________________________________________________________________________________ BBC NEWS Thursday, 23 December, 1999, 11:52 GMT Colombia's rebels ready for Y2K Colombia's rebels have upgraded their software By Jeremy McDermott in Colombia Colombian Marxist rebels have announced they are Y2K ready, unlike the Colombian government which is scrambling to beat the end of year deadline. The 17,000-strong Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which control almost 40% of the country, have pronounced themselves ready for the turn of the millennium. According to Juan, the FARC systems manager, based in the massive guerrilla safe haven granted by the government for peace talks, the rebel's computers have been upgraded with Windows 2000 and will slip into the new millennium without a hitch. Hi-tech rebels This is no idle boast for a guerrilla organisation that earns over $600m annually, according to official US estimates. As well as managing a massive financial portfolio, the guerrillas have complex intelligence databases and information on kidnappings, according to military sources. With satellite telephones connected to laptop computers, guerrillas are able to maintain internet access even in the most remote jungle camps. Government plans for chaos The Colombian Government, however, has admitted that its social security database, including health records and pensions, is only 70% ready. Authorities are even issuing January's pay checks for government workers a month early to cover any glitch the system experiences. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_576000/576212.stm ________________________________________________________________________________ no copyright 1999 rolux.org - no commercial use without permission. is a moderated mailing list for the advancement of minor criticism. more information: mail to: majordomo@rolux.org, subject line: , message body: info. further questions: mail to: rolux-owner@rolux.org. archive: http://www.rolux.org