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- Signs of the Times #247
- Associated Press, [Sep 2] More than 300 people aboard a North Atlantic cruise ship became sick with a Norwalk-type virus, causing the
vessel to cut its voyage short and head for New York. At least 322 passengers fell ill during an outbreak aboard the Regal Princess, U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said. The ship was bound for New York from Copenhagen, Denmark on a 16-day
trip. It was expected to dock in New York Harbor early Tuesday, cutting its voyage short by two days. The norovirus - which includes
Norwalk and Norwalk-like viruses - caused thousands of cruise ship passengers to fall ill last year. It can cause diarrhea, stomach pain
and vomiting for 24 to 48 hours.
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- Signs of the Times #246
- Scientists Say Glaciers Are Melting at Alarming Rate [Sep 2] Montana, http://www.ABCNews.com Snow and glaciers can be viewed as
far as the eye can see. But for scientists who study glaciers, all they see are remnants of glaciers, which are melting and shrinking at an
alarming rate. ... Now there´s proof of just how fast the massive blocks of moving ice are retreating. For the first time in 35 years, the
USGS has conducted an exhaustive photographic evaluation of the million-acre park. By comparing historic photos taken around the turn
of the 20th century, scientists can point to a rapidly diminishing number of glaciers.
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- Signs of the Times #245 (from godlikeproduction Message Board)
- Something is most definitely building up here [Sep 5] in the shaky isles of New Zealand www.stuff.co.nz Southerners were shaken again
last night with an earthquake striking at 8.40 PM. At 6.1 on the Richter scale the quake, centered 60km west of Te Anau and 25km deep,
was the largest since one measuring 7.1 rattled the south on August 22. Last night´s quake was followed at 9.13PM by a 4.8 aftershock.
[and from another poster] http://www.volcanolive.com/volcanolive.html You will see that they report an EQ in Townsvilee Queensland on
Aug 12. Try and find this in the IRIS, USGS or Europe database. You won´t. [and from another poster] I rarely look at the USGS. They
have too bad a history of not reporting. I follow the Real Time Seismicity page http://www.emsc-csem.org/cgi-bin/ALERT_all_messages.sh
or Red Puma. [Note that even this EMSC site drops quakes, as recently for a 5.6 in China]
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- Signs of the Times #244 (from godlikeproduction Message Board)
- What´s going on? Finland http://www.helsinki-hs.net/news.asp?id=20030902IE5 (Not heard on news) Russia
http://www.gateway2russia.com/st/art_129957.php (Not heard on news) Mexico (Not heard on news) [and from another poster] You left
out Sydney, Australia: Merrill Lynch Sydney Operations Hit By Power Blackout [Sep 1] all trading operations have been transferred to
its Melbourne office due to the overnight power blackout in Sydney´s business district.
http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/030901/1858000958_1.html [and from another poster] Finland verified, I live here so I think I know when we
have blackout.
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- Signs of the Times #243
- http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2003-09/03/content_1060037.htm A power outage left at least 3 million Mexicans in the southern
Yucatan peninsular without electricity on Tuesday [Sep 2], the authorities said. The blackout occurred before dawn in Mexico's southern
states of Yucatan, Campeche, Quintana Roo and parts of Tabasco and Chiapas. By afternoon, power had been returned to about 80
percent of the affected area, civil protection officials said. The fault, which automatically shut down power lines, could have been caused
by lightning or a mudslide, said the Federal Electricity Commission. The popular coastal resort of Cancun in Quintana Roo state was
hardest-hit by the power loss. Many tourist centers used their own generators to keep facilities running. Cancun is to host a major World
Trade Organization conference next week.
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- Signs of the Times #242
- Big Power Failure [Sep 1] hits Malaysia http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7131501%255E1702,00.html A power
outage today blacked out parts of peninsular Malaysia and temporarily disrupted operations at the country's main airport, officials said.
The outage occurred around 10 AM in at least four northern states in peninsular Malaysia, a spokesman for Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia's
main power utility company, said. Officials believed a problem with electricity cables might have triggered the outage. ... The outage
lasted for at least an hour at the $US2.4 billion Kuala Lumpur International Airport, a spokesman for airport operator Malaysia Airports
Holdings said.
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- Signs of the Times #241 (from godlikeproduction Message Board)
- Just got back [Sep 2] from a weeks stay in Yellowstone. A lot more camping areas have been closed off besides around the Lake. The fish
are floating dead in the streams, and the lake is closed. A very strong smell of H2SO4 (sulfur). People were leaving due to smell. [and
from another poster] There is a large dead zone of animals and vegetation. Immediately outside this dead zone, vegetation has stopped
growing and animals are migrating out of the area. New geysers and mud pots are springing up daily. You can physically see the ground
bulging up, not only at Yellowstone Lake, but in several places in the park. They have closed more areas to the public than is being
reported.
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- Signs of the Times #240
- Crop Failure Blamed on Excess Rain in Maritimes http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/08/17/weather_crops030817 Thick smog and endless
rain continued to cover most of Atlantic Canada on Sunday, bringing added worry to farmers faced with rotting crops. Central America
Alarmed at Crop Failure http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/1451675.stm Newspapers in Central America bear
stark witness to the food crisis facing the region as a combination of drought and flooding devastate vital crops. Crop Failure Pushes
Mauritanians to the Edge http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/0/4a38ea243d7a5138c1256ca70054622a?OpenDocument Mariam Mint Eli
is planting sorghum seeds between the cracks in the parched earth that is her field, the desperate act of one who has little expectation of
harvesting anything edible but has little choice. Mariam´s crops have almost completely failed this year, the result of a total lack of rain
between July and September in the Affolé region of southern Mauritania. She is now attempting to sow seeds for a second time, in the face
of the fact that the next rains are not due for another nine months.
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- Signs of the Times #239
- Foreign Grain Output Spirals Downward http://www.fas.usda.gov/wap/circular/2003/03-08/Wap%2008-03.pdf Wheat Harvest Estimated
To Be the Worst in at Least Twelve Years; Corn Crop Reduced by Drought
http://www.fas.usda.gov/pecad/highlights/2003/08/Central_Europe/index.htm USDA estimates central Europe´s 2003/04 wheat
production at 22.2 million tons, down 27 percent from last seasons near-average crop of 30.5 million. Harvested area is forecast at 7.9
million hectares, down 17 percent or 1.6 million hectares from last year. Yield is forecast at 2.8 tons/ha, well below the 3.4 t/ha average.
The paltry 2003/04 wheat total stems from a combination of less planted area and poor yields. Producers faced a particularly short 2003
fall planting window, wedged between an unusually late summer harvest, heavy October rains, and an early onset to winter. These events
delayed or prevented autumn sowing activities. In addition, winter was particularly harsh, having left higher than normal winterkill,
including significant frost damage in early spring. Finally, since March, drought became especially destructive to wheat plants as they
progressed through critical growing periods.
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- Signs of the Times #238 (via email to Nancy)
- Here in Spain I keep watching the nature signs. The Sun now seems to me to have this characteristic form of the icon of a heart, rather
than that of a circle, in sunrises. The brightness of the Sun light has never been so intense. It's almost makes a person blind if one begins to
look at it straight on! The sky appears with this a pinkish colour. In some regions here there are almost constant and very chaotic storms.
Some days ago a strange disaster took place in the oil processing facilities in the region of Castilla-La Mancha. Also, some days ago,
another accident took place in the tunnels of the new express speed railway line - between Madrid and the city of Avila. Well, the
authorities are saying (as always) that they will investigate.