 
Reg Mauler
Premium
join:2004-01-06
Phoenix,AZ | Imagine That Big government spending on something that doesn't work:o | |
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algorithm
And I Should Care - Why?
join:2001-07-23
Huntington, NY | Re: Imagine That And nobody ever gets fired! | |
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one_bored_si
join:2003-03-10
Montebello, CA | Re: Imagine That Did you for a moment expect anyone to be? | |
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algorithm
And I Should Care - Why?
join:2001-07-23
Huntington, NY | Re: Imagine That Not really ----but, hope springs eternal. | |
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| | Zyniker
Zyniker
Premium
join:2004-12-25
San Pedro, CA | Only God can fire a federal employee. | |
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Rogue Wolf
Ate The Last Of The Pumpkin Pie
join:2003-08-12
Troy, NY | Re: Imagine That And even He doesn't want to deal with the paperwork.  | |
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bent
not broken
Premium
join:2004-10-04
Loveland, CO
clubs: | "It is also looking into using off-the-shelf technology as a way to save money." - Newsweek
The Gov't considering buying something that allready works?
no way!
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Pura Vida! | |
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intocable7
A M A Z I N
Premium
join:2003-03-05
Bronx, NY | Crooks at it finest where did all the money goooooo???
nobod but nobody seems to be talking
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THOU SHALL KEEP THY RELIGION TO THYSELVES. Missing Commandment! | |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
| Re: Crooks at it finest said by intocable7  :where did all the money goooooo??? nobod but nobody seems to be talking That would be SOP for the government as the deficit swells to new all time records.
The Administrators in the FBI had to LOVE the blank check and I would bet a boatload of money went to things that had zero to do with program....
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Brian
America's Army Forum Moderator and America's Army Beta Tester | |
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the W
@dslextreme.com | I hear the money went into RF tags for all the tires on every FBI vehicle so they know the exact moment a terrorist drops thumb tac's on the road. | |
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| wtansill
Ncc1701
join:2000-10-10
Falls Church, VA
| said by intocable7 :where did all the money goooooo??? nobod but nobody seems to be talking Here's the problem -- you have a firm, SAIC in this case, that develops the software in good faith based on the specifications they've received. It seems to be the case that the specifications were faulty. Is that SAIC's fault? Should they give back the money out of the goodness of their hearts? Don't think so. Now perhaps their code isn't the greatest that's ever been written; still, it was designed and coded to meet the specs (and _someone_ in the government realm tested and signed off on this stuff).
I spent 12 years of my life working for government contracting firms, and while I do not claim that contractors in general are saintly, I can also tell you that there are a lot of hard-working folks who try to do a decent job and are still demonized in the end.
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That which does not kill me merely prolongs the agony. | |
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Smokey
Even drunk on a bet ya make it to Canada
Premium
join:2003-05-20
Va Beach
clubs: | 581 million? Reading the article, it looks like the loss would be closer to 200 million, as it appears to mainly be a software issue.
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Sentio aliquos togatos contra me conspirare | |
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DaDogs
Semper Vigilantis
Premium
join:2004-02-28
Deltaville, VA
2 edits | Re: 581 million? FBI agents hosed a $200 million software contract?
Not surprising really, those twits should have never been given a counter-intelligence mission. They have not gotten it right since WWII. They don't understand that arena and therefore don't have people competent to specify the database and processing requirements in that arena.
Hook the idiots to DITDS and limit their access...
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I'd rather chew sand than watch sixty seconds of 60 minutes.
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N Yazdi
join:2004-04-19
Omaha, NE
| my opinion I find it amazing that here is half a billion dollars wasted and there will probably be no public outcry or consequences. The search for WMD is over in Iraq with nothing found and absolutely nothing will happen to George W, the people just dont give a crap. Whatever happened to accountability? One of the main reasons I heard people saying they were voting for Bush in '00. Our government is going to hell in a handbasket and no one cares because they are too busy watching the latest reality TV show.
And before anyone flames me and tells me to leave the country remember that patriotism is love of country NOT government. | |
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HardwareGeek
join:2003-11-15
Brooklyn, NY | Re: my opinion accountability went out with Clinton. | |
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| | dogo88
join:2001-09-24
Old Bridge, NJ | Re: my opinion Nope, was there too! Remember the mysterious disappearing files that magically appeared on the coffee tables. | |
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| | Nightstick
join:2000-09-21
Philadelphia, PA
| said by HardwareGeek :accountability went out with Clinton. Right! Along with the ottoman, and most of the White House china.
Also, I'm pretty sure that this thread made Internet history as the FIRST to ever claim a positive association of the words "Clinton" and "accountability." | |
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tomkb
Premium
join:2000-11-15
Avon, OH
clubs:
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| I doubt it's that big No doubt it's a half a billion dollar contract but I doubt the entire amount was forked over. You pay for these things in stages. As one stage is completed, a certain portion of the money is paid.
As far as it not working, it doesn't surprise me in the least. Giving a half billion to the lowest bidder is never a good idea. | |
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mskittykat
Reality Bites...So I'm Back
Premium
join:2002-10-17
Upper Marlboro, MD | All I want to know is... Where the hell is all that money coming from? | |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | Re: All I want to know is... Social Security and debt. | |
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| nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
·Comcast
| said by mskittykat :Where the hell is all that money coming from? you, me, everybody else that pays taxes.
Oh, except for the really rich folks that probably don't pay taxes anymore. | |
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mskittykat
Reality Bites...So I'm Back
Premium
join:2002-10-17
Upper Marlboro, MD
| Re: All I want to know is... No no no...We pay taxes, but as much money as they claim the US is in the whole buy, I must ask again...where the hell are they getting all this money from. Can't simply be taxes because nothing has been raised out of the ordinary, especially with this and with the war going on now (which ofcourse is after the fact but point still stands.)
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"Smart is knowing your ABC's. Intelligent is knowing how to use them." | |
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| | | BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Everett, MA
clubs:
·Comcast
·Comcast Formerly ..
| Re: All I want to know is... The government basically uses money they don't really have. Since money is housed by them they can spend it on any thing they want.
Our government needs a major overhaul and the jobs need to be straightened out as well. But since both parties can never agree and want to hold their brother in laws jobs making good money they never do.
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"It's always funny until someone gets hurt......and then it's absolutely friggin' hysterical!" | |
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nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD | Further proof... that the vigilance of our "homeland security" most likely has little or nothing to do with the fact we haven't had a major terrorist attack on the U.S. since 9/11.
We just been lucky, that's all. | |
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| Cyber2lz
join:2001-11-15
Odessa, FL | Re: Further proof... ..or could it be that we let it be known through back channels that if they ever F* with us again, we will turn Mecca into a glass covered parking lot inhabitable again sometime around the year 3090!
Just a thought, | |
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| N Yazdi
join:2004-04-19
Omaha, NE
| This is one that i dont understand. After 9/11 Bush and Co. had/still has, the whole country worked up thinking that a terrorist attack could come at any time. Im not saying it wont but the environment following the last major attack on US soils, 8 years ago then in 93 was different. There was not this atmosphere of fear whipped up by the government. Besides, the US throws so much crap around the world that getting hit back is par for the course, people that get all scared and give up their liberties to a right wing corporate gvnt scare me more than al Queda any day. | |
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Paladin
Sage of the light
join:2001-08-17
Chester, IL
·New Wave Communica..
1 edit | Re: Further proof... Then again, you implied that there was accountability under Clinton, and every one in this forum laughed silly at you. I guess you would laugh silly at the idea of a nuclear weapon being smuggled into an American port and blown up in a major American city, but then again you would be quick to blame it on Bush once it happened.
It's useless to have a debate with people like you who see it as "heads we win" and "tails you lose". So don't mistake me for doing that. I just wanted to set the record straight.
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First rule of fiber optics: you do not talk about fiber optics! | |
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lyls
@tele.dk
| Re: Further proof... didnt some american president say something like "anyone who gives up freedom for safety shouldnt have either" ? i think that sums it up nicely. fear is dangerous..... way more dangerous than looneys in a plane... a nuke is a completely different beast and much much harder to smuggle in.... if they find out so and so has been stolen they'll immediately respond with an intense investigation in all western countries..... noone wants to get hit by a nuke | |
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Paladin
Sage of the light
join:2001-08-17
Chester, IL
·New Wave Communica..
| Re: Further proof... I don't intend to promote great fear, just some due dilligence in port security. There's no need to live in fear, just some basic inspection would cut down on any chance of this happening.
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First rule of fiber optics: you do not talk about fiber optics! | |
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pv8man999
@in.us | yes... yes because god knows they MUST upgrade from P4 2.8 Ghz to 3.2 Ghz other wise they cant catch anybody or do any work at all...LOL
this is the FBI we are talking about, you mean they dident have top of the list equipment already? | |
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anonpornman
@snet.net | lowest bidder What else is to be expected when your awarding deals to the LOWEST bidder. aka cutting the most corners. HEADS should roll on this one.. I want a senate congressional committe to over see this. | |
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| JPCass
join:2001-01-23
Denver, CO
| said by anonpornman:
What else is to be expected when your awarding deals to the LOWEST bidder. aka cutting the most corners. Worked in DC, been there, done that.
We used to say that the low bidder was either the one that didn't understand fully what was required, or else had an angle for getting around having to actually do it.
To some extent we get the government we pay for, and there seems to be a widespread expectation that government can get by paying the lowest bidders and low salaries (by and large). I can't say for sure that it wouldn't lead to more waste, but we might well get more efficient government if we paid to hire better people. And does anyone remember the FBI agent who spied extensively for Russia, and cost the US government enormously in various was, who was initially motivated in part because he was having a hard time supporting his family in on what he was paid? | |
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| | wtansill
Ncc1701
join:2000-10-10
Falls Church, VA
| Re: lowest bidder said by JPCass :Worked in DC, been there, done that. We used to say that the low bidder was either the one that didn't understand fully what was required, or else had an angle for getting around having to actually do it. Turns out there's a third way -- the government changes the terms after the contract is signed. We had a situation like that with the USPTO. We had a contract to convert patent files into microfilm (remember that?). The statement of work was very specific in that it said that all we had to do was disassemble the patent file (it was in a tri-fold folder, each panel of which had two metal fold-over pins on which the paperwork was hooked), film the contents, and then reassemble the file. Very straightforward. We hired a bunch of clerks at about $5.50-6.00 an hour to prep the documents for the folks who would actually film the files.
Day one: A USPTO rep shows up and explains that in addition, our folks would have to *read the documents* (some of which, I kid you not, were in French, German, even Mandarin Chinese), and make an informed decision as to whether or not the document was relevant or extraneous to the filing, hold it aside if it was extraneous, log the extraneous matter, etc. None of this was in the original SOW. And here we were staffed with clerks who had, at best, HS diplomas. Nothing against those, BTW, but damn few American HS grads can read Mandarin Chinese... Management, OTOH, decided to cave on the theory that whatever monies were lost on this contract could be made up through supplemental or follow-on work. As with SAIC, it was ultimately decided by mutual agreement that our contract would not be renewed after the first year... And yes, we lost a metric shitload of cash on that contract...
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That which does not kill me merely prolongs the agony. | |
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downtownman
@speakeasy.n | What else is to be expected when your awarding deals to the LOWEST bidder. aka cutting the most corners.
gotta pay for those tax cuts somehow...:p | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD |  Big Brother? HA!
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Hey Fast Eddie... you're next! | |
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NXds
@aol.com | WTF Man they keep wasting money on crap what they need to do is attack those SOB's in Nkorea and Iran. Or are we going to let any let POS country start making nukes common WTF. Im sure are allies will help. | |
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NXds
@aol.com | Re: WTF Sh*t we already have them pinned with Iraq on the left and Afganistan on the right. | |
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NXds
@aol.com
| »www.ebaumsworld.com/endofworld.html almost like what im trying to say but we dont need any more countrys with nukes is my point. But we can give diplomacy a go not like if it hasn't worked before. | |
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| | the niTz
Premium
join:2004-07-05
Sahuarita, AZ | Re: WTF lol, that was so weird and yet funny | |
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Geronimo
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Newark, DE
·Comcast
| Why is the FBI taking all the fall for this one. Software companies do this kind of thing all the time. From what i read the FBI hired a company to build the software for them. they are just the customer.
I worked for my local dept of Corrections a few years back. The state had paid a few million for a similar type of software. Before the software was finished the software Co. declared bankruptcy, and the state was left with unfinished buggy software. The funny thing was their was nothing the state could do other then hiring some employees from the company to finish the software. It was a huge mess and cost my state allot of money. before i left that job the new criminal justice software was being introduced. and it was a load of crap.
you would be surprised how old the software many police agencies use these days. Their is definitely a need for the FBI to get better software. The CJIS which is one of their main programs has to be over 20 years old. I remember it took like 30 minutes just to pull up someones rap sheet from another state.
I remember reading how some FBI agents across the country had crossed paths with a few of the 9-11 hijackers in one way or another. I bet If they had a better system back then, someone may have been able to piece together all the clues before it happened. | |
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tim_k
Buttons, Bows, Beamer, Shadow, Kasey
Premium
join:2002-02-02
Stewartstown, PA | The good news Perhaps we'll be seeing some really good deals on ebay  | |
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Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY
 ·Qwest.net
2 edits | Just look who runs the SAIC Science Applications International Corp is run by a whole bunch of ex Pentagon top brass, and other ex government officials. They have used their connections with Washington DC to land contracts. It is like TRW in they know it can charge to the moon and stars for whatever they do for the government. The FBI could have contracted out to Microsoft, Sun Micro Systems, IBM, etc and would have had a system that would have worked and these outfits would have maintained it.
NASA has learned this lesson. I have direct knowledge of one such "deal". NASA wanted a tough all weather antenna for remote geo-physical stations so they could uplink to satellites. They went to TRW and they where going to charge NASA more then 25,000 dollars for a feasibility study, and then another 15,000 + to build these antennas. Somebody, it must have been a Ham Radio Operator, got the Idea of seeing who else could build this antenna. They somehow heard of Arrow Antennas »www.arrowantennas.com/ I have one of Al's 70cm beams on my tower and it's quality has to be seen to believed. Well Al's built 4 antennas to NASA spec's and charged them 1500 dollars. He was sorry about the high price but he had to build some custom tooling to build these antennas. Al's Walking stick beams are a huge hit with Fish and Wildlife service, The Park service, and other such outfits who use them to track radio tagged animals.
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Real Men use Vacuum tubes, 25 pound filament transformers, and plate voltages no less then 2400 volts...BPL I'm coming to get you
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Queasy
join:2004-01-20
Lawrenceville, GA | And people want the gov't to run healthcare Yeah...that'd be a winner... | |
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| JPCass
join:2001-01-23
Denver, CO
| Re: And people want the gov't to run healthcare Try dealing with the healthcare companies sometime. They give the worst of government bureaucracies tough competition for the bottom.
And the government certainly does a better job of airport security than private contractors did prior to 9/11, though of course we must be spending a lot more money to hire the better quality people that the TSA employs, compared to the burger-flipper rejects that the private contractors used to hire. | |
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