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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PAUL ROBERTSON who wrote (8949)	3/5/2000 8:09:00 AM
From: sea_urchin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 81169

Paul : "Perhaps it is all part of a master weather conspiracy" My own feeling is that the change in the weather is the result of global warming leading to increased oceanic evaporation and, in turn, to increased precipitation. In fact, as I understand it, the increased hurricane/cyclone activity on the east coast of the US is produced by the weather changes over Central Africa. And, it's this change that has also led to the much increased rainfall here. I'm not sure the rain etc will be good for the region now, or in the future. Until December last there were almost drought conditions and the farmers were predicting a crop failure. Then, the deluge which swept most of what there was away. There has been major destruction of roads and bridges and hundreds of thousands of indigenous "homes" have been washed away in SAf, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The lot may be rebuilt only to be destroyed again. And again. Finally, the millions of displaced people have only one place to go --- South Africa --- to squat on my doorstep! Following the rains now, I understand there is an outbreak of malaria, the likes of which has not been seen before. In fact, malaria has even occurred in Pretoria In addition, in Maputo, cholera is now rampant. Indeed, this new rainfall, all over the world, has been a real disaster. And I'm also thinking of Chile, Guatemala, Venezuela and Queensland. So, I hope you are right when you say it will be good in the longer term. In a Malthusian sense, good may come about by the decimation the population. By the way, in the last 48 hours I measured 15 cm (6 inches) rainfall at my home. That's a lot of water. And all will flow north to Mozambique to add to the distress of the flood victims. A useless fact: Johannesburg is on a ridge called the Witwatersrand. (Ridge of White Waters) All the rainfall in the northern suburbs of Joburg flows into the Crocodile and Limpopo Rivers and then into the Indian Ocean while the rain which falls in the South of Joburg runs into the Vaal and Orange rivers and then into the Atlantic Ocean, on the other side of the continent.