Humph Day Highlights & Happy Guy Fawkes Day
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Intel Emmys. Contributor Jillian Hamilton reports, “Outside the rare and usually controversial news stories, it’s rare that we get a glimpse inside the inner workings of the intelligence community. One event that provides this view is the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA)’s Annual Achievements Awards on November 13, 2014. . . . [S]ee some of the achievements made by the intelligence community and put a ‘real face’ on the intelligence community beyond the leadership . . . .”
2. Life of the intel analyst. Also from Jillian Hamilton, “Analysts should be flexible and expect that as the organization’s priorities shift, so will the assignments. Intel Analysts may have to pause one project and start another due to direction from leadership. Additionally, Analysts must be adept at understanding the audience and then tailoring the reports to meet the requirements and needs of the customer. Generally, the daily tasks are repetitive and routines will remain the same.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Shiites lead wins in Iraq. AP’s Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Vivian Salama report, “When Islamic State militants retreated from the embattled town of Jurf al-Sakher last week, the Iraqi military was quick to flaunt a rare victory . . . . However, photos soon emerged on independent Iraqi news websites revealing a more discrete presence—the powerful Iranian general Ghasem Soleimani—whose name has become synonymous with the handful of victories attributed to Iraqi ground forces. Local commanders said Lebanon’s powerful Shiite Hezbollah group was also on the front lines.”
2. Kurds vs. Kurds in Kobani. AP’s Bassem Mroue and Qassim Abdul-Zahra report, “A top military commander for the extremists in [Kobani] is an Iraqi Kurd, known by the nom de guerre of Abu Khattab al-Kurdi, helping them in the battle against fellow Kurds. Officials with the main Syrian Kurdish force known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, say they became aware of the Kurds among the mostly Sunni Muslim extremists early in the fighting.” Rudaw.Net’s Sharmila Devi reports, “Anwar Muslim, president of the Syrian Kurdish canton of Kobane, appealed for more international support and weapons to defeat Islamic State militants. He thanked the United States, which has air dropped weapons, and the Iraqi Peshmerga, who crossed the Turkish border into Kobane last Friday and where they appear to have helped to halt ISIS attacks.”
3. Russia nuzzling Ukrainian border. TheMoscowTimes.Com reports, “Russia has moved troops closer to the border with Ukraine and continues to support rebels in the country’s east, NATO’s chief has said, after an election held by the pro-Russian separatists was condemned by Kiev and Western leaders. Ukraine’s president said Tuesday that the Sunday’s vote flouted terms of a plan to end a war that has killed more than 4,000 people, and that newly formed army units would be sent to defend a string of eastern cities against a possible new rebel offensive.”
4. New Chair Senate Armed Services Committee. Reuters’ Andrea Shalal and David Alexander report, “Senator John McCain’s voice just got a whole lot louder. One of President Barack Obama’s noisiest detractors, McCain is expected to take the helm of the powerful Armed Services Committee in the new Republican-controlled U.S. Senate when the U.S. Congress convenes in January.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Lockheed partners with Israel Aerospace Industry. DefenseNews.Com’s Barbara Opall-Rome reports, “Touted by US and Israeli officials as a new milestone in decades-long defense-industrial cooperation, state-owned Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI) inaugurated a production line Tuesday to provide wings for Lockheed Martin-produced F-35 joint strike fighters. Under an estimated $2.5 billion industrial cooperation deal, the new facility at IAI’s Lahav Division will produce up to 811 wing sets through 2030 at a rate of four per month.”
2. GE’s ADEPT4000 – UAV video tracker. MilitaryAerospace.Com Editor John Keller reports, “GE Intelligent Platforms in Huntsville, Ala., is introducing the rugged ADEPT4000 compact high-definition digital video tracker with electronic image processing for unmanned vehicles, portable systems, and other small applications. The HD digital video tracker has the capability to perform tracking, image stabilization and video compression simultaneously in a package designed to minimize size, weight and power (SWaP) in constrained environments.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. Jihadi command and control. Christian Science Monitor’s Whitney Eulich reports, “In the latest warning from European officials concerned with online recruiting of fighters for extremist groups like Islamic State, the new director of Britain’s surveillance agency said social media have become ‘the command and control networks of choice for terrorists.’ He also said that US-based technology companies must work more closely with security and law enforcement agencies worldwide.”
2. Loose lips. DefenseNews.Com’s Jeff Schogol reports, “The head of US Naval Special Warfare Command and its senior enlisted sailor have reminded SEALs and other special operators to stay out of the limelight. The Oct. 31 letter from Rear Adm. Brian Losey and Force Master Chief Michael Magaraci to Naval Special Warfare sailors stresses that they should strive for the respect of their colleagues, not public acclaim. . . . ‘We will not abide willful or selfish disregard for our core values in return for public notoriety and financial gain, which only diminishes otherwise honorable service, courage and sacrifice’ . . . .”
3. NSA seeks self-healing computers. NextGov.Com’s Aliya Sternstein reports, “Agency networks should be able to not only continuously detect hackers and throttle their destructive tactics—but also robotically bounce back. ‘We’ve talked about the need to go from static defenses,’ such as firewalls, under so-called continuous monitoring, to ‘active cyber defenses—doing automated hardening, automated defense of our networks,’ said Philip Quade, chief operating officer of NSA’s information assurance directorate.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. GOP leads: “Republicans won a Senate majority late Tuesday, ensuring they will be in complete control of Capitol Hill when the new Congress convenes in January. The GOP wave finally swamped Democrats when Joni Ernst of Iowa became the sixth Republican candidate, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina the seventh, to seize seats from their opponents. These wins followed pickups in Colorado, Arkansas, Montana and West Virginia. Republicans also fended off Democratic challenges in Kentucky and Kansas. Republicans will have at least a 51-49 margin over Democrats who dominated the upper chamber throughout President Obama’s first six years in office. The Louisiana race will be decided in a Dec. 6 runoff; the Alaska race remains undecided.”
2. Cruz channels Earp: “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday night declared that the ‘era of Obama lawlessness is over’ as Republicans seized control of the Senate. ‘The American people have risen up and frankly, at the national level, they have given Republicans another chance,’ he said during a speech in Austin. ‘If and when we retake the majority nationally, it will be incumbent on Republicans to lead. To stand up with a bold positive, optimistic agenda to turn this country around, to bring back jobs and growth and opportunity.’ Cruz, who is seen as a likely presidential contender in 2016, offered up a laundry list of conservative goals for the next Congress.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Putin’s created an economic crisis and left Moscow no easy way out.” Reuters contributor William E. Pomeranz argues, “Western sanctions have left Russia in dire financial circumstances — stuck somewhere between recession and stagnation. Though proven solutions exist for what now ails Russia, President Vladimir Putin’s geo-strategic and political choices have rendered these traditional economic approaches unworkable.”
2. “The Arbaki can secure Afghanistan better than the US.” Aljazeera.Com contributor Ali Seraj argues, “Today, as western solutions fail in Afghanistan, a growing number of Afghans are convinced that peace and security can only be achieved through Afghan solutions. Peace can be achieved in Afghanistan, but the tribes must be engaged and empowered to assist the Afghan National Army. In keeping with Afghan tradition, a jirga (assembly of elders) must be convened. There, the wise men must agree to activate the Arbaki.”
3. “Africa’s test of unity over Ebola crisis.” Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board argues, “With the Ebola crisis, Africa may be forced to find the unity it needs for change.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Xmas 2016.
3. Walking dead.
