NORTHRIDGE TAUGHT A LESSON School has been out at Cal State Northridge since the week before Christmas , but since you can learn something every day , Mississippi State 's women 's basketball team gave a lesson . Northridge has talked about taking its game to the next level . The 21st-ranked Bulldogs _ the first nationally ranked team to play here in Northridge 's Division I era _ gave a glimpse of that level in a 98-64 nonconference victory before a crowd of 165 Friday night . It ended CSUN 's 16-game home win streak . Whether the Matadors learned from the Bulldogs -LRB- 10-0 -RRB- remains to be seen . The Big Sky Conference season begins Thursday at Northern Arizona , but the Matadors do n't believe they 'll face anyone of this caliber . `` Our conference is n't that strong , '' Edneisha Curry admitted , `` so we have to play hard and play with the type of desire and heart night in and night out , so we can play with Mississippi State and all the other ranked teams . '' For now , they have completed the most difficult portion of the schedule with two losses to nationally ranked teams in Illinois and Mississippi State and a win over an NCAA Tournament team in Dartmouth . It leaves them 6-4 , the same record they had at this time last year . Then again , they were n't talking about elevating their game at this time last year . Since the Matadors have reached the NCAA Tournament and are hungry for more , Mississippi State provided clues to what they need to do . It 's the basics : shoot a high percentage , rebound well and commit fewer turnovers and fouls . Shooting 36.7 percent , taking just 28 boards and committing 17 turnovers might be enough to win the Big Sky , but it wo n't get you past Mississippi State , which shot 50.7 percent and took 51 rebounds . Although the Bulldogs turned over the ball the same number of times , they also committed six fewer fouls . It also helps to have a player like freshman LaToya Thomas , who can deliver points in bunches when needed . Thomas scored 33 , including 18 in the first half , but was most valuable in the second half when she scored eight points in a 10-0 run that ended any hope of a Northridge comeback . CSUN had cut a 50-25 halftime deficit to 59-45 with 12:21 to play and had some momentum . `` Our goal in the second half was to cut it to 10 by the 10-minute mark , '' CSUN coach Frozena Jerro said . Actually , Northridge has a Thomas-like player in Curry , who scored 21 points . But she made 9 of 23 field-goal attempts , far below Thomas ' 11 of 18 . The other time Northridge was close was when it scored eight straight points and trailed 13-12 with 12:46 to play in the first half . Mississippi State responded with a 25-7 run in 9:10 to put the game out of reach . `` Right now , they 're getting a lot of experience , '' Bulldogs coach Sharon Faning said . `` They need to work on footwork , defense , rebounding _ same as us . '' Three other Mississippi State players scored in double figures : Jennifer Fambrough -LRB- 22 -RRB- , Cynthia Hall -LRB- 11 -RRB- and Meadow Overstreet -LRB- 11 -RRB- . Northridge got 14 from Lynda Amari and 13 from LaShaunda Fowler . A CORRECTION : WELCOME TO 51,254 For those who believe that in the good old days _ before calculators , before computers _ people were better at mental arithmetic , The New York Times offers a sobering New Year 's message : Not necessarily . On Feb. 6 , 1898 , it seems , someone preparing the next day 's front page tried to add 1 to the issue number in the upper left corner -LRB- 14,499 -RRB- and came up with 15,000 . Apparently no one noticed , because the 500-issue error persisted until Friday -LRB- No. 51,753 -RRB- . Saturday The Times turns back the clock to correct the sequence : this issue is No. 51,254 . Thus an article on March 14 , 1995 , celebrating the arrival of No. 50,000 was 500 days premature . It should have appeared on July 26 , 1996 . The error came to light recently when Aaron Donovan , a news assistant , became curious about the numbering , which he updates nightly when working at the news desk . He wondered about the potential for self-perpetuating error . Using a spreadsheet program , he calculated the number of days since The Times ' founding , on Sept. 18 , 1851 . Through the newspaper 's archives , he learned that in its first 500 weeks , The Times published no Sunday issue . Then , for 2,296 weeks from April 1861 to April 1905 , the Sunday issue was treated as an extension of the Saturday paper , bearing its number . In the early days , the paper skipped publication on a few holidays . No issues were published for 88 days during a strike in 1978 . -LRB- During five earlier labor disputes , unpublished issues were assigned numbers , sometimes because catch-up editions were later produced for the archives . -RRB- Finally , by scanning books of historic front pages and reels of microfilm , Donovan zeroed in on the date of the 500-issue gap . `` There is something that appeals to me about the way the issue number marks the passage of time across decades and centuries , '' said a memo from Donovan , who is 24 . `` It has been steadily climbing for longer than anyone who has ever glanced at it has been alive . The 19th-century newsboy hawking papers in a snowy Union Square is in some minute way bound by the issue number to the Seattle advertising executive reading the paper with her feet propped up on the desk . '' As for the other number on the front page _ the volume , in Roman numerals _ it remains CXLIX . It will change to CL on Sept. 18 , when The Times enters its 150th year . MASSIVE CROWD WATCHES CLINTON IGNITE FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR TO EDS : New top and updates throughout . By SCOTT MONTGOMERY c. 2000 Cox News Service WASHINGTON _ Clear skies and a string of flawless midnight New Year 's rollovers around the globe enticed a massive crowd to the National Mall for a fireworks spectacular ignited by President Clinton to greet the 21st century . On a night when Clinton called on America to make its `` dreams stronger than its memories , '' 2000 arrived in the nation 's capital in a shower of light over the Washington Monument that left thousands of spectators cheering . Clinton , speaking from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with the Great Emancipator peering over his should , said `` Americans must not fear change . Instead , '' he said , `` let us welcome it , embrace it , and create it . '' Although daytime activities in Washington drew modest crowds , throngs streamed in by nightfall to find grassy seats on the heavily-secured patch of the Mall . They choked into long thick lines through a handful of security checkpoints where revelers submitted to searches . At one point , crowds on 17th Street waiting to pass through security entrances pushed over barriers and rushed past police who were helpless to stop them . Since last week , officials had been scaling back the size of the crowd they expected from an original estimate of 500,000 . But as midnight closed in , the streets teemed with people and there seemed to be little left of the anxiety over terrorist attacks that prompted the mayor of Seattle last week to cancel a major outdoor celebration around the city 's famed Space Needle . Washington 's three-hour show , with a pricetag of $ 12 million , competed on television with the customary Times Square celebration . While New York 's gala featured the traditional ball of light descending in the seconds before midnight , Washington 's had a white light of fireworks cascading up the 555-foot Washington Monument , sparked by a fuse racing along the reflecting pool from the Lincoln Memorial . Diane Tresca and her husband , Sal , of Rhode Island , left the friends they were visiting in a Maryland suburb to come down to the Mall where the gala at the Lincoln Memorial also was shown on large screen TVs set up on the grass . Their friends would n't leave their house . `` They 're too busy holding onto their bottled water , '' Diane Tresca said . She said she was n't concerned about terrorism . `` No , '' she said , `` I 'm more concerned about not being able to see the screen . '' In remarks at events throughout the day , Clinton made no mention of the unease that had settled on Washington in the weeks leading up to Friday night . Fear of terrorism pegged to year-end celebrations focused on Washington , New York and Seattle . `` What we celebrate did not begin today , and it will not end tomorrow , '' Clinton said to a crowd at the Mall earlier in the day . `` There is no better opportunity to open a new chapter of progress and possibility for all people ... no better time to be a truly good neighbor to the people of the world who share this smaller and smaller planet of ours . '' Clinton thanked God `` for this wonderful weather , so we all feel good being out here ... The sun is still rising on America . '' As the sunlight faded on the day , the Siegel family of Richmond played the card game Uno while sitting on the curb waiting , with a few hundred others , to be let into a fenced off section of the Mall nearest the Lincoln Memorial . Actor and musician Will Smith hosted the three-hour stage show called `` America 's Millennium Gala . '' Clinton and other dignitaries , including former Sen. John Glenn , watched from a heated booth at the Lincoln Memorial . Among the performers were actors Robert Duvall and Jack Nicholson , actress Diane Keaton , and musicians Don McLean , Bobby McFerrin , Kenny Rogers , Luther Vandross , Kathy Mattea , Trisha Yearwood , and the 25-member company of the Broadway production `` Stomp . '' The Siegels were n't worried about the dangers of either Y2K chaos or terrorism . In fact , they joked about the festivities being hosted by Smith , who has played the hero in a pair of futuristic space-themed films , `` Men in Black '' and `` Independence Day . '' `` We thought since Will Smith is the host and he 's killed aliens and space bugs , you could n't be in a better-protected zone , '' joked Dan Siegel , 46 , who was there with his wife , Peggy , and children Julia , 16 , and Tommy , 14 . But the potential for danger made it possible to get a hotel room within walking distance of the Mall just last week . And , in their one concession to the Y2K bug , the Siegels settled on Washington as their New Year 's celebration destination because they could make the trip from Richmond and back on a single tank of gas . `` Just in case there 's a problem and we ca n't get any more , '' said Peggy Siegel , also 46 . For Benjamin McKenzie , 29 , the trip to the Mall was just a walk . He lives on Capitol Hill and brought his 15-year-old brother , who 's visiting from upstate New York , down for the fireworks . But he could n't get his friends to join in . `` They said ` No way ! '' ' McKenzie said . `` We know security is a concern , but it 's not overwhelming . It feels like a normal day . '' -LRB- Scott Montgomery can be reached by e-mail at : scottm -LRB- at -RRB- coxnews.com -RRB- . ENDIT Story Filed By Cox Newspapers end of story about glitch -RRB- Airports around the world , ordinarily quiet on New Year 's Eve , were unusually so Friday as thousands of potential travelers stayed put while the world 's air traffic system rolled over to the year 2000 . Yet , despite such fears and recent concerns about terrorism , commercial aviation entered the new year without incident as midnight arrived around the globe . The major test for commercial aviation came at midnight in London when the global air traffic control system , which observes Greenwich Mean Time , crossed over into the new year without difficulty . Worldwide , about 1,350 commercial jets were in the air at the time , according to the Air Transport Association , the airline industry 's trade group . That was less than half the number of planes that flew last New Year 's Eve . Airlines around the world canceled thousands of flights because of low demand . Eurocontrol , the organization that coordinates air traffic over Europe , estimated that about 50 jets were in the air at midnight , 5 percent of the peak traffic on a typical winter day . United Airlines and American Airlines , the world 's two largest carriers , said they had canceled about one-third of their flights Friday . As a result , airports across the United States appeared desolate . The three New York airports _ Kennedy International , LaGuardia and Newark _ were expecting to handle only 270,000 passengers Friday , compared with 430,000 on the same day last year . Many airline executives and aviation officials around the world had hoped to reassure the public by being passengers themselves on New Year 's Eve . Jane Garvey , chief of the Federal Aviation Administration , booked herself on several flights that were subsequently canceled . Friday afternoon , flanked by the head of the FAA 's Year 2000 effort , two public affairs officers , Sen. Slade Gorton of Washington and a score of journalists , she boarded an American Airlines flight from Washington to Dallas . With 100 empty seats available on the jetliner , the only passenger not directly connected to Ms. Garvey 's efforts appeared to be Janet S. Rhodes of Long Beach , Calif. , who said she came to Washington on Friday so that she could greet the new millennium aloft and tell her grandchildren about it . Ms. Rhodes said she had told her four sons , `` Just follow Jane Garvey 's progress on television and you 'll know where I am . '' The world 's airlines and air traffic control centers spent an estimated $ 2.5 billion to assure that their computers could read the year 2000 correctly . But experts did not consider air safety to be particularly vulnerable . The only glitch reported Fridayoccurred when printers in Alaska , California and Long Island that are used to relay information to control - lers from airplanes flying over the ocean all went on the blink at mid - night Greenwich time . The failure lasted only about 30 minutes and had no operational effect , the FAA said , adding that it was not even clear that the problem was caused by the date change . Boeing Co. , the world 's largest producer of commercial airliners , said it surveyed thousands of airborne systems on its planes and found only three that were date sensitive . Nevertheless , many passengers said they were not taking any chances by being in the air at the witching hour . `` I think it will probably be OK , but I 'm trying to get home before midnight , '' said Del Turner , who was waiting for a flight at Los Angeles International Airport . `` Something will happen . They have n't fixed everything . '' RAY HUBBARD , 75 , PIONEER IN BROADCASTING Ray Hubbard , a television producer and broadcasting executive and a pioneer in the medium , died on Dec. 27 in Kenwood , Calif. . He was 75 and had been suffering from Parkinson 's disease . Hubbard was vice president for programming and production at Post-Newsweek Stations in Washington , the broadcast group of The Washington Post , from 1969 to 1976 . Before that he was the national programming manager and executive producer of public affairs for Group W , the Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. in New York , where he helped to develop the Steve Allen , Mike Douglas , Merv Griffin and Regis Philbin shows and `` P.M. East '' with Mike Wallace . At Westinghouse , Hubbard was responsible for programs including `` Discovery , '' a 13-part series on contemporary art produced with the San Francisco Museum of Art ; `` Black Culture , '' 65 half-hour programs created with Morgan State University in Baltimore ; and `` Children 's Spectaculars , '' a series of hourlong dramatic shows featuring Zero Mostel , Boris Karloff , Claire Bloom and others . He also produced a variety of specials , including the Benny Goodman show at the American pavilion at the 1958 World 's Fair in Brussels , Belgium . An advocate of educational children 's fare , Hubbard worked with local school systems and hired writers to create study guides , one of the earliest examples of the interactive use of television in learning . He was responsible for `` Harambee , '' the first daily scheduled black culture-oriented program on American television , and `` Everywoman , '' the first prime-time women 's program . Upon retiring from Post-Newsweek , Hubbard produced `` Special Delivery , '' five half-hour programs for children about living with disabilities . He then established Unicorn Projects Inc. , a nonprofit production company . Hubbard was the recipient of major broadcasting awards including the Emmy , Dupont and George Foster Peabody Awards . Born in Los Angeles , he graduated from the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland in 1942 and earned a master 's degree in theater and communications from Stanford University in 1951 . He is survived by his wife , Marion ; three sons , Bruce and Stephen , of Pasadena , Calif. , and Gregory of Wells , Maine ; and two grandchildren . ATTN EDs : rewrites top to add color , quotes ; fixes , changes THIRD MILLENNIUM CELEBRATIONS CAST LIGHT ON TWO MEXICOS By FRANC CONTRERAS c. 1999 Special to the Cox News Service OAXACA CITY , Mexico _ While most of Mexico welcomed the Third Millennium with fireworks , concerts and long-standing traditions , the celebration was muted in rural areas by fear of rebel attacks and the so-called Y2K bug 's negative impact on tourism . All across Mexico and here , in this well-known colonial city , families joined together for traditional New Year 's Eve supper and counted down to mid-night wearing red underwear , which they believe brings them good luck in the new year . `` I went to three different stores today looking for red underwear , '' said Marta Ramales . `` But all the stores were out and I could n't find it anywhere . '' She opted for a red blouse and toasted the new millennium with glass of strong mescal , Oaxaca 's answer to tequila . After the toast , each of her 20 family members ate 12 grapes each , one for every month . The tradition comes from Spain , where the fruit is eaten also to bring good luck in the new year . Behind the celebrations , small business owners said Y2K began with a drop off in tourism among international travelers , especially from the United States . Many blamed it on fears of possible Y2K computer troubles . For example , Mexico City airport officials said 40 percent of flights on Dec. 31 were cancelled due to `` mostly last-minute cancellations '' over Y2K concerns . Still , young Mexican boys here in Oaxaca City celebrated the new millennium as they do any New Year 's Eve , by tossing firecrackers in the fiesta-filled streets . And the city planned massive fireworks display that would take place over the colonial-era cathedral in the city center . An even more festive atmosphere prevailed in streets of the capital Mexico City . The historic Paseo de la Reforma , the city 's main boulevard , was filled with tens of thousands of revelers , coming to see parades and live concerts . Cathedral bells rang in the main square , called the Zocalo , where 300,000 people turned out for shows by Mexico 's famous singer Juan Gabriel and to hear 200 mariachis sing Las Golondrinas , a traditional song that says good-bye to the old year . Adding to the millennium fervor , President Ernesto Zedillo , in a video-taped address , said , `` We are a country that does not measure our history in months or years , but in millenniums . '' In the Mexican capital , there was little talk of Y2K computer glitches following months of claims by government officials that Mexico is among the most Y2K-compliant nations in the hemisphere . It has installed computer programs to prevent banking errors , and to keep the national stock market _ the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores _ from crashing on the new year 's first day of business . A larger concern for the government is the threat of armed guerillas of the Popular Revolutionary Army , or EPR , in the mountain villages of the Sierra Madre del Sur in southern Mexico . Heavily armed soldiers could be seen watching over villages near Oaxaca City , thought to be rebel strongholds and stopping vehicles at military checkpoints on the highways outside the city . `` We know the government is bringing troops to indigenous villages to stop the rebels , '' said Pedro Nava Rodriguez , director of the Organization of Towns and Neighborhoods in Guerrero . `` But they are violating the human rights of innocent people who have nothing to do with guerilla struggles . '' ENDIT Story Filed By Cox Newspapers MIDNIGHT TICKS ACROSS GLOBE , BRINGING A NEW AGE WITH IT Two thousand years after Christ 's obscure birth in a dusty town in Judea , the world 's 6 billion people _ most of them non-Christian and many of them preoccupied with terrorism , computers , diets , bank accounts , politics and the perils of the future _ rode their turning blue planet across time 's invisible line Friday and , by common consent , looked into the dawn of a new millennium . What they saw first was a party . It was garish , glittering and global , and millions , setting religious considerations and personal concerns aside , joined in the festivities to celebrate the conjunction of a new year , a new century and a new thousand-year cycle of history . They also put aside the inconvenient fact that the millennium , technically , is still a year off . It hardly mattered . In New York 's Times Square and across the United States , in Europe , Asia , Africa and Australia , in cities and towns all over the world , bells pealed , crowds shrieked and surged , skyrockets soared into the night , fireworks burst into supernovas , `` Auld Lang Syne '' rang out , lights pulsed , loved ones and friends embraced , and the music and Champagne flowed . On a day when moods ran the spectrum from tensions and prayers to euphoria and irresistible hyperbole , what most were calling Christianity 's Third Millennium arrived in 24 stages as the earth revolved through the time zones and midnight elapsed again and again in an around-the-clock , around-the-world series of golden moments that began at the International Dateline in the Pacific and raced westward across Asia , Africa , Europe and the Americas . In New York , a vast crowd of revelers _ the guesses ran as high 2 million _ packed Times Square and much of Midtown Manhattan for the biggest public event ever held in the city _ a 26-hour , $ 7 million marathon of music , fireworks , confetti and deafening voices culminating as a 1,070-pound crystal ball descended at midnight , while the police sweated out an enormous potential for trouble . And there were lavish celebrations in Washington , London , Paris , Rome , Berlin , Jerusalem , Moscow , Cape Town , New Delhi , Shanghai , Beijing , Tokyo , Mexico City , Rio de Janeiro , Buenos Aires and hundreds of other cities . There were parties , concerts , dances , torchlight parades and televised extravaganzas that brought the worldwide show to billions more at home and to the crowds in Times Square over giant video screens _ a case of celebrators watching celebrators . -LRB- BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- To a Martian earthwatcher -LRB- tuning in with delicate ear and Cycloptic eye -RRB- , it might have appeared that the inhabitants of the third world from the Sun had suddenly lost their senses or gone to war again . But it was only humanity on the threshold of a new age , exercising its primal urge to celebrate . -LRB- END OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- There had been an avalanche of happy millennial overkill in recent days _ claims of the last-game , last-meal , first-baby kind _ and Friday it was the turn of world leaders in government , religion , science and other fields , who spoke of the millennium 's meaning in more serious tones . `` Today , we celebrate more than the changing of the calendar , '' President Clinton , extending millennium greetings to the world , said in an address to diplomats and children from 100 nations . `` We celebrate the opportunity we have to make this a true changing of the times , a gateway to greater peace and freedom , to prosperity and harmony . '' In Moscow , Boris Yeltsin , who has been plagued with heart and other problems for most of his eight years as Russia 's president , unexpectedly announced his resignation . `` Russia must enter the new millennium with new politicians , new faces , new intelligent , strong and energetic people , '' he said . `` And we who have been in power for many years must go . '' At the Vatican , Pope John Paul II , fulfilling his dream to lead the Roman Catholic Church across the threshold of 2000 , gave his blessing to a vast crowd in St. Peter 's Square , reiterated his calls for an end to war and poverty , and thanked God for `` the events of this year , this century and this millennium . '' There were millions around the world who had no reason to be festive , people like Tom Nganga , 40 , who lives in Kangemi , a vast slum of Nairobi , Kenya . `` We as Kenyans and people of Kangemi are very , very angry as we celebrate this millennium , '' he said . `` People are very poor . People have nothing to eat . We have nothing to celebrate . '' While the millennium celebrations drew millions , there were relatively few casualties . In the Philippines , two people were killed by stray gunfire and a 5-year-old boy died after a firecracker exploded in his face . At least 200 other Filipinos were injured by fireworks . In Paris , 70 people were hurt in crowds . After years of concern over Y2K computer problems that had cost billions of dollars to fix , there were no immediate reports of computer-related disasters anywhere in the world _ no plane crashes , major power failures , nuclear plant shutdowns or collapses of banking , business , government or health care systems . But elevators , intercity trains and subways in many American cities and in other countries as well were halted briefly over the witching hour , and some airlines canceled flights for the day , just to be safe . Many airports were all but deserted , with wary travelers staying put . Experts said it might take days for some computer problems to develop , in part because many businesses and government agencies were closed for the holiday weekend . There had also been fears that terrorists , publicity seekers or the insane might set off explosions or mount chemical or biological attacks as millions gathered to celebrate , while vast audiences watched on television . No specific threats had been reported , although some suspects had been seized recently . Still , there were no immediate reports of trouble , and law enforcement authorities seemed ready for almost anything . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn UNDATED : almost anything . The millennium , an idea with overtones ranging from Biblical to commercial , had swelled recently into a coercive miniculture as the countdown ticked away and a flood of books , articles , television specials and studied commentaries by academic , political and religious leaders reflected upon the last thousand years of human achievements and missteps , and speculated on the next thousand . Purists still insist that the millennium will not start until Jan. 1 , 2001 , and they are no doubt right . The calendar , at best , is arbitrary . There were problems from ancient times based on inaccuracies in measuring the year 's duration and its uneven division into days , weeks and months . By 1582 , the spring equinox was 10 days early , and the days were dropped when the Gregorian Calendar replaced the old Julian version . While Pope Gregory 's calendar uses the birth of Christ in 1 B.C. , as a starting date , many scholars now suggest that the year was probably closer to 4 B.C. . In any case , as Voltaire noted , history is the lie that historians agree upon , and the tide of popular opinion has swept nearly everyone along . And with the climax of celebrations , and especially when the nines rolled into zeros at midnight and humanity went ballistic , purists ' talk of technicalities was the last thing anyone wanted to hear . For doomsayers who had prophecied conflagrations , earthquakes , volcanic eruptions and other end-of-the-world scenarios -LRB- and kept a weather eye out for UFO rescue ships -RRB- , the new millennium was something of a nonevent , although the anxiety prompted by all the wild predictions of chaos was real enough . The Book of Revelations , Chapter 20 , speaks of a resurrection of the dead and a judgment day , of sinners cast into a lake of fire and Christ reigning for a thousand years . But if it was not the Second Coming of Jesus as foretold in the Bible , there was still a year to go , or this was the wrong millennium . And if , as some said , even the idea of a Third Christian Millennium was a Western conceit in a world where Christians are a minority , and one that overlooked other calendars calling this 1420 -LRB- Muslim -RRB- or 5760 -LRB- Jewish -RRB- , it was also true that the world had long ago come by economic and social necessity to agree upon the Western calendar for trade , travel and other common purposes . The millennium , if nothing else , was a celebration of history , marking human survival after a deadly century of wars , genocide and revolution that saw the end of colonialism , fascism and communism , as well as the achievements of the past thousand years _ printing and widespread literacy ; the exploration of the last frontiers on earth ; the first ventures into outer space , the inner mind and the microscopic universe , and the flowering of democratic government , and of art , literature , science , technology and communications into undreamed eminences . The world on this Millennium Day was still beset with terrible problems _ with grinding poverty that afflicted a third of its 6 billion inhabitants , with ethnic and national strife , with the continuing curse of racial and religious bigotries , and with the exclusion of countless millions from adequate health care , education , jobs and even such basic needs as shelter and clean water , not to mention freedoms of speech and political association . But with a few exceptions _ notably threats of terrorism and limited wars in the Balkans , Chechnya and other regions _ it was a world largely at peace , with the apocalyptic threat of nuclear annihilation receding and new understandings growing between old enemies in the Middle East , Ireland , South Africa and other long-troubled areas . And it was a world on the threshold of a new era _ one that offered visions of astounding strides in science and technology and seemed to hold out anew the ancient promises of universal peace and prosperity , although the only certainty seemed to be that the world a thousand years from now would be unrecognizable . -LRB- END OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- As Dec. 31 , 1999 , gave way to Jan. 1 , 2000 , in each time zone at midnight , with atomic clocks marking it to a millisecond , celebrants went ecstatic . It began in Fiji and the Kiribati and Marshall Islands in the Western Pacific -LRB- it was 7 a.m. , EST Friday -RRB- and moved westward , hour by hour , as the earth turned and 23 more midnights fell across Australia , Asia , Europe , Africa , the Americas and back across the Pacific , ending in Samoa at 6 a.m. , EST Saturday . Islanders in Kiribati welcomed the millennium with the mournful sounds of a conch shell and with traditional chants and dancing on the beach of a normally uninhabited coral atoll , dubbed Millennium Island . In Japan , which has absorbed many of the trappings of the Western world while preserving its own cultural and religious traditions , bells tolled in a Buddhist ritual to dispel evils as thousands flocked to temples and shrines . In Tokyo , the first of the world 's major cities to mark the new year , people went to parties and crowds swarmed to bayside events , including rock concerts and lavish fireworks . In China , torchbearers in Imperial-era costumes lighted signal fires on the watch towers of the Great Wall , which snakes 3,000 miles from the Gobi Desert to the North China Sea , and President Jiang Zemin lighted an eternal flame to greet the new millennium and pledged a `` great rejuvenation '' by reuniting with Taiwan . Over Hong Kong Harbor there were brilliant fireworks displays , and parties abounded , a prelude to the Chinese new year , the Year of the Dragon , which starts Feb. 5 . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn The festivities for most of India 's 1 billion people were muted by comparison with those in wealthier nations , but hundreds of thousands danced , drank and ate at open-air stalls in New Delhi and partygoers were out in force in other major cities , celebrating the peaceful end of an eight-day hostage crisis aboard an Indian Airlines hours before midnight . Iran and its Persian Gulf neighbors largely ignored the new millennium , which fell during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan , a time for prayer and reflection . With religious bans on celebrations that might desecrate holy days , the celebrations in Israel were relatively subdued . In Palestinian-governed Bethlehem , the town revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus , 2,000 doves were released at midnight on Manger Square , and in secular Tel Aviv thousands just went to the beach to watch the sun set over the Mediterranean . Security was heavy in Israel as three religions and some doomsday cultists marked the occasion , each in its own way . It was especially tight on Jerusalem 's Mount of Olives , where Christian fundamentalists had camped to witness the end of the world , and at the Old City 's Temple Mount , with sites sacred to Muslims and Jews . On the last New Year 's Eve of the Christian millennium , observant Jews ushered in the sabbath , as they do every Friday , and many went to pray at the Western Wall , Judaism 's holiest site , while 400,000 Muslims flocked to the al-Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount to mark the last Friday of prayer and fasting in the holy month of Ramadan . In Paris , with new lighting on buildings , boulevards and bridges over the Seine twinkling like the bonfires of a great Medieval encampment , people packed the Champs-Elysees from the Tuileries to the Arc de Triomphe as a digital clock at the Eiffel Tower counted down _ overcoming an old-fashioned glitch that shut it down five hours before midnight _ and announced the millennium in a burst of 20,000 electronic flashes . In London , 2 million people lined the Thames for a spectacular fireworks show , as Queen Elizabeth , Prime Minister Tony Blair and other dignitaries gathered under the 20-acre Millennium Dome , a flying-saucer-like colossus at Longitude Zero in Greenwich , to mark the transition while the bells of St. Paul 's and Westminster and churches across Britain pealed . Huge street parties were held in hundreds of Britain 's cities and towns . In Egypt , floodlights , lasers and fireworks illuminated the ancient pyramids at Giza and electronic music reverberated over the desert as 50,000 people wined and dined in luxury tents and watched a sparkling millennium show under the watchful eyes of police officers on camels . Elsewhere , there were torchlight parades in the streets of Stockholm ; fireworks and singing by massed choirs in Reykjavik , Iceland ; concerts and a ball at the opera house in Tallinn , Estonia ; and a Millennium Ball at the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg , Russia . Across the Atlantic , in Rio de Janeiro , 3 million Brazilians , many of them dressed in festive white , jammed the three-mile Copacabana beach to hear lively samba bands and toss white flowers and perfume into the waves as gifts for Yemanja , the Yoruba goddess of the sea . Police estimated that a record 5 million people converged on Rio de Janeiro 's coastline . Canada 's easternmost province of Newfoundland entered the New Year an hour and a half ahead of New York . In the United States , huge festivities were held on the Washington Mall , and in New Orleans , Chicago , Miami , Los Angeles , Boston , San Francisco and other cities . Far from the millennial crowds , countless people marked the occasion quietly by attending concerts or dances or by going to restaurants or private dinner parties , while millions more watched on television safely at home with friends and families , taking in the shows around the world in live planetary tableaux that might have been imagined a century ago only by Jules Verne dreamers . Some people paid small fortunes to ring in the millennium in exotic places _ on the summit of Mt. Everest , at the base of the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt , aboard a cruise ship in the South Seas , or on an around-the-world supersonic flight chasing midnight through the time zones . In New York , it was a day to remember . The centerpiece was the spectacle billed as `` Times Square 2000 : the Global Celebration at the Crossroads of the World . '' Worried authorities had closed 50 blocks of midtown to traffic , banned alcohol in open containers and flooded the area with 8,000 officers just in case . All vehicles were towed away as a precaution against car bombs . -LRB- STORY CAN END HERE . OPTIONAL MATERIAL FOLLOWS -RRB- Throughout the city , all 37,000 police officers were on duty , and there was plenty for them to do . The Times Square celebration was only one of 329 public events in the city , the biggest of them at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn , at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens . The celebration in Times Square went off as planned with all-day , all-night pulsing music and cacophonous entertainments by 1,000 musicians , actors , dancers , puppeteers and other performers working from a stage on Seventh Avenue between 45th and 46th Streets . Broadway , curving like a dancer 's leg , was packed from 42rd Street to Central Park , along with most of the sidestreets between the Avenue of the Americas and Eighth Avenue . The old wickedness of Times Square was missing , but for most in the crowd it was an adventure just to be caught , shoulder to shoulder , jostling for happiness at the intersection of past and future . The party ran all day and all night , from 6 a.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday , and thousands showed up early to stake claims near ground zero . By the time the sun went down , the crowds were already gigantic . They came in shoals from the suburbs , from across the nation and from countless places abroad , and they swept into the vast clogged carnival , determined to experience the exotic and illusory evening . They were in a euphoric mood , capped and scarved and padded like armadillos against the cold . They watched twilight print the sky with darkness , and the blue night city come to life , glittering like a tiara . By midevening , much of midtown was seized up in human gridlock . Laser lights slid up the skyscrapers and washed over the writhing mass of Lilliputian figures below . The crowds were squeezed into police-barrier pens to create lanes for emergency vehicles , and many had to watch events on giant video screens . The closer to One Times Square , where the ball descended , the more bleary the crowd looked , many having stood their ground for a day and a half . A stench arose from a layer of garbage underfoot . The tradition of celebrants watching others celebrate was continued on a global scale . Live video feeds from festivities around the world were pumped into Times Square , and the scenes there were beamed by 45 networks out to a worldwide audience of 1 billion people or more . It was all perfect for television _ the images clear and colorful , reducing everything , even the millennium , to entertainment . There were no distracting speeches by dignitaries striking the just-right crystal phrases ; indeed , the program _ including an international pageant that , hour by hour , reflected the countries where midnight was then occurring _ was deliberately languageless . That , too , was perfect for this crowd , which seemed preoccupied with itself : people taking pictures of each other , fussing with food , gawking at the neon forest , looking for Peter Jennings , and paying little attention to the pageant of Japanese yogi-bushi umbrellas , Sri Lankan monk chants , Russian ballerinas , Kenyan war dancers , Argentine rainforest butterfly puppets and Lakota Sioux in face paint . But the crowd got into the spirit of things , screaming numbers as the final seconds of the failing millennium were counted down . The tensions that had been building for weeks reached a climax , and there was an inescapable sense of a great public moment at hand , one that most generations could never experience . On center stage , the buckram face of Mayor Giuliani , proud as a drum major , stood at the controls of the descending ball with Dr. Mary Ann Hopkins , 36 , who was being honored for her work in war-torn countries as a volunteer in Doctors Without Borders . And when midnight struck , the roar was deafening : a din of horns , amplified music and countless voices shrieking at the edge of madness . In the chaos , lasers zoomed , flashbulbs sparkled , a blizzard of confetti and streamers and balloons filled the air , and in the distance a blinding dazzle of fireworks exploded . They sang , `` Auld Lang Syne , '' and the joyous screams and congratulatory embraces went on and on . The fireworks , too , went on and on _ over the East River off South Street Seaport , in Central Park , in Brooklyn 's Prospect Park _ the biggest pyrotechnic display in history _ a booming , sparkling , scintillating barrage of rockets and sunbursts that bathed the awed faces in eerie light and echoed off the facades of a city that seemed to exist only in the imagination . PARADE CAMPERS UNDETERRED Rain and chilly weather did n't keep thousands of paradegoers from camping out Friday night for the 111th Tournament of Roses . Spirits were high among the street party crowd as they set up for curbside seats for today 's parade . `` I want to party all night , '' said Tyne Gaudielle , 15 , of Glendale , who spent the last night of the year along Colorado Boulevard with a group of friends . Whether they came for the partying or the parade , campers were in for a long night . Rain continued into the evening and temperatures were expected to dip down into the low 40s . `` Rain ca n't stop you from having fun , '' said Terry Teague , 29 , of Pomona . The parade will begin at 8 a.m. and includes 54 floats , 25 marching bands , 26 equestrian units and three dignitary units . By today , meteorologists said the sun would be out with high temperatures in the mid 60s . History was on the side of a dry parade as it has n't rained on the parade in 45 years and only nine times in 111 years . Paradegoers took refuge in any way they could . Some set up tents . Others crammed in doorways and under awnings . Many pulled their tarps over their sleeping bags . `` This is uncomfortable but it 's not unbearable , '' said Ron Pangrac , 40 , of San Jose . Cynthia Belmonte took refuge from the rain in a shop doorway with her family . The clan has spent New Year 's Eve on Colorado Boulevard for the past seven years . Belmonte , 23 , of Montebello enjoys the parade and the rowdiness the night before . `` You may sleep an hour or two but that 's it , '' she said . `` There are too many distractions . '' Most paradegoers said they do n't mind missing the sleep . That 's what New Year 's Day is for , some said . They prefer to people watch , make friends , play board games and chat with family members . Many who said they usually stayed home New Year 's Eve decided to spend the night on the street in an effort to make the last night of the millennium a memorable one . Marc Angelucci of Westwood had n't camped out for the Rose Parade since he was a kid . `` This was a must because of the millennium . It 's 2000 , '' said Angelucci , 31 . `` I had to . '' The Rev. Rodney A. Hilpert has traveled to Pasadena from Northern California with a youth group from his church for the past 15 years . Hilpert brings dozens of young people to help decorate floats and spend the night along the parade route . `` Where else would you like to gather with 3 million of your closest friends ? '' said Hilpert , 53 , of Placerville , Calif. `` I would n't want to be anywhere else on New Year 's Eve . '' For the first time , Carol Hernandez brought her family from Temecula , Calif. , to camp out and watch the parade . Because of the cold and rain , the family camped in shifts Friday night . `` It 's the millennium , '' said Hernandez , 39 . `` We did n't want to say when people asked us , where did you celebrate the millennium ? , that we were at home . We wanted to do something special . '' WASHINGTON CROWD FLOCKS TO THE MALL Although it had seen many huge crowds over the years , for inaugurations , Fourth of July fireworks , protests and parades , never in memory had the Mall in the nation 's capital drawn multitudes for New Year 's . But on this mild winter night with a lovely sunset , hundreds of thousands of people here thronged to the Mall for a long-planned celebration on the last New Year 's Eve of the 1900s . `` It 's a very friendly crowd , '' Sgt. Frank R. Onolfi of the U.S.Park Police said as afternoon turned to evening . But by shortly after 10 p.m. , there were so many people trying to get close to the Lin - coln Memorial , the focal point of the observ - ances where President Clinton was about to speak , that sections of temporary fencing were pushed down along Constitution Ave - nue . Multitudes stormed through the gaps instead of being funneled through several security points , where the police had been checking for alcohol . Police officers saw that the throngs could not be repulsed without the risk of serious injury or disorder , so they let the people come through . Another line of fences stopped them close to the reflecting pool , and the police said order was soon restored . No serious injuries were reported . Early in the evening , it was clear that the crowd was befitting of a cosmopolitan city and a changing America . The celebration drew people of different languages and ac - cents , from other countries , from all over the United States and from Washington it - self . People who live in the District tend to be blase about motorcades and potentates and ceremonies , but many Washingtonians thought Friday night 's event was something they could not miss . `` We normally stay home on New Year 's , but we had to see the millennium celebration , '' Thea Anderson said . She and her husband , Clarence , who have lived in the District for 27 years , were at first a little nervous about venturing out , given the talk of danger , however remote . But in the end , they took the Metro downtown and were glad they did . Patrick and Jane Wilson of Greenville , S.C. , arrived Friday morning , early enough to get close to President Clinton at an event before midday . Mrs. Wilson was delighted to get pictures of the president , and the couple were pleased with the crowd-control measures , which they found efficient without being oppressive . `` Everything is so laid-back , '' Mrs. Wilson said . `` There 's no pushing or shoving . '' The events of Friday made the Wilsons feel at home again , in a sense . They were out of the country for several years _ she travels a lot for business _ and their return has not been altogether pleasant . They said they had noticed heightened suspicions at airports and other gathering places , and she has had to explain why she has been to Kuwait . Many people at the Mall Friday night wore party hats . One merchandise tent offered `` millennium celebration '' certificates . An entrepreneur hawked T-shirts labeled , `` I survived Y2K . '' The going rate was $ 5 . For a relative few , the evening called for tuxedos and formal gowns _ proper attire for the White House Millennium Dinner , where the first family greeted guests before leaving for fireworks festivities on the Mall . Joggers threaded their way nonchalantly through the Mall celebrators . There was lots of room , the Mall being one of the jewels that make this a pedestrian-friendly city . For all the anticipation , some people were just not getting it . Connie Liang brought her children _ one 18-months-old , the other 3-years-old . `` My children are too young to remember this , '' she said , `` but at least they will be able to say they were here . '' HOW MANY COULD THEORETICALLY FIT IN TIMES SQUARE ? Half a million ? A million ? A zillion ? The world will never know how many humans squeezed their way into the Designated Watching Zones around Times Square to see the ball drop , but it is not impossible to estimate how many people could have been there . Keep in mind , this calculation includes only the areas from Times Square north _ where people at least theoretically could see the top of 1 Times Square _ and does not include those watching from skyscraper windows or peering at video screens along side streets . Or simply partying somewhere in the vicinity of mid-Manhattan . In the enthusiastic run-up to the celebration , overall estimates were running as high as 2 million people . Anyway , here 's the math : According to practitioners of the inexact science of crowd size estimation , an average standing person will fit in a square about 17 inches on each side , or about 2 square feet . According to the official plan , the city was only allowing spectators into pens that took up about half of the pavement area along each block of Broadway and Seventh Avenue , between 42nd Street and 59th Street . But to take the most-crowded-case scenario , assume that every inch of pavement along Broadway and Seventh , as well as a few feet of each side street , was filled with people . A typical block of Seventh Avenue around Times Square is 265 feet long and 60 feet wide , for a total of about 15,900 square feet _ enough room for 7,950 people . A typical block of Broadway is a bit longer _ about 275 feet , enough space for 8,250 people . Adding up all the blocks of Broadway and Seventh Avenue between 42nd Street and Central Park South , including the trapezoid where Broadway and Seventh intersect , and figuring 20 feet or so of cushion on each side street , the total capacity of the viewing area is , approximately , 300,538.5 people . ` POLISH PIECES ' : THE ALVIN AILEY TROUPE EXPLORES LOVE One of the happiest aspects of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater winter season , which ends Sunday , has been the performing . Burnished to a glow by Judith Jamison and Masazumi Chaya , longtime former Ailey dancers who are now , respectively , the troupe 's artistic director and associate artistic director , the performers ' high technical level and individuality were seen to their best advantage in Hans van Manen 's `` Polish Pieces '' on Wednesday afternoon at City Center . The piece , choreographed in 1995 and set to a driving score by Gorecki , has 12 dancers crossing and recrossing the stage in staggered lines and layered small groups . Three brief duets are embedded in the flow of the dance , which ends with odd abruptness . Kevin E. Boseman and Stephanie Powell were the playful , space-gobbling young lovers of the first duet . The two that followed were much more emotionally charged . Bahiyah Sayyed and Glenn A. Sims seemed to burn the air around them as the lovers of the second duet , she desperate , crooked-limbed and clinging to his resolutely passive body . There is a hint of resolution in the nobler third duet , danced with just the right clarity and heroism by Uri Sands and Linda Caceres . Staged by Mea Venana , `` Polish Pieces '' was greatly enhanced by Keso Dekker 's jewel-colored unitards and Joop Caboort 's strong but unobtrusive lighting . The elegant cast was completed by Asha Thomas , Troy O'Neil Powell , Cheryl Ann Rowley , Amos J. Machanic Jr. , Briana Reed and Askia Swift . Ulysses Dove 's `` Episodes '' might have looked better had it not followed Powell 's bittersweet `` Ascension , '' a subtler jazz dance to similarly propulsive music . Nine faceless dancers stride , dash and slide across a variety of white-lighted diagonals on the dark stage , the women tossing their long hair and pausing to slug the men or leap into their arms . Eventually it all comes to seem like a postmodernist version of Jerome Robbins ' `` Cage , '' a ballet about male-killing females . That impression was heightened by the chill evil projected by Lynn Barre , in a hard-dancing cast completed by Ms. Caceres , Ms. Thomas , Sims , Benoit-Swan Pouffer , Kristofer Storey , Jeffrey Gerodias and Swift . The program was completed by Ailey 's `` Revelations . '' IN HONG KONG , MANY MARK THE MILLENNIUM AT THE RACE TRACK How do you mark the passage of 1,000 years of human history ? Simple , in this city of chronic gamblers and cold-eyed oddsmakers : You head for the track . At 12:45 a.m. , as the last wisps of smoke from New Year 's Eve fireworks drifted away from the Happy Valley Racecourse , the crack of a starter 's gun set off the Millennium Cup . The Hong Kong Jockey Club billed it as the first horse race of the 2000s , though rumors swirled that it may have been edged out for first-in-the-world status by post-midnight races in New Zealand and Australia . Floral Joy won $ 110,000 from a total purse worth $ 200,000 . It was a good prize , but not extraordinary for a jockey club that gener - ates more than $ 10 billion a season in bet - ting . Such details did not dampen the spirits of more than 50,000 people who cheered wildly as Floral Joy streaked across the line several lengths ahead of the next horse . If a horse-race seems an offhand way to celebrate the ultimate New Year 's Eve , remember that strictly speaking , the new year does not even arrive here until February 5 , when Hong Kong and the rest of the Chinese-speaking world will welcome the Year of the Dragon . Considering that Hong Kong was celebrating someone else 's holiday , it threw quite a party . The city mounted a splashy fireworks display at Happy Valley . At the stroke of midnight , fireballs placed at 175-foot intervals around the track erupted into a fountain of flames . An enormous illuminated dragon , which the organizers described as the largest-ever , held court in the infield . For some Hong Kong residents , gambling seemed the only way to celebrate the millennium . `` This is the perfect atmosphere for racing , '' said Wilson Chan , a local businessman who lost money on the first seven races of the evening , but was sure he would win it all back on the main event . Albert Cheng , a popular local radio-show host , said horse racing symbolized stability in this former British colony , which reverted to Chinese rule two years ago . `` Deng Xiaoping promised us that the dancing would go on and the races would go on after the handover , '' Cheng said , paraphrasing a now-legendary remark by the Chinese leader . The Millennium Cup capped an evening of festivities that also featured performances by several of Hong Kong 's biggest film and pop stars , including Jackie Chan , Chow Yun Fat , and Michelle Yeoh . Chan served as the clown prince of the evening _ singing , dancing , and mugging with all the cheerful exuberance he brings to roughing up bad guys in films like `` Rumble in the Bronx . '' Of less interest to the star-crazed audience , Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa led a countdown of the final seconds of 1999 . Tung then slipped away for the Hong Kong Convention Center , where he caught a New Year 's Eve concert by Whitney Houston . Ms. Houston performed at one of the evening 's hot tickets _ a dusk-to-dawn millennium party hosted by Richard Li , the son of Hong Kong billionaire , Li Ka-shing . The younger Li only decided to throw the bash a month ago , and his organizers had worked frantically around-the-clock to book marquee performers and ready a dinner for 1,000 . Across Victoria Harbor , the Regent Hotel vied for the status of gaudiest party . At midnight , nearly 3,000 guests gazed out of the hotel 's floor-to-ceiling windows toward Hong Kong island , where the already dramatic skyline had been transformed in a dizzying light show . Brilliant hundred-foot , lighted dragons wrapped themselves around buildings , while the numerals 2,000 flashed on several skyscrapers . '00 COMPUTER GLITCHES ARE MOSTLY A NO-SHOW Despite a few sputters and glitches , the world 's computers appear to have survived the Year 2000 rollover without major problems _ and with humanity 's faith in technology intact , at least for another day . As clocks passed midnight around the world , there were a flurry of reports of apparently minor prob - lems : a timing device at a electric plant in Wisconsin jumped ahead 35 days , but it was quickly reset ; a monitoring system at a Japanese nuclear plant malfunctioned , but it did not affect the operation of the reactor ; in Australia , ticketing ma - chines on some buses jammed . The technology failures with L greater impact were a result of crowding _ circuits jammed when too many people tried to make cellu - lar phone calls in Japan , New Zea - land and elsewhere _ instead of computer software that could not fathom the year 2000 . Yet the day arrived without the kind of catastrophic problems once feared , like widespread power failures or planes crashing . The computers of the U.S. power grid and air-traffic control system rolled over to the New Year just past 7 p.m. Eastern time , which is midnight Greenwich Mean Time , and things went without a hitch . `` I 've never felt there was any significant chance the United States would have any problem in its infrastructure , '' said John A. Koskinen , chairman of the President 's Council on Year 2000 Conversion . But he cautioned against complacency in the United States and around the world . `` There are likely to be some glitches along the way , '' he said . The real test , experts say , will come in the days and weeks ahead as people return to work , as factories , offices and stores begin normal operations . `` To look at midnight as the main event would be a mistake , '' said David Cassano , general manager of IBM 's Year 2000 program . `` We 'll really start to find out where we stand in the first weeks of January as businesses run their systems for the first time . '' Still , expectations about the severity of the Year 2000 problem have been scaled back sharply in recent months . The prospect of computer failures cascading destructively across the world economy was taken as a serious threat not long ago . But most analysts now regard such warnings as exaggerated . Instead , computer specialists are now watching mainly for a rash of small , but fixable , glitches in computer programs related to the Year 2000 problem . These problems , most analysts say , should amount to an economic headache , not a serious illness _ though there are a few analysts who say that a recession early this year is still possible . Yet around the world , fears about Y2K , as the computer problem is known , were the exception . As he withdrew a few hundred dollars from an automated teller machine in Rome on Friday , Federico Pacifici , 44 , said : `` I have faith in technology . I do n't think normal people will have any problem . '' In Japan , the reaction was not quite so relaxed , but there was no evidence of Year 2000 panic . Strolling through Tokyo 's Ginza district last night , Masao Ito , 66 , observed , `` I was a bit worried about Y2K , but I did n't think it would be a lasting problem , so I was n't terribly concerned . '' Japanese are accustomed to stockpiling basic goods as a precaution against earthquakes , and the government had recommended that citizens have extra goods on hand in case of Year 2000 breakdowns . Masato Takahashi , a student , said he had put away enough water and food for a week . `` I 'm not expecting anything major , '' he said . `` I just thought there might be some problem . '' In the isolated cases of panicky reactions , the explanation seemed more cultural than technological . In rural Thailand , for example , the government said farmers and villagers had been withdrawing cash from banks and clearing out food markets because of Year 2000 fears . `` It does n't make sense , '' said Kitti Patpongpaibul , deputy governor of the Bank of Thailand . `` Almost none of these people own credit cards or computers . '' Astrologers in the Thai countryside have apparently been spreading dire Year 2000 predictions . Globally , the more common sentiment seemed to be that of Spaniards . Surveys have found that Spaniards are largely unconcerned by the computer problem , known as `` Effecto 2000 '' in Spain , and 90 percent said they had made no special preparations . `` There 's been no panic buying here , '' said Carlos Lizana , the manager of a Supersol supermarket in Madrid . If the economic fallout is minimal from the Year 2000 problem , it will be largely because many governments and corporations eventually listened to the dire warnings of Year 2000 readiness advocates . And they invested more than $ 250 billion worldwide in finding and fixing the problem . The U.S. government alone spent $ 8.4 billion to fix the glitches in the computers that handle everything from sending out Social Security checks to tracking airplanes with the Federal Aviation Administration 's air-traffic control system . The government 's efforts accelerated sharply after Koskinen became the head of the administration 's Year 2000 program in February 1998 . Companies may have been slow to start _ an estimated 90 percent of corporate fix-it spending has occurred since 1997 _ but once they began they invested heavily to tackle their Year 2000 problems . Citigroup , for example , spent roughly $ 950 million to get its banks , securities trading desks and insurance operations ready for the Year 2000 rollover . `` There have been massive investments made to address the Y2K issue and those investments will mean that the most severe problems should be avoided , '' said Lou Marcoccio , the Year 2000 research director for the Gartner Group , a computer consulting and market research firm . The Year 2000 problem has proved so costly to try to fix because it has been a painstaking task for thousands of people worldwide , searching through billions of lines of programming code , much of it decades old . The problem dates back to before the 1960s . Back then , storage space on disks was scarce and costly , so programmers routinely omitted the first two digits in year dates . The danger is that computers will fail to interpret the `` 00 '' date as 2000 , and shut off or malfunction . BC-Y2K-ROUNDUP-2NDTAKE-NYT UNDATED : or malfunction . Around the world , the Year 2000 rollover has meant that much of the computer industry is on around-the-clock duty , watching for problems and ready to fix ones that do crop up . It was a quiet watch Friday . From her desk in Hewlett-Packard 's Year 2000 center in Palo Alto , Calif. , Kathy Hahn filed her first status report at 3:45 a.m. Like the reports she filed afterward , it was a green light : The company 's field office in Auckland , New Zealand , reported that there were no apparent problems plaguing the company 's computer systems at night . For Ms. Hahn , director of Hewlett-Packard 's Year 2000 planning , Friday 's lack of problems were a rewarding finish to nearly three years of hard work in preparation . `` It feels like I 've been pregnant for two and a half years , '' she said . `` I 'm feeling a great sense of relief . '' Edward Yardeni , a leading Wall Street economist , said it was much too early to relax about the Year 2000 problem . Yet even he is revising his earlier dark warnings . In the summer of 1997 , Yardeni warned that the computer problem could be the catalyst for a recession as severe as the 1974-75 downturn in the aftermath of the first oil shock . But he has done some rethinking recently . `` It 's certainly not going to be as bad as I thought it would be , '' said Yardeni , chief economist of Deutsche Bank Securities . Yardeni still thinks it is likely there will be a recession in the first half of 2000 but says it will be a brief , shallow economic dip . Other analysts do not go that far , but they caution against being too encouraged by the first-day reports . `` The real test is coming in the days and weeks ahead , and I think there is a good chance the world 's going to have a digital hangover for the three to six months , '' said Gary Beach , publisher of CIO Magazine , who has testified before Congress on the Year 2000 issue . Do n't call Jim and Susan Smith survivalists . In fact , you do n't even have to call them Jim and Susan _ those are n't their real names . Thing is , they do n't want their real names used . They have a good thing _ a secure thing _ going , and they 'd just as soon not publicize it . They 're not digging bomb shelters and running around in camouflage . The whole idea of locked-and-loaded Uzis and concertina wire festooned around the perimeter and hundreds of cases of pork and beans in the bunker gives them the creeps . But they do intend to survive , should things get ugly in the aftermath of Y2K . Call them , perhaps , Survivalists Lite . They 'd prefer another term : subsistence farmers . After all , they live in a wholly self-sufficient manner on a remote west Marin County ridgetop , not far from San Francisco . The steep , narrow road to their 60-acre farm is protected by a locked gate . They grow all their own food , and their water is piped from a spring and two wells . They heat with wood harvested from trees grown on their property . They 've also just completed a photovoltaic and wind system that will keep their farm supplied with electricity , even if the national power grid collapses . `` We got it finished just in time , and it works beautifully , '' said Susan Friday afternoon . `` We 're having a glass of champagne with our solar engineer to celebrate . '' And even if the oil refineries shut down , they 'll still be able to farm their three acres of hillside cropland . They keep two big draft horses on their spread , and they own a variety of horse-drawn plows and cultivators . The Smiths farm for both the home larder and the market _ and it is n't easy . When they bought their hillside holding 20 years ago , the soil was thin and poor . They have spent the intervening years assiduously building it up with compost and `` green manures '' _ plowed-under legumes and grasses . `` It 's taken a lot of work , '' sighed Susan as she watched her husband turn over ground for a raspberry patch with a walking tractor , a kind of ultrapowerful diesel rototiller . `` And it 's still a lot of work . '' The Smiths also raise sheep , chickens and turkeys . All their produce is grown organically . For the marketplace , they concentrate on garlic and raspberries , crops that provide a fairly high yield and generally decent price for their labor . Their vegetables come from a large garden that 's still providing some tomatoes . `` That 's unusual even for this part of Marin , '' she said . `` The temperatures are generally higher up on the ridgetops than in the valleys during the winter , but things are even warmer than usual this year . From a farmer 's point of view , it 's kind of scary . If our raspberries do n't go dormant , they wo n't produce any fruit next year . '' The Smiths take Y2K seriously and have n't been at all assured by government and corporate assurances that everything 's going to be hunky-dory , a few minor glitches notwithstanding . `` I do n't think people realize the food security in this country is nil , '' said Susan . `` If Y2K does n't cause shortages , I 'm still convinced we 'll see them within 10 years . We 've given over our food supply to the industrial model , and we 've lost our control , our health and our connection to the land as a result . '' The Smiths planned to spend New Year 's Eve entertaining some friends with drinks and a homegrown dinner . `` We 'll have between 12 and 20 people here , depending on who floats through , '' said Susan . From their ridgetop perspective , it seemed unlikely that the new millennium will shape up much differently than the old one . As midnight approached , the wind still soughed through the trees , and the owls still hooted . There was no talk of manning the ramparts in preparation for the coming chaos . Armed defense was n't in the game plan . They do n't own an arsenal . `` A couple of shotguns , and that 's about it , '' observed Jim . That 's hardly enough to deter ravening hordes from the city . But they think _ hope , at least _ their isolation and self-sufficiency will give them all the protection they need . While the Smiths felt ready for Y2K , they 're not at all sure about the rest of us . Particularly those of us who work with big , potentially dangerous chunks of industrial infrastructure . `` Most of the 460 nuclear reactors in the world are n't Y2K compliant , '' Susan said , `` and simply taking them offline may not be enough . A plant still needs power to keep coolant over the core to prevent radiation release . We really do n't know the state of their backup generator systems . '' The Smiths have focused most of their Y2K preparations on their farm , but that is n't necessarily how they would have preferred it . Susan served on a community committee that was convened to devise local strategies for dealing with Y2K . She was disheartened by the experience . `` Basically , no one showed up at the meetings , '' she said . `` We tried to get funding to store grain at the local fire station , but that did n't come through . And then we tried to plant a field to grain , but the tractor we were able to get did n't work with the seed drill we had . There just was n't enough community interest to get anything done . '' Despite their concerns , the Smiths approached Y2K with more festivity than foreboding . Their preparations for the final countdown were upbeat , though with a decidedly rural twist some urbanites might have found a little too real for comfort _ such as slaughtering the turkey that was a star feature of the repast . After quickly decapitating the bird , Susan scalded and plucked the carcass with the help of a couple of friends . `` We 're going to smoke him in a pit , '' she said as she expertly pulled some pinfeathers from the plump breast . `` He 'll be delicious . People who have never eaten a turkey that grew up running around , eating greens and insects , do n't really know how good they taste . '' Do n't call Jim and Susan Smith survivalists . In fact , you do n't even have to call them Jim and Susan _ those are n't their real names . Thing is , they do n't want their real names used . They have a good thing _ a secure thing _ going , and they 'd just as soon not publicize it . They 're not digging bomb shelters and running around in camouflage . The whole idea of locked-and-loaded Uzis and concertina wire festooned around the perimeter and hundreds of cases of pork and beans in the bunker gives them the creeps . But they do intend to survive , should things get ugly in the aftermath of Y2K . Call them , perhaps , Survivalists Lite . They 'd prefer another term : subsistence farmers . After all , they live in a wholly self-sufficient manner on a remote west Marin County ridgetop , not far from San Francisco . The steep , narrow road to their 60-acre farm is protected by a locked gate . They grow all their own food , and their water is piped from a spring and two wells . They heat with wood harvested from trees grown on their property . They 've also just completed a photovoltaic and wind system that will keep their farm supplied with electricity , even if the national power grid collapses . `` We got it finished just in time , and it works beautifully , '' said Susan Friday afternoon . `` We 're having a glass of champagne with our solar engineer to celebrate . '' And even if the oil refineries shut down , they 'll still be able to farm their three acres of hillside cropland . They keep two big draft horses on their spread , and they own a variety of horse-drawn plows and cultivators . The Smiths farm for both the home larder and the market _ and it is n't easy . When they bought their hillside holding 20 years ago , the soil was thin and poor . They have spent the intervening years assiduously building it up with compost and `` green manures '' _ plowed-under legumes and grasses . `` It 's taken a lot of work , '' sighed Susan as she watched her husband turn over ground for a raspberry patch with a walking tractor , a kind of ultrapowerful diesel rototiller . `` And it 's still a lot of work . '' The Smiths also raise sheep , chickens and turkeys . All their produce is grown organically . For the marketplace , they concentrate on garlic and raspberries , crops that provide a fairly high yield and generally decent price for their labor . Their vegetables come from a large garden that 's still providing some tomatoes . `` That 's unusual even for this part of Marin , '' she said . `` The temperatures are generally higher up on the ridgetops than in the valleys during the winter , but things are even warmer than usual this year . From a farmer 's point of view , it 's kind of scary . If our raspberries do n't go dormant , they wo n't produce any fruit next year . '' The Smiths take Y2K seriously and have n't been at all assured by government and corporate assurances that everything 's going to be hunky-dory , a few minor glitches notwithstanding . `` I do n't think people realize the food security in this country is nil , '' said Susan . `` If Y2K does n't cause shortages , I 'm still convinced we 'll see them within 10 years . We 've given over our food supply to the industrial model , and we 've lost our control , our health and our connection to the land as a result . '' The Smiths planned to spend New Year 's Eve entertaining some friends with drinks and a homegrown dinner . `` We 'll have between 12 and 20 people here , depending on who floats through , '' said Susan . From their ridgetop perspective , it seemed unlikely that the new millennium will shape up much differently than the old one . As midnight approached , the wind still soughed through the trees , and the owls still hooted . There was no talk of manning the ramparts in preparation for the coming chaos . Armed defense was n't in the game plan . They do n't own an arsenal . `` A couple of shotguns , and that 's about it , '' observed Jim . That 's hardly enough to deter ravening hordes from the city . But they think _ hope , at least _ their isolation and self-sufficiency will give them all the protection they need . While the Smiths felt ready for Y2K , they 're not at all sure about the rest of us . Particularly those of us who work with big , potentially dangerous chunks of industrial infrastructure . `` Most of the 460 nuclear reactors in the world are n't Y2K compliant , '' Susan said , `` and simply taking them offline may not be enough . A plant still needs power to keep coolant over the core to prevent radiation release . We really do n't know the state of their backup generator systems . '' The Smiths have focused most of their Y2K preparations on their farm , but that is n't necessarily how they would have preferred it . Susan served on a community committee that was convened to devise local strategies for dealing with Y2K . She was disheartened by the experience . `` Basically , no one showed up at the meetings , '' she said . `` We tried to get funding to store grain at the local fire station , but that did n't come through . And then we tried to plant a field to grain , but the tractor we were able to get did n't work with the seed drill we had . There just was n't enough community interest to get anything done . '' Despite their concerns , the Smiths approached Y2K with more festivity than foreboding . Their preparations for the final countdown were upbeat , though with a decidedly rural twist some urbanites might have found a little too real for comfort _ such as slaughtering the turkey that was a star feature of the repast . After quickly decapitating the bird , Susan scalded and plucked the carcass with the help of a couple of friends . `` We 're going to smoke him in a pit , '' she said as she expertly pulled some pinfeathers from the plump breast . `` He 'll be delicious . People who have never eaten a turkey that grew up running around , eating greens and insects , do n't really know how good they taste . '' While much of the world partied and played , the people of Jerusalem prayed their way into the year 2000 . At midnight , hundreds of hymn-singing and arm-waving Christians gathered in the Garden Tomb , one of two Jerusalem shrines that claim to be the site of Jesus Christ 's tomb . `` We 're hanging out in a graveyard , while others hang out in Times Square , '' said the Rev. Wayne Hilsden , pastor of the King of Kings Assembly , an evangelical congregation in Jerusalem . `` They 'll wake up with a hangover . We 'll wake up redeemed in the Lord . '' As firecrackers and louder explosives crackled and flashed at nearby Damascus Gate , the outdoor congregation sang spirited choruses of `` this year in Jerusalem , may your spirit descend . '' While the messianic spirit may have descended , there were no immediate sightings of the actual Messiah atop the Mount of Olives , where many Christians predict Jesus will someday return to Earth . `` If the Messiah would have returned , it would have been neat to see him go through the Golden Gate , '' said Jim Peters , a candlemaker from Wausau , Wis. , referring to the now-blocked portal through which some believe Christ will approach the Temple Mount . Peters , who said he spent $ 2,500 just to be on the Mount of Olives at midnight , comforted himself with this thought : `` Jesus needs to come through the heart , '' he said , `` not the gate . '' More than 2,500 pilgrims and local Catholics attended a Roman Catholic service at the Church of All Nations in the Garden of Gethsemane , followed by a candlelight procession up the Mount of Olives . In an extraordinary set of calendrical coincidences , Friday was the last day of the Christian 1900s , the final Friday of the Islamic month of Ramadan and the beginning of the weekly Jewish Sabbath , which shuts down the Holy City like nowhere else on Earth . Jerusalem is famous for its amazing juxtaposition of faiths and feelings . Islamic women covered in traditional dress rub shoulders with American tourists in shorts and Hassidic Jews wearing the same black hats and long coats that their grandfathers donned in the 19th century . Friday , as hundreds of thousands of Muslims chanted and bowed around the Dome of the Rock , everyday life went on in the Jewish Quarter , just a stone 's throw below . Outside a rooftop cafe overlooking the packed Islamic shrine , a violinist played a mournful version of the Frank Sinatra hit song `` My Way . '' And if that was n't enough , noontime church bells began ringing in the year 2000 of the Christian calendar . Tom Jacobson , a tourist from Rohnert Park , sat dumbfounded in the cafe , wondering whether to believe his eyes and ears . `` I have never seen anything like this in my life , '' said Jacobson , an associate professor in environmental studies at Sonoma State University . `` This morning , I was at the Lion 's Gate watching this sea of humanity walk up to the Dome of the Rock . It was mesmerizing . It just flowed . '' Also on hand in the narrow streets of the walled city were thousands of heavily armed Israeli soldiers , police and special security forces . About 7,000 officers and 5,000 police volunteers were on the New Year 's Eve night shift _ more than four times the usual number . Security was especially tight at checkpoints into the prosperous Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall , or Wailing Wall , where Jews gather for prayer . The eve of the year 2000 was not a particularly big deal in this town of three calendars and three major faiths , with Christianity the smallest of the three . For Christians , Friday was December 31 , 1999 . For Muslims , it was Ramadan 23 , 1420 . For Jews , it was Tevet 22 , 5760 . `` We are very used to counting the years , '' said Amnon Lipkin Shachak , the Israel minister of tourism . `` We are in our sixth millennium . '' More significantly , New Year 's Eve fell in the middle of Shabbat , the Jewish Sabbath , which runs from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday , and the Orthodox rabbis and religious political parties who have enormous power in Jerusalem issued stern warnings to observe the Sabbath . There were no big public events scheduled in Jerusalem last night , and the city 's Religious Council and Chief Rabbinate threatened to withdraw the kashrut certificates from any major hotels that had music or parties last night . Those certificates verify that a hotel 's food and kitchens are kosher , and are essential for doing business in the Holy City . The low-key celebration was due in part to stringent Israeli efforts to keep believers in apocalyptic endings at bay . In recent weeks , Israel deported evangelical Christians who it feared could cause trouble , and Friday , it tightened security around its national park at Megiddo , just off the highway that connects the ancient Roman city of Caesarea to the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee . Megiddo is the site mentioned in the apocalyptic Book of Revelation for the Biblical doomsday battle of Armageddon , and it is a growing source of fascination for evangelicals focused on `` end times '' theology . Although there are no churches at the site , approximately 170,000 Christian pilgrims visit the hill of Megiddo each year , and authorities were afraid that Christian extremist groups might target the area , or that a suicide cult might go there to usher in the new year . Not far from Megiddo , Angelita Galvan-Freeman , a Roman Catholic pilgrim from Southern California , planned a New Year 's Eve sail on the Sea of Galilee , on a wooden boat not unlike one Jesus would have used 2,000 years ago . Her New Year 's prayer is that Christians , Muslims and Jews will find common ground in the millennium ahead . `` We started as one people , '' she said , `` and we have to get back to that root from which we all came . '' tag Chronicle correspondent Tom Zoellner contributed to this report from the Mount of Olives . IN TIMES SQUARE , CELEBRANTS COME EARLY , STAY LONG In a rainbow blizzard of confetti and a symphony of neon and fire - works , a mighty crush of New Year 's merrymakers welcomed the year 2000 in Times Square , the world 's most famous intersection . Undeterred by fears of terrorism or Y2K havoc , the Times Square crowd showed every sign of being the biggest and noisiest ever , bent on watching history happen , watching themselves on huge video screens and hoping that friends and relatives were watching them on television at home . After the ball atop 1 Times Square dropped at midnight , a jubilant May - or Rudolph Giuliani admitted that he had been nervous about the threat of terrorism or Y2K upheaval `` right until the last minute . '' But the day 's festivities had gone without a hitch . `` I am so proud of all the people of New York City , '' he said . `` I am so proud of the most diverse city in the world . We can have a great celebra - tion and we can do it peacefully and decently . '' As the revelers whooped and hol - lered , hugged and kissed , one couple made the ultimate hopeful statement about the new millennium . At the stroke of midnight , Alex Buxton asked Sicely Schiffgen to marry him , with what looked like a four-carat diamond and platinum ring . The most die-hard of the revelers arrived a day ahead of schedule , camping overnight in soggy cardboard huts and sleeping bags , unmolested by battalions of police officers , in order to stake out prime viewing spots for the party to end all parties . They won the bragging rights for being in Times Square at 7 in the morning , when the year 2000 arrived in the islands of the South Pacific , 17 time zones away . At that moment , as sani - tation workers tried to haul away remains of the soggy campsites , the 83,000-watt Waterford crystal ball was hoisted to the top of its tower to the strains of Copland 's `` Fanfare for the Common Man . '' Tamar Stratyevskaya , 23 , could have used a hot shower by then . She had spent the night in a makeshift village of cardboard lean-tos , just the sort of encampment mayors from coast to coast have been trying to dismantle . She had brought soda , cookies , noisemakers , a bottle of contraband Champagne and a quilt . When the rain started , she moved under a movie marquee . `` Everyone I know thought I was crazy , '' said Ms. Stratyevskaya , a resident of Washington Heights in upper Manhattan . `` But actually , it 's kind of fun . '' Other less compulsive celebrants came in waves throughout the day : families who wanted a taste of the excitement before nightfall , when Times Square can become a rowdy place ; immigrants eager to ring in the New Year twice , once along with their homeland and once in their new home ; and tourists and New Yorkers alike who wedged themselves into spectator pens set up by the police to await the midnight saturnalia . As always , the college crowd , do - ing a cold-weather imitation of spring break in Fort Lauderdale , grew wild and crazy _ or wilder and crazier _ as the witching hour ap - proached . Mugging for the television cameras , throwing each other in the air as if in a mosh pit , smelling suspiciously like contraband alcohol and marijuana , they tirelessly wel - comed another year of hijinks . Kamran Syed , a 19-year-old stu - dent at the University of Southern California film school , had flown from Los Angeles by himself to see the ball drop . `` Hoo wah ! , '' he shout - ed , noting that he had just downed three Bombay Sapphire martinis and had been awake for 31 hours . I 'm Carlos Reina , another solo travel - er , who drove all the way from north - ern Mexico , also had had too much to drink , too little to eat and not enough sleep . `` I hope I die here , '' he said , swilling beer . ` I 'm so happy . '' But not all the party animals were men . Three United Airlines stewar-H desses were as close to the ball as a spectator could get , near the Armed Forces recruiting station on the nar - row traffic island at 43rd Street sepa - rating Seventh Avenue and Broad - way . `` I 'm cute , that 's all you need to know , '' said Nancy Lewis , 25 , of San Diego . `` I flirted my way past the police . That 's how I got here . '' In years past , the rowdy count - down to midnight was the soul of the Times Square celebration . But for the year 2000 celebration , led by the Times Square Business Improve - ment District , and consonant with the transformation of this once - squalid triangle , a family-friendly daylong celebration was planned . Two years in the making , with all the special effects of a Disney movie and the bravura of a Broadway play , Times Square 2000 , as it was called , was an hour-by-hour , time zone-by - time zone evocation of the cultures of each region of the world . That made it possible for people who would never venture to Times Square on New Year 's Eve to sample the historic party . Erin Rogers and Troy Blakely , sweethearts living in New York for less than a year , ventured forth from their East Side apartment shortly before noon , the New Year in Indonesia , for a quick peek . `` We came to see it before it got crazy , '' said Ms. Rogers , a special education teacher . `` It was a fun feeling . And someday we can tell people we were there at 12 . '' Another New Yorker with an appetite only for a glimpse was Diane Keller , a social worker , who had a simple game plan . She would stay long enough to shoot one roll of film , for posterity , and then head for the sales at Lord & Taylor . `` I would n't be here at night , no way , '' Ms. Keller said . `` I 'll be home in front of my fireplace . '' Rosalia Aragon , with her 10-year-old son and several colleagues from work , zipped in and out of Times Square in under two hours , watching the New Year arrive in Southeast Asia . Then they all took the train back to New Jersey for quiet celebrations at home . Mrs. Aragon kept the trip a secret from her mother , who thought it was dangerous . One of her co-workers , Ed Czekaj , came despite the objections of his wife , who hates crowds . `` But this way we got both worlds , '' Czekaj said . `` Boom , boom , just to say we were here , and then back to our families . '' Mrs. Aragon would have liked to see her home country , Mexico , usher in the New Year , but that would not come until after midnight . Kazutaka Noma and his family were luckier _ they were able to celebrate at 10 a.m. , just as his parents were popping champagne in Japan . A hail of pink confetti , meant to resemble cherry blossoms , rained down on Noma , a graduate student , his wife and their 10-year-old son . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn NEW YEAR : 10-year-old son . Dr. Janet Mouradian , a surgical pathologist at Cornell Medical Center and a most unlikely denizen of Times Square on this particular night , kept herself busy editing an Armenian play , written by her New Year 's companion , Herand Markarian . Dr. Mouradian , an Armenian immigrant , had braved this scene once before , in 1964 , her first year in America . `` I do what I enjoy in life and there 's only one millennium , '' Dr. Mouradian said , undaunted by the crowded spectators ' pen and the hours of waiting , which had given her time to make new , young friends . `` He 's from Oregon , '' she said , her voice full of marvel . `` And he 's from Alaska . And that one , next door , he 's from Ohio . '' Looking down on the square at intervals through the day and evening was Peter Jennings , the anchorman for ABC-TV 's 24-hour broadcast . He would stand pressed to the bulletproof windows of the studio , staring at the mobs below . They , in turn , would wave to him , seeking the perfect position in front of an ABC camera so they could simultaneously wave to the folks back home . The pantomime was a perfect metaphor . New Year 's Eve here , despite the extravagant performance _ dancers , puppets , souvenirs , sound-and-light shows , commissioned by the Times Square Business Improvement District _ is all about seeing and being seen . Thus the run on camcorders at the electronics stores along Broadway . And the posters -LRB- Mom , We Made It Fine , Trust Jesus , Sammy Loves Christine -RRB- raised high to any camera nearby . Yury Verduga , a salesman at an electronics store , repeated a conversation he had had dozens of times . `` Camcorder ? $ 199 ? Let me see it ! OK . '' Also a fast seller , Verduga said , were disposable cameras . Many people came prepared with supplies to keep them comfortable , occupied and fed : beach chairs and blankets , chess sets and mystery novels , and munchies of all kinds . One family turned a carton upside down to make an ad hoc picnic table , then unpacked a loaf of bread , jars of peanut butter and jelly and a half gallon of milk . The crowd for the most part was jolly . But not Shelley Brown , from Maryland , who sat sniffling and hacking in a lawn chair , wrapped head to toe in scarves and blankets . At her feet was an overnight bag , stuffed with tissues and cough syrup . Mrs. Brown had come down with the flu at the most inopportune of times . But she did n't want to disappoint her husband , Ryan . `` I 've been talking about this for the last seven years , '' he said . `` I grew up watching Dick Clark on television and thought it would be so cool . We had to be here . '' Only a few rays of early-morning sunshine reached the aquamarine water of Gisborne 's waterfront along Poverty Bay . But that was enough for the ecstatic celebrants who came from around the world to usher in the new century . `` It was impossible to resist the idea that this would be one of the first places to see the sun rise , '' said Chris O'Dowd of San Francisco . The sunrise _ whether visible or not _ was a big deal Down Under , where locals maintain that the new year begins not at midnight , but at dawn . Several islands of the South Pacific jockeyed heatedly to be considered the first to see the new century arrive . New Zealand emerged as the apparent winner , and it fell to Gisborne , which is the most easterly city on the country 's North Island , to show the world that this nation was worthy of the honor . `` We 're the first to see the light , '' said lifelong Gisborne resident Annabell Gibbons , quoting a slogan that appeared on everything from sidewalk cobblestones to souvenir T-shirts . `` Whether or not we actually see it does n't matter . '' Not all visitors to New Zealand sought out the crowds . At dawn Friday , Michael Callan sat on Tokomaru Bay , 40 miles north of the party in Gisborne , and looked east toward home . Callan , a Dubliner who left Ireland in June to travel the world , raised a beer and toasted 2000 as waves crashed ashore . `` I 'm not into huge crowds , '' he said . `` I wanted to be alone with my thoughts . '' But Gisborne , at any rate , was determined to make the most of its good fortune . The city spent three years and $ 2 million spit-shining itself and planning festivities that included a street party , ceremonial dances by the native Maori people , a concert by opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa , and an air show by the nation 's air force . The party drew far fewer than the 70,000 people city leaders expected , but an official tally was not readily available . Still , New Zealand is a small place _ just 3 million people live on the nation 's two largest islands _ and New Year 's Eve 1999 was the biggest event this city of 35,000 has ever seen . `` I have n't seen this many people in Gisborne in all my life , '' said Gwendoleine Taare , who lived here for 30 years before moving to Auckland , the nation 's largest city . The thought of so many people _ a good number of them very drunk _ had city leaders planning for the worst . They brought in 200 police officers from the capital city of Wellington to augment Gisborne 's 40 cops . A refrigerator truck was ordered up to handle any overflow in the morgue , which has room for just three corpses . Even as Gisborne steeled itself for potential disaster _ someone thought it necessary to have 200 caskets on hand _ the entire country prepared for Y2K problems . Being the first to see 1999 become 2000 also meant being the first to see any computer meltdowns . `` The whole world is watching us '' read a front-page banner headline on Friday 's edition of the New Zealand Herald . But in the end , nothing happened when the clock at the center of Gisborne , which for the past 1000 days had been counting down the days , hours and minutes until 2000 _ struck 12 . `` I want to call back home to Canada to tell them that there are n't any Y2K problems yet , '' said Richard Cloutier , a talk-show host from Winnipeg . After the clock struck 12 and the smoke from the fireworks wafted away from downtown , the crowd gathered along Gisborne 's main street migrated toward the sea to drink , dance and party some more while awaiting the first sunbeams . -LRB- Correspondent Kristin Bender contributed to this report . -RRB- Houston-Chronicle-Test-HNS Here is a test from Houston Chronicle . Please ignore this item . End of test . GIULIANI 'S DAY ; GETTING PEOPLE READY ; IN FRONT OF THE TUBE ; LEFT Mayor Rudolph Giuliani , who gave himself the job of ubiquitous master of ceremonies of the city 's New Year celebration , said he began his last day of the 1900s at 5:30 a.m. having trouble getting his lights on . `` I was convinced that it was Y2K , '' the mayor said , but `` actually I was sleepy . '' This perhaps explains an interesting mishap that occurred later . `` Now we 're going to go to Carl in Richmond Hill , '' Giuliani said shortly after 11 a.m. Friday during his weekly radio call-in show . `` Hello ? '' said Carl . `` Hillary ? '' responded the mayor , causing listeners to think for a brief moment that perhaps the first lady was on the line and that there would be fireworks well before the ones scheduled at midnight . Giuliani and Mrs. Clinton are to run against each other for U.S. Senate next year . `` Hello ? '' said Carl again , confused . `` Yep , '' said the mayor . `` I 'm Carl , '' said Carl . `` Yes , '' said the mayor . `` Wrong call . Hi , Carl . Go ahead , Carl . '' `` I do n't know , you confuse me , '' said Carl , chuckling . `` I 'm confused , '' the mayor said , `` because I was looking at the wrong part of the screen . '' Giuliani 's spokeswoman , Sunny Mindel , explained later that the mayor had been looking at a computer screen displaying the next caller 's name and the subject of the call , which was evidently Hillary Clinton . Ms. Mindel said the mayor , who was to help flip the switch that would drop the ball in Times Square at midnight , had not had a nap , did not plan to have a nap and `` has all the sleep that he needs to have . '' Moments earlier , Giuliani had excoriated Mrs. Clinton for being part of the `` Clinton machine , '' the `` Arkansas kind of approach to things . '' He concluded that `` the best thing for me to do is to do my job the way I 've always done it , and then to try to point out to people why , if they agree with me , I would be a more effective senator . '' Howard Wolfson , Mrs. Clinton 's campaign spokesman , said that if the mayor wanted `` an Academy Award nomination for his role as the victim , he 's going to be very disappointed . '' Giuliani spent much of his day in front of cameras . He started at 6:40 a.m. with a news conference at the All-Star Cafe in Times Square , then had interviews from 7 to 8 a.m. with NBC , ABC , CBS and Fox News . He also had two news conferences at the Office of Emergency Management 's Command Center at the World Trade Center . Besides assuring citizens that all was under control , he said three things : New York City is the capital of the globe , American ideology is `` basically just taking over the entire world '' and `` New Year 's in Auckland went really well , so we expect New Year 's in Brooklyn will go just as well . '' _ ELISABETH BUMILLER GETTING THEM READY FOR THE BIG EVENT NEW YORK _ Friday afternoon , Margaret Mullen , a 29-year-old hairdresser at the Jean-Claude Biguine hair salon on 45th Street and Avenue of the Americas , stared out at the thousands of people crowded around the plate-glass windows of the salon and the conga line of young women waiting for Ms. Mullen 's tonsorial skills at the front desk . `` All these people need our help , '' Ms. Mullen said wearily . Ms. Mullen was just one of thousands of people plying the beauty trade Friday in New York City , just a dutiful handmaiden doing the coifing , manicuring , waxing and what not for the rest of womanhood . But rather than playing a dour Cinderella , Ms. Mullen was happy to be working . Her job is paid on commission , so the more hair styles she plows through in a day , the more money she makes . `` Last week , it was empty , '' she said . `` Everyone was away . This week , I get to make everyone else in the world beautiful for their parties . '' Mariah Baker , 7 , and Catalina Baker , 10 , ate salami sandwiches while they waited for their mother , Quita Mullan , to have her hair washed and blown out by Ms. Mullen . `` We want to go to Times Square , '' Mariah Baker said . `` But Daddy wo n't let us . '' Baker said , `` I 've tried to convince them that she and the rest of humanity will be there . '' He looked beseechingly at his younger daughter , and said : `` Honey , you could get squished by all those people . '' The room buzzed with talk of plans . Jennifer Kazawic , an advertising executive with the Odyssey Channel , said she had wrangled tickets to a party at MTV headquarters . Rada Tyutyunikova , a colorist at the salon , said she wanted to go home and sleep . Ms. Mullen , who lives with her boyfriend , a professional dogwalker , and her 4-year-old daughter in the Manhattan neighborhood of Yorkville , said that her plans for tonight were simple : she was going home to have dinner with her mother , her boyfriend and her daughter , Kayla . _ ALEX KUCZYNSKI PRIMED FOR A SEAT IN FRONT OF THE TUBE HOBOKEN , N.J. _ He was wearing a plastic , cobalt-colored top hat advertising `` Millennium 2000 . '' She was donning a pair of plastic , glow-in-the-dark glasses proclaiming `` 2000 . '' And together , Jeff and Stacy Vitale looked as if they were primed for a party for the ages Friday night . Their destination ? Not Times Square , since they had worked all day in Midtown Manhattan , buying the millennial gear along the way . Not Hoboken 's noted bar scene . Instead , they were heading to one of the most crowded spots Friday night in this hip city : Blockbuster Video . `` I want to rent ` Mickey Blue Eyes , '' ' said Mrs. Vitale , a 30-year-old accountant . `` Then he 's making dinner , and we 're going to bed . '' The Vitales were far from lone wolves . Throughout Hoboken a surprisingly large number of people said that they would celebrate what was supposed to be the grandest New Year 's Eve of all time in regular , couch-potato fashion . All day Friday , and into the early evening hours , people were behaving as if this night were no different than any other weekend night : picking up groceries , grabbing some beer and wine , ordering take-out food . So many simply planned to have dinner with family or friends , uncork a good bottle of wine or port , pop in a video and then , comforted that Chicken Little was nowhere to be found , turn in for a good night 's sleep before the start of the real weekend . Some people even said that they were making a statement , of sorts , by refusing to fall for what has been a nonstop blitz of hype and inflated prices about millennium this , millennium that . Besides , some people , like Cybele Emanuelle , a 28-year-old Web designer , had to work or be on call in case something really did go awry . So Ms. Emanuelle said it was no big deal that her evening 's agenda included `` The Blair Witch Project , '' some goat cheese and crackers , some take-out food . `` It 's a Blockbuster night , '' shrugged Ms. Emanuelle , who was eying a bottle of Champagne at Sparrow Wine & Liquor on Washington Street . But Saturday , she added , will be a different story : she 'll be going to a party . _ DAVID W. CHEN THEIR HOPES AND FEARS KNOW NO SEASON `` If I could erase this year and do it over , I would , '' said Anthony Boyce , a heroin addict who wanted to check into a detoxification program and celebrate the dawn of the New Year by sleeping through it . `` I need to clear my head and not think about what to do next , '' said Boyce , 47 . `` When you 're carrying a load on your shoulders 24 hours a day , it gets to where you ca n't think of a way out . '' At the Positive Health Project , a walk-up sanctuary at 305 W. 37th St. , some of the homeless and destitute shared their modest hopes and considerable fears as a few blocks away Times Square was being readied for the biggest New Year 's Eve show in its history . The project dispenses more than 13,000 clean syringes and 36,000 condoms a month , along with advice about staying healthy on the street . Dolores Serina , 35 , said that she had to move into a women 's shelter after her husband went to prison for selling drugs and city officials declared their basement room an illegal dwelling . Although she said she was in a methadone program to battle her craving for heroin , Ms. Serina had to leave her 4-month-old son with her mother-in-law until she can scrape up money for an apartment . `` Going into the New Year , I 'm scared , '' Ms. Serina said , as she huddled against her companion , Rolando Morales , 25 , whose drug-injecting left him HIV-positive . `` A lot of these people have n't slept last night , '' Ms. Serina said . `` They depend on this place for safety . '' For the first time , the project 's executive director closed the needle exchange and other services this New Year 's Eve for fear that his drug users would get swept up by the officers patrolling the celebration at Times Square . Mrs. Serina said , `` I look around and I see people spending money on all these little gizmo-gadgets and I say , ` My God , if they only gave me a dollar , I 'd be all right . '' ' _ CHRISTOPHER S. WREN NEW YORK CITY POLICE OUT IN FULL STRENGTH Saddling up all its horses , putting all its helicopters in the air and sending nearly all its officers out on the street in uniform , the New York City Police Department on Friday mounted one of the biggest security operations in its history in hopes of keeping the New Year 's Eve celebrations safe . Some 8,000 police officers _ a force larger than that of most of the country 's municipal police departments _ blanketed Times Square alone for the most famous and symbolic gathering , but the police also had to cover 328 other officially scheduled celebrations . Major events were scheduled in all five boroughs , including a gathering of tens of thousands of people at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn . In all , 37,000 police officers were to be on duty over New Year 's Eve and into the morning of Jan. 1 . Days off had been canceled , and detectives and others who normally work in plain clothes were put back onto the street in uniforms . All six police helicopters circled over the city , and all 102 horses in the mounted unit were saddled up . The police were planning for a crowd in Times Square at least twice the size of the million people who gathered there the year before . As tens of thousands of early arrivals poured into the area in midafternoon , the police were constantly adjusting their barricades , creating a series of frozen zones from 43rd Street north along the legs of Broadway and Seventh Avenue as far as 59th Street . As the crowd swelled , the plan was to seal off additional areas south of 42nd Street , where there was a good view of the crystal ball whose fall would ring in 2000 , and areas along the Avenue of the Americas and Eighth Avenue where it could be seen on giant television screens . Some 700 undercover officers mingled with the crowd , on the lookout for troublemakers or possible terrorists . Bomb-sniffing dogs were also in the area to search for explosives . As in past years , the police were under strict orders to confiscate any alcoholic beverages , a measure that officials say has cut disorderly conduct during the once-rowdy celebration to negligible levels . Much of the concern in recent days had been over the possibility of a terrorist attack . In the Times Square area , manholes were welded shut , steel trash cans removed and mailboxes locked . Cars entering garages in the area over the last few days were searched as a condition of parking . There were also spot searches of motorists entering the city through the tunnels . Concerns over terrorism mounted sharply on Thursday with the arrest in Brooklyn of a 31-year-old Algerian , Abdel Ghani , who the FBI charged was an accomplice of Ahmed Ressam , the Algerian charged with trying to smuggle powerful explosives and four sophisticated timing devices across the border near Seattle on Dec. 14 . Even as a black-clad anti-terrorist task force stormed the shabby Brooklyn apartment block where it had tracked Ghani by a scrap of paper with his phone number found on Ressam , federal agents in a half-dozen other cities questioned , and in some cases detained , people they believed had some connection to Ressam . But Mayor Rudolph Giuliani , Police Commissioner Howard Safir and FBI officials here and in Washington said they had no specific knowledge of any terrorist plot aimed at New York City . The Police Department plan , code-named Archangel , was three years in the making . It put the department on its highest alert and included detailed methods for responding to and investigating terrorist acts , including biological and chemical assaults . In addition to the threat of terrorism , the police also prepared for power failures or other problems that might be caused by computer failures associated with the Year 2000 problems . Special emergency teams were stationed in each borough with trucks equipped with banks of lights , generators and special tools for freeing people trapped in elevators in the event of a power failure . The Police Department purchased large amounts of equipment to prepare for New Year 's Eve , including extra lighting trucks for working in the dark , and some $ 65,000 worth of interlocking metal barricades for crowd control . Each precinct was equipped with a supply of portable electric generators . An extra three-month supply of flashlights and batteries were stashed away , and individual officers were even issued chemical illumination sticks that light up when twisted . NIGHT OF STARS FOR WASHINGTON MILLENNIUM CELEBRATION Stars rained over the nation 's capital on New Year 's eve as President Clinton ushered in the new year by lighting a fuse that sent a thundering shower of brilliant white stars cascading down the sides of the Washington Monument . `` Tonight , the torch passed to a new century of young Americans , '' Clinton told the more than 200,000 people gathered on the National Mall to ring in the Year 2000 . `` Tonight , we celebrate the change of centuries and the dawning of a new millennium . '' Amid tight security , the crowd enjoyed relatively balmy weather _ the temperature was in the higher 30s _ and seemed unconcerned about any terrorist threats . Most of the crowd had gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial hours earlier to get good seats for the splashy , 3-hour `` America 's Millennium Gala , '' a live television program hosted by rapper Will Smith . The show included performances by singers Bono from the Irish pop band U2 , Tom Jones , Don McLean , opera singer Kathleen Battle , country singers Kenny Rogers , Kathy Mattea and Trisha Yearwood , `` Ragtime '' star Brian Stokes Mitchell , and the cast from Broadway 's 25-member `` Stomp . '' But the evening 's most captivating production began in the final half-hour of 1999 . Shortly before the midnight hour , Steven Spielberg presented his 18-minute film , `` Unfinished Journey , '' which was shown on three 55-foot high projection screens erected beside the reflecting pool . As scenes of America 's past were shown on the screens , U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky , former laureate Rita Dove and author-poet Maya Angelou read poems written for the film . An original musical score by composer John Williams who conducted his own orchestration accompanied the readings . Following the film , the president addressed the crowd and the American people . Then , with just 20 seconds left before midnight , a group of children standing at the west end of the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial lit the fuse that burned its way along the length of the pool , ending at the base of the Washington Monument , now surrounded by an elaborate scaffold because of refurbishing work . Then , at 11:59:50 p.m. , 10 successive bursts of brilliant white rained down the sides of the monument , each 55 feet above the one before it , as the Mall revelers counted down the seconds to midnight . At that moment , the entire monument exploded with a stunning waterfall of white stars . But the show was n't over yet . After the final blast of stars , a giant Ferris wheel rose 175 feet into the air behind the Lincoln Memorial . With more than 500 stage lights , the circle of beams formed a sun to blaze in the New Year . -LRB- STORY COULD END HERE . OPTIONAL MATERIAL FOLLOWS . -RRB- Earlier in the evening , the president and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted a glitzy White House dinner to honor America 's artists , inventors , scientists and scholars . About 500 guests descended upon the White House for the `` Creator 's Dinner , '' including such famous faces as Muhammad Ali , Elizabeth Taylor and Robert De Niro . After receiving the guests , the president toasted the crowd and praised America 's `` endless capacity to express freedom and creativity . '' Some of the guests were seated outside in a heated tent in the Rose Garden . Only a select 320 people held invitations to sit with the president and first lady in the East Room and State Dining Room inside the White House . Among those chosen to sit down with the Clintons were Ali , Taylor , De Niro , opera divas Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle , historian Arthur Schlesinger , concert violinist Itzhak Perlman , playwright Neil Simon , and actors Jack Nicholson and Mary Tyler Moore . The tables , draped with velvet tablecloths , were set with white china with a silver band . In the middle of each table was a solid silver bowl filled with white Phalenopsis orchids , white roses , white sparkle holly and crystal balls . Adorning each silver bowl was a silver candlestick with white tapers . Waited on by 160 butlers , diners feasted on beluga caviar , lobster , foie gras and oyster velout , served with Sterling Chardonnay , before moving on to the main course of truffle marinated rack of lamb , roasted artichoke and pepper rogo ' t and crispy garlic polenta served with Dehlinger Pinot Noir . The dinner ended with a chocolate and champagne delight , served with Iron Horse Brut champagne . After the dinner , the Clintons and their guests traveled via shuttle vans to the Lincoln Memorial for gala . After the show , the first couple returned to the White House for another party with about 1,000 guests that was expected to last until around 4 a.m.For those revelers who make it , the White House party was scheduled to end with breakfast `` a little before dawn , '' according to Toby Graff , spokeswoman for the first lady . WORLD ROLLS SMOOTHLY INTO NEW YEAR The eastern half of the United States smoothly followed the rest of the world into the new century early Saturday with only a smattering of minor Y2K glitches reported . Slot machines in Delaware went bonkers and clocks at a Wisconsin electricity plant went haywire , as if to highlight the lack of serious problems in the nation . `` We have seen no indications of any significant Y2K problems , '' said John Koskinen , chief of the White House 's Y2K command center , based on reports from the Eastern and Central time zones . He reported some congestion on telephone networks on the East Coast as the clock moved past midnight . `` Some people have received messages that all circuits are busy , '' he said , referring to the ` Mother 's Day effect '' of heavy telephone use . Earlier Friday , Koskinen reported that about 150 slot machines at three Delaware race tracks temporarily shut down Thursday night after the slots ' time-based computer chips _ programmed to read three days ahead _ became confused when they rolled over to 2000 . The slots were quickly repaired . In Wisconsin the clocks _ which went down Friday at 7 p.m. EST _ were quickly reset and no one lost power . Koskinen and a host of other top government officials gave upbeat reports all day Friday and early Saturday as the new year swept across most of the globe . On Friday , Asia , Russia and Europe preceded the United States into the new century . Countries such as China , Russia and Ukraine rolled into Jan. 1 without problems in their nuclear power plants and other key systems that U.S. officials had feared might shut down as a result of a Y2K computer glitch . Officials cautioned , however , that problems could still crop up in coming days . Monday was cited as a crucial milestone because it will be the first day of normal business operations following the long holiday weekend . The biggest reported Y2K problem overseas was with a Japanese nuclear plant . The Shika Nuclear Power Station about 170 miles northwest of Tokyo , lost its radiation alarm system shortly after midnight there . Energy Secretary Bill Richardson described the system as a backup system and said it did not affect plant safety . The United States experienced its first Y2K tests at 7 p.m. EST Friday , when computers that control airline traffic , about one-third of the nation 's power grid and military operations appeared to roll over into the new year without incident . The computers are based on Greenwich Mean Time , which is five hours ahead of the Eastern Standard Time zone . `` The nation 's airspace system is up and running safely , '' Federal Aviation Administration chief Jane Garvey said . She was aboard a jet traveling from Washington , D.C. , to Dallas when air traffic computers passed midnight GMT . Even before parts of the U.S. crossed into the new millenium , Koskinen predicted the country would easily weather the transition into the New Year . `` I have never felt that there was any significant chance that the United States would have would have a major problem in the infrastructure , either nationally or regionally , '' he said . But , he said , the fact that virtually all of the world moved into the new year without any problems should not lead to anyone to ` underestimate the nature of the problem that was originally there . '' ` Had the effort not been made , had the money not been spent , we would be in a very different situation than we find ourselves in right now , '' he said . The Commerce Department estimates that some $ 100 billion was spent in the United States over the past five years to fix the Y2K problem _ which would occur if computers interpreted the digits `` 00 '' as 1900 rather than 2000 . Worldwide is it estimated that governments and private industry spent close to $ 400 billion fixing its computers . Early good news came to the White House center as New Year 's eve slipped past midnight in Western Pacific time zones first . For example , New Zealand celebrated the arrival of the New Year 18 hours before Washington , D.C. . As Japan , Australia and other nations joined the '00 honor roll , optimism grew at the White House Y2K coordination center that years of preparedness were paying off . Thomas Pickering , the No. 2 person at the State Department , reported that all 29 of Russia 's nuclear power plants passed into the new year without incident , a reassuring note because of concern about Russia 's attention to the Y2K issue and its aging nuclear reactors . L.A. 'S PARTIES FAIL TO DRAW Los Angeles ' city parties and concerts on New Year 's Eve were a dud of millennial proportions Friday , drawing far smaller crowds of revelers than expected . A rare rainstorm coupled with Y2K boredom and uncertainty kept much of Los Angeles home from the five city parties , and even The Eagles concert failed to fill the Staples Center and left scalpers eating high-priced tickets . At the city 's icon , the Hollywood sign , the laser light show and fireworks displays were nixed . Officials gave contradictory explanations for why they were canceled and why officials continued to promote the events until the last minute . `` We 're in a very dry season , '' said Deputy Mayor Noelia Rodriguez , explaining the fireworks cancellations . `` The fire hazards certainly played into it . The last thing we need is to torch the Hollywood sign . '' The Federal Aviation Administration told the city two weeks ago it could not stage a laser light show , according to Riordan spokeswoman Jessica Copen . But other officials said it was because the lasers did n't work well on TV and film . Riordan and Jay Leno were scheduled to throw the switch to light the signs before a worldwide television audience . Elsewhere , the rain cut short several party performances . `` It 's not exactly what we wanted , because of the rain , '' said Al Nodal , the city cultural affairs director , as he dodged puddles at the city 's downtown festival . `` It 's just sort of spotty . '' Despite that , many partygoers were undaunted , enjoying the line dancing , skydivers , gospel singers and an array of activities . City officials said attendance could have reached about 400,000 at the five venues . There was capacity for 15,000 people at any one time at the Van Nuys Airport , where a daylong crowd of 45,000 was expected but only a few hundred showed up at any one time . Parties also were thrown in Crenshaw , Grand Avenue downtown , San Pedro and the Alameda district . `` San Pedro has been building slowly all day . The Crenshaw is rolling right now . Alameda has been going full-blast they 're real troupers , '' Nodal said . At the `` San Fernando Valley Spectacular '' at the Van Nuys Airport , several hundred people got a jump on New Year 's festivities at the family themed outing featuring mass line dancing , kids ' crafts , carnival rides and music . About 900 people were in attendance by early evening , officials said . `` It 's really great that this was pulled off for the people of the city , '' said Carol Brotman , 44 , of Northridge . From noon on , the free city-sponsored event drew a steady stream of partygoers bundled in ski jackets , scarves and gloves . The unexpected wet weather kept musicians from taking the stage and quashed a planned BMX bike jump demonstration . `` Everyone 's in a real party spirit , '' said Mary Passantino of Canyon Country , one of the 500 or so line dancers to mark the millennium to Dwight Yoakam 's `` Fast As You '' in an old National Guard hanger . `` It 's a real nice way for people to get together . '' Bob Levy , who grew up in Encino and now lives in San Jose , brought his mother , his wife , Judy , and their three children to the party . `` My favorite thing is the dancing , said 8-year-old Rachel . Her brothers , 10-year-old Eric and 8-year-old Aaron were busy slugging it out with long , padded poles in an inflatable gladiator game . `` This is great , '' Levy said . `` I think the kids will last until midnight . It 's a big enough event . '' Backstage , 10-year-old Christian McDonald and the 40-member choir from the Church on the Way in Van Nuys were eager to perform . They were to join choirs at the four other L.A. millennial venues in singing a prophetic 1899 hymn , `` A Hundred Years From Now . '' `` This is real exciting , '' said Christian of Valencia . `` I think the future is going to change a lot . Pollution is going to stop , and I think the world is just going to be a better place . '' `` Airwolf '' TV star Jan-Michael Vincent , grand marshal of the Valley spectacular , joined the dancers for a few steps . `` I 'm not much of a line dancer , but I sure can do the country swing , '' Vincent said . About 40 volunteers joined 85 private security guards and more than 100 Los Angeles police officers in keeping the event running smoothly . Tustin resident Bob Shea drove his wife and four children to the airport spectacular as a prelude to the Rose Parade . `` Everything you can do on the millennium New Year 's Eve is geared to adults _ dancing , nightclubs _ but this was the best thing for families , '' said Shea , a former Los Angeles resident . Organizers had said they wanted to use the sky above Los Angeles to unify the city and link the five festivals , but the gray and cloudy weather interfered . A skywriter wrote `` LA 2000 '' over the San Pedro festival about noon , but gathering clouds covered it . Nodal said the rest of the `` air promenade '' continued as planned , with planes , blimps and skydivers . -LRB- STORY CAN END HERE . OPTIONAL 2ND TAKE FOLLOWS . -RRB- -LRB- For use by NYTimes News Service clients -RRB- Thousands ventured to the Staples Center to wind down the 1900s with The Eagles , Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne , in a concert featuring pillars of the L.A. music scene . Outside the Staples Center , ticketholders for the Eagles seemed to be in good spirits even as they waited in the chilly drizzle . The clothing ran the gamut , from jeans to business suits to ... Star Wars outfits , as they came for one reason : to indulge in a bit of nostalgia . `` I decided to do something I 've never done before to ring out the New Year , '' said Andrew Milinkevich , a Thousand Oaks attorney dressed in a Darth Maul costume . Scalpers offered $ 750 tickets for $ 500 with no takers , while others could n't get rid of even $ 50 tickets . Doors were supposed to open at 6 p.m. , but stayed closed until after 7 p.m. Concertgoers faced metal-detector wands , and guards checked cell phones to see if they were working models . Much of the audience missed the opening act , Ronstadt , who performed for only 20 minutes . Alan Gould of Woodland Hills said : `` A lot of people around me are angry . My friends and I paid $ 750 for our tickets and feel that we missed a third of the concert . '' But that did n't deter Richard Benavides , who waited to get in with his wife , 12-year-old son and 10-year-old twins . The family drove from College Station , Texas , with the concert being the highlight of their L.A. visit . It was the first rock concert for his children . `` My wife and I did n't want to leave them home . ... This is a real special occasion . '' Security was tight at Universal City , where three events were going on at the CityWalk , a swing dance party starting at 9 p.m. at Universal Studios and the Jimmy Buffett concert at the Universal Amphitheatre . Tickets for the Buffett nine-hour event went for $ 500 to $ 1,500 . He was to begin performing at 10 p.m. . The party was to continue until 4 a.m. Lines stretched blocks long to get into the amphitheater . SAYING GOODBYE : A MAN WHO RODE A TANK BECAME THE MAN ON HORSEBACK When Boris Yeltsin unveiled his millennium surprise on New Year 's Eve , he used the word `` power '' five times in his brief retirement speech . When Lenin issued his famous call to revolution on Oct. 24 , 1917 , he also used the word `` power '' five times . Lenin was getting ready to seize it . Yeltsin , who will go down in history as the man who toppled the totalitarian system Lenin wrought , said he was relinquishing it . Yet power , and the thirst for it , is the connection between two Russian leaders who only a few years ago symbolized opposite extremes . As was clear from the moment he mentioned his anointed successor , Vladimir Putin -LRB- `` I have no doubt what choice you will make at the end of March 2000 '' -RRB- , Yeltsin left office not to protect the fragile democracy that brought about his election in 1992 but to preserve the power that his administration came to revere above all else . As political theater , it was a classic Yeltsin move _ unpredictable but shrewd . Yeltsin no doubt realized that Putin 's surge in popularity , based on public support for a military crackdown in Chechnya , might not last until June , when elections were supposed to take place . By then , enough soldiers will have come home in body bags to contradict the promise of a clean , easy victory _ as they did the last time Yeltsin tried to impose Russian might on the rebel republic . `` Why hold on to power for another six months ? '' Yeltsin said , with a straight face . `` No , this is not me , this is not in my character . '' Holding on to power , against all odds , has been the one steady feature of Yeltsin 's remarkably inconsistent tenure as president . And that too is not all that surprising . Power has been the driving force of Russian politics since the time of the czars , through the Soviet Union and beyond . For all the mistakes and misjudgments that Yeltsin conceded and regretted , he never lost sight of what matters in Russia . Russians have been so broken for so long that they have learned to respond only to an iron fist , and Yeltsin played to that instinct again and again , taking on the role of the autocrat as nimbly as he had turned himself into a democrat when the Soviet Empire began to topple . Over the past few years , the West has mainly seen Yeltsin through the prism of news clips , embarrassing shots of him toppling over at official ceremonies , frugging at a rock concert or recovering from heart surgery in a government dacha . Russians have also seen him act out rituals that date to the czars , shaking his finger at quaking local bureaucrats , ordering them to raise wages that Moscow had already cut back . He came to public notice in the late 1980s as a populist who rode public buses and hectored party officials , but he seamlessly recast himself as an age-old Kremlin ruler , surrounded by sycophants and bodyguards , allowing corruption to flourish at the highest levels . During the coup of 1991 , when Yeltsin stood on a tank to defy the old Soviet guard into history , he created one of the most electrifying moments in the recent past . But when he took over , he ruled by contradiction . He fired scores of advisers , rehired many and fired them again _ and again . Anatoly Chubais , a former deputy prime minister who is viewed by the West as the last guarantor of free-market rules , was kicked in and out of power . So was Boris Berezovsky , the crafty tycoon who symbolizes the entrenched business interests that want to impose their own rule on the Russian market . Yeltsin deserves credit for seeking to introduce real economic freedom in a country that never experienced it , but he will also be remembered as the ruler who oversaw the birth of Russia 's plutocracy . He will get credit for leaving the Kremlin voluntarily , something no one in Russian history had ever done , except Mikhail Gorbachev _ at a time when Yeltsin had the upper hand and had left him no choice . But this was not like a broken Lyndon Johnson refusing to run for a second term . Yeltsin wants to be succeeded by someone whose loyalty will last and will not hound him in retirement with criminal charges , financial restraints or just lese majeste . Putin remains unproven as a leader . For now , he mainly represents Yeltsin 's desire to keep his grip on Russia 's future _ and preserve his own . Or , as Lenin put it in 1917 , `` the seizure of power is the business of the uprising ; its political purpose will become clear after the seizure . '' SAYING GOODBYE : A MAN WHO RODE A TANK BECAME THE MAN ON HORSEBACK When Boris Yeltsin unveiled his millennium surprise on New Year 's Eve , he used the word `` power '' five times in his brief retirement speech . When Lenin issued his famous call to revolution on Oct. 24 , 1917 , he also used the word `` power '' five times . Lenin was getting ready to seize it . Yeltsin , who will go down in history as the man who toppled the totalitarian system Lenin wrought , said he was relinquishing it . Yet power , and the thirst for it , is the connection between two Russian leaders who only a few years ago symbolized opposite extremes . As was clear from the moment he mentioned his anointed successor , Vladimir Putin -LRB- `` I have no doubt what choice you will make at the end of March 2000 '' -RRB- , Yeltsin left office not to protect the fragile democracy that brought about his election in 1992 but to preserve the power that his administration came to revere above all else . As political theater , it was a classic Yeltsin move _ unpredictable but shrewd . Yeltsin no doubt realized that Putin 's surge in popularity , based on public support for a military crackdown in Chechnya , might not last until June , when elections were supposed to take place . By then , enough soldiers will have come home in body bags to contradict the promise of a clean , easy victory _ as they did the last time Yeltsin tried to impose Russian might on the rebel republic . `` Why hold on to power for another six months ? '' Yeltsin said , with a straight face . `` No , this is not me , this is not in my character . '' Holding on to power , against all odds , has been the one steady feature of Yeltsin 's remarkably inconsistent tenure as president . And that too is not all that surprising . Power has been the driving force of Russian politics since the time of the czars , through the Soviet Union and beyond . For all the mistakes and misjudgments that Yeltsin conceded and regretted , he never lost sight of what matters in Russia . Russians have been so broken for so long that they have learned to respond only to an iron fist , and Yeltsin played to that instinct again and again , taking on the role of the autocrat as nimbly as he had turned himself into a democrat when the Soviet Empire began to topple . Over the past few years , the West has mainly seen Yeltsin through the prism of news clips , embarrassing shots of him toppling over at official ceremonies , frugging at a rock concert or recovering from heart surgery in a government dacha . Russians have also seen him act out rituals that date to the czars , shaking his finger at quaking local bureaucrats , ordering them to raise wages that Moscow had already cut back . He came to public notice in the late 1980s as a populist who rode public buses and hectored party officials , but he seamlessly recast himself as an age-old Kremlin ruler , surrounded by sycophants and bodyguards , allowing corruption to flourish at the highest levels . During the coup of 1991 , when Yeltsin stood on a tank to defy the old Soviet guard into history , he created one of the most electrifying moments in the recent past . But when he took over , he ruled by contradiction . He fired scores of advisers , rehired many and fired them again _ and again . Anatoly Chubais , a former deputy prime minister who is viewed by the West as the last guarantor of free-market rules , was kicked in and out of power . So was Boris Berezovsky , the crafty tycoon who symbolizes the entrenched business interests that want to impose their own rule on the Russian market . Yeltsin deserves credit for seeking to introduce real economic freedom in a country that never experienced it , but he will also be remembered as the ruler who oversaw the birth of Russia 's plutocracy . He will get credit for leaving the Kremlin voluntarily , something no one in Russian history had ever done , except Mikhail Gorbachev _ at a time when Yeltsin had the upper hand and had left him no choice . But this was not like a broken Lyndon Johnson refusing to run for a second term . Yeltsin wants to be succeeded by someone whose loyalty will last and will not hound him in retirement with criminal charges , financial restraints or just lese majeste . Putin remains unproven as a leader . For now , he mainly represents Yeltsin 's desire to keep his grip on Russia 's future _ and preserve his own . Or , as Lenin put it in 1917 , `` the seizure of power is the business of the uprising ; its political purpose will become clear after the seizure . '' NEWS OF THE WEEK IN REVIEW A Rough Night on the Town Sean `` Puffy '' Combs has the indisputable ability to attract attention . The rap impresario throws lavish parties , drapes himself in furs and jewelry , dates movie star Jennifer Lopez and all but begs people to look his way . Some say this is a job requirement for a hip-hop star ; others find it a tad excessive . Last week Combs , 30 , attracted more attention _ the unwanted kind _ when he was arrested after an early-morning shootout in a Manhattan nightclub . The arrest led to inevitable newspaper photographs depicting Combs skulking away from a police station . Police say a club patron taunted Combs by throwing a wad of money at the multimillionaire . Combs and a young protege pulled out guns , they say , but only the protege pulled his trigger . Three bystanders were shot and wounded in the confusion that ensued , while Combs and Ms. Lopez fled in a sports-utility vehicle that ran 11 red lights before being pulled over . Police said they found a gun in the car that had not been fired , but it was loaded _ and stolen . Combs , his driver and his bodyguard were charged with criminal possession of a weapon , while his protege was charged with attempted murder . Combs later held a news conference to strongly deny having anything to do with the shootout or with guns . Still , the episode resurrected doubts about the rap star 's judgment . In April , for example , Combs and two associates beat up a record executive who had angered him ; he later pleaded guilty to a violation . The arrest also comes at a time when record sales for his Bad Boy Entertainment empire have slipped . As for questions about Combs ' performance as a role model , his friend and business colleague , Andre Harrell , said , `` When you judge Sean against his peers , he 's not doing such a bad job . '' _ DAN BARRY A Cold War Relic Signs Off For schoolchildren in the 1950s or '60s , there were few sounds more terrifying than the wail of an air raid siren . No matter that it was only a test : The sound will forever conjure up visions of Soviet jets and mushroom clouds . But 50 years after cities from coast to coast installed the early warning systems , the sirens have become little more than annoying relics of the Cold War . This year , Baltimore will become the latest city to abandon the system and its tests of 122 sirens that blared from speakers around town each Monday at 1 p.m. . A new network of radio-controlled sirens , which do not require routine testing , will be installed to alert people to impending natural disasters or terrorist attacks . Other cities have put the old systems to similar use . Tornado-prone Omaha tests its system once a month , and San Francisco , which is prone to earthquakes , runs a test every Tuesday at noon . But why anyone would need a siren to tell them that there had been an earthquake is an open question . _ JANE FRITSCH China Sentences 4 Members Of Spiritual Group Sending a harsh message to followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement , Chinese authorities gave prison sentences ranging from 7 to 18 years to three men and a woman who were said to be top organizers . Last summer the government declared the group an `` evil cult '' after 10,000 members mounted an illegal demonstration in Beijing . Two of the sentences _ 18 years for one defendant and 16 years for another _ were stiffer than those meted out to democracy advocates in the last several years , a sign of how frightened the government is of a movement that has attracted millions of citizens . _ ERIK ECKHOLM Challengers Pull in Funds Sen. John McCain and former Sen. Bill Bradley , the surging presidential challengers , reported surprisingly strong fund-raising totals for the final three months of the year , matching their climbing poll ratings in New Hampshire . McCain took in $ 6.1 million and Bradley received $ 8 million , compared to only $ 4 million for Vice President Al Gore . Texas Gov. George Bush continued his dominance of the money chase , collecting $ 10 million in the fourth quarter of 1999 and entering the 2000 primary season with $ 31.4 million in the bank . _ JOHN M. BRODER Inquiry Into Kohl Funds Prosecutors have started a criminal investigation into secret bank accounts used by former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to collect and distribute at least $ 1 million in allegedly illegal political contributions during the past decade . The investigation marks a low point for Kohl , who was chancellor from 1982 until 1998 and who engineered the reunification of Germany . If found guilty of embezzlement or fraud , Kohl could theoretically face a prison term of up to five years . _ EDMUND L. ANDREWS Violence Visits a Beatle Anyone who was once a Beatle , even the `` quiet '' one , can never fade away and live a simple life _ no matter how big the mansion , how high the walls . George Harrison learned that in a spasm of violence , one with echoes of John Lennon 's murder nearly two decades ago . An intruder _ obsessed with the Beatles to the point of believing they were witches _ broke into Harrison 's home outside London and stabbed him in the chest , also slightly injuring his wife , Olivia . Harrison should recover from the resulting lung injury , his surgeon said , in a matter of weeks . _ HUBERT B. HERRING -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn NEWS OF THE WEEK IN REVIEW A Rough Night on the Town Sean `` Puffy '' Combs has the indisputable ability to attract attention . The rap impresario throws lavish parties , drapes himself in furs and jewelry , dates movie star Jennifer Lopez and all but begs people to look his way . Some say this is a job requirement for a hip-hop star ; others find it a tad excessive . Last week Combs , 30 , attracted more attention _ the unwanted kind _ when he was arrested after an early-morning shootout in a Manhattan nightclub . The arrest led to inevitable newspaper photographs depicting Combs skulking away from a police station . Police say a club patron taunted Combs by throwing a wad of money at the multimillionaire . Combs and a young protege pulled out guns , they say , but only the protege pulled his trigger . Three bystanders were shot and wounded in the confusion that ensued , while Combs and Ms. Lopez fled in a sports-utility vehicle that ran 11 red lights before being pulled over . Police said they found a gun in the car that had not been fired , but it was loaded _ and stolen . Combs , his driver and his bodyguard were charged with criminal possession of a weapon , while his protege was charged with attempted murder . Combs later held a news conference to strongly deny having anything to do with the shootout or with guns . Still , the episode resurrected doubts about the rap star 's judgment . In April , for example , Combs and two associates beat up a record executive who had angered him ; he later pleaded guilty to a violation . The arrest also comes at a time when record sales for his Bad Boy Entertainment empire have slipped . As for questions about Combs ' performance as a role model , his friend and business colleague , Andre Harrell , said , `` When you judge Sean against his peers , he 's not doing such a bad job . '' _ DAN BARRY A Cold War Relic Signs Off For schoolchildren in the 1950s or '60s , there were few sounds more terrifying than the wail of an air raid siren . No matter that it was only a test : The sound will forever conjure up visions of Soviet jets and mushroom clouds . But 50 years after cities from coast to coast installed the early warning systems , the sirens have become little more than annoying relics of the Cold War . This year , Baltimore will become the latest city to abandon the system and its tests of 122 sirens that blared from speakers around town each Monday at 1 p.m. . A new network of radio-controlled sirens , which do not require routine testing , will be installed to alert people to impending natural disasters or terrorist attacks . Other cities have put the old systems to similar use . Tornado-prone Omaha tests its system once a month , and San Francisco , which is prone to earthquakes , runs a test every Tuesday at noon . But why anyone would need a siren to tell them that there had been an earthquake is an open question . _ JANE FRITSCH China Sentences 4 Members Of Spiritual Group Sending a harsh message to followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement , Chinese authorities gave prison sentences ranging from 7 to 18 years to three men and a woman who were said to be top organizers . Last summer the government declared the group an `` evil cult '' after 10,000 members mounted an illegal demonstration in Beijing . Two of the sentences _ 18 years for one defendant and 16 years for another _ were stiffer than those meted out to democracy advocates in the last several years , a sign of how frightened the government is of a movement that has attracted millions of citizens . _ ERIK ECKHOLM Challengers Pull in Funds Sen. John McCain and former Sen. Bill Bradley , the surging presidential challengers , reported surprisingly strong fund-raising totals for the final three months of the year , matching their climbing poll ratings in New Hampshire . McCain took in $ 6.1 million and Bradley received $ 8 million , compared to only $ 4 million for Vice President Al Gore . Texas Gov. George Bush continued his dominance of the money chase , collecting $ 10 million in the fourth quarter of 1999 and entering the 2000 primary season with $ 31.4 million in the bank . _ JOHN M. BRODER Inquiry Into Kohl Funds Prosecutors have started a criminal investigation into secret bank accounts used by former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to collect and distribute at least $ 1 million in allegedly illegal political contributions during the past decade . The investigation marks a low point for Kohl , who was chancellor from 1982 until 1998 and who engineered the reunification of Germany . If found guilty of embezzlement or fraud , Kohl could theoretically face a prison term of up to five years . _ EDMUND L. ANDREWS Violence Visits a Beatle Anyone who was once a Beatle , even the `` quiet '' one , can never fade away and live a simple life _ no matter how big the mansion , how high the walls . George Harrison learned that in a spasm of violence , one with echoes of John Lennon 's murder nearly two decades ago . An intruder _ obsessed with the Beatles to the point of believing they were witches _ broke into Harrison 's home outside London and stabbed him in the chest , also slightly injuring his wife , Olivia . Harrison should recover from the resulting lung injury , his surgeon said , in a matter of weeks . _ HUBERT B. HERRING -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn UNDATED : B. HERRING Huge Storm Damage in France Back-to-back storms with gale force winds that reached 120 miles per hour ripped through France and other parts of Europe . The French Ministry of Culture and Communication said it would take more than $ 60 million just to repair damage to historic monuments like Notre Dame Cathedral , Ste.-Chapelle and the palace at Versailles . The storms tore off roofs , toppled thousands of trees and caused flooding and avalanches that killed at least 130 people throughout Europe , 78 of them in France . More than a quarter of Frances electric grid was damaged . One insurance company said the cost of repairing damages from the storms would reach $ 5 billion . _ SUZANNE DALEY A Coup in Ivory Coast Ever since it achieved independence from France in 1960 , Ivory Coast has been considered a model of stability and prosperity in Africa . So it came as a shock , both in Africa and in France , when soldiers mutinying over low pay went on a looting spree and , one day later , a military junta announced a coup , the first in the country 's history . The leader of the nonviolent coup , Gen. Robert Guei , a former armed forces chief ousted by President Henri Konan Bedie , said he took action largely because Bedie was creating ethnic divisions . _ DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. . Big Recall of Luxury Foods In what may be the first Internet recall of contaminated food , D'Artagnan , the Newark , N.J. , company known nationwide for its high quality foods , went beyond notifying the usual retailers and distributors of its voluntary recall of all of the pates , mousses and terrines made at a Huntington , N.Y. , plant . The company called every customer who had ordered the products over the Internet and through its catalog _ a total of 3,576 calls . The products were recalled because a few of the company 's truffled mousses and peppercorn mousses were found to be contaminated with listeria , a potentially deadly bacterium . _ MARIAN BURROS Bail Is Denied For Los Alamos Scientist On the surface , the hearings in the case of Dr. Wen Ho Lee , the scientist accused of mishandling sensitive nuclear secrets at the Los Alamos National Laboratory , were simple . Lee sought to be released on bail . He was refused bail a second time , but not before the hearing was turned into a mini-trial of both Lee and the security at government weapons labs . Prosecutors called Lee devious in his efforts to bypass security precautions . The defense , however , showed that Lee had downloaded the secret data easily onto computer tapes , had left evidence in the open and had even called the lab to ask how to delete some files . The last was an act that prosecutors called especially nefarious . _ JAMES STERNGOLD Giuliani Sees Welfare Victory New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has declared victory in his war on welfare . The mayor , a likely Senate candidate , said he had met the deadline he set 18 months ago to end welfare by `` engaging '' all available adult recipients in work or work-preparation in exchange for aid . But critics loudly disputed his figures , noting for example that recipients counted as successes included thousands merely referred for evaluation for work . _ NINA BERNSTEIN UNDATED : B. HERRING Huge Storm Damage in France Back-to-back storms with gale force winds that reached 120 miles per hour ripped through France and other parts of Europe . The French Ministry of Culture and Communication said it would take more than $ 60 million just to repair damage to historic monuments like Notre Dame Cathedral , Ste.-Chapelle and the palace at Versailles . The storms tore off roofs , toppled thousands of trees and caused flooding and avalanches that killed at least 130 people throughout Europe , 78 of them in France . More than a quarter of Frances electric grid was damaged . One insurance company said the cost of repairing damages from the storms would reach $ 5 billion . _ SUZANNE DALEY A Coup in Ivory Coast Ever since it achieved independence from France in 1960 , Ivory Coast has been considered a model of stability and prosperity in Africa . So it came as a shock , both in Africa and in France , when soldiers mutinying over low pay went on a looting spree and , one day later , a military junta announced a coup , the first in the country 's history . The leader of the nonviolent coup , Gen. Robert Guei , a former armed forces chief ousted by President Henri Konan Bedie , said he took action largely because Bedie was creating ethnic divisions . _ DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. . Big Recall of Luxury Foods In what may be the first Internet recall of contaminated food , D'Artagnan , the Newark , N.J. , company known nationwide for its high quality foods , went beyond notifying the usual retailers and distributors of its voluntary recall of all of the pates , mousses and terrines made at a Huntington , N.Y. , plant . The company called every customer who had ordered the products over the Internet and through its catalog _ a total of 3,576 calls . The products were recalled because a few of the company 's truffled mousses and peppercorn mousses were found to be contaminated with listeria , a potentially deadly bacterium . _ MARIAN BURROS Bail Is Denied For Los Alamos Scientist On the surface , the hearings in the case of Dr. Wen Ho Lee , the scientist accused of mishandling sensitive nuclear secrets at the Los Alamos National Laboratory , were simple . Lee sought to be released on bail . He was refused bail a second time , but not before the hearing was turned into a mini-trial of both Lee and the security at government weapons labs . Prosecutors called Lee devious in his efforts to bypass security precautions . The defense , however , showed that Lee had downloaded the secret data easily onto computer tapes , had left evidence in the open and had even called the lab to ask how to delete some files . The last was an act that prosecutors called especially nefarious . _ JAMES STERNGOLD Giuliani Sees Welfare Victory New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has declared victory in his war on welfare . The mayor , a likely Senate candidate , said he had met the deadline he set 18 months ago to end welfare by `` engaging '' all available adult recipients in work or work-preparation in exchange for aid . But critics loudly disputed his figures , noting for example that recipients counted as successes included thousands merely referred for evaluation for work . _ NINA BERNSTEIN PLAIN-LANGUAGE MOVEMENT HACKS THROUGH THICKETS OF CORPORATESPEAK A cottage industry of plain-language consultants has sprung up in recent years . They aim to wage war on the business buzzwords , governmental verbosity and turgid legalese that make many public documents impossible to understand . These experts also seek to instill some of the basics of good writing , like the importance of short , direct sentences . Much of their work has come in the mutual fund industry , which for the past two years has been under an order by the Securities and Exchange Commission to simplify documents . Samples of the consultants ' work follow . _ DAVID LEONHARDT _ Getting off to a good start is crucial . A convoluted beginning , particularly when the subject matter is complicated , can turn off readers in a hurry . Look at the difference between a 1998 mutual fund brochure from American Century Investments and one it sent last year . Before : All of the funds offered in this Prospectus seek capital growth by investing in securities , primarily common stocks , that meet certain fundamental and technical standards of selection -LRB- relating primarily to earnings and revenue acceleration -RRB- and have , in the opinion of the funds manager , better-than-average potential for appreciation . After : The fund managers look for stocks of companies that they believe will increase in value over time , using a growth investment strategy developed by American Century . _ The SEC urges companies to use personal pronouns and simple language . The Commission offered the following example in a 1998 plain-English handbook it sent to mutual fund companies . Before : This Summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the more detailed information contained in the Proxy Statement and the Appendices hereto , all of which should be carefully reviewed . After : Because this is a summary , it does not contain all the information that may be important to you . You should read the entire proxy statement and its appendices carefully before you decide how to vote . _ Plain-language doctors like those at the New York consulting firm Siegel & Gale often start by making passive verbs active and stamping out bureaucratese . Before : Deposits may be made by a minor and withdrawals thereof may be made by the minor without the consent of a parent of guardian , neither of whom , in that capacity , shall have any right to attach or interfere in any manner with such deposits or withdrawals . After : Minors may make deposits and withdrawals from their accounts without the consent or interference of a parent or guardian . _ William M. Lutz , an English professor at Rutgers University and a leading plain-language advocate , offers this example of how to make a document easier to read . Before : Marketing is a creative , analytic and integrative effort . We need to work hand-in-hand with the field to get their perspective and to draw on their experiences . And there are plenty of ideas around the rest of the company , too . Marketing will draw on your cumulative ideas and experiences and integrate them with other business parts into a synergistic whole , which is bigger than the sum of its parts . After : To do marketing well , we 'll have to draw on the ideas and experiences from the field and other departments , determine how these might help us , then integrate them into our marketing plans and practices in a way that increases their effectiveness . _ Sounds easy , right ? But simplifying a document often requires a whole new approach , not just slicing and dicing . Contrast the first sentence of a letter that Texaco 's chief executive , Peter I. Bijur , wrote to shareholders in 1996 and the start to his letter in 1998 , when the company began using simpler language : Before : With this , my first report to you as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Texaco , I am privileged to review along with Vice Chairman Allen Krowe our strong 1996 performance , highlight our greater ambitions and plan for 1997 and beyond , and discuss our philosophy for sustaining long-term growth for our company . After : 1998 was the toughest time we have faced in my 33 years with the company . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn PLAIN-LANGUAGE MOVEMENT HACKS THROUGH THICKETS OF CORPORATESPEAK A cottage industry of plain-language consultants has sprung up in recent years . They aim to wage war on the business buzzwords , governmental verbosity and turgid legalese that make many public documents impossible to understand . These experts also seek to instill some of the basics of good writing , like the importance of short , direct sentences . Much of their work has come in the mutual fund industry , which for the past two years has been under an order by the Securities and Exchange Commission to simplify documents . Samples of the consultants ' work follow . _ DAVID LEONHARDT _ Getting off to a good start is crucial . A convoluted beginning , particularly when the subject matter is complicated , can turn off readers in a hurry . Look at the difference between a 1998 mutual fund brochure from American Century Investments and one it sent last year . Before : All of the funds offered in this Prospectus seek capital growth by investing in securities , primarily common stocks , that meet certain fundamental and technical standards of selection -LRB- relating primarily to earnings and revenue acceleration -RRB- and have , in the opinion of the funds manager , better-than-average potential for appreciation . After : The fund managers look for stocks of companies that they believe will increase in value over time , using a growth investment strategy developed by American Century . _ The SEC urges companies to use personal pronouns and simple language . The Commission offered the following example in a 1998 plain-English handbook it sent to mutual fund companies . Before : This Summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the more detailed information contained in the Proxy Statement and the Appendices hereto , all of which should be carefully reviewed . After : Because this is a summary , it does not contain all the information that may be important to you . You should read the entire proxy statement and its appendices carefully before you decide how to vote . _ Plain-language doctors like those at the New York consulting firm Siegel & Gale often start by making passive verbs active and stamping out bureaucratese . Before : Deposits may be made by a minor and withdrawals thereof may be made by the minor without the consent of a parent of guardian , neither of whom , in that capacity , shall have any right to attach or interfere in any manner with such deposits or withdrawals . After : Minors may make deposits and withdrawals from their accounts without the consent or interference of a parent or guardian . _ William M. Lutz , an English professor at Rutgers University and a leading plain-language advocate , offers this example of how to make a document easier to read . Before : Marketing is a creative , analytic and integrative effort . We need to work hand-in-hand with the field to get their perspective and to draw on their experiences . And there are plenty of ideas around the rest of the company , too . Marketing will draw on your cumulative ideas and experiences and integrate them with other business parts into a synergistic whole , which is bigger than the sum of its parts . After : To do marketing well , we 'll have to draw on the ideas and experiences from the field and other departments , determine how these might help us , then integrate them into our marketing plans and practices in a way that increases their effectiveness . _ Sounds easy , right ? But simplifying a document often requires a whole new approach , not just slicing and dicing . Contrast the first sentence of a letter that Texaco 's chief executive , Peter I. Bijur , wrote to shareholders in 1996 and the start to his letter in 1998 , when the company began using simpler language : Before : With this , my first report to you as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Texaco , I am privileged to review along with Vice Chairman Allen Krowe our strong 1996 performance , highlight our greater ambitions and plan for 1997 and beyond , and discuss our philosophy for sustaining long-term growth for our company . After : 1998 was the toughest time we have faced in my 33 years with the company . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn UNDATED : the company . At times more words , not fewer , are needed to decode particularly turgid passages . Here 's one example cited by Lutz , with a suggested revision . Before : When business processes are automated , employees are careful not to fall into the trap of applying new technology to old , inefficient work procedures . Instead , a needs assessment is completed to identify system requirements , and then automated systems are designed to accomplish these goals . After : Computers do n't improve the way you do business , if you simply do business the same old way using the computers . So , before we installed a new computer system in the Purchasing Department , we asked ourselves if there were a better way to do what this department does . After talking to the people in Purchasing and to our suppliers , we came up with a completely new way to run this department . Then we asked the computer people to design the computer systems we needed to make our new approach work . _ And then there are the hopeless causes that force even the most fervent plain-language disciples to throw up their hands . Consider this financial document , provided by Lutz , which comes in at a breathtaking 374 words . He said he still has n't come up with a revision : A conveyance by the Transferor to a Trust of Receivables in Additional Accounts or Participations is subject to the following conditions , among others -LRB- provided , that the following conditions -LRB- other than the delivery of a written assignment and computer file or microfiche list as described in clause -LRB- ii -RRB- and the making of representations and warranties in clause -LRB- iii -RRB- shall not apply to the transfer to a Trust of Receivables in Automatic Additional Accounts -RRB- : -LRB- i -RRB- the Transferor shall give the related Trustee , each Rating Agency and the Servicer written notice that such additional Accounts or Participations will be included , which notice shall specify the approximate aggregate amount of the Receivables or interests therein to be transferred ; -LRB- ii -RRB- the Transferor shall have delivered to such Trustee a written assignment -LRB- including an acceptance by such Trustee on behalf of the related Trust for the benefit of the Certificateholders -RRB- as provided in the related Agreement relating to such Additional Accounts or Participations -LRB- the ` Assignment ' -RRB- and , the Transferor shall have delivered to such Trustee a computer file or microfiche list , dated the date of such Assignment , containing a true and complete list of such Additional Account or Participations ; -LRB- iii -RRB- the Transferor shall represent and warrant that -LRB- x -RRB- each Additional Account is , as of the Addition Date , an Eligible Account , and each Receivable in such Additional Account is , as of the Addition Date , an Eligible Receivable , -LRB- y -RRB- no selection procedures believed by the Transferor to be materially adverse to the interests of the related Certificateholders were utilized in selecting the Additional Accounts from the available Eligible Accounts from the Identified Pool , and -LRB- z -RRB- as of the Addition Date , the Transferor is not insolvent ; -LRB- iv -RRB- the Transferor shall deliver certain opinions of counsel with respect to the transfer of the Receivables in the Additional Accounts or the Participations to such Trust and -LRB- v -RRB- under certain circumstances with respect to Additional Accounts , and in all cases with respect to Participations , the Transferor shall have received notice from each Rating Agency then rating any Series of Certificates outstanding under such Trust that the addition of such Additional Accounts or Participations will not result in the reduction or withdrawal of its then existing rating of any Series of Certificates outstanding under such Trust . -RRB- UNDATED : the company . At times more words , not fewer , are needed to decode particularly turgid passages . Here 's one example cited by Lutz , with a suggested revision . Before : When business processes are automated , employees are careful not to fall into the trap of applying new technology to old , inefficient work procedures . Instead , a needs assessment is completed to identify system requirements , and then automated systems are designed to accomplish these goals . After : Computers do n't improve the way you do business , if you simply do business the same old way using the computers . So , before we installed a new computer system in the Purchasing Department , we asked ourselves if there were a better way to do what this department does . After talking to the people in Purchasing and to our suppliers , we came up with a completely new way to run this department . Then we asked the computer people to design the computer systems we needed to make our new approach work . _ And then there are the hopeless causes that force even the most fervent plain-language disciples to throw up their hands . Consider this financial document , provided by Lutz , which comes in at a breathtaking 374 words . He said he still has n't come up with a revision : A conveyance by the Transferor to a Trust of Receivables in Additional Accounts or Participations is subject to the following conditions , among others -LRB- provided , that the following conditions -LRB- other than the delivery of a written assignment and computer file or microfiche list as described in clause -LRB- ii -RRB- and the making of representations and warranties in clause -LRB- iii -RRB- shall not apply to the transfer to a Trust of Receivables in Automatic Additional Accounts -RRB- : -LRB- i -RRB- the Transferor shall give the related Trustee , each Rating Agency and the Servicer written notice that such additional Accounts or Participations will be included , which notice shall specify the approximate aggregate amount of the Receivables or interests therein to be transferred ; -LRB- ii -RRB- the Transferor shall have delivered to such Trustee a written assignment -LRB- including an acceptance by such Trustee on behalf of the related Trust for the benefit of the Certificateholders -RRB- as provided in the related Agreement relating to such Additional Accounts or Participations -LRB- the ` Assignment ' -RRB- and , the Transferor shall have delivered to such Trustee a computer file or microfiche list , dated the date of such Assignment , containing a true and complete list of such Additional Account or Participations ; -LRB- iii -RRB- the Transferor shall represent and warrant that -LRB- x -RRB- each Additional Account is , as of the Addition Date , an Eligible Account , and each Receivable in such Additional Account is , as of the Addition Date , an Eligible Receivable , -LRB- y -RRB- no selection procedures believed by the Transferor to be materially adverse to the interests of the related Certificateholders were utilized in selecting the Additional Accounts from the available Eligible Accounts from the Identified Pool , and -LRB- z -RRB- as of the Addition Date , the Transferor is not insolvent ; -LRB- iv -RRB- the Transferor shall deliver certain opinions of counsel with respect to the transfer of the Receivables in the Additional Accounts or the Participations to such Trust and -LRB- v -RRB- under certain circumstances with respect to Additional Accounts , and in all cases with respect to Participations , the Transferor shall have received notice from each Rating Agency then rating any Series of Certificates outstanding under such Trust that the addition of such Additional Accounts or Participations will not result in the reduction or withdrawal of its then existing rating of any Series of Certificates outstanding under such Trust . -RRB- RECONSIDERING CANNIBALISM : IF YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT ... Do you eat human flesh ? No , it is not a very polite question . But perhaps the horror it arouses reflects a guilty desire , some dark instinct buried in the atavistic limbo of the mind , to crush one 's enemy , savor his flesh and absorb his qualities . Cannibalism has been in the news as rival experts try to get this bizarre but revealing topic into focus . The issue is whether cannibalism was once a routine part of human social behavior or is merely a myth designed to justify advanced nations ' domination over primitive and allegedly anthropophagous peoples . Of course the survivors of desperate expeditions will sometimes resort to eating their companions if no other food is available . The companions , one hopes , died of natural causes , though this can not always be assumed . `` Oh , I am a cook and a captain bold , And the mate of the Nancy brig , And a bo ` sun tight , and a midshipmite , And the crew of the captain 's gig , '' the sole survivor laments of his consumed shipmates in W.S. Gilbert 's `` Yarn of the Nancy Bell . '' This consumption in extremis is known as survival cannibalism , a practice that is not in doubt . The debate concerns the practice of ritual cannibalism , like the headhunting of enemies , the Aztecs ' sacrifice of war captives or the eating of dead relatives as part of beliefs about recycling and regeneration . Human myth and folklore are shot through with man-eating ogres and cyclopes . The central sacrament of Christianity is the symbolic eating of transubstantiated flesh and blood . It is hard not to suspect a lot of anthropophagy in the closet of the human past . But the modern reporting of cannibalism has been beset by a bout of extreme revisionism . In a 1979 book , `` The Man-Eating Myth : Anthropology and Anthropophagy , '' Dr. William Arens of the State University of New York at Stony Brook dismissed as circumstantial and unconvincing all reports of ritual cannibalism . Arens even challenged the widely accepted finding that kuru , a human form of mad cow disease seen among the Fore people of Papua New Guinea , was spread by the eating of human brains . Arens ' position has influenced anthropologists who believe primitive peoples were often maligned by missionaries and others intent upon their moral improvement . `` There is no reliable evidence to support the claim that Australian Aboriginal societies engaged in institutionalized cannibalism , '' writes Michael Pickering , of the Museum of Victoria in Australia , in `` The Anthropology of Cannibalism '' -LRB- Bergin & Garvey , 1999 -RRB- . This tide of skepticism doubtless washed away many fanciful accounts but has been dismaying for archaeologists who found their evidence for cannibal feasts summarily dismissed . Cracked and burned human bones have been turned up for decades in Anasazi ruins in the American Southwest . Despite suggestions first made a century ago that these might represent cannibalism or ritual sacrifice , the remains were delicately referred to as `` mass burials . '' The leading advocate of Anasazi cannibalism is Dr. Christy Turner of Arizona State University . He met only disbelief when he proposed in 1970 that the cut , burned and defleshed bones of 30 American Indians in Polacca Wash in Arizona were the remains of an ancient cannibal repast . `` In the 1960s , the new paradigm about Indians was that they were all peaceful and happy . So , to find something like this was the antithesis of the new way we were supposed to be thinking about Indians , '' Turner told Science magazine in 1997 . Critics attributed the cuts on the grisly remains like these to animal scavengers , funerary practices , the roof falling in _ anything but anthropophagy . After 30 years of work and the study of 15,000 skeletons , Turner is now convinced that cannibalism was practiced by the Anasazi as a method of social control . The cannibals ' base of operations seems to have been the great house in Chaco Canyon , N.M. , from which they terrorized people within a 100-mile radius between 900 and 1700 AD . Turner 's findings have been supported by a paleoanthropologist , Dr. Tim White of the University of California at Berkeley , who from human bones at an Anasazi site dated to 1150 A.D. noted the macabre phenomenon of `` pot polish . '' The tips of the bones had shiny patches , as if rubbed smooth against the walls of a cooking pot . White showed that deer bones cooked in an Anasazi pot acquired the same polish marks . Cannibalism is sometimes said to be a phenomenon of the agricultural revolution of 10,000 years ago , after which human populations first became quite numerous . But a clear case of cannibalism was reported last October among Neanderthals who lived 100,000 years ago by the Rhone river in southern France . From a cave , French archaeologists recovered 78 pieces of bone that seemed to belong to about six people . Cuts on the skulls show the chewing muscles were stripped off and , in one case , the tongue cut out . The leg bones were broken to remove the marrow . As no other human species inhabited Europe at the time , this is the strongest evidence that the Neanderthals , close human relatives who became extinct 30,000 years ago , practiced cannibalism . Even now , this horrid propensity for human flesh lies not so deep beneath the surface . After World War II , a Japanese nurse was found guilty of having participated in eating the liver of a U.S. airman executed at Kyushu University , writes historian John Dower in his new book `` Embracing Defeat . '' Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa I of the Central African Republic possessed an oversized refrigerator and oven , which his accusers said were used for the culinary preparation of his countrymen . And Americans have Jeffrey Dahmer . Even in Western Europe , that cradle of civilization , consider the strange use of food names for former adversaries . The French , for example , call the English les bifteks -LRB- beefsteaks -RRB- , while the English sometimes refer to the French as frogs -LRB- for frog legs -RRB- and the Germans as krauts -LRB- cabbage -RRB- . These jocular epithets are doubtless anthropophagous echoes of a forbidden taste from our Paleolithic heritage . Do you eat human flesh ? Of course not . But not so long ago , your ancestors did . RECONSIDERING CANNIBALISM : IF YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT ... Do you eat human flesh ? No , it is not a very polite question . But perhaps the horror it arouses reflects a guilty desire , some dark instinct buried in the atavistic limbo of the mind , to crush one 's enemy , savor his flesh and absorb his qualities . Cannibalism has been in the news as rival experts try to get this bizarre but revealing topic into focus . The issue is whether cannibalism was once a routine part of human social behavior or is merely a myth designed to justify advanced nations ' domination over primitive and allegedly anthropophagous peoples . Of course the survivors of desperate expeditions will sometimes resort to eating their companions if no other food is available . The companions , one hopes , died of natural causes , though this can not always be assumed . `` Oh , I am a cook and a captain bold , And the mate of the Nancy brig , And a bo ` sun tight , and a midshipmite , And the crew of the captain 's gig , '' the sole survivor laments of his consumed shipmates in W.S. Gilbert 's `` Yarn of the Nancy Bell . '' This consumption in extremis is known as survival cannibalism , a practice that is not in doubt . The debate concerns the practice of ritual cannibalism , like the headhunting of enemies , the Aztecs ' sacrifice of war captives or the eating of dead relatives as part of beliefs about recycling and regeneration . Human myth and folklore are shot through with man-eating ogres and cyclopes . The central sacrament of Christianity is the symbolic eating of transubstantiated flesh and blood . It is hard not to suspect a lot of anthropophagy in the closet of the human past . But the modern reporting of cannibalism has been beset by a bout of extreme revisionism . In a 1979 book , `` The Man-Eating Myth : Anthropology and Anthropophagy , '' Dr. William Arens of the State University of New York at Stony Brook dismissed as circumstantial and unconvincing all reports of ritual cannibalism . Arens even challenged the widely accepted finding that kuru , a human form of mad cow disease seen among the Fore people of Papua New Guinea , was spread by the eating of human brains . Arens ' position has influenced anthropologists who believe primitive peoples were often maligned by missionaries and others intent upon their moral improvement . `` There is no reliable evidence to support the claim that Australian Aboriginal societies engaged in institutionalized cannibalism , '' writes Michael Pickering , of the Museum of Victoria in Australia , in `` The Anthropology of Cannibalism '' -LRB- Bergin & Garvey , 1999 -RRB- . This tide of skepticism doubtless washed away many fanciful accounts but has been dismaying for archaeologists who found their evidence for cannibal feasts summarily dismissed . Cracked and burned human bones have been turned up for decades in Anasazi ruins in the American Southwest . Despite suggestions first made a century ago that these might represent cannibalism or ritual sacrifice , the remains were delicately referred to as `` mass burials . '' The leading advocate of Anasazi cannibalism is Dr. Christy Turner of Arizona State University . He met only disbelief when he proposed in 1970 that the cut , burned and defleshed bones of 30 American Indians in Polacca Wash in Arizona were the remains of an ancient cannibal repast . `` In the 1960s , the new paradigm about Indians was that they were all peaceful and happy . So , to find something like this was the antithesis of the new way we were supposed to be thinking about Indians , '' Turner told Science magazine in 1997 . Critics attributed the cuts on the grisly remains like these to animal scavengers , funerary practices , the roof falling in _ anything but anthropophagy . After 30 years of work and the study of 15,000 skeletons , Turner is now convinced that cannibalism was practiced by the Anasazi as a method of social control . The cannibals ' base of operations seems to have been the great house in Chaco Canyon , N.M. , from which they terrorized people within a 100-mile radius between 900 and 1700 AD . Turner 's findings have been supported by a paleoanthropologist , Dr. Tim White of the University of California at Berkeley , who from human bones at an Anasazi site dated to 1150 A.D. noted the macabre phenomenon of `` pot polish . '' The tips of the bones had shiny patches , as if rubbed smooth against the walls of a cooking pot . White showed that deer bones cooked in an Anasazi pot acquired the same polish marks . Cannibalism is sometimes said to be a phenomenon of the agricultural revolution of 10,000 years ago , after which human populations first became quite numerous . But a clear case of cannibalism was reported last October among Neanderthals who lived 100,000 years ago by the Rhone river in southern France . From a cave , French archaeologists recovered 78 pieces of bone that seemed to belong to about six people . Cuts on the skulls show the chewing muscles were stripped off and , in one case , the tongue cut out . The leg bones were broken to remove the marrow . As no other human species inhabited Europe at the time , this is the strongest evidence that the Neanderthals , close human relatives who became extinct 30,000 years ago , practiced cannibalism . Even now , this horrid propensity for human flesh lies not so deep beneath the surface . After World War II , a Japanese nurse was found guilty of having participated in eating the liver of a U.S. airman executed at Kyushu University , writes historian John Dower in his new book `` Embracing Defeat . '' Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa I of the Central African Republic possessed an oversized refrigerator and oven , which his accusers said were used for the culinary preparation of his countrymen . And Americans have Jeffrey Dahmer . Even in Western Europe , that cradle of civilization , consider the strange use of food names for former adversaries . The French , for example , call the English les bifteks -LRB- beefsteaks -RRB- , while the English sometimes refer to the French as frogs -LRB- for frog legs -RRB- and the Germans as krauts -LRB- cabbage -RRB- . These jocular epithets are doubtless anthropophagous echoes of a forbidden taste from our Paleolithic heritage . Do you eat human flesh ? Of course not . But not so long ago , your ancestors did . EUROPE STARES AT A FUTURE BUILT BY IMMIGRANTS Europeans , it often seems , spent the last decade building resentments of American fast food , pop culture , corporate callousness and an unchallenged military machine _ when they were n't importing or trying to emulate them . They ended the century thinking they had staked out the parameters of Americanization and could now concentrate on erecting barricades around their traditional larders , languages and societies . But some demographers have a big surprise in store . Before the new millennium is a few decades old , these demographers say , Europe will be face to face with an American-style phenomenon more profoundly unsettling to many of them than any superficial cultural symbol or business intrusion . The challenge , these experts say , is this : To survive economically and socially , Europe may have to lower its bars to immigration and change its racial and ethnic face through mass migration of labor from around the world . In other words , it may find itself debating moves toward a social structure that looks more like America . It has often been said that however much they share in democratic values , Europeans and Americans still differ on one fundamental : In America , the whole idea of citizenship is that anyone from anywhere can become naturalized . In Europe , on the other hand , the idea of citizenship in most places is still linked to ethnic heritage , or at least to language and culture . True , Americans have restricted immigration and Europeans have invited foreign workers to take jobs in their economies . But large-scale immigration and naturalization is still an American ideal , while Europeans cling to a linguistic and racial basis for citizenship . In the coming decades , U.N. experts say , demographics indicate that many European countries -LRB- and Japan -RRB- will have more older people and fewer babies than ever before . This seems to foretell severely shrunken labor forces and swollen ranks of pensioners . If Europeans want to keep their economies and social services running , they will be tempted to look far afield for qualified workers of all kinds _ not just the semi-skilled or unskilled workers who have traditionally been invited to fill gaps in their work forces . Joseph Chamie , the director of the U.N. population division , says there is a logical response : what he calls replacement migration . `` These countries in Europe will face the wall , '' he said . `` They either bring in migrants , or they are going to decline in size . The model that the United States has _ and Canada and Australia _ is increasingly becoming attractive to some of the thinkers in those countries . '' U.N. experts now preparing a report to be published this year say that their early projections show that Italy would have to add about 9 million immigrants by 2025 _ about 300,000 a year _ to keep its population at 1995 levels , Germany would need to import 14 million people _ 500,000 a year _ France 2 million and the European Union as a whole about 35 million . If the Europeans wanted to keep their ratio of older people to active workers at the 1995 levels , the union would need 135 million immigrants by 2025 . Surplus labor , some of it very highly skilled , is waiting in the third world , and the pressure for migration out of overpopulated countries will be growing as the European societies shrink . A group of developing countries is calling for a U.N. conference that would have the freer movement of labor on its agenda . India , for example , has a labor force larger than that of the European Union . A lot of its computer geniuses are already sought by Silicon Valley . Will Europe soon have to compete for them ? And will it let them migrate ? If migration is the answer , and the numbers are large enough , Europe may well find itself under a challenge to make these and other immigrants full citizens in every sense . Today , Germany tolerates Turkish `` guest workers , '' as France allows Algerian migrants , but in both cases these minorities have become lightning rods for nationalist resentments . As always when projections are made , there are dissenting voices . Michael Teitelbaum , program director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in New York and the co-author with Jay Winter of `` A Question of Numbers : High Migration , Low Fertility and the Politics of National Identity '' -LRB- Hill and Wang , 1998 -RRB- , points out that some European countries are already quite culturally and racially diverse . That aside , he says , he does not believe that large-scale migration is unavoidable . `` I do n't think there is anything inevitable about anything when it comes to demography , and I am a demographer , '' he said . And , he said , European nations may not see the American example as worth emulating . `` It depends on what your goals are , '' he said . `` If your goals are to maximize your gross domestic product then you probably do n't want a labor force that is slowly declining in numbers , even if their productivity is rising fast . If your goal is not GDP but GDP per capita or the equitable distribution of GDP and a kind of equilibrium , a kind of agreeable quality of life in your society , then you may not care as much . '' Teitelbaum is saying , in effect , that the challenge may be what Chamie predicts , but that Europeans may decide the cost of meeting it is too high . He points to European feelings about American-style capitalism . `` There are many Europeans who hear Americans say how triumphant the American economy is and how wonderful and prosperous it is and they look at it and say , ` Gee , we do n't want to be like that , '' ' Teitelbaum said . `` ` It 's really two societies with the kind of underclass that 's getting worse and worse off , more and more marginalized . '' ' -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn EUROPE STARES AT A FUTURE BUILT BY IMMIGRANTS Europeans , it often seems , spent the last decade building resentments of American fast food , pop culture , corporate callousness and an unchallenged military machine _ when they were n't importing or trying to emulate them . They ended the century thinking they had staked out the parameters of Americanization and could now concentrate on erecting barricades around their traditional larders , languages and societies . But some demographers have a big surprise in store . Before the new millennium is a few decades old , these demographers say , Europe will be face to face with an American-style phenomenon more profoundly unsettling to many of them than any superficial cultural symbol or business intrusion . The challenge , these experts say , is this : To survive economically and socially , Europe may have to lower its bars to immigration and change its racial and ethnic face through mass migration of labor from around the world . In other words , it may find itself debating moves toward a social structure that looks more like America . It has often been said that however much they share in democratic values , Europeans and Americans still differ on one fundamental : In America , the whole idea of citizenship is that anyone from anywhere can become naturalized . In Europe , on the other hand , the idea of citizenship in most places is still linked to ethnic heritage , or at least to language and culture . True , Americans have restricted immigration and Europeans have invited foreign workers to take jobs in their economies . But large-scale immigration and naturalization is still an American ideal , while Europeans cling to a linguistic and racial basis for citizenship . In the coming decades , U.N. experts say , demographics indicate that many European countries -LRB- and Japan -RRB- will have more older people and fewer babies than ever before . This seems to foretell severely shrunken labor forces and swollen ranks of pensioners . If Europeans want to keep their economies and social services running , they will be tempted to look far afield for qualified workers of all kinds _ not just the semi-skilled or unskilled workers who have traditionally been invited to fill gaps in their work forces . Joseph Chamie , the director of the U.N. population division , says there is a logical response : what he calls replacement migration . `` These countries in Europe will face the wall , '' he said . `` They either bring in migrants , or they are going to decline in size . The model that the United States has _ and Canada and Australia _ is increasingly becoming attractive to some of the thinkers in those countries . '' U.N. experts now preparing a report to be published this year say that their early projections show that Italy would have to add about 9 million immigrants by 2025 _ about 300,000 a year _ to keep its population at 1995 levels , Germany would need to import 14 million people _ 500,000 a year _ France 2 million and the European Union as a whole about 35 million . If the Europeans wanted to keep their ratio of older people to active workers at the 1995 levels , the union would need 135 million immigrants by 2025 . Surplus labor , some of it very highly skilled , is waiting in the third world , and the pressure for migration out of overpopulated countries will be growing as the European societies shrink . A group of developing countries is calling for a U.N. conference that would have the freer movement of labor on its agenda . India , for example , has a labor force larger than that of the European Union . A lot of its computer geniuses are already sought by Silicon Valley . Will Europe soon have to compete for them ? And will it let them migrate ? If migration is the answer , and the numbers are large enough , Europe may well find itself under a challenge to make these and other immigrants full citizens in every sense . Today , Germany tolerates Turkish `` guest workers , '' as France allows Algerian migrants , but in both cases these minorities have become lightning rods for nationalist resentments . As always when projections are made , there are dissenting voices . Michael Teitelbaum , program director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in New York and the co-author with Jay Winter of `` A Question of Numbers : High Migration , Low Fertility and the Politics of National Identity '' -LRB- Hill and Wang , 1998 -RRB- , points out that some European countries are already quite culturally and racially diverse . That aside , he says , he does not believe that large-scale migration is unavoidable . `` I do n't think there is anything inevitable about anything when it comes to demography , and I am a demographer , '' he said . And , he said , European nations may not see the American example as worth emulating . `` It depends on what your goals are , '' he said . `` If your goals are to maximize your gross domestic product then you probably do n't want a labor force that is slowly declining in numbers , even if their productivity is rising fast . If your goal is not GDP but GDP per capita or the equitable distribution of GDP and a kind of equilibrium , a kind of agreeable quality of life in your society , then you may not care as much . '' Teitelbaum is saying , in effect , that the challenge may be what Chamie predicts , but that Europeans may decide the cost of meeting it is too high . He points to European feelings about American-style capitalism . `` There are many Europeans who hear Americans say how triumphant the American economy is and how wonderful and prosperous it is and they look at it and say , ` Gee , we do n't want to be like that , '' ' Teitelbaum said . `` ` It 's really two societies with the kind of underclass that 's getting worse and worse off , more and more marginalized . '' ' -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn UNDATED : more marginalized . '' ' Also , he said , not everybody has the same definition of multiculturalism . `` The French think that what they call the Anglo-Saxon model is a multicultural model of integration in which everybody speaks their own language and does n't necessarily learn the common language _ and they do n't really become British or Canadian or American . They simply live in those countries and the political system sort of stitches together compromises between these groups . '' `` The French image is quite different , but not xenophobic at all , '' he said , recalling the numbers of Poles , Russians and others who have settled over the century . Their model , he said , is `` that anybody of any race , national origin or whatever can become French , but they 've got to really become French _ French defined in French terms . '' Germany , with an ethnically based view of citizenship , has had a different debate about immigration , he said . Policies and programs to overcome hurdles like language barriers are scant in much of Europe because cultural homogeneity has been deeply valued , citizenship has often been defined ethnically or linguistically , and the naturalization process that has made Americans out of millions of foreigners does not exist . For example , while Britain may now be the most racially diverse and integrated nation in Europe , restrictions on immigrants from outside the European Union remain . Skinhead violence against non-Europeans has erupted from Scandinavia into Central and Eastern Europe . In Denmark , a right-wing nationalist leader proposed recently that all Muslims should be rounded up and put in camps . `` You have European governments that continue to deploy the most sophisticated forms of immigration control , '' said Arthur C. Helton , an international lawyer who is now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations . `` Yet European societies thirst ever more for new blood and labor , which will come from outside of Europe . '' How to manage that ? Helton said the example of the United States is instructive . Immigration there `` has not only inspired but enforced a set of ways to manage conflict that Europeans are going to have to either borrow or invent , '' he said . `` There is a profound recognition by most Americans that this a country more about change than about status . Europeans had better get ready for change . '' In Europe , protection of minorities is often seen as enough . `` But people do n't want to be beneficiaries of minority rights arrangements , '' Helton said . `` So there is a dilemma . Immigrants want to preserve their language and culture but do not wish to be stigmatized as second-class citizens . That 's a delicate balance that often is missed , and it leads to intolerance , discrimination , backlash , race riots and the lot . '' Teitelbaum says that this is where political leadership comes in , and that is as difficult to predict as anything else . With the combination of low fertility and high immigration , he said , `` you can have everything from prosperous peace and comity to disastrous , disintegrative civil war . '' `` A lot , '' he said , `` depends on the actions of political leaderships , to either exploit fears or to try to deal with them . '' UNDATED : more marginalized . '' ' Also , he said , not everybody has the same definition of multiculturalism . `` The French think that what they call the Anglo-Saxon model is a multicultural model of integration in which everybody speaks their own language and does n't necessarily learn the common language _ and they do n't really become British or Canadian or American . They simply live in those countries and the political system sort of stitches together compromises between these groups . '' `` The French image is quite different , but not xenophobic at all , '' he said , recalling the numbers of Poles , Russians and others who have settled over the century . Their model , he said , is `` that anybody of any race , national origin or whatever can become French , but they 've got to really become French _ French defined in French terms . '' Germany , with an ethnically based view of citizenship , has had a different debate about immigration , he said . Policies and programs to overcome hurdles like language barriers are scant in much of Europe because cultural homogeneity has been deeply valued , citizenship has often been defined ethnically or linguistically , and the naturalization process that has made Americans out of millions of foreigners does not exist . For example , while Britain may now be the most racially diverse and integrated nation in Europe , restrictions on immigrants from outside the European Union remain . Skinhead violence against non-Europeans has erupted from Scandinavia into Central and Eastern Europe . In Denmark , a right-wing nationalist leader proposed recently that all Muslims should be rounded up and put in camps . `` You have European governments that continue to deploy the most sophisticated forms of immigration control , '' said Arthur C. Helton , an international lawyer who is now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations . `` Yet European societies thirst ever more for new blood and labor , which will come from outside of Europe . '' How to manage that ? Helton said the example of the United States is instructive . Immigration there `` has not only inspired but enforced a set of ways to manage conflict that Europeans are going to have to either borrow or invent , '' he said . `` There is a profound recognition by most Americans that this a country more about change than about status . Europeans had better get ready for change . '' In Europe , protection of minorities is often seen as enough . `` But people do n't want to be beneficiaries of minority rights arrangements , '' Helton said . `` So there is a dilemma . Immigrants want to preserve their language and culture but do not wish to be stigmatized as second-class citizens . That 's a delicate balance that often is missed , and it leads to intolerance , discrimination , backlash , race riots and the lot . '' Teitelbaum says that this is where political leadership comes in , and that is as difficult to predict as anything else . With the combination of low fertility and high immigration , he said , `` you can have everything from prosperous peace and comity to disastrous , disintegrative civil war . '' `` A lot , '' he said , `` depends on the actions of political leaderships , to either exploit fears or to try to deal with them . '' Calif. -RRB- Five years ago , responding to an increase in serious juvenile crime , the state of Maryland initiated one of the nation 's largest boot camp programs for teen-age criminals . The program , called the Leadership Challenge , quickly became the model for other states . But last week , after reviewing a task force report that documented instances of physical abuse at their camps , Maryland officials appeared on the verge of conceding that the current initiative was a failure . The Maryland experience , together with problems in other states , has already led some states to close their boot camps and even to rethink how their penal laws treat young offenders . All in all , it is a remarkable turn of events for an idea that was once greeted as a breakthrough in the fight against juvenile crime There is increasing evidence that boot-camps never worked . A national study last year by the Koch Crime Institute , a public policy group in Topeka , Kan. , showed that recidivism among boot camp attendees ranged from 64 percent to 75 percent , slightly higher than for youths sentenced to adult prisons . Gerald Wells , a senior research associate at the Koch Institute , said of the report , `` The shocking parts are the allegations of abuse , but the more alarming parts are the failures . '' Research has also shown , according to Wells and other penal justice experts , that these camps were grounded in a false and unexamined assumption . `` People thought boot camps shaped up a lot of servicemen during three wars , '' Wells added . `` But just because you place someone in a highly structured environment with discipline , does not mean once they get home , and are out of that , they will be model citizens . '' Boot camps have their roots in the 1970s , with the advent of large , well-organized and extremely violent street gangs . In response to these groups , many states began to imprison more young people . By the 1990s , as the number of repeat juvenile offenders rose to record levels , it became clear that prison sentences were not working . In 1994 , nearly 10,000 juveniles were charged with criminal offenses , an all-time high . More than 2,300 of them were charged with murder , compared with fewer than 1,000 in 1980 , according to the Justice Department 's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention . On any given day , about 105,000 children were in custody on criminal charges in the United States . It was in this atmosphere that Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend began exploring the potential of boot camps . Shortly after being elected with Gov. Parris Glendening in 1994 , Ms. Townsend , a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Clinton administration , said she considered boot camps `` a cost-effective , intermediate punishment '' and included them among her priorities . Ms. Townsend has said the idea came from visiting a juvenile boot camp in Ohio . By then , a handful of states , including Georgia , Louisiana , West Virginia and Ohio , had begun well-publicized , promising experiments with juvenile camps . The camps , modeled after similar programs that popped up in England in the 1970s , were designed for juveniles who had committed moderately serious crimes , such as auto theft , with the goal of interceding before they moved to more serious crimes . By 1997 , more than 27,000 teen-agers were passing through 54 camps in 23 states annually . The people who ran the real boot camps , were quite skeptical . `` The key reason we are successful is that we have a clientele down here that chose to be here on their own , '' said Sgt. Maj. Ford Kinsley , who oversees drill instructors at U.S. Marine Corps ' recruitment base in Parris Island , S.C. `` They are not here because a judge said you should go here . Our population comes with a lot more positive attitudes . '' He said that when `` a kid graduates from Parris Island , he is just beginning a four - or five-year enlistment in the Marine Corps . It is not like they spend 11 months here and we just throw them out onto the streets . '' Then , too , the Marines traditionally chooses the best of its noncommissioned officers as boot camp instructors . By contrast , state standards vary widely . Rumors began to surface of beatings at Maryland 's boot camps last August , and Ms. Townsend ordered an end to all inappropriate physical contact . But news reports in December suggesting such violations had continued led Ms. Townsend and Glendening to launch an investigatory task force chaired by former Baltimore Police Commissioner Bishop Robinson , who also spent 10 years in charge of the state 's prison system . On Dec. 15 , the task force released a report that accused guards of routine and brutal beatings of inmates , and Glendening and Ms. Townsend suspended the state 's camps and dismissed the top five juvenile justice officials . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn Calif. -RRB- Five years ago , responding to an increase in serious juvenile crime , the state of Maryland initiated one of the nation 's largest boot camp programs for teen-age criminals . The program , called the Leadership Challenge , quickly became the model for other states . But last week , after reviewing a task force report that documented instances of physical abuse at their camps , Maryland officials appeared on the verge of conceding that the current initiative was a failure . The Maryland experience , together with problems in other states , has already led some states to close their boot camps and even to rethink how their penal laws treat young offenders . All in all , it is a remarkable turn of events for an idea that was once greeted as a breakthrough in the fight against juvenile crime There is increasing evidence that boot-camps never worked . A national study last year by the Koch Crime Institute , a public policy group in Topeka , Kan. , showed that recidivism among boot camp attendees ranged from 64 percent to 75 percent , slightly higher than for youths sentenced to adult prisons . Gerald Wells , a senior research associate at the Koch Institute , said of the report , `` The shocking parts are the allegations of abuse , but the more alarming parts are the failures . '' Research has also shown , according to Wells and other penal justice experts , that these camps were grounded in a false and unexamined assumption . `` People thought boot camps shaped up a lot of servicemen during three wars , '' Wells added . `` But just because you place someone in a highly structured environment with discipline , does not mean once they get home , and are out of that , they will be model citizens . '' Boot camps have their roots in the 1970s , with the advent of large , well-organized and extremely violent street gangs . In response to these groups , many states began to imprison more young people . By the 1990s , as the number of repeat juvenile offenders rose to record levels , it became clear that prison sentences were not working . In 1994 , nearly 10,000 juveniles were charged with criminal offenses , an all-time high . More than 2,300 of them were charged with murder , compared with fewer than 1,000 in 1980 , according to the Justice Department 's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention . On any given day , about 105,000 children were in custody on criminal charges in the United States . It was in this atmosphere that Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend began exploring the potential of boot camps . Shortly after being elected with Gov. Parris Glendening in 1994 , Ms. Townsend , a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Clinton administration , said she considered boot camps `` a cost-effective , intermediate punishment '' and included them among her priorities . Ms. Townsend has said the idea came from visiting a juvenile boot camp in Ohio . By then , a handful of states , including Georgia , Louisiana , West Virginia and Ohio , had begun well-publicized , promising experiments with juvenile camps . The camps , modeled after similar programs that popped up in England in the 1970s , were designed for juveniles who had committed moderately serious crimes , such as auto theft , with the goal of interceding before they moved to more serious crimes . By 1997 , more than 27,000 teen-agers were passing through 54 camps in 23 states annually . The people who ran the real boot camps , were quite skeptical . `` The key reason we are successful is that we have a clientele down here that chose to be here on their own , '' said Sgt. Maj. Ford Kinsley , who oversees drill instructors at U.S. Marine Corps ' recruitment base in Parris Island , S.C. `` They are not here because a judge said you should go here . Our population comes with a lot more positive attitudes . '' He said that when `` a kid graduates from Parris Island , he is just beginning a four - or five-year enlistment in the Marine Corps . It is not like they spend 11 months here and we just throw them out onto the streets . '' Then , too , the Marines traditionally chooses the best of its noncommissioned officers as boot camp instructors . By contrast , state standards vary widely . Rumors began to surface of beatings at Maryland 's boot camps last August , and Ms. Townsend ordered an end to all inappropriate physical contact . But news reports in December suggesting such violations had continued led Ms. Townsend and Glendening to launch an investigatory task force chaired by former Baltimore Police Commissioner Bishop Robinson , who also spent 10 years in charge of the state 's prison system . On Dec. 15 , the task force released a report that accused guards of routine and brutal beatings of inmates , and Glendening and Ms. Townsend suspended the state 's camps and dismissed the top five juvenile justice officials . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn UNDATED : justice officials . Similar accusations have led state and local officials in Colorado , North Dakota , and Arizona to drop their programs , while Florida and California are scaling back theirs . In Georgia , officials revamped their program after a Justice Department investigation concluded that the state 's `` paramilitary boot camp model is not only ineffective , but harmful . '' Some experts regard the entire boot camp experiment as a cynical political maneuver . `` Boot camps were just another knee-jerk reaction , a way to get tough with juveniles that resonated with the public and became a political answer , '' said Dr. David Altschuler , a juvenile justice expert at the Institute for Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore . Still , some believe the programs , in some form , can be useful . `` These are tough kids , with tough problems , they need good education and drug treatment and they also need to learn respect , self-respect , discipline and a new way of conducting themselves in society , '' Ms. Townsend said . `` Facilities that provide structure and discipline can be run effectively and have a role in our fight after juvenile crime . '' Many experts disagree , citing the expense of running such programs properly . `` It 's a budget issue , '' said Doris Mackenzie , a University of Maryland criminology professor . `` They are popular in the public , people feel we should treat these kids tough , and everyone can get onto the bandwagon , '' she said . `` But when it comes to this extra expense of doing the follow-up , we find , the money is not there . '' In any case , juvenile crime has been falling since 1994 , after an overall drop in the nation 's juvenile population . This will make it highly unlikely , say political observers , that voters will agree to pay for individualized rehabilitation . Much more likely , they say , is that the 27,000 young people who once went to boot camp each year will instead be sent to prison . As bad as boot camps have proven to be , Wells added , `` once you start incarcerating kids , you have lost . But unfortunately , that is where we seem headed . '' UNDATED : justice officials . Similar accusations have led state and local officials in Colorado , North Dakota , and Arizona to drop their programs , while Florida and California are scaling back theirs . In Georgia , officials revamped their program after a Justice Department investigation concluded that the state 's `` paramilitary boot camp model is not only ineffective , but harmful . '' Some experts regard the entire boot camp experiment as a cynical political maneuver . `` Boot camps were just another knee-jerk reaction , a way to get tough with juveniles that resonated with the public and became a political answer , '' said Dr. David Altschuler , a juvenile justice expert at the Institute for Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore . Still , some believe the programs , in some form , can be useful . `` These are tough kids , with tough problems , they need good education and drug treatment and they also need to learn respect , self-respect , discipline and a new way of conducting themselves in society , '' Ms. Townsend said . `` Facilities that provide structure and discipline can be run effectively and have a role in our fight after juvenile crime . '' Many experts disagree , citing the expense of running such programs properly . `` It 's a budget issue , '' said Doris Mackenzie , a University of Maryland criminology professor . `` They are popular in the public , people feel we should treat these kids tough , and everyone can get onto the bandwagon , '' she said . `` But when it comes to this extra expense of doing the follow-up , we find , the money is not there . '' In any case , juvenile crime has been falling since 1994 , after an overall drop in the nation 's juvenile population . This will make it highly unlikely , say political observers , that voters will agree to pay for individualized rehabilitation . Much more likely , they say , is that the 27,000 young people who once went to boot camp each year will instead be sent to prison . As bad as boot camps have proven to be , Wells added , `` once you start incarcerating kids , you have lost . But unfortunately , that is where we seem headed . '' ALGERIA : WHY IT 'S IMPORTANT TO AMERICA High above the sparkling blue sweep of the Bay of Algiers , with panoramic views over whitewashed colonial palaces and palm-treed gardens that still make the city one of the jewels of the Mediterranean , there is a magnificent hostelry . Once a palace , it became , at the height of France 's 130 years of colonial rule in Algeria , the St. George 's Hotel . On an upper floor , with a balcony scented in the springtime with mimosa blossoms , there is a suite with a brass plaque at the door recording the fact that General Dwight D. Eisenhower occupied the suite for several months in 1942 and 1943 , when U.S. and allied troops were pushing German forces eastward along the north African coast during World War II . Everyone knew , in that dark winter , the strategic importance of Algeria . But that moment , during the climactic war of the 20th century , may have been the last time the American public really focused its attention on Algeria . Today , amid fears of a new kind of warfare _ far less intense but nonetheless frightening _ Algeria is once again thrusting itself onto America 's consciousness , now that figures linked to its Islamic underground have been arrested while seemingly intent on bringing their terrorist war into the United States . It is , of course , an utterly different Algeria . Today , the St. George 's is the El-Djazair Hotel , state-owned like much else in independent Algeria , its lobby re-done in the over-marbled , socialist-modern style familiar from visits to communist Eastern Europe . The armchairs by the front door are occupied 24 hours a day by the slim-hipped , chain-smoking watchdogs of the Algerian security police , without whose guardianship no trip outside the hotel by foreigners is allowed . Americans hardly ever come . They have been warned off by nearly 40 years of military-dominated government since independence , by socialist economic policies that have all but wrecked the economy , and above all by an eight-year civil war . The conflict has been one of the most savage anywhere since Algeria 's previous conflict , the one from 1954 to 1962 in which the French colonial army fought fruitlessly to stave off independence . About a million people died in that earlier fighting , and so far about 100,000 have died in the current carnage . Many of the new victims have died at the hands of a shadowy guerrilla movement known , by its French initials , as the GIA _ the Armed Islamic Group . If a visitor wants to know something about the GIA , or about the wider conflict in which it has been fighting for an extreme form of Islamic rule , there are few better places to venture than up the hill from the El-Djazair , to one of the grandest U.S. embassies anywhere , set in breathtakingly lovely grounds . Here , amid graceful inner courtyards and arches , U.S. diplomats have a command of the political and economic miseries beyond the embassy 's high walls . The view is all the more impressive for the fact that the Algerian security police , and the State Department 's own rules , make venturing out of the compound about as easy as heading out from a cavalry fort in Indian country . The current ambassador , Cameron Hume , a man of formidable charm and intellect , has defied the security rules to travel about more than most ambassadors , but even he would not exactly claim to be a denizen of the place . All of which may go some way to explain why , two weeks ago , many Americans were puzzled to learn that an Algerian man had been arrested while driving off a car ferry from Canada at Port Angeles , Wash. , with , U.S. customs officials allege , enough bomb-making material in the trunk of his car to blow up almost any building . Suddenly there were headlines across America about Ahmed Ressam and the wider terrorist threat he has been thought to represent . But what of the country he hails from , and why might he have wanted to bomb a target in the United States ? Above all , what is it that Americans must now begin to understand about Algeria ? The plain fact is that Algeria , however distant it has grown to Americans since it made headlines for them during World War II , remains of enormous strategic importance . Not only is it the largest country on the African continent , in terms of area ; it also has vast oil and gas reserves that have kept American oilmen barracked at remote sites in the Sahara desert for 30 years or more . Today , they are in fact the most numerous Americans in Algeria , even if for the most part they pass swiftly through Algiers and the other major cities , and have little contact with the larger society . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn ALGERIA : WHY IT 'S IMPORTANT TO AMERICA High above the sparkling blue sweep of the Bay of Algiers , with panoramic views over whitewashed colonial palaces and palm-treed gardens that still make the city one of the jewels of the Mediterranean , there is a magnificent hostelry . Once a palace , it became , at the height of France 's 130 years of colonial rule in Algeria , the St. George 's Hotel . On an upper floor , with a balcony scented in the springtime with mimosa blossoms , there is a suite with a brass plaque at the door recording the fact that General Dwight D. Eisenhower occupied the suite for several months in 1942 and 1943 , when U.S. and allied troops were pushing German forces eastward along the north African coast during World War II . Everyone knew , in that dark winter , the strategic importance of Algeria . But that moment , during the climactic war of the 20th century , may have been the last time the American public really focused its attention on Algeria . Today , amid fears of a new kind of warfare _ far less intense but nonetheless frightening _ Algeria is once again thrusting itself onto America 's consciousness , now that figures linked to its Islamic underground have been arrested while seemingly intent on bringing their terrorist war into the United States . It is , of course , an utterly different Algeria . Today , the St. George 's is the El-Djazair Hotel , state-owned like much else in independent Algeria , its lobby re-done in the over-marbled , socialist-modern style familiar from visits to communist Eastern Europe . The armchairs by the front door are occupied 24 hours a day by the slim-hipped , chain-smoking watchdogs of the Algerian security police , without whose guardianship no trip outside the hotel by foreigners is allowed . Americans hardly ever come . They have been warned off by nearly 40 years of military-dominated government since independence , by socialist economic policies that have all but wrecked the economy , and above all by an eight-year civil war . The conflict has been one of the most savage anywhere since Algeria 's previous conflict , the one from 1954 to 1962 in which the French colonial army fought fruitlessly to stave off independence . About a million people died in that earlier fighting , and so far about 100,000 have died in the current carnage . Many of the new victims have died at the hands of a shadowy guerrilla movement known , by its French initials , as the GIA _ the Armed Islamic Group . If a visitor wants to know something about the GIA , or about the wider conflict in which it has been fighting for an extreme form of Islamic rule , there are few better places to venture than up the hill from the El-Djazair , to one of the grandest U.S. embassies anywhere , set in breathtakingly lovely grounds . Here , amid graceful inner courtyards and arches , U.S. diplomats have a command of the political and economic miseries beyond the embassy 's high walls . The view is all the more impressive for the fact that the Algerian security police , and the State Department 's own rules , make venturing out of the compound about as easy as heading out from a cavalry fort in Indian country . The current ambassador , Cameron Hume , a man of formidable charm and intellect , has defied the security rules to travel about more than most ambassadors , but even he would not exactly claim to be a denizen of the place . All of which may go some way to explain why , two weeks ago , many Americans were puzzled to learn that an Algerian man had been arrested while driving off a car ferry from Canada at Port Angeles , Wash. , with , U.S. customs officials allege , enough bomb-making material in the trunk of his car to blow up almost any building . Suddenly there were headlines across America about Ahmed Ressam and the wider terrorist threat he has been thought to represent . But what of the country he hails from , and why might he have wanted to bomb a target in the United States ? Above all , what is it that Americans must now begin to understand about Algeria ? The plain fact is that Algeria , however distant it has grown to Americans since it made headlines for them during World War II , remains of enormous strategic importance . Not only is it the largest country on the African continent , in terms of area ; it also has vast oil and gas reserves that have kept American oilmen barracked at remote sites in the Sahara desert for 30 years or more . Today , they are in fact the most numerous Americans in Algeria , even if for the most part they pass swiftly through Algiers and the other major cities , and have little contact with the larger society . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn UNDATED : larger society . As significant as its resources , Algeria fills a long stretch of the southern Mediterranean , and thus is of compelling military and political significance . And what happens is Algeria is of profound significance to many of America 's key allies in Western Europe . Algiers is only an overnight ferry journey from Marseilles and even closer to Spain , allowing Algeria 's enfeebled economy to send at least 3 million Algerians to Europe as immigrant workers in recent years . And then there is the war , and how it may have led to Ressam driving off that ferry in Washington state . In this , perhaps more than anything else , Algeria matters to Americans these days . In the history of modern Islamic radicalism , two countries have played pivotal roles _ Iran toward one end of the so-called `` crescent '' of Muslim nations that reaches from Morocco and Mauritania in the west to Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east , and Algeria toward the other end . Twenty years ago Iran mesmerized the world with its mullahs ' revolution , with its seizure of U.S. diplomats and their embassy in Tehran and , later , with the religious decree that urged the killing of the novelist Salman Rushdie . Algeria , in 1992 , lit fires of equal intensity among Islamic radicals when its secular government called parliamentary elections , the first more-or-less free ones in the country 's history , but canceled them at the last minute when an Islamic party , the Islamic Salvation Front , was on the verge of victory . The army generals had thought canceling the elections was a good idea ; their reward was the rise of the G.I.A. , a breakaway from the Islamic Salvation Front . Rather than try again for a generally moderate form of Islamic government , this group espoused worldwide holy war , going well beyond the Salvation Front prescriptions . The conflict that resulted brought to Algeria a ghastliness that has been stunning , even by the standards of a country that knew extraordinary savagery , on both the French and the Algerian sides , during the independence war . The GIA , propagating among its fighters the belief that the triumph of Islam justifies the killing of anybody who does not actively support them , has gone into villages and towns and slaughtered hundreds of civilians at a time , often by cutting throats . The army has responded in kind , setting up militias called `` Patriotes '' and other shadowy units ; these are believed to have taken a leaf from France 's counter-insurgency tactics in the 1950s , when `` rogue '' units set up to look like fighters of the independence guerrillas went about massacring villagers . Several thousand people have disappeared after being arrested by the army and police , and cemeteries in Algiers and elsewhere are strewn with gravestones carrying the sinister marking `` X Algerien , '' often meaning that the person buried there was killed in custody and buried anonymously . From this background have sprung faceless battalions of the GIA in Europe , and from among them , investigators believe , came Ressam . So if he is another kind of `` X Algerien '' to Americans , it may be time to strip away that anonymity , to learn more about him and his country and their tragedies . Six decades ago , a U.S. general in Room 1101 at the St. George 's Hotel learned at first hand why Algeria mattered ; it is a lesson that it may be time to relearn . UNDATED : larger society . As significant as its resources , Algeria fills a long stretch of the southern Mediterranean , and thus is of compelling military and political significance . And what happens is Algeria is of profound significance to many of America 's key allies in Western Europe . Algiers is only an overnight ferry journey from Marseilles and even closer to Spain , allowing Algeria 's enfeebled economy to send at least 3 million Algerians to Europe as immigrant workers in recent years . And then there is the war , and how it may have led to Ressam driving off that ferry in Washington state . In this , perhaps more than anything else , Algeria matters to Americans these days . In the history of modern Islamic radicalism , two countries have played pivotal roles _ Iran toward one end of the so-called `` crescent '' of Muslim nations that reaches from Morocco and Mauritania in the west to Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east , and Algeria toward the other end . Twenty years ago Iran mesmerized the world with its mullahs ' revolution , with its seizure of U.S. diplomats and their embassy in Tehran and , later , with the religious decree that urged the killing of the novelist Salman Rushdie . Algeria , in 1992 , lit fires of equal intensity among Islamic radicals when its secular government called parliamentary elections , the first more-or-less free ones in the country 's history , but canceled them at the last minute when an Islamic party , the Islamic Salvation Front , was on the verge of victory . The army generals had thought canceling the elections was a good idea ; their reward was the rise of the G.I.A. , a breakaway from the Islamic Salvation Front . Rather than try again for a generally moderate form of Islamic government , this group espoused worldwide holy war , going well beyond the Salvation Front prescriptions . The conflict that resulted brought to Algeria a ghastliness that has been stunning , even by the standards of a country that knew extraordinary savagery , on both the French and the Algerian sides , during the independence war . The GIA , propagating among its fighters the belief that the triumph of Islam justifies the killing of anybody who does not actively support them , has gone into villages and towns and slaughtered hundreds of civilians at a time , often by cutting throats . The army has responded in kind , setting up militias called `` Patriotes '' and other shadowy units ; these are believed to have taken a leaf from France 's counter-insurgency tactics in the 1950s , when `` rogue '' units set up to look like fighters of the independence guerrillas went about massacring villagers . Several thousand people have disappeared after being arrested by the army and police , and cemeteries in Algiers and elsewhere are strewn with gravestones carrying the sinister marking `` X Algerien , '' often meaning that the person buried there was killed in custody and buried anonymously . From this background have sprung faceless battalions of the GIA in Europe , and from among them , investigators believe , came Ressam . So if he is another kind of `` X Algerien '' to Americans , it may be time to strip away that anonymity , to learn more about him and his country and their tragedies . Six decades ago , a U.S. general in Room 1101 at the St. George 's Hotel learned at first hand why Algeria mattered ; it is a lesson that it may be time to relearn . SLAUGHTER IN AFRICA : NOT AS SIMPLE AS ANCIENT HATREDS Distrust of ethnic strangers runs so deep in Burundi that there is a special insult _ `` ikimenabanga '' _ for the person within a group who says too much , the one who breaks the secret . It is safer to stay quiet , to keep to one 's own kind . But there is a great distance between that kind of simple suspicion and the hatreds that seem to have exploded in the last decade with relentless regularity in Burundi , Rwanda and eastern Congo _ the Great Lakes area of Africa . Documented genocide occurred there in 1994 , when Hutu extremists in Rwanda meticulously slaughtered at least half a million ethnic Tutsi . The fighting continued in the form of a rebellion within Rwanda and spilled into Congo _ then known as Zaire _ helping to shatter that country in 1997 . Burundi has been rent by civil warfare that started in 1993 . Today , Hutu fighters who fled Rwanda in 1994 are preying there again , in a war that has dragged in at least eight other nations . And in Burundi , Rwanda 's southern twin , the Tutsi elite who rule the country have herded into hillside camps 350,000 people , most of them Hutu farmers , to separate them from Hutu guerrillas . All of this fighting makes Africa 's Great Lakes region one of the most grim and complicated places on earth , one where well-intentioned outsiders periodically wonder whether , and how , they might step in to halt the violence . Each time , the question comes down to this : Are these spasms of killing the result of old hatreds , or are they grotesque products of political manipulation ? To many outsiders `` ancient tribal hatreds '' has been the formula easiest to accept , since it lends a patina of logic to indifference _ to saying that there is little that outsiders could do , even if they were willing . That is a position that underlay the outside world 's inaction during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda . But that is not what most experts on Africa say . The hatreds are real , the experts say , but they are not ancient at all _ and are not really different from ethnic conflicts anywhere else . In broad outline , the conflicts in Africa are quite like those in the Balkans : Ancient divisions , even animosities , exist , but it takes a political elite to seize on them and transform them into something far more violent as politicians seek power for themselves . `` It certainly is not ancient ethnic or tribal hatred , '' said Filip Reyntjens , a professor at the Universities of Antwerp and Leuven and a leading scholar of the Great Lakes region . `` That is a vision many Europeans and North Americans have because it is an easy way to explain what happens in Africa . '' Scholars generally agree on the ethnic shape of the Great Lakes before the colonists _ first Germans , then Belgians _ arrived in the late 19th century . There were three distinct groups of people : the Hutu , who tended to be farmers -LRB- more than 80 percent today -RRB- ; the Tutsi , who arrived on the land later as nomads and tended to raise cattle -LRB- about 15 percent -RRB- ; and the Twa , or pygmies -LRB- perhaps 1 percent -RRB- . There were rivalries , even animosities , but none of the episodes of ethnic killing that have scarred the recent past . Except for the Twa _ who were truly discriminated against _ the lines between Hutu and Tutsi were not always firm . The monarchies in pre-colonial Rwanda and Burundi were led by Tutsi but high court officials were often Hutu . Intermarriage was common , even if there were tensions between ruler and ruled . Along came the European colonists , who imposed their own ideas about race and superiority , and tended to put one group officially in power over the others . They preferred the Tutsi , who were viewed as taller , thinner , smarter -LRB- and thus more like the Europeans -RRB- . `` The Batutsi were meant to reign , '' wrote one Belgian administrator in the 1920 's , according to the French author Gerard Prunier in his authoritative book on the genocide , `` The Rwanda Crisis '' -LRB- Columbia University Press , 1995 -RRB- . `` Their fine presence is in itself enough to give them a great prestige vis-a-vis the inferior races which surround . It is not surprising that those good Bahutu , less intelligent , more simple , more spontaneous , more trusting , have let themselves be enslaved without ever daring to revolt . '' What the colonists did , said Alison Des Forges , a historian and consultant for Human Rights Watch , `` was take this system that was relatively fluid and turned it into something very rigid and hierarchical . '' B Y the time the Belgians were preparing to withdraw from Rwanda and Burundi in the late 1950s , many experts argue , the lines between Hutu and Tutsi were firmly drawn , and resentment among the Hutu was strong . First , in Rwanda , Hutu clamoring for power killed many Tutsi in 1959 ; partly in response , the Tutsi elite in Burundi hardened their control . -LRB- The Rwanda fighting also created a group of Tutsi exiles whose children would become the guerrillas who took control in 1994 . -RRB- In Burundi , a unifying figure , Prince Louis Rwagasore , arose among the Tutsi but was assassinated in 1961 . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn SLAUGHTER IN AFRICA : NOT AS SIMPLE AS ANCIENT HATREDS Distrust of ethnic strangers runs so deep in Burundi that there is a special insult _ `` ikimenabanga '' _ for the person within a group who says too much , the one who breaks the secret . It is safer to stay quiet , to keep to one 's own kind . But there is a great distance between that kind of simple suspicion and the hatreds that seem to have exploded in the last decade with relentless regularity in Burundi , Rwanda and eastern Congo _ the Great Lakes area of Africa . Documented genocide occurred there in 1994 , when Hutu extremists in Rwanda meticulously slaughtered at least half a million ethnic Tutsi . The fighting continued in the form of a rebellion within Rwanda and spilled into Congo _ then known as Zaire _ helping to shatter that country in 1997 . Burundi has been rent by civil warfare that started in 1993 . Today , Hutu fighters who fled Rwanda in 1994 are preying there again , in a war that has dragged in at least eight other nations . And in Burundi , Rwanda 's southern twin , the Tutsi elite who rule the country have herded into hillside camps 350,000 people , most of them Hutu farmers , to separate them from Hutu guerrillas . All of this fighting makes Africa 's Great Lakes region one of the most grim and complicated places on earth , one where well-intentioned outsiders periodically wonder whether , and how , they might step in to halt the violence . Each time , the question comes down to this : Are these spasms of killing the result of old hatreds , or are they grotesque products of political manipulation ? To many outsiders `` ancient tribal hatreds '' has been the formula easiest to accept , since it lends a patina of logic to indifference _ to saying that there is little that outsiders could do , even if they were willing . That is a position that underlay the outside world 's inaction during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda . But that is not what most experts on Africa say . The hatreds are real , the experts say , but they are not ancient at all _ and are not really different from ethnic conflicts anywhere else . In broad outline , the conflicts in Africa are quite like those in the Balkans : Ancient divisions , even animosities , exist , but it takes a political elite to seize on them and transform them into something far more violent as politicians seek power for themselves . `` It certainly is not ancient ethnic or tribal hatred , '' said Filip Reyntjens , a professor at the Universities of Antwerp and Leuven and a leading scholar of the Great Lakes region . `` That is a vision many Europeans and North Americans have because it is an easy way to explain what happens in Africa . '' Scholars generally agree on the ethnic shape of the Great Lakes before the colonists _ first Germans , then Belgians _ arrived in the late 19th century . There were three distinct groups of people : the Hutu , who tended to be farmers -LRB- more than 80 percent today -RRB- ; the Tutsi , who arrived on the land later as nomads and tended to raise cattle -LRB- about 15 percent -RRB- ; and the Twa , or pygmies -LRB- perhaps 1 percent -RRB- . There were rivalries , even animosities , but none of the episodes of ethnic killing that have scarred the recent past . Except for the Twa _ who were truly discriminated against _ the lines between Hutu and Tutsi were not always firm . The monarchies in pre-colonial Rwanda and Burundi were led by Tutsi but high court officials were often Hutu . Intermarriage was common , even if there were tensions between ruler and ruled . Along came the European colonists , who imposed their own ideas about race and superiority , and tended to put one group officially in power over the others . They preferred the Tutsi , who were viewed as taller , thinner , smarter -LRB- and thus more like the Europeans -RRB- . `` The Batutsi were meant to reign , '' wrote one Belgian administrator in the 1920 's , according to the French author Gerard Prunier in his authoritative book on the genocide , `` The Rwanda Crisis '' -LRB- Columbia University Press , 1995 -RRB- . `` Their fine presence is in itself enough to give them a great prestige vis-a-vis the inferior races which surround . It is not surprising that those good Bahutu , less intelligent , more simple , more spontaneous , more trusting , have let themselves be enslaved without ever daring to revolt . '' What the colonists did , said Alison Des Forges , a historian and consultant for Human Rights Watch , `` was take this system that was relatively fluid and turned it into something very rigid and hierarchical . '' B Y the time the Belgians were preparing to withdraw from Rwanda and Burundi in the late 1950s , many experts argue , the lines between Hutu and Tutsi were firmly drawn , and resentment among the Hutu was strong . First , in Rwanda , Hutu clamoring for power killed many Tutsi in 1959 ; partly in response , the Tutsi elite in Burundi hardened their control . -LRB- The Rwanda fighting also created a group of Tutsi exiles whose children would become the guerrillas who took control in 1994 . -RRB- In Burundi , a unifying figure , Prince Louis Rwagasore , arose among the Tutsi but was assassinated in 1961 . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn NAIROBI : in 1961 . After independence came to both nations in 1962 , the polarization in both only increased with round after round of ethnic slaughters . People were killed merely for belonging to one ethnic group or the other , something that had never happened in either country . In Rwanda , that cycle came to a crisis under the presidency of Juvenal Habyarimana , a Hutu whose administration demonized all Tutsi as supporters of rebels fighting to oust him . His death in a plane crash in April 1994 , in which the Burundian president also died , set off the 100 days of slaughter of Tutsis . Now the problems continue with the war in Congo and the seemingly intractable battles between the Hutu rebels and Tutsi leadership in Burundi . There is not a great deal of hope among most experts that the problems will be settled soon . `` It seems to me that we are now in a situation where fear has become the most powerful spur to violence , '' Ms. Des Forges said . Still , these experts believe there is room for the outside world to become engaged . The ideal for beginning to rebuild trust , Ms. Des Forges said , is that outside nations find a way to guarantee that there will be no more ethnic slaughters in either country For Rwanda , she added , the international community could show evenhandedness not only by continuing to bring the Hutu killers to justice but by not ignoring abuses committed by the Tutsi leaders . In Burundi , Jan van Eck , a consultant with the Center for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town , said that each party must have a place at the negotiating table _ an approach that seems to have been adopted by the new mediator to the conflict , Nelson Mandela , who has some experience as a uniting force in his own country , South Africa . Oddly , van Eck pointed out , the amount of blood already spilled may at this point become an argument for ending the violence . In Burundi , for example , so many people have blood on their hands _ Hutu and Tutsi alike _ that their own mutually awful pasts may offer an opening for starting anew . `` They always said : Hang all the people who committed crimes , or shoot them , '' van Eck said . `` But now there is a realization that there might be too many . '' NAIROBI : in 1961 . After independence came to both nations in 1962 , the polarization in both only increased with round after round of ethnic slaughters . People were killed merely for belonging to one ethnic group or the other , something that had never happened in either country . In Rwanda , that cycle came to a crisis under the presidency of Juvenal Habyarimana , a Hutu whose administration demonized all Tutsi as supporters of rebels fighting to oust him . His death in a plane crash in April 1994 , in which the Burundian president also died , set off the 100 days of slaughter of Tutsis . Now the problems continue with the war in Congo and the seemingly intractable battles between the Hutu rebels and Tutsi leadership in Burundi . There is not a great deal of hope among most experts that the problems will be settled soon . `` It seems to me that we are now in a situation where fear has become the most powerful spur to violence , '' Ms. Des Forges said . Still , these experts believe there is room for the outside world to become engaged . The ideal for beginning to rebuild trust , Ms. Des Forges said , is that outside nations find a way to guarantee that there will be no more ethnic slaughters in either country For Rwanda , she added , the international community could show evenhandedness not only by continuing to bring the Hutu killers to justice but by not ignoring abuses committed by the Tutsi leaders . In Burundi , Jan van Eck , a consultant with the Center for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town , said that each party must have a place at the negotiating table _ an approach that seems to have been adopted by the new mediator to the conflict , Nelson Mandela , who has some experience as a uniting force in his own country , South Africa . Oddly , van Eck pointed out , the amount of blood already spilled may at this point become an argument for ending the violence . In Burundi , for example , so many people have blood on their hands _ Hutu and Tutsi alike _ that their own mutually awful pasts may offer an opening for starting anew . `` They always said : Hang all the people who committed crimes , or shoot them , '' van Eck said . `` But now there is a realization that there might be too many . '' WHAT A GREAT PRIMARY CAMPAIGN WE JUST HAD ! For much of the American public , the 2000 election for the White House starts at the beginning of January . The holidays have passed and in a presidential election year that means that the country is ready to attend to what the candidates are doing and saying . Or rather , done and said . The truth is that most people are tuning in rather late . In all likelihood , the Democratic and Republican contests will be settled in just nine weeks , if not by the first week of February . Since 1976 , more and more states have inched their primaries back to the starting line , competing to assure their influence over the nominee . It has been a haphazard process , following no grand plan of either party , if countenanced by some Republican and Democratic leaders who believe that avoiding an intramural primary struggle is the recipe for a strong general election nominee . The result , though , is that nearly 75 percent of the delegates will be chosen by the middle of March , even as the primaries continue through June 6 . But is that progress ? As the primary season begins in earnest , there seems to be a consensus among political leaders and academics that it is not : that this constant tinkering with the political calendar has produced the opposite of what had been intended . Instead of a nominating process that engages voters , the ever-shortening calendar is more apt to disenfranchise them , with its early finish and narrow window within which to consider the candidates . Instead of assuring big states a big voice in the final nominee , the calendar dilutes their influence , since so many of them have crowded their primaries onto the same two early Tuesdays . And , instead of producing formidable general election standard-bearers , the process turns out nominees who might , come the tumult of the fall campaign , wish they had devoted more time to what is the political equivalent of spring training . `` People are being rushed to judgment , '' said William Galvin , the Massachusetts secretary of state and the chairman of the Committee on Presidential Primaries of the National Association of Secretaries of State . `` It 's become a candidate death watch , instead of an effort at finding out who these people are . '' Consider this : well before January , a series of presumably credible candidates for president _ among them , former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander and and former Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole _ had already quit the race , largely because they could not figure out how to surmount the political calendar . The exhausting schedule of cross-country primaries that awaits the field on March 7 and March 14 has put a premium on the candidate-as-fund-raiser , in order to raise the money to finance travel and multistate advertising . Inevitably , that suffocates the long-shot candidate , like Paul Tsongas in 1992 or Bruce Babbitt in 1988 , who had once put excitement into American politics . Candidates are , of course , supposed to drop out if they do badly in New Hampshire and Iowa . But not to even make it to the startling line ? `` This is the first year that I can remember where a whole lot of candidates dropped out before a single vote was cast , '' said William G. Mayer , a professor of political science at Northeast University and co-author of `` The Modern Politics of Presidential Selection . '' Iowans and New Hampshirites , long used to being the first judges of candidates ' credentials and ideas , may be excused for feeling a little rushed . As big states have shouldered to the front of the primary line , New Hampshire and Iowa have edged back to protect their historic first-in-the-nation status . The New Hampshire primary is now Feb. 1 , or 20 days earlier than it was in 1996 , a long time in retail politics . Political campaigns remain engaging and meaningful to many Americans in part because voters are so unpredictable _ especially in New Hampshire and Iowa . That said , most analysts believe the nominees will be known by the close-of-polls on March 7 , by which time 43 percent of the elected Republican delegates and 37 percent of the Democratic delegates will have been selected . And if not then , certainly by the following week . `` It 's like 75 percent of the delegates have been selected by the middle of March , which is faster than last time , '' said Barbara Norrander , professor of political science at the University of Arizona . `` And last time it was faster than the time before . '' Indeed , it is conceivable that the race could be over on Feb. 1 , especially on the Republican side . If Sen. John McCain fails to defeat Texas Gov. George W. Bush in New Hampshire , after waging a spirited campaign there , his own supporters have trouble seeing how he could survive . Similarly , a number of Democrats question how long former Sen. Bill Bradley can continue if he does not make a strong showing against Vice President Al Gore there -LRB- presumably a victory , though a near-victory has done the trick for candidates in the past -RRB- . McCain and Bradley are both examples of the type of candidates who have historically flourished in New Hampshire : slightly insurgent and underfunded . But even if both should win there , the calendar works against them pushing on to the nomination . There are no Democratic primaries until March 7 , but there are 16 contests on that day , from New York to California . It is worse for McCain . Before March 7 , he faces contests in South Carolina , Arizona and Michigan . That schedule could not be more problematic for an underfunded candidate running outside of the establishment . Nor could it be more accommodating for Bush , who spent much of last year raising money to prepare himself precisely for this moment . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn WHAT A GREAT PRIMARY CAMPAIGN WE JUST HAD ! For much of the American public , the 2000 election for the White House starts at the beginning of January . The holidays have passed and in a presidential election year that means that the country is ready to attend to what the candidates are doing and saying . Or rather , done and said . The truth is that most people are tuning in rather late . In all likelihood , the Democratic and Republican contests will be settled in just nine weeks , if not by the first week of February . Since 1976 , more and more states have inched their primaries back to the starting line , competing to assure their influence over the nominee . It has been a haphazard process , following no grand plan of either party , if countenanced by some Republican and Democratic leaders who believe that avoiding an intramural primary struggle is the recipe for a strong general election nominee . The result , though , is that nearly 75 percent of the delegates will be chosen by the middle of March , even as the primaries continue through June 6 . But is that progress ? As the primary season begins in earnest , there seems to be a consensus among political leaders and academics that it is not : that this constant tinkering with the political calendar has produced the opposite of what had been intended . Instead of a nominating process that engages voters , the ever-shortening calendar is more apt to disenfranchise them , with its early finish and narrow window within which to consider the candidates . Instead of assuring big states a big voice in the final nominee , the calendar dilutes their influence , since so many of them have crowded their primaries onto the same two early Tuesdays . And , instead of producing formidable general election standard-bearers , the process turns out nominees who might , come the tumult of the fall campaign , wish they had devoted more time to what is the political equivalent of spring training . `` People are being rushed to judgment , '' said William Galvin , the Massachusetts secretary of state and the chairman of the Committee on Presidential Primaries of the National Association of Secretaries of State . `` It 's become a candidate death watch , instead of an effort at finding out who these people are . '' Consider this : well before January , a series of presumably credible candidates for president _ among them , former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander and and former Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole _ had already quit the race , largely because they could not figure out how to surmount the political calendar . The exhausting schedule of cross-country primaries that awaits the field on March 7 and March 14 has put a premium on the candidate-as-fund-raiser , in order to raise the money to finance travel and multistate advertising . Inevitably , that suffocates the long-shot candidate , like Paul Tsongas in 1992 or Bruce Babbitt in 1988 , who had once put excitement into American politics . Candidates are , of course , supposed to drop out if they do badly in New Hampshire and Iowa . But not to even make it to the startling line ? `` This is the first year that I can remember where a whole lot of candidates dropped out before a single vote was cast , '' said William G. Mayer , a professor of political science at Northeast University and co-author of `` The Modern Politics of Presidential Selection . '' Iowans and New Hampshirites , long used to being the first judges of candidates ' credentials and ideas , may be excused for feeling a little rushed . As big states have shouldered to the front of the primary line , New Hampshire and Iowa have edged back to protect their historic first-in-the-nation status . The New Hampshire primary is now Feb. 1 , or 20 days earlier than it was in 1996 , a long time in retail politics . Political campaigns remain engaging and meaningful to many Americans in part because voters are so unpredictable _ especially in New Hampshire and Iowa . That said , most analysts believe the nominees will be known by the close-of-polls on March 7 , by which time 43 percent of the elected Republican delegates and 37 percent of the Democratic delegates will have been selected . And if not then , certainly by the following week . `` It 's like 75 percent of the delegates have been selected by the middle of March , which is faster than last time , '' said Barbara Norrander , professor of political science at the University of Arizona . `` And last time it was faster than the time before . '' Indeed , it is conceivable that the race could be over on Feb. 1 , especially on the Republican side . If Sen. John McCain fails to defeat Texas Gov. George W. Bush in New Hampshire , after waging a spirited campaign there , his own supporters have trouble seeing how he could survive . Similarly , a number of Democrats question how long former Sen. Bill Bradley can continue if he does not make a strong showing against Vice President Al Gore there -LRB- presumably a victory , though a near-victory has done the trick for candidates in the past -RRB- . McCain and Bradley are both examples of the type of candidates who have historically flourished in New Hampshire : slightly insurgent and underfunded . But even if both should win there , the calendar works against them pushing on to the nomination . There are no Democratic primaries until March 7 , but there are 16 contests on that day , from New York to California . It is worse for McCain . Before March 7 , he faces contests in South Carolina , Arizona and Michigan . That schedule could not be more problematic for an underfunded candidate running outside of the establishment . Nor could it be more accommodating for Bush , who spent much of last year raising money to prepare himself precisely for this moment . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn UNDATED : this moment . `` McCain and Bradley have had enormous breaks in this race _ and it 's still uphill for them , '' said Charles E. Cook Jr. , the editor of a Washington-based political report . `` They still have to thread a needle . '' Not only does the present primary system reduce the chance of an outsider winning a nomination , it will likely force them out of the race sooner , thus reducing the chance that they will help shape the positions of their party or their nominee . This , in turn , may leave their supporters feeling shut out of and disinterested in participating in the political process . The traditional view among party professionals is that the system produces a good result for the party : an early nominee . ` It 's a bad thing to keep going : you 'd rather get it out of the way , '' said James Carville , the consultant to President Clinton . `` Find one fighter that likes to get hit . '' As the primary season grows shorter each cycle , that once-dominant view holds less and less sway . `` It 's bad for the candidate because you do n't get the same feel for the country , '' said Paul Begala , who worked with Carville in running Clinton 's 1992 campaign . `` I traveled with Bill Clinton to 48 states , by my count . You learn a lot . You see a lot . '' Less time campaigning also means less examination of a candidates ' record , experience and past . And there are tactical complications posed by becoming the candidate too early . How does a candidate fill the long months between winning the nomination and the summer convention ? How do they compete with the Reform Party 's likely candidates , notably Donald Trump , who may have the stage largely to himself in the spring ? How do the campaigns hold on to the voters ' attention , or do they at all ? Witness what happened with Bob Dole in 1996 , as he struggled to distance himself from congressional Republicans pushing policies that played against his own campaign interests . Indeed , with few exceptions , no one is happy with the way the system has evolved , and both the national Republican and Democratic committees have set up commissions to examine how or if to change it . `` If the front-loading does result in people believing they do not play the role they would otherwise , we have to do something about it , '' said Joe Andrew , the national Democratic chairman . Richard Bond , the former national Republican chairman , offered a more fundamental concern about the process . `` I 'm a gray-hair now , and the gray-hairs of the Republican Party think it 's better to have a primary than not , '' Bond said . `` Because your guy gets tested . A feverish contest that would resolve early enough is the prescription for success . '' UNDATED : this moment . `` McCain and Bradley have had enormous breaks in this race _ and it 's still uphill for them , '' said Charles E. Cook Jr. , the editor of a Washington-based political report . `` They still have to thread a needle . '' Not only does the present primary system reduce the chance of an outsider winning a nomination , it will likely force them out of the race sooner , thus reducing the chance that they will help shape the positions of their party or their nominee . This , in turn , may leave their supporters feeling shut out of and disinterested in participating in the political process . The traditional view among party professionals is that the system produces a good result for the party : an early nominee . ` It 's a bad thing to keep going : you 'd rather get it out of the way , '' said James Carville , the consultant to President Clinton . `` Find one fighter that likes to get hit . '' As the primary season grows shorter each cycle , that once-dominant view holds less and less sway . `` It 's bad for the candidate because you do n't get the same feel for the country , '' said Paul Begala , who worked with Carville in running Clinton 's 1992 campaign . `` I traveled with Bill Clinton to 48 states , by my count . You learn a lot . You see a lot . '' Less time campaigning also means less examination of a candidates ' record , experience and past . And there are tactical complications posed by becoming the candidate too early . How does a candidate fill the long months between winning the nomination and the summer convention ? How do they compete with the Reform Party 's likely candidates , notably Donald Trump , who may have the stage largely to himself in the spring ? How do the campaigns hold on to the voters ' attention , or do they at all ? Witness what happened with Bob Dole in 1996 , as he struggled to distance himself from congressional Republicans pushing policies that played against his own campaign interests . Indeed , with few exceptions , no one is happy with the way the system has evolved , and both the national Republican and Democratic committees have set up commissions to examine how or if to change it . `` If the front-loading does result in people believing they do not play the role they would otherwise , we have to do something about it , '' said Joe Andrew , the national Democratic chairman . Richard Bond , the former national Republican chairman , offered a more fundamental concern about the process . `` I 'm a gray-hair now , and the gray-hairs of the Republican Party think it 's better to have a primary than not , '' Bond said . `` Because your guy gets tested . A feverish contest that would resolve early enough is the prescription for success . '' HELMETS , ORIGAMI AND OTHER NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND `` We choose freedom because it gives us the power to live , learn , and love , '' wrote students from Tanapag Elementary School in the Northern Mariana Islands . Their essay , along with Ray Charles ' sunglasses , photos of Earth from space , a Twinkie , Corningware , a computer chip , the Bill of Rights , a World War II helmet , a cell phone and a piece of the Berlin Wall will be among the items sealed this summer in the National Millennium Time Capsule until 2100 . The time capsule prototype was unveiled Friday by President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton in Washington . It is on display at the Smithsonian Institution 's National Museum of American History . The prototype stands 4 feet high , 6 feet long , 2 feet deep , carved out of wood in an American flag motif . `` We developed 25 different designs , all shapes , '' said Jim Biber , an architect from Pentagram who collaborated with Robert Brunner , an industrial engineer , to design the piece . `` But the flag was chosen because it is an obvious symbol of the nation . '' The official chest will be fabricated in three metals . The white strips will be formed in stainless steel , embodying America 's industrial past ; the red strips will be formed in silicon bronze , symbolizing communication , and blue stars will be crafted out of titanium , a metal with space-age properties , representing America 's future . The items were solicited by the White House Millennium Council from almost 400 congressional and presidential medalists and 56 recipients of the National Teacher of the Year award . James Watson , director and president of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory , submitted a CD-ROM of the human genome project and said in his accompanying written explanation that `` it will be biology 's most important gift ever to human society , being the instruction book for human development and functioning . '' Dr. Henry Louis Gates , director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research and W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of the Humanities at Harvard , sent in another CD-ROM , titled Encarta Africana . `` At the beginning of the twentieth century , '' he explained , `` W.E.B. Du Bois announced that the most effective way to fight anti-black racism would be the publication of a comprehensive encyclopedia of the black world ... Ninety years later , some 400 scholars finally banded together to produce this encyclopedia . '' The 85-letter Cherokee alphabet was submitted by Wilma Mankiller , principal chief of the Cherokee Nation , a winner of the Medal of Freedom . She called it `` the language that has survived on this land since time immemorial . It is hope for the future that the Cherokee language will still be spoken 100 or even 500 years from now . '' Playwright August Wilson suggested a recording by Bessie Smith of `` Nobody in Town Can Bake a Sweet Jellyroll Like Mine '' because the first time he heard the song , `` the universe stuttered and everything fell to a new place ... It was a birth , a baptism , a resurrection , and a redemption all rolled up into one ... The ideas of self-determination , self-respect , and self-defense ... are still very much a part of my life as I sit down and write '' Richard Bell , executive director of Young Audiences , chose `` a simple drawing or song created by a child . I believe this would convey our commitment to future generations while at the same time honoring the cultural legacy that sustains all Americans today . '' The artistic director of the Steppenwolf Theatre Co. and Medal of Arts winner Martha Lavey submitted `` Grapes of Wrath , '' saying : `` This novel captures a profound and constitutive experience in the composition of the American psyche and culture . This is a nation defined by the courage and fortitude of a citizenship seeking a better , fairer , and more generous life . '' Actor Gregory Peck , among others , suggested `` a reel of a film showing Neil Armstrong 's landing on the Moon . '' The White House Millennium Council plans to use all the objects submitted . The submissions , or replicas of large items , will ultimately be placed in smaller stainless steel capsules that can fit in compartments , and essays will be placed in the lower drawers . Former President Gerald R. Ford wrote : `` Amidst all that is new , however , may we never discard those ancient values _ courage and compassion , integrity and reverence for things seen and unseen _ that have made America a historic refuge for the world 's oppressed . Our fondest hope for the new millennium is that we realize the promise , older than the republic itself , of a land without limits , as generous as it is inclusive . '' More than 1,000 students taught by recipients of the national teacher of the year award submitted individual and collective statements . Lynn Preacher 's fourth grade class in Oklahoma made an eagle out of construction and origami paper , saying the eagle `` represents our country and has many of the same traits of the U.S. . It is smart , brave , mighty and stands for freedom ... In America we have rights that people do not have in other countries , and we should be thankful . '' The council has not received all contributions , and will continue to accept submissions until the official capsule is completed . Until then , the prototype will remain on display at the Smithsonian Institution 's National Museum of American History . The actual time capsule is expected to be completed by early summer . That capsule will be on display in the rotunda at the National Archives until the end of the year , then be relocated to a more secure , climate-controlled area for future generations , to open in 100 years . HELMETS , ORIGAMI AND OTHER NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND `` We choose freedom because it gives us the power to live , learn , and love , '' wrote students from Tanapag Elementary School in the Northern Mariana Islands . Their essay , along with Ray Charles ' sunglasses , photos of Earth from space , a Twinkie , Corningware , a computer chip , the Bill of Rights , a World War II helmet , a cell phone and a piece of the Berlin Wall will be among the items sealed this summer in the National Millennium Time Capsule until 2100 . The time capsule prototype was unveiled Friday by President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton in Washington . It is on display at the Smithsonian Institution 's National Museum of American History . The prototype stands 4 feet high , 6 feet long , 2 feet deep , carved out of wood in an American flag motif . `` We developed 25 different designs , all shapes , '' said Jim Biber , an architect from Pentagram who collaborated with Robert Brunner , an industrial engineer , to design the piece . `` But the flag was chosen because it is an obvious symbol of the nation . '' The official chest will be fabricated in three metals . The white strips will be formed in stainless steel , embodying America 's industrial past ; the red strips will be formed in silicon bronze , symbolizing communication , and blue stars will be crafted out of titanium , a metal with space-age properties , representing America 's future . The items were solicited by the White House Millennium Council from almost 400 congressional and presidential medalists and 56 recipients of the National Teacher of the Year award . James Watson , director and president of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory , submitted a CD-ROM of the human genome project and said in his accompanying written explanation that `` it will be biology 's most important gift ever to human society , being the instruction book for human development and functioning . '' Dr. Henry Louis Gates , director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research and W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of the Humanities at Harvard , sent in another CD-ROM , titled Encarta Africana . `` At the beginning of the twentieth century , '' he explained , `` W.E.B. Du Bois announced that the most effective way to fight anti-black racism would be the publication of a comprehensive encyclopedia of the black world ... Ninety years later , some 400 scholars finally banded together to produce this encyclopedia . '' The 85-letter Cherokee alphabet was submitted by Wilma Mankiller , principal chief of the Cherokee Nation , a winner of the Medal of Freedom . She called it `` the language that has survived on this land since time immemorial . It is hope for the future that the Cherokee language will still be spoken 100 or even 500 years from now . '' Playwright August Wilson suggested a recording by Bessie Smith of `` Nobody in Town Can Bake a Sweet Jellyroll Like Mine '' because the first time he heard the song , `` the universe stuttered and everything fell to a new place ... It was a birth , a baptism , a resurrection , and a redemption all rolled up into one ... The ideas of self-determination , self-respect , and self-defense ... are still very much a part of my life as I sit down and write '' Richard Bell , executive director of Young Audiences , chose `` a simple drawing or song created by a child . I believe this would convey our commitment to future generations while at the same time honoring the cultural legacy that sustains all Americans today . '' The artistic director of the Steppenwolf Theatre Co. and Medal of Arts winner Martha Lavey submitted `` Grapes of Wrath , '' saying : `` This novel captures a profound and constitutive experience in the composition of the American psyche and culture . This is a nation defined by the courage and fortitude of a citizenship seeking a better , fairer , and more generous life . '' Actor Gregory Peck , among others , suggested `` a reel of a film showing Neil Armstrong 's landing on the Moon . '' The White House Millennium Council plans to use all the objects submitted . The submissions , or replicas of large items , will ultimately be placed in smaller stainless steel capsules that can fit in compartments , and essays will be placed in the lower drawers . Former President Gerald R. Ford wrote : `` Amidst all that is new , however , may we never discard those ancient values _ courage and compassion , integrity and reverence for things seen and unseen _ that have made America a historic refuge for the world 's oppressed . Our fondest hope for the new millennium is that we realize the promise , older than the republic itself , of a land without limits , as generous as it is inclusive . '' More than 1,000 students taught by recipients of the national teacher of the year award submitted individual and collective statements . Lynn Preacher 's fourth grade class in Oklahoma made an eagle out of construction and origami paper , saying the eagle `` represents our country and has many of the same traits of the U.S. . It is smart , brave , mighty and stands for freedom ... In America we have rights that people do not have in other countries , and we should be thankful . '' The council has not received all contributions , and will continue to accept submissions until the official capsule is completed . Until then , the prototype will remain on display at the Smithsonian Institution 's National Museum of American History . The actual time capsule is expected to be completed by early summer . That capsule will be on display in the rotunda at the National Archives until the end of the year , then be relocated to a more secure , climate-controlled area for future generations , to open in 100 years . PAKISTANI SERIAL KILLER SAID HE STOPPED AT 100 VICTIMS The mass murderer had spent much of the past month hiding in a drainage culvert and later a cave . He looked haggard . His clothes were dirty and wrinkled and wet . He was holding two satchels , one filled with eggs , the other with apples . He introduced himself . `` I am Javed Iqbal , killer of 100 boys , '' he told the receptionist in the lobby of the newspaper office . `` Please tell someone in the reporting section that I have come to surrender . '' The receptionist recalls being unsure what to do . Was this pathetic-looking man really Pakistan 's most notorious killer ? Or merely some bothersome fool ? The hour was late , just after 9 p.m. Deadlines were pressing . Ten minutes passed before a reporter was finally summoned , and he was staggered at the scoop . He invited Iqbal , scourge of this entire nation , upstairs for questioning . And that is how it came to an end Thursday , the frantic month-long hunt for a vengeance-seeking confessed killer , a man who enticed young teens _ most of them beggars and runaways _ to his tiny apartment in historic Lahore . He fed them and entertained them and asked their life stories and took their snapshots . Then he suffocated them , later dissolving their bodies in large vats of acid . He poured the residue in an alleyway sewer . Iqbal , 38 , a wealthy , tormented man , kept an annotated list of his deeds , with his victims ' names and ages and the dates of their deaths . He kept piles of clothing and shoes taken from his victims . When , by his count , he had killed 100 , he stopped . `` I could have killed 500 , this was not a problem , money was not a problem , '' he told reporters and editors in a small office as they recorded his words . `` But the pledge I had taken was of 100 children , and I never wanted to violate this . '' The `` pledge , '' he said , was an act of revenge against the police . He repeated a story that he had written in an earlier confessional , of how two young servants had beaten him up badly last year , of how the police had ignored his complaints and instead accused him of sodomy , something he had been charged with before . He decided that the killing of children would be his means of retribution . `` In this way , I would take revenge from the world I hated , '' he said of his 6-month homicidal binge . `` My mother cried for me . I wanted 100 mothers to cry for their children . '' He succeeded . Early in December , as news of the crimes became public , parents lined up by the thousands to rummage through huge piles of rumpled clothes and old shoes that had been found in Iqbal 's apartment . Some found items that belonged to their missing sons . Others merely saw their children 's photos spread across wobbly wooden tables at the police station . Or they read the morbid details in Iqbal 's diaries . Parental grief became a daily spectacle as more and more people complained : `` Why ca n't the police find the killer ? '' Criticism of the police has been immense , with riots in Lahore . In late November , Iqbal actually turned himself in to a policeman who ignored his confession as a fantasy . The murderer then sent his incriminating diary and photos to The Jang newspaper , whose reporters , on Dec. 2 , were the first to search his apartment and find evidence of the crimes . By then , Iqbal was a fugitive , though notes he left behind indicated that he intended to drown himself . He surrendered on Thursday at the three-story offices shared by The Jang , an Urdu-language publication , and its sister paper , The News , which is written in English . At Iqbal 's request , the army was called to take him into custody rather than the police . At the time , the police announcing that they had arrested two men suspected of being Iqbal 's accomplices . The two , Muhammad Shahzad and Muhammad Nadeem , were caught trying to cash a traveler 's check in Iqbal 's name . They admitted that they were helping the killer hide out in the culvert and the cave , police said . Iqbal , who lived off the funds from the sale of a family business , contends that he was helped in the slayings by various confederates , including one who has already died in police custody . Thursday , Iqbal said that many of the victims were made to inhale a mixture of cyanide and acid as they slept . `` I myself wore a mask , and after about five breaths , the sleeping victim would be dead , '' he said . `` Then my friends would place the body in a container and later drain it away . '' According to The Jang and The News , Iqbal was unrepentant as he told his story . He was calm as he was led away . `` I am a relieved man today , '' he said , even as he acknowledged that his fate is likely to be the gallows . He reflected on his actions as heroic , something in the long-term public interest . He remarked how easy it was to dispose of the bodies of his victims in the large vats of acid . Such easily abused chemicals are a great danger to society , Iqbal said . `` What if terrorists learned of these things , '' the mass murderer fretted . NOMINEES MAY BE CHOSEN QUICKLY IN PRIMARY SEASON Only 22 days until the first votes are cast in Iowa , the chairmen of the Republican and Democratic parties say they are bracing for a presidential primary season that is so competitive _ and unexpectedly so _ that they have to reach back 40 years to come up with a comparison . Yet the entire exercise may be over soon after the public begins to pay attention . This will be the speediest _ critics say hastiest _ dash to the nomination ever , because several states , seeking greater political sway , elbowed their way in by moving up the dates of their contests . The rejiggered calendar means the races will go off like a string of firecrackers , beginning with the caucuses in Iowa on Jan. 24 and the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 1 , followed by primaries in the electoral giants of California , New York and several other states on March 7 . After a six-week rush of voting _ less than half the National Football League 's regular season schedule _ the nominees to be the leader of the free world may well be apparent . As recently as last summer , advisers to the two front-runners , Vice President Al Gore and Gov. George W. Bush of Texas , expressed few qualms about the truncated schedule . They were so immersed in constructing what they viewed as organizational juggernauts that they did not seem particularly alert to threats from within their ranks . And they anticipated wrapping up their nominations quickly and tidily so they could turn to the general election . Instead they now have no choice but to strategize over how the outcome of one contest could affect the next one . Bush and Gore are still the favorites ; they may well face each other in November 2000 . But now , in an unaccustomed position for the leading contenders , they are playing catch-up , at least in the high-profile state of New Hampshire , where polls show that both contests are too close to call . Gore must contend with an unanticipated , and threatening , challenge from former Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey , and Bush faces one from Sen. John McCain of Arizona . While Gore and Bush are comfortably ahead in national surveys , their challengers hope that those campaigns become unglued in New Hampshire _ and never recover . Adding to their credibility , and political muscle , Bradley and McCain made striking gains in fund raising near the end of 1999 . `` It 's going to be an unbelievable six weeks , '' said Ed Rendell , general chairman of the Democratic National Committee . `` On our side , you might see ups and downs and twists and turns in an eight-day period . You will think one of the candidates has the upper hand and _ bingo ! _ he loses the next week . '' Recalling the presidential campaign of 1960 , Rendell , who retires Monday as mayor of Philadelphia , said , `` You 've got to go back to Kennedy and Johnson to find two co-equals who are really battling head to head . And I do n't recall the last primary campaign when we 've had two candidates who are so well known and so well funded . '' But the truth is , Lyndon B. Johnson was never considered as much a threat to John F. Kennedy as Bradley is now to Gore . Jim Nicholson , chairman of the Republican National Committee , also said this year 's campaign reminded him of the high stakes on both sides in 1960 . Even so , Richard M. Nixon never came close to losing the nomination to Nelson Rockefeller or other rivals , who were not considered as potent as McCain is this year . `` If you want to include both parties in the calculus , this might be the most competitive situation since 1960 , '' Nicholson said . `` There 's a lot at stake and it 's just going to get more intense . '' Asked to handicap the Republican race , Nicholson , in unusually candid comments for a party chairman , all but brushed off four contenders . `` Bush is clearly the front-runner in terms of money , '' he said . `` But Senator McCain is a great candidate who has shown real skill at retail campaigning in New Hampshire and is a very authentic American hero . So anything can happen in this thing . '' Nicholson hastened to add that the potential of Steve Forbes , with millions from his family fortune at his disposal , should not be disregarded . After a prelude to 2000 that was hardly sedate _ candidates piled up millions of dollars in donations and traded jabs throughout the year _ the contenders are about to enter the most frenzied , and possibly ferocious , stretch thus far . This week , candidates will practically move to Iowa and New Hampshire . They have accelerated their deluge of 30-second television commercials . And the schedule of successive debates might hearten even advocates of good government : Democrats will face off in New Hampshire on Wednesday , followed by Republicans there on Thursday , Republicans in South Carolina on Friday , and Democrats in Iowa on Saturday . That accounts for just this week . `` They stick their signs everywhere , '' said Ted Bailey , describing how politicking _ and cold weather _ have overtaken Chichester , N.H. , where he is a selectman . `` But they 're going to find it hard sticking signs in now , because the ground 's frozen . '' The major contenders are also keeping an eye just off center stage , where a drama is unfolding over who will carry the mantle of Ross Perot and the Reform Party he founded . While Pat Buchanan , the conservative commentator , and Donald Trump , the real estate tycoon , are campaigning most aggressively and organizing in several states , other possible contenders include Gov. Jesse Ventura of Minnesota . And few are counting out a surprise re-emergence of Perot himself . -LRB- STORY CAN END HERE _ OPTIONAL MATERIAL FOLLOWS -RRB- -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn UNDATED : Perot himself . The significance of the 2000 campaign reaches far beyond the White House . It is no exaggeration to say that all three branches of government are at stake . Democrats need a net gain of only six seats to retake control of the House . It is far less likely that Republicans will lose the Senate , although Democrats could pick up seats . And because of expected retirements , the next president may well fill between three and five vacancies on the Supreme Court . And the election of state legislators in November is critically important . Nearly two dozen legislative chambers are so evenly divided that either party could win control of them . But those legislators , along with the governors , will use results of the 2000 census to redraw boundaries of districts of congressional candidates in 2002 and the four subsequent elections . The process could affect who controls the House of Representatives for years . Still , with the exception , perhaps , of the expected high-octane match between Hillary Rodham Clinton and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for a Senate seat from New York , the presidential competition is certain to command the most interest . `` Probably in March of last year I thought , ` I bet I do n't get very worked up about this , '' ' said Tom Brokaw , anchor of the NBC Nightly News , who expects that his program will soon begin broadcasting campaign stories every day . `` But people are slowly awakening that there 's a real race going on here . McCain and Bradley have opened the door to a lot of public interest . '' In fact , one explanation for the allure of the McCain and Bradley insurgencies is that some journalists , as well as ordinary voters , seem charmed by them personally _ and have a hankering for some drama . Despite the ferment in New Hampshire , history is on the side of Gore and Bush . Gore 's advisers reel off their institutional advantages _ from the power of the White House to committed delegates to endorsements from labor groups to important elected officials _ that have dragged their predecessors across the finish line . Karl Rove , the mastermind of the Bush operation , recites the history like a mantra . `` No Republican candidate who has led by double digits in August of the Gallup Poll the year before the election has failed to win the nomination , '' he explained . `` If history is the guide , Bush stands a very good chance of being the Republican nominee for president . '' But this is no ordinary presidential year . No one knows how the short-circuited season will alter the dynamic and , ultimately , affect who comes out on top . Most strategists on both sides agree that Bradley has a better chance of toppling Gore than McCain does of snatching the nomination from Bush , because the Democrats are evenly matched financially . In addition , while McCain is concentrating his resources in New Hampshire , Bradley has assembled a national organization . This much seems clear : The New Hampshire primary is a make-or-break battle for McCain and Bradley . That is where they have made the most impressive showings . And they are each counting on wins there to energize their candidacies _ and to demonstrate that Gore and Bush are not invincible . `` If McCain wins there , I 'm not sure he 's very well poised to convert that into a national campaign , '' said William Mayer , a political scientist at Northeastern University in Boston . `` Bradley 's better positioned to do that . He 's managed to stay pretty even with Gore in fund raising . '' Because of the high expectations in the Granite State , Bradley and McCain no longer have the luxury of sneaking up on the front-runner _ as Gary Hart did against Walter Mondale in 1984 . After their charmed campaigns in 1999 , Bradley and McCain are certain to face tougher scrutiny in coming weeks from their opponents and from the news media . And a loss in New Hampshire could be devastating to either politician , not only because of expectations but because their opponents have established `` firewalls '' with potent organizations in several of the subsequent primary states . But the Bradley and McCain camps contend that if they win New Hampshire , the excitement and momentum after those triumphs would allow them to trump the institutional advantages of Bush and Gore . After New Hampshire , Republicans have showdowns in South Carolina on Feb. 19 and Arizona and Michigan on Feb. 22 before the multistate voting on March 7 . But the Democrats will have a five-week breather between New Hampshire and the March 7 contests . Former Sen. Warren Rudman , R-N.H. , who backs McCain , said his candidate and Bradley are poised to do well with independent voters in his state . And victories there , he said , could make them unstoppable . `` I ca n't remember when you had it on both sides like this , '' Rudman said . `` Bradley and McCain are both going to take huge chunks of independent voters . '' Arguing that McCain has potential for far more than prevailing in New Hampshire , he added , `` People are whistling through the cemetery if they think that 's going to be the end of it . '' -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn UNDATED : of it . '' The state of the race is far less settled than on the eve of the primaries four years ago , when President Clinton faced no opposition and Bob Dole towered over the field . Dole was bruised and battered more than he expected , but still managed to crush his rivals . Despite the emergence of McCain , the most striking aspect of the 2000 campaign has been Bush 's success . Though he was twice elected governor of Texas , Bush had no national political seasoning and popped up virtually out of nowhere to amass a staggering , record-breaking war chest of over $ 67 million . He captured the early support of far more Republican members of Congress , governors and conservative leaders than Dole did at this point in the 1996 race . And his political might forced half the Republican field out of the race , including former Vice President Dan Quayle , Elizabeth Dole , Rep. John Kasich of Ohio and former Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee . The only ones left standing are McCain ; Forbes ; Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah ; Alan Keyes , a former State Department official ; and Gary Bauer , the former head of the Family Research Council . The outpouring for the Texas governor has offended some Republicans who think it appears that he is being crowned . Craig Grimes , a foreman for a power company in Youngstown , Ohio , who responded to a New York Times/CBS News Poll , said he was taken aback by how Rush Limbaugh and Republican luminaries defend Bush . `` It 's like a football game , and they 're all running ahead and clearing the way , running interference and blocking for Bush , '' said Grimes . `` They 've poured the money into him . And it scares me because he 's going to owe big time whoever it is who is pushing him . '' The challenge , now , for Bush is to meet the high expectations he helped create for himself by actually winning some elections . He also needs to overcome an image from debates in December that he is not as versed in the issues or as nimble on his feet as some Republicans had hoped . And while Republicans enjoy a tradition of nominating their front-runner , Bush has less national campaign experience than any Republican nominee since Dwight D. Eisenhower , who was elected president in 1952 . Gore had a far rockier year than Bush . That was especially apparent because he was confronted only by one rival and had expected to glide to the nomination unimpeded . Instead , Bradley showed such political potency last year that he forced the vice president to practically reinvent his campaign and shed many trappings of incumbency . `` Had Gore not altered the terrain in September , he 'd be gone by now , '' said Sen. Joseph Biden , D-Del . who has not endorsed either candidate . `` He was on such a slide through the summer . But he 's righted the ship . '' The two Democrats seem to agree on the leading issues _ health care , education , Social Security and campaign finance reform _ but they have argued vehemently over the details . The Republicans , by contrast , have been wrangling over a different set of issues , namely tax cuts , foreign policy and social issues like abortion . Yet perhaps because no single burning issue seems to have grabbed the electorate , the candidates are devoting much time to talking about themselves as human beings , from their upbringings to their decisions to enter politics . They are also trying , perhaps , to set themselves on a higher moral plane than Clinton . `` I ca n't name issues that excite the public , so we have to create issues , like health care , '' said Gerald Gamm , chairman of the political science department at the University of Rochester . `` When the economy is in the midst of its most robust economic expansion in most of our lifetimes , when the nation , economically , is on top of the world , voters are n't paying attention to issues . So what is new now is that candidates are being aggressive in marketing their private lives . '' But the biggest concern of the party chairmen is not the choice of issues , but the amount of time candidates will have to discuss them . `` This is a crazy way to determine the nominees of the parties , because there 's really no time for almost anyone to have a cogent debate , '' said Rendell , the Democratic chairman . `` It just lends itself to those god-awful 30-second ads . '' ELECTION YEAR REVEALS WHAT NEEDS FIXING IN U.S. POLITICAL SYSTEM The United States enters its 54th presidential election year in a period of remarkable calm and great economic prosperity , with dozens of other nations struggling to adapt American political forms . Yet the American people question their political system on one front after another . Some of the challenges are overt . Former Sen. Bill Bradley , who like Sen. John McCain has made condemning the campaign finance system a major element of his presidential bid , says `` democracy is a broken thermostat '' because of big contributions . Meanwhile , the Reform Party squabbles but still stands as evidence that millions of Americans reject the traditional structure . But the most telling condemnation is passive . A majority -LRB- 51 percent -RRB- of voting-age Americans chose not to vote in 1996 , and 64 percent did not vote in 1998 . Curtis Gans , an expert on voter turnout , says that more than half the children in America live in households where neither parent votes . Huge majorities tell pollsters they are not paying attention to this year 's campaign . Similarly , it is getting harder to recruit able candidates to run for office at a time of insatiable news media scrutiny and incessant demands of fund raising . And savvy veterans drop out at a high rate , especially from the moderate centers of the two parties . These more fundamental questions and concerns about the way the system works are generally shelved , or used themselves as fodder to appeal to voters , as politicians and the press focus on the nomination contests and the chances of Republicans capturing the presidency or Democrats taking the House . The issues have been building for decades , but come into special focus in 2000 , after the first presidential election since 1924 when a majority did not vote . The obstacles to participation have been thrown up by the `` system '' _ of politicians , consultants , interest groups and the press _ just when legal barriers to registration and voting have disappeared . Some of the obstacles come from deliberate decisions . Some television advertisements are really intended to drive down turnout . Both parties have become highly skilled at drawing the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts so that few seats will be truly competitive . That preserves the careers of incumbents . One way of looking at these trends was offered by Theda Skocpol , professor of government and sociology at Harvard . Ms. Skocpol says politicians use the information age to locate and `` compete over a very narrow slice of swing voters . '' At the same time , what she calls `` an oligarchy '' of interests uses expertise , lobbyists and campaign contributions to achieve its ends with government , `` rather than by mobilizing large numbers of their fellow citizens into a competitive electoral force . '' Some of the old ways of involving citizens have died out , as politicians get their messages out through television and direct mail . Door-to-door canvassing does live on in Iowa and New Hampshire , but almost as museum pieces . Anne Wexler , an antiwar advocate in the 1960s and a Carter aide in the '70s who runs a public relations firm here , observed that in the nation 's capital , where people do care about politics , neither Bradley , Gov. George W. Bush of Texas nor Vice President Al Gore has a headquarters where an interested citizen could volunteer to , say , stuff envelopes . Writing a check is the only participation welcomed . But even more serious may be the way the system is portrayed _ fairly and unfairly , by itself and by the news media . Any veteran observer of Congress , for example , would say that the typical member today is better educated and harder-working than whoever held the seat 35 years ago , and at the same time less likely to be a drunk or a womanizer , or to take bribes . Yet consumers of a press that rarely covered those weaknesses before and covers them now as regular matters have an opposite set of impressions . Gans , who heads the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate , blames consultants for `` the conduct of campaigns , especially at the end , in 30-second attack ads that vilify all the candidates and create a miasma over the political system and invite people not to vote for particular candidates and not to vote at all . '' John C. Danforth , who retired as a senator from Missouri after 18 years in 1994 to practice law in St. Louis , and insists he did not `` go away mad , '' says he is struck by how much Congress now seems to be wholly involved in `` partisan combat , '' not legislating . Danforth speculated that an influx of Republicans who had been `` treated like dogs '' by House Democrats led to the change , as they saw a chance to get even and scorned `` anyone who tried to do anything on a bipartisan basis , '' like his late Republican colleague , John H. Chafee of Rhode Island . The bitter partisan tone in Washington not only discourages potential congressional candidates who may be used to amiable state legislatures , it turns off voters , too . -LRB- BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- That effect was sketched by a knowledgeable ex-Washingtonian , Nancy Sinnott Dwight . In the early 1980s , Mrs. Dwight ran the National Republican Congressional Committee here . Then she married and moved to Lyme , N.H. , where every four years she gets a lot of politics to watch . As she hears candidates , she is struck by this year 's supply of `` terrific ideas . '' But she says that the atmosphere in Washington leads voters to brush off these ideas because they think there is `` too much paralysis . '' `` The system ca n't seem to get things done , '' Mrs. Dwight said . A voter can download a good idea off the Web , she said , but does not believe a candidate can make it happen in Washington . No examination of the last session of Congress , for example , would challenge those doubts . -LRB- END OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn WASHINGTON : those doubts . But Gans is not alone in his worry that the news media often make things look worse than they are , either covering things cynically or not at all . For four decades , after all , the political observers with the biggest audiences _ first Johnny Carson and then Jay Leno and David Letterman _ have offered uninterrupted cynical criticism of every president and every member of Congress anyone ever heard of , from Lyndon Johnson to Edward M. Kennedy to Newt Gingrich . Joel Silbey , professor of history at Cornell , said the combination of news and talk had created `` a culture of criticism '' that portrayed government as a continual failure . Even the revered Walter Cronkite , Silbey said , played a role . When Cronkite signed off news broadcasts by saying , for example , `` And that 's the way it is , Friday , March 28 , 1980 _ the 146th day of captivity for the Americans in Iran , '' Silbey said the anchorman was saying that on that day , again , the American government was powerless . Jon Margolis , a retired Chicago Tribune political columnist , said he thought the problem became severe in the mid-1980s , when politics began to be covered by `` younger people who did n't like politicians and did not like politics '' and were disappointed that it was not entertaining . The news media are often attacked , especially by academics , for paying too much attention to who is ahead and too little to issues . Nelson Polsby , professor of government at the University of California at Berkeley , goes a step further . Polsby says the press and television engage in `` the manufacture of a horse race . '' He calls the news media just another interest group , `` attempting to make their product interesting . '' That kind of attention , he said , exaggerated the challenges to Bob Dole in 1996 by implying that Steve Forbes and Pat Buchanan should be taken seriously as potential presidents `` and basically made Bob Dole spend all his money , '' weakening him for the race against President Clinton . There are some modest hopes . Kathleen Kennedy Townsend , the lieutenant governor of Maryland , said that from observing the way her own children used the Internet and the way it was used in Jesse Ventura 's Reform Party victory in Minnesota , she believed it would increase political involvement . `` It 's immediate , '' she said . `` It 's not just television talking at you , but you participate . '' -LRB- BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- At another level , Mrs. Dwight said that in her part of New Hampshire , people were actively involved in the problems that mattered most to them , working hard as volunteers for their churches and schools . Silbey said that in Ithaca many of the people most active in urging policies on local government were nonvoters , preferring to influence through confrontation . Gans dismisses those impressions as idiosyncratic , insisting that national polling data shows that `` if people do n't vote , they tend not to participate in any other societal activity . '' `` By and large , '' he said , `` they are disengaged from society . '' -LRB- END OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- Not everybody interviewed _ a group whose common threads are knowledge of politics and little or no direct involvement in the 2000 elections _ was that bothered by nonvoting . Richard Norton Smith , a biographer and former Republican speechwriter who heads the Gerald R. Ford Library , said , `` I do n't think you condemn the system if people do n't choose to involve themselves in it . '' If the nation truly has only a 12-second attention span , he said , that may be the fault not of the candidates or consultants , but of whoever invented the television remote control _ and of the people themselves . It is the American people , he said , `` who tell pollsters they are offended by negative ads , '' and then elect the candidate who uses them . `` We have no one to blame but ourselves , '' he said . `` In the end , democracy is all about standing in front of the mirror . '' SLAUGHTER IN AFRICA : NOT AS SIMPLE AS ANCIENT HATREDS Distrust of ethnic strangers runs so deep in Burundi that there is a special insult _ `` ikimenabanga '' _ for the person within a group who says too much , the one who breaks the secret . It is safer to stay quiet , to keep to one 's own kind . But there is a great distance between that kind of simple suspicion and the hatreds that seem to have exploded in the last decade with relentless regularity in Burundi , Rwanda and eastern Congo _ the Great Lakes area of Africa . Documented genocide occurred there in 1994 , when Hutu extremists in Rwanda meticulously slaughtered at least half a million ethnic Tutsi . The fighting continued in the form of a rebellion within Rwanda and spilled into Congo _ then known as Zaire _ helping to shatter that country in 1997 . Burundi has been rent by civil warfare that started in 1993 . Today , Hutu fighters who fled Rwanda in 1994 are preying there again , in a war that has dragged in at least eight other nations . And in Burundi , Rwanda 's southern twin , the Tutsi elite who rule the country have herded into hillside camps 350,000 people , most of them Hutu farmers , to separate them from Hutu guerrillas . All of this fighting makes Africa 's Great Lakes region one of the most grim and complicated places on earth , one where well-intentioned outsiders periodically wonder whether , and how , they might step in to halt the violence . Each time , the question comes down to this : Are these spasms of killing the result of old hatreds , or are they grotesque products of political manipulation ? To many outsiders `` ancient tribal hatreds '' has been the formula easiest to accept , since it lends a patina of logic to indifference _ to saying that there is little that outsiders could do , even if they were willing . That is a position that underlay the outside world 's inaction during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda . But that is not what most experts on Africa say . The hatreds are real , the experts say , but they are not ancient at all _ and are not really different from ethnic conflicts anywhere else . In broad outline , the conflicts in Africa are quite like those in the Balkans : Ancient divisions , even animosities , exist , but it takes a political elite to seize on them and transform them into something far more violent as politicians seek power for themselves . `` It certainly is not ancient ethnic or tribal hatred , '' said Filip Reyntjens , a professor at the Universities of Antwerp and Leuven and a leading scholar of the Great Lakes region . `` That is a vision many Europeans and North Americans have because it is an easy way to explain what happens in Africa . '' Scholars generally agree on the ethnic shape of the Great Lakes before the colonists _ first Germans , then Belgians _ arrived in the late 19th century . There were three distinct groups of people : the Hutu , who tended to be farmers -LRB- more than 80 percent today -RRB- ; the Tutsi , who arrived on the land later as nomads and tended to raise cattle -LRB- about 15 percent -RRB- ; and the Twa , or pygmies -LRB- perhaps 1 percent -RRB- . There were rivalries , even animosities , but none of the episodes of ethnic killing that have scarred the recent past . Except for the Twa _ who were truly discriminated against _ the lines between Hutu and Tutsi were not always firm . The monarchies in pre-colonial Rwanda and Burundi were led by Tutsi but high court officials were often Hutu . Intermarriage was common , even if there were tensions between ruler and ruled . Along came the European colonists , who imposed their own ideas about race and superiority , and tended to put one group officially in power over the others . They preferred the Tutsi , who were viewed as taller , thinner , smarter -LRB- and thus more like the Europeans -RRB- . `` The Batutsi were meant to reign , '' wrote one Belgian administrator in the 1920 's , according to the French author Gerard Prunier in his authoritative book on the genocide , `` The Rwanda Crisis '' -LRB- Columbia University Press , 1995 -RRB- . `` Their fine presence is in itself enough to give them a great prestige vis-a-vis the inferior races which surround . It is not surprising that those good Bahutu , less intelligent , more simple , more spontaneous , more trusting , have let themselves be enslaved without ever daring to revolt . '' What the colonists did , said Alison Des Forges , a historian and consultant for Human Rights Watch , `` was take this system that was relatively fluid and turned it into something very rigid and hierarchical . '' B Y the time the Belgians were preparing to withdraw from Rwanda and Burundi in the late 1950s , many experts argue , the lines between Hutu and Tutsi were firmly drawn , and resentment among the Hutu was strong . First , in Rwanda , Hutu clamoring for power killed many Tutsi in 1959 ; partly in response , the Tutsi elite in Burundi hardened their control . -LRB- The Rwanda fighting also created a group of Tutsi exiles whose children would become the guerrillas who took control in 1994 . -RRB- In Burundi , a unifying figure , Prince Louis Rwagasore , arose among the Tutsi but was assassinated in 1961 . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn SLAUGHTER IN AFRICA : NOT AS SIMPLE AS ANCIENT HATREDS Distrust of ethnic strangers runs so deep in Burundi that there is a special insult _ `` ikimenabanga '' _ for the person within a group who says too much , the one who breaks the secret . It is safer to stay quiet , to keep to one 's own kind . But there is a great distance between that kind of simple suspicion and the hatreds that seem to have exploded in the last decade with relentless regularity in Burundi , Rwanda and eastern Congo _ the Great Lakes area of Africa . Documented genocide occurred there in 1994 , when Hutu extremists in Rwanda meticulously slaughtered at least half a million ethnic Tutsi . The fighting continued in the form of a rebellion within Rwanda and spilled into Congo _ then known as Zaire _ helping to shatter that country in 1997 . Burundi has been rent by civil warfare that started in 1993 . Today , Hutu fighters who fled Rwanda in 1994 are preying there again , in a war that has dragged in at least eight other nations . And in Burundi , Rwanda 's southern twin , the Tutsi elite who rule the country have herded into hillside camps 350,000 people , most of them Hutu farmers , to separate them from Hutu guerrillas . All of this fighting makes Africa 's Great Lakes region one of the most grim and complicated places on earth , one where well-intentioned outsiders periodically wonder whether , and how , they might step in to halt the violence . Each time , the question comes down to this : Are these spasms of killing the result of old hatreds , or are they grotesque products of political manipulation ? To many outsiders `` ancient tribal hatreds '' has been the formula easiest to accept , since it lends a patina of logic to indifference _ to saying that there is little that outsiders could do , even if they were willing . That is a position that underlay the outside world 's inaction during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda . But that is not what most experts on Africa say . The hatreds are real , the experts say , but they are not ancient at all _ and are not really different from ethnic conflicts anywhere else . In broad outline , the conflicts in Africa are quite like those in the Balkans : Ancient divisions , even animosities , exist , but it takes a political elite to seize on them and transform them into something far more violent as politicians seek power for themselves . `` It certainly is not ancient ethnic or tribal hatred , '' said Filip Reyntjens , a professor at the Universities of Antwerp and Leuven and a leading scholar of the Great Lakes region . `` That is a vision many Europeans and North Americans have because it is an easy way to explain what happens in Africa . '' Scholars generally agree on the ethnic shape of the Great Lakes before the colonists _ first Germans , then Belgians _ arrived in the late 19th century . There were three distinct groups of people : the Hutu , who tended to be farmers -LRB- more than 80 percent today -RRB- ; the Tutsi , who arrived on the land later as nomads and tended to raise cattle -LRB- about 15 percent -RRB- ; and the Twa , or pygmies -LRB- perhaps 1 percent -RRB- . There were rivalries , even animosities , but none of the episodes of ethnic killing that have scarred the recent past . Except for the Twa _ who were truly discriminated against _ the lines between Hutu and Tutsi were not always firm . The monarchies in pre-colonial Rwanda and Burundi were led by Tutsi but high court officials were often Hutu . Intermarriage was common , even if there were tensions between ruler and ruled . Along came the European colonists , who imposed their own ideas about race and superiority , and tended to put one group officially in power over the others . They preferred the Tutsi , who were viewed as taller , thinner , smarter -LRB- and thus more like the Europeans -RRB- . `` The Batutsi were meant to reign , '' wrote one Belgian administrator in the 1920 's , according to the French author Gerard Prunier in his authoritative book on the genocide , `` The Rwanda Crisis '' -LRB- Columbia University Press , 1995 -RRB- . `` Their fine presence is in itself enough to give them a great prestige vis-a-vis the inferior races which surround . It is not surprising that those good Bahutu , less intelligent , more simple , more spontaneous , more trusting , have let themselves be enslaved without ever daring to revolt . '' What the colonists did , said Alison Des Forges , a historian and consultant for Human Rights Watch , `` was take this system that was relatively fluid and turned it into something very rigid and hierarchical . '' B Y the time the Belgians were preparing to withdraw from Rwanda and Burundi in the late 1950s , many experts argue , the lines between Hutu and Tutsi were firmly drawn , and resentment among the Hutu was strong . First , in Rwanda , Hutu clamoring for power killed many Tutsi in 1959 ; partly in response , the Tutsi elite in Burundi hardened their control . -LRB- The Rwanda fighting also created a group of Tutsi exiles whose children would become the guerrillas who took control in 1994 . -RRB- In Burundi , a unifying figure , Prince Louis Rwagasore , arose among the Tutsi but was assassinated in 1961 . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn NAIROBI : in 1961 . After independence came to both nations in 1962 , the polarization in both only increased with round after round of ethnic slaughters . People were killed merely for belonging to one ethnic group or the other , something that had never happened in either country . In Rwanda , that cycle came to a crisis under the presidency of Juvenal Habyarimana , a Hutu whose administration demonized all Tutsi as supporters of rebels fighting to oust him . His death in a plane crash in April 1994 , in which the Burundian president also died , set off the 100 days of slaughter of Tutsis . Now the problems continue with the war in Congo and the seemingly intractable battles between the Hutu rebels and Tutsi leadership in Burundi . There is not a great deal of hope among most experts that the problems will be settled soon . `` It seems to me that we are now in a situation where fear has become the most powerful spur to violence , '' Ms. Des Forges said . Still , these experts believe there is room for the outside world to become engaged . The ideal for beginning to rebuild trust , Ms. Des Forges said , is that outside nations find a way to guarantee that there will be no more ethnic slaughters in either country For Rwanda , she added , the international community could show evenhandedness not only by continuing to bring the Hutu killers to justice but by not ignoring abuses committed by the Tutsi leaders . In Burundi , Jan van Eck , a consultant with the Center for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town , said that each party must have a place at the negotiating table _ an approach that seems to have been adopted by the new mediator to the conflict , Nelson Mandela , who has some experience as a uniting force in his own country , South Africa . Oddly , van Eck pointed out , the amount of blood already spilled may at this point become an argument for ending the violence . In Burundi , for example , so many people have blood on their hands _ Hutu and Tutsi alike _ that their own mutually awful pasts may offer an opening for starting anew . `` They always said : Hang all the people who committed crimes , or shoot them , '' van Eck said . `` But now there is a realization that there might be too many . '' NAIROBI : in 1961 . After independence came to both nations in 1962 , the polarization in both only increased with round after round of ethnic slaughters . People were killed merely for belonging to one ethnic group or the other , something that had never happened in either country . In Rwanda , that cycle came to a crisis under the presidency of Juvenal Habyarimana , a Hutu whose administration demonized all Tutsi as supporters of rebels fighting to oust him . His death in a plane crash in April 1994 , in which the Burundian president also died , set off the 100 days of slaughter of Tutsis . Now the problems continue with the war in Congo and the seemingly intractable battles between the Hutu rebels and Tutsi leadership in Burundi . There is not a great deal of hope among most experts that the problems will be settled soon . `` It seems to me that we are now in a situation where fear has become the most powerful spur to violence , '' Ms. Des Forges said . Still , these experts believe there is room for the outside world to become engaged . The ideal for beginning to rebuild trust , Ms. Des Forges said , is that outside nations find a way to guarantee that there will be no more ethnic slaughters in either country For Rwanda , she added , the international community could show evenhandedness not only by continuing to bring the Hutu killers to justice but by not ignoring abuses committed by the Tutsi leaders . In Burundi , Jan van Eck , a consultant with the Center for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town , said that each party must have a place at the negotiating table _ an approach that seems to have been adopted by the new mediator to the conflict , Nelson Mandela , who has some experience as a uniting force in his own country , South Africa . Oddly , van Eck pointed out , the amount of blood already spilled may at this point become an argument for ending the violence . In Burundi , for example , so many people have blood on their hands _ Hutu and Tutsi alike _ that their own mutually awful pasts may offer an opening for starting anew . `` They always said : Hang all the people who committed crimes , or shoot them , '' van Eck said . `` But now there is a realization that there might be too many . '' NEW RUSSIAN LEADER BEGINS TENURE WITH CHECHEN TRIP On his first full day as Russia 's acting president , Vladimir Putin left before dawn to visit with Russian troops fighting in Chechnya . While his predecessor , Boris Yeltsin , spent his first day of retirement at a government country house outside Moscow , Putin and his wife , Lyudmila _ he in a turtleneck sweater , she in pants and a sheepskin coat _ spent what was left of the momentous New Year 's holiday greeting Russian soldiers and handing out hunting knives as presidential souvenirs . Besides offering the nation a new image of an active , concerned leader , the visit reflected Putin 's close association with the Chechnya battle . Since he was named prime minister in August as a largely unknown KGB officer , his visibility and popularity have soared with the conduct of the campaign in Chechnya . But now the war has apparently entered a far more difficult phase as Russian troops seek to dislodge Chechen fighters from Grozny , the capital . And Putin 's success in presidential elections now scheduled for March 26 could well hinge on the success of the campaign , and the ability of the Russian commanders to hold down their casualties . In Gudermes , the second-largest city in Chechnya , which is now in Russian hands , Putin said : `` We are not going to liberate anything quickly . We are going to do our best . The best means with the least losses among our personnel , our military men among the population . '' Putin again said there was no deadline for concluding the war . The unexpected trip , taken less than 24 hours after Yeltsin resigned and handed his job to Putin , gave Russians a different image of their leadership from the hesitant , breath-holding fumbles and gaffes they had grown used to in the final years of the Yeltsin era . In his brief time in office , Putin _ who retains the office of prime minister _ has crammed in what previously would have been a week 's worth of presidential events , including the taping of a televised New Year 's message , a meeting with the Security Council , another with his cabinet and two sessions with Yeltsin , including a final meeting late Friday at the former president 's residence . And at 6.30 p.m. Friday he signed a decree , one of his first as acting president , which apparently held the key to the sudden but smooth transfer of power . Besides granting Yeltsin and his family an array of benefits and privileges , the decree gives him immunity from criminal investigation , and protects his houses , cars , papers and belongings from search and seizure . Dmitri Yakushkin , Yeltsin 's press secretary , on Saturday disputed any suggestion that the president and his former prime minister had bargained over the terms of the extraordinary transfer of power Friday . There were no negotiations , said Yakushkin , who added that the decree was most likely prepared in advance by Yeltsin 's staff . The decree , described by Yakushkin as seven pages long , describes in precise detail how much of a salary the former president will get in the initial months after his resignation -LRB- 75 percent of his salary -RRB- , how much money he will have available to spend on staff , what access he will have to government air and train terminals , and other perks associated with the top Kremlin job . But the immunity clause , limited to the president himself , was the most striking , hinting at the kinds of concerns that Yeltsin _ whose administration has been scarred by reports of widespread corruption _ had as he prepared secretly to leave office . Former aides to Yeltsin have said in the past that the president and his family would consider early resignation only if their physical safety and economic security could be guaranteed . -LRB- STORY CAN END HERE _ OPTIONAL MATERIAL FOLLOWS -RRB- Because Yeltsin was the first democratically elected president in Russia , there were no precedents for such guarantees . Yeltsin , who moved into the Kremlin after the dissolution of the Soviet Union , gave its previous occupant , Mikhail Gorbachev , a generous package of benefits and privileges and a rent-free office building when he left office on Dec. 31 , 1991 . But as Gorbachev was to discover , those benefits could also be taken away , depending on the whim and mood of the man who granted them in the first place . Although Putin 's decree ostensibly gives the Yeltsin family the guarantees it was seeking , the benefits and privileges are still not fixed in law . Passing a law on the status of former presidents was a proposal made last summer by former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov , then a leading opposition candidate for the presidency , as he tried publicly to assuage Yeltsin 's anxiety about giving up his Kremlin job . But by propelling the presidential elections forward by three months , thus giving Putin _ his preferred successor and the current political hero _ a considerable advantage , Yeltsin apparently could not wait for legislation that would have to clear the Russian Parliament . According to Yakushkin , Yeltsin kept his decision to resign a closely guarded secret until the last minute . Although Putin may have known ahead of time , no official preparations for such a hand-over of power were made by the Kremlin staff , he said . As press secretary , he got a call early in the morning , and found Yeltsin in his Kremlin office at 8:30 a.m. , ready to tape the broadcast that went on the Russian government channel at noon Friday . All day Friday , Yeltsin was very calm and friendly , Yakushkin said . Yeltsin gave flowers to the television crew , drank Champagne and said goodbye to many people with whom he had worked . That was the mood of the day . BEIJING CAT POACHERS STALK FAMILY PETS Among the more persistent fables in the West is that the pork in seedy Chinese restaurants may actually be the meat of stray cats . But some Chinese pay good money to eat cat , in a Cantonese dish called Dragon and Tiger Fight that combines the meat of snakes and cats . In the homeland of Cantonese food , the southern province of Guangdong _ where it is said that people will eat anything with four legs except the table _ cat is neither a major item on menus nor a traditional favorite . But a small minority of diners like to order it , and they carry their preferences with them . So along with the spread of Cantonese-style restaurants in Beijing in the last few years has come a new problem : cat-nabbing , to supply meat for demanding customers . Just since September , as many as 500 Beijing families have had their pet cats stolen , said Lu Di , an elderly Beijing woman who is a longtime campaigner for animal welfare , a rarity here . There is no way to confirm her estimate , which she extrapolated from the many complaints that her Association for the Protection of Small Animals has heard from anguished cat owners . `` We must take concrete measures to stop this barbarian behavior , '' said Ms. Lu , who is also a professor of classical literature at People 's University . Her expanding national association _ which claims a membership of 5,000 , including pet lovers , veterinarians and scientists _ is demanding that the police take stronger measures to combat the theft of cats and has issued public warnings to pet owners to beware . `` It 's a pity that our government has n't taken any action to stop this , '' she said in an interview . While theft of personal property is a crime , the police have stood by , she said , as thieves have grabbed cats and sold them for about $ 3 to wholesale markets . There , they are sold to restaurants that often keep the cats and other live animals in cages for inspection by diners . Beijing has some stray cats , but house animals present an easier mark . The thieves , who often operate at night , are said to use fish and birds to lure wandering cats into their bags . Ms. Lu said that some fearful cat owners have begun to tether their cats at night to keep them from prowling the newly perilous alleys . Eating cat meat is of dubious benefit , said Lin Degui , a veterinary professor at the Beijing Agriculture University . Sometimes cats carry parasites dangerous to humans , he told The Beijing Morning Post , and in Guangdong , several people have been severely sickened by eating the meat of cats that had consumed rat poison in the streets . Ms. Lu described a recent case in which six cats in one northwestern section of Beijing were stolen the same day , as they lay on their owners ' roofs sunning . The distraught owners searched nearby restaurants and found the animals in cages . But the local police refused to help them , saying there was no specific law on the theft of pets . The owners later called Ms. Lu 's group , she said , and members went to the restaurant _ only to find the cages already empty , and six families in tears . Hornets ' Jones hoping for a quick comeback Eddie Jones has rejoined the Charlotte Hornets and reaffirmed his plans for a quick comeback from an elbow injury . Jones met with Hornets team physician Glenn Perry and was given a brace to wear until the torn ligament he suffered after being fouled by the New York Knicks ' Kurt Thomas Dec. 20 heals . `` To be honest with you , I do n't want to wear it in the games , '' Jones said . `` But I might have to . '' Jones said as soon as the injury was diagnosed that he planned on returning in three weeks , not the longest-range prospect of six weeks . `` Like I told people , it was n't going to be any longer than three weeks , '' he said . Jones will begin noncontact practice drills next week and be with the team during a five-game road trip . He plans on making his return Jan. 13 in a home against Chicago . Ilgauskas ' return nearer Remember Zydrunas Ilgauskas ? The Cleveland center has n't played since fracturing a bone in his left foot in the fifth game last season . Now , the Cavs think it 's possible that he could return to practice on Jan. 24 , after the Cavs return from a two-week West Coast trip . Ilgauskas had a series of tests on Monday at the Cleveland Clinic . No official word , but general manager Jim Paxson says he anticipates Ilgauskas being able to resume rehab and light workouts in an effort to return to practice at the end of the month . Self-deprecating Gentry Alvin Gentry 's alma mater , Appalachian State , is getting a new arena , so he took some time to reminisce about the old barn he played in back in the mid-1970s . `` I took my wife back there three years ago , '' the Pistons coach said . `` I took her past my high school -LRB- in Shelby , N.C. , -RRB- and told her , ` That 's where the legend was born . ' Then we went to my college gym , and I told her , ` And that 's where the legend died . '' ' Carter 's Olympic campaign Before Vince Carter scored 35 to lead Toronto past Houston , Rockets and U.S. Olympic team coach Rudy Tomjanovich was asked about the second-year player 's chances of making the elite squad . `` The best thing Vince could do -LRB- to improve his chances -RRB- would be to sit out , '' Tomjanovich said , prompting laughter . After the game , Tomjanovich was n't laughing . No dummy , Carter went over to Tomjanovich to shake his hand . Rod Thorn and Russ Granik of the NBA make the selections , but Tomjanovich has input . Dickey who ? When the Bulls were blown out in New Jersey , Dickey Simpkins came out wearing a jersey with the spelling of his name `` Smipkins . '' He said : `` At first , I thought I was from overseas . I thought I was a foreign player . '' ... The Bulls had three assists in that game for an all-time league low . They 're not selfish ; they just ca n't make layups ... If center Jayson Williams can return and play effectively after the broken leg he suffered last April in a collision with Stephon Marbury , the Nets might have enough to make a push for the eighth playoff spot . But coach Don Casey said Williams has n't practiced yet and might be better off if he postponed his comeback attempt from January to February . Knicks ' millennial woes The Knicks never are at a loss for distractions and controversy . In the past week , forward John Wallace has been arrested and spent a night in jail for driving with a suspended license , and power forward Kurt Thomas has been suspended for two games and fined for instigating a fight with the Pacers ' Jalen Rose during a Christmas Day game . Throw in injury problems that reduced their active roster to nine men and a road loss , and you have a team that still is struggling . `` It 's Y2K , '' guard Chris Childs joked . `` That 's what it is . '' Story Filed By Cox Newspapers Success comes easily for Virginia Tech 's Vick , who was third in Just four months ago , only those living in the small farming town tucked between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Allegheny Mountains in Southwestern Virginia had any idea about what the nation was about to witness . Now , as the national championship game approaches , quarterback Michael Vick , the steady , sturdy , leader of the second-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies , is a household name in more locales than Blacksburg . Vick needed one season to lead the Hokies to an unbeaten record and a date with Florida State in Tuesday 's Sugar Bowl . He did so by showing poise far beyond his 19 years , and a style that has many comparing him to Charlie Ward , the Seminoles ' Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback of the early '90s . `` This is a culmination of a team that -LRB- coach -RRB- Frank -LRB- Beamer -RRB- has built , that reached its peak and was lacking a quarterback and the guy showed up , '' Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said . `` The guy that could make them a team showed up and now they 're the real deal . '' Vick 's numbers are n't overwhelming . He completed just 90 passes , on 152 attempts , for 1,840 yards and 12 touchdowns . He led the nation with a 180.4 pass efficiency rating , but he attempted 80 fewer passes than Florida State 's Chris Weinke completed . Vick 's total offense number of 2,420 yards is n't close to Weinke 's 3,103 passing yards . Yet , the intangibles that Vick brought the Hokies are immeasurable , which is why he was third in the Heisman voting , tying for the highest finish ever by a freshman . `` Michael Vick is just getting started , '' Clemson defensive coordinator Reggie Herring said . `` The way they run the offense , protect him with play-action , and got a running game to keep you off balance ... he 's headed for stardom . '' Vick redshirted a year ago after listening to Beamer . The Hokies prepared for Vick to take over by finishing 9-3 last season as Vick was making a name for himself in practice , running around in the backfield and throwing balls more than 60 yards . While Beamer had no doubts who his quarterback would be in 1999 , he still was not sure what to expect from an untested player . `` That 's what we did n't know , how good he will be in the games themselves , '' Beamer said . `` It did n't take long to see how poised he was going to be . I believe he likes the pressure situations . He is very much unlike a redshirt freshman . '' Vick , who attended high school on Virginia 's east coast , is surprised by how easily he picked up the college game . Although he was the No. 5 quarterback prospect in the nation according to SuperPrep magazine , and posted gaudy numbers at Newport News ' Warwick High -LRB- 4,846 passing yards , 1,048 rushing yards -RRB- , Vick thought he would need at least a year to adjust to a faster game . `` I kind of expected to go through a lot of growing pains this season , '' he said . `` Things happened so fast , I came out there and was relaxed and its been kind of easy . '' If not for his high school coach , former World Football League MVP and actor Tommy Reamon , Vick may have wound up following Donovan McNabb at Syracuse . Reamon , who played running back Delma Huddle in the 1970s movie `` North Dallas Forty , '' is not fond of Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni . Reamon believes former Warwick quarterback Aaron Brooks was unfairly held back at Syracuse for two years before emerging as a starter his final two years . He saw Vick falling into the same situation , especially after Syracuse recruited quarterbacks Troy Nunes and Madei Williams two years ago . `` They kept saying publicly they had -LRB- Vick -RRB- if it was n't for the high school coach , '' Reamon said . `` Do n't play games with me . Do n't play business games with me and my children . Look at it now . Would you want to put him in that situation ? Two-quarterback system ? `` I could see it happening . Pasqualoni can talk all day long . '' Vick took an official visit to Syracuse where McNabb , the quarterback to whom he was being compared at the time , was his host . Vick said McNabb did not try to influence his decision . Vick , more diplomatic than his high school coach , cited two reasons for choosing Virginia Tech _ staying in state where his family could see him play and , `` I do n't want to run the option . I do n't want to get hit a lot . '' Now , Michael Vick is a big hit . The Hokies ' history at quarterback never will be confused with that of the University of Miami 's , but Vick should surpass them all , including two with South Florida ties : former Dolphins quarterback Don Strock , and Jim Druckenmiller , whom the Dolphins traded for in September . Strock , the director of football operations at Florida International University , played in Blacksburg in 1971 and '72 and still holds most of the Hokies ' passing records . `` He 's a tremendous athlete and they use his skills very well , '' Strock said . `` They get him out of the pocket , he throws on the run . When you have an athletic quarterback like Vick , it puts a lot of stress on the defense . '' Druckenmiller led Virginia Tech to its two previous biggest bowl dates , the 1995 Sugar against Texas and 1996 Orange against Nebraska . He believes Vick and the Hokies have been overlooked . He thought Vick should have finished ahead of Heisman runner-up Joe Hamilton , and thinks the Hokies are taking a back seat to Florida State . `` I still do n't think Virginia Tech gets all the respect we deserve , '' Druckenmiller said . Michael Vick should change that . Tom D'Angelo writes for the Palm Beach Post Story Filed By Cox Newspapers Pickens questions keeping Coslet Bengals receiver Carl Pickens criticized owner and general manager Mike Brown , who last week decided to keep coach Bruce Coslet for at least one more season . `` I do n't understand it , '' Pickens said . `` We 're trying to win . We 're trying to turn this thing around out there . And they bring him back . What can you do ? Obviously , the players do n't call the shots around here . '' Pickens later issued a statement retracting his comments , but the damage seemed to be done . `` I learned a long time ago you ca n't please everybody , '' Coslet said . `` I prefer to put my focus on all the players that have supported me , not only publicly but individually and privately . I think I have my team 's support . I think that 's never been a question . '' Going into today 's game at Jacksonville , Cincinnati is 21-35 in 3 1/2 seasons under Coslet . The Bengals are 52-107 in the 1990s , officially making them the worst team of the decade . Uncertain future in Buffalo The 49ers and Cowboys are n't the only NFL teams with an aging core of stars . The Bills also face an uncertain future . Andre Reed , the team 's all-time leading receiver , might play his last game today at home against the Colts . Reed , 35 , has a $ 2.375 million cap charge in 2000 , including a $ 1.775 million base salary . His role has diminished over the second half of the season . Defensive end Bruce Smith 's cap figure will be $ 5.448 million next season , and running back Thurman Thomas ' about $ 2 million . The Bills probably ca n't keep all three players and re-sign guard Ruben Brown , receiver Eric Moulds , safety Kurt Schulz and cornerback Thomas Smith , all of whom are eligible for free-agency after the season . `` There 's just a lot of things you have to look into , '' Thomas said . `` I think that 's going to be left up to -LRB- general manager -RRB- John Butler and -LRB- owner -RRB- Ralph Wilson , whether they want us around here or not . '' Cleveland QB likes Warrick For the second year in a row , the expansion Browns will have the No. 1 pick in April 's draft . And Cleveland quarterback Tim Couch already is lobbying general manager Dwight Clark to pick Florida State receiver Peter Warrick . Couch , the top pick in 1999 from Kentucky , joked he might stroll past Clark 's office `` and just kind of yell the little Florida State fight song . '' `` I think -LRB- Warrick -RRB- is a good player , '' Couch said . `` I think he can help us out a lot and give us somebody to go along with Darrin Chiaverini and Kevin Johnson and give us that good third receiver . I think he 'd fit in real well . '' Even Clark somewhat tipped his hand . Warrick and Penn State linebacker Lavar Arrington and defensive end Courtney Brown are considered the top three prospects for the draft . `` I think we have to get Tim Couch some weapons , '' Clark said . `` I think he 's proven he can be a great quarterback in this league . He 's got a lot of development to go through yet , but he 's shown signs of brilliance , and I think he 'll continue to get better . So , we have to get him some weapons to go to , and we have to protect him . '' Story Filed By Cox Newspapers A year of highs and lows in the NFL As the NFL heads into its last regular-season games on the first weekend of 2000 , beat reporter Mark Schlabach takes a look back at a surprising 1999 season : OFFENSIVE MVP 1 . Marshall Faulk , RB , Rams . Faulk should break the NFL record for yards from scrimmage in a season . 2 . Peyton Manning , QB , Colts . Manning is the NFL 's best quarterback in only his second season . 3 . Edgerrin James , RB , Colts . No wonder Indianapolis drafted him ahead of Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams . 4 . Kurt Warner , QB , Rams . Warner should join Miami 's Dan Marino as the only NFL quarterbacks to throw 40 TD passes in a season . 5 . Stephen Davis , RB , Redskins . Davis ' running set up the deep pass for Brad Johnson and Michael Westbrook . DEFENSIVE MVP 1 . Warren Sapp , DT , Buccaneers . He might be the most dominant player in the league . 2 . Kevin Carter , DE , Rams . Carter is as important to St. Louis on defense as Warner and Faulk are on offense . 3 . Jevon Kearse , DE , Titans . How could 15 teams have passed up this physical specimen ? 4 . Ray Lewis , LB , Ravens . Lewis leads the league in tackles . 5 . Robert Porcher , DT , Lions . Porcher broke the team record for sacks in a season , with 14 1/2 . COACH OF THE YEAR 1 . Bill Parcells , Jets . Just when it seemed the Jets would fold , they stunned the Bills and Cowboys and the Dolphins twice . 2 . Jim Mora , Colts . Mora has regained respect after quitting in New Orleans . 3 . Dick Vermeil , Rams . Would Vermeil be here if Trent Green had not been injured in the preseason ? 4 . Mike Shanahan , Broncos . Denver was competitive despite losing John Elway , Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe . 5 . Gunther Cunningham , Chiefs . The first-year coach has Kansas City playing hard and with discipline . ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 1 . Edgerrin James , RB , Colts . James earned nearly $ 15 million in salary and incentives , which is what many thought Ricky Williams would do this season . 2 . Jevon Kearse , DE , Titans . Kearse , a linebacker at Florida , twice this season broke the NFL record for sacks by a rookie . 3 . Tim Couch , QB , Browns . Couch peformed well despite playing behind the league 's worst offensive line . 4 . Champ Bailey , CB , Redskins . The former Georgia star set rookie record with three picks in one game but seemed to fade late in the season . 5 . Damien Woody , C , Patriots . In a few years , the former Boston College star will be the NFL 's top center . COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR 1 . Bryant Young , DT , 49ers . Young is back in the Pro Bowl only a year after a horrific leg injury . 2 . Jeff George , QB , Vikings . The former Falcon rescued Minnesota , his third team in six years . 3 . Tyrone Wheatley , RB , Raiders . Traded by the Giants and cut by the Dolphins in the preseason , he was a star in Oakland . 4 . Jeff Blake , QB , Bengals . Benched and injured in 1998 , Blake will get a big contract from someone in the offseason . 5 . Alonzo Spellman , DT , Cowboys . The former Bear 's comeback off the field has been even more remarkable . ROOKIE STEALS These players were overlooked in the draft but outplayed several high-profile rookies : 1 . Olandis Gary , RB , Broncos . The fourth-rounder should break Bobby Humphrey 's team record for rushing yards by a rookie . 2 . Terrence Wilkins , KR/WR , Colts . The undrafted rookie from Virginia has scored three different ways and should be playing in the Pro Bowl . 3 . Martin ramatica , K , Buccaneers . Gramatica was a third-rounder , but the former Kansas State star has been `` automatica . '' 4 . Mike McKenzie , CB , Packers . The last of three defensive backs drafted by Green Bay , the former Memphis star played the best . 5 . Wali Rainer , LB , Browns . The fourth-rounder replaced retired star Chris Spielman . COACHES ON THE HOT SEAT These coaches might get pink slips from their owners : 1 . Pete Carroll , Patriots . Carroll 's team collapsed in the second half ; his agent already is making telephone calls . 2 . Mike Ditka , Saints . Ditka says he 's coming back , but others are n't so convinced that owner Tom Benson wo n't clean house . 3 . Chan Gailey , Cowboys . The decision that Norv Turner will stay in Washington might give the Americus native one more year in Dallas . 4 . Bill Cowher , Steelers . How desperate is Cowher to leave Pittsburgh ? He confirmed rumors linking him to N.C. State . 5 . Ray Rhodes , Packers . Rhodes will have to shake up his staff , at least , after a disappointing first season in Green Bay . ON THE RISE These players are very close to being stars : 1 . Donnie Abraham , CB , Buccaneers . Abraham should be starting in the Pro Bowl instead of Deion Sanders . 2 . Barrett Robbins , C , Raiders . Robbins is a big reason why the Raiders lead the league in rushing offense . 3 . Robert Hicks , OT , Bills . In his second season , the former Douglass High star has outstanding feet and technique . 4 . Marcus Robinson , WR , Bears . The Fort Valley native probably cost Curtis Conway his job . 5 . Stephen Alexander , TE , Redskins . The second-year pro can block and has outstanding hands . UNSUNG HEROES These guys are some of the unsung heroes you probably never have heard of : 1 . Norman Hand , DT , Chargers . The former Mississippi star is a big reason why San Diego is so tough against the run . 2 . Patrick Jeffers , WR , Panthers . Jeffers is a big , fast receiver with good hands -- just what the Falcons could have used . 3 . Aaron Beasley , CB , Jaguars . The former West Virginia star inexplicably was snubbed in voting for the Pro Bowl . 4 . Jason Belser , SS , Colts . In his eighth season , Belser put some bite into the Indianapolis secondary . 5 . London Fletcher , LB , Rams . The undrafted rookie from John Carroll University is one of the league 's fastest linebackers . CRYSTAL BALL Fearless predictions for the 2000 season : 1 . Quarterback Steve Young returns to the 49ers , but receiver Jerry Rice does n't , because San Francisco ca n't fit both players under the salary cap . 2 . Receiver Michael Irvin retires because of a neck injury , and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones replaces him with the Raiders ' Tim Brown , a native of Dallas . 3 . Jets coach Bill Parcells returns for one more season , but quarterback Vinny Testaverde does n't win back his job from Ray Lucas . 4 . Patriots coach Pete Carroll is fired by owner Robert Kraft , who hires Jets assistant head coach Bill Belichick . 5 . Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and coach Jimmy Johnson return to Miami and live happily ever after -- with running back Barry Sanders . TOP FIVE STORIES he top five news developments of the 1999 season : 1 . Walter Payton dies -- The Chicago Bears legend succumbed to cancer after a long battle with liver disease and , as always , `` Sweetness '' handled it with class . 2 . Injuries : Injuries sidelined several of the league 's top players , including Jamal Anderson , Terrell Davis , Steve Young , Vinny Testaverde and Michael Irvin . 3 . Rae Carruth arrested -- Carolina receiver was charged with murder in the shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend . 4 . Houston awarded franchise -- Houston businessman Bob McNair landed a team for the former home of Oilers ; Los Angeles was passed over again . 5 . Barry Sanders retires : Lions running back abruptly retired before the season , but Detroit made the playoffs anyway . FALLING FAST These aging players are past their prime : 1 . Charles Haley , DE , 49ers . A big factor in the playoffs last season , Haley was n't even on the stat sheets this year . 2 . Ben Coates , TE , Patriots . Coates ' attitude and mouth probably have worn out their welcome in New England . 3 . Steve Atwater , FS , Jets . The Jets learned what Denver already knew : Atwater is slow and no longer can cover receivers . 4 . Morten Andersen , K , Falcons . Once a weapon late in the game , Andersen barely is getting chances at 39 . 5 . Dan Marino , QB , Dolphins . His arm seems to get tired , and his decisions are n't as sharp , either . TIRED ACTS These guys ' antics and behavior have gotten very old : 1 . Ryan Leaf , QB , Chargers . The former Washington State star owns this space . 2 . Jimmy Johnson , coach , Dolphins . Johnson should quit blaming Dan Marino and look in the mirror . Johnson 's the one who rested his running game on troubled Cecil Collins ' shoulders . 3 . Bill Romanowski , LB , Broncos . He will break the NFL records for illegal hits and fines before he retires . 4 . Michael Westbrook , WR , Redskins . Even when he 's playing well , Westbrook ca n't keep his mouth shut . His charges of nepotism were outrageous . 5 . Joey Galloway , WR , Seahawks . Is it just a coincidence that the Seahawks collapsed after his return from a contract holdout ? DIRECT DEPOSIT These players are laughing all the way to the bank after putting up huge numbers in contract years : 1 . Simeon Rice , DE , Cardinals . Arizona already has too much money invested in its defensive line , so Rice could end up in his native Chicago in 2000 . 2 . Corey Dillon , RB , Bengals . Cincinnati offered him Duce-Staley-like money ; Dillon will get a contract more like Jamal Anderson 's . 3 . Tony Brackens , DE , Jaguars . Another top pass rusher , but his history of injuries still is a concern . 4 . Chuck Smith , DE , Falcons . The Falcons probably ca n't afford him , but Green Bay or Jacksonville probably can . 5 . Jeff George , QB , Vikings . Minnesota might have too much money invested in Randall Cunningham and Daunte Culpepper to re-sign George . Story Filed By Cox Newspapers Jeffers gets his wish to remain a Panther Carolina receiver Patrick Jeffers has been red-hot lately , after battling injuries through the first half of the season . In the past four games , he has 28 receptions for 552 yards and six touchdowns . His effort paid off Thursday in a new four-year contract with the Panthers . The former Virginia star who spent two years in Denver and one in Dallas had been scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 1 . Jeffers , in his first season with Carolina , had not wanted to leave the Panthers , but he had worried that the team might not be able to afford him . `` I 've said all along this is where I want to be and if my agent feels like the offer they make is a fair one , I 'd be more than happy to sign it , '' Jeffers had said before the deal . Ditka has attitude adjustment After his team stunned the Cowboys on Christmas Eve , Saints coach Mike Ditka seems to be friendlier and more confident . `` Did I say that -LRB- I 'll be back next year -RRB- ? What a cocky guy , '' Ditka said . `` I just believe I 'll be back . There 's no revelation to it . An angel of the Lord did n't come down and say , ` You 're going to be back . ' I just believe I 'm going to be back . I want to be back . And I 'll be back . '' Ditka said he has n't met with owner Tom Benson to discuss the future but did admit that he told his players last week that he 'll return . `` I have n't acted any different , '' Ditka said . `` Right now , I resign myself to the fact that I really believe that I 'll be back . There might have even been a moment where it did n't bother me that much one way or the other . But now it would bother me , because I really want to make some people really mad . `` I told my mom a long time ago I 'd like to live to be 150 . She said , ` Why ? ' I said I 'd like to make the rest of the people mad that I have n't made mad yet . I want to get a few in this town . So , coming back would make a few of them mad , you 've got to admit that . '' Arizona coach lobbying for extension Arizona coach Vince Tobin issued an ultimatum of sorts , despite the Cardinals ' three-game losing streak that knocked them out of the playoffs . Tobin , who has one year left on his contract , is publicly lobbying Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill for an extension . `` The Cardinals have to sit down and -LRB- decide -RRB- , ` What direction are we going ? ' '' Tobin said . `` Were the Cardinals moving in the direction we want to go with me at the helm ? If that 's so , then we 'll work it out . If they think not , then I 'm sure we 'll work it out the other way . '' Tobin seemed to say he would rather be fired than become a lame-duck coach in 2000 . Tobin is 28-38 as a head coach after his team slipped to 6-9 a year after the franchise 's first playoff berth in 51 years . `` I just think it 's hard to coach a football team going into the last year of your contract , '' he said , `` for your own free agents , for other people 's free agents , your control over your football team and just the speculation . There was speculation this year , and , if we went into next year , there would be speculation every day , every week , on good plays and bad plays , good decisions and bad decisions . You need to have closure . '' Story Filed By Cox Newspapers Detroit off to fast start after failure last season Nobody is quite ready to do celebratory swan dives into the Detroit River just yet . Regular-season victories in Hockeytown do little except to affirm to fans that forward lines are set for the playoffs . But as the NHL season nears the midway point , the Detroit Red Wings look closer to being a Stanley Cup team now than they did last year . The Wings have the best record in hockey , and they continued to string together wins despite the absences of goalie Chris Osgood and forward Slava Kozlov . After a narrow 3-2 overtime win over the Thrashers that locals attributed to post-holiday blahs , Detroit traveled to Buffalo the next night and waxed the Sabres 7-2 . The team 's goals-against average -LRB- 2.30 -RRB- is in the top five in the league , and forwards seemingly produce any time they have to _ or are prodded into doing so . `` We finally started coming around in the third period of the Atlanta game , '' assistant coach Dave Lewis said . `` But that 's our team . We have some veteran guys , who , if you watched practice , you 'd wonder how they 're able to play in this league . They wait for the games . '' Last season , they often waited for the games to matter , and then it was too late . The Wings suffered from some expected post-Cup blues last season , and it was reflected in their team defense . As a result , general manager Ken Holland worked several trade-deadline deals that imported veterans and exported draft picks . However , it did n't work . `` We started slow last year , but our feeling was in the second half of the season we would be more consistent , '' he said . `` We felt we needed to do something to jump start the team . We went something like 10-1 after the trades , and we won six consecutive playoff games . But then we had some injuries and Colorado elevated its game in the playoffs and ... '' And the Wings lost . After two consecutive Cups , the perception was that Holland had mortgaged the future to squeeze one more title out of the team and failed . Only defenseman Chris Chelios was kept from last year 's trades , and , Lewis said , `` He feels more comfortable this year . Last season , it took awhile for him to get adjusted with his family , to the jersey , everything . He almost tried too hard . '' This year , Chelios leads the NHL in plus-minus at plus-36 . He has been paired with Steve Duchense , whose career appeared dead after he bombed out with three teams in the span of a year . He has been rejuvenated in Motown . The other move that has paid off was unrestricted free agent Pat Verbeek , a key piece to Dallas ' Stanley Cup team . Verbeek had 18 points in his first 23 games and was a plus-21 , second to Chelios on the team . Dallas has n't hit its stride yet . Many people think that Colorado will be a second-half team because of its recent personnel turnover , but for now it 's a .500 club . St. Louis is strong but ca n't match Detroit 's depth . Phoenix needs to prove it can win a playoff series . The Wings ' path appears set through the Western Conference playoffs to the finals . `` It 's too early for that , '' Lewis said . `` Being in first place and the stats and all that is nice , but we 're measured by what we do in the playoffs . '' Holland said , `` We only have a certain amount of time with this group . '' He said he still thinks that Dallas and Colorado will be the Wings ' primary competition in the playoffs . But going into a Cup chase not as the defending champions has advantages . `` Look at Dallas in the first 25 games this year , '' he said . `` It 's tough when you play until the middle of June and then have to get back on the ice for training camp . And then everybody is judging their year on how they play against you . You 're the measuring stick . It 's hard to get pumped up in October . '' Story Filed By Cox Newspapers NHL East notes Primeau deal goes bust Despite the fact Carolina 's deal to send Keith Primeau , a minor-league defenseman and two draft picks to Phoenix for Keith Tkachuk fell through , it 's more certain than ever Primeau will not be back with the Hurricanes . When it was learned Primeau had pre-approved a four-year , $ 16.9 million contract with the Coyotes , which is not far off the offers Carolina had tendered , ` Canes winger Gordie Roberts went ballistic . `` He has hung this entire team out to dry , '' Roberts said . `` We 're going out there on the ice busting our butts every night , and he 's been rejecting offers that have been fair . I would n't be saying this if I did n't think the team had made fair offers . Twenty million dollars . Twelve million dollars . What 's the difference between the Phoenix deal and what he 's been offered here ? ... As a team , we 've been taking the approach that Primeau is like an injured player and he 'll be coming back . Now , we 've got to stop thinking about him and just get on with it . '' Primeau said Roberts ' anger is `` misdirected , '' adding , `` Everything was all right -LRB- this season -RRB- when they were winning games . All of a sudden , I 'm responsible for them losing seven of the last nine games ? '' A slow burn in Boston This is not an endorsement for Boston to fire coach Pat Burns , but after going 2-7-4 in a span of 13 games , Burns has come to the conclusion that his players have rejected his philosophies . `` I just ca n't understand it , '' he said . `` Over the past two years , this club has played a certain way . We 've picked up 180-odd points in two years , we 've gone three rounds in the playoffs . All of a sudden , it 's not good enough anymore . Now , we have to pinch , we have to take chances , be more offensive and try to copy other teams and this is the result _ giving up two-on-ones . I watched New Jersey-Buffalo and Buffalo gave up about 10 two-on-ones . If you 're going to play like that , you 're not going to win too many hockey games . '' Burns said when he asked one player how he wanted to play , the player responded , `` Creatively . '' For structured coaches like Burns , `` creativity '' is synonymous with poison . Briefly ... The Panthers , convinced Trevor Kidd 's return this year is a long shot , made a good move acquiring Mike Vernon from San Jose . Despite his age , Vernon , 36 , might have one good year left in him . The Panthers also are on the hook for only the remaining $ 2.4 million of his $ 4.38 million contract this year . But Vernon also has a $ 3.25 million option kick in for next year if he plays 40 games -LRB- 25 more -RRB- ... It 's becoming more likely that John McMullen will sell the New Jersey Devils and become a minority owner of the New York Jets . Expect the selling price to the YankeesNets group to come at about $ 165 million _ a slight escalation over the $ 34 million McMullen paid in 1992 ... Alexei Yashin returned to the United States to spend time with family members and girlfriend , Carol Alt , but says he will be back in Switzerland this week working out with a club team there . Nothing new on talks with Ottawa . Story Filed By Cox Newspapers Following in daddy 's footsteps FACEOFF : BRETT HULL Right winger , Dallas Stars Update : Entering the weekend looking for career goal No. 600 , a mark reached by only 11 other players . Second on the Stars this year with 13 goals and 28 points in 37 games . On approaching the 610 goals scored by his father , Bobby : `` To be able to have followed in his footsteps has been a thrill for me more than anything , and to have been able to reach the level that he played , being a Hall of Famer and voted the eighth-best player in the Top 50 list that came out last year , I mean , it is a huge thrill . I told someone this year I wish I could get to 610 and then just quit counting or quit or something . But it will also be an honor if I am able to pass him . '' Comparing styles with his father : `` He was so powerful and so fast and strong . I do n't know which one of the guys in the family got it , but it was n't me . I just lumbered around the ice . I kind of developed a style , like a stealth mode , and just weave my way in and out of holes . '' On having dreams he 'll never score again : `` The dream is coming true here . I bet you I have had 50 shots in the last three games . They 're not going in like they used to . I tell the guys on the bench , ` That one used to go in off someone 's foot . ' I am still creating lots of chances , and , if you keep doing that , they are bound to go in . But every day I am scared to death I will never score another one . '' On how long he 'll play : `` The game is n't a whole bunch of fun to play anymore . But it is also a game that I love . I come to the rink every day hoping that it is going to change back to the way it was . And honestly , they pay such nice sums of money to us that you would be crazy to retire until they kick you off the ice . '' STAT PACK Here are the NHL 's all-time leading goal scorers , arranged by their career goals-per-game average -LRB- through Dec. 29 . -RRB- : PlayerGoalsGamesGPG Mario Lemieux613745 .823 Brett Hull599898 .667 Wayne Gretzky8941 ,487.601 Bobby Hull6101 ,063.574 Marcel Dionne731731 .542 Phil Esposito7171 ,282.559 Steve Yzerman6081 ,215.500 Mike Gartner7081 ,432.494 Dino Ciccarelli6081 ,232.494 Jari Kurri6011 ,251.480 Gordie Howe8011 ,767.453 Mark Messier6151 ,433.429 QUOTE/UNQUOTE I would hate to think that this trade was killed out of spite or animosity or to hurt me or my family . '' _ Carolina holdout Keith Primeau , after Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos apparently squelched a deal that would have sent the All-Star to Phoenix Story Filed By Cox Newspapers NHL West notes Wile E. Coyotes Phoenix 's decision to dangle stars Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick as trade bait could have ramifications on a team that has been playing well under first-year coach Bobby Francis . The Coyotes , who are losing an average of $ 10 million a season and will continue to operate in the red for two years until they move into their new arena , want to dump a contract . Roenick will make $ 5 million next season , then become an unrestricted free agent . Tkachuk 's deal balloons from $ 4.3 million to $ 8.3 million next year . Carolina owner Peter Karmanos called it `` a stupid contract . '' -LRB- amusing considering this is the guy who signed Sergei Fedorov to a six-year , $ 38 million offer sheet -RRB- . Now that Tkachuk and Roenick know they 're on the block , how will the team 's two best players perform ? Tkachuk said , `` I want to play here . I want to spend the rest of my life here . It 's about the money . I 'm not worried about it . I 'm sure they 've thought about trading everybody . I 've been through this a lot . They have n't traded me yet . If they do , my wife will be devastated . So will I. '' Sharks take big risk San Jose 's decision to deal veteran backup goalie Mike Vernon to Florida leaves 24-year-old Evgeni Nabokov as the only safety net if Steve Shields is injured . But the Sharks felt they needed to add toughness . That 's why they immediately moved Radek Dvorak -LRB- acquired from the Panthers -RRB- to the New York Rangers for Todd Harvey . The right winger has been injury prone and has only three goals in 31 games this year , but Sharks GM Dean Lombardi said , `` Harvey 's the type of guy I 'd affectionately say is a jerk to play against . It 's something we felt we had to add to this group . Nobody is saying he 's a 40-goal scorer , but he does have the ability to chip in . He plays with a lot of energy . He has shown the ability to be a leader . '' Briefly ... The surprise was n't that Joe Sakic finally tallied his 1,000 th career point ; the surprise was he assisted on a goal by ... Chris Dingman ? `` That 'll be a trivia question : Who 's the one that scored ? '' Dingman said . `` I do n't know if too many people will know the answer to that one . '' ... Sakic becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season but said he may agree to salary arbitration and sign a one-year contract with the Avs . `` I 'd like to sign a long-term deal with a no-trade clause , '' he said . `` If I do n't , we 'll just do arbitration . I did pretty well -LRB- testing the market -RRB- last time , but I like it here and I want to stay here . '' ... Calgary defenseman Phil Housley signed a two-year -LRB- plus an option -RRB- contract extension with the Flames and passed up unrestricted free agency after realizing his preferred destination , the expansion Minnesota Wild , probably was n't going to sign him ... With several Detroit teammates returning from injuries , rookie Jiri Fischer lost his dressing stall at Joe Louis Arena and was given a folding chair near the Gatorade table . `` Youngest player on the team , '' the 19-year-old said . `` That 's the way it goes . '' Story Filed By Cox Newspapers Hawks ' center moves by tragic story The Atlanta Hawks ' Lorenzen Wright nearly wept when he learned about the tragic story of 9-year-old Travis Butler , alone in a house with his dead mother in the Memphis projects , `` I grew up where he was growing up , '' Wright said . `` I went to the same school -LRB- South Park Elementary -RRB- he attended . The idea of losing your only parent and being so afraid that you would be put in a home that you do n't tell anyone , I could relate to that and be thankful I have both my parents . '' That 's why Wright joined fellow Memphis natives Penny Hardaway and Elliott Perry in donating $ 3,000 each to a trust fund for Perry . Todd Day kicked in another $ 1,000 , bringing the trust fund for young Butler to $ 40,000 . `` I would like to reach out to him on a personal level , '' Wright said . The Hawks center runs a summertime basketball camp in his hometown and wants Travis to attend . `` I think something like that would allow him to feel better about himself . '' The Butler story hit newspapers a week after Thanksgiving . The 9-year-old 's mother , Crystal Wells , 30 , a pharmacy school student , died of complications from a noncancerous carcinoid tumor on Nov. 3 , but her body was not discovered by neighbors until Dec. 6 . Fearful after hearing tales about foster care , young Butler went to school each day as though nothing had happened . He did his own grocery shopping from money in the house , prepared his own meals , fixed pizza for his Thanksgiving meal . At the time Wells ' body was found , little Butler was preparing to pay household bills . He already had written checks , his maternal grandmother said . Butler is now living in Carthage , Miss. with the grandmother , Shirley Wilder , and the trust is being administered by the National Bank of Commerce . And while Wright and other NBA players from Memphis will get credit for caring and giving , their involvement probably would not have happened except for the reaction of the Hawks ' vice president for media relations , Arthur Triche , whose son , Brandon , is about the same age as Travis Butler . Triche brought the story to Wright , then contacted Hardaway and Day through the Phoenix Suns and Perry through the New Jersey Nets . `` One of the saddest stories I 've ever encountered , '' Triche said the day it was published . `` I ca n't imagine this . We 've just got to find a way to do something for this child . '' Later , he learned that the four Memphis players were eager to help themselves . `` I think once they heard the story they were as touched as I was , '' Triche said . `` How could you not open your heart to the plight of a young boy in that circumstance ? '' Story Filed By Cox Newspapers NBA NOTES : Checkin ' out the hair in Orlando Ben Wallace 's hairstyle has become one of the big sports stories in Orlando . Wallace likes corn rows because they are nice and neat , but a poll of Magic fans show that 62 percent want him to keep the retro big Afro he has worn lately . Here 's why : The Magic won seven of nine games after Wallace let his hair free in early December . That they dropped two games last week by a combined five points might indicate that the charm has gone . But does Wallace have the courage to change and perhaps `` doom '' his team to mediocrity ? Orlando was 8-9 in corn-row games . Wallace wore the Afro in his finest game of the season , leading the Magic to victory over Charlotte with 14 points , 15 rebounds and six blocked shots . `` He 's like Sampson _ the longer the hair , the more power he has , '' coach Doc Rivers said . `` Now , we 've just got to keep Delilah away from him . '' `` They 're chanting for the ` fro , but they are n't the ones who have to keep it combed . It 's a lot of work when it 's long , '' Wallace said . `` I 'll probably just have it rolled back up -LRB- in corn rows -RRB- . '' Not so darling kings They may be the darlings of the NBA , but the Sacramento Kings appear far away from taking the step that would make them true contenders in the league . Including Wednesday 's victory over Seattle , the Kings are 8-10 since they started the season 9-2 and appeared to justify the faith that Turner sports showed by scheduling them for TNT and TBS more than any other team in the league . Some of the symptoms : Nick Anderson is back to where he was the year before last in Orlando , hanging out on the 3-point line , shooting 35 percent from the floor and fearing any trip to the foul line , where he has severe problems . Jason Williams is shooting 36 percent , 28 percent on threes , which he often takes from a step or two behind the line . Chris Webber says , `` We 're nothing special . Darlings of the NBA , Cinderellas , all that is thrown out the window , 'cause , if we 're all of that and we do n't win , that means nothing . We 'll be a bunch of cute little kids , cute guys for the next five or six years and it does n't matter . We need to win . '' The hard part , coach Rick Adelman , said , is that `` people talk about that -LRB- NBA darling label -RRB- , and I think for us to become a better team and to be a good team , we have to defend better , and we 've got to rebound the ball better . And , really , a lot of times , our decision-making _ if things are going good , you can be creative , do a lot of things . When things are n't , you 've got to be a little bit more disciplined . We 're struggling with that a little bit right now , but I think it 's going to come . This team 's only been together , the main guys , for 70 games . It 's a very young team . ... With experience , they 're going to get much better . '' THUMBS UP Utah 's retiring president Frank Layden , who got out while he still had his health and his sense of humor . Thanks for all the fun he provided for everyone around the NBA for nearly a quarter century after starting as a Hawks assistant coach under Hubie Brown . THUMBS DOWN Knicks tough guy Kurt Thomas grabbed Eddie Jones ' left arm so hard to stop a layup that Jones suffered a torn ligament in his elbow , putting him out six week . Six days later , Thomas threw a combination of punches at Jalen Rose of Indiana and was hit with a two-game suspension , plus $ 10,000 in fines . Story Filed By Cox Newspapers Motivated Grant Long returns Grant Long , whose loss to Vancouver left the Hawks without a rudder , finally is playing after suffering a concussion and a cartilage injury . In a 100-93 loss to Philadelphia , Long had eight rebounds in 22 minutes . He talked about his excitement at playing again . `` I do n't know if you guys watch major league baseball a lot , '' Long said , `` but Sammy Sosa is one of my favorite players , and he takes off from the dugout and he tears out to center field . He 's just happy to be out on the field playing major league baseball , and that 's my appreciation . When I 'm out there on the floor , I 'm happy to be playing NBA basketball . I run out there . I 'm smiling because I 'm enjoying myself . '' The Grizzlies crowd gave Long a rousing hand . The 33-year-old did not hold back . He took it hard to the rim against Todd MacCulloch and George Lynch , drawing a foul and getting to the line . He crashed with Billy Owens inside , drew a charge on Tyrone Hill and yelled out the defensive calls . `` It was yeoman 's work , '' Shareef Abdur-Rahim said . `` It 's what he brings to the team , just that blue-collar mentality . '' Bryant goes his way The tug of war continues in Los Angeles : In the final seconds of a tied game with Dallas , Phil Jackson drew a play for Kobe Bryant to pass to Glen Rice . Bryant saw an opening he could n't resist , drove , got fouled and made the foul shots for the winning points . `` It does n't matter . If I come off a screen and the guy gives me the lane , I 'm gone , '' Bryant said . On Phil Jackson 's reaction : `` He just kind of looked at me . Just did one of those '' _ the Lakers guard mimicked Jackson 's stare . `` It was like _ it went in . So , whatever . Mavs rookie cans another agent For the second time in his brief , turmoil-filled NBA career , Mavericks rookie Leon Smith has fired his agent . Matt Muehlebach was notified of the change Tuesday in a letter signed by Smith , the 19-year-old who was suspended without pay on Dec. 6 after two arrests in a 24-hour span . Muehlebach replaced Dan Fegan.Ostertag awakens In Utah 's victory over Phoenix Tuesday , Greg Ostertag had five points , two rebounds and two blocks in the fourth quarter . He had not played in the first three . Jazz forward Karl Malone said , `` He was as alive as any time I 've seen him in the last four or five years . '' ... One night later , Jerry Sloan became the third coach in history to win 600 games with one franchise , when the Jazz beat the Grizzlies 101-90 . He is 600-281 in Utah . The other coaches with 600 wins with one team are Red Auerbach -LRB- 795 , Boston -RRB- and Red Holzman -LRB- 613 , New York -RRB- . LaFrentz returning to form In Denver , Raef LaFrentz continues to play more confidently on his repaired left knee . Over four games , he scored 81 points and made 35 of 66 shots . He 's shooting 30-for-70 on three-pointers . The former Kansas star has been working a nearly unstoppable baseline fadeaway jumper , lofting it over big centers Bryant Reeves of Vancouver , and the Clippers ' Michael Olowokandi and 7-foot-3 Keith Closs . `` That one 's been with me since junior high , '' LaFrentz said . Story Filed By Cox Newspapers Bradley 's easygoing style wins rave reviews in presidential run Something about putting on shorts for years and dribbling a ball before thousands changes the way a performer reacts in front of crowds . The tension of stage fright _ common among those who act , play the concert piano or , in most cases , run for public office _ is missing . The muscles do n't tighten in the same way and the face assumes a loose , locker-room quality of disregard for the attention being focused on it . As much as any of the traditional Democratic initiatives he proposes in his platform , this low-key demeanor , epitomized by the throat lozenge tumbling constantly in his mouth during his speeches , distinguishes former Sen. Bill Bradley out on the stump . Bradley tells audiences the `` radical premise '' of his campaign is that he can go out and simply tell people what he believes `` and have a chance of winning . '' The style in which he outlines these beliefs matters as well . At times , Bradley 's steadfast refusal to hit rhetorical high notes can be frustrating . In a room like the one filled with Jewish voters at a recent conference in Atlanta , there 's a sense of listeners waiting for a resolving chord that does n't sound . But when he connects , his manner gives him the freedom to do things that draw a sharp contrast with Vice President Al Gore 's stiff reputation . `` No ! '' his face wrapped around the microphone in mock shock when an Iowa voter mentions some new charge Gore has made . Discussing the evils of political money , he wheels his 6-foot-5 frame around , pretending to kick a lobbyist in the rear . Voters , especially liberal Democrats longing to hear their ideals voiced again , frequently walk away saying things like `` one of us , '' `` straightforward , '' `` has his feet on the ground . '' `` Performer , '' by the way , is a word Bradley himself uses in talking about what a politician does . But he makes a careful distinction . `` What I was doing out there was not a performance , it was a dialogue , '' the Rhodes scholar , New York Knicks star and New Jersey Democrat said last week after meeting with a group of voters at a senior center in Des Moines . `` But when you have a debate or you go on television , sure , it 's a performance . '' With their willingness to engage voters one-on-one , Bradley and Republican Sen. John McCain have been the trend-setters of this presidential campaign , prompting other candidates to take more questions from audiences and affect a more relaxed approach . These underdogs have also leapfrogged their parties ' front-runners to take the lead in recent polls in New Hampshire , where this style of personal campaigning has the biggest impact . They moved decisively ahead in New Hampshire the week the two met in a cross-party photo-op to re-enact the Bill Clinton-Newt Gingrich handshake agreement to do something about campaign finance reform . With Christmas only days and a bitter cold front settled in , Bradley was campaigning around Des Moines the following week , hoping to put pressure on Gore in the other key early state . The groups were larger than earlier in the campaign , so a staffer cut off questions after a while at each meeting . But Bradley still got in lots of dialogue in sessions at a suburban library , a children 's hospital , an Irish bar and several other stops . Bradley is the only presidential candidate who has pointedly refused to discuss his religion , and yet when he talks about his desire to `` move our collective humanity a few feet forward '' and realize `` a world of new possibilities guided by goodness , '' his stump speech arcs toward a sort of civic mysticism . `` Whenever I see somebody who can look beneath skin color or eye shape and see the individual , I think all of us could be that good , '' he tells voters . `` Whenever I see a neighbor give to another neighbor , with no expectation of return , I think more of us more often could be that good . ... Whenever someone has courage to stand up against an evil ... that single action strengthens all of us . '' The cadence bears more than a little similarity to Tom Joad 's ringing words at the conclusion of John Steinbeck 's `` Grapes of Wrath . '' It 's a broad , Rooseveltian language of Democratic ideals that also punctuates Bradley 's account of growing up on the Mississippi in Crystal City , Mo. , the only child of a doting teacher and a bank officer with calcified arthritis who prided himself that he never foreclosed on a family during the Depression . It 's in the best tradition of the Democratic Party , Bradley told voters who turned out in subzero weather to see him at the Perry library , to propose doing things `` in a timely enough manner and a big enough way . '' The economic boom makes this the time , he asserted , for the party and the country to `` think big . '' That philosophy rings through in his discussion of almost every issue . On health care : `` If you have a problem that size , you need a big solution . '' Gun control : `` If you 're serious about this , you have to offer a strong proposal . '' Campaign finance reform : `` The level of boldness and depth of commitment is the biggest difference -LRB- between him and Gore -RRB- . '' At the children 's hospital , Bradley acknowledged that his proposals to broaden health care coverage are `` not cheap . It will cost between $ 55 billion and $ 60 billion a year . '' He would fund this and other spending on social needs by keeping defense spending at a steady rate , rather than increasing spending as Gore and all the Republicans have proposed . Asked how he would get the programs through if the Republicans hold on to a congressional majority , Bradley noted that `` some of my best moments , '' including the 1986 tax reform legislation he sponsored , were in a Republican-majority Senate . He also cited Ronald Reagan as a case for swaying Congress by campaigning with a clearly drawn platform . `` Being specific is the beginning of a legislative strategy , '' he said . Like Reagan , he envisions an administration of bold colors , in which the president points the way but limits himself to a few vital objectives . In Reagan 's administration , everyone knew they had to be anti-Communist and pro-defense to please the boss , Bradley told a Democratic audience . In his administration , people would know that if they want to please the boss , they 'll have to promote racial harmony . It was a speech on racial matters that spurred interest in Bradley as a presidential candidate , and he talks about the subject , as he points out , even in places such as Iowa , where the crowds may be all white . `` My belief is that way over 50 percent of the white people in America want to have a deeper level of racial harmony in this country . If I 'm wrong , I 'm toast . If I 'm right , we have to put together the ingredients for a real transformation , '' Bradley said . The stump speech biography , which begins with small-town Missouri , ends with an anecdote about tossing uncomfortably on a motel bed one night earlier in this campaign . `` It came to me , '' he tells voters , after describing the various discomforts that kept him up , `` that I 'd been on the road in America for 30 years , as a basketball player , as a politician , as a businessman . And in all those years there is one continuum , and that is me going out and asking strangers to tell me their stories . In the accumulation of all those stories , I think I have a pretty good sense of who the American people are . '' The words make an effective lead into the trademark question-and-answer period . Whether Bradley can translate this style into a broader medium when the race explodes into a fast-paced competition for the big states will determine his chances for the nomination . But for now his laid-back delivery and unabashedly liberal message have Bradley 's campaign on a hot streak . Story Filed By Cox Newspapers Bradley 's easygoing style wins rave reviews in presidential run Something about putting on shorts for years and dribbling a ball before thousands changes the way a performer reacts in front of crowds . The tension of stage fright _ common among those who act , play the concert piano or , in most cases , run for public office _ is missing . The muscles do n't tighten in the same way and the face assumes a loose , locker-room quality of disregard for the attention being focused on it . As much as any of the traditional Democratic initiatives he proposes in his platform , this low-key demeanor , epitomized by the throat lozenge tumbling constantly in his mouth during his speeches , distinguishes former Sen. Bill Bradley out on the stump . Bradley tells audiences the `` radical premise '' of his campaign is that he can go out and simply tell people what he believes `` and have a chance of winning . '' The style in which he outlines these beliefs matters as well . At times , Bradley 's steadfast refusal to hit rhetorical high notes can be frustrating . In a room like the one filled with Jewish voters at a recent conference in Atlanta , there 's a sense of listeners waiting for a resolving chord that does n't sound . But when he connects , his manner gives him the freedom to do things that draw a sharp c with Vice President Al Gore 's stiff reputation . `` No ! '' his face wrapped around the microphone in mock shock when an Iowa voter mentions some new charge Gore has made . Discussing the evils of political money , he wheels his 6-foot-5 frame around , pretending to kick a lobbyist in the rear . Voters , especially liberal Democrats longing to hear their ideals voiced again , frequently walk away saying things like `` one of us , '' `` straightforward , '' `` has his feet on the ground . '' `` Performer , '' by the way , is a word Bradley himself uses in talking about what a politician does . But he makes a careful distinction . `` What I was doing out there was not a performance , it was a dialogue , '' the Rhodes scholar , New York Knicks star and New Jersey Democrat said last week after meeting with a group of voters at a senior center in Des Moines . `` But when you have a debate or you go on television , sure , it 's a performance . '' With their willingness to engage voters one-on-one , Bradley and Republican Sen. John McCain have been the trend-setters of this presidential campaign , prompting other candidates to take more questions from audiences and affect a more relaxed approach . These underdogs have also leapfrogged their parties ' front-runners to take the lead in recent polls in New Hampshire , where this style of personal campaigning has the biggest impact . They moved decisively ahead in New Hampshire the week the two met in a cross-party photo-op to re-enact the Bill Clinton-Newt Gingrich handshake agreement to do something about campaign finance reform . With Christmas only days and a bitter cold front settled in , Bradley was campaigning around Des Moines the following week , hoping to put pressure on Gore in the other key early state . The groups were larger than earlier in the campaign , so a staffer cut off questions after a while at each meeting . But Bradley still got in lots of dialogue in sessions at a suburban library , a children 's hospital , an Irish bar and several other stops . Bradley is the only presidential candidate who has pointedly refused to discuss his religion , and yet when he talks about his desire to `` move our collective humanity a few feet forward '' and realize `` a world of new possibilities guided by goodness , '' his stump speech arcs toward a sort of civic mysticism . `` Whenever I see somebody who can look beneath skin color or eye shape and see the individual , I think all of us could be that good , '' he tells voters . `` Whenever I see a neighbor give to another neighbor , with no expectation of return , I think more of us more often could be that good . ... Whenever someone has courage to stand up against an evil ... that single action strengthens all of us . '' The cadence bears more than a little similarity to Tom Joad 's ringing words at the conclusion of John Steinbeck 's `` Grapes of Wrath . '' It 's a broad , Rooseveltian language of Democratic ideals that also punctuates Bradley 's account of growing up on the Mississippi in Crystal City , Mo. , the only child of a doting teacher and a bank officer with calcified arthritis who prided himself that he never foreclosed on a family during the Depression . It 's in the best tradition of the Democratic Party , Bradley told voters who turned out in subzero weather to see him at the Perry library , to propose doing things `` in a timely enough manner and a big enough way . '' The economic boom makes this the time , he asserted , for the party and the country to `` think big . '' That philosophy rings through in his discussion of almost every issue . On health care : `` If you have a problem that size , you need a big solution . '' Gun control : `` If you 're serious about this , you have to offer a strong proposal . '' Campaign finance reform : `` The level of boldness and depth of commitment is the biggest difference -LRB- between him and Gore -RRB- . '' At the children 's hospital , Bradley acknowledged that his proposals to broaden health care coverage are `` not cheap . It will cost between $ 55 billion and $ 60 billion a year . '' He would fund this and other spending on social needs by keeping defense spending at a steady rate , rather than increasing spending as Gore and all the Republicans have proposed . Asked how he would get the programs through if the Republicans hold on to a congressional majority , Bradley noted that `` some of my best moments , '' including the 1986 tax reform legislation he sponsored , were in a Republican-majority Senate . He also cited Ronald Reagan as a case for swaying Congress by campaigning with a clearly drawn platform . `` Being specific is the beginning of a legislative strategy , '' he said . Like Reagan , he envisions an administration of bold colors , in which the president points the way but limits himself to a few vital objectives . In Reagan 's administration , everyone knew they had to be anti-Communist and pro-defense to please the boss , Bradley told a Democratic audience . In his administration , people would know that if they want to please the boss , they 'll have to promote racial harmony . It was a speech on racial matters that spurred interest in Bradley as a presidential candidate , and he talks about the subject , as he points out , even in places such as Iowa , where the crowds may be all white . `` My belief is that way over 50 percent of the white people in America want to have a deeper level of racial harmony in this country . If I 'm wrong , I 'm toast . If I 'm right , we have to put together the ingredients for a real transformation , '' Bradley said . The stump speech biography , which begins with small-town Missouri , ends with an anecdote about tossing uncomfortably on a motel bed one night earlier in this campaign . `` It came to me , '' he tells voters , after describing the various discomforts that kept him up , `` that I 'd been on the road in America for 30 years , as a basketball player , as a politician , as a businessman . And in all those years there is one continuum , and that is me going out and asking strangers to tell me their stories . In the accumulation of all those stories , I think I have a pretty good sense of who the American people are . '' The words make an effective lead into the trademark question-and-answer period . Whether Bradley can translate this style into a broader medium when the race explodes into a fast-paced competition for the big states will determine his chances for the nomination . But for now his laid-back delivery and unabashedly liberal message have Bradley 's campaign on a hot streak . Story Filed By Cox Newspapers Payment in stock a way of linking performance to future growth At Atlanta-based Red Hot Law Group of Ashley , every one of the firm 's 19 employees _ from receptionist to attorneys _ is poised to share future wealth . The firm , which serves emerging high-tech firms through its Technology Accelerator unit , collects 5 percent of its high-tech clients ' stock as part of its fee package and then distributes 15 percent of the total as stock options among Red Hot employees . If one of the Accelerator clients hits it big one day , so will the options holders at Red Hot . `` It could be an amazingly lucrative event , '' explains Evelyn A. Ashley , Red Hot managing partner . `` The upside is for the future . In a way , we 're placing ourselves in a position where we truly are partners with the clients we accept . '' The firm is also positioning itself in the middle of a growing trend among employers across the United States who are using stock options as performance incentive compensation , as well as a tool for recruitment and retention . While employers are offering annual salary increases in the 4 percent range on average , stock options are an additional means for future financial payoff , a way of linking employee performance to future business growth . Formerly an exclusive benefit for big-time executives , stock option awards continue to migrate down the corporate ladder as more and more companies expose a wider selection of employees to the potential payoff in the record-setting bull market . Fully 62 percent of the companies polled by the American Compensation Association 's 1999-2000 Total Salary Increase Budget Survey reported some form of stock-based compensation plan . Atlanta-area high-tech firms and their Silicon Valley brethren are among the leading industries offering stock options as part of employee compensation . However , many companies outside the technology marketplace are using options to attract and retain workers in the current low-unemployment , high-competition job market . `` We 're seeing options going lower in the organization , '' says David Leach , national director of the Compensation Consulting Practice at New York-based Buck Consultants . `` More companies are offering -LRB- stock -RRB- options to more and more employees . '' Stock options are awards that permit an employee to purchase a share of the company stock for less than market prices . For example , Coca-Cola Chairman-to-be Douglas Daft recently spent $ 1,152,800 to exercise options entitling him to purchase 120,000 shares of the soft drink maker 's stock at $ 9.30 and $ 9.76 per share . Coke shares were trading at $ 59 at the time . The employee is often able to sell the stock at market prices , netting a handsome profit . Companies use options to tie the employees ' financial stake to that of the shareholders . By increasing shareholder value , the employees increase the amount of money they will net when their options mature , typically over a 10-year time frame . `` The market has done well for the last six years , so it 's almost a given that if people get stock options , they 're going to be making money , '' says Leach . Of course , a big payoff is not guaranteed . Stock options are best issued as long-term incentives and should not be viewed as quick cash payouts . At Red Hot , only two companies have graduated from the Technology Accelerator since it was launched in May . It could be years before those options are liquidated , Ashley says . `` The way lawyer compensation has been done traditionally , it 's very oriented to what I get today , '' she says . `` What we 're trying to do is to get lawyers in particular to think beyond today . '' In some cases , options have made people rich . For start-up and hot-growth companies , options are often used in lieu of cash at companies that can not pay big salaries . If these firms go public , options holders often net huge cash windfalls or on-paper increases when their options are converted for stock in public equity markets . For larger , more established companies such as Coca-Cola , Home Depot and others , stock options are used to lure and keep top performers . `` They need to attract and retain quality people to help them run their businesses , '' explains Leach . `` For them to do that , they have to have a competitive compensation package . That means offering stock . '' They also play a direct role in tying a manager 's overall compensation to that of the average shareholder . There is , however , risk associated with these rewards . They only pay off if the stock price rises above the option price . If the market price per share slips below the option price , the options are deemed `` under water , '' an event that could waterlog the employee morale the incentive seeks to encourage . `` If the market goes down and all these people are sitting on stocks that are worthless , it 's going to be more negative than having '' the options in the first place , reasons Leach . `` You raised -LRB- employee -RRB- expectations when you granted them . Now they 're not worth anything . Their morale is going to be lower than if they never got anything at all . '' Still , in today 's seemingly unending bull market , employers are betting on the upside , awarding stock options to employees who just a few years ago were cut out of this form of compensation . `` This is considered a reward , '' says Dotty Pritchett , managing partner with Lucas Group , an Atlanta-based executive search firm . `` It 's not just a benefit that you just have , '' she adds . Take corporate attorneys . A few years ago , options awards for in-house corporate lawyers were rare . Rarer still were stock options used for incentive pay for paralegals , but that is changing swiftly , Pritchett says . In the past year , she has noticed not only more corporate attorneys negotiating stock options in their compensation packages , but paralegals , as well . `` Employers , my clients , recognize how important -LRB- stock options -RRB- are , and that it is of great interest to the job candidate , '' says Pritchett . Should you be getting stock options ? Talk with your immediate supervisor , advises Leach . Find out the eligibility requirements . `` Sometimes , these could be personal performance issues , so one wants to talk to individual managers about it , '' he says . `` Since there 's only so much stock to go around , the company wants to make certain they 're spending these in the right place to get the best for their investments , -LRB- awarding them to -RRB- the best performers . '' Story Filed By Cox Newspapers LACK OF MAJOR COMPUTER PROBLEMS WAS NO ACCIDENT , EXPERTS SAY Now that the Year 2000 has arrived around the world without significant disruptions of power , transportation , commerce and other activities dependent on computers , the question arises : Was the threat of technology failure overstated , or was it all those hundreds of billions of dollars that were spent to fix things that prevented a catastrophe ? Most computer experts insist that the problem was a widespread and major threat before work began . `` There was puffery by vendors and some money was wasted , but these were real problems , '' said Leon Kappelman , a University of North Texas associate professor of business and co-chairman of the Society for Information Management 's Year 2000 Working Group . Many also warned Saturday that significant problems could still emerge in the months to come if less critical or less frequently used computers , programs or microchips belatedly become confused . And little of the world 's vast array of financial and office computing systems will face real-world Year 2000 conditions until business resumes Monday . `` Probably 10 percent of the world 's computer systems had a workout at the gym this weekend , but 90 percent did not , '' said Howard Rubin , chairman of the department of computer science at Hunter College in New York and an international expert on the Year 2000 computer problem . `` The statistics say there 's still got to be something out there that 's wrong . It 'll take weeks , perhaps a full year , to understand the full impact . '' Still , some computer experts , like William Wattenburg , who developed an automated program to deal with Year 2000 flaws , were saying the quiet rollover was predictable and that the dangers had been wildly exaggerated . And charges were flying Saturday from individuals who had expected the worse . `` Why did we fall for this hype ? '' a correspondent in an Internet discussion group devoted to Year 2000 issues wrote Saturday . `` I feel cheated , betrayed , misused , abused , deceived and everything else ! '' The note was signed , `` Gullible . '' Year 2000 project managers looking ahead to the start of normal business on Monday warned that it was far too soon to relax . Thousands of workers spent the early hours of Saturday retesting systems needed for office operations once the holiday weekend ends . The results constituted more good news . For instance , the Securities Industry Association , a trade group , said Saturday that the stock exchanges and support organizations had discovered and quickly fixed glitches that caused `` 1900 '' to appear on some printed forms . But the overall good news was not being interpreted as evidence that the huge precautionary investments had been unnecessary . `` Had we not fixed our code and done the level of testing and gone out and gotten outside auditors , we would definitely have had failures , '' said Gary Davis , the Year 2000 director for New York state , which spent about $ 270 million on the problem . `` There 's a whole laundry list of silver linings . '' For example , like most major computer users , New York ended up doing a thorough inventory of the state 's technological underpinnings . `` Lots of our technology was 10 years old , some even two decades old , '' Davis said . `` It all really needed upgrading and now we 're in a much better position to deliver better services to New Yorkers . '' John A. Koskinen , chairman of the President 's Council on Year 2000 Conversion , added his voice at a 2 a.m. press conference Saturday to those denying that the United States had been chasing a mirage rather than a real threat _ even though other nations that spent far less seemed to encounter no significant difficulties . Koskinen said that the United States , as the nation most dependent on computers , needed to spend the most to avoid disruptions . If the news remains good , he said , `` It will reflect the success of a unique , massive cooperative effort . '' Computer experts said the United States had benefited in numerous ways from its heavy spending _ pegged at $ 100 billion by the government and several times that amount by some private analysts . One of the most important ways , some said , was a recognition by business and government leaders that computers and software must be more carefully managed . Rubin termed the rollover an `` extraordinary success '' after a belated start working on Year 2000 programming flaws . But such slow reactions may not be correctible in the future , he warned . `` When computers are in your face _ when you have an Internet refrigerator _ you wo n't be able to take that kind of chance , '' he said . `` Soon , Earth will have an Internet skin . This skin will be a critical thing . As everything becomes more responsive in real time , the technological risks get higher . '' Others said the investment laid the groundwork for some fascinating case studies in technology management . Companies like Delta Airlines , which expects to spend up to $ 120 million , according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission , made Year 2000 investments part of a broader deployment of new technology that could give the company a competitive advantage in the future , according to Kappelman . Around the globe , government officials felt an obligation to defend their spending as most computers and related systems functioned well as the year changed . `` There is a certain sense of wry anticlimax out there , '' said Michael Granatt , a director of the British government 's millennium center , as he listed a few of the glitches that came to light as 2000 dawned , including temporary breakdowns in fare collection systems on trams in Sydney and Adelaide , Australia , and the failure of a tide gauge in Porstmouth , England . But he said it was important to acknowledge that the lack of truly disastrous computer failures was not a fluke . `` Things do n't go right by accident , '' he said . `` They go right through proper planning . '' INDIA HINTS THAT PAKISTAN WAS BEHIND HIJACKING The more than 150 hostages freed Friday from a hijacked Indian Airlines jet savored the simple pleasures on Saturday that had been denied them for the past week : taking a shower , sleeping with their legs outstretched and eating a home-cooked meal . As the hostages took their first steps back to normal life , India 's top diplomat took the offensive . Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh defended the government 's much-criticized decision to make a deal with the hijackers _ winning the hostages ' freedom by releasing three jailed militants _ and hinted darkly that India 's archrival , Pakistan , was behind this latest terrorist act . Singh opened his wrap-up news conference on the hijacking by listing a string of accusations that implicated Pakistan . The hijackers were Pakistanis , he said . Most of the 36 militants they wanted released were Pakistanis , he added . And the hijackers and three terror suspects whom India handed over to them on the tarmac in Kandahar , Afghanistan _ where the crisis ended _ had headed for Quetta , Pakistan , he said . To back up that assertion , he cited remarks attributed to an official in the Taliban , which rules most of Afghanistan , in a Pakistani newspaper . But when he was asked directly if he believed the government of Pakistan had sponsored the terrorists , Singh said , `` I 'll not comment authoritatively on that . '' While Singh did not make public any evidence to support his charges , his remarks made it clear that the ill will between the neighboring nuclear-armed nations is unabated since they clashed this summer over Kashmir , the Himalayan territory that each seeks for its own . The hijacking has become one more episode to aggravate feelings between the two countries . The masked hijackers , who never revealed their names , nationalities or faces , told the hostages that they were Muslims who sought independence from Indian rule for predominantly Muslim Kashmir . Now that the hostages , most of them Indians , are heading home , attention has shifted to where they have really gone . The Taliban gave them 10 hours to get out of Afghanistan after the hijacking ended on Friday . When they came down the ladder from the Airbus , they and the three released militants got into a four-wheel-drive vehicle and drove away . The drive to Pakistan from Kandahar is about five hours , and it is 12 to 14 hours to the Iranian border . Singh said the men had headed to Pakistan , and he may well be right . But the Pakistani government said it did not want them to enter . Brig. Rashid Qureshi , spokesman for the military government in Pakistan , said Saturday that the Taliban had never sought permission from Pakistan for the hijackers to go to Pakistan , nor would it have been given . `` If you heard the statement yesterday from our minister of foreign affairs , we have said that Pakistan is greatly relieved that the hijacking has ended without bloodshed , '' he said , `` and he emphasized that the punishment for hijackers here in Pakistan is capital punishment . I do not expect that after such a statement had been issued that the hijackers would risk coming to Pakistan . '' He also said that Pakistan had increased its border patrols in recent months but has made no special provisions to stop the hijackers . `` I do n't expect it is very easy for the hijackers to come across the border , but while I say this , I have to add that we can not patrol every inch of the border , '' he said . -LRB- STORY CAN END HERE _ OPTIONAL MATERIAL FOLLOWS -RRB- While Singh pointed to the Taliban 's information minister as having said that the hijackers were headed to Quetta , Mullah Muhammad Omar , the Taliban 's supreme leader , told the newspaper New in Pakistan that they were likely to go to Kashmir . `` We have refused them political asylum , '' he said . `` As they claim to be Kashmiris , they could go back to Kashmir . `` As the hijackers were masked and are unknown , they may be able to disappear without being detected , '' he said . Indeed , the men may be difficult to trace . Border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan are loosely patrolled , with a sea of humanity crossing the rutted roads in both directions largely unimpeded . The crossings are traffic jams of trucks , donkey carts and men carrying huge loads on their backs . Almost everyone is bearded and wearing the traditional salwar kameez pants and tunic and a turban . In the winter , as the winds sweep in off the stark mountains , most men cover their heads and faces with blankets and scarves , making the task of detecting hijackers that much more difficult . Singh said that India was convinced that the hijackers are headed to Pakistan . Asked if India would seek the men 's extradition , Singh said , `` We will be taking it up with Pakistan in the appropriate fashion and at the appropriate time . '' AT-HOME FATHERS STEP OUT TO FIND THEY ARE NOT ALONE -LRB- jw -RRB- In a gray lecture hall in the Oakton Community College , a group of middle-aged men were shouting affirmations . `` Who ARE you ? '' their cheerleader , Hogan Hilling , asked them . `` Proud dads ! '' they replied . `` What time is it ? '' `` It 's DAD time ! '' To further raise the room 's esteem , Hilling instructed the men to raise one hand in the air , then bring it down into a clenched fist with a rousing `` Yes ! '' The `` Yes ! '' fist pump was the support-group chant of choice at the recent At-Home Dads Convention in this Chicago suburb . A day of seminars on topics like `` At-Home Daddying ... What Are Our Issues ? '' and `` The Anatomy of a Working Mom 's Brain '' drew about 85 men from 20 states . Many of the attendees , a small group with a broad constituency , run Web sites , newsletters and play groups that cater to men whose wives bring home the reduced-fat bacon . No longer the butt of demeaning `` Mr. Mom '' jokes , these men have become familiar figures at playgrounds and PTA meetings . They have `` come out of the pantry , '' some of them like to say , with a newly emboldened attitude , in a men 's movement with a new idea of masculinity . Ironing John . And conventions like this one and the Internet have become their sweatlodge . Dozens of virtual kaffeeklatsches have sprung up for men who by choice or economic necessity find themselves on the daddytrack . Among them are Daddyshome.com , MrMomz.com , Athomedad.com and the Parent Soup section of America Online . On Slowlane.com , the slickest and most complete of the sites , the slogan is , `` You are not alone . '' At the convention , men who had known one another only by e-mail met for the first time . Attendance has increased from 35 in the group 's first year but is down from 100 last year . Christopher Coby , 35 , said connecting with other fathers like him through the Internet had pulled him out of his version of postpartum funk . `` I had two kids in diapers at once and I was fried , '' said Coby , who lives in Wake Forest , N.C. `` I was online and I kind of came out of lurk mode and got on a couple of lists . '' That saved him , he said : `` I came here to meet the guys face to face and just say thanks . '' Coby is 6-foot-2 , weighs 215 pounds and is a former tank commander in the Army reserves . He quit teaching elementary school after his son was born because his wife , who works for a consulting firm , had a higher salary and better benefits . He proudly wears an apron that his wife gave him last Father 's Day that says , `` Women want me , Martha Stewart fears me . '' How many Chris Cobys are out there is unclear . The Census Bureau 's last survey on the subject , in 1993 , reported that 1.9 million unemployed men were the primary caretakers of children up to 14 years old , down from a recession high of more than 2 million in 1991 . A Bureau of Labor Statistics study released in September showed that , from 1991 to 1996 , unemployed men ages 25 to 54 who chose not to look for work because of `` home responsibilities '' rose to 8.4 percent from 4.6 percent . That change is significant , experts say , because men have traditionally been unwilling to admit household duties as the reason for their unemployment . James Levine , director of the Fatherhood Project at the Families and Work Institute in New York , said , `` The number of men at home taking care of their kids is the best-kept secret in American child care . '' Many of them , he said , are blue collar : `` cops and firemen working night shifts while their wives work days . '' Such men are not unemployed and may not consider themselves stay-at-home fathers . Levine believes there has been a `` quantum leap '' in the numbers of stay-at-home fathers since he researched his book , `` Who Will Raise the Children ? New Options for Fathers and Mothers , '' 25 years ago . `` They were really few and far between then , '' he said . `` It was considered nuts . '' Still far from the norm , stay-at-home fathers are gaining acceptance . Even approval . In his new book , `` Fatherneed '' -LRB- Free Press -RRB- , Dr. Kyle Pruett , a clinical professor of psychology at the Yale Child Studies Center , found slightly above-average intellectual , social and emotional development among a small group of children reared by stay-at-home fathers . He followed the families for 10 years . Among the pop-cultural barometers of shifting breadwinner roles is a pilot to be shot this month for a midseason sitcom called `` Daddio , '' produced by Disney for NBC , about one such man . Matt Berry , an executive producer of the show , stayed home with his children during his 15 years working nights as a stand-up comedian . He said he and his writing partner had pitched the idea to networks before , unsuccessfully because the reaction was always , `` but people wo n't respect him as a man , '' he said . `` And we were like , ` Why is that a tainted concept ? Why ca n't he be a man because he decided to stay home full-time with his kids ? ' '' Nonetheless , men who stay home still face a problem well known to women in the same position : isolation . Dr. Robert Frank , a psychologist who has organized these conventions for the last four years , conducted a study in 1996 of 371 fathers who identified themselves as their children 's `` primary caregivers . '' Of those , 63 percent said they felt isolated , versus 37 percent of mothers in the same position . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn DES PLAINES , Ill. : same position . The isolation manifests itself in many ways . Loneliness , depression , stir-craziness that some men described as `` bouncing off the walls . '' And the familiar corollary of all these problems : weight gain . In a small discussion group , Vince Gratton , a former prosecutor from Pueblo , Colo. , with three girls -LRB- one 9 and 3-year-old twins -RRB- said he had started working out . `` I 've been weight-training for four months , '' he said . `` I can bench 265 and squat 400 and I 'm gon na crush the next guy who says , ` What do you do ? '' ' Gratton , 56 , said he had to go all the way to Chicago to find another stay-at-home dad from his hometown . `` Now I got this big guy here , who 's sensitive and loving , '' Gratton said gruffly , motioning to another burly man in an aviator jacket . But no one else , he said . `` I live in a steel town where manly men do manly things . '' The tables in the classroom were pushed together to encourage intimacy . Experiences of a so-called `` glass wall '' separating mothers from fathers in parks and schoolyards echoed around the room . Edward Howard , 54 , said , `` I go to the playground with my son and I 'm tired of being looked at as some kind of sexual pervert . '' Equally frustrating as feeling frozen out for these men is being condescended to . Jim DiCenzo said the principal of his child 's school in San Diego told him , `` I think it 's so cute that you stay home with your kids . '' His reaction : `` I could have strangled her . '' Still , some of them said , better to drive to a distant Burger King for a play date with another stay-at-home father than endure the awkwardness or boredom of the company of women . One man , who asked not to be named , said , `` I do n't want to sit around and talk for an hour about shopping or listening to them complain about their husbands . '' The occasional retrograde comment aside , most of the convention 's attendees regard themselves as fully evolved males , in touch with their nurturing sides . After screening his 22-minute documentary film `` Homedaddy , '' Kent Ayyildiz told his rapt audience , `` The gains women have made in the workplace should be balanced by men making the same gains in the house . '' As the closing credits rolled , the audience whooped its approval and gave the ponytailed Ayyildiz a standing ovation . They cheered again when he said he no longer identified himself as a filmmaker who also happens to stay home with his child , but as a `` homedaddy '' who also happens to make films . Even so , Ayyildiz admitted to a certain ambivalence about putting child rearing first . `` These are the growing years of my career , '' he said . `` At the same time , I get one chance with my son . '' Chris Cooper , who has published a compendium of essays called `` The At-Home Dad Handbook , '' said he was working at Athlete 's Foot in Atlanta and his wife at UPS when they had their first child . `` We did n't want to go the day care route and with her having the better salary potential , we decided I 'd quit work and stay home , '' said Cooper , who now has two children , ages 6 and 5 , and lives in St. Paul , Minn. . In 1997 , he started a group called Dad-to-Dad , which now has chapters nationwide . `` Now that I can be home with the kids , I look at things differently from when I was single or just married , '' he said . `` Then I was career-driven and work meant pretty much everything to me . Now my kids are my life and raising them is what I consider my ` career . ' '' -LRB- BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- Ed Steffek , a former math teacher , said had listed `` homemaker '' as his profession on his daughter 's birth certificate . -LRB- END OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- The commitment to being a good parent outweighed other forms of housework for many men at the convention . Peter Baylies , publisher of the At-Home Dad newsletter and Web site , recalled that some adjustment was required when he and his wife traded places . `` After a couple of months she said , ` When are you gon na clean the bathroom ? ' I was humiliated . I did n't care if the bathroom was clean . It did n't make any difference to me . '' Peter Hoh , husband of a nurse in St. Paul , Minn. , expressed a similar attitude toward what used to be called women 's work . `` People say , ` Your wife works . You stay home . Who cleans the house ? ' And the answer , when people open the door , is clearly , ` Nobody ! '' ' -LRB- BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- The cleaning issue came up in Joanne Massey 's seminar , `` The Anatomy of a Working Woman 's Mom . '' Her husband , Jay Massey , runs Slowlane.com and a Web site design company from their house in Pensacola , Fla. . That makes him a `` work-at-home dad , '' she said . Ms. Massey , the only woman participating in the convention , told the audience that her husband 's workday begins when hers ends . As a result , `` Mom has to clean up when I come home , '' she said . `` That was hard to adjust to . '' She also said when she had asked their 5-year-old son what he wanted to be when he grows up , he said , `` I want to be an at-home dad . '' That got a big , fist-pumping `` Yes ! '' -LRB- END OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- In defense of their lifestyle choice , the at-home fathers often point out that before the industrial revolution , children were accustomed to having their fathers around , on the farm or in the blacksmith shop . `` Ten years ago , it was considered freakish , '' said Baylies , looking around at the clusters of conventioneers gathered for a lunch of pasta and salad . `` You 'll know that stay-at-home dads are totally accepted when we do n't have to do this . '' ANALYSIS : A KEY TO PUTIN 'S PLANS IS AN INTOLERANCE FOR CORRUPTION Only Vladimir Putin knows for certain where he wants to take Russia as the nation 's acting president . But if his visit last week to the Railways Ministry is any indication , Russia may be in for an interesting trip indeed . As the Moscow daily Kommersant reported , Putin performed the rote ceremonial duties at a packed meeting of ministry employees eight days ago , doling out awards and praising the railroads ' contribution to the economy . But then his tone turned icy . Why , he asked , did the railroads beseech the Kremlin for money when certain customers got special shipping discounts ? And was it not odd that the ministry had granted certain unnamed people the rights to collect a mountain of unpaid freight bills ? And why was the ministry buying rails from Japan when Russia 's steel mills were idle and offering fire-sale prices ? Then he left , even before the flustered deputy prime minister for industrial policy could read remarks congratulating the Kremlin on its victory in that week 's parliamentary elections . The extraordinary scene suggests there is more than one way to look at Putin 's pledge , made even before he became president on Friday , to restore a strong central government to Russia . Among Westerners , that promise mostly raises fears of a crackdown on civil liberties or a return to authoritarian rule , fears fanned by Putin 's direction of the savage war in Chechnya . But his admirers insist that what he truly wants to subjugate is the untamed and fantastically corrupt Russian bureaucracy and economy . There is little doubt which is the tougher task . President Boris Yeltsin held immense power , but under his rule the ties between the Kremlin and major state agencies , provincial governments and industries steadily atrophied . The national tolerance of corruption _ bribes , after all , were sometimes the only way to accomplish anything under Soviet rule _ allowed bureaucrats to ignore Moscow 's dictates and to accumulate fortunes at the same time . Moreover , much of the bureaucracy remains under the control of Soviet-era bureaucrats who are either ideologically opposed to the Kremlin or simply indifferent to its demands . `` To this day , the power structures of our country remain , according to the method of work and the personnel that they have , in conflict with the new regime , '' said Anatoly A. Sobchak , the former St. Petersburg mayor who is regarded as Putin 's mentor . `` These are n't democratic structures that live in a democratic state and are merely in opposition to the democratic state . '' The new president , he said , `` is capable of making these power structures loyal and to make them work for the new democratic Russia . '' Russians have heard all this before , of course , as recently as 1991 , and it has yet to come to pass . And Russians have swallowed promises of strong , benevolent and progressive rule , from Nicholas II to Stalin , only to see them end up in chaos or autocracy or both . The new president will inherit near-dictatorial powers in the constitution which his predecessor , Boris Yeltsin , pushed into law after thwarting a communist-led coup in 1993 . Yeltsin never fully used those powers , either because of physical or political infirmity or out of a belief they were not needed . Putin says he does not believe a new constitution is needed now . But he also has indicated that he wants to make changes through the system using the new plurality he won in parliament in last month 's elections . Putin indicates in his own writings that he believes Russia can not enter the ranks of advanced nations until it roots out Soviet traditions and bridges the ideological divide that pits the communist third of the nation against the democratic remainder . In a special document , `` Russia at the turn of the millennium , '' published on a Kremlin internet site -LRB- www.pravitelstvo.gov.ru/english/statVPengl1.html -RRB- , he said that Russia would be mistaken not to recognize communism 's accomplishments . `` But it would be an even bigger mistake not to realize the outrageous price our country and its people had to pay for that Bolshevist experiment . `` Russia needs a strong state power and must have it , '' he wrote . But a strong state , he added , means `` a law-based , workable federative state . '' And crucial to that , he added , are a streamlined and corruption-free bureaucracy , a merit system for hiring and rewarding government workers , a more powerful judiciary and closer ties between Moscow and its regions . Putin backed up his call for reform with some sobering statistics : Even if Russia 's per-person gross domestic product were to rise by 8 percent per year for the next 15 years , he wrote , the nation would still only reach the level of present-day Portugal . Achieving the level of Britain or France would require a 10 percent annual growth rate _ and even then , Britain or France would have to stand still . Investment has dwindled : Only 4.5 percent of the nation 's industrial equipment was less than five years old in 1998 , compared with nearly 30 percent in 1990 . Except in the electricity and raw-material industries , individual productivity is one quarter of that in the United States . -LRB- MORE -RRB- nn MOSCOW : United States . Such shortcomings can be overcome , he said , but only by devising and swiftly carrying out a plan for the nation 's restructuring and recovery . `` The paramount word is fast , '' he wrote , `` and we have no time for a slow start . '' Sobchak , who recruited Putin to a team of economic experts when he was St. Petersburg 's reformist mayor in the early 1990s , said the new president would benefit from his years as an intelligence agent in East Germany , where he was in regular contact with Western businesses and governments . `` He is a convinced supporter of the market economy , '' Sobchak said . `` But in contrast to the majority of Russian politicians , he knows the western model of economic and political life not as a outsider but from the inside . `` He will not blindly transfer some of the recommendations of the West onto Russia . And I do n't think he 'll repeat the mistakes we made in the beginning of the '90s , '' when the country plunged into capitalism without the system of laws and government regulations needed to sustain it . Rather , Sobchak said , he expects Putin to follow the example of two American presidents , Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt , who amassed state power over the government and economy to shape the capitalistic system that exists today . Theodore Roosevelt took on entrenched monopolies , helping small businesses to thrive and competition to flourish . Franklin Roosevelt reworked the federal government to aid the poor , improve education and create a less crash-prone financial system . `` His decisive interference in the economy during the Depression saved America , '' Sobchak said of Franklin Roosevelt . `` I think Putin has a wonderful opportunity to become for Russia what the Roosevelts are for America . And if he does this , he 'll become the great president in the history of the country . '' Cowboys know they must pick up the pace If the Dallas Cowboys reach the NFL playoffs , they will do it with fear in their hearts and urgency in their steps , according to the team 's most outspoken player . Deion Sanders has never experienced a week like this . When owner Jerry Jones challenged 20 veterans in a passionate closed-door meeting on Monday , the laid-back attitude of an entire franchise changed . Sanders is among many players who think the Cowboys have one opportunity to correct a season gone sour . `` That speech should encourage everybody , especially us million-dollar players , '' the All-Pro cornerback said . `` Something is seriously wrong with us if that did n't encourage us . '' The message from the chief executive was stern and direct . Excuses no longer will be accepted for a 7-8 football team that has wasted countless chances to improve its standing . Dallas will earn the final slot in the NFC playoffs if it beats the New York Giants today at Texas Stadium . A loss would humiliate everyone wearing blue and silver . The Cowboys think they have more talent than many of the teams that have beaten them , and that stings everyone in the organization . Much of the nation has laughed at the Cowboys _ especially after last week 's loss to New Orleans _ and Jones showed his rage during a 20-minute session in his office . `` I had to pray for Jerry afterward , '' Sanders said . `` Let 's just say he used some words that were special . '' `` In all the years I 've been here , Jerry 's never had a meeting like that , '' quarterback Troy Aikman said . Whether the Cowboys respond with a victory remains to be seen . They have blown six fourth-quarter leads this season . They lead the league in penalties . Unless they correct the mistakes that have dogged them all year , the 1999 season will be over . `` I took Jerry 's speech personally , '' running back Emmitt Smith said . `` Now it 's up to us to do something about it . '' Sanders and Smith understand why Jones took such a harsh stand Monday . They agree that Dallas has not come close to playing to its potential . Just last week the Cowboys had five players named to this season 's Pro Bowl , an indication that their cupboard is hardly bare . By contrast , 7-8 Green Bay _ another team hoping for the last playoff spot _ will have no one in Hawaii . Jones said he felt `` foolish '' after losing to the lowly Saints because he is paying $ 41.5 million in signing bonuses to players on a losing team . Jones , a longtime executive in the oil and gas business , knows when his luck runs dry . For starters , he promised changes will be made to the roster if the players do not show rapid improvement . `` We 've got to fix this thing , '' Jones said after walking off the Superdome turf . At that moment , however , it appeared Dallas had no chance of making the playoffs . The team 's mood brightened considerably Sunday night when they learned they still had postseason life . If they beat the Giants , the Cowboys will travel to Minnesota , Tampa Bay or Washington for a wild-card game next week . `` Where once there was no life , we have a new life , '' Smith said . `` What we do with that extra life is up to us . '' The Cowboys have victories over Green Bay , Miami and Washington -LRB- twice -RRB- . But they also have lost games to some of the NFL 's worst . Mental mistakes were blamed for embarrassing losses to Philadelphia , Arizona and New Orleans . At least some of their frustration will end if they beat the Giants . `` This team has been through quite a lot this decade , '' Smith said . `` This might be a unique story when all is said and done . '' The Cowboys are trying to become the first 8-8 team to reach the playoffs since the 1991 New York Jets . Failure to reach the playoffs this season would come with a heavy price . `` If we do n't do what we 're capable of doing , '' Sanders said , `` it might be the last time a lot of us will be wearing the helmet with the star . '' Story Filed By Cox Newspapers FOR MILLENNIUM , THE WEB OFFERED A WORLDWIDE VISTA By the time midnight struck in Maui , even the Internet 's most dedicated harbingers of millennium doom had to concede that things had turned out better than they expected . `` Does anyone still think TEOTWAWKI will happen ?? '' typed one presumably sleep-deprived Y2K watcher , using the favorite chat-room shorthand for `` the end of the world as we know it . '' Her virtual comrades on Timebomb2000.com were remarkably silent . But as the year 2000 dawned in cyberspace , the sense of anticlimax was tempered by a new faith not so much in technology but in humanity 's ability to harness it . `` Noticed that a sense of global community was one of the take-away messages of the past 24 hours , '' said another posting , signed `` Diana . '' `` Whatever our challenges , and there will be many -LRB- not necessarily computer-related -RRB- , these images of shared experience will be fixed in people 's minds . It has the potential to make us stronger and more resilient . '' Whether it was because people stayed home to avoid technological disaster or because they logged on to make sure it had not happened , millions wove the Internet into their New Year 's Eve . By midnight on the U.S. East Coast , the EarthCam site , which showed pictures of celebrations in every time zone , was receiving thousands of visitors a minute . America Online reported that its traffic dropped just before midnight and surged again immediately after . As friends and families zapped e-mail updates across time zones , and the more ambitious broadcast their parties on the World Wide Web , many said the computer network made for a more intimate sense of world celebration than what they could watch on television . Ross Himona , an educator in Wellington , New Zealand , wrote to a list of dozens of correspondents as his country slipped into the year 2000 . `` I 'm still here !! '' Himona said . `` The world did n't come to an end , the Universe seems intact , and the dreaded apocalyptic y2k bug did n't devour us all , I think . And the thousands of kids down at the Wellington waterfront could n't care less . They 're having a party . Are you all still out there ? Or is New Zealand the only country to survive ? Am I the only person left in the Universe ? Speak to me someone !! '' Himona said he heard back from friends and relatives from Wales to Seattle as the night circled the globe . `` The Internet is person to person , '' he wrote in an e-mail , `` like the small family celebration we had last night . '' -LRB- BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- At midnight in Bosnia , Elizabeth Sweeney , 26 , a U.S. Army captain stationed at Eagle Base in Tuzla , wrote to her boyfriend at Fort Knox , Ky. `` Happy yes i am , '' she said , `` and happy new year too , you make me happy . It is almost 1 am here . Fun little party . Lots of fake champagne spraying everywhere and lots of noise . I am sooo sleepy I am going now , before I REALLY fall asleep at the computer . '' -LRB- END OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- Not all New Year 's connections on the Internet were quite so poignant . At midnight in Louisville , Colo. , Shane Bower , 28 , and his eight friends took a break from their computers to drink some Champagne . Bower 's `` clan '' had been playing Quake , a computer game , both with one another and over the Internet with players around the world . Every once in a while , Bower said , someone in some other time zone would type `` happy new year '' in the game 's chat box and he would realize that something momentous was going on outside his game . `` Time is kind of meaningless when I turn on the computer , '' said Bower , a chemical engineer . `` All of a sudden it 's six hours later , and this time , it was like , all of a sudden it 's the new millennium . '' -LRB- STORY CAN END HERE _ OPTIONAL MATERIAL FOLLOWS -RRB- Several Web sites served as gathering places for engineers and novices alike to post observations of computer-related problems in their corner of the world , or lack thereof . At 1:23 a.m. in Duesseldorf , Germany , Udo Remmes , a radiologist , wrote to a site called Zone2000 : `` No breakdowns or other problems . River Rhine still flowing . Dog and daughter sleeping . Bit more of fireworks tonight . Nearly same procedure as last year _ sorry _ as every year . However , happy New Year . '' From Manama , Bahrain , David Hyams , a retired businessman , also gave assurances to the world . `` All is well , '' Hyams , 74 , wrote . `` Computer is working , the net is up , there is a dial tone , and lights are on . Best wishes to all . '' Hyams said he had talked with his daughter , Amy , in San Francisco earlier in the evening using Yahoo Messenger , a program that allows voice chat over the Internet . On the online auction site eBay , some people 's concerns were more prosaic . Bidding continued through the night , except for two periods when the company took its servers offline for Y2K-related maintenance . `` Looking for small grandfather clocks that stand anywhere from 10 inches to 2 feet in height , '' one bidder with an America Online e-mail address said in a posting shortly after midnight . `` Can anyone help ? In the eBay online cafe , another person was offering `` 100 batteries , 200 gallons bottled water , 300 hundred rounds 30/06 , etc. _ cheap !!! '' Of course , some of those who had actually collected such supplies were not yet ready to laugh about it on New Year 's Day . `` We always knew this was n't a one-day event , '' one defiant doomsayer wrote on a year 2000 preparedness site . `` We have to wait and see what happens . '' `` Well , Happy New Year anyway , '' responded someone who signed himself Yawn2K . `` Better luck next apocalypse , survivalists . '' BIG MOMENT COMES AND GOES , MINUS DISASTERS It was three hours before midnight on Friday and John A. Koskinen did not appear worried a bit . His head was back . His eyes were closed . And a flight attendant aboard the last Delta Shuttle flight of 1999 from New York to Washington was urging him , to no avail , to return his seat to the upright position . `` Excuse me , sir , '' the attendant said , pulling at the seat . `` Excuse me . '' It was three hours before midnight and the federal government 's year 2000 coordinator , President Clinton 's point man on the potentially debilitating computer problems , was fast asleep . That is not to say that Koskinen was not taking the arrival of the new year seriously , or that he had written off the possibility of any devastating computer mishaps . `` Some people have said , ` Why does this guy look so relaxed ? '' ' Koskinen said . `` If I had any worries , they were at the beginning . The last two months , I 've slept well every night . '' Koskinen , a former government budget official and corporate turnaround expert , had been on the job for more than a year and a half when the big moment finally arrived . He had held countless strategy sessions , conference calls , tests , drills , press briefings , public hearings and closed-door meetings . And even his brief shut-eye aboard Delta Flight 1769 was work-related . By catching a quick nap aboard the nearly empty flight , Koskinen was reassuring the public about the safety of the nation 's airlines . He had arranged his quick trip to La Guardia Airport and back so he would be in the air at 7 p.m. Eastern time , which was midnight in the world of aviation , when the air traffic control system encountered the year 2000 . `` Happy New Year , '' he said casually when the big moment arrived . The 727 he was aboard kept flying . He settled into his seat . As far as crises go , this one was a snoozer . The federal government 's round-the-clock $ 50 million command center had all the hubbub of an insurance office . There were no officials running around in commando attire . No shouted cries . No distress . `` It 's a pretty sedate atmosphere , '' said one staff member , who left midway through the night to ring in the new year at home . `` People are making phone calls and making reports , but there 's not much occurring out there . '' -LRB- BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- So aggressive was the information collection effort , though , that even minor traffic glitches in far-flung places were reported straight to Washington . Marion , Ohio , reported that its transportation system had suffered slowdowns , but the culprit was blowing snow and slick roads , not wayward computers . Quincy , Mass. , noted that traffic was being rerouted through its downtown because of a New Year 's celebration there . Rock Springs , Wyo. , noted on its report that there is a vacancy for the Red Cross directorship there . The rumors about what might happen far outshined reality . There had been the talk among the gloomiest about rioting in the streets , martial law , an end to society as we know it . Part of Koskinen 's job leading up to the rollover was to calm nerves in order to prevent runs on banks , hoarding of supplies and other hysterical behavior . The Web site set up by the President 's Council on Year 2000 Conversion attempted to shoot down rumors before they spread too far : Elevators were not at risk of free fall . Prison gates would not swing open . The president , who was busy speechifying when the second hand reached the top of the clock , had nothing sinister up his sleeve . `` The president has no intention of declaring martial law for the Year 2000 transition , '' the Web site advised , even offering some historical context to back up the point . `` No president has ever declared a condition of martial law that applied to the entire country . In fact , not since President Lincoln placed several areas of the country under martial law during the Civil War has any president directly proclaimed martial law on behalf of the federal government . '' -LRB- END OPTIONAL TRIM -RRB- Government officials warn that year 2000 problems may still crop up in the days ahead , when businesses open on Monday morning and the world 's computers first begin operating in a year 2000 world . `` It is far too early for us to feel totally satisfied and declare victory , '' Koskinen said at a briefing early Saturday morning after the new year had begun in the Central time zone . `` I think we have three or four more days of careful , close monitoring before we can truly determine how successful we 've been . '' In addition , computer experts point out that the next potential catastrophe could come on Feb. 29 , when computers have to deal with a leap year . On that date , Koskinen will be back in the command center _ dressed in a suit and tie , not camouflage _ ready for the worst . AT THE CLINTON PARTY , MORE BUSINESS AND LESS GLITZ Despite the beluga and the rack of lamb , Elizabeth Taylor in a pink boa and Lara Flynn Boyle nuzzling Jack Nicholson at a table near the back of the East Room , the White House Millennium supper seemed oddly like a business dinner . As arriving guests _ some 360 artists , scientists and fund-raisers , along with major donors , loyal senators and favorite employees _ filed past reporters in the entryway of the White House , more than a few took the opportunity to plug some project or product . `` I 'm celebrating the 21st century in telecommunications infrastructure , '' said one sentimentalist . Terry McAuliffe crowed about raising $ 16 million to pay for the millennial extravaganza , and Mary Tyler Moore noted that she was celebrating her ABC movie `` Mary and Rhoda , '' scheduled for Feb. 7 : `` I 've just seen the rough cut and I 'm very proud . '' Mary Wilson announced a reunion of the Supremes . Others said outright that they felt they had gotten their money 's worth in return for major donations to pay for the festivities . And at the dinner itself , executives seated near Commerce Secretary William Daley were openly lobbying him on behalf of their businesses . There was a conspicuous lack of flashy jewelry on display , and as many women in low-key velvet pants and tunics as in taffeta gowns . Some , presumably , were dressing to accommodate the silk long johns recommended by the White House for keeping warm while watching the show on the Mall later in the evening . Still , a few guests were sparkling , and the hostess was , too : Hillary Rodham Clinton 's black silk dress was offset by a collar of glittering stones . And when a rather baldly appreciative reporter asked Sophia Loren whether she would be able to keep warm in her low-cut black dress , she said , `` I have a little wrap , '' and seemed to gesture toward the diamonds and rubies around her neck . The president began the dinner with a toast , and on the last New Year 's of the century , Clinton asked his guests , who were packed Paris-bistro-close in both the East Room and the State Dining Room , to make a wish , and said he would do likewise . He kept his own hopes to himself , but spoke of a better future that `` I hope every American will take a moment to imagine on this Millennium Eve . '' Then , joking that he could hardly be expected to recap the last 1,000 years when `` in the State of the Union I get a whole hour to talk about a single year and usually I run over , '' he asked the crowd to join him in a three-part toast to themselves , to Mrs. Clinton , and to the future itself . -LRB- STORY CAN END HERE _ OPTIONAL MATERIAL FOLLOWS -RRB- Guests included the Nobel prize-winning scientist Murray Gell-Mann , who gamely tried out some jokes on Sid Caesar , and Muhammad Ali , who got a bear hug from the president . Walter Kaye , the political supporter responsible for first bringing Monica Lewinsky to the White House , was also on the guest list . Sen. Edward M. Kennedy , D-Mass. , accompanied by his wife , Victoria Reggie Kennedy , and his sister , Jean Kennedy Smith , a former ambassador to Ireland , came in shouting , `` See my pretty sister the ambassador ? '' Lynda Johnson Robb said her red brocade jacket had begun life as a smoking jacket worn by her father , President Lyndon B. Johnson . The contingent of actors included Ossie Davis , Julie Harris and Robert DeNiro , who raced past reporters as they argued over whether Nicholson had just said he was glad to be there because `` this is America here , '' or `` this is America , dear . '' Ms. Taylor arrived about an hour late after being `` either caught in traffic or lost , '' a White House spokeswoman said . Wearing a deep-red velvet gown , she laughed with gusto as she was led toward the East Room , stepping haltingly while an assistant followed behind her pushing a wheelchair . Chelsea Clinton , who was dressed in midnight blue , joined her parents in the receiving line , the first time she had taken on such official host duties . After dinner _ tastes of caviar , foie gras and oyster veloute and a main course of rack of lamb served with roasted artichoke and pepper ragout , followed by a green salad and chocolate and champagne dessert _ guests were bused to the Mall . The show at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial was nothing if not eclectic , from Tom Jones singing `` It 's Not Unusual , '' to Bobby McFerrin , Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle performing `` He 's Got the Whole World in His Hands . '' The Cox News Service spot news budget for Sunday , Jan. 2 , 2000 . Photo and graphics information and editors ' names can be found at the end of this budget . THE WEEKEND DUTY EDITORS ARE : IN ATLANTA : Greg Laudick 404-526-5456 . IN WASHINGTON : Andy Alexander 202-887-8334 . Y2K Y2K-MAIN _ WASHINGTON _ As the world recovers from millennial celebrations , we get a clear-eyed assessment of how everyone survived the threat of a Y2K meltdown and terrorist attacks . Story will wrap in all major developments . -LRB- Geewax , Cox News Service -RRB- RUSSIA-Y2K _ MOSCOW _ The first day of the new millennium . -LRB- Coker , Special to Cox News Service -RRB- ISRAEL-Y2K _ JERUSALEM _ The first day of business of the new millennium in the Arab world . -LRB- Kaplow , Cox News Service -RRB- BRITAIN-Y2K _ LONDON _ The first day of the new millennium . -LRB- Roughton , Cox News Service -RRB- MEXICO-Y2K _ MEXICO CITY _ The first day of the new millennium . -LRB- Contreras , Special to Cox News Service -RRB- CARIBBEAN-Y2K _ ST. CROIX , U.S. Virgin Islands _ A postcard from the edge : possible first-person account on the first day of the new millennium . -LRB- Williams , Cox News Service -RRB- ITALY-Y2K _ ROME _ The first day of the new millennium , and coverage of the first papal address for World Peace Day and the opening of the Holy Door at Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica by Pope John Paul II . -LRB- Freeman , Special to Cox News Service -RRB- NATIONAL OLYMPICS-FUNDING _ Already threatening to cut off American corporate dollars that bankroll the Olympics , Congressional critics now are outraged about the increasing amount of federal funds going to prepare U.S. cities to host the Games . The government plans to spend a breathtaking $ 1.4 billion on the 2002 Salt Lake City Games , more than twice the $ 605 million spent on the much larger Atlanta Olympics in 1996 , congressional investigators reported last week . -LRB- Turner Atlanta Journal-Constitution -RRB- . 30 . COXNET FOCUS PAGE COXNET FOCUS 0102 CHRISTIANITY FUTURE -- Cox Newspapers ' Christianity at 2000 series concludes with a look at the future of Christianity , exploring the direction the church seems to be headed in the next century . -LRB- White , Atlanta Journal-Constitution -RRB- . EDs : This is the CoxNet Focus page for the week . The layout will be available Thursday before 2 p.m. EST. . POLITICS BRADLEY-STYLE _ Something about putting on shorts every night for years and dribbling a ball before thousands changes the way a performer reacts in front of crowds . The tension of stage fright , common among those who act , play the concert piano _ or , in most cases , run for public office _ is missing . The muscles donit tighten in the same way and the face assumes a loose , locker-room quality of disregard for the attention being focused on it . As much as any of the traditional Democratic initiatives he proposes in his platform , this low-key demeanor , epitomized by the throat lozenge tumbling constantly in his mouth during his speeches , distinguishes former Sen. Bill Bradley out on the stump . -LRB- Bradley , Atlanta Journal-Constitution -RRB- . MOVED POLITICAL-NOTES _ Mark Sherman 's political notes . -LRB- Sherman , Atlanta Journal-Constitution -RRB- BUSINESS STOCK-OPTIONS _ More and more employers are awarding employees stock options . We 'll look at who 's getting them and strategies for making stock options part of your compensation package . -LRB- Mallory , Atlanta Journal-Constitution -RRB- GA-AETNA-PRUDENTIAL _ ATLANTA _ Aetna appears to be on the verge of getting final approval to acquire Prudential 's health care business in Georgia . But the deal has been overshadowed by problems . The company is on the verge of being fined for late payments to doctors and patients . At least one hospital is refusing to treat patients insured by the company because it says Aetna is lax in paying its bills . There are also customer service problems that continue to plague Aetna , and the deal raises the question of whether service will improve in light of its plans to acquire Prudential . -LRB- Miller , Atlanta Journal-Constitution -RRB- Y2K-RETURNS _ ATLANTA _ If Y2K comes and goes without a blip , shoppers could ring in the New Year at refund counters . Retailers that have seen a recent spike in sales of emergency supplies are expecting a good bit of it to come back if New Year 's Eve turns out to be a non-event . Some retailers , like Sears and Ace Hardware , are clamping down on customers who bring stuff back . Sears is charging a 20 percent restocking fee on generators . Some Ace stores wo n't take back any emergency supplies . Home Depot has a liberal policy in general and could see the most refunds . Includes reports from area stores . -LRB- Bond , Atlanta Journal-Constitution -RRB- DOW-2000 _ If you 're reading this , congratulations , it means you survived Y2K . More to the point , it means you can probably look forward to another good year of economic and stock market growth , as amazing as that seems . -LRB- Walker , Atlanta Journal-Constitution -RRB- COXNET BUDGET INFORMATION FOR SUBSCRIBERS OF THE NYT NEWS SERVICE Spot news budgets move daily at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern . Additionally , separate features and commentary budgets move at 10 a.m. , and sports and business budgets at 6 p.m. Additional updates are possible if news developments warrant . All times are Eastern unless otherwise noted . PLEASE NOTE : SPORTS STORIES will have an E.T.A. of 9:30 P.M. . If news , business or features stories will move after 8 p.m. , an ETA will be given . PHOTOS , LAYOUTS and GRAPHICS CoxNet layouts are for sale over the web , through the New York Times News Service 's PageExpress service , at www.nytsyn.com/syndicate/pageex . If a budget line or story is marked with photos or graphics , those are available from the New York Times News Service at 212-556-4204 . Or call CoxNet for more information at 404-526-5456 . HOW TO REACH US Questions should be directed to CoxNet , the Cox News Service , in Atlanta at 404-526-5456 . We are staffed 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Friday , and 1-10 p.m. on weekends and holidays . The news manager is Paul Foutch , 404-526-5429 , pfoutch -LRB- at -RRB- coxnews.com . The day news editor is Tom Oder , 404-526-5887 , toder -LRB- at -RRB- coxnews.com . The night news editor is Todd C. Duncan , 404-582-7282 , tduncan -LRB- at -RRB- coxnews.com . Cox Washington Bureau : News editor Art Dalglish , 202-887-8338 , artd -LRB- at -RRB- coxnews.com Foreign editor Rick Christie , 202-887-8316 , rickc -LRB- at -RRB- coxnews.com Bureau chief Andy Alexander , 202-887-8334 , andya -LRB- at -RRB- coxnews.com Story Filed By Cox Newspapers A COUNTDOWN TO REMEMBER , OR A BIG YAWN Before the countdown , the cork popping , the confetti and the computer worries _ indeed , long before most people had personal computers _ there was the anticipation . And no one did more anticipating than Edward Woodyard , who spent 16 percent of the 1900s anticipating the arrival of 2000 . Woodyard , a screenwriter from Armonk , had spent so much time ruminating on 2000 because he made his reservations for New Year 's Eve 1999 in 1983 , when the hotel in Times Square where he finally did his celebrating on Friday night was a half-finished skeleton of steel and concrete . `` I decided if other people were thinking like I was , I 'd better get my reservations in because when the time comes , it was going to be a mob scene , '' he said . It was a mob scene , of course , but Woodyard was above it , looking down on Times Square from the 44th floor of the Marriott Marquis . It seemed the perfect place to consider the question : Did the arrival of 2000 live up to its billing ? People probably will be arguing about the answer for the next thousand years . -LRB- Or at least a thousand hours , which turns out to be almost 42 days . -RRB- Woodyard 's answer was affirmative but a bit inarticulate ; after a lot of partying , even screenwriters find themselves fumbling for nouns and adjectives , as well as hoarse from shouting `` 10 , 9 , 8 , 7 '' and so on . But yes , he said , 2000 was worth the wait . `` I was almost speechless . I do n't have words for it . '' He tried four : `` Spectacular . Phenomenal . Overpowering . Wow . '' Then there were the naysayers . `` Pity the poor millennium , it never had a chance to get off the ground , '' said Mark Mitten , who registered the word `` billennium '' as a trademark because , he said , 2000 was the beginning of the second millennium . Mitten also has a trademark on something called the `` millennium hype-o-meter '' on his Web site , www.millenniumhell.com . `` Overburdened by Y2K fears , over-the-top parties and marketing hype , it seemed to have lost any of the potential it had to be a noble occasion , worthy of waiting a thousand years for , '' said Mitten . `` With all the overkill , it was hard to know if it had any significance at all . '' And so the arrival of 2000 brought a kind of philosophical seesawing . There were those who thought it was the greatest thing in the last thousand years , or at least in the last four . Waterford crystal , which made the ball that slid down the pole on 1 Times Square at midnight , credited it with a 30 percent increase in sales last year , double the company 's annual growth rate since 1996 . Waterford , in fact , sold out of seven millennium-related keepsakes that cost $ 59 to $ 200 . The buildup included warnings that there would be no corks to pop : that there would be a champagne shortage . But late last week stores were cutting prices they had raised back when they thought they would be at a different point on the supply-and-demand curve . Korbel Champagne did run out , but still considered 2000 a manufacturer 's dream : It had nothing left to sell by the time it arrived . But were people hyped out ? Not Jeffrey Katz , an owner of 1 Times Square . `` It was a thrill , '' he said . `` The confetti was so voluminous you felt like you could step off the building and walk right through it . '' On the other side were those who sounded disappointed that 2000 had crept in so uneventfully . `` It was overhyped , definitely , '' said Alan Gross , who lives in Brooklyn and spent New Year 's Eve at home . `` I was hoping my computer would n't work because I 'd have an excuse to buy a new one . '' He booted up shortly after midnight and was disappointed by the lack of drama . Perhaps the issue of whether the arrival of 2000 was overpromoted was one of those larger questions : Was the Champagne glass half full or half empty ? `` We did n't hype this , '' said Peter Coleman , a vice president of the Times Square Business Improvement District . `` We were trying to fulfill people 's dreams . '' And Woodyard certainly seemed close to fulfillment . `` I know the millennium does n't start till 2001 , Arthur C. Clarke and all that , but the party is when all those zeroes turn over , '' he said . `` The only place to be in the world is Times Square . '' Lucy Bossert , a spokeswoman for the hotel , said that its cylindrical core was about half finished when Woodyard called in 1983 . Marriott offered Woodyard a suite with two adjoining bedrooms free . -LRB- The hotel did not rent other suites for New Year 's Eve ; it charged $ 2,000 for a four-night package for regular rooms . -RRB- `` Our generation remembers where we were when Kennedy was assassinated and our parents remember V-E Day , when that happened , '' Walker said . `` This was one of those things : where were you at the beginning of the millennium , when all those zeroes turned over . I remember what fun I had as a kid , and I think this was 50 times that . '' ENTERTAINMENT CAPITAL GETS LACKLUSTER RATING FOR FESTIVITIES With flashing strobe lights , hovering helicopters , and a typically atomized approach , Los Angeles said goodbye to the 1900s Saturday morning in a celebration that fell short of its own aims , dampened by rain and by Southern California 's seeming inability to get too excited about anything . As darkness fell , the designated municipal icon , the HOLLYWOOD sign , glowed a midnight blue in the hills above the sprawling metropolis , and as midnight neared , its letters flashed periodically in streaks of blue and white , like so much psychedelic marbleized fudge . Moments before the stroke of midnight , Mayor Richard Riordan and Jay Leno flipped a switch that sent the sign flashing into shifting shades of purple , yellow , red and orange , with white flashing strobes outlining its edges . But even local television stations seemed to give as much attention to the sloshing fountains of Las Vegas , apparently underwhelmed by their own city 's stab at civic iconography . And revelers gathered on the rooftops of the 70-year-old residential subdivision that the Hollywood sign was built to advertise , kept waiting for a promised spectacle that never quite materialized . In sum , the celebration seemed proof positive that Los Angeles lacks the sort of public gathering place that defines a New York or London , and the sign-lighting itself remained a largely private affair , since homeowners in the neighborhoods around it had protested the plan and the police set up a network of multiple checkpoints to keep all but residents and their invited guests from driving into the network of canyons with the best views . Horns and cheers rang out from a few dozen houses , but there was nothing like the huge gathering in Times Square . Though city officials fielded what they called the largest police operation in Los Angeles history , there were no reports of serious trouble , and Southern California Edison , which supplies power to 11 million people in 10 counties , said that there was a greater risk of electricity problems caused by drunken drivers hitting utility poles than by any problems in computer programs governing the power grids . The festivities got under way Friday afternoon with a musical celebration dubbed Opus 21 , in which churches , choirs and other groups began a simultaneous sounding of bells , cymbals , gongs and shofars to start the celebration . But by mid-afternoon , pouring rain and spotty street flooding had scattered a crowd of several hundred people from Grand Avenue downtown , where the theme was `` The Global Village , '' with a sort of street fair featuring face-painters , a Ferris wheel and considerably fewer than the 2,000 marching band members that had been promised . `` So far , so good , '' said Linda Miller , who came from nearby Torrance , Calif. , where her husband , Dave , to watch their daughter march in the band . `` I kind of wish it did n't have to rain . '' Surveying the crowd , she added : `` It 's a little thin . I think they were a little light on the advertising . '' A few blocks away , on Olvera Street , the site of the city 's original Spanish settlement , crowds were thicker . But by night 's end , police officers in the city 's official command center were downing deli sandwiches and complaining of an unexpected challenge : boredom . STILL FEW Y2K GLITCHES RERORTED As the world glided smoothly into the new century , the United States reported Saturday only a smattering of minor Y2K glitches , but officials cautioned that problems could still crop up , especially starting Monday . John Koskinen , chief of the White House 's Y2K command center , said Monday will be a crucial milestone because it will be the first day of normal business operations following the long holiday weekend . Otherwise , he offered generally upbeat news about the nation 's progress . `` We have not been able to find anything of great significance to report , '' he said . All of the nation 's major sectors from airlines to electric power grids to telecommunications continued working without incident on the first day of the new century , he said . The Pentagon reported Saturday that a satellite intelligence defense system had failed shortly after 7 p.m. EST Friday when the clock in that system turned past midnight Greenwich Mean Time . John Hamre , Deputy Defense Secretary , said that a backup system is currently in place and that the problem is with a computer on the ground and not in the satellite itself . Other reported Y2K glitches , however , were quickly fixed . Koskinen said an Amtrak computer system used to track trains automatically went down temporarily early Saturday but that train officials switched to a manual system and then fixed the computer . Computers at five nuclear plants across the country also experienced temporary problems , but Koskinen said they were immediately fixed and those plants ' operations were not affected . The U.S. Naval Observatory , which has a master clock in Washington that serves as the nation 's official source of time , reported the date as Jan. 1 , 19100 during the earliest hours of the new year on its Internet site . The glitch has since been corrected and was only on that Web site . It was not a problem in the master clock , Koskinen said . He said federal government agencies and private industry would continue testing their systems and report any glitches , whether Y2K-related or not . He said checks of federal government buildings showed temporary problems with alarm systems at U.S. facilities in Boston , Kansas City and Omaha . A Federal Aviation Administration system used to notify pilots about such things as weather via e-mail shut down Saturday , but Koskinen said it was unclear whether the problem was Y2K-related . A backup pilot notification system was put in place , and air traffic safety was not affected , he added . As a precaution , the Social Security Administration , headquartered in Baltimore , switched to backup generators before the millenium rollover . The agency switched its systems back to Baltimore 's main power grid at 6 a.m. EST Saturday without incident . Koskinen said all of Social Security 's computers in Baltimore and at its field offices across the country are working normally . Some other federal agencies , also as a precaution , temporarily shut down their Internet Web sites . For the most part , Koskinen and other top government officials gave upbeat reports for the second day in a row as the new year swept across the globe . On Friday , countries such as China , Russia and Ukraine , which preceded the United States into the new year , rolled into Jan. 1 without problems in their nuclear power plants and other key systems that American officials had feared might shut down as a result of a Y2K computer glitch . More significantly , those systems continued operating in those countries on their second day of the New Year . The biggest reported Y2K problem overseas occurred when Japan 's Shika Nuclear Power Station about 170 miles northwest of Tokyo lost its radiation alarm system shortly after midnight there . Energy Secretary Bill Richardson described it as a backup system and said it did not affect plant safety . The United States passed its first Y2K tests at 7 p.m. EST Friday , when computers that control airline traffic , about a third of the nation 's power grid and military operations appeared to roll over into the new year without incident . The computers are based on Greenwich Mean Time , which is five hours ahead of the Eastern Standard Time zone . `` The nation 's airspace system is up and running safely , '' Federal Aviation Administration chief Jane Garvey said Friday night . She flew on a jet from Washington , D.C. , to Dallas when air traffic computers passed midnight GMT . Koskinen , who had predicted an easy transition into the new year , said the fact that it happened should not lead to anyone to `` underestimate the nature of the problem that was originally there . `` Had the effort not been made , had the money not been spent , we would be in a very different situation than we find ourselves in right now , '' he said . The Commerce Department estimates that some $ 100 billion was spent in the United States over the past five years to fix the Y2K problem _ which would occur if computers interpreted the digits 00 as 1900 rather than 2000 . Worldwide is it estimated that governments and private industry spent close to $ 400 billion fixing their computers . STILL FEW Y2K GLITCHES REPORTED As the world glided smoothly into the new century , the United States reported Saturday only a smattering of minor Y2K glitches , but officials cautioned that problems could still crop up , especially starting Monday . John Koskinen , chief of the White House 's Y2K command center , said Monday will be a crucial milestone because it will be the first day of normal business operations following the long holiday weekend . Otherwise , he offered generally upbeat news about the nation 's progress . `` We have not been able to find anything of great significance to report , '' he said . All of the nation 's major sectors from airlines to electric power grids to telecommunications continued working without incident on the first day of the new century , he said . The Pentagon reported Saturday that a satellite intelligence defense system had failed shortly after 7 p.m. EST Friday when the clock in that system turned past midnight Greenwich Mean Time . John Hamre , Deputy Defense Secretary , said that a backup system is currently in place and that the problem is with a computer on the ground and not in the satellite itself . Other reported Y2K glitches , however , were quickly fixed . Koskinen said an Amtrak computer system used to track trains automatically went down temporarily early Saturday but that train officials switched to a manual system and then fixed the computer . Computers at five nuclear plants across the country also experienced temporary problems , but Koskinen said they were immediately fixed and those plants ' operations were not affected . The U.S. Naval Observatory , which has a master clock in Washington that serves as the nation 's official source of time , reported the date as Jan. 1 , 19100 during the earliest hours of the new year on its Internet site . The glitch has since been corrected and was only on that Web site . It was not a problem in the master clock , Koskinen said . He said federal government agencies and private industry would continue testing their systems and report any glitches , whether Y2K-related or not . He said checks of federal government buildings showed temporary problems with alarm systems at U.S. facilities in Boston , Kansas City and Omaha . A Federal Aviation Administration system used to notify pilots about such things as weather via e-mail shut down Saturday , but