FITUG e.V. Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft

Noch mehr Militaer am 01-01-00

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date:          Wed, 06 Jan 1999 23:30:49 -0500
To:            politech@vorlon.mit.edu
From:          Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject:       FC: What Washington thinks about Y2K (and NZ, and FEMA)
Reply-to:      declan@well.com

Today I spoke about Y2K to an American Electronics Association
luncheon in Washington DC. A half-dozen members of the California
legislature led by Assemblywoman Elaine Alquist were connected via
videoconference.

After I spoke, the host, Mike Vlahos, went around the room and asked
for comments from an audience of veteran lobbyists, lawyers, and Hill
staffers. A major concern was preventing -- or at least limiting --
Y2K panic. One person even suggested rationing information the
government releases to journalists to prevent "scaremongering"
stories.

Another worry was the international aspect of Y2K, and how even if the
US is OK much of the rest of the world could tank -- and what that
national security aspects of that would be. The Calif. legislators
predicted local governments and state governments would be better
prepared than the Feds, and called for "public-private" partnerships.

In other news, today we learned two more states (Wisconsin and
Washington) are planning to call out the troops for 1-1-00.

-Declan

********

[This is an unduly pessimistic story. As I have written at
http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/digital/daily/0,2822,13900,00.html
household appliances and consumer electronics are not worth worrying
about. But it is worth noting what the mayor is saying. --Declan]

http://www.press.co.nz/01/99010632.htm   

New Zealand news from The Press - January 06, 1999 


            WELLINGTON -- Beware -- the millennium bug could
            strike anywhere. 

            Any machine or appliance containing a computer chip
            that was not manufactured recently could be at risk
            [...]
            Auckland's Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey says that in
            the worst case New Zealanders could spend the first
            weeks of the new millennium without services such as
            power, sewerage, and water. He wants the army on
            standby as for a civil defence emergency. 
            [...]

********

From: sysop@emergency.com 
To: declan@wired.com 
Date: 6 Jan 1999 13:31:10
CST 
Subject: FEMA Report on Y2K... 

FEMA Urges Local Communities, Emergency Services Sector & Public to
Get Ready Now for Y2K

Washington January 6, 1999 - Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) officials are urging the emergency management, fire and
emergency services communities and the public to get ready now for
Y2K.

"It is very important that counties, municipalities, school districts
and other organizations that have not yet begun to work on Y2K issues,
start now," FEMA Deputy Director Mike Walker said. "While some
failures will be minor annoyances, some may have more serious
consequences."

The Y2K issue is worldwide and refers to electronic and computer
system problems that may occur because of the inability of
date-sensitive devices to compute "2000" when systems move from 1999
to the Year 2000 (Y2K). Virtually all systems that rely on computers
or electronic devices that refer to date and time may be affected by
Y2K in one way or another. This includes power, dispatch and
communications systems, 911 systems, microcomputers, and much more.

In a recent FEMA survey of state emergency management directors
concerning Y2K issues at the state and local levels, the directors
reported that although Y2K fixes are well underway in state-level
emergency preparedness offices, the emergency service systems of many
counties and municipalities remain untested.

"Generally states and the larger local governments are aware of and
making some progress toward resolving Y2K issues, however, many
smaller local governments as well as some state and territorial
governments seem not to be aware of the problem," Walker said.
"Clearly the most serious potential for problems is at the local
level, and this is what we are concerned about."

In February and March, FEMA will conduct Y2K Consequence Management
workshops around the country to identify critical issues, assess
vulnerabilities, review contingency plans and consider policies and
decisions that need to be taken to deal with possible Y2K
consequences. Participants will include state Y2K emergency
coordinators, emergency managers and state fire marshals as well as
regional representatives of FEMA's Federal Response Plan partners.

Many states also reported that they have not developed contingency
plans specifically for Y2K problems; instead they plan to address
problems under existing emergency plans or they expect to have their
systems Y2K compliant in time. Most states expressed some level of
concern over the possibility of power failures, especially where power
is provided by smaller utilities. Other areas of concern cited by the
states include limited or lack of resources to assess, test and
validate systems and fixes for Y2K problems.

"Every community, every organization and every individual has an
obligation to learn more about their vulnerabilities and take action
to prevent potential problems before they occur." Walker said.
"Potential problems need to be identified and addressed now."

As chair and coordinator of the Emergency Services Sector (EES), FEMA
is one of 34 sector coordinators working with the President's Council
on Y2K Conversion (www.y2k.gov), headed by Presidential Advisor John
A. Koskinen. The EES group is working to make sure that all segments
of the nation's emergency management community operate normally
through the cross-over period from 1999 to the Year 2000 and beyond.

Note: FEMA's online information on Y2K can be found at
www.fema.gov/y2k

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Office of Emergency
Information & Media Affairs --- Washington, D.C.

Information Available 24 hours a day . . .
... on the World Wide Web:  http://www.fema.gov
... via fax-on-demand: phone in the U.S.A. (202) 646-FEMA (646-3362)
... via digital audio for broadcasters & print: contact eipa@fema.gov
  and listen to the FEMA Radio Network on the FEMA Website using
  RealAudio



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