Here  is  the first report we have seen where people ran  into  a problem  and  it was in Israel. Credit cards  were  issued  which expired in the year 2000, showing "00" only. When they paid their public  service bill with these cards by phone the  Israel  Electricity Corp. computer could not recognize the payment  and  the company  employees came to turn the electricity off.  Shopkeepers ran into the same problem. Their nationwide clearing system would not  recognize the card. The problems were solved by  doing  hand entries. It didn't amount to any major  catastrophe,  but  just imagine  multiplying this problem into millions of times on  computers around the globe.

Federal  Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's abbreviated  comments: "What we have done at the Fed is to go back, program by  program, test  each block to see in fact when you introduce the  zero-zero (00),  whether the system broke down; to then start integrating, as we are now, our overall payment system evaluations  with  the individual banks in our system. And at this particular stage,  I would say we're probably on track, that we can fairly secure that the  Federal  Reserve System, that the domestic  operation  -  is probably going to be okay.

"But  our systems are integrated with the rest of the world.  And from  what  I can judge, even though major banks  and  the  major countries  are moving at a fairly rapid pace, we don't know,  and may not know until the actual time arises, whether everybody  is, as we call it, Y2K-compliant.

"My  suspicion  is  that  we're  going  to  run  into  a  lot  of problems... we have ordered a very major increase in the currency available.. There will be a Y2K effect." (Midnight Call, November 1998)

At  the  Senate Committee Hearing on the Year  2000  Problem  and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry a prominent voice was heard: "My name is Ed Yardeni. I am the Chief Economist, Global  Investment Strategist, and a managing director of Deutsche Bank Securities, a global investment banking firm. The subject of my  testimony today is "The Impact of the Year 2000 Problem on the  Global Food  Chain:  We Need Answers Now." There is much we  don't  know about  Y2K.. we do know that most computer systems must be  fixed to recognize that "00" in the widely-used-two-digit year field is 2000,  not 1900... I'm amazed by the lack of  alarm  about  Y2K, especially  among our global policy makers.. All I can do is  ask the  questions: 1) Will farmers have access to  information,  the seeds, the fertilizer, the feed and the credit to feed our global population  in  2000? 2) Will disruptions in  our  energy  supply chains (electric, oil, and gas) hamper the ability of farmers to grow their crops and feed their livestock? 3) Will the  distribution  channels operate without any serious risk of  delays  that might  spoil  food products before they get to market?  4)  Will just-in-time  inventory  systems function properly so  that  food retailers will  have ample supplies on the shelves? 5)  Can  our food supply chain cope with a wave of panic buying late in  1999, similar  to what always happens during localized natural disasters? 6) Is there a risk that fertilizer plants might fail ..? 7) How might disruptions in natural gas distribution depress  fertilizer  production? 8) Should farmers be encouraged  to stockpile the  basic inputs they need to produce food in 2000? 9) Will  the railroads  be able  to operate at  full  capacity  to  transport grains, livestock, and finished-food products to their customers? 10) Will ships move freely in and out of ports..? etc..

The entire Asian region is in a recession, perhaps a  depression. The situation is so bad that (their President).. urged his people to fast twice a week during daylight hours to save three million tons  of rice, roughly the amount that country has had to  import this  year. This shocking development may be just a  warm-up  act for  the kinds of problems that many more countries may  face  in 2000.. Many countries around the world are not moving fast enough to fix their computers.

"America's  emergency food stocks are all gone, according to  the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This is the first year since WWII in which there is no emergency food stocks. (James Lloyd,  Christian  Media. U.S. food reserves have been almost completely  sold at heavily discounted prices, on credit to Russia, Red China, and various other Third World Countries. 400 thousand tons  of  U.S. grain surpluses are approaching zero and with growing corn shortages, the U.S. is still exporting 50 million bushels of corn per week).

It  is  unthinkable  for most Americans that  food  shortages  or widespread hunger could ever occur in America. Like so many other of  the  blessings we take for granted, we assume  that  we  will always  have  abundant, never-ending supplies of food.  Our  food reserves are down to 40-45 days. (McAlvany Intelligence  Advisor) (taken  from  Today,  The Bible & You, Today's  Front  Page  News October 1998)

Water  may become a real issue without electricity and to  be  on the  safe  side  here are a few ideas. The  most  economic  water storage  would be to use new clean plastic trash cans. They  hold up  to  33 gallons, come with lids. Those  square  plastic  boxes which stack  are  another good possibility.  I  little  chlorine bleach, liquid or tablets can be used to keep the water clean.

For  heat, stacking wood for a fireplace is a good idea.  Natural gas  heating  can  be converted to propane by  changing  a  small device  on the heater, just call your propane dealer. There is  a Kerosene  heater  on the market called Kerosun  which  kicks  out 23000  BTU.  Its known for its reliability, low  maintenance  and safety.  Its  portable and affordable. Normally $189 but  can  be found on sale often at Home Depot. (Cultivate Ministries, December 1998)

Pastor David J. Meyer reported in the "Last Trumpet"  newsletter, October 1998, "while staying at a hotel near Washington, D.C., my wife and I were seated next to a table occupied by a very  dignified-looking man and his wife. I was able to strike up a conversation  with this man about President Clinton and  his  misadventures. I then worked the conversation into the subject of the Y2K computer  problem,  wondering  if the man knew about  it.  I  was amazed  at how the Lord always leads me to the right  people;  it has  happened  to me many times. The man was a  recently  retired senor  computer  for the Pentagon. He was an expert in  the  languages  of  Cobol and Algol. This man had my complete  attention when he looked right at and said, `We saw this problem coming for many years but nothing was ever done about it, and very little is being  done  now.'  He went on to say that it is going  to  be  a `disaster  world-wide.' Everything he said confirmed what  I  had discovered  through much study, and it was wonderful to  hear  it from a man directly involved."