CNN

Americans are becoming complacent about the Year 2000 issue

May 27, 1999 Web posted at: 1:59 p.m. EDT (1759 GMT)

by Jennifer Jones (IDG) -- Americans are becoming complacent about the Year 2000 issue -- lulled by "an orchestrated public relations campaign," said one community organizer testifying before a U.S. Senate hearing on local and individual preparedness.

Community preparedness and outreach efforts were the focus of the hearing before the Senate's Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem. Also discussed was the media's coverage of the date change and potential fallout that could affect citizens' lives.

Liza Christian, who served as executive director of Rogue Valley, Ore.'s Year 2000 task force, cited statements made by President Clinton's Year 2000 czar, John Koskinen, and said there is a concerted effort to "tranquilize" the American people.

"Why? The reasoning is that if you provide full disclosure, people will act irrationally and panic, and the country will suffer an economic and banking collapse.

http://cnn.com/TECH/computing/9905/27/americans.y2k.idg/index.html ========

Oh gee. Do ya think? This is exactly as I have been saying for the past two years. TELL people that there is a serious issue that they need to prepare for. THAT is what avoids panic. PREPARATION. instead these ASSHOLES, in order to avoid panic, tell people that there is NOTHING to worry about and trivialize the issue down to just make sure you have a hundred bucks and three days of water. THIS is what is going to get MILLIONS and MILLIONS of Americans killed.

The very behavior of these government people is what will be the primary cause of the panics and ensuing deaths. if they had only been honest in the first place instead of covering their collective asses, the USA could have been in a substantially more prepared position. Then there are people like flint and dechert and brock and egan who actively dissuade peole from making preparations. They don't play the 'devil's advocate'. They ACTIVELY engage in dissuasion.

But, the bottom line is that the government is covering up the severity of the consequences intentionally. And MILLIONS of people are going to die as a result.

-- Paul Milne (fedinfo@halifax.com), May 29, 1999

Answers

Paul, have you downgraded your estimate of the severity of Y2k? What happened to the billions?

Are you going Polly on me?

-- Bob Brock (bbrock@i-america.net), May 29, 1999.

Oh this is just great! First I sign on to discover that Ed has left us and, as if that wasn't bad enough, now it appears that Paul Milne is going to start posting here! Over the course of the last few weeks I've really enjoyed the reprieve from the trolls, trash talk and personal attacks which previously were a staple of this forum. It took a lot of cooperation and tongue-biting for us to get to this point. I guarantee that if Paul sticks around here we will once again be overwhelmed with that garbage. Anybody else see it coming?

-- Please Go Away (aimed@milne.com), May 29, 1999.

"Paul, have you downgraded your estimate of the severity of Y2k? What happened to the billions? Are you going Polly on me?

-- Bob Brock (bbrock@i-america.net), May 29, 1999."

So this is the CARING Bob Brock showing his TRUE colours - Bob, you are beneath contempt, trying to make a joke out of so serious a subject.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 29, 1999.

And this maroon,

:Anybody else see it coming?

-- Please Go Away (aimed@milne.com), May 29, 1999."

who hides behind a phoney handle.

Milne is a regular, who the hell are you and what have YOU contributed???

unbelievable.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 29, 1999.

Andy,

Anyway that you stack it, Paul is a joke.

-- Bob Brock (bbrock@i-america.net), May 29, 1999.

Bob,

Do yourself a favour - he is NOT a joke, he is on the money IMHO, why continue to bait him publicly like this? - just let it rest, you're doing yourself no favours. If you want to disagree with his assessments just debate the facts - I'd like to see you do that. I WANT to see a rosy picture - but all I see are thorns out there. The facts, Bob, just the facts.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 29, 1999.

Andy,

From Milne's post (at the top of this page).

"Then there are people like flint and dechert and brock and egan who actively dissuade peole from making preparations. They don't play the 'devil's advocate'. They ACTIVELY engage in dissuasion."

Now who is baiting who? Perhaps he would like to show where I have ACTIVELY engaged in dissuasion. I don't agree with his assessment, but I've never said that anyone should prepare to the level that they feel comfortable with.

Now, back to the first question. Paul estimated billions of deaths, now he says millions. Has he downgraded his assessment of the potential outcome of Y2k?

-- Bob Brock (bbrock@i-america.net), May 29, 1999.

Correction:

My post above should have read...

but I've never said that anyone should not prepare to the level that they feel comfortable with.

-- Bob Brock (bbrock@i-america.net), May 29, 1999.

Billions/millions - who knows? Either are a distinct possibility. I'll let paul answer that one.

Let's keep to the facts shall we.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 29, 1999.

Andy,

Speaking of keeping to the facts. I notice that you dodged the "baiting" issue. Why?

Is the truth only the truth when it's comfortable?

-- Bob Brock (bbrock@i-ameria.net), May 29, 1999.

Paul, WIth all due respect, over here Flint has actually provided, in a large number of cases, a still small voice of calm, rational discussion. He has NOT (in my fallible memory) done or said anything that could be construed as discouraging folks to prepare. He has, perhaps, questioned some of our assumptions, and forced us to address those assumptions, always assuming that we were willing to TRULY engage with him.

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), May 29, 1999.

And for the record, if you don't mind repetition: Decide how bad you think it's going to be. Then prepare for *double* that bad. I've found that the cost of preparation more than repays itself in peace of mind, even if you never actually need it.

Paul has taken what he considers necessary steps, and for that I applaud him. I hope his level of preparation doesn't turn out to be minimal, and I'm sure he does too. Paul doesn't *want* to see anyone die, any more than anyone else. I often find his rhetoric comical, but he's not a mean person at all.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), May 29, 1999.

OK

"Andy, Speaking of keeping to the facts. I notice that you dodged the "baiting" issue. Why?

Is the truth only the truth when it's comfortable?

-- Bob Brock (bbrock@i-ameria.net), May 29, 1999."

Frankly I don't want top get into a slanging match - can't you just let it rest Bob?

Look at csy2k - Milne is CONSTANTLY baited (though not by Flint - Chuck - remember those epic threads dominated by Flint and Paul on this forum a few months ago? - that is what Paul was probably referring to - I enjoyed them, pretty comical and entertaining and as Flint says Paul is certainly NOT mean-spirited, unlike many of his detractors (dechert for example)).

Time is ticking away.

I'm not byting on this one, let's leave this childishness behind us shall we?

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 29, 1999.

Paul isn't "mean sprited"? I have a guy in CSY2k who appears to be trying to get me fired for discussing my company's remediation effort in the NG. So far he has posted a private e-mail and I don't know what comes next.

Paul's addition to the thread was:

Quote: ========= Now, It would be a REAL shame if someone just ACCIDENTALLY contacted The GE personnel department with a lovely copy of your admission of breaking your NDA. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. LOL LOL LOL Oh, and if you should suffer financial loss....Whose fault will that be? Other than your own. =============== Unquote

Save the "Paul's not mean spirited" speeches for someone else...OK?

http://x35.deja.com/[ST_rn=md]/threadmsg_md.xp?thitnum=11&AN=483596603 .1&mhitnum=3&CONTEXT=928036150.940441665

-- Bob Brock (bbrock@i-america.net), May 29, 1999.

Bob:

I saw that and I admit I was surprised. Paul usually defends your right to privacy. When Paul says he'll laugh at all the pollys dying in droves, I know this is shock-value rhetoric. But although I don't think he's mean, he is certainly partisan, and he does have a history of holding others to higher standards than he holds himself. I seriously doubt he'd be so understanding if someone who disagreed with *him* violated *his* privacy. He has a *lot* of trouble when the shoe is on the other foot.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), May 30, 1999.

Bob,

none of my business - I take it you must have crossed Paul's line - my point was that I haven't seen any mean-spiritedness from Paul on this Forum, or to a "lesser" extent csy2k - however, look at what he endures over there and ask yourself how you would react?

Let's just all move on, eh?

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 30, 1999.

It's kind of hard for me to move on when I'm waiting for the puppet to do whatever they goad him into doing. However, I only post in this forum to the threads where my name is already there so I'll move out until the next one.

Sometimes the price for telling the truth is a little high huh...

-- Bob Brock (bbrock@i-america.net), May 30, 1999.

Ok...one of you guys explain to Paul that the e-mail that he gets from my posts here are being generated by a robot. He's threatening to notify my ISP about my harassment by e-mailing him.

Perhaps if he disabled the feature he wouldn't have that problem? I don't have it.

BTW Paul, I have no intention of being intimdated into not posting to the groups...so get over it.

-- Bob Brock (bbrock@i-america.net), May 30, 1999.

hmphh! Everybody plays the man and not the ball as soon as someone famous posts. And Paul, don't put our eloquent schizoid? friend in the same category as dechert etc. He has his good days, contributes much.

-- humpty (no.6@thevillage.com), May 30, 1999.

Paul calls a duck a duck. It doesn't always set well with those who play with the English language. Those who are most adept at this "skill" have managed quite nicely to rump the country. Got Vaseline? I for one have always looked forward to every word he says,as opposed to staements like, "It depends upon what the version of is...is" Well just greese me up and send me squeelin'! By the way Andy...you da man!

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), May 30, 1999.

Will continue commented:

"Paul calls a duck a duck. It doesn't always set well with those who play with the English language. Those who are most adept at this "skill" have managed quite nicely to rump the country. Got Vaseline?"

Will continue, you hit the nail on the head here. People like Flint talk out of both sides of their mouth. They have mislead many on this forum by playing with the English language. I believe their days are numbered and we will be seeing much less of them in the near future.

Paul , many thanks for your extrodinary efforts in presenting factual information.

Bob Brock, time to go play in the sand box till you grow up!!

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), May 30, 1999.

-- ojufwefoju (kLkd@kjfrlk.or4hju), May 30, 1999.

Andy,could you use a different insult other than "maroon" it's like saying "mulatto" or "octoroon" I'd ask anyone whose favorite insult was "nigger" to do the same.if you mean "moron"or "idiot",fine,decriptive words,so is "maroon",it means "one fourth black",not the same as "moron

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), May 31, 1999.

No zoobie we've been through this before - it's buggs bunny-speak for moron - applies only to poole, chicken little and I'm not sure about ddecker. probably a mmaroon.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 31, 1999.

STop yOuR FOoLisH JAbbERiNG zoOBerMAn!!!!!!!! maROoN iS A deEP coLOR oF ReD!!!!!!! anD BUgSPeAK FOr aN IDIot!!!!!! aNy oTHeR INterPREtaTIOns aRE FoR MarOoNS ONlY!!!!!! silENcE NoW!!!!! deSTUrB DIetER's slUMBeR No moRe!!!!!!! inFIFDeL!!!!!

-- Dieter (questions@toask.com), May 31, 1999.

Now the next question is:

Was that really Paul?? I see no "7-11" or "toast" anywhere.

I like to read Paul's thoughts... They are so optimistic... He is the king of the doomers. He kind of offsets the Pro and Norm.

Let's hear it for Paul!!! Keep on typin', and I'll keep on readin'...

Kind of keeps the balance around here...

sunnin' on the porch,

The Dog

-- Dog (cmpennell@juno.com), May 31, 1999.