From: Eddie Chumney
To:      heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: News of Interest: September 1 - October 1, 1999


APOSTASY AND ECUMENISM

MUSLIM FRIDAY CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER TO BE HELD INSIDE THE CAPITOL
AMC Update September 1, 1999 Washington DC

Beginning this week, Muslims will pray each Friday inside the
U.S.  Capitol building.  American Muslim congressional staffers
worked with the Speaker of the House to arrange this historic
initiative.  Juma`a prayers (congregational Friday services) have
been conducted in Cannon House Office Building since February
1998, but now the juma`a services will be held in the Capitol
itself.  The juma`a service was originally coordinated by
American Muslim Council representative Sabah Karam in conjunction
with Asim Ghafoor, legislative assistant to Rep.  Ciro Rodriguez
(D-TX).  The Friday prayers bring together Congressional
staffers, federal employees, and other Muslims in the Washington
area to pray, network, and discuss policy and legislation
important to American Muslims.

VATICAN RELEASES INDULGENCE MANUAL
Copyright 1999 Sept 17, 1999 VATICAN CITY (AP)

The Vatican on Friday issued an updated manual on indulgences,
offering new ways of winning forgiveness for Catholics who
courageously manifest their faith.  Vatican officials also
insisted that the new attention on indulgences -- the forgiveness of
sins through good works -- shouldn't harm recently improved relations
with the Lutheran church, whose founder, Martin Luther, rebelled
against abuses in granting indulgences.  The new manual, last updated
in 1986, was published in Latin and will be soon translated into
modern languages.

Last year, Pope John Paul II issued a decree upholding a 700-
year-old tradition of celebrating church anniversary years by
offering indulgences.  The pope has declared 2000 a holy year.
The new manual incorporates John Paul's directives on
indulgences, including advice that individuals can do penance by
such simple acts as giving up smoking for a day.  But it also
stresses actions in which Catholics set good examples.

The cardinal in charge of indulgence policy, William Wakefield
Baum, was asked if this new attention to indulgences could hurt
relations with Lutherans.  Next month, Catholics and Lutherans
are expected to sign an agreement aimed at resolving a doctrinal
debate at the heart of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation,
which split Western Christianity.  The agreement contains
compromise language on ``justification,'' or how humanity
achieves salvation.  For Lutherans, salvation depends on God's
grace; for Catholics, good works also figure in.  "I'm convinced
that exposition of true Catholic doctrine on indulgences is a
great contribution to ecumenical dialogue,'' especially with
Lutherans, the cardinal said.

LEADERS OF ALL RELIGIONS TO MEET IN ROME; Vatican in final stages of
preparations for inter-religious meeting Weekend News Today Source:
EWTN Sep 24,1999

The Vatican is in the final stages of preparation for the
Inter-Religious Meeting that will be held from October 24-28.
Leaders of all religions will meet in Rome to study the common
contribution that believers can make to humanity in the next
century.  The meeting will include a visit to Assisi, the city of
peace.  The inter-religious event takes place on the eve of the
Jubilee.  As the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue
states, John Paul II has requested that in this last year of
preparation for 2000, dedicated to God the Father, "reflection (be
made) on the relation between God and men, by promoting relations
among the religions."

There will be two important moments during the meeting.  The
first is the Assembly itself, which will be attended by 200
people: 80 Christians of different denominations and 120 from
other religions; it will be held in the Vatican Synod Hall.  The
second is a significant meeting in St.  Peter's Square on October 28,
with thousands of faithful present.  The Assembly will include the
traditional African, American and Hindu religions, the monotheist
religions, and some new Japanese religions.

Over the last few months, many inter-religious congresses and
activities have been held in different dioceses of the world.
Speaking to Vatican Radio, Cardinal Francis Arinze, president of
the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, said these
initiatives have served to appreciate the desire of Catholics to
meet with other believers, and to address in greater depth the
Church's mission, which preaches Jesus Christ, the only Savior of all
mankind.

"This is important.  Many Catholics feel a certain confusion,
because they think that to open to other believers in a certain
sense means to betray the Christian ideal.  Although the risk
exists, there is an answer to avoid it.  By being firm in the
faith, we can meet with other believers, share with them the
beauty of the news of Christ's salvation, and show genuine
interest in what they believe, what they do, and how they
worship.  In this way, greater solidarity and collaboration can
be promoted in today's world," Cardinal Arinze concluded.

VATICAN STILL WAITING FOR MOSCOW PATRIARCH'S ACCEPTANCE
September 29, 1999 By Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press Vatican
City (AP)

Reflecting uneasy ties with the Vatican, the head of the Russian
Orthodox Church has yet to say if he will attend upcoming events
important to the pope   three days of prayer in Rome and a
pilgrimage to Assisi.  The Vatican on Wednesday released a list
of more than 200 representatives of various faiths and Christian
denominations coming to the assembly, which begins Oct.  25.  But it
said Patriarch Alexy II, leader of the largest Orthodox church, has
yet to respond.  The secretary of the Pontifical Council for
Inter-religious Dialogue, Monsignor Michael Louis Fitzgerald, said the
Vatican refused to characterize the patriarch's lack of reply as a
refusal.  Pope John Paul II sees the assembly as a runup to 2000 Holy
Year and millennium activities.

UN UNITES 1,000 CLERGY FOR WORLD PEACE SUMMIT
By Jonathan Petre 10/3/99 London Telegraph

The United Nations is to extend its peacekeeping role into
spiritual territory next year by hosting its first summit for
world religious leaders, bringing together the likes of the Pope, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, the Aga Khan and the Grand Mufti live on
television.  In one of the UN's most ambitious projects, more than
1,000 clergymen, from cardinals and rabbis to imams and patriarchs,
will join "living gods" and gurus at the body's New York headquarters
in August.  Organisers of the Millennium World Peace Summit, which
will take place days before the world's political leaders gather for
the UN General Assembly, hope to encourage faiths to bury ancient
enmities and co-operate in resolving world conflicts.

The idea for the gathering emerged from a conversation between
Kofi Annan, the UN's Secretary-General, and Ted Turner, the
multi-millionaire owner of CNN and the husband of Jane Fonda, who has
promised to broadcast the proceedings live.  Bawa Jain, the summit's
New York-based executive co-ordinator, said: "Ted Turner said to the
Secretary-General, 'If you want peace in the world you have to bring
together religious leaders at the UN and get them to sign a
declaration'." Because of the political sensitivities involved,
however, the summit is being organised at one removed from Mr Annan.
It has his full backing, said Mr Jain.  He said: "Our dream is to get
the top religious leaders to the UN so they can discuss the role they
can play with the political bodies here.  The gathering will not
include politicians but it should feed into the General Assembly."

Against a background of friction in Kosovo, East Timor, the
Middle East and Northern Ireland, the leaders would be expected
to sign a common declaration pledging their commitment to reduce
religious tensions.  The first ever council of senior clerics
could also be established to advise the Secretary-General, and
its members could be "parachuted" into troublespots, said Mr
Jain.  He said: "These leaders could go into those places
physically and use their influence to make sure no violence
occurs.  They could say, 'We're not going to move from here until you
make peace'.  Religions must exert more authority.  It is a call to
action." While planning was still in the early stages and much was
"still up in the air", interest had been "phenomenal" and talks were
under way with, for example, Lambeth Palace and the Vatican, he added.

Apart from the Pope and Dr George Carey, religious leaders
expected to be approached include Sheikh Ahmed Keftaro, the Grand
Mufti of Syria, the Grand Sheikh of Al-Alazar from Cairo, the imams of
the mosques of Mecca and Medina, Dr Abdullah Salehal-Obaid, the
secretary of the World Muslim League, the Israel's Chief Rabbi, Israel
Meir Lau, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, the Most
Rev Bartholomew, the Russian Patriarch, His Holiness Alexii II,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Bishop Carlos Belo, the 1996 Nobel Peace
Prize winner from East Timor.

VATICAN REPRESENTATIVE CONFIRMS PAPAL VISIT IN MARCH
IsraelWire-9/21

Pope John Paul II will likely visit Israel in March, Papal Nuncio
Pietro Sambo said last week.  Although a visit for the millennium has
long been expected, Sambo's statement marks the first official
confirmation.  However, neither the Latin Patriarch's Office in
Jerusalem, nor the relevant Israeli officials have received official
notification.  Uri Mor, Director of the Department for Christian
Communities in the Religious Affairs Ministry, said that although
there have been many reports of a visit, his office had not yet
received officials notice.  "We welcome this announcement, and we will
be happy to prepare for the visit," Mor said.

The daily Yediot Ahronot reported that a source in the Vatican
confirmed that the Pope will arrive on March 23, participate in a mass
in Nazareth which will be broadcast live to the rest of the world, and
visit Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  (Israel Consulate- NY)

POPE CONFIRMS PLANNED TRIP TO MIDDLE EAST
IsraelWire-9/23

"You young people, and all those whom you represent, must be the
first to realize the hopes of your peoples and of the world at
large," stated Pope John Paul II on Wednesday in a message to
Israeli and Arab youth.  The pope confirmed reports concerning
his planned visit to Israel in 2000.  The pope's message was in
the form of a written letter presented to a 15-year-old Christian boy,
a 17-year-old Jewish boy and a 15-year-old Moslem girl, all sent by
the Peres Peace Center.  "The decisions you make concerning yourselves
and your vocation in society will decide the prospects for peace, both
today and tomorrow," the Pope said in his message.

The pope made reference to the Wye-2 Agreement, which was signed
between Israel and the PLO Authority (PA) on September 4,
indicating it, would hopefully strengthen the peace in the area.
"At the threshold of the new millennium, you must come to see
more clearly that the future of peace, and therefore the future
of all humanity, depends on the fundamental choices your
generation will make," the Pope said in his message.

The 79-year-old Pope confirmed his plan to visit the Holy Land
for celebrations connected to the start of the third millennium.
"You know that, if God wills, I plan to go to the Holy Land on a
pilgrimage tracing the stages of the history of salvation.  God
willing, therefore, we shall have the chance to meet again on
your own soil," he said.

Y2K

GREENSPAN   RISK OF BOTTLENECKS IN ECONOMY FROM Y2K
Reuters September 17, 1999 WASHINGTON

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Friday there was a
risk of bottlenecks in the U.S.  economy resulting from the fear
of end-of-century computer problems, but widespread disruption
was unlikely.  Speaking before the President's Council on Year
2000 Conversion, the U.S.  central banker said he was confident
that the risk of any widespread breakdown to critical business
infrastructure from the computer bug was "negligible.'' "If only
a small percentage of businesses choose to add to their
inventories as a hedge, the effect on production will be
insignificant,'' Greenspan said.  "However, should a large number of
companies want to hold even a few extra days of inventories, the
necessary, albeit temporary, increase in production (or imports) to
accommodate such stock building could be quite large. Bottlenecks
could develop, and market pressure could ensue,'' he said.

Note: for a long rebuttal to Greenspan's rosy report by Y2K Guru
Ed Yourdon, check at
http://www.yourdon.com/articles/y2kgreenspan.html

Y2K PROF: POWER INDUSTRY MISREPRESENTS NEW YEAR'S PARTY AS Y2K
TEST PR Newswire 9/8/99

This press release describes the NERC drill tonight and tomorrow
rather succinctly.  Professor Dick Lefkon, of New York University
said, "Don't believe anyone who says tonight's so-called Power
Companies Y2K Test is actually testing anything...  Rather than
performing any real Year 2000 testing at all, what they're
actually doing is rehearsing the same New Year's Eve Party that
nearly every other major enterprise is already or soon will be
will be holding -- called a Manual Contingency Plan...  Tonight's
Power Industry event misleads consumers, but I'm not saying it's
totally without merit.  Any industry or big enterprise that's
actually successfully tested all surviving automated systems,
should schedule its own New Year's Eve Party and pre-rehearse
that Manual Contingency Plan repeatedly, not just once four
months in advance..."

DRUMBEATS OF WAR

RUSSIAN BOMBERS APPROACH U.S. AIRSPACE NEAR ALASKA
Weekend News Today By Kelly Pagatpatan Source: Reuters Fri Sep
17,1999

Two Russian bombers approached the Alaska coastline this week for the
first time in six years, but were turned back after U.S. jets were
dispatched to the area, officials said on Friday.  The Russian Bear H
Bombers were spotted on Thursday at 4:10 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time
(0010 GMT Friday) in the "outer defense identification zone," about
200 miles (320 km) off the coast of Alaska and 625 miles (1,000 km)
from Anchorage, said a spokesman at the North American Aerospace
Defense Command Regional Air Operations Centre at Elmendorf Air Force
Base.

The Russian jets remained in international air space the entire
time, said Major Les Kodlick.  But their entry into the
identification zone triggered the dispatch of U.S.  jet fighters
to positively identify the aircraft.  The F-15s came within 90
miles (140 km) of the Russian aircraft before the Bear bombers
turned away and continued traveling in international airspace.
"The important thing is that we're prepared to meet any threat,"
Kodlick said.  U.S.  officials did not know why the Russian
bombers approached U.S.  air space, he said.

RUSSIANS AGREE TO PLACE OFFICERS AT MISSILE WARNING CENTER IN
COLORADO DURING Y2K TRANSITION
September 10, 1999 Washington (AP)

Russia has accepted an American offer to place a team of Russian
officers at a joint monitoring center in Colorado to observe U.S.
missile warning data during the Year 2000 transition, the Pentagon
said today.  A formal agreement on the first-of-its-kind arrangement
is to be signed by Russian Defense Minister Gen. Igor Sergeyev and
Defense Secretary William Cohen during Cohen's visit to Moscow next
week, a senior Pentagon official said.

The Y2K Center for Strategic Stability is to be established at
Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and begin operating 24 hours a
day with Russian and American monitoring teams in December.  It
will be terminated in January after the Y2K transition.  The
Russians will have 10 to 20 officers there.  The purpose of the
center is to provide reassurance to the Russians on potential
accidental missile launches -- either by the United States or
other countries -- resulting from Y2K computer glitches.  U.S.
officials have said they do not anticipate Y2K problems with
either U.S.  or Russian missile systems.

"It's not because we think we're teetering on the edge of a
potential false launch, or anything of the sort," the senior
official said.  However, "were there to be some sort of problem,
it would certainly be useful to have our people in direct contact and
in direct communication with one another."

Cohen also intends to press the Russians to resume talks with the
United States on establishing a permanent early warning center in
Moscow -- a concept that President Clinton and President Boris Yeltsin
announced earlier.  Those talks also were suspended because of Russian
anger at NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia.  Cohen leaves for Moscow on
Sunday and is scheduled to return to Washington on Tuesday.

ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT

VISION OF GREATLY EXPANDED EU FROM NEW COMMISSION PRESIDENT
ROMANO PRODI
September 15, 1999

The London Times reported today: Romano Prodi outlined his vision
yesterday of a bold new European Union of as many as 30 states, as the
European Parliament prepared to give his chosen team of commissioners
its overwhelming approval this morning.  In a sweeping eve-of-office
speech to the 626 MEPs, the incoming Commission President promised
enlargement, glasnost, economic revitalization and radical reform to
restore public confidence in the "European ideal." "What we now need
to build is a union of hearts and minds, underpinned by a strong
shared sentiment of a common destiny - a sense of common European
citizenship," Signor Prodi declared in an address that used the word
"new" at least 20 times.  "We come from different countries.  We speak
different languages.  We have different historical and cultural
traditions, and we must preserve them.  But we are seeking a shared
identity - a new European soul."...His most radical proposals
concerned EU enlargement, as he suggested that membership could expand
to 30 states over the next quarter century.  He proposed setting dates
for the next batch of entrants at December's Helsinki summit, granting
other applicants "virtual membership" and developing "strategic
partnerships" with Russia and Ukraine..."

PRODI'S LATEST CHANGES IN EU EXECUTIVE MOVING FAST
Weekend News Today By Kelly Pagatpatan Source: Reuters Sat Sep
18,1999

Romano Prodi's new European Union executive held its first
official meeting on Saturday and immediately launched a major
restructuring of its departments.  "The (European Commission)
today adopted the biggest restructuring of the Commission's
services...in recent times," Neil Kinnock, a Commission
vice-president in charge of reform, told a news conference.
Kinnock, a Briton, said this was only the start of the
far-reaching reform pledged by Prodi to set the European
Commission on a new footing after months of crisis.

"We have started a period of continuous change," Prodi, a former
Italian prime minister, told reporters on Saturday.  Prodi's
Commission, which was approved by the European Parliament on
Wednesday and sworn in on Friday, approved plans to streamline
Commission departments, improve management and redirect staff to
areas where they were needed.  In a sign of a more U.S.-style
approach to news briefings, Prodi's spokesman Ricardo Levi has
had the table used by his predecessor replaced with lecterns
fitted with computer screens.  East Timor and the recent Greek
earthquake were also discussed at Saturday's meeting but no
decisions were taken.

"We've got to demonstrate that we've made a fresh start, that the EU
has once again a strong executive and that it is strong precisely
because it's more accountable than we've been in the past," External
Relations Commissioner Chris Patten told Reuters as he arrived for the
meeting.  Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, said foreign
policy challenges confronting the Commission included turning the EU's
hopes for a common foreign and security policy into reality and
helping shape a better future for the Balkans.  He said other
priorities included forging a good relationship with Russia and the
newly independent states and working for a "harmonious" relationship
with the United States, where a series of trade disputes have caused
friction this year.

ANNAN VOWS THAT U.N. WILL CROSS BORDERS TO INTERVENE
By Betsy Pisik The Washington Times 9/21/99 New York

Leaders of the United Nations warned at yesterday's opening of
the U.N.  General Assembly that national borders will no longer
be a deterrent to justified humanitarian intervention.
Traditional considerations of national sovereignty will no longer be
taken into account, Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the U.N., told
the opening session of the 188-member world body. Governments must not
allow divisions within the Security Council to derail legitimate
intervention in places such as Rwanda and Kosovo, he said.

"If states bent on criminal behavior know that frontiers are not
an absolute defense, if they know that the Security Council will
take action to halt crimes against humanity, then they will not
embark on such a course of action in expectations of sovereign
impunity," he said.  "Massive and systematic violations of human
rights -- wherever they may take place -- should not be allowed
to stand."

Traditional talk of human rights, globalization and conflict
resolution took on new immediacy against the backdrop of civilian
atrocities in Kosovo and in East Timor, where U.N.  troops, mostly
Australian, began arriving yesterday.  Leaders of several nations --
including France, Britain, Norway, South Africa and Tanzania --largely
agreed with that view at the opening session of the two-week opening
debate of the U.N.  General Assembly.

TALBOTT: NEXT CENTURY, AMERICA WILL NOT EXIST IN CURRENT FORM,
'ALL STATES WILL RECOGNIZE A SINGLE, GLOBAL AUTHORITY'
Drudge Report 9/26/99

Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott believes the United
States may not exist in its current form in the 21st Century --
because nationhood throughout the world will become obsolete!
Talbott, who is profiled in the NEW YORK TIMES on Monday [for the
second time in six months], has defined, shaped and executed the
Clinton administration's foreign policy.  He has served at the State
Department since the first day of the Clinton presidency. Just before
joining the administration, Talbott wrote in TIME magazine -- in an
essay titled "The Birth of the Global Nation" -- that he is looking
forward to government run by "one global authority."

"Here is one optimist's reason for believing unity will prevail
..  within the next hundred years ...  nationhood as we know it
will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single, global
authority," Talbott declared in the July 20, 1992 issue of TIME.
"A phrase briefly fashionable in the mid-20th century -- 'citizen of
the world' -- will have assumed real meaning by the end of the 21st."
Talbott continued: "All countries are basically social arrangements,
accommodations to changing circumstances.  No matter how permanent and
even sacred they may seem at any one time, in fact they are all
artificial and temporary."

EGYPT TO CELEBRATE MILLENNIUM WITH 12-HOUR OPERA AT PYRAMIDS
September 29, 1999 By Vijay Joshi, Associated Press Cairo, Egypt
(AP)

Egypt will welcome the new millennium with a 12-hour overnight
opera, turning the Great Pyramids and the surrounding desert into a
sprawling laser-lit stage for a cast of 1,000, officials said
Wednesday.  The unprecedented audiovisual experience, beginning sunset
on New Year's Eve and ending at dawn on the first day of the third
millennium, will evoke the ancient and the modern and use art forms of
the West and the East, Culture Minister Farouk Hosny said.  At the
stroke of midnight, a 30-foot golden pyramid will be placed atop the
missing peak of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, flooding the surrounding
area with golden rays to signal the birth of the first day of 2000, he
said.

ANTI-SEMITISM

POLL SHOW HIGH RATE OF ANTISEMITISM IN RUSSIANS
Weekend News Today By Andra Brack Source: JTA Sep 22,1999

More than 4 out of 10 Russians hold strong anti-Semitic views,
according to a survey released by the Anti-Defamation League.
The latest poll found that 44 percent of the respondents embrace
a range of stereotypes about Jews, including a belief that Jews
exercise too much power in Russia and in world business, and that Jews
"are ready to use unscrupulous means to achieve their aims." The ADL
called the findings "extremely troubling and potentially dangerous."

JEWISH GRAVES DESECRATED IN ARGENTINA
Weekend News Today By Andra Brack Source: IsraelWire Sep 22,1999

63 Jewish graves in a Buenos Aires cemetery were desecrated on
the eve of the Yom Kippur, marking the third anti-Semitic attack
in the cemetery in two years.  Local Jewish community leaders
stated that the government's failure to take appropriate actions
following attacks in Argentina against the Jewish community have
sent a signal to those persons that they may continue with their
hate crime with impunity.

SOCIETAL DECADENCE - As in the Days of Noach
PRINCETON'S BIOETHICS PROFESSOR SPARKS PROTEST
Weekend News Today By Staff Writer Source: Yahoo! Sep 22,1999

More than 250 demonstrators protested the first day of classes of a
Princeton University professor who says parents should have the right
to euthanize newborns with severe handicaps.  14 were arrested when
they refused to stop blocking the entrances.  In his recent books,
bioethics professor Peter Singer has said children less than one month
old have no human consciousness and do not have the same rights as
others.  "Killing a defective infant is not morally equivalent to
killing a person," he has written.  "Sometimes it is not wrong at
all." Marie Tasy, of the anti-abortion group Right to Life, said
Singer's views - and their extreme interpretations - prey on the
vulnerable. Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes, a
Princeton alumnus who also serves on the university's Board of
Trustees, said Tuesday he will withhold any donations to the school as
long as Singer teaches there.

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