Blog purpose

This BLOG is for LLNL present and past employees, friends of LLNL and anyone impacted by the privatization of the Lab to express their opinions and expose the waste, wrongdoing and any kind of injustice against employees and taxpayers by LLNS/DOE/NNSA. The opinions stated are personal opinions. Therefore, The BLOG author may or may not agree with them before making the decision to post them. Comments not conforming to BLOG rules are deleted. Blog author serves as a moderator. For new topics or suggestions, email jlscoob5@gmail.com

Blog rules

  • Stay on topic.
  • No profanity, threatening language, pornography.
  • NO NAME CALLING.
  • No political debate.
  • Posts and comments are posted several times a day.

Sunday, December 27, 2020

Flaws in US nuclear blast equation

 A nuclear blast equation used by the US military for decades to guide the construction of bombproof shelters is not always accurate, according to a new study by Chinese researchers.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3115360/china-research-finds-flaws-us-nuclear-blast-equation-protect

Jennifer Granholm and the awesome Department of Energy

 By L. King, White House Chronicle 

December 19, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden’s decision to nominate Jennifer Granholm — former governor of Michigan, lawyer, politician and television host — to be the next secretary of energy is curious.

The idea circulating is that her primary assignment, in Biden’s mind, will be to speed Detroit’s development of electric vehicles.

Friday, December 25, 2020

More on Biden and Nuc spending

 WSJ: Biden to Review U.S. Nuclear-Weapons Programs, With Eye Toward Cuts

https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-to-review-u-s-nuclear-weapons-programs-with-eye-toward-cuts-11608805800

WASHINGTON—The incoming Biden administration is planning a review of the nation’s $1.2 trillion nuclear-modernization program with an eye toward trimming funding for nuclear weapons and reducing their role in Pentagon strategy.
President-elect Joe Biden promised during the campaign to reduce the U.S.’s “excessive expenditure” on nuclear arms and criticized President Trump’s decision to develop new sea-based weapons, including a submarine-launched cruise missile.

The new administration is also likely to review the Pentagon’s decision to develop a new land-based intercontinental ballistic missile, which is estimated to cost more than $100 billion when its warhead is included, some former officials said.
“We have to modernize our deterrent,” said one former official. “But we cannot spend the amount of money that is currently being allocated.”
The expectation that Mr. Biden will take a fresh look at the modernization programs has spurred a debate over the future of the U.S. nuclear deterrent.

The debate has also been driven by Mr. Biden’s campaign pledge to narrow the role that nuclear weapons play in the U.S. military doctrine, stating that their “sole purpose” should be to deter or respond to a nuclear attack.

Biden to review excessive Nuc spending

https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-to-review-u-s-nuclear-weapons-programs-with-eye-toward-cuts-11608805800 
 
Prediction: NW spending will double every 2-3 years nonetheless leaving us with reductions in conventional forces. Hiring will increase by 20% every year. NNSA will become a third rail immune to cuts because of its job program nature.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

COVID relief and LANL and LLNL

Does LLNL or LANL get any money from the Covid relief package. I mean they have stuff in there for transgendered restrooms in Pakistan and miss, tax deductions for three martini lunches, funding for a women's museum, money to stop doping in horse racing, tax breaks for NASCAR. I figures the NNSA labs have to be in there somewhere, maybe some money for computer security? Perhaps not.

Thursday, December 17, 2020

More about the scandal

The hackers have been able to do more damage at FERC than the other agencies, and officials there have evidence of highly malicious activity, the officials said, but did not elaborate. The officials said that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which has been helping to manage the federal response to the broad hacking campaign, indicated to FERC this week that CISA was overwhelmed and might not be able to allocate the necessary resources to respond. DOE will therefore be allocating extra resources to FERC to help investigate the hack, even though FERC is a semi-autonomous agency, the officials said. Several top officials from CISA, including its former director Christopher Krebs, have either been pushed out by the Trump administration or resigned in recent weeks. "Federal investigators have been combing through networks in recent days to determine what hackers had been able to access and/or steal, and officials at DOE still don’t know whether the attackers were able to access anything, the people said, noting that the investigation is ongoing and they may not know the full extent of the damage “for weeks.” Shaylyn Hynes, a DOE spokesperson, said that an ongoing investigation into the hack has found that the perpetrators did not get into critical defense systems. "At this point, the investigation has found that the malware has been isolated to business networks only, and has not impacted the mission essential national security functions of the department, including the National Nuclear Security Administration," Hynes said in a statement. " ------------------------------------------------- So basically 90% of Sandia and Los Alamos have been compromised? Ok that was a bit of exaggeration but 50% if more of the labs is this weird overhead stuff that does nothing from anyone can tell. Maybe an upside is that it will be seen that much of the excess non technical junk at the labs will be trimmed since it will be seen as a vulnerability. I have been in this system for some time and since the since the late 80s and 90s there has been an explosion of "businesses" "massive site offices", "HR" "Diversity", "procurement, "bizarre job titles" "outreach", and just endless weird jobs that no one understands. Just a massive bloat of crap to dissipate money. So that point is that all this extra stuff is what was vulnerable to attack. Who what of thought of that? Oh yea like very computer vulnerability person at the labs but they just get in the way.

MICROSOFT hacked! Sad!

There is a sad part to the massive Los Alamos hacking. It is that Microsoft products that where hacked. The LANL scientists have been fighting Microsoft for some time but as more and more non-scientists started to dominate LANL there was more push to make everything Microsoft. I think LANL now down to 17% technical workforce so that is what 80% Microsoft with a big push that everything should just be Microsoft. Just something to think about.

Russian hackers!

 New scandal.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9064709/Russian-hack-federal-government-hard-overstate-says-ex-homeland-security-adviser.html

Russian hackers breached Microsoft as part of their campaign that infiltrated the US nuclear weapon stockpile network, the Los Alamos lab and the Energy Department, officials reveal


What the hell is going on?

Sunday, December 13, 2020

Question

 Is there an effective way to put the kibosh on a Tech Associate promotional review on a 500 series tech?

Towards "An artificial sun"

 https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/towards-artificial-sun-will-china-win-nuclear-fusion-race


Beijing has a lot of irons in the global energy market fire, facing off against Russia for nuclear energy dominance in Africa, ramping up coal-fired capacity abroad while simultaneously touting its lofty decarbonization plans back at home, and now, powering up a brand new, cutting-edge “artificial sun.”

The so-called sun is a nuclear fusion reactor which came online for the first time last week, “marking a great advance in the country's nuclear power research capabilities,” according to a report by Science X Network’s Phys.org.

Friday, December 11, 2020

Trump order to dismantle 'deep state'

 The Department of Energy is advancing an executive order from  Trump that could make it easier to fire agency workers. 

What would he do a thing like this? 

https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063719123

llnlthetruestory is 13 years old today

 December 11th 2007, the start of this blog. It was intended to replace the short-lived llnlthefinalstory blog and as a step up from llnltherealstory one. 

As llnltherealstory sank into a period of virulent insults among LANL employees and inflammatory remarks towards LLNL's,  it was time to begin a new blog that encourages intelligent debate. 

The torch was lit and LANL readers saw it and hopped on fast.  Participation shot up and moderation was challenging despite clear blog rules. 

On the 1st anniversary, I asked for a volunteer to take it over.  I heard the echo of my own voice. 

Since then, I had brief help from "Doobydew" whose nickname I still use today. Thanks Doobydew! whoever you are.  I also hard help from a tech-savvy guy named "TheEvil Eye". Thank you. 

With some exceptions, LANL dominated this blog negatively and disregarded civility and the call for  intelligent debate. That made moderation that much difficult. 

13 years later, many have questioned the relevance of this platform.  I believe there is a need to have a place where issues are brought up, abuse is reported, important information is passed.

What does everyone think? 

Julian/Scooby/Doobydew


Tuesday, December 8, 2020

COVID cases at LANL

 https://losalamosreporter.com/2020/12/06/los-alamos-national-laboratory-has-370-confirmed-covid-19-cases-as-of-friday/


370 cases for employees LANL so far, 238 fully recovered. Los Alamos county has only 176 cases.

I am guessing the people are catching it elsewhere than at work.

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