HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL !

Sandia nuke safety

Watchdog organization sues for Sandia nuke safety records: http://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/watchdog-sues-for-sandia-nuke-safety-records_16447506

Employee Relations

All managers I have dealt with in PLS are abusive....However, remember they are guided by Employee Relations. They are unprofessional and have lost millions for the laboratory. If we actually had competent people in Employee Relations this would not happen. My advice is fire everyone in Employee Relations and find people who will hold abusive manager and this will save the laboratory millions of dollars in lawsuits. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- November 24, 2013 at 6:27 PM You must realize that ER does absolutely nothing that they are not told to do by LLNS upper management. Management abuse of employees comes from the top. Is is their corporate culture. Live with it or leave. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- November 24, 2013 at 7:14 PM Frankly ER has no reason to exist at LLNS.

Nukes and drones

Hugh Gusterson believes the US government now faces the same dilemma over drones as it did over nuclear weapons in the late 1940s, and Filippa Lentzos examines the claim that Syria may have a weapon, perhaps a bioweapon, that can "blind in an instant," as Assad claims. These are great reads, and I hope you find them of interest. Which Drone Future Will Americans Choose? http://thebulletin.org/which-drone-future-will-americans-choose Syria and Bioweapons Transparency: http://www.thebulletin.org/syria-and-bioweapons-need-transparency -- Janice Sinclaire Internet Outreach Coordinator

Moniz Seek to Assure Feinstein Over B61 Refurbishment

Weapons Complex Monitor November 20, 2013 Hagel, Moniz Seek to Assure Feinstein Over B61 Refurbishment The Obama Administration will pursue retirement of the B83 nuclear gravity bomb once the current B61 life extension program is completed, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) earlier this month. Feinstein has been an outspoken skeptic of the Administration’s plans to refurbish the B61, a plan that it says will allow for future stockpile reductions by combining four B61 variants into one new refurbished bomb. In their Nov. 6 letter, which was obtained by NW&M Monitor, Hagel and Moniz noted that Feinstein suggested during a meeting with Liz Sherwood-Randall of the National Security Staff that she would support the B61 LEP if it led to stockpile cuts and the retirement of the B83 and sought to assure Feinstein that would take place. “Having a single B61 variant will enable a reduction in the number of deployed and non-deployed air-delivered nuclear gravity weapons in the stockpile, while increasing the safety and security of this aging system,” Hagel and Moniz wrote. “Additionally, by balancing reduced yield with improved accuracy, this LEP would allow us to pursue retirement of the B61-11, and the B83 gravity bomb, once confidence in the B61-12 stockpile is gained, as provided in the FY 2014 National Nuclear Security Administration Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan.” Led by Feinstein, the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee cut $168 million from the Administration’s $551 million request for work on the B61 in FY 2014, but the Administration has continued to advocate for the full amount. “Even in these times of reduced budgets, we believe the investments required to achieve these plans are needed to fulfill the President’s nuclear vision,” Hagel and Moniz wrote. “Both Departments are committed to the program and through studies of alternative options, believe the B61-12 LEP is the most cost effective option that meets military requirements and policy objectives. Maintaining the commitment to the necessary investments in this program and its capability is critical to the Administration’s nuclear security objectives, and we look forward to the full support of Congress.” When asked by NW&M Monitor last week whether a commitment to retire the B83 would allow her to support the B61 LEP, Feinstein said she was concerned about the size of the weapons and the scope of the LEP, which she said was “more like a Cadillac than a Ford.” November 21, 2013 at 8:17 AM Anonymous said... The Obama Administration will pursue retirement of the B83 nuclear gravity bomb once the current B61 life extension program is completed, November 21, 2013 at 8:17 AM It's curtains for the LLNL weapons program when this happens. Unless of course they steal another LANL design.

Nuke troubles run deep

Any of this below in the AP story sound familiar? Headline: Nuke troubles run deep; key officers "burned out" - Nov 20, 2013 - WASHINGTON (AP) — Trouble inside the Air Force's nuclear missile force runs deeper and wider than officials have let on. An unpublished study for the Air Force, obtained by The Associated Press, cites "burnout" among launch officers with their fingers on the triggers of 450 weapons of mass destruction. Also, evidence of broader behavioral issues across the intercontinental ballistic missile force, including sexual assaults and domestic violence. The study, provided to the AP in draft form, says that court-martial rates in the nuclear missile force in 2011 and 2012 were more than twice as high as in the overall Air Force. Administrative punishments, such as written reprimands for rules violations and other misbehavior, also were higher in those years. These indicators add a new dimension to an emerging picture of malaise and worse inside the ICBM force, an arm of the Air Force with a proud heritage but an uncertain future... ...Based on confidential small-group discussions last winter with about 100 launch officers, security forces, missile maintenance workers and others who work in the missile fields — plus responses to confidential questionnaires — RAND found low job satisfaction and workers distressed by staff shortages, equipment flaws and what they felt were stifling management tactics. It also found what it termed "burnout." Burnout in this context means feeling exhausted, cynical and ineffective on the job, according to Chaitra Hardison, RAND's senior behavioral scientist and lead author of the study. She used a system of measure that asks people to rate on a scale of 1 to 7 — from "never" to "always" — how often in their work they experience certain feelings, including tiredness, hopelessness and a sense of being trapped. An average score of 4 or above is judged to put the person in the "burnout" range. One service member said, "We don't care if things go properly. We just don't want to get in trouble." That person and all others who participated in the study were granted confidentiality by RAND in order to speak freely... news.yahoo.com/nuke-troubles-run-deep -key-officers-burned-184232764.html

Ranking does NOT work!

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/12/microsoft_kills_stack_ranking_reviews/