http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001851641145319&rtmo=aTKq6uhJ&atmo=YYYYYYYp&pg=/et/99/10/28/ecnbug28.html

Companies are contemplating survival packs to ensure key staff are not hit by the Millennium bug

By Robert Uhlig

THIS half-ton pack of dried and canned foods, candles and Marmite will keep a family of four alive for a fortnight should the Millennium bug cripple essential services such as supermarkets, electricity and water in the first weeks of 2000.

Several City investment banks are evaluating the 69-item survival package to ensure that critical staff in high-risk countries such as Russia, Brazil and Italy are kept fed and warm. The #1,300 pack, collated using advice from the International Red Cross, will also be sold to people who are concerned the Millennium bug could cause public disorder and a break down in food supplies in Britain. DrParsley.com, the company selling the pack, has promised to give profits from individual sales to charities, including the Red Cross.

Packs that are not used by companies in the first months of the Millennium will be given to international relief organisations, said Mehmet Golhan, a former investment banker and managing director of drParsley.com. Golhan said: "Hurricane Floyd taught companies that essential employees they need in a time of crisis can be more concerned about the welfare of their families than staying at work."

The survival pack includes canned foods such as baked beans and soup, and dried foods such as instant mashed potato, rice and pot noodles. In case water supplies are damaged, nearly 70 litres of bottled water and water-purifying tablets are provided, as well as disposable crockery and cutlery.

For those who fear a complete collapse of the local infrastructure, a diesel electricity generator, a satellite phone and a search beacon are optional extras. Although the risk of disruption is judged by the government to be small in Britain, other countries are expected to face drisruption, in some cases severe.

Even so a survey by Adam Associates and Taskforce 2000, an independent Millennium bug watchdog, found that a third of Britain's top 1,000 companies have already been affected by the bug and 98 per cent believe it necessary to take action.

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@Y2KOK.ORG), October 29, 1999

Answers

"Hurricane Floyd taught companies that essential employees they need in a time of crisis can be more concerned about the welfare of their families than staying at work."

Why dont more people admit this?. I talk to so many people who say they expect businesses to be staffed in case of problems, but they themselves wont go to their place of work if it looks bad.

Hey, if it threatens to snow more than a few inches around here people dont go to work. Why all of a sudden will people become heroes for the corporate world if Y2k looks like it could be bad.

-- hamster (hamster@mycage.com), October 29, 1999.

"THIS half-ton pack of dried and canned foods, candles and Marmite will keep a family of four alive for a fortnight should the Millennium bug cripple essential services such as supermarkets, electricity and water in the first weeks of 2000."

Good grief, a family of *what*, water buffalo???

A *half-ton*???

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), October 29, 1999.

1,000 POUNDS!?!?!? 500+/- KILO's?!?!?!?!?! EEEE GADS! I could feed more than 4 for a fortnight on THAT. (OR 4 for a LOT more than 2 weeks)

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), October 29, 1999.

The water, maybe? Weighs a ton. Well, that is, I mean...

-- The Great Pumpkin (sittin'@the.patch), October 29, 1999.

Must be all that really heavy Marmite ... BTW, what is marmite

-- PD (Foo@bar.com), October 29, 1999.

What this country needs is a good survival six-pack

-- (put@ahead.onit), October 29, 1999.

Marmite is a yeast based spread. The UK's answer to Peanut Butter or Halvah. Pretty gross if you arent expecting the flavor, and its not sweet rather a vegetarian answer to a meaty spread.

-- hamster (hamster@mycage.com), October 29, 1999.

Hamster,

Thank you, may your hutch have marmite aplenty in days and years to come.

-- PD (Foo@bar.com), October 29, 1999.

I asgree. Give me $1,300 and half a ton, and I can put together some pretty substantial preps.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), October 29, 1999.

Here's the original site:

http://www.drparsley.com/mpaccontents.html

Very comprehensive "kit." Depending which one you order, it may include a generator and supplies for your cat and dog. Also includes cleaning supplies, other stuff. Intresting lists.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), October 30, 1999.