U.S. News & World Report article 3/8/1999 edition

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U.S. News and World Report has an article in it called "We may be nuts, but... It's official: The millennial bug is really, truly, scary". It is on page 47 and has a picture of Paul Milne and family. Believe it or not it is a fairly decent article. Doesn't paint us as wackos (are we moving up in the world?). The first two paragraphs are talking about Milne and his preps, then the third paragraph begins. "It's easy to dismiss Milne and folks like him as wackos. But this week brings official validation of at least some of their fears..." FYI

-- Sharon (sking@drought-ridden.com), March 01, 1999

Answers

From csy2K: Paul Milne's response

<< We may be nuts, but . . .
It's official: The millennial bug is really, truly scary

BY PHILLIP J. LONGMAN

Imagine how silly Paul Milne will feel if the year 2000 comes and goes without catastrophe.

(Gee, is that "all" I'll feel? Imagine how 'silly' all those people feel who bought fire insurance on their homes and then their homes did not burn down. I'll bet they just died of mortification over that. Now, Imagine how **dead** those who did not prepare will feel if it is much worse than they 'imagined'. Pretty good trade-off, as far as I am concerned. )

Milne, like millions of other Americans, is deeply alarmed by all the predictions that the turn of the century will discombobulate the computer networks upon which civilization now depends. Determined to protect his family from the so-called millennial bug, Milne, formerly a New York commodities trader, is now holed up on a 10-acre farm near Lynchburg, Va., where he and his family have learned how to butcher cattle and grind their own flour.

( Former 'broker', not 'trader'. NJ, not NY. 'Holed' up? I love their assinine terminology. As you can already see, this bozo can not even get the simplest facts straight.)

To protect his hoard, he has bought a half-dozen or so AK-47 rifles, the first guns he has ever owned.

( The reporter that I spoke to, Art Levine, has taken the cheap sensationalist route like 99% of the media. I never spoke to this, Longman, dude. It is really a shame. I now have a 'hoard'.)

He even built a bunkhouse to billet the gun-toting farmhands he anticipates he may need to patrol his farm's perimeter.

(Oooops. Now I **even** have 'gun-toting' farmhands. Oooh and they will be 'patroling the perimeter'. Wow! Now I have a perimeter, too! I best go see that ma's got 'em fed fer the night. What an ass Levine is.)

"We're not survivalist nut cases," he insists. The threat of hungry scavengers will be so real, he argues, that, "If you live within 5 miles of a 7-Eleven, you're toast."

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

The rest of the article does not concern me. They just behaved in the usual manner of portraying the actual situation in skewed terms. That is the risk that you run when you speak to these people. They can portray you accurately or they can mold you to fit their agenda. I spoke to Art Levine for approximately two hours and this is what he culls out.

Well, I gots to go now and check to see if all my 'gun toting' farmhands are happy fer the evenin'. They gits cranky when I doesn't fetch the possum inards out there on time. Tommorrow we has dem lectures on dry gulchin' an' bushwackin'.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/990308/8y2k.htm
Paul Milne
If you live within five miles of a 7-11, you're toast.

-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/

------------------------------------------------

Response by Jo Anne Slaven

Paul, I am ROTFL and shaking my head at the same time. This reporter should be strung up.

I have this mental image of Lynda, in a Little-House-on-the-Prairie long dress, slaving all day over a hot cookstove to get supper on the table for the "men". Serving up the meal, hovering in the corner of the dining room, ready to go fetch more mashed potatoes or creamed peas, should the bowl be emptied.

After supper, the men retire to the bunkhouse to smoke and pass around a jug of moonshine, whilst you and Lynda set for a while by the fire. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, your daughters are scouring pots, carrying out the ashes from the stove, and kneading bread dough for tomorrow morning's breakfast.

Jo Anne Slaven >>

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Looked for the magazine yesterday, couldn't find it.
Will try later today.

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-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), March 01, 1999.


Reminded me nostalgically of the Bagga series.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), March 01, 1999.

What does ROTFL mean? My mind is a blank. I know I will feel totally idiotic when I find out. Thanks

-- a mom (whatdoes@mean.com), March 01, 1999.

HMMM, notice Paul doesn't actually DENY having 6 ak's etc. just dis'es the reporter. Well, its gonna be ak's vs m-16's what a show!

-- Blue Himalayan (bh@k2.y), March 01, 1999.

you know, I think it's almost pro forma that reporters try to validate survivalist recommendations by dissing firearms owners first....sad really, since what that will most likely result in a lot of deaths due to people who *could* have learned armed selfdefense but didn't because they were influenced by bigotted reporting like this.

oh, and good point, BH - pray for sleet - '16's don't work well at all in sleet storms, but AK's sure do.

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), March 01, 1999.



ROTL - rolling on the floor laughing ROTLMAO - rolling on the floor laughing my ass off

other variations include tears rolling down my cheeks, etc.

-- just (so@you.know), March 01, 1999.


The link works Leska, just takes a long time loading.

http:// www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/990308/8y2k.htm



-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 01, 1999.


Sobering article, even for the DWGI crowd, when you get past Milne. - - Diane

U.S. News Online
Business & Technology 3/8/99

We may be nuts, but . . . It's official: The millennial bug is really, truly scary

BY PHILLIP J. LONGMAN

Imagine how silly Paul Milne will feel if the year 2000 comes and goes without catastrophe. Milne, like millions of other Americans, is deeply alarmed by all the predictions that the turn of the century will discombobulate the computer networks upon which civilization now depends. Determined to protect his family from the so-called millennial bug, Milne, formerly a New York commodities trader, is now holed up on a 10-acre farm near Lynchburg, Va., where he and his family have learned how to butcher cattle and grind their own flour. To protect his hoard, he has bought a half-dozen or so AK-47 rifles, the first guns he has ever owned. He even built a bunkhouse to billet the gun-toting farmhands he anticipates he may need to patrol his farm's perimeter. "We're not survivalist nut cases," he insists. The threat of hungry scavengers will be so real, he argues, that, "If you live within 5 miles of a 7-Eleven, you're toast."

It's easy to dismiss Milne and folks like him as wackos. But this week brings official validation of at least some of their fears. On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem is expected to release its final report on the economic and social consequences of Y2K, as the millennial bug is also known. The report's conclusions are startling, even going so far as to urge Americans to stockpile at least small amounts of food and water to protect against expected brownouts. People are also advised to save all their financial statements. In a draft copy of the report obtained by U.S. News, committee chairmen Robert Bennett and Christopher Dodd predict that the breakdown of computer networks unable to process 21st-century dates will be "one of the most serious and potentially devastating events this nation has ever encountered." Using a word that is bound to reverberate with some fundamentalist Christians who believe the millennial bug is a harbinger of the anti-Christ, Bennett and Dodd characterize the Y2K glitch as "diabolical."

New Year's dissolution. So how will the devil do his work? Don't expect planes to start falling out of the sky on New Year's Day. But the Y2K problem will most likely cause some people to die, while also causing serious disruption to the economy. Among the report's specific findings:

The health care sector is woefully unprepared to cope with Y2K problems, which could affect not only patient health records and billing systems but also the functioning of biomedical devices such as X-ray machines and infusion pumps used in operating rooms. Yet an estimated 64 percent of hospitals and 90 percent of doctors' offices have no plans to test for vulnerability to the millennial bug.

As of December 1998, only about 50 percent of utilities had completed efforts to safeguard themselves from the millennial bug. As a result, failure of some parts of the electric industry's system is likely, even if a prolonged nationwide blackout is not. Of particular concern is the possibility that power failures will disrupt local sewer treatment plants.

Transportation systems are also vulnerable. The report debunks predictions that the millennial bug will cause rail accidents, with switches sending trains on the wrong track. But it does chastise the Federal Aviation Administration for being behind in its preparations for Y2K and warns that because airports, especially those abroad, are also unprepared, flight rationing and cancellations, particularly on routes with foreign destinations, are "highly possible." Meanwhile, because the maritime industry has not moved aggressively to inoculate its own computer systems, "disruptions to global trade are highly likely."

Cash stash. The Social Security Administration gets high marks for its early efforts to contain the millennial bug, but people who depend on checks from other government agencies may want to keep some extra cash on hand. The report singles out the Health Care Financing Administration, which oversees Medicare disbursements, as particularly unprepared for postmillennial operations. It also expresses "serious concern" about the readiness of state and local governments, including their ability to properly process welfare, unemployment insurance, and Medicaid payments.

The people paying for those benefits may learn to hate the millennial bug as well. The General Accounting Office told Congress last week that the Internal Revenue Service is also behind in its remediation efforts, and that as a result millions of taxpayers could be sent erroneous tax notices or face delays in getting refunds.

Even if the checks do go out on time, with the right amounts and addresses, there is reason to worry about whether the post office can deliver them. The GAO also testified that the problems presented by the millennial bug to the U.S. Postal Service are "among the most complex of the public entities we have examined."

So who, if anyone, stands to gain from the millennial bug? Why, the lawyers, of course. The committee notes that once Americans are all done suing one another for all the lost checks, missing bank records, late deliveries, and botched operations, legal judgments could go as high as $1 trillion. So have a happy new year, and see you in court.

With Elise Ackerman, Jack Egan, and Art Levine

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 01, 1999.


Here's the hotlink

We may be nuts but...

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), March 01, 1999.


Darn, why do I bother Diane ;-)

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), March 01, 1999.


from csy2k ;-D

<< Milne Vindicated! By ET

US Government Advocates Y2K Plan

By: Steve Cropper - Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) - In what can only be described as a stunning announcement today, the US Government has fallen in line behind a controversial y2k plan known as the 'Paul Milne Y2k Preparation Plan.' In a news conference from the Capitol steps, Sen. Chris Dodd and Sen Robert Bennett explained this sudden shift in the government's y2k policy. 'After careful examination of all the facts and evidence known at this time', said Dodd, 'we felt it was time to inform the public of the possible dangers we may all face just a few months down the road. Mr. Milne's plan to prevent unnecessary panic was brought to our attention by a Washington computer professionals group and we thought it deserved some consideration. It should be noted that Mr. Milne has been advocating this plan for nearly two years on the internet and consequently some will be very familiar with it's contents'.

Sen. Bennett was asked why it has taken so long for the government to come up with something and he said, 'Well, we've had some difficulty getting some members of Congress and the administration on board. When you see the details, you'll see it's just common sense preparation for any disaster, but those of you that have been around Washington any length of time know that a common sense approach to problems doesn't usually garner much support here. Other problems were Milne's political and religious views, but we are encouraging the media to focus on the plan itself'.

Mr. Milne was unavailable for the news conference but when reached by phone had this to say, 'It's about time those morons in Washington got off their dead asses. I understand the holdup was that butthead Koskinon. Unfortunately for these assholes, they are a day late and a dollar short'. When asked to describe his plan he said, 'Any moron, except the Pollyannas of course, can figure out that having food, water, shelter, and heat might be a good idea if the power goes out. What's so hard to understand about that? Even those losers in Washington finally figured it out'.

Mr. Milne's plan will be released on the internet Tuesday morning and the Federal government is urging all citizens to take a look and encourage others to start making plans. Currently the government is urging people to stockpile at least a week's worth of supplies but this stockpile recommendation may be increased as further facts become known. Mr. Milne actually is stockpiling for a year's worth of problems but the government has determined that that might be excessive. Sen. Dodd commented, 'The beauty of Milne's plan is that it is open-ended'.

This development is not without it's critics. One of Milne's harshest critics, Canadian Don Scott, apparently got wind of this program three weeks ago and has gone into seclusion. His neighbor said, 'This has really hit Don hard. He believes this is a big mistake. He hopes the Canadian government has no such ideas'.

Another critic, Californian Brad Sherman, had this to say, 'Why is the government doing this? This whole y2k thing is overblown, it'll be a non-event. I'll bet you a hundred bucks right now that no one has to touch any of their supplies'.

A more recent critic, California computer professional Al Dechert, commented, 'This is all we need. Milne's name on a government plan. He'll be insufferable on the newsgroups. This is a technical issue, as all computer professionals know, and will be solved by computer professionals. It is impossible for the lay person to understand this issue, and we all know Milne is no computer professional'.

Mr. Milne's most vociferous critic, only known as 'Doc Dwarf', had this to say when we reached him on assignment in Detroit, 'I guess it's time to don my egg salad and tinfoil hat'. It wasn't clear what was meant by this comment and further prodding only produced Latin gibberish concerning Carthage.

Sen. Bennett further stated, 'We are urging the States to contact Mr. Milne directly at his farm for his recommendations. All local governments are urged to contact their representatives in their statehouses for local recommendations.

Mr. Milne has been approached by several publishers and is in discussions for numerous book deals. He will appear on CNN's Crossfire next Monday along with his critic Brad Sherman. Mr. Milne stated, 'PeeWee won't know what hit him'.

ET >>

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-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), March 01, 1999.


Hi Leska,

I assume you know that ET's 'reposted' article is a put on. :)

-- Dean T. Miller (dtmiller@nevia.com), March 02, 1999.


:-) Yes, Dean, and I really enjoyed it! If only it were true! Saw the picture of Milne family in Internet, where it's sorta fuzzy, but astonishment! That's not how I pictured Paul. Talk about Big Bear -- looks Mafioso! Gotta find the mag in a store to have a clear look. And here I've been razzing him, gulp. Well, Paul has a unique writing style which delivers a wake-up jolt thru the crudity, and I really miss seeing his posts on this Forum.

And Brooks, you're so right: it's turning out eerily like the Sagga, with Farmer Milne looking quite intimidating, Diane over on the Circus thread doing a terrific Seeress thing, and JBD hangin round morphing in all possible schizo-split posts & disruptive tactics. Life imitating art ...

All kindsa odd stuff poking thru csy2k ;-D

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-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), March 02, 1999.


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