I've refrained from posting the information about the TV shows for nearly a week, I've done this because I wanted to see what the reaction is like amongst the general community in the city I live in and what other media or discussion coverage got generated.
Foreward
The first TV Show was a documentary titled 'Nostradamus: Millennium Prophecies', it aired from 6.30pm to 8.30pm on Saturday the 16th of October on Channel Ten in Perth, Western Australia. I have no idea if it aired in other parts of Australia.
The second TV Show was actually a movie called 'Y2K', it aired from 8.30pm to 10.30pm on Saturday the 16th of October on Channel Ten in Perth, Western Australia. Again I have no idea if it aired in other parts of Australia.
Nostradamus: Millennium Alert
This show surprised me, I expected it to exclusively cover Nostradamus. Not so, it covered not only him but other prophets and prophecies that have been made. Edgar Cayce, Mother Shipton, Malachi, Revelations, Hopi Indians, Mayans and various others. Topics covered involved Flooding, Comets hitting the earth, Ozone Layer, AIDS and more.
After watching the show I was stunned by the content and this show was produced sometime after June of this year! There was a good solid 30 to 45 minutes about Y2K the computer bug. It was no walk in the park either, this was direct, to the point and would be classified as serious doomer.
What follows is a rundown of what was shown and said in regards to Y2K. There are minor parts missing here and there, it is not word for word. Here we go ...
For Nostradamus a vision of a great pestilence may have different meaning. In the 1980's a virus called Michelango caused havoc with computers, in 1999 the Melissa virus cause even greated damage thanks to the far flung reach of the Internet.
But nothing may compare to the potential impact of another virus, the millennium bug.
Raul M Saenz, Operations Manager, CAWC - Talks about many years ago in order to save space used only 2 digits for the year in computers. Explains what happens/may happen when last 2 digits goes to 00. May stop working or fail altogether if functions dependent on date. This will have massive impact with the worlds computers.
Nostradamus tried to describe things he couldn't understand. He saw a world in turmoil with lots of panic, caused by a pestilence. He may have meant the millennium bug.
Hypothetical Scenairo starts - 1-Jan-2000 in Los Angeles, 7.04 AM PT. Little girl gets up from her bed and then goes to kitchen, picks up glass and puts it under the tap. Turns tap on and no water comes out.
Goes and talks to her father who says he will check it out. Still no water coming from the taps. At 7.25 AM PT the power goes out, father tries to use mobile phone but it is experiencing problems. Shows other people also trying to use their mobile phones with no success.
Little Girl says 'Dad, I'm scared'
Narrator - By 3pm most of the city has lost its power, gas and water supply. Houses are growing cold, traffic lights are down, streets and highways fill with cars of people trying to get away. All over the country officials man their crisis centres overwhelmed by the sudden breakdown in services.
[All throughout the narration various scenes are shown of crisis centres used in the past, shelters, troops in the street, buildings on fire, etc etc]
Narrator - In the late afternoon looting begins, gangs plunder and vandalize abandoned homes. Riot police try to restore order as best they can. As dusk falls clashes erupt, shots are fired and buildings are torched. By 10pm the Army takes over the Crisis Centres. Units of the Army and National Guard move into the darkened cities to try and establish order.
Hospitals are operating by candlelight, meanwhile shelters established by the Air Force and Red Cross are overwhelmed by terrified citizens to get a place of warmth and safety. The food lines stretch longer and longer. This is a recreation of what could happen, all because of computers that control virtually every aspect of our lives.
Big mainframe computers that control the flow and distribution of electricity, gas and water. Small embedded microprocessors that control our household appliances and desktop computers that are today an indispensable tool of productivity.
Dax Hoff, Operations Superintendent, CAWC Speaks - Talks about computers rolling over and seeing only the last two digits.
Narrator - City fresh water supplies are dependent on elaborate system water filtering and purification. All of which is controlled by computers.
Raul M. Saenz speaks again - Talks about how people believe that water flows very easily without energy, the reality is once its captured and diverted it has to be pumped. Pumping requires timing and timing requires clocks.
Narrator - If a computer system breaks down we will no longer receive fresh water to drink, wash or cook with. When water circulation stops so will our sewage, our homes will become impossible to live in. The danger is real.
Mentions about the 4 million gallon sewage spill on June 16,1999 due to Y2K compliance test in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles into a large recereational area. In Perth, Australia a Y2K test caused accidental dumping of vast quantities of chemicals into the water
My Note: I live in Perth and remember that chemical spill, however until this TV show I and many others were unaware that it was due to a Y2K test.
Perhaps the most vulnerable sector is the banking industry, many banks have made great strides in purging the bug from their systems.
Dr. Jeffrey M. Shephard, Author 'You and the Year 2000' - Talks about how banks are one of the more prepared industries, however no guarantees that there won't be problems. Mentions how industry is reliant on others.
Narrator - Thats true for United States and even more so abroad.
[Now starts showing the Earth and zooms into various Countries]
Germany - [Garbled Name] bank stated that it would not be Y2K compliant and tested until after summer of 1999.
Sweden - [Garbled Name] bank says it is compliant but will be still on a high state of readiness.
England - According to Financial Services Authority in London 2 major finance institutions are not on track with their Y2K program. If they don't make it the government will shut them down.
Canada - One of its largest mutual funds the Canadian Central Fund is training its staff to go back to manual bookkeeping in the event of a Y2K shutdown.
According to the World Bank, top producers of Oil such as Venezuala, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Nigeria may not meet deadline to make their operations compliant. Could lead to disruption of Oil flow several times larger than the 1974 Oil Embargo which brought about a worldwide recession.
World bank more pessimistic about Latin America where many institutions are only now coming to grips with the problem, they do not have enough cash to fix it.
Israel - Mentions about the cost spent so far.
Japan - Gartner Group has rated their preparedness at the same level as Brazil, Thailand and The Bahamas.
France - Has not kept pace.
Countries that claim full compliance are still at risk because of the global economy. Could only take one bank to collapse in the world to cause global economy to go under.
The Internet is very reliant on Technology and may be the hardest hit.
Professor Sohrab Abizadeh, Professor of Economics, University of Winnipeg - Believes the fear is there and people will start pulling out of the market before 2000.
Narrator - Virtualy every sector of our modern society is affected. Airlines are rushing out Public Service videos stressing that they have it under control [Gave an example of one], airlines in China are at great risk.
Professor again - Poor countries may not have the capability to get their systems started again.
Russia - Is the greatest country at risk, lacks money and the resolve to fix it. Mentioned about the joint bunker with USA.
Narrator - Problems will probably crop up over an extended duration, to be tru the doomsday scenairo may not happen.
Preparing - FEMA, Red Cross and many other charitable institutions have suggested ...
- Build closer relations in your community.
- Collect all important documents and put them in a place you can get at quickly.
- As the year end draws near keep a record of all financial transactions just in case your computer records are lost of unavailable.
- Don't plan any major transactions around New Year's Eve.
- Make preparations in the event that the major services in your area are disrupted.
- As the date gets near stockpile a reasonable amount of fresh bottled water (from supermarkets) and fill other bottles with tap water for cleaning etc.
- Check medicine cabinet, get water purification tablets. Make sure have good supply of prescription drugs to last for several weeks.
- Draw a modest amount of cash to last you for several weeks.
- Store batteries in a cool place and buy a battery operated transistor radio so you can listen for emergency announcements.
- Buy enough candles to last several weeks.
- Full up gas tank just before New Years.
- Avoid big trips.
Guy being interviewed - Normal person who was preparing, thought it was a good idea to be prepared just in case.
Last bit about Y2K: Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
End Nostradamus: Millennium Alert
The reactions after that show has been varied, a few extra families are now starting to get prepared. People went from DGI's to GI's in less than an hour, it was very sobering to watch this show and if you get the chance, watch it.
Y2K Movie
This was pathetic, follows the rollover and how a missile in the middle of Columbia suffers a Y2K glitch. Which is the only thing in the world that does suffer a Y2K glitch. Will launch itself in several days hitting Moscow. US Government sends a team in to get past the high security, automate gun turrets, out of control computer which has gone back to its original programming. Blah Blah Blah.
Crap, crap and more crap.
Avoid it.
End Y2K Movie
Comments anyone?
Regards, Simon
-- Simon Richards (simon@wair.com.au), October 22, 1999