Looks like the season is starting a bit early this year.

      BRAZIL (BBC) -- "Two years ago the world was shocked by pictures of hundreds of rotting fish floating in the world's second largest river.

      Stranded villagers stared in bewilderment at dried out banks, and helicopters delivered food and water to isolated river communities.

      They were the images of the widespread drought in 2005 in the Amazon - an area of lush rainforest in most people's imagination. It was the worst in some areas since records began, and prompted the Brazilian government to declare a state of emergency.

      Nearly two years on, the world may have forgotten the drought, but the scientific community has not. Meeting at Oxford University this week, many of the world's leading experts on climate change and Amazonia have been grappling with issues critical to the future climate of the world..."

      The German Chancellor added hastily that she did not want to steer Europe towards a federal superstate. But her words ignited a simmering row about the relationship between Nato and the growing number of small EU military missions.

      UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - "A new deadly form of tuberculosis spreading through South Africa has now been found in rich nations in Europe as well as Canada and the United States, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

      Africa's large AIDS population is at special risk from the particularly virulent strain, known as XDR-TB (extremely drug resistant), which had been documented in 35 countries worldwide, 16 of them this year alone.

      "This is an the most urgent thing I have seen in my 15 years of working on tuberculosis," Mario Raviglione, director of the STOP TB program at the World Health Organization. He introduced WHO's TB report, which coincides with the 125th anniversary of the discovery of the microbe that causes TB..."

     Great... drug resistant TB.  I wonder if it's vaccine proof too.  This stuff is nasty.

      WASHINGTON (CNN) -- "A severe flu pandemic "would almost certainly lead to a major economic recession," according to a new report from a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization.

      The report, titled "Pandemic Flu and the Potential for U.S. Economic Recession," projected that a pandemic would kill 2.25 million people and force 87.75 million people to miss work for three weeks

      That could cause the U.S. gross domestic product to drop more than 5.5 percent, resulting in an economic loss of $683 billion.

      "Oh Lord, there is no way we can keep up with these calls," said Kaye Britton, a foreclosure counselor at the downtown nonprofit group that promotes home ownership to minority Americans, among others.

      Britton has been helping clients reach the American dream of owning a home since 2002. Handmade wall signs urge would-be buyers to "sweat the small stuff" and note the lender's golden rule: "They have the gold, they make the rules."

More Here:

Stocks end flat as Fed stance questioned

       WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Al Gore -- star of an Oscar-winning movie, former U.S. vice president and the object of 2008 presidential speculation -- on Wednesday took his crusade against global warming to Capitol Hill.

       Glad-handing like the lifelong politician he was until losing the 2000 presidential race to George W. Bush, Gore called his return to Congress "an emotional occasion."

      Sheesh.  Gore is most certainly running for president now.  And the millions of dumb, empty headed denizens who love him would follow him off a cliff like lemmings if he demanded it.

     I hate to do this, but I'm about to prove Al Gore wrong in 4 images below using FACTUAL collected Geologic and Climatological Data: 

     WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "For months as the U.S. housing market unraveled, the Bush administration, the Federal Reserve, and most economists maintained the decline did not risk hitting the economy at large, but economists are growing increasingly concerned the broad economy may take a hit.

      An abrupt exodus of more than two dozen so-called subprime lenders from the market has heightened fears other lenders may soon start choking off credit to businesses and consumers.

      Economists, and the Bush administration, agree falling house prices and rising defaults by borrowers with poor credit in the subprime mortgage market may mean slower U.S. economic growth this year..."

More Here:

Subprime lenders, regulators face U.S. Senate Panel

• Millions of doses of still-effective flu vaccine will be "expire" June 30
• Expired vaccine to be destroyed before new supply is guaranteed
• Having no vaccine in the summer deprives travelers, kids chance to get shots
• Policy-makers have discussed letting docs keep unused doses
 

      This annual ritual is supposed to ensure that Americans get the most up-to-date vaccine, but the leftovers -- more than 10 million of a record 110 million doses produced -- will be destroyed before a new supply is guaranteed.

      An Associated Press examination of this longstanding practice raises questions about its consequences. For years, policy-makers have talked about letting doctors keep unused vaccine until new doses are in hand, donating leftover supplies to poor countries, or pushing back the expiration date. Wasted vaccine means lost money for drug companies and one stopped making flu shots because of it -- setting the stage for a flu shot shortage in 2004.

      Having no vaccine in the summer deprives travelers of the chance to get a shot before they visit places where flu is in season. It also prevents summer vaccinations for children, who need two doses the first time around.

      "All of those issues have come up in the past," but there is a strong reluctance to change policy, said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University, a government vaccine adviser. "These ideas clearly have merit and at the very least ought to be discussed."..."

      I just hope most people have decent immunities by now.

     WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Caught between stubbornly elevated U.S. inflation and signs of weaker economic growth, the Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady as it wraps up a two-day policy-setting meeting on Wednesday.

      While a decision to keep benchmark overnight borrowing costs at 5.25 percent is widely expected, financial markets are eagerly awaiting word on how the U.S. central bank views the economic outlook.

• Researchers genetically engineer a mosquito resistant to malaria
• Research may someday block the spread of the illness
• An estimated 700,000 to 2.7 million people die of malaria each year
 

     WASHINGTON (AP) -- "Researchers have developed a malaria-resistant mosquito, a step that might one day help block the spread of an illness that has claimed millions of lives around the world.

      When they fed on malaria-infected mice, the resistant mosquitoes had a higher survival rate than nonresistant ones, meaning they could eventually replace the ones that can carry the disease, according to a report in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

      Jason Rasgon of the department of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University cautioned that the research so far is only a proof of principle and any field tests remain far away.

      Nonetheless, it's a goal eagerly sought by scientists in hope of developing a practical way of blocking the spread of malaria.

      Now I wonder how long it will take for the Malaria to adapt and become "Mosquito-resistant" Malaria.  But seriously, while this is generally promising news, I have a feeling there may be negative unforseen circumstances to this.

     Salween (BBC) - "Some of the world's major rivers are reaching crisis point because of dams, shipping, pollution and climate change, according to the environment group WWF.

       Its report, World's Top 10 Rivers at Risk, says the river "crisis" rivals climate change in importance.

       Five of its "top 10" are in Asia, such as the Yangtse, Mekong, and Ganges, though Europe's Danube and North America's Rio Grande are also included.

      WWF says governments should see water as an issue of national security.

      Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (MSNBC) - "One of the largest supervolcanoes in the world lies beneath Yellowstone National Park and scientists say activity there is increasing.

      Though the Yellowstone system, which spans parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, is active and expected to eventually blow its top, scientists don’t think it will erupt any time soon. Supervolcanoes can sleep for centuries or millennia before producing incredibly massive eruptions that can drop ash across an entire continent.

      Yet significant activity continues beneath the surface. And the activity has been increasing lately, scientists have discovered. In addition, the nearby Teton Range, in a total surprise, is getting shorter..."

      Yes, we're overdue for another super-eruption.  Either way, there isn't much we can do to stop it, except to be as Ready as possible when the crops stop growing.  I doubt anyone can be truly ready for an event of this magnitude when it eventually does go.

     NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- "The stock market recovery petered out at the end of last week, and whether it can restart in the week ahead could depend on the Federal Reserve.

      Oracle (Charts), Morgan Stanley (Charts) and a few other marquee names report earnings next week, but of greater interest to investors will be the two-day

      The bankers are widely expected to hold a key short-term rate steady at 5.25 percent for the sixth meeting in a row, as they continue to weigh the threat of slower growth with higher pricing pressure going forward.

      That debate was demonstrated last week when reports on producer and consumer prices showed rising inflation, and reports on manufacturing and retail sales showed a slowdown...."

      United Kingdom (BBC) - "Two leading UK climate researchers say some of their peers are "overplaying" the global warming message and risk confusing the public about the threat.

      Professors Paul Hardaker and Chris Collier, both Royal Meteorological Society figures, are voicing their concern at a conference in Oxford.

      They say some researchers make claims about possible future impacts that cannot be justified by the science.

      Finally someone tries to instill some COMMON SENSE into this whole Climate Change situation.

     NEW YORK (Reuters) - "The anxiety level on Wall Street may escalate next week with several indicators due on the housing sector and a Federal Reserve meeting that most agree will end with no change in short-term interest rates.

      The week begins with nationwide demonstrations by war protesters marking the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war. One of those protests is planned for outside the New York Stock Exchange before the opening bell.

      A key piece of data will be February housing starts, due Tuesday morning one hour before the start of regular trading..."