It's Reuters headline, not mine.

Methinks the wording is significant. First time I can recall seeing something quite like it.

Let's see if AP picks up the story. And--let's watch for a response from "You know who."

(Snip)

Britain sees some millennium disruption in U.S. LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Millennium glitches could hit water supplies, small airports and health facilities in the United States at the New Year, Britain said on Tuesday.

A British Foreign Office report on worldwide preparations to overcome the Year 2000 problem said U.S. authorities had prepared for most potential threats from computer glitches caused by the date change to the new millennium.

But it said a risk remained of ``limited disruption to the water supply; to internal travel using small airports and to small health facilities.''

The Year 2000 problem, or Y2K glitch, is expected to occur because many older computers -- which allocated only two digits for the year in a date -- may read the year 2000 as 1900, causing computer systems to make mistakes or shut down.

While airlines and larger airports were making significant progress in coping with the glitch, there were problems with the potential readiness of airports and transit services in small communities and rural areas, the report said.

Most public drinking water and waste systems had expanded back-up plans, originally set up to cope with natural disasters, to include Year 2000 failures.

But the report said there was concern that smaller communities ``are not taking the year 2000 problem seriously.''

``This could lead to problems with the water supply and waste water treatment for some cities come January 2000,'' it said.

:)

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), September 14, 1999

Answers

Whoops.

Hotlink AND grammar impaired today.

Should have been "Reuters'."

:(

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), September 14, 1999.

UK Info - United States

The following information has been collated by the British Embassy on the basis of information currently available locally. No guarantee is given as to its accuracy, and no liability can be accepted in respect of any actions taken, or omitted to be taken, on the basis of the following information.

More detailed information on the current state of preparedness which can be found at the website of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion: www.y2k.gov

ENERGY

Results indicate that Y2K will have a minimal impact on the electricity supply in North America. The industry conducted a co-ordinated test on September 8-9, 1999 to prepare for operations under year 2000 conditions. Test results were positive, For more information visit: www.nerc.com

The oil and gas sector is making slow and steady progress. According to a May 1999 industry survey, 94% of the gas industry plans to be finished with Y2K-related repairs by 30 September 1999.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) believes all nuclear plants will be ready by 31 December 1999. 77 of the 103 nuclear generating plants in the US are Y2K compliant. Of the rest, 8 report that they only have repairs to make that do not affect plant operations; 18 are remediating plant operating or support systems. Detailed information is available at the Nuclear Energy Institute web site www.nei.org

WATER

Most public drinking water and waste systems can be operated using manual controls, while still maintaining environmental protection. Back-up plans, prepared for natural disasters, are being expanded to include year 2000 failures. According to a recent survey by the General Accounting Office of the 21 largest US cities, New York, Dallas, Philadelphia, Memphis and Washington DC have water and wastewater systems that are fully ready for the date change.

COMMUNICATIONS

The Federal Communications Commission reports that the major telephone companies are addressing year 2000 conversion issues and will have completed repairs by 1 January 2000.

Several industry groups have performed network testing. The Telco Year 2000 Forum, which has the largest number of local US carriers among its membership, performed extensive interoperability testing. Few Y2K related anomalies were uncovered. Telco year 2000 test results are available in detail at www.telcoyear2000.org The Internetwork Interoperability Test Co-ordination Committee has done internetwork testing for credit card purchases with all the major credit card companies. Testing was completed on April 1999. Analysis of the data is underway. A final report will be available in June. The Network Reliability Interoperability Council will monitor networks on Day 1 with the President's Council National Co-ordination Centre.

The US Postal Service is confident that it will be able to sustain a mail service: more than 99% of their systems have been repared. The postal service is highly dependent on commercial air, surface transportation systems and electric utilities. Problems in these other sectors could affect mail service. The Postal Service has drawn up contingency plans tailored to individual facilities and hads tested remediated systems.

TRANSPORTATION

Air carriers and larger airports are making significant progress in addressing the Year 2000 problem. The airport that handles the most passengers world-wide, Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport is compliant. But there are potential problems with the potential readiness of airports and transit services in small communities and rural areas. The Federal Aviation Authority which is responsible for air traffic control and safety has completed repairs of its mission critical systems.

The rail industry is taking appropriate steps to prepare for year 2000 conversion and appears to be making satisfactory progress. Most concerns are with computer programmes used to control train traffic, and transmit cargo data.

The US coastguard, in concert with the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, held a conference in March which adopted a Code of Good Practice and formulated contingency plans: these are being promoted across the international shipping industry. The Coast Guard has inspected US ports and run Y2K drills in co-operation with commercial shipping companies.

ECONOMIC

Ninety Eight percent of banking organisations are making satisfactory progress and are in compliance with supervisory milestones. Those with less than satisfactory progress are subject to intense supervision which may include the Federal Reserve contacting their customers.

The Federal Reserve has completed remediation and implementation of 98% of its internal systems. Extra cash will be released by the Federal Reserve prior to 1 January 2000 to handle increased demand. The Federal Reserve will have a network of centres channelling information to the President's Council in Washington and the general public after 1 January 2000.

Large industrial organisations are well on course to be ready for January 2000, but there is still concern about the huge number of small and medium sized businesses (SME). Most of these do not have a large number of information technology systems, but up to a third have no plans to assess their exposure, and more that half have not taken any steps. The US government has funded an outreach programme to increase awareness and promote action with SMEs. Information on the Y2K readiness of small businesses is available at the Small Business Administration web site: www.sba.gov/y2k

HEALTH

March 1999 survey results from the American Hospital Association show that 65.7% of hospitals expect to have fully Y2K compliant information systems by the end of the year. 58.9% of medical devices in hospitals and 66.7% of hospital infrastructure will be certified compliant by the end of 1999. 97% of hospitals expect outcomes with no adverse impact for patients. The pharmaceutical industry is ready for the date change but warns there will be supply problems if people decide to stockpile prescriptions.

-- Hoffmeister (hoff_meister@my-deja.com), September 14, 1999.

Hoff: such the philanthropist.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), September 14, 1999.

I smell rain.the ark[JESUS] is looking better, every-day.

-- REMEMBER=NOAH??? (dogs@zianet.com), September 14, 1999.

Also see this thread about the July GAO report on the Y2K status of the 21 largest cities:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=001MC4

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), September 14, 1999.

Thanks FM.

(And Hoffy), LOL...

"More detailed information on the current state of preparedness which can be found at the website of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion: www.y2k.gov"

Now THAT's funny!

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 14, 1999.

Ahem, was a worldwide banking meltdown mentioned?

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 15, 1999.

I liked this part:

Results indicate that Y2K will have a minimal impact on the electricity supply in North America. The industry conducted a co-ordinated test on September 8-9, 1999 to prepare for operations under year 2000 conditions. Test results were positive, For more information visit: www.nerc.com

Do they think we will swallow the PR swill easier if it is said with a British accent?

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), September 16, 1999.