Cabinet in first meeting to discuss possible Y2K failuresgreenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread |
Cabinet in first meeting to discuss possible Y2K failures------------------------------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clinton's Cabinet met Saturday with the administration's top expert on the Year 2000 technology problem to discuss how government agencies will respond to possible Y2K-related computer failures.
Also attending the he closed-door meeting near the White House were leaders from some federal regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Reserve Board and Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
It was the first time the Cabinet assembled for the sole purpose of discussing the Year 2000 glitch.
The government has expressed increasing confidence there will be no nationwide failures of the most important computer systems. But it has acknowledged the likelihood of localized failures in parts of the United States; even more severe problems are anticipated overseas.
``The sense in the room was that certainly there is work left to do, but government has made some real strides in the past year,'' said John Koskinen, Clinton's top Y2K adviser. ``We're going to be in reasonably good shape.''
Koskinen said the Cabinet reviewed how individual agencies respond to emergencies, and the implications on other areas of the government. Koskinen is organizing a government-wide coordination center near the White House to share with other agencies information about any Y2K failures during the New Year's weekend.
Saturday's meeting, which last more than three hours, was ``to make sure everyone is thinking not only what their responses are but thinking how those responses will affect other agencies,'' Koskinen said. ``Part of the goal was to make sure all the Cabinet members were brought up to speed on the range of possible issues we had to deal with.''
The Cabinet also discussed possible failures outlined in the most recent report from Koskinen's Year 2000 council, which indicated that some small health facilities, schools and many small businesses are inadequately prepared for the date rollover.
``The are certainly some areas of concern,'' Koskinen said. ``We touched upon all those issues.''
The Y2K problem exists because many older computers and software programs recognize only the last two digits of the year, meaning they might mistakenly interpret ``00'' as 1900.
About half the Cabinet secretaries attended, including Attorney General Janet Reno, Donna Shalala from Health and Human Services, Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, Rodney Slater of the Transportation Department and Energy Secretary Bill Richardson. Other agencies sent deputy secretaries.
Neither Clinton nor Vice President Al Gore attended.
==================================== End
Ray
-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), September 18, 1999
Somethin's Cookin and it ain't BEANS!!Ray
-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), September 18, 1999.
What's so secret that they have to be behind closed doors? They're probably making the final plans on who and how to meet at the White House Y2K bunker.
-- hunkering down (hunkeringdown@hunkeringdown.com), September 18, 1999.
oh to be a fly on that wall......
-- hamster (hamster@mycage.com), September 18, 1999.
That's a pretty high level group to be meeting on a Saturday for a situation that we all know isn't going to amount to a hill of beans anyway.
-- don f (I@doubtit.com), September 18, 1999.
Y2K according to John Koskinen, Clinton's top Y2K adviser:"The sense in the room was that certainly there is work left to do": TRUE
"government has made some real strides in the past year" TRUE; too bad they have more strides left to make than they have made.
"We're going to be in reasonably good shape." Hilariously FALSE if he means Americans; quite possibly TRUE if he only meant the people in the room. Who do you think will get priority access to the stored food the gov't will steal next year?
My site: www.y2ksafeminnesota.com (broke 10,000 hits yesterday)
-- MinnesotaSmith (y2ksafeminnesota@hotmail.com), September 18, 1999.
OK, folks, we've all gotta be on the same page ... let's coordinate our lies and have a uniform spin ...
-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), September 18, 1999.
There have been interpretations of Greedspin's speech which have penetrated the shuckster shield. All hands on deck! Redouble the quadruple bull and sin.chronize your stories.
-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), September 18, 1999.
"..... But it has acknowledged the likelihood of localized failures in parts of the United States; even MORE SEVERE problems are anticipated overseas. "I often wonder if the above is a real quote or just some reporters re-phrasing of something heard. I wish we could get more actual quotes rather than reporters chiming in with their interpretations.
This is a closed-door session and they are agreeing its going to be bad overseas. Three hours of yak-yak couldnt be just patting each other on the back for a job well done.
We need some of these cabinet people to drop solid hints for those of us who are awake. I mean we got enough rumours and "feelings" but we need something so we can cap off our planning/prepping and get the hell out of the way for the masses to do their lemmings-run.
-- hamster (hamster@mycage.com), September 18, 1999.
Here we are in September of 1999 and the President's Cabinet is having their first meeting regarding y2k without the President or Vice President.Truly a SAD reflection on the Leadership of this country.
Ray
-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), September 18, 1999.
Very amusing. If the cabinet discusses y2k, they are synchronizing their lies. If they don't discuss y2k, they are neglecting their duties. Heads I win, tails you lose. What possible difference does it make what the cabinet does about y2k, if they're wrong no matter what they do?A&L, could you please get together with Ray and among you decide what the cabinet could do that you would all consider a Good Thing? Something so good that when they did it, you wouldn't interpret it as bad no matter what it was? I'd love to see it.
And once y'all have decided, let me carefully and deliberately misinterpret it to mean the opposite of what it is, just like you're doing. Sauce for the goose...
-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), September 18, 1999.
President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion
August 12, 1999
Meeting Minutes
http://www.y2k.gov/new/ notes812.html[snip]
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PREPARATIONS
A Cabinet Policy Seminar on Y2K is scheduled for September 18. Council staff members have worked with representatives from the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to prepare for the seminar.
Objectives of the meeting are to review US policies and procedures for international and domestic Y2K consequence management; to address critical infrastructure protection in the Y2K environment; and to illustrate the unprecedented global complexity of the Y2K challenge. A follow-up briefing for the Council is scheduled for October.
In response to concerns about the government's long-term strategy in the area of cyber security, the Chair stressed the importance of reviewing information technology security systems now. The National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) at the Department of Justice (DOJ) is prepared to provide detailed information to information security staff at government agencies.
Lt. General Peter Kind (Ret.), Director of the Information Coordination Center (ICC)...
[snip]
To clarify the respective roles of the ICC and FEMA, General Kind restated the ICC's role, described in an Executive Order, as the Federal Government's central point for gathering, analyzing, and summarizing information on system operations during the Y2K date rollover. FEMA will function in its normal Disaster Response and Mitigation role and in an expanded role to collect, process, and forward state and local reports. FEMA will also act as an alternate site for the ICC.
General Kind noted upcoming ICC events to include a workshop with the states on August 19, 1999 and exercises in September and October. The exercises are intended to ensure that information systems are prepared to handle information collection and dissemination during the Y2K rollover period.
It was suggested that the ICC set up a system through which agencies can acquire advance information about events as the date changes from east to west. This will enable organizations to implement their contingency plans or take specific actions if necessary.
[snip]
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 18, 1999.
Flint, do you EVER take the opportunity to do ANY research? Or do you just have to keep nattering away? Dribbling... dribbling. Complaining... complaining.Sheesh!
Diane
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 18, 1999.
Flint, you are truly a disgrace to this forum and yourself. Your opinion has been continually and successfully challenged on this forum yet you come back for more.Now you belittle the opinion of some very concerned folks. Your beloved leader has demonstrated his total LACK of leadership with regard to y2k.
Flint, you have not a shred of credibility left and I believe you know it.
Your Pal, Ray
-- Ray (ray@tottacc.com), September 18, 1999.
Thanks for the background Diane, your efforts are much appreciated!Ray
-- Ray (ray@tottacc.com), September 18, 1999.
Odd...Theres no date on these, but Ill bet it was part of the Cabinet discussions.
Y2K Strategies for Managing Interdependency Among
Industry Sectors Critical Infrastructure Interdependency Contingency Planning
Inter-Industry Technical Group
Electricity - Telecommunications - Natural Gas - Oil - Transportation
Preface
This document is a summary of discussions among persons from the electric power, natural gas, oil, telecommunications, and transportation industries in North America. This document is not a statement of readiness, nor is it a warranty of performance by any industry or entity. This document is not a statement of guidelines or recommendations. The purpose of the document is to simply summarize ideas related to critical infrastructure Y2K contingency planning. ...
http://www.y2k.gov/ new/ifrastructure.htmOr...
Additional electric generation reserves on-line impacting gas commitments
http://www.y2k.gov/new/ group.htmOr just search Koskinens Y2K Dot Gov site at...
http://www.info.gov/ cgi-bin/search_y2kThe search term Meeting Minutes is useful.
Dian
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 18, 1999.
mr. koskie said, we.ll be in REASON ably good-shape.could someone define=reasonably?--is reason'the reason?
-- i get it. (dogs@zianet.com), September 18, 1999.
Diane:The ability to gather information, and the ability to understand what that information *means*, are very different skills. Correctly interpreting what we've learned about y2k isn't quite the same thing as cross-posting opinions from Gary North's site, or regurgitating news articles from year2000.com. It's pretty obvious to all but the most blindly prejudiced that any given bit of information can be interpreted many different ways. The challenge is to build a picture into which all information we have fits most easily, NOT to squeeze, bend and distort our information to fit preformed conclusions. When I found howlingly obvious incidences of the latter, I'm amused.
Ray:
I don't believe my opinion has been successfully refuted. I've predicted few problems, and so far we've had few problems. I've predicted that these spike dates wouldn't amount to much, and they didn't. I predicted locally serious snafus, and we've had a few. We'll have more (that's a prediction!).
Please TRY to understand that an opinion isn't successfully refuted by some fool calling me a jerk, however much it warms your heart to read it.
So I'll make things clear. I predict our oil imports won't decrease by more than 5% over the next year, and I expect oil imports to increase. Milne has predicted that after January 1, "NOT ONE DROP" will be imported (that's a direct quote from Milne). NOW, let's see who comes closer. Do you wish to place your money on my side or on Milne's? I'm asking you, Ray. You demand we answer your questions constantly. OK, I'm asking you to answer. What do you bet?
-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), September 18, 1999.
I don't bet anything Flint. I will state that because of a lack of leadership at the highest levels of government and corporations y2k will have considerably more negative repercussions.I am certain that government will cover up their shortcomings as best they can and corporations will do the same.
Try to be a bit more civil if that is possible, Flint.
Your Pal, Ray
-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), September 18, 1999.
Ummm... I may be the only one who feels this way, but how significant could such a Cabinet meeting be if neither the President or Vice- President were in attendance? Under the circumstances, could any policy decisions have been made?Ed
-- Ed Yourdon (HumptyDumptyY2K@yourdon.com), September 18, 1999.
"The ability to gather information, and the ability to understand what that information *means*, are very different skills." -- FlintHaven't noticed your skills to gather, nor understand, as being particularly in evidence, Flint. C'est-ce la vie.
Have a "nice" day. (Do remember to swap out your nicotine patches now and then, Flint).
Diane
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 18, 1999.
Ed,Wondered about that too. Believe Gore's on the campaign trail in California, and in Clinton's speeches yesterday, sounded like he had a bad cold 'n sore throat.
Perhaps, they simply wish to maintain "distance" from all Y2K issues. or at least... the "appearance" of it.
Diane
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 18, 1999.
I THOUGHT KOSKIE SAID, EACH COMMUNITY IS ON THERE OWN.PLEASE EXPLAIN=REASONABLY-SURE??
-- TRUTH-WHAT IS -TRUTH? (dogs@zianet.com), September 18, 1999.
Diane:Your ability to find y2k material is excellent. Your tendency to present only the material you find that agrees with your expectations is understandable, and implies that you've found a great deal more than you actually present. Which in turn implies even superior research abilities. I am impressed with your ability, and envious of the time you spend using it. Even if I didn't have to work full time and have family responsibilities outside of work, I don't believe I could do as much research as you do and still think at the same time either.
I know you don't believe my synthesis of the available information is correct. And I admit I might be very surprised next year. We'll have to wait and see. But if very few of us end up actually *needing* our preparations (we can certainly use them, of course), I won't admit that I just got lucky. I'm not making this prediction from pure guesswork.
-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), September 18, 1999.
Dear Dianne, please tell us what c41 told you, pleeze'we know you know-stuff.
-- AW-C,MON. (dogs@zianet.com), September 18, 1999.
I have a friend who works for the 'gubmint' and has attended numerous meeting with Ko-skin-em and ilk. She says the scariest thing is that Ko-skin-em BELIEVES this crap. She says the man has not a clue to what y2k means. That he has a large disconnect problem and tho he is sort of coming around with some connection/understanding, he still REALLY DOESN'T GET IT. His main purpose/job is to keep the herd from UNNECESSARY stampeding, and HE THINKS THAT IS ADMIRABLE SINCE THERE REALLY ISN'T GOING TO BE A PROBLEM!! She says the good thing is that he will be the first to starve through his own disconnectedness. She is supposed to retire the first of the year. She is taking all of her vacation time at the end of Dec so as to be out of DeeCee when TSHTF.Taz
Taz
-- Taz (Tassie@aol.com), September 19, 1999.
Put an alien lawyer in charge, computer clueless, big picture clueless ... paging Area 51 ...
-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), September 19, 1999.
"We need some of these cabinet people to drop solid hints for those of us who are awake. I mean we got enough rumours and "feelings" but we need something so we can cap off our planning/prepping and get the hell out of the way for the masses to do their lemmings-run."The hint is... last year at this time we still were hearing that EVERYTHING would be COMPLIANT - 100% - by the end of the year. And now? "Mission critical"... made great strides in the last year... more work to do.. localized failures.. EVEN MORE SEVERE overseas.
Another hint is that Gore and Clinton decided it was better NOT to be at the meeting. If there was significant GOOD news don't you think it would be a Rose Garden photo op for the press corps? A disaster in the making just doesn't present quite the same opportunity for handshakes and grins and back slapping. Closed doors. Closed coffin. Its gonna be a messy BITR me thinks.
-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), September 19, 1999.