to topple Prime Minister Ehud Barak, while Israeli and
Palestinian officials met secretly to try to resume security
coordination. The action comes a day after Israel's most serious
cross-border retaliatory attack on Lebanon to the north since pulling
its troops from an occupied border region in May.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/112700/mideast.sml

ISRAELI TANKS TRAIN TO SEIZE LAND FROM ARAFAT
Israeli tank and infantry brigades began training last week for the
possible reoccupation of three areas of the West Bank ruled by Yasser
Arafat, the Palestinian leader. Should the order be given, the
Israeli Defence Force (IDF) would move army units into Palestinian
neighbourhoods that border Israeli settlements. The aim would be to
create buffer zones to stop Palestinian gunmen attacking Jewish
settlers. Such a move could cost both lives and international
support. http://www.sunday-
times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2000/11/26/stifgnmid01003. html

RUSSIA SAYS COULD JOIN E.U. MILITARY FORCE
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on Saturday that Russia was
ready to cooperate with the European Union's new military force.
``We consider it completely natural, the effort by Europe with their
own forces to provide for their own security,'' Ivanov told leading
European policy makers and analysts at a forum on Europe. ''And in a
crisis situation we are ready for constructive cooperation.''
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001125/wl/europe_russia_dc_2.html

NEO-NAZIS MARCH IN GERMANY
Far-right demonstrators marched through central Berlin on Saturday,
openly challenging efforts by German leaders to fight neo-Nazism and
mobilizing a massive police operation in the capital. Organizers
staged the march - the second by the extreme right in Berlin this
month - to protest government plans to outlaw the small National
Democratic Party, or NPD, which German officials view as a magnet for
violent neo-Nazis. About 2,000 marchers carried German flags and
signs supporting the NPD.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001125/wl/germany_neo_nazis_3.html

CERTAINTY HE WON KEEPS GORE RESOLVED
One psychological force above all others motivates Vice President Al
Gore as he endures his postelection purgatory: He believes - no, he
knows - he won the election, say people who deal with him daily.
Advisers and associates of the vice president begin and end every
discussion of Mr. Gore's state of mind with that declaration.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2600.html

4,700 YEAR OLD TEMPLE FOUND IN WALES
Archaeologists have discovered a mysterious 4,700-year-old temple
that is the largest Stone Age structure ever found in Western Europe.
More than a half a mile across and covering 85 acres, the site in mid-
Wales is 30 times the size of Stonehenge.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/This_Britain/2000-
11/temple261100.s html

GERMAN SHOCK AS MAD COW BLIGHT SPREADS
Germany has become the 12th European country to report mad cow
disease, touching off an angry round of finger-pointing over claims
that continental health authorities have been too complacent about
the infection risk. The revelation on Saturday of the first home-
grown case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Germany means
the three largest European Union beef herds have been hit by the
deadly brain infection now linked to dozens of human deaths.
http://theaustralian.com.au/common/story_page/0,4511,1457950%
255E2703,00.html

CHURCH OF ENGLAND 'FACES BLEAK FUTURE'
The Church of England is facing a bleak future in some parts of
Britain, a leading churchman has warned. The new Bishop of Ely, the
Right Reverend Dr Anthony Russell, said the "clock was ticking" for
the Church in some rural villages and urban housing estates, with
many areas operating a "frontier ministry". He has called for
urgent action to address the decline in interest in the Church.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1040000/1040337.stm

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======= To: bprlist bprlist <bprlist@egroups.com>
Subject: [bprlist] ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND THE FAITH
From: Shophar_Sho_Good
Date: 27 Nov 00 13:03:18 EST

Published Sunday, November 26, 2000, in the Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/content/today/news/broward/digdocs/012130.htm

ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND THE FAITH

 There are an estimated 6 million Muslims in the United States and 1.2 billion
worldwide. Only about 20 percent of Muslims live in the Arab-speaking world,
and Indonesia has the largest Muslim population.

 There are nearly 2,000 mosques, Islamic schools and Islamic centers in the
United States.

 Islam has five pillars of faith: a declaration of faith in God and Muhammad
as the messenger of God; five daily prayers; charitable giving; pilgrimage to
Mecca; and fasting during Ramadan.

 Ramadan requires Muslims to abstain from food, drink and sensual pleasures
from dawn to sunset. Ramadan is based on the lunar calendar, which means that
it begins about 11 days earlier each year.

 Ramadan ends with a celebration and feast known as Eid ul-Fitr.
Source: Council on American-Islamic Relations

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======= To: bprlist bprlist <bprlist@egroups.com>
Subject: [bprlist] The poisoned chalice
From: Shophar_Sho_Good
Date: 27 Nov 00 13:04:30 EST

(I found this a very disturbing viewpoint...)

The poisoned chalice

http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/saturday_review/story/0,3605,402414,00.html

Christianity faces extinction - and it is not science but the church itself
that is to blame, argues AN Wilson. As the Church of England introduces a new
liturgy, the change is too little, too late

Saturday November 25, 2000

The millennium is the anniversary of an event that we no longer believe:
namely, the birth of Almighty God in human form in a stable in Bethlehem. How,
at this date in history could we possibly claim that Christianity was
literally true? But those who were in the vanguard of destroying the Christian
faith over the last 200 years were not a tiny handful of atheist philosophers
and agnostic scientists. It was the Christians themselves. Christianity will
decline yet further in the next 1,000 years to the point of near extinction -
because Christians themselves no longer believe it to be true.

If you went to a theological seminary, or a university where religion was
being taught; if you went to a college where they were training ministers of
the gospel; if you studied the Bible using the most searching and honest
commentaries, written by men and women who devoted a lifetime of scholarship
to the subject, you would find only a minority of these scholars professing
old-fashioned, fully orthodox Christian beliefs. You would find that many of
them were priests or ministers of their particular church. You would find that
they attended the various rites of those churches. But ask them, "Do you
believe that God Almighty took human flesh in the person of Jesus?" and I
suspect you would find only a minority able to say an unambiguous "Yes!"

Do they believe that Jesus was born in Bethlehem? Only a tiny handful of Bible
scholars believe that. Fewer, I should guess, believe he was born of a virgin.
Many would say that they believed in the Resurrection, but ask them to say
whether they believe in the gospel accounts of an empty tomb, and you will
find that they do not.

You would, of course, find plenty of rabbis who interpret the Jewish
scriptures in more or less the same way that rabbis were reading the Bible in
the lifetime of Jesus. You would find nearly all Muslim scholars and imams
reading the holy Koran in exactly the same sense as that in which it was
written in the seventh century. That is because you can still have
interesting, plausible arguments about God and morality, whereas so much of
Christian myth is falsifiable. It makes truth claims that are not true.

Christianity came to a crisis point 150 years ago when all these skeletons
came out of its cupboard. German biblical scholars were taking the Bible to
bits at just the moment when the scientists were casting doubt on the very
idea of a Creator. Of course, you can still go on believing that there is a
God after reading Darwin's Origin of Species. Darwin's discoveries did,
however, for many earnest seekers after truth, remove any need to find purpose
in nature or a mind behind the universe. Darwin revealed a process which was
self-sufficient, which did not need a deus ex machina . Or indeed a deus - a
god - of any kind.

A remarkable fact about the history of English Christianity, and in particular
of Anglicanism in the middle of the 20th century, was the large number of
poets and novelists who explored the faith and its implications in their
writings. Think of Dorothy L Sayers, Charles Williams, the CS Lewis of the
science-fiction trilogy and Narnia (not the tub-thumping apologist of Mere
Christianity), or Barbara Pym - all in their different ways exploring church
or religious life on an imaginative scale which would have surprised their
parents' agnostic generation. One remembers Ivy Compton-Burnett's impatience
with her contemporary Rose Macaulay when she read her final novel, The Towers
of Trebizond, and realised that Rose had returned to the faith. "Why can't she
remain a perfectly sensible agnostic like everyone else?"

Two writers stand out, to my mind, in this period who were most defiant in
their refusal to be perfectly sensible agnostics: the first is TS Eliot, the
second his sometime pupil, John Betjeman.

If I think again of this place,
and of people, not wholly commendable,
Of no immediate kin or kindness,
But some particular genius,
All touched by a common genius,
United in the strife which divided them;
If I think of a king at nightfall,
of three men, and more, on the scaffold

And a few who died forgotten
In other places, here and abroad,
and of one who died blind and quiet,
Why should we celebrate these dead men more than the dying?

This is one of those resonant passages of The Four Quartets that must have
thrilled the generation of Christians who first read it, as much as it
dismayed those who felt that literature should move on, leaving this old
baggage behind us. There will be many now, I suspect, to whom the lines are
incomprehensible.

"We cannot restore old policies/ Or follow an antique drum" becomes a prophecy
which applies directly to the inner life of Eliot's own church - a church that
seemed so alive when Betjeman was worshipping in it:

Wonder beyond Time's wonders,
that Bread so white and small
Veiled in golden curtains, too mighty for men to see,
Is the Power which sends the shadows up this polychrome wall,
Is God who created the planet, the chain-smoking millions and me;
Beyond the throb of the engines is the throbbing heart of all -
Christ, at this Highbury altar,
I offer myself to Thee.

It is impossible not to be moved by this poem. Equally, it is difficult to
imagine anyone writing it nowadays, yet it was published only 50 years ago.
Those of us who read the poetry of Milton without a grounding in classical
literature are forever fumbling about in footnotes trying to find out where
the fountain of Arethusa was. We're hardly reading - we are engaged in minor
archaeology. No echoes occur. Eliot was trying to bring back, by means of
pastiche architecture, the echoes of Dante, Shakespeare, Sanskrit and Mother
Julian of Norwich into our common language so that we could speak with shared
images and symbols. Without shared images and symbols, religion does not
function. Nor does literature. Future generations will be deaf to both.

Since the 19th century, there have been strides forward in the field of
biblical scholarship, and this is something in which we can all rejoice.
Inevitably it would lead to fresh translations of the Bible as new
understanding emerged. But did it really necessitate the abolition of the
17th-century translation in its liturgical context?

The church of Rome had been tinkering with its liturgy throughout the 20th
century, altering the Easter ceremonies in ways barely noticeable to those who
were not obsessives. But what can have possessed them to abolish the so-called
Tridentine mass, a liturgy which was in essence 1,000 years older than the
Council of Trent? Eager to show that it could be as modern as Rome, the Church
of England, which had a perfectly good vernacular liturgy, and which had
developed since 1928 a perfectly workable way of adding local variations to
it, chose to concoct what is quite possibly the most disgracefully ugly,
unmemorable liturgy devised in the history of the human race.

It makes all its addresses to the Godhead seem like police statements read
back to an unfortunate victim in the dock. "From age to age you gathered a
people to yourself_" How inelegant, and how meaningless, to have changed the
immemorial liturgical exchange " Dominus Vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo " into "
The Lord be with you. And also with you ". It recalls the exchanges of
schoolchildren: "The same to you with brass knobs on."

Why did they do it? What blasphemous arrogance possessed them? Why did they
think that their decades - the 1960s and 1970s - were so superior to anything
that had gone before that they could uproot, change and uglify time-honoured
liturgical routines which had sustained the generation of Queen Elizabeth, of
Launcelot Andrews, and the Royal Martyr; of Pepys and Dryden and Queen Anne;
of Dean Swift and Samuel Johnson; of Coleridge and Wordsworth and Sir Walter
Scott (who was converted from presby-terianism by the liturgy alone); of the
Victorian doubters, and those - Eliot, Betjeman and Rose Macaulay included -
who in the 20th century returned blinking with amazement to the altar of God?

In each case, what they returned to was the faith embodied in certain words
which had always been adapted, modified and altered in small ways, but which
remained fundamentally the same. The modernists called for the old symbols and
words to be interpreted in ways which made sense to modern people. And in many
cases, that meant not interpreting them at all.

Most of us who have felt time spent in church was unwasted recall either
moments of silence, or moments when music was playing. But utterly to change
the words and the furniture! This removes the possibility of partaking in the
one shared symbol. It introduces new and facile expressions that grate on the
ear, and destroys one of the principal functions of liturgical recitations,
whether of the scriptures or of the sacramental mystery - namely, that one
generation passes on to the next the words and experiences of its
predecessors.

We are born with the dead:
See, they return, and bring us with them.
The moment of the rose and the moment of the yew tree
Are of equal duration. A people without history
Is not redeemed from time, for history is a pattern Of timeless moments...

The liturgy was above all a pattern of timeless moments, daily repeated in
quires and places where they sing. It was a far more important function of the
church than Thought for the Day, or the woefully misdirected attempts to speak
in the language of young people, or to teach imagined categories of being far
beyond the ken of the average parson - such as ordinary people, or people in
inner cities. The liturgy was for all sorts and conditions of people; its
failure to attempt relevance was what made it timelessly and irreplaceably
relevant.

There is no point in Latin Mass Societies or Prayer Book Societies. Much as we
sympathise with the die-hards and the nostalgic brigade, they are crying to
the moon. The damage was done when common prayer ceased to be common prayer
and when in the great western church, a unifying language - far more unifying
than Esperanto, a truly universal tongue in which the human race could voice
its deepest prayers and yearnings in a debased version of the language of the
Caesars - was replaced by the Babel-sound of multilingual masses.

How might faith be communicated to a future age, or how might it be understood
imaginatively by writers? I don't see how it can be now, because its common
language has been vandalised by the clergy. While the new Book of Common
Worship, introduced this month, nominally contains some of the older liturgy
for alternative use, one wonders how many clergymen will actually use it. We
hate the clergy for this, and it is one of the reasons that many of us, who
used to love the church, and who still love the old buildings and the ancient
music, find that our affection for the institutional church has all but
evaporated.

I am talking about that Barbara Pymish love of all things churchy - it is hard
to imagine many imaginative people sustaining it in the future. Her own
diaries reflect the distress and disappointment felt by a pious woman in
central London in search of unwrecked liturgy in her lunch hour. There was
something so arrogant about the changes. They implied that we could throw away
what had been for others the means of grace, the symbols of the ultimate
mystery, and make up our own version.

Typical of the ethos is the habit that came in, almost as soon as the liturgy
changed, of spontaneous homilies being spoken after the gospel - as though the
busy office worker in the middle of Norwich or Rome would want to hear five
minutes of banal thoughts made up on the spur of the moment - rather than the
old words, the tried and trusted words, the words which, worn and smooth like
old, well-trodden stones, had been heard so often before and which had so
often nourished and sustained, regardless of the doubts and dryness of those
who heard them.

I cannot see how Christianity can survive in anything like the form that
previous generations of Christians, for the last 1950 years, would have
recognised as Christian, now that it has departed from the concept of an
orally transmitted faith.

The leadership of the churches is dishonest. There is no other word for it -
unless you add cowardly. They have been theologically educated. They know that
concepts such as the physical resurrection and the virgin birth are not "true"
as history. But they do not dare, even at the beginning of this new
millennium, to rock the boat. As a result, nearly all of us stay outside the
church and watch its decline with a mixture of sorrow and schadenfreude. What
else does an organisation expect, which so consistently refuses to be
intellectually serious?

We come to church to be serious and we expect serious responses to the doubts
and philosophical changes which have happened to all of us in the last 200
years. We do not expect kindergarten squabbles about miracles. Christianity
invented a way of looking at human nature and the inner life which is part and
parcel of our very civilisation. It invented the inner life - well, St
Augustine in many ways invented the inner life. There is no need to believe in
consciousness; many psychologists from William James onwards would say there
was no such thing. There is no need to believe in individualism; the
physicalist school of psychology/philosophy would discourage any such faith.
Yet many of us feel that not to nourish these myths is to erode an important
part of our self- consciousness not only as individuals, but as a society.

The novel - the great expression of the idea that there are millions of people
flitting about the planet being different from one another - derives directly
from the Christian fiction of a soul. Christian artists are often those who
have managed a synthesis of ideas which appear to destroy the old but actually
invigorate it. Think of Dante, who almost single-handedly made Aquinas
imaginatively accessible. Aquinas was the genius who fashioned the discoveries
of Arab mathematics and logic, the writings of Averroes, the rediscovery of
Aristotle - none of them compatible with Christian orthodoxies - into a new
synthesis by which the human race could understand itself, talk to itself, for
another 400 years. What happened in the 19th century was that no Aquinas
arose, no Dante to absorb Darwinism, determinism, Freudianism, or Marxian
materialism, or "perfectly sensible agnosticism".

Now that the habit of learning the old Christian stories and prayers has all
but died out, now that Christianity has turned itself back into a sect, there
really seems to be no future. There will be Christians in the next generation,
but we can be sadly certain that there will be no Christian literature - that
came to an end with the generation of TS Eliot.

Yet many human beings would still wish to echo the first great modern
metaphysician, Immanuel Kant, when he said, "Two things fill the mind with
ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often we reflect upon
them: the starry heavens above me, and the moral law within me." When all the
mythologies of religion have been discarded and when all the false theories of
Christianity have been exposed by patient and honest scholars, men and women
of a reflective turn of mind will remain convinced that there is underlying
the universe a deep moral purpose. Lose this sense of seriousness and life
becomes unendurable. Most of us are too busy to follow the intricacies of
Kant's philosophical journeying, but we believe these things in our gut. There
is a religion that satisfies this deep human need for a moral code without a
mythology. It is not Christianity.

The mullahs and the imams of Islam preach the same undiluted message which was
first given to the world by the Holy Prophet in the sixth and seventh
centuries. While the west tries to dub the followers of Islam fundamentalist
lunatics, increasing numbers of people turn to the Koran and find in this book
what they have always craved: a moral and an intellectual acknowledgement of
the lordship of God without the encumbrance of Christian mythological baggage
in which almost no one really believes. That is why Christianity will decline
in this millennium, and the next religious hunger of the human heart will be
answered by the Crescent, not by the Cross.

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======= To: bprlist bprlist <bprlist@egroups.com>
Subject: [bprlist] Battling demons in the land of witchcraft
From: Shophar_Sho_Good
Date: 27 Nov 00 13:05:21 EST

27/11/2000 10:54 - (SA)
  
Battling demons in the land of witchcraft

http://news.24.com/News24/Offbeat/Weird/0,1253,2-16-140_946224,00.html
  
Mexico City - The Reverend Alberto Juarez has seen a young woman erupt in an
angry man's voice and growl like a dog. Father Enrique Maldonado tells of
houses where locked doors flew open and objects moved about.

In these days of high technology and lunch-hour therapy sessions, many people
think of exorcism as a relic of the Middle Ages. But the ritual to drive away
the forces of evil is alive and well around the globe.

In Mexico City, a metropolis of 20 million people, a steady procession of
anguished souls pass through the doors of Catholic parishes to seek out the
eight priests appointed by the archbishop to do battle with Satan.

Others who believe they are possessed consult Protestant ministers or the
country's wide assortment of faith healers, who employ an elaborate blend of
religious and pagan customs to cast out evil spirits.

Juarez has performed three exorcisms in the two years since he was named a
Catholic exorcist. One was on a young woman from the southern state of
Campeche, whose father, a psychiatrist, had been unable to explain her
behaviour in any clinical terms.

"She said, 'Something is inside me, someone is doing something to me,"' Juarez
said. "She had an expression of profound sadness, a deep depression. But when
Satan entered her, she became completely different."

"I told her to get up, 'I want to greet you', and she slapped me. Then she
began to speak in the very ugly voice of a man. It was frightening. I tried to
hug her and she began to growl like a dog."

Maldonado treated a woman in her 20s who spoke in languages she didn't know.

"And when I began to pray with her, she began to attack me," he said. "She
spit on the cross and went into shock when I blessed her with holy water."

A second client, a 19-year-old man who used Ouija boards on a regular basis
with his family, "started to emit a very foul odour, inexplicably," Maldonado
said. "The family also started to see objects move in the house, doors that
were locked with a key opening by themselves."

Mexico is full of people who believe they are possessed. Although it is an
overwhelmingly Roman Catholic nation, Christianity here is interwoven with
centuries of pre-Hispanic rites of witchcraft, black magic and faith healing.

"Fortunetelling, consulting the dead, the spirits, astrology - all of these
are the terrain of evil," Juarez said. "Magic is a breeding ground for the
work of Satan."

Exorcists say the number of people seeking help has doubled and even tripled
recently and point to a series of factors:

The release of a new version of the 1973 movie "The Exorcist."
Reports that Pope John Paul II himself tried to exorcise the devil from a
young woman in Rome in September.
A highly publicised case of a botched, unauthorised exorcism in nearby Puebla
state, in which several women were seriously injured.

The exorcist's job is to distinguish between those obsessed with the belief
that dark forces are attacking them and what the church considers "true"
possessions.

They also have to discount mental illness. Juarez is studying psychology and
Maldonado already has a degree.

The Catholic Church recognises several symptoms it considers to be true
possession: prolonged superhuman strength, speaking a language the person has
never learned, and knowing things they couldn't possibly know. The priests say
true possession accounts for fewer than two percent of the cases they see.

The Rev. Daniel Gagnon, pastor of the Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Mexico
City, said he has seen "entire families that are oppressed by evil forces."

"One family has been tormented for years and years with objects moving,
levitations, animals appearing and disappearing before their eyes," said
Gagnon, who is not an exorcist but has researched the matter extensively and
has referred many people to an authorised exorcist from a nearby parish.

"I don't think I would have had half the experiences in the States that I have
had here," Gagnon said. "Because of the pre-Hispanic culture, there are a lot
of superstitions."

Exorcists are appointed for each of the church's dioceses by their bishops.
Although there are no solid statistics for Mexico, there is approximately one
exorcist for each of the country's 83 dioceses, said the Rev. Francisco Javier
Gonzalez, executive secretary of Mexico's conference of bishops.

To drive away evil, exorcists use the crucifix, prayers and blessings.
Maldonado and Juarez said they take the person to a sacred, private place -
usually their own church or chapel - and with the aid of other faithful,
recite a series of prayers prescribed by the church.

The prayers denounce evil, order the devil to leave, and ask for liberation in
the name of Jesus Christ. The process has no defined duration, but can last up
to an hour, Juarez said.

"You must always have the crucifix in hand as well as the scriptures in order
to use the precise words of Christ," he said.

He said he employs five members of a parish Bible group to help during a
ceremony because sometimes the possessed person becomes violent "and someone
has to hold them."

But priests said violence is never directed at the possessed, as was the case
in an unauthorised July ceremony in Puebla state during which a young
Sunday-school teacher was critically burned with a candle.

Church spokesmen have said that the priest involved was not authorised to
perform exorcisms but that he was forced to attend the ceremony against his
will.

"A priest approved by the bishop would never take part in this type of
physical harm," Maldonado said. "Why? Because we already have our own
recourses: prayer and getting closer to the Bible."

New exorcism guidelines issued by the Vatican last year urge exorcists not to
mistake psychiatric illness for satanic possession. But the guidelines also
stress the power of evil.

"I believe that we exorcist priests shouldn't be ingenuous, seeing Satan
everywhere, or sceptics either, to always deny the presence of Satan," Juarez
said. "It is evident that Satan is acting and acting terribly, more than one
thinks."

In the Middle Ages, mental disorders were often misdiagnosed as diabolical
possessions. Now, the priests said, the opposite occurs.

"Psychology is where you begin... but there's an area that science can't
explain," Gagnon said. "I used to be very scientific, pragmatic. But I've
changed my mind. I have just seen too much." - Sapa-AP

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======= To: bprlist bprlist <bprlist@egroups.com>
Subject: [bprlist] Vatican Attacks Abuse in Faith
From: Shophar_Sho_Good
Date: 27 Nov 00 13:06:48 EST

Vatican Attacks Abuse in Faith
The Associated Press, Thu 23 Nov 2000
http://www.worldnews.com/?action=display&article=4548298&template=worldnews/search.txt&index=recent
 
  
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican clamped down Thursday on abuses in faith
healing and exorcisms, ruling out sensationalism, theatricality and ``anything
resembling hysteria.''

A document by the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which
was approved by Pope John Paul II, said bishops should closely supervise such
practices.

It noted that prayer for the restoration of health is part of the Christian
experience, with the New Testament speaking of Christ's encounters with the
sick and his healing through miracles.

What is new, the document said, is the ``proliferation of prayer meetings''
for the purpose of obtaining healing from God.

``In many cases, the occurrence of healings has been proclaimed, giving rise
to the expectation of the same phenomenon in other such gatherings,'' the
document said.

If healing does take place, the document said, witness testimony must be
submitted to church authorities.

In addition to ensuring that faith healing sessions are free of
sensationalism, bishops must decide whether such gatherings can be open for
television coverage, the Vatican said.

The document did not indicate the extent of abuses, and a Vatican official did
not immediately respond to a request for clarification. Nor did the document
cite names or movements within the church.

The Vatican recently disciplined an African bishop, Emmanuel Milingo, who
since coming to Rome in the early 1980s has attracted thousands of people from
across Europe seeking cures for cancer and AIDS. He has also performed
exorcisms.

Milingo, a former archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia, was removed from his Vatican
position as special delegate on immigration issues.

Exorcism is a ritual to drive away the forces of evil. New guidelines issued
by the Vatican last year urged exorcists not to mistake psychiatric illness
for satanic possession.

In September, a Rome newspaper said the pope tried to exorcise the devil from
a young woman who appeared to be possessed during John Paul's general
audience. The Vatican said the pope comforted her, but did not confirm he
performed an actual exorcism.

Tuesday's document said the ritual must be performed under close supervision
by the local bishop, that prayers of exorcism must remain separate from
healing services and that such prayers must not be included in the celebration
of Mass.

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======= To: bprlist bprlist <bprlist@egroups.com>
Subject: [bprlist] Landlord offers 'Christmas-free zone'
From: Shophar_Sho_Good
Date: 27 Nov 00 13:08:01 EST

Landlord offers 'Christmas-free zone'

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_124208.html?nav_src=3DnewsIndexHeadlin e

A hotel owner is offering a Christmas 'Bah Humbug' break for Scrooges.

Bill Ward is to turn the Dunsley Hall Country House Hotel in Whitby, North
Yorkshire, into a Christmas-free zone for guests who enjoy "Bah Humbug
holidays".

The =A360 a night package includes handing out a =A35 gift voucher every ti me a
member of staff says Merry Christmas to a Scrooge guest, a tour of the shop s
in Whitby after closing time when no one is tempted to spend money and soup
and a sandwich for Christmas dinner.

A video recorder will also be supplied to each guest so they can watch
non-Christmas films.

Mr Ward said: "The idea came up at a staff meeting. I just feel that the
celebration of Christ's birthday has been forgotten. That's what Christmas
should be about. So we thought of putting on a special break so people can get
away from it all."

Mr Ward said Christmas was not banned at the hotel.

"There will be decorations but the opportunity is there for people who want  to
avoid it all," he said.

So far, he said, there have been no bookings for the Scrooge holiday. "Mayb e
people are not as miserable as we thought," he added.

Last updated: 15:20 Thursday 23rd November 2000.

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======= To: <bprlist@egroups.com>
Subject: Re: [bprlist] Landlord offers 'Christmas-free zone'
From: "Revelation 3:10"
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 18:00:01 -0600

Guess I'll be making my reservations at the "bah-humbug" Inn. Last year was
the first "christmas" free year for our family, and I must say, nobody
missed it. After doing a little research on the customs and symbolism
attached to the holiday, I find it has no place in the life of a Believer.
There is no mention in scripture of the Lord's birth being celebrated,
especially at this time of year but it appears that it was originally a
celebration for saturnalia.

Anyone interested in knowing more, I would be glad to point you in the
direction of some good info.

----- Original Message -----
From: Shophar_Sho_Good
To: bprlist bprlist <bprlist@egroups.com>
Sent: Monday, November 27, 2000 12:08 PM
Subject: [bprlist] Landlord offers 'Christmas-free zone'

Landlord offers 'Christmas-free zone'

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_124208.html?nav_src=newsIndexHeadline

A hotel owner is offering a Christmas 'Bah Humbug' break for Scrooges.

Bill Ward is to turn the Dunsley Hall Country House Hotel in Whitby, North
Yorkshire, into a Christmas-free zone for guests who enjoy "Bah Humbug
holidays".

The £60 a night package includes handing out a £5 gift voucher every time a
member of staff says Merry Christmas to a Scrooge guest, a tour of the shops
in Whitby after closing time when no one is tempted to spend money and soup
and a sandwich for Christmas dinner.

A video recorder will also be supplied to each guest so they can watch
non-Christmas films.

Mr Ward said: "The idea came up at a staff meeting. I just feel that the
celebration of Christ's birthday has been forgotten. That's what Christmas
should be about. So we thought of putting on a special break so people can
get
away from it all."

Mr Ward said Christmas was not banned at the hotel.

"There will be decorations but the opportunity is there for people who want
to
avoid it all," he said.

So far, he said, there have been no bookings for the Scrooge holiday. "Maybe
people are not as miserable as we thought," he added.

Last updated: 15:20 Thursday 23rd November 2000.

____________________________________________________________________
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======= To: bprlist bprlist <bprlist@egroups.com>
Subject: [bprlist] How the bones of the first disciple came to Scotland
From: Shophar_Sho_Good
Date: 27 Nov 00 13:08:42 EST

How the bones of the first disciple came to Scotland

http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=TS00196236&d=News&c=columnists&s=0&keyword=the

ALAN CRAWFORD

HE WAS a fisherman in Gallilee when he met and followed Jesus and became the
first disciple.

According to the Bible, Andrew and his elder brother Simon Peter became
apostles after Jesus was crucified, spreading the Christian teaching s through
Asia Minor and Greece.

Andrew was beatified after he was tied to a cross and left to die by the
Romans in Patras, Southern Greece. The diagonal shape of the cross is said to
be the basis for the Cross of St Andrew which appears on the Saltire.

The patron saint of fishermen, Andrew's bones were entombed for 300 years then
moved by Emperor Constantine to his new capital Constantinople, now Istanbul
in Turkey.

Legend has it that either a Greek Monk or an Irish assistant of St Columba,
called St Rule or St Regulus, was directed by an angel to take those remains
he could to the "ends of the earth" for safe-keeping.

St Rule managed to get hold of a tooth, an arm bone, a kneecap and some
fingers from St. Andrew's tomb and fled, getting shipwrecked at a Pictish
settlement on the East coast of Scotland - now known as St Andrews. Another
version has it that in 733AD, Acca, the Bishop of Hexham and a known collector
of relics, brought the bones to St Andrews, where there was a religious centre
founded either by St Rule in the 6th century or by a Pictish King, Ungus, who
reigned from 731 - 761.

The story goes that the relics were placed in a specially constructed chapel
which was replaced by the Cathedral of St. Andrews in 1160. It is certainly
true that in early Medieval times, when hagiography, or the fascination with
saints and especially relics, was at its height, St Andrews became a great
centre for pilgrims who came to view what were described as his saintly
relics.

No-one knows what happened to the relics purporting to be those of Saint
Andrew, however, it is likely they were destroyed during the Scottish
Reformation.

The place where they were kept within the Cathedral at St Andrews is now
marked by a plaque.

Scotland is not unique in laying claim to Andrew as its patron saint.

Russia also regards him as her own, while Amalfi, in Southern Italy, is said
to be the home to more of St Andrew's remains.

____________________________________________________________________
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======= To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] NOV/27/00 [1] numerous postings
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 13:39:42 -0500

BreakingNews-Israel

1. Shooting & other attacks continue (NOV.27- 15:00-IST)
(IsraelWire-11/27) The IDF Shdema base in the Bethlehem area is under
gunfire from the nearby PLO Authority (PA) autonomous area of Bet Sachur.
No reported injuries. IDF forces are returning fire.

In the Kalkilya area, troops are being attacked with firebombs and stones.
IDF forces are firing rubber bullets.

    ++++

2. No injuries in French Hill firebomb attack (NOV.27 =9615:03-IST)
(IsraelWire-11/27) There were no reported injuries in a firebomb attack in
a French Hill, Jerusalem gas station. The incendiary device did ignite on
the ground.

    ++++
3. Roadside bomb explodes near Elon Moreh (NOV.27- 15:44-IST)
(IsraelWire-11/27) A short time ago, a roadside bomb was detonated against
an IDF convoy traveling near the northern Samarian community of Elon
Moreh. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damages. Soldiers
fired in the area at suspected terrorist positions in the village of
Salim.

    ++++
4. Another explosive device in Gaza (NOV.27 =96 18:20-IST)
(IsraelWire-11/27) Shortly before 6:00pm, a roadside bomb was detonated
against an Israeli convoy on the Karnei/Netzarim road in Gaza. No
injuries.

    ++++

Bus to Ofra fired upon for second consecutive night (NOV.24-19:24-IST)
(IsraelWire-11/27) For the second consecutive night, the Benjamin Regional
Council bus from Jerusalem=92s French Hill neighborhood to the Gush Shilo
region of Samaria was fired upon near Ofra. The Monday night attack
occurred about 300 meters south of the attack on Sunday night.

At this time it appears that there are no injuries and IDF forces are
checking to ascertain if the bus was hit by the gunfire.

In the Sunday night attack, automatic fire was aimed at the bulletproof
vehicle, causing substantial damage but no injuries.

IsraelWire will provide additional details as they are made available.

    +++++

Shooting attacks against Israelis continue throughout Yesha (NOV.27-
19:49-IST)
(IsraelWire-11/27) Gunfire is being reported against the Benjamin Regional
Council community of P=92sagot and the Judean community of Hebron. No
injuries.

In addition, a bus traveling in the Arab village of Hawarah, north of
Tapuach Junction in Samaria, was attacked with gunfire and firebombs. No
injuries.

    ++++

Gunfire directed at Gilo at this time (NOV.27 =9620:00-IST)
(IsraelWire-11/27) At this time the IDF is confirming that gunfire is
being directed at the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. There are
no immediate reports of injuries.

The gunfire is originating in the PLO Authority community of Bet Jala.
 IsraelWire will provide additional details as they are made available.

BreakingNews-Israel <YeshBB@netvision.net.il>

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======= To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] PA marks start of Ramadan with calls for increased attacks
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 13:42:34 -0500

     PA residents marks start of Ramadan with calls for
     increased attacks

     (IsraelWire-11/27) On Monday, the first day of the Moslem holy month
     of Ramadan, a month of fasting and prayers, the residents of PLO
     Authority (PA) autonomous areas called for increased attacks against
     Israeli targets with the belief that if one is killed and martyred during the
     holy month, one attains a higher place in the coming world.

     Despite promises to end the shooting during demonstrations and funerals
     by PA Chairman Yassir Arafat, automatic gunfire was heard in downtown
     Gaza on Monday during the funerals for a 17 and 20-year-old, both killed
     in clashes with Israeli forces.

     The large crowd of mourners called for increased attacks against Israeli
     during the holy month vowing to do whatever necessary to drive all
     Israelis out of Gaza as well as all of Judea and Samaria.

http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/israelwire/articles/1118001.htm

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======= To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] List Item: Reposting bprlist mail
From: research-bpr@philologos.org
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 20:57:48 -0000

We at bprlist are happy to check out different news sources, etc. and
put all the info in a nice, neat little package for easy reading. This
process, however, takes many hours each day to accomplish and to keep
everyone motivated to continue on in this way we'd appreciate if you
send bprlist posts to other lists that acknowledgement of where the
original post is coming from is retained (as is done with other
lists). We try to be very careful to give credit where credit is due and would
appreciate the same consideration as we don't feel this is an
unreasonable request for this free service.

Thank you very much!

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======= To: bprlist@egroups.com
Subject: Re: [bprlist] The poisoned chalice
From: moonhorse2
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 18:47:21 EST

DISTURBING IS NOT THE WORD, THIS IS CHALLENGING! THE LAST PARAGRAPH, WITHOUT
SAYING SO, PLAINLY SETS THE TORAH AGAINST THE KORAN. PERIOD.

Hazak, Hazek, v' nit' chazeck, Yizrael !
               <<A HREF="http://hometown.aol.com/moonhorse2/myhomepage/faith.html"><Shalom Yerushalayim Shalom...</A>< <A HREF="http://www.gamla.org.il/english/flag.htm">
<<></A> </HTML>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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