Economic terrorism? Exactly right. Such shock as that and imaginations run wild with fear and dread. We are pitiful creatures.
< sadly singing... We are poor little lambs, who have gone astray.... bahhh baahhhh baaaaaaahhhhhh >
New Haven -- Fasts are excellent things.
Phoenix -- There is v. little we can do, I think, except keep on keeping on and wonder. Since I have never taken a trip on a cruise ship except for the ferry down from Juneau, it is moot for me. Cruises are not my first choice for travel, though my son adored his cruise a year ago, so perhaps....
He was on a ship from LA around Catalina Island and back with a group of H.S. band members from many schools. Loved it. Absolutely loved it. Spent a lot of time in the "bar"! Also had performances and workshops. I imagine there are worries for the parents of children who are surely planning to do that this spring.
This is true, of course, I don't 100% believe in it being a terrorist act.
That's part of the deal. We're in a mood to wonder and worry, it's terrible for the economy. Plus, they're having to institute new and likely expensive "measures."
I think, IMHO, the Norwalk virus is a strain that 'comes alive' when the environment is perfect for its growth and spread. Something about cruise boats probably fits that category, and therefore the high incidence. c.i.
Species of the Norfalk virus are the most common reasons for diarrhea illnesses in Germany. These virusses are very resistent to cleanings and desinfections.
It is a fact, however, that the number of seriously infected rises since three years, up to 2,000 until now for this year.
Cool new Avatar Walter, very merry.
"Christkindl-Walter" :wink:
Walter, We had many Germans on our cruise to South America, but we didn't suffer the Norwalk virus on our ship - thank god!
c.i.
The only thing about the illnesses on the cruise ships that made me even consider terrorism was the fact that the ships that were infected had home ports on both coasts of the U.S., but then I got to thinking that a lot of people who take cruises will be taking more than one cruise and may leave in the different ships from the different ports. If someone who has taken a cruise on "infected ship A" from the east coast, and subsequently takes a cruise on "ship B" from the west coast, the infection from "ship A" may be spread to "ship B". From what they've said on the news, the Norwalk virus is highly contagious so it's very possible.
The only other thought I had was that if it is terrorism, could it possibly be a practice run? They try this out to see what kind of an effect it has on our economy, and if if looks good to them then they go for the big stuff...Just an idea.
Phoenix...
Melons like cantaloupes are known to harbor e. coli on their skins and need to be washed carefully before being cut into, otherwise you run the risk of getting the e. coli on your knife blade and infecting the meat of the mellon as it's passed through the fruit. It's for this reason that warnings have gone out to be careful if you're going to buy a pre-made fruit salad (like at a grocery or deli) because they often haven't been handled correctly and you risk getting e. coli. For more info on the subject, just look up cantaloupe+e.coli on Google.
This was a huge thing in the Seattle area news for a long time after we had that horrible Jack-in-the-Box e. coli outbreak a few years ago.
Matrix, good points on it being a dry run. It is kinda spooky, we will always have a more suspicions in todays environment.
Agree. My "terrorism antenna" is pulled out to the max. I DO believe that some, not all, of the quirky stuff that has been happening may very well be a "dry run"!
We had two big 'events' last year and a couple more this year in senior residences, even with some deaths.
The virus has been on a German ship in 1999 and 2001 (pre 11/9) as well (one time Baltic Sea, the other Canary islands).
European hygiene experts report frequently about this since the late 90's. (google gives some hundred websites)
