Is the Y2K scare real?

U

UZI4U

New member
Do you think it has been blown out of proportion or what? I see that other countries have prepared their citizens for possible problems but our government seems to be hesistant. It isn't hesistant to pass laws restricting our rights to sue companies which fail to provide us with necessary service due to Y2K problems. I have spent about $4500 so far on Y2K prepareness and that doesn't include the cost of rebuilding and relining my chimney for my woodburning stove. I have purchased a wood burning stove, a generator, two bullet proof vests, lanterns, military extreme sleeping bags, food, and lots of water. I know several individuals who are preparing for the worst case scenario. There are companies out there catering to their histeria. One of those companies which comes to my mind is Cheaperthandirt.com. Their latest catalog is devoted to surviving Y2K. Do you know who I blame for all of this lunacy? I blame the government for telling us there is nothing to worry about and behind our backs it passes laws to protect itself and its lobbiest interests. The government is currently producing more paper money to counteract the bank withdrawals. I talked to a friend of mine who works at the bank and she told me that this month has been hard on her bank due to Y2K. A lot of people are running to the bank and completely withdrawing all of their funds. I guess it is better to be safe than sorry. Have any of you been to the home improvement centers? They are stocking 5 gallon jugs of Kerosene at my local Menard store. Sales on woodburning stoves are up 500 percent. As we approach December sales will soar on generators, woodburning stoves, guns, ammo, camping supplies, and food. If the government waits until December to admit that there will be a problem come January 1st can you imagine the rush there will be to get Y2K ready? The sleep walking citizens will finally wake up and storm the banks, and gun shops until the government puts a stop to it. There are many scenarios that can occur January 1st. If all hell breaks loose in Illinois I'll be in my van heading south for Floria along with 16 million friends.
 
Hmmm. Sounds like Floridans better get more guns and ammo.

Seriously, nonsense and hysteria! A few people with older PCs may have some problems; major users are aware of the problem and have pretty well dealt with it. I have been a computer analyst since 1968, and I am not sweating it. (Overseas problems are overseas; the world is not yet so integrated that their problems are automatically ours.)

I am stockpiling nothing except what I normally keep in a rural area where the power sometimes goes out in a storm. All I can say is that there are going to be a lot of divorces when the wives get sick and tired of eating up all those #%^*&*$ MREs about July.

I did hear that there is concern about airplanes, though. If the rollover comes while a plane is in the air, it might land in 1900 and frighten the horses.

Stay cool. And avoid the South - those folks have guns, too.

Jim
 
When this whole thing is over I would like to buy a used generator and a tactical rifle real cheap. I am going snowmobiling the end of December and if my pipes are frozen when I get back...oh well.

Seriously, I would bet the worst case scenario is isolated short term power outages. Will be interesting to see...
 
Y2K....My Thoughts...

There is and was a puter problem....70%+ infrastructure puters are cool.

There may be some problems....nothing worse than our parents lived through...and I'm not talking WW2...at worst, a little grief but livable.

Downside....we are being tested....how we deal with the lil stuff will indicate to the Feds how wimpy we are.

I'm lucky...like Jim said....nuthing other than standard rural winter stuff and I've lived this. Stock up with 2 weeks provisions, warm clothes, be prepared for a "campout"...big deal .......roll with it. Nothing worse than we, our parents or grandparents ever went through. I'm planning for some fun.

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
 
I'm with all of you on this one - I seriously doubt this will be a significant problem in the U.S.

However, I do like Jim's MRE / wife theory - too bad it's hard to 'invest' in divorce lawyers ... ;)

UZI4U, I'd wager that you're over-prepared already. Ankeny is probably right - the first quarter of 2000 may yield some bargains on 'survival' equipment. ;)

I suspect there may be some downturn in the U.S. economy to some degree in the 1st quarter, due to some 'pull forward' of business into '99's 4th quarter. OTOH, some businesses have put off computer purchases to next year, and if nothing significant happens, we may see a lot of computers sold next year.

Overseas, I'll wager, will yield more troubling stories. In our country, we'll probably hear about mainly humorous problems. Overseas I would suspect we'll see some true tragedies, mainly from transportation glitches. I think those folks that are spending New Years out of the country are possibly in for a bit more adventure than they bargained for. We'll see.

Y2K may very well be the butt of many, many jokes in January 2000. It will be interesting to see the conclusion of all of this angst.
 
Mrs. sbryce here. While my husband has been spending lots of time on this forum, I've been spending lots of time on a Y2K forum http://www.michaelhyatt.com/discuss.htm . Paying attention to the news and failure forums gives much food for thought. (It was on their self-defense forum that someone recommended TFL to me.)

It's hard to predict the outcome. Nay, it's impossible to predict with any accuracy. However when I think of the inter-connectedness of everything nowadays, I begin to be concerned. When I read that several of our foreign sources for petroleum have hardly begun any remediation, I become concerned that, at minimum, oil and gas and desiel prices will rise in the U.S. We get so many raw materials as well as finished goods from overseas that 'their' problems aren't just going to stay over 'there.' Problems in the U.S. are building now, currently taking time and effort to fix. A couple of problems have been life-threatening, eg. one pharmecutical company down for the count and no substitute available for their product.

I do not believe our beloved media has blown Y2K out of porportion. I believe they are singing the "keep the sheeople calm" line fed to them by some powers-that-be.

I think of it two ways 1) I want to have my favorite brand of toothpaste available, and 2) next year it may very well be priced higher for one of many possible reasons. So I stock up now.

In the meantime, those who have become concerned about Y2K are discovering the joys of being more independent: off the grid, gardening, composting, sprouting, whatever. Some were more prepared for the hurricanes last month (one of the moderators on the above-mentioned discussion board discussed this in depth as she resides in North Carolina).

UZI4U, you've prepared more than I'm able to prepare. With the background you've given, I'd suggest you double-check your water supply (that it will stay pure and not leak), relax, and do not let your neighbors know about your stash unless you plan to share it.
 
The "Scare" is all too real.
The "Problem" is all too overblown.
Act accordingly.

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CCW for Ohio action site.
http://www.ofcc.net
Do what you C.A.N.
http://thematrix.acmecity.com/digital/237/can.html
 
Exactly, the problem is with the people. I can deal with power outages and short supplies, but let's face it, there are people who panic if their cable TV goes out. Add to that all the Y2K hype and you have a situation where even a short localized power outage could cause some people to panic and believe the end is at hand. A 30 minute blackout might result in a full blown riot.
Then there is the real posability that the BGs will take any disruption as the golden opportunity to loot at will and run rampant.
Only time will tell. As for me, I plan to stay home and hope that common sense will prevail.
 
Wow. You guys nailed this one right in the head.

I've got these "friends" who are literally preparing for the Mad Max scenario. The only way I can think of it really happening is an extinction-level meteor impact, mass thermonuclear detonations, or the large scale introduction of chemical or biological agents. All of which, oddly enough, they are not prepared for. They think the Y2K bug will do it.

But we've pretty much given up trying to convince them. Like trying to convince Clinton that guns aren't evil, they just won't listen.

My personal take for Y2K (or any other contingency scenarios) is to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Now, when I say "worst", I mean what can realistically happen. And I fully agree with the general concensus on this thread. That's why I've stepped up the timetable and purchased the Mini-14 among other things.

Our Y2K preparation revolves around a "Bug-Out" plan. We're going to basically stay home and dig in for the Holidays. If by some miracle, a riot should break out (or something similar) and we need to escape, we'll be packed and ready to retreat to a more remote location.

[This message has been edited by SB (edited October 31, 1999).]
 
Problem is, alot of folks are taking the start of the year 2000 and the subsequent anxiety very seriously. And we, the responsible ones (ie - the people who are not looking to fart around with those who are not farting with us) may be caught in the middle.

Jeff

Address:http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Oct/31/national/FBI31.htm

October 31, 1999

As 2000 nears, FBI sees added risk of violence
The agency's "Project Megiddo" found some extremist groups were acquiring weapons and picking targets. By David A. Vise
and Lorraine Adams
WASHINGTON POST
The FBI is warning police chiefs nationwide that it has discovered evidence of religious extremists, racists, cults and other groups preparing for violence as New Year's Eve approaches. The agency is urging law-enforcement agencies to view the dawn of the year 2000 as a catalyst for criminal activities. The FBI says those most likely to perpetrate violence are either motivated by religious beliefs relating to the Apocalypse or are New World Order conspiracists convinced the United Nations has a secret plan to conquer the world. A 34-page report from the FBI domestic-terrorism unit says some members of militias and racist groups, including "Christian Identity" and "Odinism," are acquiring weapons and surveying targets. FBI officials plan to brief law-enforcement officials Tuesday about the threat at a closed-door meeting of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in North Carolina. The report, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Post, says local law-enforcement officials should monitor radical groups for behavior such as stockpiling weapons and food that may indicate they are preparing for violence. Neil Gallagher, head of the FBI's national security division, said in an interview that the bureau was not predicting that terrorism or violence would occur on or around Jan. 1. Instead, he said, the report is aimed at making local law officials "more sensitive" to heightened security risks posed by the year 2000. He also said the public should be "aware but not scared" of such threats. The report says the risks will increase as Jan. 1 approaches. "If a cult sells its property and personal effects and purchases guns and explosives, we need to be more concerned about what that cult will do on January 1," he said. Computer problems brought on by Y2K glitches could trigger a response from some groups, the FBI believes. While most people understand that power outages or other problems resulting from Y2K problems can be explained rationally, the report notes that some radical groups or individuals may view these events either as signs that the end of the world is near or as part of a larger conspiracy. "The threat posed by extremists as a result of perceived events associated with the Year 2000 (Y2K) is very real," the report says. "The volatile mix of apocalyptic religious and [New World Order] conspiracy theories may produce violent acts aimed at precipitating the end of the world as prophesied in the Bible." The report is the result of a nine-month effort called "Project Megiddo" by the domestic-terrorism unit, which also used field agents. It is intended to serve as a "strategic assessment" of potential domestic terrorism linked to the coming millennium, rather than a general assessment of the terrorist environment. The agents found that certain individuals tied to these groups have been acquiring weapons, storing food and clothing, raising funds, procuring safe houses, preparing compounds, surveying potential targets and recruiting converts. The report describes several groups it says have some members who pose a violent threat. Christian Identity followers, comprising loosely knit groups nationwide, are "ardently opposed to race mixing" and believe the "white Aryan race is God's chosen race." Christian Identity provides the "unifying theology" for several "right-wing" groups that pose a threat, the report says. Odinists, also white supremacists, can be dangerous because many believe in becoming "martyrs" for the cause, the report says. Fringe members of the Aryan Nations white supremacist group could be a threat because they won't necessarily adhere to leader Richard Butler's public renunciation of violence, the FBI says. Radical U.S. members of the "Black Hebrew Israelites," who advocate "an extreme form of black supremacy," also pose a threat. "Current intelligence from a variety of sources indicates that extreme factions of [Black Hebrew Israelites] groups are preparing for a race war to close the millennium," the FBI report says. While most of the report focuses on domestic threats, one portion is devoted to Jerusalem, where the FBI says an influx of tourists making pilgrimages and millennial cults will increase the danger. The study also says violence in Jerusalem, a holy city for Christians, Jews and Muslims, could lead to problems in the United States and worldwide. The Project Megiddo report is named after a hill in northern Israel that has been the site of many battles. The Hebrew word Armageddon means "hill of Megiddo," the study says. The FBI report said potential targets of domestic violence include military facilities, U.N. buildings and personnel, homosexuals, foreign military units residing on U.S. bases, and institutions associated with the African American and Jewish communities and other racial and religious minorities.
 
 
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