http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_exnews/19991229_xex_official_y2k.shtml

PANIC IN THE YEAR ZERO

Official Y2K emergency First time every response center in nation is activated and on job

By Julie Foster

) 1999 WorldNetDaily.com

For the first time in history, every emergency response center in the nation is activated and on the job for possible Y2K emergencies -- a phenomenon no other disaster has created. "Having all 50 states and all federal emergency centers up and ready to respond has to be historic," said John Koskinen, the head of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion.

Many states, including California, have called the National Guard into service over the New Year's holiday weekend. In addition to preparing to deal with Y2K disruptions, the Guard will be ready to respond to incidents of domestic terrorism. Should a terrorist attack occur, the FBI will be the lead federal agency, whereas the Federal Emergency Management Agency would be responsible for "consequence management," said FEMA spokeswoman Mary Margaret Walker.

FEMA will have 600 people working at its Washington, D.C. headquarters and 10 regional centers, including one in San Francisco, through Jan. 4. The agency claims it will step in only if asked to do so by a state.

"What is unusual about it is that all of our regions are activated at once," Walker said. "When there is a particular event, there may be one or two regions operating. Here we have all 10. This is certainly not business as usual."

Business as usual is what many are predicting will happen when the clock strikes midnight around the world on Friday. But officials in Washington, D.C. are not taking any chances.

Although the official government advice to Americans has been to "prepare for a winter storm," that is, for two or three days without vital services, at the last minute, now, the ante is being raised. District of Columbia officials are urging residents to prepare for more than a week without private and public services as the new year approaches.

In fact, the D.C. Emergency Management Agency's "Y2K Preparedness Guide" advises the public to "set aside enough cash to meet living expenses for at least a one-month period" and "consider renting or purchasing a generator."

The city has run several preparation drills, including one yesterday for people working New Year's Eve, and has spent more than $140 million preparing for the millennium change-over and overhauling its computers.

D.C. is not the only city preparing for the worst. Mayor Paul Schell of Seattle, Wash. has canceled his city's New Year's Eve celebration that was scheduled to take place at Seattle Center, saying, "We do not want to take chances with public safety."

Schell said there will be "an unprecedented force" on the streets to keep Seattle safe, including over 850 police officers, 80 to 90 firefighters and other public servants.

The only performance allowed to take place now is a private function at the Space Needle.

Ahmed Ressam, the Algerian suspected terrorist arrested for smuggling explosives into the state of Washington last week, had a one-night reservation at a Seattle Center-area hotel. Despite that fact, Schell said that "there is no specific threat against Seattle Center, according to the FBI and the Justice Department," although he admits international media coverage of the Seattle Center event makes it "impossible for federal officials to rule out the area as a terrorist target."

The state of New York is also gearing up for chaos, not just in millennium celebrations, but in potential prison riots as well. About 1,000 specially trained prison personnel will be stationed around the state to respond to possible trouble resulting from prisoners taking advantage of possible Y2K problems.

The Correction Emergency Response Teams are trained to deal with prison search-and-seizure operations, inmate demonstrations and other violent situations that could arise in correctional facilities.

"We have found in the past that our staff has very often served as back-up to assisting communities" during emergencies, said prisons spokesman James Flateau. "With the Y2K thing, we just thought that if we wind up with snowstorms, ice storms, that we don't want to be in the position of that night or nearly the next morning having to assemble staff."

Presence of the additional teams is expected to deter inmates from engaging in demonstrations that have been rumored for weeks. A pamphlet found on some prisoners, titled "Wake Up!" calls for an inmate strike to protest Gov. George Pataki's tough parole policies and prison labor issues.

Both Green Haven state prison and Sing Sing remained locked down Monday for a fourth day -- requiring inmates to eat in their cells and only be allowed out for visitation and for emergency medical care. The clampdown resulted after 40 inmates were transferred from Green Haven for trying to "strong arm" other inmates into participating in a strike and five rounds of 9 mm ammunition were found in a common area of Sing Sing.

In all, federal and local government agencies and private businesses in the U.S. are spending more than $100 billion to ward off Y2K computer glitches alone -- not to mention the amount spent on other preparations such as anti-terrorist plans.

WorldNetDaily will provide live, comprehensive, 'round the clock Y2K coverage this weekend -- both online and on talk radio.

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@AOL.COM), December 29, 1999