Christian Y2K Newsletter Feb. 17, 1999 Subscribers: 5,991 1. The Complacency Peddlers 2. Y2K Disrupts Promise Keepers' Plans 3. Generator Shortages Worsen 4. AOL Running Behind 5. Credibility & Y2K News This week we note a series of Y2K-related stories that merit attention: 1. THE COMPLACENCY PEDDLERS Victor Porlier has been an effective advocate for rational readiness through his public appearances and his column on the Westergaard 2000 site. Victor's piece this week is a must-read. While there is increasing criticism of Y2K "doomsayers" - some of it merited (see below) - there are also many people asserting that the year 2000 problem is a hoax or will be a non-event. This is the subject of Victor's column: The Complacency Peddlers http://y2ktimebomb.com/DSA/VP/vp9907.htm "I am far more concerned about the proponents of complacency than those of catastrophe," Porlier writes. "The complacency peddlers are already having a major impact. As a result, large numbers of the public believe Y2K to be a hoax, a non-starter, and, to the extent there is any substance to it, it will all be fixed in time so as to cause no extended problems. ... Thus, many households, businesses and governments will not act to investigate and fix any Y2K problems they may have and will make no contingency preparations as individuals, enterprises, or communities." 2. Y2K DISRUPTS PROMISE KEEPERS' PLANS The Promise Keepers have backed away from plans to have members meet at state houses around the nation on Jan. 1, 2000, at least partly due to concerns that Y2K failures may make that a problematic date for public gatherings. Promise Keepers wary of Y2K http://www.freep.com/news/religion/wpk10.htm Here are some other URLs with a Christian emphasis we came across this week: Churches join to pray for solution to Y2K bug http://www.azcentral.com:80/computing/news/0215cpt-y2k-web.s html Y2K Prayer List http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/y2kprayer Y2 Project of the Religious Freedom Coalition http://y2k.rfcnet.org/ >From William Murray, the evangelist son of Madalyn Murray O'Hair 3. GENERATOR SHORTAGES WORSEN There were numerous reports this week about surging demand for generators, which is causing significant backlogs. Some high-end models are reportedly becoming difficult to locate. Obviously, if you have an interest in obtaining a generator for backup power, you'll want to read these reports: Demand electrifies generator sales http://www.timesunion.com/news/story.asp?storyKey=6549&newsd ate=2/17/99 Y2K fuels a surge in generator sales http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/02/17/text/p16s2.txt Y2K Dilemma: Generator Supplies Low http://www.amcity.com/orlando/stories/1999/02/15/story6.html ?h=y2k 4. AOL RUNNING BEHIND Many of you are reading this newsletter through America Online. Declan McCullagh of Wired reported this week that AOL is still assessing the year 2000 exposure of its systems, and only began remediation work last month. AOL Playing Catch-up with Y2K http://www.wired.com/news/news/business/story/17911.html 5. CREDIBILITY AND Y2K NEWS When I read the "story," I knew immediately that it was wrong. The problem is that I saw it publicly posted on the Internet by two of the most prominent voices in the Y2K debate, Gary North and Paul Milne. In each case, their posting reported that a major utility, PSE&G, had repaired just 15 percent of its systems. Each used this information to argue that Y2K might be disastrous. Here's North's article: New Jersey's Largest Power Plant Will Be Compliant . . . in 2004 http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/detail_.cfm/3853 I knew this wasn't right because PSE&G is my power company, and I've been monitoring their progress quite closely. I've sat through detailed presentations about PSE&G's readiness efforts by the head of the company's Y2K project. They're not done yet, but they're much, much further along than the reports suggested. The bogus information originated in a press release from an outfit calling itself Year 2000 Specialists. It could have been verified easily by either visiting PSE&G's web site or looking up their most recent SEC filing in the online Edgar database. Within several hours, PSE&G had released a press release of its own, refuting the reports. Why is this important? As we move relentlessly closer to Jan. 1, 2000, the stakes are growing higher and the debate over Y2K becomes more heated. Misinformation abounds. Unfortunately, the erroneous report about PSE&G comes on the heels of the fraudulent "Cadillac letter" that claimed that older Cadillacs had year 2000 problems. We believe Y2K has the potential to be serious. There's no need to try and make it look more serious than it is by touting questionable or erroneous information as proof of one outcome or the other. Unfortunately, we've reached the point where you can't always trust the Y2K "news" you see on the Web. Be careful out there! _______ To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Eat the hay & spit out the sticks!" RTKB&G4JC! Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rangernet.org
