HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: Nigel.Allen@LAMBADA.OIT.UNC.EDU
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: VA Drops Interest Rate on Home Loans, Encourages Veterans to
Date: 13 Aug 92 09:52:13 GMT

Here is a press release from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
 
 VA Drops Interest Rate on Home Loans, Encourages Veterans to 
Refinance 
 To: National Desk 
 Contact: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 202-535-8300 
 
   WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Department of Veterans 
Affairs (VA) is reducing its maximum home loan interest rate from 
8 percent to 7.5 percent, effective Aug. 12. 
    This is the lowest the VA rate has been in 19 years, and the 
second time in less than two months that the rate has been lowered. 
   In announcing the reduction, VA Secretary Edward J. Derwinski 
said, "The drop in the rate will mean more veterans will qualify for 
home loans, which will have the practical effect of stimulating the 
economy and boosting the housing industry.  It also means that many 
veterans can take advantage of the lower rate and refinance their 
existing loans at a great savings." 
   One year ago, the interest rate on VA-guaranteed home loans was 
9.5 percent.  The decline to 7.5 percent means that the monthly 
payment on a typical VA loan of $86,000 has decreased by $121.26 -- 
from $723.26 to $602. 
   Also effective Aug. 12, VA will decrease by one-half percentage 
point the maximum rates for graduated payment mortgages to 
7.75 percent, home improvement loans to 9 percent, manufactured home 
loans to 10 percent, manufactured home lot-only loans to 9.5 percent, 
and manufactured home and lot loans to 9.5 percent. 
   The lower rate also is good news for veterans interested in 
refinancing their existing mortgage loans.  Recently, more than 
33,000 veterans have refinanced their loans to take advantage of 
lower interest rates, and there are still more than 1.5 million 
veterans with VA-guaranteed loans with interest rates of 9.5 percent 
or higher.  If those veterans took advantage of current rates, they 
could realize significant savings.  Veterans are encouraged to 
contact a private lending agency for more information on VA 
refinancing loans. 
 -0-
From: bergman@AFPAN.PA.AF.MIL (CMSgt Mike Bergman)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: AF News Svc 08/14/92
Date: 17 Aug 92 12:59:34 GMT
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC

656.  RIF results
657.  Gray Eagle award
				   &    &    &
				   &    &    &
				   &    &    &
NOTE TO EDITORS:  The following RIF story is an item of high interest.
Request widest possible dissemination.
656.  RIF results
     WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Nearly 1,600 officers have been selected for
discharge by a reduction in force board, Air Force personnel officials said.
     Officials announced the need to increase officer separations through
involuntary means June 18.  The board met July 20 at Randolph AFB, Texas, and
selected 1,595 Reserve officers out of a pool of 8,900 from the 1980 to 1989
commissioned year groups.
     Selections were based on percentages announced July 15.  Ninety-five
percent was used to compute the quota for the 1980 to 1984 year groups, 75
percent for the 1985 year group, 25 percent for 1986, 15 percent for 1987, and
6 percent for the 1988 to 1989 year groups.
     Selected officers will have to separate by Dec. 31.
     Notifications will be made Aug. 27.  Selectees will be notified privately
through the senior rater chain, similar to the procedures used for the
selective early retirement board notification.
     There will not be a public release of individual names, officials said.


657.  Gray Eagle award
     WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Lt. Gen. Eugene H. Fischer, Air Force inspector
general, is the 1992 recipient of the Gray Eagle award.
     The award honors the Air Force pilot on active duty or extended active
duty who has the longest aviation service.  Fischer earned his wings March 28,
1956.
     From his start as an aviation cadet at Malden AFB, Mo., Fischer logged
more than 5,500 hours, with 200 combat missions over Laos, North Vietnam and
South Vietnam.  He has flown several fighter aircraft including the F-51,
F-84, F-4, F-15 and F-16.
     Gray Eagle recipients are recognized for their long service, depth of
experience and broad aviation knowledge.  The award also reinforces the
camaraderie and heritage within the pilot profession.
     A permanent Gray Eagle trophy is on display at the Pentagon and a
miniature replica is presented to each recipient.
     Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill A. McPeak presented the award to
Fischer in a Pentagon ceremony Aug. 13.  The first Gray Eagle award winner was
Maj. Gen. Fred Nelson, who retired Aug. 1.
     The awards are donated by the Air Force Association.  The permanent
trophy was created using metal from aircraft flown since 1947.

-- 
         
      // \\
    //     \\                    Air Force News Agency 
   |         |               Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, USA
   \\  {*}  //                   bergman@afpan.pa.af.mil  
   \  CMSgt  /      ___________________ /____________________________________
   \  Mike   /   
   \ Bergman /
     \     /
From: bergman@AFPAN.PA.AF.MIL (CMSgt Mike Bergman)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: Postal Service Closes Mail Gateways
Date: 20 Aug 92 13:55:01 GMT
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC

Postal Service Closes Gateway Mail Centers

American Forces Information Service

     Officials are closing first-class military mail operations at
four U.S. gateway post offices that handle military mail destined
for overseas. U.S. Postal Service officials said the closures
should result in better use of automated equipment.
     DoD will no longer process first-class mail through facilities
in Chicago, Dallas, Seattle and Washington, D.C.  Instead, mail
going to Army and Fleet post offices with the "AE" code will be
processed through the New York City facility; "AP" through San
Francisco; and "AA" through Miami.
     With the military drawdown, the Postal Service is handling
less than 90,000 first-class pieces daily each to AP and AE
numbers, said Kenneth McFadden.
     "The consolidation will allow monitoring the network more
closely and expedite the identification and correction of
bottlenecks in the system," said McFadden, U.S. Postal Service's
general manager, International and Military Mail Operations
Division.
     In addition, he said, it should cut down on container handling
requirements at overseas terminals, making it easier to identify
those with first-class mail.  "We expect the result to be a more
consistent service for the APO/FPO postal customers," said
McFadden.
     No changes are expected in first-class mail processed and
destined for the United States.

--
     __________________________________________________________________
    |            Air Force News Agency (AFNEWS)                        | 
    |           Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, USA                       | 
    |               bergman@afpan.pa.af.mil                            |  
    |__________________________________________________________________|
From: Nigel.Allen@bbs.oit.unc.edu (Nigel Allen)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans,misc.legal,soc.culture.usa
Subject: McDonnell Douglas Pays U.S. $1 Million to Settle Dispute
Date: 13 Aug 92 11:42:37 GMT
Organization: Echo Beach

Here is a press release from the U.S. Justice Department.

  McDonnell Douglas Pays U.S. $1 Million to Settle Dispute 
 To: National and Business desks, Defense Writer 
 Contact: U.S. Department of Justice, 202-514-2007 
 
   WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Department of Justice 
announced today that McDonnell Douglas Missile Systems will pay the 
United States $1 million to resolve claims it failed to disclose all 
information and also misrepresented other costs in negotiating three 
contracts with the Navy. 
   Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Gerson, head of the Civil 
Division, said the government's claims stemmed from three contracts 
the Navy negotiated with McDonnell Douglas from 1985 through 1987. 
   In those negotiations, McDonnell Douglas told the Navy it planned 
to manufacture in-house air-launch wing kits for the Harpoon missile. 
The company, in fact, purchased the kits. 
   The government also said McDonnell Douglas falsely represented the 
distribution of engineering labor hours between general engineering 
and design engineering and made other misrepresentations about the 
cost of contractor furnished equipment. 
   The settlement resolves claims the United States could have 
brought against McDonnell Douglas under the False Claims Act and 
Truth in Negotiations Act. 
 -0- 

--
   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
From: Nigel.Allen@bbs.oit.unc.edu (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Toll-free number connects Canadian military and families
Organization: Echo Beach
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 11:19:20 GMT

Here is a press release from the Canadian Department of National Defence.

Toll-free Number Connects Military and Families

Ottawa, August 7, 1992 -- The Associate Minister of National Defence, the
Honourable Mary Collins, announced today that the Department of National
Defence is introducing a 1-800 number to provide a communication link
between Canadian Forces families and members serving on UN peacekeeping
missions around the world.

The toll-free national information line will be a point of contact for
family members. Trained staff of the Director Military Family Support will
operate the service at National Defence Headquarters Monday through Friday
between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. EST. Messages may be left at other times.

"The Gulf War taught us the need that CF families have for timely and
accurate information about loved ones serving far from home,:" said Mrs.
Collins. "Canada's numerous peacekeeping missions will continue to require
military personnel to be separated from their families for long periods of
time."

The information line is intended to relay family messages and answer
questions about a CF member's whereabouts or condition, but not to
facilitate direct communication between family and member. The service
line is designed to supplement the information function of the CF Family
Resources Centres which exist at bases and stations across Canada.

Families and relatives may access the service by dialing 1-800-665-1514.

 - 30 -

[Note to journalists: For information call the National Defence press
office at (613) 996-2353, or after hours (613) 996-7811.]

--
   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
From: bergman@AFPAN.PA.AF.MIL (CMSgt Mike Bergman)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: AFIS Press Notes
Date: 20 Aug 92 13:57:33 GMT
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC

Do You Know

Who was the U.S. Navy's first admiral?
 David G. Farragut
(1866)

Who was the U.S. Navy's first Hispanic-American admiral?
David G. Farragut

How many Hispanic-Americans have received the Medal of Honor?
37

For heroism during which battle was the first World War II
Hispanic-American Medal of Honor for heroism awarded?
Aleutian Islands
(1943)

What Hollywood movie depicts the real-life exploits of a U.S.
Hispanic-American Marine who captured over 1,000 Japanese soldiers
singlehandedly during the invasion of Saipan in June 1944?
"From Hell to Eternity"
(Marine Pfc Guy Gabaldon)

What was the only all Hispanic-American unit to serve in Korea
during the Korean War?
Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment

Who was U.S. president when Congress passed a resolution for
National Hispanic Heritage Week?
Lyndon B. Johnson
(1968)

When was Hispanic Heritage Month established?
1989


Worth Repeating

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
--Eleanor Roosevelt,
U.S. humanitarian

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a
man's character, give him power."
--Abraham Lincoln,
U.S. president

"To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and
influence as to talk well."
--John Marshall,
U.S. chief justice

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."
--Derek Bok,
U.S. educator

"There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond and to
know one's self."
--Benjamin Franklin,
U.S. statesman

"Always live within your income, even if you have to borrow money
to do so."
--Josh Billings,
U.S. humorist

-- 
         
      // \\
    //     \\                    Air Force News Agency 
   |         |               Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, USA
   \\  {*}  //                   bergman@afpan.pa.af.mil  
   \  CMSgt  /      ___________________ /____________________________________
   \  Mike   /   
   \ Bergman /
     \     /
From: towfiq@Clearpoint.COM
Newsgroups: soc.religion.bahai
Subject: Editorial in N.Y. Times (8/18/92)
Date: 19 Aug 92 14:59:20 GMT
Organization: <none>


  The following editorial appeared in Tuesday's New York Times:

			   A Death in Iran

Despite recurrent reports that Iran has become "moderate," persecution
of members of the Bahai faith has intensified.  On March 17, a
businessman named Bahman Samandari was summoned to the notorious Evin
prison in Teheran, where he was secretly executed the next day.

His widow learned of his fate on April 5, when prison officials handed
her what they said was a copy of his will--but refused to tell where
he was buried.

Mr. Samandari's sole crime was that he was a prominent adherent of the
Bahai faith, a religion with some 400,000 followers in Iran that is
deemed heretical by the ruling mullahs.  But the sequel is hopeful: 52
Iranian-born scholars in American and Europe signed a letter
condemning "this act of official lawlessness and brutality in the
strongest possible terms."  Their protest appeared recently as an
advertisement in the Iran Times, published in Washington, D.C.

This is the first time a group of prominent, mostly Muslim Iranians
have signed such a statement.  The Teheran Government has appealed to
educated Iranians living abroad to return to their homeland.  If the
mullahs are serious, they cannot ignore the anguish that caused these
academics to plead with Iran to cease persecution and uphold instead
"the freedom of religious belief of all its citizens."

Iran's failure to do so undermines its own legitimate protests over
the slaughter of Muslims in Bosnia, solely because they are Muslims.
--
Mark Towfiq, towfiq@Clearpoint.COM			      H:+1 617 488 2818

O SON OF SPIRIT!  Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise
then unto that for which thou wast created.
		-- The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah
Newsgroups: soc.religion.bahai
From: srb-mods@oneworld.wa.com
Subject: Periodic Reader Questionnaire
Followup-To: srb-mods@oneworld.wa.com, bahai-faith-request@oneworld.wa.com
Reply-To: srb-mods@oneworld.wa.com, bahai-faith-request@oneworld.wa.com
Organization: Moderators and Administrators of s.r.b and b-f
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1992 03:09:38 GMT

[Last updated 16-Aug-92]

In order to monitor the service this forum provides its readership, we
intend periodically to solicit reader input via a short questionnaire.
The results will be summarized, posted and tracked over time.  If you
have any reactions you'd like to share, we hope very much to hear from
you!

In order to automate as much of the tallying of responses as possible,
please place your responses to "short answer" questions 1-3 on the
lines that begin with "ANSWER".

1. This forum is available in two equivalent forms: as a USENET
   newsgroup, soc.religion.bahai; and as a mailing list, bahai-faith.

   Do you read us as a newsgroup?  (If so, please answer N below.)

   or are you a mailing list subscriber?  (Please answer L below.)

ANSWER 1:  

2. (Optional, to let us know if we are adequately serving both
    populations)

   Are you a Baha'i?  (If you wish to respond, please answer Y or N
   below.)

ANSWER 2:  

3. Are you satisfied with the operation of this forum?  (Please answer
   Y or N below.)

ANSWER 3:  

   Additional Comments regarding operations:


4. If you have any suggestions for improvements, please list them
   below.  Thank you!
From: sxv@philabs.philips.com (Shohreh Vafai)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.bahai
Subject: Looking for a Baha'i prayer book in Hindi
Date: 17 Aug 92 14:01:06 GMT
Article-I.D.: qiclab.1992Aug21.081632.11218
Organization: Philips Laboratories, Briarcliff, New York


Hi:

I am interested to know if anyone has access to a Baha'i prayer book 
in Hindi.

I would like to obtain copies of certain passages or alternatively
purchase the book itself, if available for sale (outside ordering it
from India.)


Thanks in advance,

Shohreh
From: Steven.Kolins@lambada.oit.unc.edu
Newsgroups: soc.religion.bahai
Subject: Views of Spirituality
Date: 16 Aug 92 15:34:40 GMT
Article-I.D.: qiclab.1992Aug21.081713.11365
Organization: Explosive Space Modulators - R - Us

Allah'u'Abha friends
        I'm new to the s.r.b news area and haven't been able to really
follow what's been happening 'till now...so i'll just jump in.  Here's
something I work on:  what would it look like - what would be different on
the outside, if everyone in sight were really spiritual?
        I find many subtleties in this question.  What are our
expectations of spiritual people, of ourselves.  What are our expectations
of manifesting spiritual growth.  How much of what we witness everyday is
really from "the old world order" and how much from the new.  Do we have
euphoric expectations of a peacefull world - almost like the some Christians
view that the Reign of Christ will be abrupt, extreme, and beyond obvious.
 What really is spiritual in the context of what you see right now.

a few thoughts
Steven

PS I have read the recent WSJ article - i thought it was simplistic, and
maybe a bit skewed, but there were no essential mistakes i saw...
From: ai257@cleveland.freenet.edu (Linda L. McConnell)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.bahai
Subject: Re: Wall Street Journal 8-12-92
Date: 19 Aug 92 15:01:42 GMT
	<1992Aug17.150744.25681@newscan.canada.sun.com>
	<1992Aug17.150754.25743@newscan.canada.sun.com>
Reply-To: ai257@cleveland.freenet.edu (Linda L. McConnell)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)

In a previous article, bts@unx.sas.com (Brian T. Schellenberger) says:

>On Wednesday, August 12, there was a front-page article on the Baha'i
>Faith in the Wall Street Journal.  [...]  But maybe I'm
>over-sensitive; what did any non-Baha'is who are nontheless familiar
>with the Faith think of it?

Gee, would you be interested in what a brand new Baha'i thought of it?
:-)

I was glad to see it, and thought it could be a good conversation
starter.  I didn't really like its overall tone - I found it slightly
critical or patronizing.  But overall I'm glad it was there and I
attribute its (to me) slightly negative tone on the author's probable
ignorance and not on malicious intent.  > Anybody else have any
opinions?  I'm curious about what a person who knows nothing about the
Faith would think after reading such an article.  Would he/she be made
curious at all?  If so, it was a great article, in my opinion.

--Linda
-- 
"A man is rich in proportion to the number of things
 which he can afford to let alone."
                                      --Thoreau
Newsgroups: soc.religion.bahai
From: Frank Vahid <vahid@vlsi.ICS.UCI.EDU>
Subject: Re: Wall Street Journal 8-12-92
Organization: Sun Microsystems of Canada, Inc.
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 19:48:55 GMT


>On the front page of the Wall Street Journal today there is a lead
>article (top of column 4) with the headline "In Doom and Death Baha'i
>Faithful See Promise of Peace."
>--
>Mark Towfiq, towfiq@Clearpoint.COM			      H:+1 617 488 2818

I had some thoughts concerning a couple of issues raised in this article,
and was wondering what others thought.

First, the article gives the impression that Baha'is believe that
the *only* way that the world will leave peacefully is if things
get really bad first:

    (from the article) ... But before this new age can come,
    Baha'u'llah warned, things have to get so bad mankind can't
    help but change its ways.
    ....
    Baha'is don't know exactly when this new age
    of elightenment will come to fruition.  Baha'u'llah said only that
    it would culminate within 1,000 years.  How soon it comes depends
    on how quickly the world hits rock bottom.

The article makes no mention of the idea expressed by the
Universal House of Justice in its statement entitled "The Promise
of World Peace", an idea found throughout the writings of Baha'u'llah:

    Whether peace is to be reached only after unimaginable horrors
    precipitated by humanity's stubborn clinging to old patterns of
    behaviour, or is to be embraced now by an act of consultative
    will, is the choice before all who inhabit the earth.

I believe it is the latter path which Baha'is work towards every day.


A second issue regards the location of the Baha'i House of Worship
in the U.S.  From the article:

    For a religion that promotes race unity, the temple's location
    is somewhat paradoxical.  This town [Wilmette, IL] of 27,000 has
    only 84 blacks.

This really doesn't seem like a paradox to me at all.
Now, let's not dwell on the fact that the location was chosen in 1909,
when Wilmette was probably very different than it is now.  Instead,
shouldn't we note that choosing a site for the first temple in the
U.S. required considering MANY factors, which I won't go into but
I'm sure you can imagine?  And shouldn't we consider that nobody is
denied access to the House of Worship because of their race?  On the
contrary, the people I have seen at the temple when I have been there
(I grew up near Chicago so went there a lot) seemed to be from every
racial and ethnic background imaginable.  And a large number of
programs held there are specifically intended to promote race unity.
And shouldn't we also consider that a House of Worship is to be
built in *every* city, to serve as the dawning point for the
remembrance of God?

Perhaps it would be interesting to mention that currently there
is a Baha'i House of Worship in Panama, Samoa, India, Germany,
Australia, and Uganda.

Just some thoughts.

Frank
From: mece1e3@Jane.UH.EDU (Arindam Ghosh)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.bahai
Subject: Genesis
Date: 14 Aug 92 16:58:05 GMT
Article-I.D.: qiclab.1992Aug17.083500.26611
Organization: University of Houston

The tradition of having one GENESIS is fundamentally linked to the
idea of one branch of religion being true.

What makes us think that there was only ONE place where humanity was
created.

Why couldn't have God created man and woman at various places and
time.

Do the Bahai scriptures say anything about this?

Arindam