FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Diversity trend favoring women vets. Contributor Tranette Ledford reports, the job market is finally trending up for women vets, and she maps the hot spots: “Veteran and women’s organizations are stepping up to assist women veterans adjust to civilian life and shorten the time span between transition and employment. With hiring gains among women in several key industries, women veterans with an active clearance would do well to capitalize on the diversity trend.”
2. DHS expects proactive participation from job seekers. Editor Lindy Kyzer reports, if you want to work in a cleared job at DHS, be proactive – they’re not going to do the work for you: “One of the primary complaints by security officers in the 2009 IG report were delays in completing required paperwork by applicants. If you’re applying for a position requiring a security clearance, be sure to complete your information in a timely matter (ideally within one-week but no more than two).”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Tired of trying to talk, interim government blames the Brotherhood. Never ones much for compromise, the Muslim Brotherhood is at fault for the whole, bloody mess says the Egyptian government: “‘Today ends the phase of diplomatic efforts, which began more than ten days ago. The Egyptian state . . . holds the Muslim Brotherhood fully responsible for the failure of those efforts [by foreign envoys] and what may be the consequences of this failure.’’” See also, “Diplomacy has failed,”
2. 6 more bow to U.S. drones in Yemen. Reuters reports, “It was the fifth strike in less than two weeks and follows warnings of potential attacks by militants that pushed Washington to shut missions across the Middle East, and the United States and Britain to evacuate staff from Yemen. Witnesses and local officials in the province of Shabwa said the drone fired at least six missiles at two vehicles in a remote area some 70 km (50 miles) north of the provincial capital, Ataq. Both vehicles were destroyed. Residents who rushed to the scene found only charred bodies, they said.” Or, maybe it was 7.
3. 17 August ends furlough for 650,000 DoD’ers. American Forces Press Service reporter Jim Garamone reports, “Hagel signed a memo cutting furlough days for about 650,000 Defense Department civilian employees from 11 to six. This means that for most employees, the furlough will be over Aug. 17.”
4. Syria – our next big threat. Wall Street Journal reports, “The Central Intelligence Agency’s second-in-command warned that Syria’s volatile mix of al Qaeda extremism and civil war now pose the greatest threat to U.S. national security. . . . there are now more foreign fighters flowing into Syria each month to take up arms with al Qaeda-affiliated groups, than there were going to Iraq to fight with al Qaeda at the height of the war there.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. More equipment to Iraq – topping $5 billion. DefenseNews.Com reports, “The Pentagon has notified the US Congress of $2.7 billion in possible new sales to Iraq of air defense and communications systems. The latest contracts would raise to nearly $5 billion the value of a series of US arms sales to Iraq that have been sent to Congress over the past two weeks.”
2. How to win the proposal fight. WAshingtonTechnology.Com contributor Bob Lohfeld shared 5 tips that can make your proposal pop: “I’m amazed at how few companies present good, compelling technical solutions in their proposals. The reason is probably that their technical teams don’t know what constitutes a good proposal solution. In this article, I’m going to describe the process we use to ensure we develop solutions that will score well when reviewed by government proposal evaluators. Here’s how we do it.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. Hacker insurance – are you protected? VentureBeat.Com’s Meghan Kelly announces, “The U.S. government has been exploring various incentives for getting private businesses to comply with a new set of security standards it is creating. It has surveyed the tech community for ideas on what might get businesses interested, and it seems cybersecurity insurance is at the top of the list.
2. “Untrackable. Unhackable. Undistractable.” The tech market’s catalyst – the NSA. Expect to continue seeing products meant to make you invisible to the NSA, and the FBI, and the CIA, and DHS, and DEA, and ATF . . . “Take OFF Pocket for example. A signal-blocking smartphone case, the OFF Pocket shields your phone from signals of up to 100dB, making it even more effective than stowing your phone in a refrigerator. (As people like famed leaker Edward Snowden so often do.) Developed by stealth clothing pioneer Adam Harvey, the OFF Pocket blocks just about every signal your phone emits or receives — including 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.” Remember Harvey? Stealth Wear.
3. Judicious decision eases Manning’s sentence. The Guardian explains the math behind Manning’s sentencing: “Bradley Manning’s maximum possible sentence for leaking state secrets to WikiLeaks was cut from 136 years to a possible 90 years on Tuesday, marking a rare victory for the defence in a trial that has so far swung almost exclusively in the US government’s direction. The judge presiding over the court martial, Colonel Denise Lind, granted the most elements of a defence motion calling for some of the 20 counts for which Manning has been found guilty to be merged on grounds that they repeat each other.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Serious dance moves – the Department of State. FreeBeacon.Com wins today’s Potomac Two-Step Coverage award, reporting on the DoS August 6 press conference: “State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told Matt Lee of the Associated Press Tuesday that the U.S. had ‘determined that we do not need to make a determination” over whether or not the ousting of Mohamed Morsi in Egypt was a coup.’” You have to read – and watch – this magnificent exchange.
2. Dancing out of the dark – shark week surprise. CIA Director Brennan threatens to make speeches. TheDailyBeast.Com Daniel Klaidman reports, “Since becoming CIA Director last March, John Brennan has made no public appearances. Was he slipping into the shadows and assuming the more secretive posture of spymasters from a bygone era? Not according to CIA officials. Rather Brennan was intent on digging into the vast array of responsibilities — operational, analytic and technological — that he now oversees as the Director of Central Intelligence. Moreover, Brennan who had a reasonably high profile as President Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser during the first term, wanted to demonstrate his commitment to the CIA work force before going out on the public speaking circuit.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Have the Terrorists Won?” LATimes.Com columnist Doyle McManus argues convincingly that they have, at least on their terms: “Al Qaeda hasn’t gone away, but it has changed — in a way that makes it less dangerous for Americans at home, but more dangerous for Americans who live in the Middle East and Africa.”
2. “Al Qaida’s Won this Round.” Piling on with McManus (above), NationalJournal.Com’s Sara Sorcher argues, “If the terror group’s objective was to sow fear and disrupt U.S. operations, then its threat is already a success.”
3. How Al Qaida has changed, not lost. USAToday.Com’s Editorial Board argues on AQ, “It is wounded. It is weakened. It has been reshaped. But if anyone needed a reminder that the struggle against terrorism that has defined the past 12 years is far from over, they now have one, complete with useful insight into the way the threat has changed.”
THE FUNNIES
1. At a loss.
3. Yankees go home.
