I consider these government scandals to be relevant to our considerations because I think we all agree that regardless of what the computers do next year, the problems they cause will be exacerbated by an underlying instability in society.

One of the problems with leaders' lying is that it causes such instability ("reality") as well as a lack of trust ("perception").

Thus, the years of Clinton lying were more important than mere sexual scandal.

Now in Kosovo we see even the President's supporters state that there is a problem with the lack of a "game plan". This apparent incompetence increases the lack of trust in the government.

(By the way, I read today that Secty. Albright denied that it is the intention of NATO to remove Milosevic. I thought the cause of our engagement was genocide, and thus the removal of a genocidal ruler. Apparently not. So what is it?)

Now with the stolen military secrets, the competence (or patriotism) of the government is again called into question.

I truly believe that if the people believe that the government is not behaving rationally, we will be in very big trouble. It is one thing to disagree with government policy, another to fail to see any sense to it, time after time after time.

P.S. I believe that the national interest in the high school killings is based upon the wide spread belief that it could happen anywhere, including "my kid's school". This is another example of a loss of faith in the government and/or society to maintain minimal order.

Okay, I guess this qualifies as a rant. Let me just express my concern that anarchy will not be pretty if there is no apparent order to society.

I guess that's why Ed Yourdon moved to Taos.

-- GA Russell (garussell@russellga.com), April 27, 1999

Answers

No, that's NOT why I moved to Taos.

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), April 27, 1999.

That was fast, Mr. Yourdon. I'm impressed.

-- Jim the Window Washer (rational@man.com), April 27, 1999.

Hi Ed!

I first learned of you watching the ABC News report on (was it) Prime Time Live.

As I recall, Diane Sawyer said you moved from New York to Taos to avoid the social unrest that was sure to come with the widespread computer failure you were predicting.

Did I understand wrong, or did she state the facts wrong?

P.S. Congratulate me, everybody! Both Ed Yourdon and Cory Hamasaki have responded to my posts on the same day!

P.P.S. No offense for the error, Ed.

-- GA Russell (garussell@russellga.com), April 27, 1999.

Since we think you are around, Mr. Yourdon, could you grace us with your latest ranking of the Y2K problem. According to the latest quarter (Per thread:what the Experts think) your latest questionaire has not been received and posted.

Just a thought, If you are too busy, we all understand.

-- Jim the Window Washer (Rational@man.com), April 27, 1999.

Ed Yourdon has also been reported to have moved for personal reasons, following a long-standing semi-retirement schedule. Though he did say something like "New York will resemble Beirut", perhaps he likes Beirut.

-- Blue Himalayan (bh@k2.y), April 27, 1999.

Hey Ed, I think we all witnessed a security breach a couple of days ago. Do you think that are "nuclear football" was comprimised ( as in Clinton gave our secrets or allowed tampering of "nuclear football" to proverbial spy hiding in shadows) a couple of days ago and then perhaps some reporter happened to notice the aide in charge of carrying the case seperated from the Klinton herd,at which time said aide came up with , 'darn it, got left behind' story. "Just because your paranoid, doesn't mean they are not watching you" -fogot

-- Sorry, (just@thought.!), April 27, 1999.

COX REPORT BOMBSHELL: UNCLASSIFIED VERSION SAYS CHINA STOLE 'CROWN JEWELS OF OUR NUCLEAR ARSENAL'

Coming in a few weeks, The Cox Report. Running about 700 pages, with 12 chapters and 38 recommendations, the findings of a high-profile congressional committee's investigation into Chinese spying in America concludes not only that China stole "the crown jewels of our nuclear arsenal" during the last 20 years but that the espionage "continues to this very day."

NY TIMES reporter Jeff Gerth has been fed and moves an exclusive in Wednesday editions:

"A scientist suspected of spying for China improperly transferred huge amounts of secret data from a computer system at a government laboratory, compromising virtually every nuclear weapon in the United States arsenal."

Gerth breaks: "The data -- millions of lines of computer code that approximate how this country's atomic warheads work -- were downloaded from a computer system at the Los Alamos, N.M., weapons lab that is open only to those with top-level security clearances... Lee then transferred the files to a widely accessible computer network at the lab, where they were stored under other file names."

President Clinton was first told of the development on March 31... MORE

Cox tells Wednesday's LOS ANGELES TIMES that theft of secrets from America's nuclear weapons laboratories relied on a network of Chinese agents specifically tasked to help China's military modernization efforts.

"It involves many people, many of whom we have yet to meet," Cox tells the paper.

Cox says that visits "by hundreds of Chinese scientists and other officials to the Los Alamos National Laboratory and other nuclear weapons facilities each year provided a cover for Chinese spy handlers."

But in addition to gathering sensitive information at Los Alamos, spies working for the People's Republic of China obtained classified U.S. nuclear weapons information at four other American laboratories, reports Rebecca Carr in fresh editions of the ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION. Cox declined to identify the labs.

But even thought the report was unanimously approved by its five Republican and four Democratic members in late December -- political fireworks have now erupted.

Rep. Norm Dicks of Washington, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, disputes Cox's account.

"We didn't interview any of these spies," he tells reports.

(end snip)

is the "millions of lines of code" compliant? If not does it matter?

-- R. Wright (blaklodg@aol.com), April 28, 1999.

Thanks R Wright!

Along the lines of your question...

Is this information something that China will lose if it suffers widespread computer failure in January?

Does this information fall into the "use it or lose it" category for China?

-- GA Russell (garussell@russellga.com), April 28, 1999.