AI poses ‘risk of extinction’

 Are the labs and nukes irrelevant now with the coming AI age? For past 80 years nuclear war has been the biggest immediate threat to humanity with LLNL and LANL being

part of this. Now the the real threat is AI, does that mean the labs are irrelevant and we should close them down and make a new project to fight AI, call the Brooklyn project where we assemble the best minds to create a AI to to protect humanity
against other AIs? I it is starting to look that way so we better start rethinking our budget and science priorities if we are go survive. As such the importance of the labs must fade.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/ai-poses-risk-of-extinction-on-par-with-nukes-tech-leaders-say/ar-AA1bT5yh

LLNL Salary comparison

 Salary ratios at LLNL before and after the 2007 transition from UC/LLNL to LLNS

Have the salary ratios of the employees listed below changed if we use pre-2007 salary ratios as a baseline, or have these ratios been fairly constant through 2023?

1. Division Leader to Engineer (non-manager)
2. Group Leader to Engineer (non-manager)
3. Supervisor to Tech Associate (non-manager)
4. other

The reasoning or support for salary differences between manager and non-managers is not in question for this topic. The ratio of those salaries (1-4) pre and post transition, is the question asked.

162 top US nuclear researchers working for China

 In September 2020, a former LANL scientist was sentenced to probation and fined for lying about his participation in a Chinese state-sponsored recruitment program.

The report offered DOE seven recommendations for its insider threat program. In a written response included in the report, the DOE said it agreed with all the recommendations and provided plans to address them.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/162-researchers-from-top-us-nuclear-facility-now-working-for-china-report_4748811.html

Price gouging by defense contractors

 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-budget-price-gouging-military-contractors-60-minutes-2023-05-21/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7d&linkId=215720704

You would almost think that having a for profit company run a nuclear weapons lab is a bad idea.

In March, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced the largest Pentagon budget ever: $842 billion. Almost half will go to defense contractors.

Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan, who spent his career overseeing the purchase of some of the country's most critical weapons systems, said there's an inherent conflict between the Pentagon and defense contractors.

"They are companies that have to survive, make profit. The Department of Defense, on the other hand, wants the best weapon systems it can have as quickly as possible and as inexpensively as possible. Those are opposite ends of the spectrum.

How true is this?

 https://www.thebrighterside.news/amp/nuclear-waste-powered-battery-lasts-thousands-of-years

The fall of Bakhmut

 It looks like Bakhmut has fallen. Are we even closer to WW3 now?

Clean coal?

 

 Anonymous said...

“Clean Coal”? The ugly truth is it is dirty power well beyond CO2 emissions.

“Americans living near coal-fired power plants are exposed to higher radiation doses than those living near nuclear power plants that meet government regulations…the main sources of radiation released from coal combustion include not only uranium and thorium but also daughter products produced by the decay of these isotopes, such as radium, radon, polonium, bismuth, and lead…the energy content of nuclear fuel released in coal combustion is more than that of the coal consumed”

https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0932/ML093280447.pdf

Building a better battery

 https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/cerenergy-lithium-ion-battery-safe-solid-state-explode/

Fusion !

 https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/05/12/lawrence-livermore-national-laboratory-achieved-a-stunning-breakthrough-on-fusion-energy/

Fusion Breakthrough Hits Hurdles

 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fusion-breakthrough-hits-hurdles-five-200923943.html

LLNS retiree benefits

 Some medical coverage questions for UC/LLNL and LLNS retirees living outside of CA

For those of you that are pre-65 and post-65 UC/LLNL and LLNS retirees that now live outside of CA, I have some CA Kaiser vs out-of-state Anthem Blue Cross questions. From our 2023 medical coverage options chart, we can determine high level coverages and their maximum annual expenses based on specific plan deductibles and max out-of-pocket costs.

I am looking for typical GRANULAR expenses (non-emergency Doctor visit, X-Rays, lab tests, etc) that a retiree has experienced over a year(s) to determine the likelihood of hitting the annual deductible and maximum out-of-pocket costs EVERY year from out-of-state Blue Cross, in order to compare those costs with CA Kaiser. I know everyone’s state of health is different, and I am not requesting details on anyone’s private medical health issues. Unfortunately, our Empyrean point of contact does not have granular cost information, and added such costs could be determined after one signs up to become a member in one of the multiple Blue Cross coverage options available to LLNS retirees. Thank You in advance.

Lost all focus

 This blog has lost all focus on the national labs and their status. It has been taken over by political trolls on both sides and Scooby apparently doesn't care anymore, or have any pride in what he created. Some of the recent posts are so outrageously ridiculous and nonsensical, having nothing to do with any stated purpose of this blog, yet they get posted and not moderated. I would ask Scooby to reiterate his blog purpose statement, or repudiate it. Not much reason to visit here anymore. Pretty sad.

False claims

 UC Associate Professor Falsely Claims Mohawk and Mi’kmaq heritage, and “acknowledged she had received resources that were intended for students of color”.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-04/uc-berkeley-scholar-faces-uproar-after-claiming-indigenous-heritage