Tuesday’s Top Ten List & Congratulations UConn!

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM

1.  Lindy, where do clearances come from? Editor Lindy Kyzer with the birds and bees of clearances: “When it comes to sex and your security clearance, the best way to avoid issues is to be transparent with your spouse or significant other, and have friends who can support your good character.”

2.  Civil Service transformation. Contributor Jillian Hamilton explains, “Some things are a lot easier to complain about than fix. Civil service falls in that category. But you can’t fault people for trying. Partnership for Public Service, along with Booz Allen Hamilton released ‘Building the Enterprise: A New Civil Service Framework,’ a report that identifies the issues with the civil service system and recommends some major changes.” Download the report.

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

1.  Chipping away at East Ukraine. AP’s Peter Leonard reports from Donetsk, Ukraine, “Pro-Moscow activists barricaded inside government buildings in eastern Ukraine proclaimed their regions independent Monday and called for a referendum on seceding from Ukraine — an ominous echo of the events that led to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The Ukrainian government accused Russia of stirring up the unrest and tried to flush the assailants from some of the seized buildings, setting off fiery clashes in one city. Russia, which has tens of thousands of troops massed along the border, sternly warned Ukraine against using force.”

2.  DoD Budget Cuts. American Forces Press Service’s Nick Simeone reports, “The Navy and Marine Corps need to think about how to be more innovative, including leveraging experiences learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the face of budget challenges that could become more acute, acting Deputy Defense Secretary Christine H. Fox said . . . . Fox’s theme has reflected warnings senior defense officials have been making since last year’s budget sequester and the likelihood of further spending cuts to come: that the Pentagon is going to have to re-examine priorities, reduce overhead and shrink the force while finding ways to continue vigilance in what officials describe as an increasingly unpredictable global environment.”

3.  Al Qaeda arrest in Cairo. LongWarJournal.Org’s Thomas Joscelyn reports, “Thirwat Salah Shehata, an Egyptian who long served as one Ayman al Zawahiri’s top deputies, has reportedly been arrested in a suburb of Cairo. . . . Shehata was among the senior al Qaeda leaders who were sheltered inside Iran for much of the post-9/11 period. . . . Shehata is a veteran Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) and al Qaeda leader. The EIJ was headed by Ayman al Zawahiri and merged with Osama bin Laden’s operation prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.”

CONTRACT WATCH

1.  AgustaWestland courts the Navy. DefenseNews.Com’s Marcus Weisgerber reports, “Helicopter maker AgustaWestland is touting the capabilities of its American-built AW119Kx as a candidate to replace the US Navy’s current fleet of training choppers. . . . ‘There’s no real active [government] solicitations out right now, so we’re trying to incubate something, whether it’s with the Navy, the Coast Guard, [Customs and Border Protection], the Air Force [or] Army,’ Robert LaBelle, CEO of AgustaWestland North America, said Monday . . . .”

2.  Contractors—disclosing wage data. FederalTimes.Com’s Andy Medici reports, “Federal contractors will have to submit wage and salary data broken out by race and gender to the Labor Department under a presidential memo to be released April 8. The data will be used to encourage compliance with equal pay laws and to allow for more targeted enforcement of wage discrimination based on gender or race, according to an administration official.”

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

1.  Cracking the code—water as fuel. DefenseNews.Com covers, “The US Navy believes it has finally worked out the solution to a problem that has intrigued scientists for decades: how to take seawater and use it as fuel. The development of a liquid hydrocarbon fuel is being hailed as ‘a game-changer’ because it would significantly shorten the supply chain, a weak link that makes any force easier to attack. The US has a fleet of 15 military oil tankers, and only aircraft carriers and some submarines are equipped with nuclear propulsion.”

2.  NSA—“Almost Orwellian.” USNews.Com’s Steven Nelson reports, “The U.S. Supreme Court denied conservative legal activist Larry Klayman’s request for a fast-tracked review of the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of American phone records on Monday. Klayman won a preliminary injunction against the program – stayed pending appeal – from U.S. District Judge Richard Leon on Dec 16. Leon deemed the collection ‘almost Orwellian’ and almost certainly a violation of the Fourth Amendment. He did not address Klayman’s First and Fifth Amendment arguments in the preliminary decision.”

3.  Watch this Smartwatch. VentureBeat.Com’s Devindra Hardawar reports, “What if a smartwatch were more than just an accessory for your smartphone? Samsung may be testing that possibility with an upcoming smartwatch that can send and receive calls thanks to its very own SIM slot. And it seems Samsung has come up with just the right name for the standalone smartwatch: Gear Solo . . . .”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

1.  Kisses and Tells: “Freshman Louisiana Congressman Vance McAllister will probably have some difficulty running again on his ‘Faith, Family and Hard Work’ message this November after a video showing the Republican kissing a female staffer emerged on Monday. The revelation comes via the Ouachita Citizen newspaper in West Monroe, Louisiana, which posted a building surveillance video of McAllister and a woman—reportedly an aide—locking lips at, of all places, his congressional office in Monroe on Dec. 23 of last year. The woman in the video is reportedly McAllister’s district scheduler.”

2.  Crowding the Court: “Senate Democrats and liberal groups are mounting a pressure campaign against the Supreme Court, hoping to influence future decisions by blasting conservative justices for alleged political bias. The effort from the left also portrays the high court as an instrument rigged to help the wealthy, and is intended to energize Democratic voters and increase turnout in the midterm elections. Some legal experts see the effort as akin to basketball or soccer players ‘working the ref’ in a high-stakes game. Critics say Democratic leaders used a similar strategy in 2010, when they piled on the court for striking down the ban on political spending by corporations in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

1.  “Pentagon’s Reliance on Europe Is ‘Wishful Thinking.’DefenseOne.Com contributors Michael Shurkin and Chris Pernin argue, “The bottom line is that the U.S. military must do more with less, perhaps even a lot less. One area where it lapses into a bit of wishful thinking, however, is with the expressed desire that the United States better coordinate with its European allies toward the shared objective of strengthening NATO military capability. This is one area that deserves another look.”

2.  “Rwanda 20 years later: A model for progress and reconciliation.” Christian Science Monitor contributors Margee M. Ensign and Mathilde Mukantabana argue, “Though President Paul Kagame continues to face criticism from the West, the progress the people of Rwanda have achieved over the last 20 years under his leadership cannot be denied. Under Mr. Kagame, Rwandans have become agents of their own destiny, and their narrative is one of ascent. Alongside visionary women and men, many of whom fought to stop the genocide, Kagame has led the country through what may be the most significant example of human development of the past twenty 20 years.”

3.  “A Formula for Success with Iran.” DefenseOne.Com contributor Joseph Cirincione explains, “This week, negotiators from six world powers will meet again with Iran for what have become near-constant meetings on Iran’s nuclear program. Enough progress has been made by the group (the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany) that U.S. officials announced they would begin in May to draft the final agreement. Prospects for a deal this summer are rising, with official pronouncements now being matched by outside expert assessments.”

THE FUNNIES

1.  Famous Drool Ball.

2.  Free Speech.

3.  Ukraine.

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Ed Ledford enjoys the most challenging, complex, and high stakes communications requirements. His portfolio includes everything from policy and strategy to poetry. A native of Asheville, N.C., and retired Army Aviator, Ed’s currently writing speeches in D.C. and working other writing projects from his office in Rockville, MD. He loves baseball and enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring anything. Follow Ed on Twitter @ECLedford.