Say what you want (within the blog rules) and get it off your chest - Let some steam off!
Tri-Valley Cares needs to be on this if they aren't already. We need to make sure that NNSA and LLNL does not make good on promises to pursue such stupid ideas as doing Plutonium experiments on NIF. The stupidity arises from the fact that a huge population is placed at risk in the short and long term. Why do this kind of experiment in a heavily populated area? Only a moron would push that kind of imbecile area. Do it somewhere else in the god forsaken hills of Los Alamos. Why should the communities in the Bay Area be subjected to such increased risk just because the lab's NIF has failed twice and is trying the Hail Mary pass of doing an SNM experiment just to justify their existence? Those Laser EoS techniques and the people analyzing the raw data are all just BAD anyways. You know what comes next after they do the experiment. They'll figure out that they need larger samples. More risk for the local population. Stop this imbecilic pursuit. They wan...
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However, if you look at what we are fighting for:
Staying in a poorly managed, cash strapped environment, with 50+ year old asbestos-laced buildings, or trailers with inadequate Heating/AC, radioactive material on site and fencing and barbed wire that resembes a jail yard, complete with overgrown or poorly managed landscaping. All this situated in one of the highest cost of living communities in the nation. Did I mention the poor retirement fund choices with the excessive fees?
This is true and geting rid of people is how NNSA is going to find the money to build their PIT facility. So now you know. What are you going to do about it. Lets see your pan of attack. The answer is nothing. You are the one who is going to pay the price so now it's time to find a better place if you can.
Roger that.
If you have engineers working on your program, take a look at the OPC and IFC charges. It's time to trim the fat.
A year and a half ago Engineering eliminated its two Departments and several divisions. It's time to cut the current management overhead by at least half again.
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NNSA News Release
May 9, 2008
Security Inspection of Livermore Lab Completed
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has initiated upgrades to security at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) after a recent security assessment identified several areas needing improvement. LLNL is managed by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS).
Over the past seven weeks, a routine, independent assessment of the security programs was conducted at LLNL by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS), including a “force-on-force” exercise, where a tactical security team plays the role of an attacking force in a simulation drill. These and other types of exercises are held at both NNSA and DOE sites routinely and are an important tool in evaluating security.
Following the initial HSS debrief, NNSA sent a team of headquarters and field security experts to assess the laboratory’s response to the inspection. Although the inspectors noted several very positive areas, there were other areas requiring corrective action. NNSA is evaluating the corrective actions put into place by LLNL. HSS’s final inspection report will be completed over the next month.
NNSA Principal Deputy Bill Ostendorff said that the initial results of the LLNL inspection highlighted a number of areas that require immediate attention, and that he expected the laboratory to work closely with the NNSA Livermore Site Office to make needed improvements. In addition, senior NNSA officials have discussed these security issues with the LLNS Board of Governors.
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My process of worrying has ended and I now realize that I hope to be on the ISP list. I hope to be out the door and on the path to a new future and not have to compete with my colleagues and friends for positions that are exposed to me; for they are smart and were once considered the best and the brightest. Before it was about respect, understanding and working with your colleagues, now it is competition and lust to fill the financial void. The reason many came to this Laboratory was to do good work, build a life, raise a family and steer clear of the day to day madness of for profit work environments that build our economy, but do little to protect a nation. We understood this and accepted the drawbacks; no bonuses and the steady trickle of yearly small raises that was almost always a month or two late. It was our desire to forgo the money and focus on things that are important to us; our nation, our families and friends. My fear, and I think all of our fears as LLNL employees, was that the situation today is the future, and now it would seem they were not just fears, but calculated destinies conjured up many months ago. My process is over and I am happy to have it gone.
Good luck everyone.
Amen! I too am done. There is no reason to stay. Respect & dignity is gone. They will shuffle us out the gates like a herd of cows. Management cannot even look you in the eye - all are hiding behind closed doors making their "hit" list.
Take care my friends.