LLNL - The True Story -

Happy 2017! May the new DOE chief remember the name of his department!  Best wishes for health and prosperity! 

Thought you might find this editorial bungle of interest.  Or, maybe it’s buried in the fine print along with language re taking over NNSS and nobody’s found it yet? The editorial was in the print edition, but apparently has been pulled from the on-line edition. All eyes will be on the new manager of Sandia Labs ·           Albuquerque Journal – Editorial Page ·           24 Dec 2016 ·             As of June 1, Sandia National Laboratories — a huge driver of the local and state economies — comes under new management. National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, a subsidiary of Honeywell International, won a $2.6 billion contract to take over management of Sandia, one of the nation’s three nuclear weapons labs. For the past 23 years, Sandia has been operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin compan...

WIPP looks to open The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has been closed since February 2014 when a radiation release contaminated a significant portion of the repository, where disposal rooms are carved out of a thick salt formation deep underground. The shutdown put shipments from around the country on indefinite hold as the federal government poured hundreds of millions of dollars into recovery efforts and policy overhauls. New Mexico regulators cited the government and the contractor for numerous permit violations related to the radiation release and an unrelated fire involving a mining truck weeks earlier. That resulted in a multimillion-dollar settlement with the state. Los Alamos National Laboratory, in northern New Mexico, also was cited because the breached container of waste from 2014 had been inappropriately packed there before being shipped to the repository. Investigators said the incident could have been avoided had managers not ignored existing policies and procedures for hand...

Starting to look like Leidos has won against NNSA for pulling back the NNSS contract. Onto the next phase of hiring employees to run the place as soon as NesTEC gets out of there. http://jobs.leidos.com/ShowJob/Id/1057155/Electronic-Security-Systems-Manager/

New nuclear arms race in the cards President-elect Donald Trump on Friday morning escalated his calls for a stronger U.S. nuclear arsenal, saying he was fine with an “arms race” if it puts the U.S. in a stronger position against foreign adversaries. “Let it be an arms race … we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all,” Trump told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” during an off-air conversation on Friday. The attempt at a clarification came after Trump alarmed some with a vague tweet on Thursday that said, “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.” http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-nuclear-arms-race-russia-232944

Ex-Lawrence Livermore Lab scientist sentenced to prison over faking research to get U.S. grants  http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/20/former-lawrence-livermore-lab-research-scientist-sentenced-to-prison/ I'm curious how is it that no managers are involved in this? It is not possible to bring in work-for-others projects without many layers of management approval, once once projects come in they are frequently (e.g. quarterly) reviewed by management.

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday pledged his commitment to the U.S. nuclear arsenal, saying the country must “greatly strengthen” its capabilities, at least for now. “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes,” Trump said in a tweet on Thursday http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-us-nuclear-capability-232920

How much does removing the word "limited" affect LLNL mission and projected funding. See article in LA times. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-missile-defense-unlimited-20161221-snap-20161221-story.html

According to this story almost all of the companies that operate one of the nuclear weapons sites have paid large sums to settle federal cases. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/12/21/nuclear-weapon-firms-pay-settle-illegal-lobbying-cases/95609254/

Still NOT prepared to win. Per the last two sentences of Sec J Amd 1, the new SNL manager needs to claim it is ready to assume full responsibility for NNSS before it can also take over SNL. https://nnsa.energy.gov/aboutus/ouroperations/apm/majcontrsolicitation/snlcomp/final-solicitation-document-de-sol-0008470 https://nnsa.energy.gov/sites/default/files/nnsa/multiplefiles/SEC%20J_Appendix%20J%20-%20Transition%20Plan%20Amd%201.pdf Seems a little strange to have such a requirement.

Now this is interesting that NNSA just posted a job opening today for the contract administrator in Albuquerque to be in charge of the Sandia M&O effort. https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/460356700/ Comment: Anonymous December 21, 2016 at 6:56 PM Why does a contract administrator make as much as an SMTS with a PhD working at SNL?? Drain the swamp.

I love how Obama has this morally self-righteous high-ground, holier than thou persona, and criticizes Trump for wanting to suppress climate change science, but then he secretly manipulates scientists in just the same slime ball manner. What a joke. So glad to see him out of the WH.

10:30 AM on December 21 has come. Where is the announcement of the new SNL leadership team that was supposed to happen??

DOE fires scientist for talking to Congress about research "A top DoE scientist who liaised with Congress on the matter was fired by the Obama administration for being too forthright with lawmakers, according to the report, which provides an in-depth look at the White House’s efforts to ensure senior staffers toe the administration’s line." http://freebeacon.com/politics/congress-obama-admin-fired-top-scientist-advance-climate-change-plans/

Former LANL manager sues lab for wrongful termination: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/former-lanl-manager-sues-lab-for-wrongful-termination/article_55706719-010f-586c-8950-b0d52ee7b6a5.html