LLNL - The True Story -

If the BART/Muni 0.5% added sales tax passes, Alameda County sales taxes will go up to 11% +. Ridership is down due to concerns of health, lack of parking, panhandling, and assaults. Will these issues be resolved before they try to throw more money at the problem? How many LLNL employees and retirees actually use BART? Bay Area leaders pitch sales tax to save BART, Muni, regional transit https://sfstandard.com/2025/03/24/bart-muni-sales-tax/ California Sales and Use Tax Rates by County and City https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/TaxRatesbyCountyandCity.pdf

I'm turning 65 and signed up for Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage through Empyrean benefits services. I noticed that I’m being billed $290 per month for KP Senior Advantage by going through Empyrean, whereas I can pay either $0 or $70 per month (depending on the tier of coverage) by just going to Kaiser Permanente directly. Granted, the Empyrean option sets up an HRA for me with an annual funding of $2450 by the Lab, but that would still mean my having to pay a net cost of about $1000 per year for signing up through Empyrean rather than going directly to Kaiser for their Senior Advantage plan. Anyone know what's going on here? Is there any advantage to signing up for KP Senior Advantage by going through Empyrean as opposed to dealing directly with Kaiser?

  These are interesting articles from a few weeks ago, AI is getting better at solving hard problems: https://fortune.com/2025/02/12/openai-deepresearch-humanity-last-exam/ https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/could-you-pass-humanitys-last-exam-probably-not-but-neither-can-ai

U.S. Says Decision to Turn Back French Scientist Had Nothing to Do With Trump https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/world/europe/us-france-scientist-entry-trump.html https://dnyuz.com/2025/03/21/u-s-says-decision-to-turn-back-french-scientist-had-nothing-to-do-with-trump/ The French government’s claim that a scientist was denied entry into the United States because of an opinion he expressed about the Trump administration is “blatantly false,” a U.S. official has said. Even as the authorities in France continued to call the case a concerning violation of academic freedom, the U.S. official, Tricia McLaughlin, who is a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the scientist had been turned away for reasons unrelated to his personal beliefs. “The French researcher in question was in possession of confidential information on his electronic device from Los Alamos National Laboratory — in violation of a nondisclosure agreement — something he admitted to taking without permissio...

  Comments on  SUGGEST NEW TOPICS HERE  : LLNL - The True Story - From the Santa Fe reporter. I am not convinced that Mello is some kind of LANL/NNSA or neocon plant pushing to grow LANL even larger. I simply cannot believe this guy is that dumb to write this kinda or crap. Literally every time his says this stuff it increases New Mexicos support for LANL and expanding the mission. Who is the audience for this stuff? Greg Mello 2 days ago Chris is correct. And as the White House NNSA budget examiner said to me years ago, LANL's pit program is being pursued for one reason: to enable a new warhead program at Livermore in California. That single justification was a little exaggerated but it's not far off. Actually, it supports the entire NNSA complex, which has doubled in staffing over recent years, during a period when there would be little new warhead work to do otherwise. LLNL would not have a new warhead to design without LANL being ready to make the pits for it, and wit...

 Claude said: AI leadership? Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is claiming a leadership role in developing AI for national security applications. However, a glaring inconsistency emerges when we examine its operational practices. By neglecting to implement AI technologies to optimize its own business operations, especially project management, procurement and financial operations, LANL undermines its credibility and raises questions about its genuine commitment to innovation. If LANL truly believes in the transformative power of AI for national security, it should first harness that power internally to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance decision-making processes. The apparent reluctance to adopt AI in its own business model suggests a lack of confidence in the technology or a disconnect between its lofty goals and practical applications. This inconsistency not only jeopardizes LANL operational effectiveness but also casts doubt on the authenticity of its m...

While seeking out Federally funded waste, will DOGE audit DOE/NNSA past and present history of bankrolling contractor legal fees so they can defend against at the taxpayer expense, whistleblowers and other self-serving contractor expenses (2008 “Gray March”)? Still a relevant concern in 2025: “You’ve probably heard of the government’s, “War on Whistleblowers… But what you probably didn’t know is that these vendettas against truth-tellers are routinely funded with your tax dollars… the government managed to turn four dollars worth of unauthorized phone calls into a ten million dollar bill for taxpayers.” “Legal Swindle” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D6JDZvPvV4g&pp=ygUXbGVnYWwgc3dpbmRsZSBsaXZlcm1vcmU%3D Enter Comment Publish Notify Me This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google  Privacy Policy  and  Terms of Service  apply. ©2025 Blogger -  Privacy Policy

  "Department heads have been asked to justify the roles of the contractors on their team in one-sentence summaries describing why they should be kept on" one of the officials working for the National Nuclear Security Administration" said . https://www.yahoo.com/news/doge-reviews-nuclear-contractors-212923306.html

 Going backwards! https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/white-house-may-seek-to-slash-nasas-science-budget-by-50-percent/

  Scientists engineer mouse to have fluffy hair: https://www.livescience.com/animals/land-mammals/colossal-creates-woolly-mouse-in-new-step-towards-mammoth-de-extinction