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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cheeky Kid who wrote (19281)	8/20/1999 3:29:00 PM
From: Feathered Propeller	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 22053

CK: Maybe this has more credibility. search.washingtonpost.com The White House seems to have a different viewpoint than the military... to my surprise. Not that the Navy is right... Navy Predicts Widespread Y2K Failure By Ted Bridis Associated Press Writer Thursday, August 19, 1999; 7:27 p.m. EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Navy report predicts ''probable'' or ''likely'' failures in electrical and water systems for many cities because of the Year 2000 technology problem -- an assessment more dire than any other made by the government. President Clinton's top Y2K adviser, John Koskinen, called the Navy's conclusions overly cautious, saying they assumed that major utilities would fail unless proved otherwise. The most recent version of the study, updated less than two weeks ago, predicted ''probable'' or ''likely'' partial failures in electric utilities that serve nearly 60 of roughly 400 Navy and Marine Corps facilities. The study predicted ''likely'' partial electrical failures, for example, at facilities in Orlando, Fla.; Gulfport, Miss.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and nine other small- to mid-size cities. It also predicted ''probable'' partial water system failures in Dallas; Nashville, Tenn.; Houston; Baton Rouge, La.; Montgomery, Ala; Tulsa, Okla.; and 59 other cities. The study forecast likely partial natural gas failures -- in the middle of winter -- in Albany, N.Y.; Fort Worth, Texas; Pensacola, Fla.; Charleston, S.C.; Columbus, Ohio; and Nashville. The military report contrasts sharply with predictions from the White House, which weeks ago said in a report that national electrical failures are ''highly unlikely.'' The White House report also said disruptions in water service from the date rollover are ''increasingly unlikely.'' Koskinen, who vouched for the authenticity of the Navy report, noted that all its worst-case predictions for failures were marked as ''interim'' or ''partial'' assessments. ''It's not nearly as interesting as the world coming to an end,'' said Koskinen. ''The way they worked was, until you have information for contingency planning purposes, you ought to assume there was a problem.'' The Year 2000 problem occurs because some computer programs, especially older ones, might fail when the date changes to 2000. Because the programs were written to recognize only the last two digits of a year, such programs could read the digits ''00'' as 1900 instead of 2000, potentially causing problems with financial transactions, airline schedules and electrical grids. The Navy report was first summarized on an Internet site run by Jim Lord, a Y2K author, who said he obtained it ''from a confidential source of the highest reliability and integrity.'' ''The military has to work from the worst case, but so do we,'' Lord told The Associated Press on Thursday. ''It's reprehensible for them to know this and keep it from us.'' Koskinen said the Navy wasn't withholding information from anyone, noting that the continually updated report was available until recently on a Web site maintained by the Defense Department. ''The last people in the world the department is going to keep information from is their own people,'' Koskinen said. ''In fact, the whole purpose of the exercise is to make sure they can provide appropriate information to servicemen on their bases and their families. The report was pulled off the Web site two weeks, Koskinen said. Neither he nor Defense Department officials offered any reason why. © Copyright 1999 The Associated Press

To: Cheeky Kid who wrote (19281)	8/20/1999 3:32:00 PM
From: Moonray	Respond to of 22053

Senators' Y2K Advice Endangers the Public, Says Y2K Expert 07:16 a.m. Aug 19, 1999 Eastern CODY, Wyo., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the August 11 "Dear Ann Landers" publication of Sen. Robert Bennett and Sen. Christopher Dodd's advice on Y2K, an Internet Y2K news site has warned Americans that following the Senators' advice could prove harmful or fatal if certain disruptions occur. In the Ann Landers column, the Senators advised readers to "beware of scams" and classified the purchase of water treatment kits as one such scam. Y2K Newswire -- a Y2K news site now read by over 60,000 Americans -- reacted sharply, accusing the Senators of deliberately discouraging common-sense preparedness and putting Americans in harm's way. In a letter to the Senators, Y2K Newswire called the advice, "highly irresponsible and dangerously misleading." The letter cites evidence that water treatment facilities are far from being proven Y2K-compliant and includes text from the California State Water Resources Control Board that says, "The potential failure of non-compliant devices (valves, switches, monitors, etc.) is a significant threat to the quality of water in California (as well as the rest of the world). Based on observations and the experiences of experts in the field, the embedded microchip problem is considered a more serious threat to our health and safety than the computer programs that may fail to operate correctly after 1/1/2000. Many experts feel the problem is too big to solve." Y2K Newswire points out that Americans who do not own water treatment kits will be left defenseless against the introduction of toxins or pathogens into the water supply. Those people who own water treatment kits -- which cost as little as twenty-five dollars -- will be able to provide healthy, drinkable water to their families and communities. Mike Adams, creator of Y2K Newswire adds, "To knowingly dissuade people from protecting themselves against waterborne pathogens is unconscionable. I cannot imagine why these Senators want the American people to be left vulnerable to Y2K." Adams has asked the Senators to retract their advice and add water treatment kits to their recommended list of items -- a list that already includes flashlights. Adams asks, "Are these Senators really saying that somebody selling you a flashlight is responsible while somebody selling you a water treatment kit is a con artist?" Y2KNEWSWIRE.COM is not affiliated with Y2K-Wire(TM), y2knews.com or Year2000.com. Press Contact: Mike Adams, Y2KNEWSWIRE.COM, webmaster@y2knewswire.com, Tel: (307) 587-1338, Fax: (307) 587-7448 SOURCE Y2KNEWSWIRE.COM Copyright 1999, PR Newswire o~~~ O