Government complains about unspent funds

In the most recent copy of Frontline magazine, author Ken Pole starts off his article, Unspent Funds... Again,  by saying,

"A familiar problem continues to plague the Department of National Defence - its inability to spend its budget in any given fiscal year due to contract complications and mismanagement, delivery delays or, most disturbingly, the government policy which complicates or eliminates options for carrying forward funds."

Amazing, just amazing.  The complaint is that DND does not spend all the money it is allocated.  And this when the government is trying to focus on value over spending.  Maybe we need to revisit zero-based budgeting?

The forgotten hero in Afghanistan

If the name, Mike Frastacky, does not ring a bell with you, I am not surprised.  I came across his name while reading an American newspaper recently and I could not be more ashamed of myself, my press and my country.

Mike was a carpenter who was shot to death on July 23,2006 in Afghanistan.

Mike was a carpenter who spent four years building a school in Nahrin, north of Kabul.  He raised the money for the construction himself, he built it himself and for his effort and humanitarianism, he was shot three times by terrorists who wanted to claim the $10,000 prize offered by the Taliban.

In 2012, there are over 600 children attending the school he built and the animals who killed him are looking like they will come back to power.  What a tragedy and a waste.

Elvis says hi!

I am just back from vacation in the deep south of the USA.  Visited family in Florida, saw how they harvest and process sponge, walked on the beach and ate Stone Crab.  Good time.

Then off to Tupelo, Mississippi where Elvis Presley was born and to visit Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.  It is worth the trip!  On the way back, visited the Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, Kentucky.  Impressive.

I encourage people to drive for their vacation and visit places that you never expected to visit.

Next trip is to the Jello Museum in Le Roy, New York.