--- I guess this would be Toasted Black Bread with Cabbage and some Potato Vodka? ---

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/tc/story.html?s=v/nm/19990128/tc/russiay2k_5.html

Yahoo! News

Thursday January 28 2:31 AM ET

Russia Sees Transport Problems From Millennium Bug

By Elizabeth Piper

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia admitted Wednesday it would face serious transport problems as a result of the millennium computer bug, but said an army of specially recruited experts would keep Russians moving across their vast territory.

``We are not expecting a catastrophe as Russia is less computerized than other countries,'' said Alexander Menshikov, deputy director at the Transport Ministry's computer center, referring to a worldwide fear that the bug could paralyze transport networks.

Officials said there was a serious threat to Russia's transport posed by the bug, a fault in which computer software first developed in the 1960s and 1970s could fail to recognize the year 2000 and think it is back in 1900.

But thousands of specialists who had been drafted in would keep Russia's vast rail and air networks going, they said.

``Problem 2000 is a most serious problem for trains as our computer system works on many levels,'' Valery Panferov, head of automatic systems' development for the Russian rail network, said at a round table discussion.

He said that if the network's main computer failed, signals could stop working, leading to a potential disaster on all of Russia's far-flung railways...

--- Sen. Bob Bennett spells it out ---

http://www.y2ktoday.com/modules/home/default.asp?feature=true&id=736

(unfortunately, this website is pretty clever and won't let you copy and paste. I could have done it using View Page Source, but it would have been a big mess.)

--- Here's today's "Must Read" ---

http://civilliberty.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa012999.htm

Peter de Jager, Y2K, and the real threat to liberty Dateline: 1/29/99

I honestly believe that the year 2000 problem no longer exists, not in the technical sense, says Peter de Jager, a man best characterized as the town crier of the programming glitch usually referred to as Y2K or the millennium bug. He was among the first to point out that programming shortcuts taken years ago could cause major disruptions in anything computerized when 1999 rolls over into 2000, inducing cyber-epilepsy in a wide variety of software and high-tech devices. In recent months, though, hes voiced satisfaction at the pace with which people are fixing the problem  at least across North America  and backed away from predictions of serious computer problems and resulting social chaos with the coming of the new year.

Thats not to say that Peter de Jager doesnt see threats in Y2K, though; he does. But the threat he sees now includes prophets of doom with personal agendas and media types who popularize their apocalyptic predictions; media types like ... well ... yours truly. Thats a point he made clear in written responses to my questions and in a follow-up phone call. See for yourself...

--- And my personal favorite ---

http://www2.startribune.com/cgi-bin/stOnLine/article?thisStory=70692353

Death may not save you from Y2K

FYI

When planning didn't pay off

Even death is no escape from the Y2K problem.

Cemetery headstones intended for a double plot -- to be occupied someday by spouses -- usually are engraved with the first two digits of the year the survivor is expected to die.

That's more efficient and less expensive than having a stone mason sandblast the entire date once the marker already is in the ground.

The prefix "19" has been popular for much of the century. But if you have a companion stone and you had it pre-engraved, you may have a problem.

"If the person doesn't pass away this year and doesn't see fit to, there will be a problem," said Jeffrey Kivens, owner of Minneapolis Granite and Marble Co.

The simplest remedy is to fill the digits with a mixture of rock dust and epoxy and re-engrave the marker with the correct millennium. But that's not as permanent as the original cut.

"It can be fixed, but it's the customer's responsibility," said Dave Griffith, an owner of Roseagan Memorials in Eagan.

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), January 28, 1999

Answers

"The Defense Department said Monday an American delegation was due to visit Russia in mid-February to share information about millennium bug problems, but Russian experts denied the need for direct help from the West.

``Russia can solve this problem herself,'' Salnikov said."

...one way, or the other...

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), January 28, 1999.

pshannon, thanks for those links. Everybody needs to read the de Jagerlink closely. I'm not sure what to make of it. He says the technical problem is solved and that panic is the remaining concern. I want that to be true but, that doesn't have the ring of truth to me. I agree that the problem now has a life of its own regardless of the status of the remediation and I've discussed that earlier in a thread today. But is the technical problem solved? Is de Jager saying that the next government report card will be all "A"s? I don't think so. Is de Jager saying that GAO industry readiness reports will now be made public? I doubt it. My gut tells me that de Jager now simply fears fear more than he fears the glitch . . . and that may be a very well reasoned position. Unfortunately, this monster is now living and breathing and walking and de Jager is going to have to be a little more . . . no, a *lot* more persuasive if he's going to convince us that the glitch is solved. Mr. de Jager, the floor is yours, give us the facts and set our minds at ease.

-- Puddintame (dit@dot.com), January 28, 1999.

Here ya go, pshannon:

y2ktoday Exclusive:

Ready or Not, Y2K Is Coming

by Sen. Robert Bennett

1/27/99

Author: Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) With less than a year remaining until the year 2000, our nation is at a critical crossroads in its approach to the looming Y2K crisis. The press tends to characterize Y2K as one of two extremes: "end of the world on the one hand, or "no big deal on the other. They either focus on the most dire Y2K predictionsthe "Chicken Little approachor they summarily dismiss Y2K as a non-issue.

Both approaches are wrong. The first road leads to public alarm, or even panic, the consequences of which could be even worse than those caused by the Y2K technological problem itself. The second road is equally dangerous. Deceptively smooth and far easier to traverse in the short term, it leads to a precipice that will not be seen until there is no time left to change direction. And there are no brakes on the vehicle in which we are traveling. Each day brings us closer to the brink.

Since 1997, when my co-chair Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and I began hearings on Y2K, I have been called the "Paul Revere of Y2K. That is an apt analogy. Paul Reveres ride and cry of warning is exactly the approach that other public leaders and the press should be taking. We need to state unequivocally that Y2K is indeed an event that has potentially massive and unpredictable economic, social, and geopolitical ramifications.

Our government is not going to get all of its critical systems fixed in time for the century change. The evidence for this is overwhelming, as I recounted in my address to the National Press Club last year. The General Accounting Office (GAO) cites countless other vulnerabilities. State and local systems that process Federal benefit checks are not likely to be fully remediated. County-operated "911 systems may have failures. At the corporate level, the price of fixing Y2K problems keeps outstripping original estimates. Many companies, like Chevron and General Motors, are now conceding that they cannot guarantee their service as of January 1, 2000.

Even John Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, has publicly acknowledged that the time to begin Y2K remediation is past, and the time has come for crisis management and contingency planning. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the American Red Cross have both issued public statements that encourage the public to take Y2K seriously. Everyonebusiness leaders, politicians, community leaders, and familiesneeds to begin calmly and rationally preparing.

The recent blackout in San Francisco affected nearly a million residents. It was a microcosmic look at what we may face as the calendar ticks over to 2000. Although the blackout was not caused by Y2K problems, it shows how a simple technological malfunction  in this case, one caused by human error  can have major cascading effects. Multiply this problem by a thousand, or a hundred, or even ten and we begin to see the possible consequences that we face.

We cannot know for sure what computing failures Y2K will bring, nor can we know what effects those failures will have on our economy. This is certainly not the time to begin bunkering down with propane tanks and money stuffed mattresses, but we should begin treating the century date change as the real, but manageable, crisis that it is.

When I appeared on "The McLaughlin Group" in July, I made many of these same comments. Nevertheless, by a 3-to-1 vote, the panelists decided that Y2K will be merely a minor bump in the road. I am not sure if any of them have changed their view since that time. I do know, however, that the time is long past for responsible figures in government, industry, and the media to be telling the American people that Y2K will have simple, easily managed consequences.

During World War II, President Roosevelt exhorted our nation to victory. But his assurances that we would eventually prevail did not lead the press to deny the seriousness of the war "problem. Optimism was balanced with practical realism. We are now, in a sense, "at war with Y2K, and there are many Y2K issues that need to identified, examined, and reported in a responsible and balanced manner.

Leaders at the corporate, national and community levels must begin educating the public in a forthright way about the likelihood of system failures. These leaders must at the same time explain the contingency plans that are being put in place. Honest disclosure will help build unity on a community level, so that we can fight this war with a united front.

Our challenge as a nation and a world community over the next 338 days is clear. We must acknowledge that we are, indeed, facing a crisis. We must look at each component of the problem and act rationally to find acceptable solutions. And because the precise dimensions of this problem will not be known until the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1999, we must focus especially on contingency planning.

Most importantly, we must face this crisis together, at the community, national, and global level. When Paul Revere made his midnight ride, America was younger, smaller, and far less technologically interdependent than it is today. The sky may not be falling just yet, but there is a threat on the close horizon, and more is needed than a lone horseman galloping through the darkened streets to raise the alarm.

Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) is chairman of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem. His regular column will appear exclusively on y2ktoday.

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), January 28, 1999.

I wonder what de Jagers new agenda is.... Am able to relate to his point of this being a self fulfilling prophecy...

BUT... his tone is weird... Is he being threatened with lawsuits...? like ... if people riot or freak out it's YOUR fault...? Is he getting a special spot in that little getaway property in the mountains...?? What's going on...???

All the other pro's think it's a lot worse then they originally thought....

hmnnn.... something to think about...

-- STFrancis (STFrancis@heaven.com), January 28, 1999.

Gayla could you provide a URL for the Senator Bob Bennett speech?

-- Newbie (newbie@large.com), January 28, 1999.

Newbie, it is the one from above. Pshannon wrote:

--- Sen. Bob Bennett spells it out ---

http://www.y2ktoday.com/modules/home/default.asp?feature=true&id=736

(unfortunately, this website is pretty clever and won't let you copy and paste. I could have done it using View Page Source, but it would have been a big mess.)

****************************************

Pshannon provided a hotlink above.

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), January 28, 1999.

I will try to find my well buried (although existent) URL's of other instances where "public spokespersons and authority figures" have retracted Y2K preparedness statements a day or two after speaking out on the preparedness side of the issue (pro-preparations). It seems that when one takes a position that is not on the economical, governmental, industrial, or politcal UP-SIDE of Y2K, then that person and opinions are tamed or quelled almost immediately.

One reference that I remember specifically is the European preparation statement that was, the next day, retracted with a much more tame view of y2k, and "oh, what we meant to say was......." approach.

-- Mr. Kennedy (y2kPCfixes@MotivatedSeller.com), January 28, 1999.

And because the precise dimensions of this problem will not be known until the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1999

That's interesting, I thought only 8% of failures were predicted to occur on the big day itself.

-RC

-- runway cat (runway_cat@hotmail.com), January 28, 1999.

"We've gotten classified reports [on the Federal government and Y2K] that are so disturbing they had to be classified." - Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.)

hmmm...I wonder if this has anything to do with Peter changing his tune?

-- a (a@a.a), January 28, 1999.

The following info and links are from Y2KnewsAlert 12-03-98 --------------------------

ELECTRIC COMPANY RETRACTS Y2K ADVICE Here's a bizarre series of events that demonstrates yet again how telling the truth is considered a "big mistake" by most large companies. Here's what happened:

Pre-10/7/1998 - A lawyer for Alliant (an electric utility in Wisconsin) testified before a Wisconsin legislature that Alliant was, "encouraging its customers to look into alternative energy sources, including home generators."

10/7/1998 - The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the story, adding, "This is yet another story to print out and pass on to those you know who don't believe Y2K is real, or poses a threat. It is, and it does." Story at: http://www.cbn.org/y2k/insights.asp?file=981007d.html

10/8/1998 (morning) - The Y2K discussions erupt with the news: finally, an electric utility company is doing the right thing by encouraging customers to have a reasonable contingency plan in case the power fails.

10/8/1998 (afternoon) - Alliant spokesman David Giroux says the lawyer's remark "...was not meant to reflect the advice we are giving our customers." (Who was it meant for, then? Just the Alliant employees?)

10/9/1998 + - Rick Cowles speculates that Alliant's CEO might have "received an early morning phone call from the Edison Electric Institute demanding spin control; we'll never know."

Check out the full details yourself at: http://y2ktimebomb.com/Industry/Utilities/lcore9847.htm

-- Mr. Kennedy (y2kPCfixes@MotivatedSeller.com), January 28, 1999.