About 30 percent of Russia's computer systems could be disrupted by the Y2K bug due to a shortfall in funding to treat the potential problem, Russian news agencies said Thursday. Quoting the government's information department, the agencies said Russian federal bodies needed $562 million to tackle the glitch, which could pose serious problems for the vast country when the clock strikes midnight on December 31.

The information department was not immediately available to confirm the reports, which said the Y2K problem featured on the cabinet's agenda during its weekly session Thursday. Prime-Tass news agency said the federal government -- excluding the so-called ‘power’' bodies which include the ministries of defense, the interior and foreign affairs -- was 45 percent prepared for the bug, which may scramble systems not programmed to recognize the date change to 2000.

"Y2K is one of the biggest unknowns we've faced in some time," Garcia said. "Assurances that there aren't going to be any problems are great, but no one can guarantee anything."

The Boulder County group is encouraging homeowners to stockpile supplies now to lessen the possibility of panic buying in late December, Garcia said. She said she's concerned about wholesale rushes on supermarkets and stores Dec. 31 as people see what kind of computer problems, if any, greet nations with time zones hours ahead of the United States.

"Some people are going to watch CNN to see what happens in other countries. That's when we could have problems with shortages caused by panic buying," she said.

But the Boulder County Y2K group and other activists nationwide have seen dwindling interest in their message of planning and preparation as some businesses, states and the federal government have declared they'll be Y2K-compliant well before the year's end.

Some community Y2K activists from around the nation held a conference in Boulder this month to rejuvenate themselves after months of preaching to dwindling audiences, Garcia said. She has praised Boulder and the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management for their planning efforts. But other activists from around the country complained of a reluctance by local governments to encourage preparedness.

"To some degree, everyone is experiencing some burnout because the message from the federal government, the media and everywhere else is: 'Don't worry, there are no problems,"' Kos said.

Nearly 90 percent of the small- and medium-sized chemical businesses in the United States aren't ready for Y2K, and some acknowledge the chance of a ‘catastrophic event’ when the clock strikes midnight double-zero, according to a US Senate survey released Thursday. ‘While the probability of a Y2K-related disruption is low, the potential harm even one chemical accident can cause means we must be especially vigilant,’ said Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate's special committee on Y2K, which commissioned the survey.

More than 85 million Americans live within five miles of a facility that handles dangerous chemicals. Many of those facilities are small operations with fewer than 200 employees, and most such small firms are ‘far removed from technology advances, basic information and know-how, and access to technical and financial resources,’ according to the survey.

A third of major companies in the UK have already experienced information technology (IT) problems as a direct result of the Y2K Problem, a report out today says. The report, a joint initiative between Adam Associates, the disaster recovery company, and Taskforce 2000, the UK's industry-sponsored Y2K agency, says that 31 percent of the UK's Top 1,000 firms have been had experience of Y2K-related problems.

As a result of their experience, the report says that 84 percent of 1,000 companies in the survey say that are preparing for serious problems on their IT systems. Ninety-seven percent said they were preparing for systems outages, while 86 and 84 percent, respectively, said they were preparing for telecommunications and power outages. The survey found that 92 percent of respondents believe that problems may arise from outside their organization. In addition, 82 percent said that they were preparing for loss of buildings and facilities.

Russian military and nuclear power plant computers will not be repaired in time to avoid serious Y2K problems, warn two U.S. senators. ‘Given the existing time frame, it is too late to fix every Russian system,’ said Sen. Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., addressing the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem recently. ‘Our efforts must continue to concentrate on reactor safety systems, contingency planning and engagement with the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy on these subjects.’ Lugar stressed that the U.S. ‘must make every effort to warn Americans abroad, living or working near these reactors, of the problems they may face as a result of Y2K.’

If Lugar is concerned about nuclear plant safety, Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, and chairman of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, is worried about Russia's nuclear arsenal. Although he doesn't believe Russia presents an intentional military threat to the U.S., he is concerned about the possibility of an accidental nuclear threat. ‘As Russia slips down to Third World status by virtue of their economic meltdown,’ said Bennett, ‘(with) people living in terrible poverty, there is a cultural mourning for their former superpower status, and that translates into a conviction on the part of the Russian leaders that they must maintain their nuclear arsenal.’

Yet, he said, the Russian economy is so very bad that there has not been sufficient funding to maintain the nuclear arsenal -- and very little to effect Y2K repairs. Russia's twin nuclear problems -- reactors and weapons -- are expected to impact many other countries, the senators warn.

A new National Guard RAID unit is being organized and trained to respond to domestic terrorist threats, with a team in every state and territory in time for Y2K. Each team is made up of 22 full-time National Guard members and is prepared to deal with domestic threats from terrorist groups using weapons of mass destruction.

One National Guard officer, who participates in the twice-weekly secret meetings, recently contacted WorldNetDaily to express his concerns over the seriousness of expected Y2K consequences.

"There is no valid, logical reason to keep this information from the public, other than political. The current administration seems to believe the American people are not capable of dealing with the truth," explained the officer in a phone interview over the weekend.

"We are talking about far more than just possible loss of power and phone service. We are planning for civil unrest, as well as attacks from foreign and domestic enemies," he described.

The consequences of Y2K will present an ideal opportunity for enemies of the United States to take advantage and attack. There are so many different threats that the source said it is highly likely that at least one or more will actually carry out multiple attacks using Y2K as the ideal opportunity to strike.

Only the upper level of the National Guard command structure is aware that the National Guard's own computers are not functioning properly, and there is great concern that they will fail in the new year -- perhaps before. There was no response from National Guard public affairs.