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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scrapps who wrote (13275)	3/3/1998 8:41:00 AM
From: DMaA	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 22053

Bill Gates Answers to Criticism Of Microsoft Ahead of Hearing By JOHN R. WILKE and DAVID BANK and David M. Anderson Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and SI WASHINGTON -- EngulfandDevoursoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates plans to tell Congress Tuesday that "it is not, nor has it ever been, the intention of my company to turn the information superhighway into a toll road. But we dreamed about it a lot."

To: Scrapps who wrote (13275)	3/3/1998 10:10:00 AM
From: jhild	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22053

End in sight? I hope so for you guys in California, but. . . :^( El Ni¤o to Continue Assault on United States 8.49 a.m. ET (1350 GMT) March 3, 1998 GENEVA - The El Ni¤o weather phenomenon is expected to increase storms over the southern and western United States and bring abnormal dryness to Indonesia, the northern part of South America and parts of southern Africa until May, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Tuesday. The U.N. agency said above-normal rainfall was expected over much of the eastern part of the Greater Horn of Africa - strongest over the coastal parts of northern Tanzania, Kenya, coastal southern Somalia and northeast Ethiopia. The Geneva-based WMO issued its fourth El Ni¤o Update since October, which summarizes data received from the national meteorological and hydrological services of its 185 member states as of February 18. "El Ni¤o 1997-1998 continues to dominate climatic conditions causing extreme precipitation and severe storms in certain areas, and exceptionally dry conditions in others,'' WMO said. "The phenomenon has passed its peak in some areas (e.g. Australia), where it is now on the decline but in other areas (e.g. west coast of North America), its influence will continue well into May,'' it added. El Ni¤o, which stems from a warm Pacific current off South America, is the strongest on record, surpassing that of 1982-83. It has brought heavy rains and flooding to some parts of the world and drought to others. "Warm episode conditions are expected to continue February through April and to weaken during May-July,'' WMO said. "Drier-than-normal conditions are expected over Indonesia, northern South America and parts of southern Africa during the next few months. Wetter-than-normal conditions should continue over the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, along the coasts of Ecuador and northern Peru, and over southeastern South America.'' Regarding the United States, WMO said, "Increased storminess and wetter-than-normal conditions are expected to continue over California and the southern third of the United States. "Warmer-than-normal conditions will persist over much of central North America,'' it added. Experts meeting in Singapore last month agreed that for the ASEAN region (Association of South East Asian Nations) that El Ni¤o would gradually weaken, with prevailing below-normal rainfall conditions expected to last until April, WMO said. Experts for the ASEAN region foresaw three scenarios afterwards - "back-to-neutral,'' "La Ni¤a (a cold weather event) and a prolonged El Ni¤o, according to the U.N. agency. "The (ASEAN) experts agreed that the back-to-neutral scenario is the most likely of the three, with a 50 percent probability of occurrence,'' it said. "This scenario implies that rainfall conditions will revert back to normal for the region. "However, as Indonesia experiences its dry season in May to October each year, in addition to the drought conditions experienced in early 1998, hazy conditions and localised forest fires may occur.'' Experts meeting in Nairobi last month concluded that near- to above-normal rainfall could be expected from March to May over much of the eastern part of the Greater Horn of Africa, according to WMO. "The indications for above-normal rainfall are strongest over the coastal parts of northern Tanzania, Kenya, coastal southern Somalia and northeastern Ethiopia. Near- to above- normal rain is expected over the western part of the area.'' The WMO update gave no assessment of the likely impact on crops in the region. Near-to below-normal conditions could be expected further south and in the central inland areas, according to the African experts. "Risks of widespread dry conditions are low. "However, the food security situation remains precarious in the region due in part to poor harvests in early 1997 and excessive rains late in the year,'' WMO said. In the coastal regions of Ecuador and northern Peru, El Ni¤o caused tremendous downpours, with Talara, Peru receiving five times its normal annual rainfall - in a single day. foxnews.com