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"If
a man takes no thought of what is distant, he will surely find
sorrow close at hand."
-- Confucius
"Countries Lack Y2k Websites."
http://currents.net/newstoday/99/08/04/news15.html
"A relatively tiny number of countries have "highly
informative" Y2K-related Websites and roughly half of the
nations polled in a recent survey have no nationally run Y2K
Websites, according to a report released today."
"World
Bank Experts Focus on African Nations' Y2K Risks and Readiness"
http://www.usia.gov/topical/global/y2k/99071602.htm
"Although the level of automation and computerization is
limited in the [African] continent as a whole, the impact of
Y2K on some countries could be severe because the level of dependency
on systems is high," Rezaian [Bobak Rezaiain, the World
Bank's Y2k coordinator for Africa ]said. For instance, many African
nations have only one or two power generation plants, unlike
the complex power grids of industrialized nations, he explained,
nor do they have contingency plans in case of failures.
The energy
industries in the region tend to be built on inflexible systems,
usually having only one source of production, and delivery channels
that cross numerous national borders, he said. For example, 17
nations in Africa rely on power purchased from neighboring countries.
Consequently, supply fluctuations caused by Y2K glitches in one
country could ripple into others.
Cross-border
and customs issues' relevance to Y2K have also been greatly ignored,
including their socio-economic implications, said Rezaian. Eighty-nine
percent of imports come from outside the continent and a significant
portion arrives by sea transport. Landlocked countries rely on
ports in coastal countries for exporting their raw materials
and for imports of food and other manufactured goods. Coastal
countries rely on the duties from the transfer and sale of goods.
These often account for the single greatest source of revenue
-- as much as 70 percent in one country.
Problems
with customs and duties paperwork alone, not including port equipment
breakdown, would be enough to upset the distribution system,
costing the region millions of dollars a day, he said. Disruptions
in the critical areas of power and transportation could further
weaken struggling small- and medium-size businesses. If only
one of Africa's highly interdependent industries or economies
fails, he warned, it could create a regional domino effect?"
Where
do we get many of our strategic raw materials for industry?
Canadian Y2k
http://www.albertaweb.com/year2000/
As important
as it is to know how well prepared our neighbors are on the local
level, it is just as important on the national level.
"Y2k -- A Chinese Puzzle"
http://year2000.dci.com/Articles/9906303.htm
"...Another
huge hurdle is the fact that an estimated 90 percent of
the software in Chinese computers is pirated, making licensed
corrective programs redundant and putting potential problems
beyond the support staff of leading software houses. Added to
this is a lack of data about the problem and China's archaic
computer network..."
Look
inside your children's shoes. Think of what a vast quantity of
imports come from China that you use in your daily life. Think
about what things you can do without, and what things you would
like to have on hand.
On our global connections and dependencies...
http://www.wbn.com/y2ktimebomb/Computech/Issues/lcore9938a.htm
"But that doesn't matter to us, right? We don't have
stores stocked with items stamped "Made in Japan" or
"China" or "Malaysia" or "Mexico."
Right? We don't have multinational conglomerates with operations
around the world. Right? We don't depend on foreign countries
for 80% of the raw materials for our pharmaceuticals. Right?
We don't import 55% of the oil we use. Right?
I think you
get my drift. This is my point: look up and beyond the horizon.
If the utilities are Y2K ready, what will be the effect if their
suppliers of fuel and parts aren't ready in countries that aren't
ready? If the grocery stores are Y2K ready, what will be the
effect if their overseas growers and importers aren't ready in
countries that aren't ready? If the banks are Y2K ready, what
will be the effect if international telecommunications aren't
ready in countries that aren't ready? If utilities and banks
and governments are Y2K ready, what will be the effect if businesses
aren't ready: do they not matter? If every organization in the
United States of America is Y2K ready, could we just cut ourselves
off from any part of the world that isn't ready but sells us
raw materials we need and buys our
finished products?
Look -- think
-- beyond the immediate and the obvious." -- E.L.Core
US State Department Y2K
http://travel.state.gov/y2kca.html
Information
on Y2k readiness of other countries. Lots of links to individual
country Y2k pages.
British Government assessment of other countries' Y2k readiness
http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel/dynpage.asp?Page=144
You may want
to see how this compares with the US State Department comments. |
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