39 unanswered questions about Y2Kgreenspun.com : LUSENET : The Christian Church : One Thread |
For those of you who "pooh pooh" Y2K concerns. Please answer just one (take your pick) of these 39 unanswered questions about Y2K: (originally directed to the media):1. Why is there not a single Fortune 1000 firm that has said, in its 10-Q SEC statement, that it is fully, unequivocally Y2K- compliant?
2. How can an entire industry be deemed "Y2K ready" if no members of that industry are claiming full Y2K compliance?
3. Why is it politically correct for pharmaceutical companies to stockpile life-saving medications but not for a family to do the same thing?
4. How can the U.S. economy not be impacted by major infrastructure failures in countries with which America trades goods and services?
5. Why did the April 9, 1999 and September 9, 1999 power industry drills held by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) not test power generation or power distribution equipment? And why did NERC say, in a document found on its web site, "Do not make the drill too complex. We want to have a successful and meaningful story for publication." Source: Y2K Newswire: http://www.y2knewswire.com/archives/power/NERCdrill.pdf
6. Were you aware that our nation's political leaders made a conscious decision to downplay preparedness advice out of the fear it might threaten banks and the stock market? Isn't this a strategy that essentially says the stock market is more important than the safety of Americans? Source: WIRED News, February 18, 1999: http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/17986.html
7. Why was the FAA unable to produce documentation backing up their claims of an independent audit declaring 100% Y2K compliance? More importantly, why did no publication in this country even attempt to track down these independent audit documents before repeating the FAA's claims as fact? Source: Y2K Newswire: http://www.y2knewswire.com/reports/Airfoiled- Public.htm
8. Has anyone from your publication actually seen a single signed, independent third-party audit that assigned 100% Y2K compliance to any Fortune 1000 firm or federal agency?
9. If your publication only trusts and quotes "official sources" on Y2K topics, and if those same official sources have political, professional or financial reasons to understate the severity of the problem they're facing, isn't it true that the information you're relying on for Y2K reporting may be inaccurate?
10. Given that Y2K remediation costs have already exceeded the cost of the entire Vietnam War, with some organizations spending over a billion dollars on repairs, isn't Y2K already in the category of a huge, man-made crisis, even if no problems occur on January 1? Y2K remediation costs dwarf Savings & Loan bailouts, yet the S&L situation is, still today, called a "crisis" by publications like USA Today and the Washington Post. But S&L bailouts pale in comparison to the hundreds of billions already spent on Y2K. Why is a $6 billion mistake called a "crisis" but a $600 billion global mistake called no big deal? Sources: USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/news/court/nscot010.htm Washington Post: http://washingtonpost.com/wp- srv/politics/govt/fedguide/stories/fdic.htm
11. Why has no Fortune 1000 firm yet conducted full, end-to- end testing of the Y2K compliance of their computer systems? Earlier this year, the Pentagon held a test that John Koskinen called the largest test ever conducted on Y2K. Yet this test only involved 2% of the Pentagon's total systems. If this is truly the largest test ever conducted, doesn't this mean most organizations have probably only tested 1% of their systems? And if so, isn't this fact newsworthy?
12. Why, in early 1999, did the federal government drop over 3,200 computer systems from "mission critical" lists? And what happens if these previously-mission-critical systems are not fixed? Has your publication explained to its readers the significance of this subtle redefinition strategy and how it deceives the public by inflating "progress" statistics?
13. Why did NERC distribute a template "Y2K Ready Letter" with suggestive phrases and claims that companies could send back to NERC as part of their "independent" claims of Y2K readiness? Isn't this like giving out the answers right before the test? Source: Y2K Newswire: http://www.y2knewswire.com/archives/power/NercTemplate.pdf
14. If the IRS spent $4 billion over eleven years in a failed effort to revamp their computers, how can it possibly solve Y2K in just two years? And why hasn't the American press focused on the urgent issue of having a contingency tax system (like the national retail sales tax) in place, ready to roll, in case the IRS suffers critical problems?
15. Recently, NASA apparently lost yet another Mars probe due to unknown reasons. The last Mars probe was apparently lost due to a unit conversion error made by NASA personnel. If NASA scientists and programmers typically operate at ten times the accuracy of "regular" programmers, and yet they still manage to make mission-killing mistakes, why should the world believe that industry Y2K programmers won't make any such mistakes? At one point in 1998, Y2K "no big deal" commentators appeared on national television, explaining that the whole problem could be solved by recruiting welfare recipients to learn COBOL. This was reported as a genuine, credible strategy for solving the Y2K problem. Have you followed up on how many mission- critical systems have actually been remediated by welfare programmers? And if so, how likely are these systems to be error-free on January 1?
16. Auto manufacturers typically rely on well over ten thousand suppliers for critical parts. If 99% of these ten thousand suppliers are Y2K-compliant, doesn't that still mean one percent (one hundred suppliers), on average, may suffer failures? How will auto manufacturers build cars with only 99% of the parts? Why isn't this simple mathematical exercise being described to Americans?
17. The power plant that serves Santa Fe, New Mexico, has now announced there is a "high probability" that electricity will be cut off to the city on January 1. The city apparently hasn't yet funded the installation of a backup generator for the sewer system, either. What will happen to Santa Fe residents if power cannot be restored for a week and the sewers don't work? Is this a scenario for which citizens should continue to not prepare? Source: http://www.abqjournal.com/news/23news12- 02-99.htm
18. If Y2K is a non-event, why did our federal government spend $50,000,000 on a Y2K command bunker? Why are cities like Boulder, Colorado deploying armed SWAT teams and "prisoner transport teams" on New Years Eve? Source: Sunday Camera, November 28, 1999, www.bouldernews.com
19. Throughout 1998, nearly every company claimed it would be Y2K compliant by December 31, 1998, "with a full year for testing." Can you name a single Fortune 1000 firm that achieved and announced full Y2K compliance on that day? What happened to the full year for testing? Is this an important missed deadline, or were all those companies lying when they said they needed a full year for testing?
20. If Venezuela, one of our nation's chief suppliers of imported oil, was 100% non-compliant in March, how can it be 100% Y2K-compliant today? How did this small nation apparently accomplish in ten months what has taken the Social Security Administration ten years to achieve? What will happen to our economy if Venezuela cannot export oil for thirty days?
21. We keep reading stories of little old ladies who were robbed after they withdrew cash from their banks. Can your publication produce a single police report that details such a robbery?
22. The Y2K compliance claims of the United States sound just like the claims from other countries: Italy, China, Russia, South Africa, even Jamaica. Every country says it is fine. Ilya Klebanov, for example, Russia's deputy prime minister, says, "We will pass quietly through 2000 just like we have every other year. ...I think it's best not to scare the little children of Russia." How have you, as a journalist, determined where to draw the line between "countries that are lying" and "countries that are telling the truth?"
23. If the world's oil production is not at all threatened by Y2K, why has the International Energy Agency (IEA) drawn up plans for global rationing of oil reserves? Source: Reuters (London), November 30, 1999.
24. What will happen to our technology industry and dot-com stocks if computer parts shipments from Asia are disrupted because of Y2K problems there?
25. The White House says that all federal systems will work just fine, but smaller, local systems will experience problems. Yet we know, from experience, that the opposite is true: larger, more complex systems usually take longer to fix and have more post-remediation problems than smaller systems. Why hasn't your publication publicly questioned the contradiction in this official explanation?
26. As organizations in the United States purchased new equipment for Y2K, they sold much of the older, non-Y2K- compliant equipment to after-market importers in less-wealthy nations. This includes medical and telecommunications equipment. By doing this, isn't America actually exporting a Y2K crisis to nations that can least afford one? And won't this result in widespread international blame when people die in those countries as a result of, for example, failed medical devices? Doesn't this make Y2K an important foreign policy issue that should be addressed by the national media?
27. The White House says any Y2K problems that occur will be due to "overreaction by the people." Isn't this really an attempt to blame the public for a problem originally caused by the federal government's establishing the two-digit year standard in the first place?
28. If prepared people are less afraid, and only non-prepared people are likely to panic during a disruption, why has the federal government generally discouraged adequate Y2K preparedness? Isn't this ultimately contributing to the potential for panic? Why does the White House tell Americans to have half a tank of gas and not a full tank?
29. The Federal Reserve promises to pump nearly $200 billion in currency into the banking system in an effort to make sure banks don't run out of cash. There is more than enough to go around, we're told, so it's fine if people want to take out a few weeks' cash. If this is true, why are banks targeting the elderly, using fear tactics (stories of muggings) to prevent them from taking out their cash? If an elderly person remembers the crash of 1929 and the subsequent bank failures, isn't she acting rationally by protecting her life savings? And isn't it true that her actions don't threaten the system anyway because the Fed has delivered all this extra cash? Shouldn't banks try to make customers feel comfortable instead of fearful?
30. Why is it socially acceptable to buy fire insurance, car insurance and life insurance but not "food insurance" by having some extra food stored away? Through what mechanism did the Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared" become politically incorrect? Will Boy Scouts now be called extremists? Or will they be forced to change their motto to, "Be prepared, except for Y2K."
31. Why are Californians urged to have a two-week stockpile of supplies for earthquake preparedness, but only a three-day stockpile for Y2K? Should Californians throw out eleven days of supplies to be politically correct for Y2K?
32. If stock prices are based on rational, justifiable earnings per share, why is the NASDAQ exchange planning on running year-end advertisements that urge shareholders not to sell their stocks? If a company did this, wouldn't it be in violation of SEC regulations?
33. Why is virtually no member of the press asking Presidential candidates for their views on the Year 2000 problem?
34. If the banking industry is rock-solid, why does it seem to be terrified of radio and TV advertisements that poke fun at Y2K? Are we to believe that a humorous television advertisement can threaten our entire financial system? And if so, how strong a system is that to begin with?
35. If your publication is funded by advertisements from companies that would be financially harmed if you reported they were non-compliant, don't you have a clear-cut conflict of interest that prevents you from investigating their compliance? Have you explained this conflict of interest to your readers when you publish stories about Y2K?
36. Most publications in the United States rely on news wires from AP and Reuters. When you publish Y2K-related stories borrowed from these wire services, what percentage of the statements from AP and Reuters do you actually verify? For what percentage of the stories do you conduct your own investigations and add additional facts?
37. Many Year 2000 contingency plans rely on manual operations in case computer systems fail. Isn't there a gaping contradiction in the idea that everybody has been made more efficient by technology, but then we don't really need these computers because we can do it all by hand anyway? Furthermore, how will U.S. railroads go back to manual operations if the actual hand-thrown track switches have been removed? How will the IRS hand-write checks to million of taxpayers, as they have suggested they might do, if the refund database remains lost inside the crashed computers?
38. CCD Online Systems, a Y2K solutions provider, has offered to donate $50,000 to schools in the name of any of fourteen organizations on their "challenge list" that can pass an independent Y2K compliance test. If everyone is already Y2K compliant, as the public has been told, why has no organization on this list answered the challenge? Aren't they acting socially irresponsible by denying tens of thousands of dollars to our nation's children? Source: http://www.ccdonline.com/en/News/t_press16_e.html
39. Finally, the American public has been told to expect -- and base their preparations on -- the best-case outcome; the "no big deal" outcome or "three day snowstorm" scenario. When, in your entire life, have you ever seen the federal government take on a highly-complex, multi-billion-dollar project and get it right on time, the first time?
Bonus question, just added on December 7, 1999: Social Security has been widely touted as being 100% Y2K- compliant after having spent ten years on the project. Nearly a year ago, President Clinton declared Social Security to be 100% compliant. Yet last week, thousands of Social Security notices containing mixed-up numbers were apparently mailed to senior citizens who were shocked to find their Social Security numbers scrambled. If Social Security is fully Y2K-compliant, why is it still experiencing glitches in 1999? More importantly, if this is the result of ten years of Y2K remediation, what outcome is likely for federal agencies that have only spent two years, not ten, fixing Y2K bugs? Source: http://www.tri-cityherald.com
-- Anonymous, December 08, 1999
From Duane Schwingel......"The trademark of denial is humor."Coming from Duane Schwingel......THAT IS A RIOT!!!!!!
I have a question......is the forum Y2K compliant???
-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999
Remember "88 Reasons Why the Rapture Was Going to Occur in 1988?""The unforeseeable future, has a way of becoming the undeniable past." quote....Dr. Roger Chambers
Hey....whose to say things won't work to our favor?? Maybe we will all wake up on Jan. 1st and have an unexplained million in our bank account.
Of course, as Christians we will all give it back...right??
In general.....I agree with Michael. A lot of people have made and will make plenty of money off of Y2K paranoia.
-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999
Oh Duane....Duane.
-- Anonymous, December 23, 1999
Oh Duane....Duane.BTW....I never needed an article to keep my Christian perspective of the hype.
Just like media hype about anything.....I don't buy it.
-- Anonymous, December 23, 1999
Oh Duane....Duane.BTW....I never needed an article to keep my Christian perspective of the hype.
Just like media hype about anything.....I don't buy it.
I'm sorry......but I now many technical computer people from Nasa to major corporations......not a one of them has a stockpiled.
It seems that the people who are really in the know, and have no interest in bilking people.....seem to be awfully unconcerned.
-- Anonymous, December 23, 1999
Oh Duane....Duane.BTW....I never needed an article to keep my Christian perspective of the hype.
Just like media hype about anything.....I don't buy it.
I'm sorry......but I now many technical computer people from Nasa to major corporations......not a one of them has stockpiled.
It seems that the people who are really in the know, and have no interest in bilking people.....seem to be awfully unconcerned.
-- Anonymous, December 23, 1999
Oh brother!!!
-- Anonymous, December 30, 1999
Uh....Darrell....I don't have to "get back" to the Kingdom work.....never stopped doing it. Ha!!Anyway....when the man who alerted the world to Y2K potential problems in 1993....said this week he would be flying at midnight to prove there would be no problems.....you had to feel pretty secure that everything, for the most part was solved.
Unless, of course, you feel the govt. held a gun to his head and said...."You will fly".....oh no.....I started another thread.
-- Anonymous, January 01, 2000
The answers are simple, the government wants to kill all humanity as we know it and then have all the money and the power. But what I want to know is - will there be blue M & M's in the new millenium?
-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999
The trademark of denial is comic relief.
-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999
Duane,Ok, I'll bite? What's the answer? I mean you have a bunch of accusitory (and inflamitory) questions but you don't seem to provide much in the way of relief. And as far as Mike's statement, at least there's comic relief there. (By the way, those in denial are also stockpiling food stores) What else are we supposed to do other than deny its (Y2K bug) existence and take a wait-and-see-attitude. I mean 22 days isn't long enough to fix something that the Social Security Administration took 10 years to do is it? Where's our answers?
Your turn!
-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999
By the way Duane,Thanks so much for operating this forum! It's like a Bible-Study-in-a- box. I mean, as mad as I get sometimes, it still causes me to stop and think about perspective. (Always a plus to keep me from becoming legalistic!)
I pray that your Holidays are a wonderous occasion for you and your family.
Keep up the good work!
-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999
hmm, sources? Some of these didn't have sources, others I tried and they were invalid addresses.I don't think any rational person thinks there won't be a problem. But, why won't some won't certify themselves (the theme of a lot of these)? Can we say "lawsuit defense"? They might be 99.99% sure that they are Y2K compliant, but their lawyers have advised them to NOT make any public statements that could haunt them if they are wrong.
As far as the stockpile issues, I have heard predictions from some economists saying that we could have an economic shrinkage the first quarter of next year. Seems that there is a lot of stockpiling/hoarding going on, and once Jan 1 passes, we will all be reducing our stockpiles. If all goes well, the local food bank is going to get a big donation from me, while the grocery store will have already gotten a lot of my money.
As far as the downplaying of "preparation", FEMA has been advising everyone to have three weeks of supplies on hand for Y2K. Then again, they advise that we all have that much on hand all the time, for any type of potential disaster - tornado, hurricane, flood, etc.
As for the money spent on Y2K, I had heard $100 billion, not $600 billion. And you know what? Most of that is a scam! The Y2K compliance officer for my group sits in the next cubicle, and everything looked under control last June, but guess what? All of a sudden, all these software vendors who said they were compliant suddenly started saying "WAIT! you need to spend $$ to upgrade -- we can't certify your version is Y2K compliant." If you work in certain industries or as a government contractor, you have to fork over the cash or you are in trouble legally. I know of cases where system upgrades at some companies that would have happened anyway are recorded on the Y2K budget, and other places upgrades that would have been rejected were justified by just adding the words "Y2K" on the request.
We survived the 9/9/99 problem with no reported consequences, we survived the GPS rollover in October with no reported consequences, I think we will survive 1/1/00.
Just in case, I plan to be at home in bed at midnight, with plenty of bottled water, two full tanks of propane, a month's worth of food, a good supply of firewood, a full tank of gas in both cars, etc. Yet, because I trust and rely on God, I will be sleeping soundly.
-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999
Isn't denial a river over in Egypt? No, it isn't denial it is complete and utter rejection of paranoia and fictitious thought. We have some pre-millenial Baptist friends that have members in their church who have built a tunnel in their backyard and their "Pastor" told them that CLinton is going to use the confusion during the Y2K to kill all Christians (thus saith Hal Lindsey followers). No thanks Duane, smacks way tooo much of the other pre-millenial sensationalism that makes good novels (Left Behind) but not good reality. Do you think the possibility exists that at the turn of the last century people had similar concerns - end of world, governmental shut-downs, chaos, etc? Yeah. And all was well. All will be well. Just live like Christ will come back today - and you'll be fine my friend!
-- Anonymous, December 09, 1999
Just one thought needs to be added to any discussion of y2k: Computers don't care what you think. They don't care what you feel. They don't care that you're optimistic, hopeful, confident.They're machines. They either break down, or they don't.
All these emotional reactions to y2k are irrelevant: it's a technical problem. When/if our technology fails, you better have a back-up plan in place. The machines won't care what happens to you (& your family) if you don't.
-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999
You can't say it better than this page does --http://www.netusa1.net/~summit1/y2k.html
-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999
Y2K fears on this forum? Stunning. A year ago I preached on this very issue. I wont submit the text here, but I would refer all such doomsday fears to Mark 13. Terrible things have happened, are happening and will continue to happen until the end of the age. Do you think that people burried in the rubble of the Turkish quakes care about Y2K? How about the millions of starving Christians in Sudan? How about the Christians doing slave labor in Chinese death camps?It can happen here. If Jesus is right (he always is), it will happen here. There is only one thing we need do do to get ready: FINISH THE GREAT COMMISSION!
-- Anonymous, December 15, 1999
"There is only one thing we need do do to get ready: FINISH THE GREAT COMMISSION! "Feeding your familiy is ALSO a good thing to do. Must there be a conflict between the two? Haven't we got enough brains to do both? (For some folks I fear the answer may be "no.")
-- Anonymous, December 15, 1999
pointless to answer such "have you stopped beating your wife yet" questions. And a note on Mike Adams (owner, y2knewswire) He made $400K in 6 months by selling otherwise free information...all as an experiment! He also owns y2ksupply.com and other sites, all related to marketing....Gee, this guy doesn't have any vested interest in hyping y2k, does he? (:Some links:
Stephen Poole's y2k pages
Gary North Exposed
-- Anonymous, December 21, 1999
Also, see Steve Hewitt of Christian Computing Magazine for a VERY good read on keeping your Christian perspective through all this y2khype.
-- Anonymous, December 21, 1999
"...pointless to answer such "have you stopped beating your wife yet" questions..."Then don't try to.
Answer these questions instead:
How will I feed my family if the stores are empty and/or closed? How will I protect my family in case of riots & no police? How will we keep from freezing if there's no electricity? and finally... What will I say to my family when they ask me why I didn't prepare?
-- Anonymous, December 22, 1999
How will I feed my family if the stores are empty and/or closed? How will I protect my family in case of riots & no police? How will we keep from freezing if there's no electricity? and finally... What will I say to my family when they ask me why I didn't prepare?The problem is, you are not asking the right questions. It is like asking "what would I do if my heart stopped beating right now? an hour from now....a week from now". You can worry and fret all you want (its a sin) but you won't change a thing.
But, back to your questions....
1) WHY would the stores be empty or closed? FEAR of the unknown does not justify WORRY about the unknown. No one goes thruogh life unfettered if they focus on worse case scenarios.
2)WHY will there be riots and no police? Could there be riots right now, TODAY? sure! Who is your protector? Do you fear man or God?
3) Once again, WHY won't there be any electricity? Has your power company told you there will NOT be power....or even that there is a good chance there will not be? If yes, then of course you should have alternate heat (I personally LOVE a nice cozy woodfire and a good book...). MOST power companies rolled there computers ahead to 2000 last year....many are still operating and there computers think it is 2003! remember: computers do NOT control the generation of power, the allow monitoring of the generation. Everything done by computers can be done manually as well.
You should probably have done some research on the subject before repeating internet rumors (:
And finally, here is a question for you....
What will you say to God when he asks "where was your Faith? Didn't I Promise that all your physical needs would be met if you put me first?"
Some trust in chariots....
-- Anonymous, December 23, 1999
A word to the wise.... seems to be wasted on this board.We'll see. But once the lights go out, it will be too late to prepare.
Have any of you folks read the story of the wise virgins & the foolish virgins...? All that bible reading, & such a simple basic lesson goes unheeded.
-- Anonymous, December 24, 1999
Is that you, Gary? If you knew the meaning behind the parable of the virgins, you wouldn't compare it "preping" for y2k. You would know that it is about getting your own oil (salvation)....you can't get it from anyone else.My God is is charge now and will be still in the new century. How's your's doing?
-- Anonymous, December 24, 1999
We are NOT obliged to choose between trusting in God & looking after the needs of our families. We are, in fact, obliged to do BOTH, every single day.Preparing for lean times is part of taking care of our families. Didn't Joseph tell his people to fill storehouses of grain during the good times, because lean times were coming? How is that different from storing food in your own home because there may be shortages next year?
Do you seriously believe that there is something un-Christian about filling an empty closet with food? That idea would probably have appalled your great-grandaddy. Our ancestors never went into winter unprepared, yet their faith in God was impeccable.
I'm grateful that God gave me fair warning about y2k in plenty of time to research & to prepare. If my family suffers next year, at least it WON'T be because I ignored these warnings.
-- Anonymous, December 24, 1999
Well, tomorrow morning (U.S. times -- Europe noontime/early afternoon) we start finding out as Japan, China, Australia, Korea, and the rest of Asia and Oceania start flipping over. ABC News, for one, starts reporting events associated with the roll over at 4:50AM EST tomorrow morning (10 minutes before the first rollover worldwide).
-- Anonymous, December 30, 1999
Duane, thank you for your consistent efforts to warn His flock regarding Y2K. We pray God will be with you as we face whatever is ahead. May we cling to Psalm 91, and sing in our hearts the grand hymns of the faith: Under His wings I am safely abiding, Though the night deepens and tempests are wild. Still I can trust Him, I know He will keep me. He has redeemed me, and I am His child.Under His wings. Under His wings. Who from His love can sever? Under His wings my soul shall abide. Safely abide forever.
God bless you.
-- Anonymous, December 30, 1999
Hello? Anyone there? Anyone around?
Well, it's 10 AM on New Years Eve here in the great USA. So far the Pacific Island, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan have made it to 2000 without any hitches noted.
Let's see what happens over the next 14 hours or so.Darrell H Combs
-- Anonymous, December 31, 1999