Shutdown D+5 and Where we’re headed
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Contractors – a screeching halt. The ripple effect reaches contracting agencies. Contributor Marc Selinger explains, “The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), which represents hundreds of aerospace and defense firms, warned Oct. 4 that its member companies will have to furlough tens of thousands of people if the shutdown continues. . . . production lines will have to screech to a halt.”
2. Final frustrating blows. Effects of the shutdown will be felt long into the future. Contributor Jillian Hamilton explains, “Employees are looking elsewhere – actively, as they encounter days at home and time on their hands. More employees may look to retire. When this shift happens, a knowledge base leaves with it. In any organization or company that has low morale, employees naturally start to look elsewhere. Often, top talent is the first to jump ship.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. U.S. Reliability Questioned Overseas. “Faith that the U.S. will always be there is fraying more than a little,” according to the AP: “An unmistakable sense of unease has been growing in capitals around the world as the U.S. government from afar looks increasingly befuddled – shirking from a military confrontation in Syria, stymied at home by a gridlocked Congress and in danger of defaulting on sovereign debt, which could plunge the world’s financial system into chaos.”
2. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Not so fast. Khamenei weighs in on Rouhani’s U.N. gestures. Reuters shares Khamenei’s perspective: “’While we are optimistic about our government’s diplomatic staff, we are pessimistic about the Americans. The U.S. government is not trustworthy, is self-important, and breaks its promises.’” Is Khamenei referring to our shutdown or international diplomacy?
3. “Mr. Rumsfeld Doesn’t Regret.” VanityFair.Com contributor and documentary filmmaker Errol Morris – remember, Fog of War – with a preview of his next documentary on our century’s first SecDef: “He was clearly proud of the role that he had played in the Bush administration. I realized right away that the film I hoped to make was not going to be a story about someone who felt remorse. . . . I decided not to interview any other people for the film. That kind of movie has been done thousands of times, and it usually produces similar results. I wanted my movie to look at history from the inside out—not an external history of events but a picture of an interior landscape, of Rumsfeld’s mind, his explanations to himself, of himself.”
4. In Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood continues clash with Egyptian authorities. Aljazeera.Com reports, “At least four people were killed in Cairo during protest marches staged by supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood . . . . Another 40 people were wounded as Morsi supporters and others against the military-backed interim government clashed with security forces in the capital and other cities across the country on Friday.” See also, Egypt’s revolution is over.
5. Syria’s chem – some progress. McClatchyDC.Com reports, “The international team tasked with the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons “has made encouraging initial progress,” according to a statement from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The release states that with this initial progress, the hope is that they will soon be able to begin destroying and disabling the equipment that makes waging chemical war possible. The equipment includes everything from production of the chemicals, to those that mix the chemicals to the machines that are used to fill the weapons used to deliver the deadly sarin, VX and mustard gas believed to be in the Syrian arsenal.”
6. Petraeus – not again. The fallen king once again draws scrutiny, this time for “lost” Medal of Honor paperwork. McClatchyDC.Com writer Jonathan S. Landay reports, “A Pentagon investigation into how a Medal of Honor nomination was ‘lost’ – possibly because of an improper effort to kill the award – is focused on its mishandling by members of the chain of command that included retired Army Gen. David Petraeus and other senior U.S. commanders. . . . Petraeus, while serving as the CIA director, told McClatchy last year that he had ‘no recollection of seeing’ Swenson’s packet. The memorandum noted that Petraeus signed Swenson’s packet on July 28, 2010. Petraeus didn’t respond to several email requests for a telephone call to discuss the discrepancy.
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Contractors: Feeling the Pain. GovExec.Com contributor Charles S. Clark reports, “contractors both large and small are raising alarms about ripple effects on their workforces and cash flow that threaten to worsen if the budget stalemate continues. The Aerospace Industries Association on Thursday called on Congress to accelerate the process toward a solution or risk private-sector furloughs and certification delays that could wreak havoc on schedules for aircraft delivery and space launches. . . . Lockheed Martin announced that some 3,000 employees have been identified for furlough on Monday, Oct. 7, due to the government shutdown. This number is expected to increase.”
2. BAE – key to LRSAM. The Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRSAM) and the Air Sea Battle (ASB). DefenseMediaNetwork.Com contributor John D. Gresham explains, “One of the key concepts of ASB is the ability to conduct long-range, standoff maritime strikes with precision weapons able to pick out targets autonomously in crowded sea lanes and coastal areas. . . . LRASM operators [have] the ability to fire a missile into a potentially crowded area of ocean, including those containing neutral shipping, and reliably hit specific types of enemy shipping, potentially down to individual hull numbers.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. The future of ground warfare? DARPA started it, and Boston Dynamics advances it, but we won’t stop there. Wired.Com contributor Allen McDuffee reports, “Funded by DARPA, WildCat uses a combination of galloping and bounding to move and gain speed, as the video below shows, and can already recover from stumbles and falls with ease. It’s still not totally clear what military applications Cheetah or WildCat will have once fully developed (although one guess is to carry military equipment in war zones if it gets a quieter power source), but DARPA has previously said that Cheetah could be used for ‘emergency response, firefighting, advanced agriculture and vehicular travel.’” Or chasing terrorists. Don’t miss related from NBC.
2. NSA cracks web anonymity. Tor was a haven for millions “to keep business secrets, protect their identities from oppressive political regimes or conduct research without revealing themselves.” WashingtonPost.Com tech contributors Barton Gellman, Craig Timberg and Steven Rich explain, “NSA has mounted increasingly successful attacks to unmask the identities and locations of users of Tor. In some cases, the agency has succeeded in blocking access to the anonymous network, diverting Tor users to insecure channels. In others, it has been able to ‘stain’ anonymous traffic as it enters the Tor network, enabling the NSA to identify users as it exits.” See related, Silk Road, hosted by Tor, finds new homes.
3. Ban Skype. I agree. Pakistan sees Skype as something more than a distraction for homesick troops: “The southern province of Sindh, home to Pakistan’s largest city and commercial center Karachi, will ban voice-messaging services for three months ‘because terrorists are using them’ . . . . The list of services to be banned includes Microsoft’s Skype and Viber. Messaging app WhatsApp may also have to go.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. District crazy dance in full swing. The continuing resolution stalemate, the debt ceiling deadline, crazed drivers, and now self-immolation as a metaphor for our government’s tantrum . . . “A man set himself on fire Friday afternoon on the National Mall while facing the U.S. Capitol, witnesses reported. . . . A woman walking on the Mall said the air ‘smelled strongly of burning flesh.’” All of which brings to mind Ozzie.
2. McConnell’s all wired up. He meant literally, not figuratively! In spite of McConnell’s plain warning to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Paul starts spilling his guts to McConnell, and CNN, and the rest of us: “’I think if we keep saying, ‘We wanted to defund it. We fought for that and that we’re willing to compromise on this’, I think they can’t, we’re gonna, I think… well, I know we don’t want to be here, but we’re gonna win this, I think.’”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Obama’s diplomatic opportunity.” WashingtonPost.Com contributor David Ignatius argues, “President Obama is approaching one of those moments when a big turn in foreign policy is possible. People can debate whether it’s the equivalent of the opening to China or the end of the Cold War, but there’s no doubt that this is a time of opportunity . . . . Because this diplomacy engages countries that have been our adversaries, some observers see signs of American weakness or even capitulation. They’re mistaken. The United States will be stronger if it can create a new framework for security in the Middle East that involves Iran and defuses the Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict threatening the region. But change frightens people, especially when it’s being pushed by a president who is perceived as weak at home and abroad.”
2. “Who’s Really ‘Winning’ the Government Shutdown Debate?” TheDailyBeast.Com staff writer Jamelle Bouie argues, “The continuing resolution isn’t the place for broad budget negotiations. Republicans don’t get goodies for allowing the government to run, as if it’s some kind of concession. Likewise, they aren’t privileged in their preferences for the Affordable Care Act. If the GOP wants to repeal or defund the law, it should build support, win elections, and pursue its goals through normal means. To do otherwise, to force legislative concessions through manufactured crisis, is to destabilize our system and damage the foundation of our democracy.”
2. “Government shutdown, a social breakdown.” Aljazeera.Com contributor Sarah Kendzior argues, “Rule by ideology is far more dangerous than it was in the 1990s, because this shutdown takes place in extreme economic vulnerability. . . . The government shutdown only formalises the dysfunction that has been hurting ordinary Americans for decades. It is not a political shutdown but a social breakdown. Fixing it requires a reassessment of value – and values.”
THE FUNNIES
1. A-Rod suits up.
2. Tea time.
3. America’s Cup.
