Any word on who said what at the following?

State of the Union: A Final Report on the US Gov't and Y2K

The next meeting of the WDCY2K Group will be held on Tuesday, September 14, 1999. It will deal with one of the most pressing and controversial issues remaining: how well will the US government and its programs function as we pass through Y2K. We are once again honored to have two very special speakers:

John Koskinen, Chairman, The President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion

Joel Willemssen, Director, Civil Agencies Information Systems, US General Accounting Office

Each will present his best information and opinion on the state of the US government's Y2K efforts and what impact Y2K will have (if any) upon Federal government services and programs.

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), September 15, 1999

Answers

From: SILICON INVESTOR: Y2K Civilized Discussion From: Ron Reece Tuesday, Sep 14 1999 11:05PM Reply #578 of 583

The WashDCY2K workgroup had their meeting tonight. There was a fairly light turnout, no where near the 500 person capacity and more like 200 or so (which was fine with us since that meant there was more food available at the pre-meeting buffet... :0)

Presenting were Janet Abrams (assistant director, Presidents Council on Y2K Conversion) and Joel Willemssen, GAO squared off to update us on what going on.

Highlights are consistent with what most have read already reference 95-95% compliance on mission critical Federal systems. Most of the deliquent systems are located in DOD, but the Pentagon has apparently assured Koskinen that none of these systems will impact national security.

Interesting note: FAA originally focused on 7 critical systems, but now is tracking over 990+ systems they consider critical. 200 are still undergoing remediation/testing. However, confidence is high that there will be few disruptions (hmmm... whatever they say.. right?)

Cory Hamasaki was there, but didn't ask any questions.. Just sat there with his laptop clicking out his next Y2K weather report for his paying audience. I think Y2K has become a money maker for him and that's disappointing.

Jim Lord was there as well, sporting some interesting looking sideburns. In a humourous moment, he stood up in the Q&A session and addressed the "Pentagon Y2K papers" and asked why the Army and Air Force versions were not available like the Navy one is.

Janet Abrams, apparently not having ever met Jim, mentioned that Jim Lord had presented the report several weeks ago... wherein Jim cut her off and said... "I'm Jim Lord"... to which we all had a good laugh... :0)

Anyway... she actually thanked him for posting stirring up the hornet's nest because apparently the uproar suddenly caused a surge of communications from the utilities who had been slow to respond to previous requests for information.

One point that disturbed me was that she stated that one their major concerns is the international arena where Y2K related info is sketchy or non-existent. Anyone there could only leave with the impression that this lack of info from overseas could have drastic psychological impact on foreign markets. I asked her whether Clinton had addressed Y2K in his APEC speech, or whether APEC was dealing with the issue there as was initially the plan, but she couldn't answer my question.

When I asked whether the State Dept travel advisory would create a condition of market fear overseas, she only stated that Wall Street would know more about Y2K preparations than they currently know. To which I responded, "I guess Wall Street isn't talking with you"... (I was tactful).

Abrams was quite intelligent and well versed on the issues, but she freely admitted that she is not John Koskinen. However, she did make out the point that while Koskinen tends to be an optimist, she is more pessimistic in just accepting what she hears. She demands more reassurance from both federal and private sectors. And thus far, she has heard and seen enough to feel confident the power and lights will be on and the bank accounts secure. Willemssen also expressed optimism that there would be few major disruptions here in the US on a national scale.

But she and Willemssen both expressed continued concern about the state and local authorities and the fact that end to end testing cannot be fully implemented in govt systems until all components are deemed remediated. So they expect there will still be some problems, but not economic show stoppers.

That's my synopsis for now considering the time.

Regards, Ron

-- Cheryl (Transplant@Oregon.com), September 15, 1999.

Humm.

"...she actually thanked him (Jim Lord) for posting stirring up the hornet's nest because apparently the uproar suddenly caused a surge of communications from the utilities who had been slow to respond to previous requests for information."

Interesting. The question is, is that "surge" truthful or just more P.R.?

Questions... questions.

Thanks for posting.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 15, 1999.

Check out WDC Weather Reports; Cory makes some interesting comments regarding this meeting. (It kind of leaves you reeling.)

-- Marsha (MSykes@court.co.macon.il.us), September 15, 1999.

It would be interesting to know how much of the shrinkage in WDCY2K meeting attendance is due to previous attendees who have re-located away from cities like Dee Cee over the past year....

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.com), September 15, 1999.

Ms. Abrams said to Jim Lord, "No one told me you'd be so charming," which got a big laugh...

-scott

-- Scott Johnson (scojo@yahoo.com), September 15, 1999.

Scott Johnson: Are you the Scott Johnson of Wired fame??? If so, I really did like the looks of your dog. What in the way of dog supplies have you stockpiled?

-- jeanne (jeanne@hurry.now), September 15, 1999.

"I think Y2K has become a money maker for him and that's disappointing. "

This was a joke, right? Cory Hamasaki puts all of the Weather Reports on the Web for free. You see him typing at a meeting and assume he is making money. Why not assume he is trying to spread the word and save some lives? And typing for free? And don't forget: all of the official pollyannas are being PAID FOR THEIR WORK. They are all on salary. Does that mean they are somehow corrupt? I don't think so. We may disagree with Mr. Koskinen but the circumstance that he is being paid does not mean he is somehow disreputable. We can disagree in good faith without this kind of personal innuendo and double standard.

-- Joseph R. Whaley (whaley@attorney-us.com), September 15, 1999.

Jeanne,

Scott Johnson is the Scott Johnson of "Y2k today" fame.

He may also be famous in other circles.

I know he's famous HERE. [Grin]

(And Scott--don't you owe me an email?)

Thanks for the synopsis, gang.

:)

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), September 15, 1999.

As has been discussed in other threads, both Mr. Koskinen and Ms. Abrams are PR professionals. Ms. Abrams had an stint early in her career handling PR for a trash, sorry, waste management company. They are both in the best-foot-forward, perception management, consensus design business. That's what they've been hired to do and, for good or ill, and thus far they've been quite successful.

Why would attendance at a final status meeting be so low? Perhaps because words about status no longer matter. The die is cast. "The readiness is all." Preparation for whatever level of disruptions you foresee is now the order of the day.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), September 15, 1999.

Sounds like she fits right in with the 'needs' of this administration: 'trash management'. LOL

-- ..- (dit@dot.dash), September 15, 1999.

"Waste not, want not..." takes on a whole new meaning with Kosky and Company. (Sort'a).

Looks like Corys Take will be in #130...

DC Y2K Weather Report Number 130 is not yet available.

WDC Y2K - Kosky's girl says, brace yourself.

http://www.kiyoinc.com/ current.html

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 15, 1999.

FM- do I owe you an e-mail? Refresh my memory. And also, Jeanne, I am not the Wired Scott Johnson (although I am wired), but I am in fact stockpiling kitty treats and catnip for Question, my sainted one- year-old tortie... -s-

-- Scott Johnson (scojo@yahoo.com), September 15, 1999.

I didn't think Janet "was quite intelligent and well versed on the issues." (I was there too.) She kept referring to "Y2".

She gave no indication whatsoever that she understood the impact of the interconnectedness of the system as a whole.

Alsom when asked why it was OK for businesses to have contingency plans but not for individuals, she reminded me of my son when he was about 3. He'd say, "Oh, beeencause."

There is no conscious thought in that head. Only PR spin.

-- Sally Strackbein (sally@y2kkitchen.com), September 15, 1999.

If anything these PR people are basically optimistic but then that's what they are paid to be.Does anyone understand the relationship between optimism and success? Optimism comes from success not success from optimism.Where does success come from? Success comes from hard-headed,clear-headed,cold-headed thinking,doesn't hurt to add practical,flexable,adaptable thinking as well. Any report worth it's salt should contain lots of cold hard facts which can be verified,not feelings.

-- Stanley Lucas (StanleyLucas@WebTv.net), September 15, 1999.

I was there too. My concern is the lack of press coverage of the most important of Congressman Horn's REPORT CARDs to come out! (only C-SPAN and the FEDERAL COMPUTERING NEWS...not the mainstream nor national news.)

This was #9. The previous ones were widely reported---good news. They graded the critical systems identified by the Administration.

This time Congressman Horn included a grade for the 43 HIGH IMPACT FEDERAL PROGRAMS identified by the Administration as impacting the public the most. (The IRS and DEFENSE were not included as HIGH IMPACT PROGRAMS! I wonder why?)

36 of the 43 HIGH IMPACT PROGRAMS were NOT YET compliant!---POST OFFICE, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, WELFARE TYPE PROGRAMS, ETC. Most of them have a compliance date target of December 1999!

Did you read that in the paper or hear about it on the TV? I didn't. If not, why not? http://www.house.gov/reform/gmit/y2k/990910HighImpact.PDF

-- E J (johnsonhome@erols.com), September 15, 1999.