Fred Dixon
If you are reading this and you have never been affected by a computer virus you should consider yourself lucky. With so many computers connected to the Internet, and with so many computers running Microsoft Windows, if you don’t take any precautions against getting a computer virus, it’s only a matter of time before you get one. I’ve been working with computers for almost 25 years. For the past two years, I’ve been helping friends and relatives remove viruses from their computers. Getting a virus is like getting sick, it’s usually easier to prevent than to cure. In this column, I want to offer in an ounce of prevention
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Craig MacDonald
Safeguarding the pension, health and dental care benefits of federal retirees
Written by Craig MacDonald
Former FSNA Ottawa Branch President
FSNA: Who Are We?
The Federal Superannuates National Association is the national not-for-profit association of retired federal employees, their spouses and survivors, as well as future pensioners (working employees). With more than 130,000 members and 83 branches across Canada, FSNA is recognized by the Government of Canada as the major representative of pensioners from the Canadian Forces, the Public Service of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and of federally appointed judges. The Association maintains a National Office in Ottawa with a small core of paid staff. The executive of all 83 branches and National Officers are unpaid volunteers. Association policy is set at triennial conventions by members delegated by branches.
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Felicity Garrard
“ A candle loses nothing of its light when lighting another”. Kahlil Gibran
The word “volunteer” is derived from the Latin voluntas - “free will” and, according to the dictionary, has a range of meanings from a part-time soldier… to an uninvited plant in the garden! However, the French translation “bénévole” is much more specific in suggesting the compassionate aspect of volunteerism – the act of helping others without regard for monetary reward. The desire to help one’s fellow man, or at least to lend a hand when a need arises, is a universal human trait, probably harking back to a time when survival depended on a high level of cooperation with the tribal group or pack.
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Pierre Beemans
One of the things about living overseas is that you are able to see your country through slightly different lenses when you return – sometimes more depth of field, sometimes more peripheral vision, and some times with less (or perhaps just different) distortion. In our case, when we returned from India after a couple of years away, I was struck by how much the demography of Ottawa had changed.
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