[andyt]

Well, those vets are used to following orders....

[Strutz]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

This is something anyone who has worked in Government knows.

Around here, it's called 'March Madness'. Fiscal year end is April 30th. If budgets aren't spent, they will be reduced the next year. So whatever is left in the budget is spent in March, because open tender suppliers need time to fill orders, and if the order doesn't arrive in the fiscal year it doesn't count.

I've seen basements filled with brand new, in the box PCs, 'aging' out. They sit in groups by the year they were purchased, and are sent for 'disposal' (HDDs shredded, Units sent to auction) based on the number of years they were in inventory.

Hundreds of PCs. They are destroyed, never having been used.

I know this thread has taken a turn but I just had to respond to your post DrC. It brought back memories.

I know about "March Madness" as many years ago (mid 90's to mid 00's) I worked for a company that was a supplier to the BC Government. Every year starting in mid-February into early March the company would get a rush of orders that had to filled and billed out by March 31st for that reason... to use up remaining budget to justify the next year's one.

It was always a mixed feeling of great... lots of extra work for the company, which was a small one, and on the other hand, knowing that the goods were probably not really needed and that it was just money going to waste.

Interesting to note though is that it was done to a much higher level when the NDP was in power (up until 2001) than afterward when the Liberals took the majority. Budgets for certain types of spending changed and the company saw a very noticeable decrease in the amount of work they got overall from the government.

[OnTheIce]

JaredMilne JaredMilne:

JaredMilne JaredMilne:

Veterans plan silent protests of government policies

When the clock strikes 11 a.m on Remembrance Day in Chilliwack, B.C., retired Air Force captain Claude Latulippe will be at the local cenotaph paying homage to former comrades and to the many other Canadians who gave their lives for their country.

But, when it is time for Mark Strahl, the local Conservative MP, to lay a wreath, Mr. Latulippe and other veterans will face away.


It is a gesture that Mr. Latulippe, 65, says he believes will be repeated in communities across Canada. Veterans, he said, want to turn their backs on the Conservative government “just like the Conservatives are turning their backs on veterans.”

...

Mr. Blais will not be among those veterans participating in Remembrance Day protests. It is the one day of the year, he says, when his heart is not in the fight.

But many other veterans will be making a statement, said Mr. Blais. And all Canadians, he said, should be asking themselves whether the government has a duty to care for veterans.

“That’s why we still assemble on Remembrance Day. We may not know who they were or what they have done but we still come and pay two minutes’ solitude for them,” he said. “Well, this year is different. This year, we have a government that does not believe it has a social contract, it does not believe it has a sacred obligation.”

Did the unions orchestrate all that, manipulate all of these vets' feelings, as part of some plan to disgrace Harper?

Is it an accident that Claude Latulippe is an NDP'er that has been going after Harper since he was elected?

He's another political activist that happens to be a veteran.

[2Cdo]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

JaredMilne JaredMilne:

JaredMilne JaredMilne:

Veterans plan silent protests of government policies

When the clock strikes 11 a.m on Remembrance Day in Chilliwack, B.C., retired Air Force captain Claude Latulippe will be at the local cenotaph paying homage to former comrades and to the many other Canadians who gave their lives for their country.

But, when it is time for Mark Strahl, the local Conservative MP, to lay a wreath, Mr. Latulippe and other veterans will face away.


It is a gesture that Mr. Latulippe, 65, says he believes will be repeated in communities across Canada. Veterans, he said, want to turn their backs on the Conservative government “just like the Conservatives are turning their backs on veterans.”

...

Mr. Blais will not be among those veterans participating in Remembrance Day protests. It is the one day of the year, he says, when his heart is not in the fight.

But many other veterans will be making a statement, said Mr. Blais. And all Canadians, he said, should be asking themselves whether the government has a duty to care for veterans.

“That’s why we still assemble on Remembrance Day. We may not know who they were or what they have done but we still come and pay two minutes’ solitude for them,” he said. “Well, this year is different. This year, we have a government that does not believe it has a social contract, it does not believe it has a sacred obligation.”

Did the unions orchestrate all that, manipulate all of these vets' feelings, as part of some plan to disgrace Harper?

Is it an accident that Claude Latulippe is an NDP'er that has been going after Harper since he was elected?

He's another political activist that happens to be a veteran.

I'd say well over 90% of the veterans I know support the Conservatives and despise the bought, and paid for, antics of the "ABC" group.

[JaredMilne]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

Is it an accident that Claude Latulippe is an NDP'er that has been going after Harper since he was elected?

He's another political activist that happens to be a veteran.

I'd say well over 90% of the veterans I know support the Conservatives and despise the bought, and paid for, antics of the "ABC" group.

So what about Desjardins and all the other veterans described as pissed off in the articles that I quoted and that DrCaleb talks about anecdotally?

And even if Latulippe detests Harper, does that diminish the fact that he wore the uniform at all?

I don't recall seeing anyone say that the ABC-supporting veterans claim to speak for everyone who's served. What I have seen is that the ABC veterans do represent a lot of people in uniform who feel they've been screwed over by the Harper government, and they aren't passive dupes who are being manipulated by the unions. I've also seen anecdotes from DrCaleb, various newspaper commenters, and others who all feel that the Harper government has screwed them over.

From everything I've seen, they've formed their own opinions from their own experiences and observations, which have turned them against Harper.

[2Cdo]

JaredMilne JaredMilne:

So what about Desjardins and all the other veterans described as pissed off in the articles that I quoted and that DrCaleb talks about anecdotally?

And even if Latulippe detests Harper, does that diminish the fact that he wore the uniform at all?

I don't recall seeing anyone say that the ABC-supporting veterans claim to speak for everyone who's served. What I have seen is that the ABC veterans do represent a lot of people in uniform who feel they've been screwed over by the Harper government, and they aren't passive dupes who are being manipulated by the unions. I've also seen anecdotes from DrCaleb, various newspaper commenters, and others who all feel that the Harper government has screwed them over.

From everything I've seen, they've formed their own opinions from their own experiences and observations, which have turned them against Harper.

The leaders of that group have been paid by PSAC to act like idiots. On their Facebook page any and all opinions that run counter are deleted and posters barred. NO other Veterans group engages in that kind of bullshit. The various groups I belong to will allow any veterans opinion to be posted.
As far as ABC goes, they routinely state they stand for all veterans, which is far from true.

ABC's biggest problem is believing that the Dippers and Libs will actually do anything for them if elected. They don't even realise they're being used as props.

[JaredMilne]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

The leaders of that group have been paid by PSAC to act like idiots. On their Facebook page any and all opinions that run counter are deleted and posters barred. NO other Veterans group engages in that kind of bullshit. The various groups I belong to will allow any veterans opinion to be posted.
As far as ABC goes, they routinely state they stand for all veterans, which is far from true.

ABC's biggest problem is believing that the Dippers and Libs will actually do anything for them if elected. They don't even realise they're being used as props.

Where has ABC said this? I can't find any such indication on their website, nor a cursory glance at their Facebook page or on Google.

[bootlegga]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Creative Accounting. And here's how:

Federal departments left $8.7 billion unspent last year

It's because of short-sighted decisions like this that the Navy doesn't have supply ships or destroyers nowadays. Even worse, we're dependent on Chile for supply while at sea...

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/ ... pply-ships

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

I remember being back in high school and our science department ordered a classroom full of new Mac's. Why? They had money left over in the budget and wanted to spend it to ensure they got the same amount next year.

If this happened in the 80s or even early 90s, it's likely not a big deal. They did the same thing while I was in high school here in Edmonton.

Back then, school boards were scrambling to get computers into schools and had labs full of computers installed every other year as hardware got faster and more powerful. The first year I was in high school, we had C-64s and used a 1400 baud modem to practice dialing BBS - by the time I graduated, we had 5600 baud modems hooked up to Macs in the computer labs.

The older computers (C-64s, Apple IIes and PC Jrs) were then sent to junior high and elementary schools around Edmonton for kids there to use. After that, the school board donated them to non-profit groups around the city.

I know this happened at several Edmonton-area high schools because I was a nerd and in tight with the teachers in the computer department...and I'm pretty sure something similar occurred in your school too.