Analyst Sees Lasting Damage To Los Alamos, Livermore Labs
http://www.independentnews.com/news/article_dcc64e10-1c8b-11e1-b5c0-001871e3ce6c.html
http://www.independentnews.com/news/article_dcc64e10-1c8b-11e1-b5c0-001871e3ce6c.html
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...
Comments
Wow thanks for posting that, it is interesting to know that some upper managers really do understand what has and is going on.
A few highlights.
"All his email has been supportive, and most comes from active or retired employees at Los Alamos whom he doesn't know. There has been no single theme to the emails other than "someone needed to stand up for us." An extremely powerful message came from a very senior individual at Los Alamos, whom he declined to name: "My former laboratory is in a death spiral.""
Some others
"Browne was unwilling to criticize the current, for-profit management system beyond saying that "they don't seem to have the same commitment to national security that the University of California had since World War II.""
The best one is
from former associate director, Jay Davis.
"The contract system has taken a low cost, merit based approach and turned it into a high cost, fee based approach," he said in an interview. "The LLC (for-profit) managers at Livermore are totally focused on $80 million in fees. The notion that you would take zero fee because it's in the national interest, the way the University of California used to, is foreign to them. This is not the part of Bechtel that builds air bases. It's the part that hunkers down in Washington and looks for fees.""
A few highlights.
"All his email has been supportive, and most comes from active or retired employees at Los Alamos whom he doesn't know. There has been no single theme to the emails other than "someone needed to stand up for us." An extremely powerful message came from a very senior individual at Los Alamos, whom he declined to name: "My former laboratory is in a death spiral.""
Some others
"Browne was unwilling to criticize the current, for-profit management system beyond saying that "they don't seem to have the same commitment to national security that the University of California had since World War II.""
The best one is
from former associate director, Jay Davis.
"The contract system has taken a low cost, merit based approach and turned it into a high cost, fee based approach," he said in an interview. "The LLC (for-profit) managers at Livermore are totally focused on $80 million in fees. The notion that you would take zero fee because it's in the national interest, the way the University of California used to, is foreign to them. This is not the part of Bechtel that builds air bases. It's the part that hunkers down in Washington and looks for fees.""
Where, oh where is Frank and Steve?
Noticed that these highly pay "executive" are only here a couple of years, do their dirty work, collect their bonus, and leave the mess behind ...
"When you see that in order to produce you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you. . . you may know that your society is doomed."
~ Ayn Rand ~
That quote pretty much sizes up the Bechtel Boys and their shiny shoed LANS and LLNS "yes men" in upper management who run the for-profit NNSA labs only so they can gain their management fees and high executive salaries.
They get rich producing more and more bureaucracy and then enforcing the mountains of policies that slowly kill off productive projects. Staff who bring in funds and do real work on direct funded projects are looked at and treated like lab second-rate citizens.
It's the policy groups, enforcement groups and management teams that matter to LANS and LLNS. Nothing else. The "us vs. them" attitude of lab management has become much worse with the LLCs in charge and the decline in both staff morale and the quality of science has been horrendous -- regardless of what the labs' PR offices spew out in their slick releases to cover up the scientific damage.
Thing is, no one outside of the NNSA labs really cares. Learn to deal with it as best you can or look elsewhere for your professional career.
Great job, LANS! Perhaps the lab can pay to have a large bronze statute of Bret placed over at Fuller Lodge after he gets his royal coronation given to him by the LANS Board in a couple of years.
December 5, 2011 7:01 AM"
What is an analyst and why would your trust one? The stated problem over and over at the labs was "culture" and anthropologists study exactly that, I will trust the anthropologist on this.
Yes, there may be a few sour-pusses still left at Los Alamos but the lab morale is extremely high and the lab is producing more and better science than ever before. Kudos go to LANS management for all this positive change. They've been fantastic! This guy in the article doesn't know what he is talking about.
You must be in the upper branches of the tree, looking down. Care to guess what all those smiling faces are seeing?
Ok, but why? Is this what UC wanted because they could not afford the pensions? What is the reason?
You got it. The UC pension fund cannot afford all that would retire at this time if they offered a VSIP. Maybe in 2025 when the economy turns around.
December 5, 2011 8:19 PM"
If this is true than why not just come and say so. If the cannot afford it they cannot afford it, or is due to legal reasons.
December 5, 2011 2:31 PM"
Sir I will have you know that I am not at this moment taking any currently illegal drugs!
However, I've yet to see him at the local grocery store, coffee shops, community events, etc.
Was his purchase of this home just for show? Did LANS help with the purchase of this million dollar house? Is he still making frequent weekend trips back to Cali and is that where his family is staying?
"Part of the community" means sending your kids to school on the Hill.
It is rather odd that he waited until after he was named Director to do this.
Recall seeing Wallace once, looking very lost.
Anyone else?
If so, two houses of million dollars each looks bad when placed next to the pending layoffs.
Like Deep Throat said "follow the money".
The author, Hugh Gusterson, has been studying LLNL staff for over 20 years. He's published at least two excellent books on this subject and working at the lab. So as an outsider, he probably has the best insights into what has changed over the years and gone wrong at the Labs.
Recall seeing Wallace once, looking very lost.
Anyone else?
December 6, 2011 11:29 AM
I saw Bret Knapp at Wholefoods helping himself (e.g. eating) to some fruit inside the store before purchasing it. That tells me a lot about a guy making several hundred thousands $ in salary, tax exempt bonuses, free flights to and from the Bay area, and a new Porsche Cayenne parked outside and he's stealing fruit at Wholefoods. This guy should be reported. Are these the values of our Senior Managers? What a disgrace.
December 7, 2011 2:31 PM
Get in his way and you will find out.
If Bret ate something before checkout, he told the cashier and paid for it, too.
December 9, 2011 4:00 AM
That's exactly what makes me sick of this guy. He also behaves like he's found the fountain of youth. Looks like from his recent picture that he's very mistaken and lost his dentures.
December 8, 2011 9:26 PM
Yah, he barfed up on the check-out counter.
The future looks bright!
December 11, 2011 11:12 AM
It sure would be if Seastrom or Wallace or another of the home grown types became Director.
December 11, 2011 11:12 AM
It sure would be if Seastrom or Wallace or another of the home grown types became Director.
December 11, 2011 12:01 PM
The one issue that will hopefully hurt Knapp is that HE DOES NOT HAVE A PhD, nor a brain for that matter. Everyone better keep a very close eye on his credentials, because LANS attempt buy him one, and soon. They are going to make every effort to make it a trifecta; Anastasio, McMillan, Knapp. That is LANS "game plan". Hopefully, that third "horse" comes up lame.