Here is a letter sent to Roleigh Martin about a story concerning what y2k means to the middle east. It seems they will see it as Jilad, or the Holy War with the West. WWIII?
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Subject: Y2K & The Middle East Date: Thu, 6 May 1999 05:12:34 -0400
Note: Due to the sensitivity of this information, I have taken precautions to hide the identity of the people in this story.
Around two years ago, a Middle Eastern business man invited me to his home for dinner. He knew I was involved in Y2K, advising the Ontario and Canadian Federal governments on contingency planning, so he asked me if I would come and speak about Y2K to his father, the head of the family here in the West.
Their rather large family are highly respected financial managers throughout the Middle East handling the Treasuries of various Royal Families and some are in the ruling class of two countries, I shall not name here. My reasons will be obvious as you read this note.
As an interesting aside, my host asked if I would be interested in having his old computer because he wasn't satisfied with it's performance. It turned out to be a Pentium II with all the bells and whistles only six months old! I discovered later in the evening that he had 'browse in a new process' set in his internet options, so every page he opened while surfing, stayed, one upon another, throughout his sessions. In utter frustration, he would simply hit the re-start button to 'clean them away', in his words, and start all over again. I asked him how he got connected to the internet? He said he got a disk from his ISP and paid a neighbor's boy $50 dollars to set it up. I haven't met many who live as if price is no object or any more significant then a number on a piece of paper. I bit my lip and 'fixed' his computer.
My host brought up the subject of technology advances after dinner as a means to introduce the subject of Y2K to his father. Within moments, the old man was asking about this millennium bug business. After his father listened and probed with key questions to assist his understanding, he asked me if I would write a Paper that they could distribute to their family members back home. They were very concerned. Two days later, I emailed a briefing to him including an article I wrote called 'Year 2000 Contingency Basics' archived at Millennium Salons in the 'Tools You Can Use' section.
One week later, my Mid-Eastern friend called me and said he had a special note for me via email and asked if I could come over and he would translate it for me. The note was from one member of the Royal Family that had arrived in PGP (Pretty Good Privacy, an encryption program supposedly for use in Western countries only). The sender thanked me for the material on Y2K and found it invaluable for his understanding of why the West is getting 'excited' about the issue. The last line said they would give it their attention. My friend, as I was going out the door later, handed me 10 new one hundred dollar bills and thanked me for my work.
A few months later, I called him to say I was going to be around his office the next day, so how would he like to meet me for lunch? He agreed, but oddly picked a dark, little low-key restaurant practically in an alley in the heart of the financial district. I arrived first. As he came in, I immediately recognized a change in his demeanor. The man looked frightened, almost haunted.
I asked how his wife and children are, and of course, his father? He answered "Everyone's fine" and immediately said, all wild-eyed, "You realize what Y2K means in the Middle East don't you?" One thing I've learned in Public Relations is, if you want to find out something, act dumb. I shrugged and he said, "It means Jihad! The Holy War! Your writings have been stopped from being sent around by the forces of Jihad. They want to blame the computer failures on the evil West. They're going to say you people planned it all along. When the water purification plants stop and the pipelines burst because the water boils in the pipes, and millions of our people die, they will have the perfect excuse to call for a Jihad. Especially when our oil wells won't work anymore and yours will. You don't understand the Middle East, do you? It's all about wealth and power and religion. The people exist to serve Allah. My wife cries now for her family. I don't think we should know each other anymore. It's too dangerous for me and my family. Goodbye."
He immediately got up and walked out of the restaurant. I've never called him and he's never called me since.
Gary Allan Halonen
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