This is from the Kansas City STAR (Jan. 25). http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/business.pat,business/...

. . . The Land of the Rising Sun appears to be all but ignoring the year 2000 problem.

Japanese companies are not putting enough effort into preparing for computer problems that could cause problems for some older computers on Jan. 1, said Garry Evans, strategist at HSBC Securities (Japan) Ltd.

Only about half of Japan's top 250 companies responded to a year 2000 survey conducted by HSBC, and those that did didn't give Evans much to hope for.

More than 40 percent of the companies that responded hadn't checked to determine whether their suppliers were working on the Y2K problem. Even worse, the corporate boards of 23 percent of the companies have not even discussed the Y2K problem.

Nippon Steel Corp., the world's largest steel producer, has never discussed the problem at the board level and has no central coordinator and no staff dedicated to the problem, Evans said.

======================

Japan is the second largest economy in the world. All by itself it is on the brink of catastrophe. All along it has been OBVIOUS that Japan was not dong ANYTHING meaningfull at all.

Now, will flint address the issues in this post? The answer is no, he will not. If he does answer at all, it will be some drivel not directly related to the EVIDENCE.

The biggest Steel company in the WORLD, asleep at the switch.

Pay very very close attention to any pollyanna reply to this post. They WILL NOT discuss the evidence and conclusions to be drawn from it.

Why? Because the only reasonable conclusion is that this is very dire news. The World's second largest economy is going to go under, guranteed.

So come now flint, answer my DIRECT questions....

Is the appropriate conclusion that Japan will go under? Is the appropriate conclusion that Japan will drag all of SE Asia with it, and then the world? Is the appropriate conclusion that since'only' Japan can pull Asia OUT of trouble they will also pull it down as well?

Then, flint, what does this do to the rest of the world? Nothing? We are unaffected? Is this just another one of your 'problems' that remain undefined?

C'mon flint, I'm waiting.

http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/business.pat,business/... Paul Milne If you live within five miles of a 7-11, you're toast.

=========================

-- Paul Milne (fedinfo@halifax.com), January 25, 1999

Answers

Most Pollyannas can't see past their PC. If Clinton says everything is going to be ok and Time backs him up, then everything will be ok. These people can't see the BIG picture. Most live paycheck to paycheck and watch T.V. to fill the rest of their day. Why fight with them? You can't change their minds. Only when their bubble is burst, will they wake up, and then it will be too late.

-- Bill (y2khippo@yahoo.com), January 25, 1999.

No, Paul, you are wrong. You see, people who draw wild and extreme conclusions from such an astronomically bottomless source of information and facts, such as is the case with Y2K, are idiots. Idiots. You are one.

"No one knows for sure what the result of Y2K will be. Aside from that obvious truism about predicting the future, there are just so many factors involved here, with which we have so little, or no experience, that no expert can comprehend everything that is involved."

Know who wrote that Paul? Bruce Beach, National Coordinator of the Y2K Network, which has team leaders in 48 of the 50 states. This is a guy whose job REQUIRES that he devote several hours of reading about Y2K per day. Note that Mr. Beach does not spend several hours each day flaming people, insulting people, demeaning civilized discourse with childish, lunatic, and painfully boring outburts of hysteria.

-- Herc (Herc@vernal.com), January 25, 1999.

In answer to Herc....

No, Paul, you are wrong. You see, people who draw wild

What is 'wild' about the conclusion, bozo. You 'assert' it is wid. That is all. Address the EVIDENCE Herc-baby. Address the facts .

and extreme

"extreme" . Address the facts bozo. The evidence is that they are not doing the job, boz. Examples are given ranging from the LARGEST steel company in the world, bozo. Address the FACTS.

conclusions from such an astronomically bottomless source of information and facts

Pray tell, what is a 'bottomless' sourse of facts. Care to elucidate on just what that is?

, such as is the case with Y2K, are idiots. Idiots. You are one.

Again, Just like I said. A complete FAILURE to address the FACTS. Exactly as predicted.

"No one knows for sure what the result of Y2K will be.

Yes, another of the flint school who START from the proposition that you can't know anything, therefore NO evidence can lead to ANY knowledge at all.

Aside from that obvious truism about predicting the future, there are just so many factors involved here, with which we have so little,

Which we have so MUCH!

or no experience, that no expert can comprehend everything that is involved."

You don't need to comprehend EVERYTHING. Just ENOUGH, bozo.

Know who wrote that Paul? Bruce Beach, National Coordinator of the Y2K Network, which has team leaders in 48 of the 50 states. This is a guy whose job REQUIRES that he devote several hours of reading about Y2K per day. Note that Mr. Beach does not spend several hours each day flaming people, insulting people, demeaning civilized discourse with childish, lunatic, and painfully boring outburts of hysteria.

Irrlevant. More to the point is that NOT ONE PART of your post addressed the issues. Just as predicted. YOU are the very reason for the flames, you moron. None of you address the facts issues or evidence, only the messenger. That is why you get flamed bozo. Expect more of the same until you start addressing the issues.

-- Herc (Herc@vernal.com), January 25, 1999

-- Paul Milne (fedinfo@halifax.com), January 25, 1999.

So Mr. Milne, while we are on the subject of evidence which you brought up with this post, I will ask you for a ninth time to cite some evidence for your oft-repeated statements that millions are sure to die as a result of Y2K?

To paraphrase that original post, "C'mon Milne, I'm waiting."

-- Paul Neuhardt (neuhardt@ultranet.com), January 26, 1999.

So Mr. Milne, while we are on the subject of evidence which you brought up with this post, I will ask you for a ninth time to cite some evidence for your oft-repeated statements that millions are sure to die as a result of Y2K? To paraphrase that original post, "C'mon Milne, I'm waiting."

-- Paul Neuhardt (neuhardt@ultranet.com), January 26, 1999.

I didn't say 'millions'. I said BILLIONS. And I will give you your first clue. There are over one billion people on this pmnet right now that eat ONLY becuase aid shipments are brought in form foreign countries. You can write them right off the top. There is your first BILLION.

And once again it is MANIFESTLY disingenous of you to ask for 'SOME' evidence. I have posted MOUNTAINS and MOUNTAINS of it. If you STILL can not find it, you aren't looking very hard, now are you?

And as usual, you do not address the issues in the post but go on to something else, like the lamo that you are. Do you see up at the top of the main page where it allows you to ask questions? That is where you do that Paul-boy. Not in the middle of a thread and on a different topic. Get it yet, lamo?

In each thread you are suposed to stick to the issues in THAT thread. You are not allowed to obfuscate and divert attention to another issue. That is what lamo incompetent hacks do. You know, like you Paul-boy.

-- Paul Milne (fedinfo@halifax.com), January 26, 1999.

"Irrlevant. More to the point is that NOT ONE PART of your post addressed the issues."--Milne

Herc addressed the very relevant fact of your idiotic attitude, which turn many people off from even reading your posts, let alone discuss "the facts". He didn't set out to refute your facts, and you conveniently dismissed that.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), January 26, 1999.

Somebody posted an analogy about Milne a while back. It's the story of the drill sergeant that cursed his troops and made them do things they didn't think they could possible do. The troops really hated him and though he was a sadistic bastard. But in the end, what they learned from their sergeant enabled them to survive brutal combat.

Milne is a courageous man. Whether he is correct about y2k or not his conviction is sincere. Stop attacking the messenger folks.

-- a (a@a.a), January 26, 1999.

a., I respect your wisdom and intelligence, but I think you're missing the point on the controversy about Milne.

There ARE people out there who's lives depend on whether they have been turned off by Milne's attitude or not. Those who can't make the difference between the messenger and the message. Doesn't matter if Milne's message is delivered wrapped in a cloak of fatalist doom as if he has been in the future and knows what will happen. The facts he points out remain real.

Each of Milne's post need a counter-balance to his attitude. As you know, those who can't make it in boot camp drop out. With Y2K, the difference is we can't let them drop out.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), January 26, 1999.

'a', almost everyone here is completely sincere. This doesn't prevent the rest of us from being polite and thoughtful. Even you have made personal attacks without otherwise addressing the issues -- sometimes this is hard to resist.

On balance, I'd say in terms of warning people, Milne's behavior has been a net minus. He exemplifies the kind of nutcase who convinces those new to the subject that it's the province of the insane. I believe Milne is intelligent enough not only to realize this, but to conduct his campaign largely for that very reason. How can Milne contribute to the downfall of our immoral society (which he has repeatedly hoped for) if enough of us perverts actually pay attention and prepare?

Defending the opinions of others is commendable. Defending *only* those whose opinions match yours (and mocking those who differ) is suspicious.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), January 26, 1999.

"I believe Milne is intelligent enough not only to realize this, but to conduct his campaign largely for that very reason."

That fits very well with my view of Milne as an anti-social psychopath.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), January 26, 1999.

Chris,

You are a sick bastard. Another typical Pollyanna newbie. The only people that I give a rat's butt about are those who have the intelligence to listen . Morons like you and flint are a dime a dozen. Neither have done ANYTHING at all to warn people od the great dangers that are about to unfold. Just a lot of "we don't knows" and "what ifs" and "Nobody can know anything".

You are entitled to your opinions. But you have acomplished NOTHING at all.

If I have 'turned off' a pollyanna, too damn bad. They would not pay attention anyway. This is life and death. It is not a damn game.

-- Paul Milne (fedinfo@halifax.com), January 26, 1999.

I have done actual, concrete work to warn people, I have turned DGI's around me, off this forum, into GI's who are now preparing. And you're just now paying attention to my post on this forum for the first time in 6 months because I've had enough with your sick attitude and pointed that out to others. I've done my part here and I'll continue.

You're projecting your sick mental attitude on me and that only confirms your problem.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), January 26, 1999.

Re: Paul Milne as the Drill Sergeant and those who can't take it.

Were you ever in the military? Did you go through boot camp or some form of Officer's Training School "Hell Week"? Look back and tell me, what form of weeding-out process which took place was more important, physical, mental or pyschological?

If you answer pyschological, you're absolutely right. And what form of pressure do you think is worse about dealing with Y2K? Yes again, it's all pyschological.

If "Gunney Sgt" Milne's drive people out, they probably lack the self-discipline and responsibility to follow through with what it takes to prepared for the worst of our future crisis. I think back to how I saw people crack under downright ridiculously minor mental stress of military basic training. I have to wonder what kind of functional lives they lead past that point and what they're going to do for Y2K.

Hell, when I was twelve years old, I'd have paid money to go through what I did at basic and called it summer camp. Yet some "adults" in their twenties were absolutely unable to function under the "stress" of changing how they folded their underware and socks! Heaven help that kind of person in the face of losing all the familiar surroundings of their current lifestyles. And there are lots and lots of that kind of people out there these days. (Think of the angst of Sienfeld going off TV.)

I think that people of that character would do themselves better by having a good time until New Year's and then going and dying quietly somewhere. A "Kevorkian New Year's 2000" package tour: Be in Times Square and then go rather sheepishly to their painless fate ;<). It would eliminate themselves alot of stress they can't handle and avoid their doing harm to other people who can face the tough times ahead. I say this as a joke, but I know of people who are essentially planning this course of action for themselves and their families.

The potential of what we might face in Y2K surely puts concern into us all over what we should do. We can reach out to people that need our help; those who are trying or are at least willing to try. And in those circumstances where all we can do is comfort those who will not make it despite all efforts, we have a Christian duty to give our most compassionate aid to them.

But none of us here can carry those who won't make any effort to help themselves. Or worse, those who will react in ways that will endanger the efforts and well-being of ourselves and those around us.

Military basic training weeds-out personnel which don't have what it takes to fill a role in the military. A brutally frank introductiuon to Y2K serves to weed-out some of the "human weeds" around us as we face beginning a new "growing season" in the post-Y2K world.

Y2k is as harsh a wake-up call as my Drill Sergeant kicking my bed the first morning at Basic. "Y2K Drill Sergeant Milne" has kicked some sleeping individuals when they looked in here. But I do believe that more people caught-on than were scared away.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), January 26, 1999.

So what you're saying WW, is the same as Milne, but in a more prosaic tactful manner. You're still forgetting that this forum is not a boot camp. It's an information exchange forum, inhabited mostly by intelligent people. If Paul wants to go play boot camp drill sergeant offline, that'd be just fine with me.

On this forum, he is more like the weed.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), January 26, 1999.