Response to an article on Y2K

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I got an e-mail from a guy who wrote a Y2K article, asking for my opinion of what he had written. (at first, I was reluctant to post this here, but at the bottom of the article was this notice:

) 1999 by Jonathan Latimer. Permission is given to distribute in whole or in part as long as author's name and copyright notice appear.

So I figured it would be OK, he wants people to read it)

His article is located here:

http://www.q-a.net/origi.html

Here's my response to him:

Jonathan,

I certainly don't mind giving you some feedback on the article you've written. In fact, it will be my pleasure, as it will give me an opportunity to streamline my own thoughts on the subject. Here it is, quick and dirty...

You've written a good piece here. Well structured and researched, with plenty of opportunities for the reader to get more information. My response will not be as meticulous or thouroughly linked due to time constraints.

I think that much of what you say is right on, if taken in a certain context. But I believe that you have missed some very important overlays that need to be addressed, and that alter the context. Let's begin with the current state of the global economy. It's a mess. Much of Asia is in a depression. Japan, once seen as a threat to American economic hegemony, is in the midst of a huge banking crisis. Japanese consumers are not spending money. Russia is on the brink of civil war. They are selling military materiel and probably nuclear material to the lowest bidder. Their nuclear alert systems, once thought to be run by "special computers," have now been admitted to be non-compliant and they are begging for money to fix them. The IMF is distributing money to nations to address Y2K, too little and too late.

In Brazil, people have been lining up at banks to get their money out. Problems in Brazil are starting to be a drag on the rest of South America. The Euro, an attempt to knock off the Dollar as the global reserve currency of choice, has been dropping recently. The American Stock Markets have been flailing wildly, going up in big chunks one day, going down in big chunks the next day. This and other things happened in similar patterns before the 1929 Crash.

This is economic climate in which Y2K will play out.

Now let's quickly examine the information/media climate. Again, I don't have time to link things, I think you'll know what I'm talking about. IF you really want me to, I'll provide links at a later date.

Examine the tone of most of the Y2K statements from government, bigbiz and bigmedia. There is very little actual information being given and a lot of spin. Some of the actual information that could be given, has been rendered illegal. Banks are not allowed by the FDIC to give specifics regarding the state of their remediation efforts. Government makes schizophrenic statements so as to confuse rather than enlighten. Have you been following John Koskinen's media trail? "We'll print money faster than people can take it out of the bank!" (to paraphrase) The big media outlets are more likely to print a story about planes falling from the sky or survivalists heading to the hills than they are to actually print some information that might make the picture a little clearer to the average reader. In other words, BigMedia does all these piece about hype, yet they do nothing to dispell it, rather they encourage it.

BigBiz and .Gov have been pushing back deadlines, removing "Mission Critical" systems from their lists and making contradictory statements. Yet, the media campaign they've engaged in is to blame "hoarders and survivalists" for any problems that are likey to occur. Pretty slick. And you seem to have fallen for it.

This is the information/media climate in which Y2K is playing out.

Now, what about the political climate? I don't expect you to agree with my perspective here. But I want to offer it to you anyway. This is kinda the "way out there" side of things, but I'll be gentle.

On a national level, there is a culture war happening right now. It's a smaller version of what's happening globally. It's basically the "Fundamentalists vs. the Globalists." It takes on different flavors in different cultures. In this country, the big ticket item in this culture war has been the "Right's" effort to destroy Clinton. It's bigger than religious persnicketiness, semen stained dresses and shady political contributions. It's certainly not "Republicans vs. Democrats." That does not exist. That's a diversion. What it really boils down to is "Local autonomy vs, Global control."

The Globalists have been pushing for control for years. Generations. Central Banking has been the tool with which to consolidate their power. Cultural phenomenon have certainly played their parts. McDonald's is the food of global society, Mickey Mouse is it's mascot. (Walt Disney was a globalist, BIG TIME!) I could go on and on about this, but the Y2K connection is that IF .Gov and BigBiz really had the interests of INDIVIDUALS in mind, there would have been a push to inform people about the possibilites and consequences YEARS ago. (1995 or 1996 at the latest) This would have given individuals, small companies and poorer nations, (upon whom we depend for the bulk of our consumer products), plenty of time to fix problems and do what needed to be done without panic or economic problems. But they didn't take that approach. With 10 months to go they STILL haven't taken that approach.

So, taking into account all the seeming contradictions of domestic and foreign policy, and adding this approach to Y2K into that mix, things make sense in a different way. If you read history, you will learn that there are many techniques that can be used to control a society. (start with Rome, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union for some clues) Looking at the Globalists overlay to the Y2K thing, it APPEARS as though many of those techniques are being used and will be used for them to consolidate power. Unfortunately, I believe that one of those techniques that will show up around rollover will be mass terror.

There are reasons why I think that a global state and global culture is dangerous. I don't want to go into it right now.

This is a teeny-tiny view into my take on the political climate in which Y2K is being played out.

Anyway, this is about all I have time for at the moment. While I believe that you may be right about many of the specifics that you use in your argument, I also believe that you are stuck in the details and have missed the bigger picture.

(ps - on your article,you gave permission to distribute in whole or part. Since you've done this, I'm going to link your article to the Yourdon.com forum, and post my response. Hope you don't mind.)

----------- That's all for Now!



-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), February 19, 1999

Answers

Pshannon:

Thanks for an enlightened historical approach to the problem. I agree with everything you said. Some people may get hung up on semantics and\or "revisionist" definitions of common phrases: for instance, the word "fundamentalist" has been changed by the globalists to equate with right-wing, radical, super-religious, etc. I think the real opposite of globalism is nationalism or isolationist.

Keep up the good fight - you never know who might be swayed by your arguments.

Mike Cumbie

-- Michael H. Cumbie (Mikecumbie@aol.com), February 19, 1999.


pshannon, Thanks for the article. No wonder Maui is having so much trouble preparing.(All of Hawaii) Its crazy for him to think a few days of hurricane suplies would get anyone through a hurricane.Those of us who lived through Iniki know it took over two weeks to get food back on the shelves, ect.Water and electric over a month, The National Guard/military saved our o.koles.(it was also very scary having them here rifels and all, answering to them about every two miles 'where are you going") We needed way more of everything that the Civil defence told us to have. It's not about electric co. complience, It's about the fuel being shipped in. Yes we have a 21 day suply,so we may get lucky, but call Kauai electric.808 246-8292 ask for Jenny.She was preaching the seeds and all extreme.She gets it. (She's in charged of the Y2Kproject.) She offered to come help talk to our community. Unfortunatly I may have to take her up on it since my neighbors are back in deniel about hurricanes, much less, Y2K. Did this guy on Maui hear Roy Price with Civil Defence on channel 2 news Fri Feb. 12?"Prepare for a large hurricane" An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I won't ramble, It's just that we went through hell and back, and I'd rather not go there again. Thanks all, and Aloha

-- Justin Case (justin case@Aloha.com), February 19, 1999.

And I had to read the whole thing to find out at the end that, as usual, I am the guilty one. Horseshit

-- dave (wootendave@hotmail.com), February 19, 1999.

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