Seeking more international views on Y2K

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Greetings All, After lurking on this group for several weeks, it seems that most posts come from a distinct North American perspective (which happens to be my present habitat). Yes, our programmers more or less are the cause of it all, and we are the locale of the biggest software/hardware folks, and Americans love to feel that we are at the center of Significant Events. Yet, it is clear that this is a crisis which will play itself out on a worldwide basis, the more significant elements of which may well originate beyond our shores; e.g., a worldwide bank slide caused by capital flight from Third World countries, non compliant oil refineries and transport systems in Nigeria, Mexico and Venezuela crippling the transport infrastructure of Europe and North America, etc. My question: I am sure that many of us would be interested in hearing some "on the ground" reports of the general level of awareness and preparation from most anywhere else in the world. What is the general feeling in Japan (a critical country in the Y2K equation)? Singapore, a tech savvy country with economically fragile neighbors? Russia, with it's distraught citizenry and full nuclear quiver? I am not asking for grand generalizations, just curious about individual perceptions and actions; which in the end, are what everything is really about. Let's remember what the first two letters in WWW stand for.

Thanks, John in the Pacific Northwest

-- John Smith (lnbuster@teleport.com), February 11, 1999

Answers

Hey, John Smith, another Cascadian!
So your first answer is in your neck of the woods. LOL! Welcome.

PNG will give you great Japan info. Very detailed too.

BTW, John, are you watching the disaster on the Oregon coast?

Are you going to the Y2K meeting at Powell's on Saturday?

Ashton & Leska in Cascadia

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 11, 1999.


John,

You can get perspective about Japan and Y2K at this link:

http://www2.gol.com/users/png/index.html

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), February 12, 1999.


I am thinking this very day that Y2K might be bad for my hometown of Springfield. We have enough problems with four-fingered discounts already but with these two additional digits that we are being forced to contend with, I must say that I am dearly alarmed and quite unhappy.

This will mean that we will now have six fingered discounts. Surely now I can no longer trust Mr. Simpson to only steal my freezies. Now I may have to no longer allow him in my shop and Sargeant Wiggins will lock my hands in his very handcuffs and accuse me of being Homerphobic.

I also and having more trouble and this trouble is that it will be harder to change the expiry dates on my cartons of milk.

All in all, I do not like this Y2K and is may force my Quickie Mart to go out of business.

-- Aboo (aboo@quickiemart.com), February 12, 1999.


Hello. My name is Mayor Quimby. I want to go on record as saying that Aboo is completely out to lunch. The residents of Springfield have proven time and time again that they do not panic easily and are not easily swayed by smooth talkers. Our people are not fickle.

Oh, ....Vote Quimby

-- Mayor Quimby (quimby@springfield.gov), February 12, 1999.


Not gonna be much difference in Sudan, Bangladesh, etc. They'll continue to starve just like they already are, except faster once the relief shipments, such as they are, get cut off.

-- a (A@AisA.com), February 12, 1999.


Hi John,

I agree that international news is sparse. I research y2k full time and find that the US continues to be very oblivious to world events. Despite the current reality of a global market, there is not a sense of global awareness or interest to go with it.

I have have started to consider researching the news media of other countries and their y2k sites, which I have not focused on up to this point. I can see why people would worry about our power and water first. I am expecting a 8 or 9 so I already don't really need proof that imports will drop to nothing. But I would like to have a better picture of what is going on.

I will let this forum know about anything I find.

Lora

-- Lora Ereshan (artemis45@hotmail.com), February 12, 1999.


John,

Also see...

"Y2K vs. the World":

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/DailyNews/y2kcountries981228.h tml

State Department warning for overseas travelers:

http://www.techserver.com/noframes/story/0,2294,12633-21362-156624- 0,00.html

Canada:

http://www.southam.com/ottawacitizen/newsnow/cpfs/national/990115/n011 5108.html

Russia:

http://www.herald.com/world/digdocs/061306.htm

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), February 12, 1999.


The link to the article on Canada had a typo in it. Here it is again:

http://www.southam.com/ottawacitizen/newsnow/cpfs/national/990115/n011 5108.html

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), February 12, 1999.


If you speak and read all these languages, you can have a better idea what the world thinks of Y2K. Personally, I can only read french and english, I have no idea what the rest of the world thinks.

http://millennia-bcs.com/ intl-lnk.htm

I can say that the french speaking world is definitely not as aware and advanced as the english world. That's about it.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), February 13, 1999.


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