Thirsty Thursday

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM

1.  Cleared recruiting—tips, tips, and more tips. Contributor Jillian Hamilton offers, “Don’t search all over to answer your recruiting questions. Here is a round-up of some of our top cleared recruiting articles, published within the last year. Read on to learn about writing great job descriptions, implementing employee referral programs, and other need-to-know recruiting topics.”

2.  Salary negotiations . . . even more tips. Also from top tipster Jillian Hamilton, “Money isn’t everything, but salary negotiations are a key component of the recruiting process. Play hardball and you may land a desperate-for-a-job, under- qualified candidate who quickly doesn’t pan out. Or you could offend a highly qualified candidate who loses interest and finds work with a competitor instead. Few like to talk money, so here are six tactics to consider in your salary negotiations.”

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

1.  World War III. The Atlantic’s Roger Cohen makes a case: “Events cascade. It is already clear that the nationalist fervor unleashed by Putin after a quarter century of Russia’s perceived post–Cold War decline is far from exhausted. Russians are sure that the dignity of their nation has been trampled by an American and European strategic advance to their border dressed up in talk of democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. Whether this is true is irrelevant; they believe it. National humiliation, real or not, is a tremendous catalyst for war.” See also, “Three ways Middle East fighting threatens US national security.”

2.  Ukraine—machinations miscalculated. Slate.Com’s Lucian Kim reports, “The West has miscalculated Putin’s machinations ever since his Ukrainian proxy, then-President Viktor Yanukovych, fled to Russia in February after three months of pro-EU protests ended in a massacre on Kiev’s Maidan square. To most Western Europeans at the time, Ukraine was an annoyingly large, poor country whose aspirations for EU membership caused more headaches than jubilation. But to Putin, Ukraine signified a strategically vital buffer zone whose sovereignty came only second to Russia’s national security. He was playing the highest stakes from the very start.” See also, “Putin Appears to Be Preparing for Invasion . . . Again” and “Number of Russian Troops on Ukraine Border Rising.”

3.  De-mystifying Gaza. Salon.Com’s Omar Baddar explains, “For more than two decades, Palestinians and Israelis have been engaged in a so-called peace process, which aims to establish a Palestinian state on the occupied territories, the small areas from which Israel is legally required to withdraw. But that peace process failed time and again because Israel was never serious about allowing a viable Palestinian state to exist, and insisted on swallowing up more and more Palestinian land through relentless settlement expansion, in direct violation of international law. More recently, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu candidly (though only in Hebrew) ruled out the possibility of allowing a sovereign Palestinian state to exist.” See also, “Gaza toll soars,” “Hamas tunnels,” and “No refuge for Gazans.”

CONTRACT WATCH

1.  Price tags—F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. DoDBuzz.Com’s Brendan McGarry reports, “A longtime defense analyst and critic of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program says taxpayers next year will pay between $148 million and $337 million per jet, depending on the model. . . . $148 million for the Air Force’s F-35A, which can take off and land on conventional runways; $251 million for the Marine Corps’ F-35B, which can fly like a plane and hover and land like a helicopter; and $337 million for the Navy’s F-35C, which can take off and land on aircraft carriers. The average cost for all three variants is $178 million . . . .” See also, “Top USAF Officials Defend F-35” and “First Australian F-35s Are Rolled Out.”

2.  Cheaper IT. NextGov.Com’s Rebecca Carroll reports, “The latest plans to overhaul how the government buys and manages information technology are significantly less expensive than the ideas that circulated last year, according to nonpartisan projections. The version of the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act currently making its way through the Senate would cost $30 million over five years, according to a new estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. That’s far less than the $145 million CBO projected last November for similar legislation.”

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

1.  Post-MH-17 airspace security. AviationWeek.Com’s Karen Walker reports, “The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and other major global aviation organizations are forming a high-level international task force of state and industry experts to look at airspace security issues raised by the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 earlier this month. . . . ICAO is also convening a high-level safety conference with all of its 191 member States in February.”

2.  Keith Alexander—selling secrets? VentureBeat.Com’s Richard Byrne Reilly reports, “The biggest scandal to ever roil the National Security Agency, compliments of Edward Snowden, happened on his watch, but that hasn’t stopped retired General Keith Alexander from demanding a seven-figure technical consulting fee now that he’s a civilian. Alexander retired from the agency last year, and his name will be forever linked to Snowden’s vast data theft. When news of his million-dollar plus consulting fee leaked, Alexander was blasted my members of Congress, one of whom blamed him for profiteering by trading secrets for cash. More directly, Florida Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson accused Alexander Wednesday of disclosing ‘classified information to bank trade groups for monthly fees of up to $1,000,000.’”

3.  Self-flying chopper coming home. Wired.Com’s Alex Davies reports, “Back in 2010, the Navy decided it could use a self-flying helicopter, to take over dangerous missions delivering cargo to Marine Corps stations in Afghanistan. The work is usually done by human-driven ground vehicles that are susceptible to improvised explosive devices and insurgent attacks. Lockheed Martin landed the $45.8 million contract to make it happen. Rather than design an aircraft from scratch, they found the Kaman K-1200 K-MAX, which it fit their needs perfectly. The military-spec version of the helicopter is now back in the U.S. after a three-year tour, and Lockheed is finding new ways to use it in civilian and military affairs.”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

1.  Fourth point of contact: “Congressional investigators say this is why they want all of Lois Lerner’s emails. Newly released emails show the former IRS official referring to some right-wing Republicans as ‘crazies’ and more, a revelation that is fueling GOP claims of a political conspiracy at the tax agency to target conservative groups. . . . In one email, Lerner called some conservatives crazies. In the other, she called them ‘assholes.’ The committee redacted the wording to ‘-holes’ in the material it released publicly, but a committee spokeswoman confirmed to The Associated Press that the email said ‘assholes.’”

2.  At least they did something: “The House voted along party lines Wednesday to move forward with a lawsuit against President Barack Obama, escalating tension between the executive and legislative branches months before the pivotal midterm elections. The 225-201 vote authorizes Speaker John Boehner to take Obama to court on behalf of the House for delaying a provision in the health care overhaul that requires that most employers provide insurance to their workers. Republicans see the delay as a clear example of Obama overstepping his executive authority.”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

1.  “Clashes with Russia point to globalization’s end.” Reuters’ Mark Leonard argues, “As the European Union and the United States ramp up their sanctions on Russia, President Vladimir Putin’s plans for retaliation seem to include an attack on McDonald’s. There could not be a more powerful symbol that geopolitics is increasingly undoing the globalization of the world economy. . . . In the years after the Cold War, interdependence was a force for ending conflict.  But in 2014, it is creating it. After 25 years of being bound together ever more tightly, the world seems intent on resegregating itself.”

2.  “When Russia Violates Nuclear Treaties, Let’s Act Like Reagan.” DefenseOne.Com contributors Joseph Cirincione and Lauren Mladenka argue, “We have cajoled the Russians back into compliance before and – with the right staff in place and a united approach – we can do it again. In the process, we can prevent the Russians from rebuilding the weapons that Ronald Reagan so painstakingly destroyed.”

3.  “A Cycle of Vicious Hypocrisy.” USNews.Com contributor Boaz Atzili argues, “Whether Israel and the Hamas hold their fire in the next few days or not, the war will still go on. No, I don’t mean the one on the ground in the Gaza Strip or in towns and cities across Israel. I mean the fierce and relentless propaganda war. Ostensibly, this is a war about the hearts and minds of world public opinion. In reality, it is about the domestic public opinion in both communities.”

THE FUNNIES

1.  Responsibilities.

2.  Don’t let the door hit you in the butt.

3.  “It will attack and devour anything . . . .”

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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.