From: believer@telepath.com Subject: IP: British Openly Prepare for Y2K Martial Law Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1998 22:26:39 -0500 To: believer@telepath.com Source: http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/detail_.cfm/2553 Category: Martial_Law Date: 1998-09-11 13:47:42 Subject: British Openly Prepare for Y2K Martial Law Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/stories/A1109820.html Comment: The British government is way ahead of every other nation in facing up to the implications of y2k. It is obvious the the U.S. military is preparing for martial law in late 1999, but no official publicly admits that this is the case. The British are more forthright. This is from THE INDEPENDENT (Sept. 11). [The link was dead within hours.] * * * * * * * * TROOPS may be on the streets in the year 2000 under emergency Home Office plans to maintain vital services which could be crippled by the millennium computer bug. Armed forces will be on standby to help councils and police provide disaster relief if key infrastructures such as hospitals, water supplies and roads are hit by the electronic change. The Home Office confirmed yesterday that local authorities are being encouraged to draw up contingency plans to deal with the "nightmare scenario" of failed traffic lights, disabled water pumping stations, fuel shortages and other disrupted services. The bug, which represents the inability of most computers and electronic systems to deal with the change of date from 1999 to 2000, could also hit vital equipment in hospitals, lifts, benefits payments and phone lines. Most computer experts believe that major failures are unlikely, but councils, which have a statutory duty to provide emergency relief, have been told to prepare for the worst. They will be allowed to use the Armed Forces Military Aid to Civil Authorities Act to call in emergency help. . . . Rail, telecommunications, gas and electricity regulators were joined by BT, Shell, Transco and Trailtrack to agree ways to reassure the public that their computers were being adapted to avoid the bug. . . . In one key sanction, BT and Cable and Wireless have been told they will be given the power to disconnect firms that corrupt phone connections. . . . Home Secretary Jack Straw is ultimately responsible for emergency planning as chairman of a body called the Civil Contingencies Committee. The Home Office Emergency Planning Division will meet this month to firm its own proposals. ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************