Never get out of the boat, Tuesday’s Top Ten, & High Noon + 1:00

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM

1.  The epic proportion of automation in background checks alleviates rapidly rising requirements.  Editor Lindy Kyzer reports, “In FY 2012 FIS conducted 23 million individual item checks, adding up to 2,600 checks per minute. Checks include education and residence verification, and employment history, among other things. Some investigations require only automated checks and can be accomplished in a matter of minutes. Others, including top secret security clearance determinations, require hands-on manpower which can take anything from hours to days.”

2.  Subtle sense of paranoia surrounds government’s leveraging of social media resources.  Contributor Diana Rodriguez reports, “Last week, CIO.Gov published the CIO Council, Privacy Best Practices for Social Media. CIO.Gov is the website of the U.S. Chief Information Officer and the Federal CIO Council. . . . ‘When monitoring publicly available sites, an agency should extract only the pertinent, authorized information that is needed to fulfill business or mission need.’  And ‘The agency should limit its information gathering to facts surrounding the event (what is happening), rather than who is either involved or reporting the information, unless the agency has specific legal authority to collect information on individuals.’”  Whatever you do, don’t come across as some NSA-bot.

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

1.  Kabul-Washington agreement by OctoberKhaama.Com writer Ghanizada reports, “The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham on Monday said that he expects the bilateral security agreement between Kabul and Washington is finalized by the month of October this year. While speaking during a press conference in capital Kabul, the U.S. ambassador James Cunningham said both Kabul and Washington is committed to sign the bilateral security agreement, despite incorrect information was broadcasted regarding the agreement recently. . . . Cunningham said that security cooperation and presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 is directly linked with the bilateral security agreement between the two nations. The ambassador insisted that in the event that the bilateral security agreement was not signed, then it will have a direct impact on security cooperation and presence of U.S. troops beyond 2014.”

2.  Talibanado – Pakistan prison break frees 30 militantsSmallWarsJournal.Com writer Bill Roggio reports yet another orchestrated prison break freeing jihadists: “The attack began around midnight with a massive explosion outside the prison, which was followed by several more detonations designed to breach the prison walls. A team of Taliban fighters dressed in police uniforms then stormed the prison and engaged the guards while searching for imprisoned jihadists. . . . ‘A total of 243 prisoners have escaped, six of them were later arrested by police,” said a senior government official who was identified as Mushtaq Jadoon, according to Al Jazeera. At least ‘30 among the escaped prisoners were hardcore militants.’  The identities of those who escaped have not yet been disclosed.”  See related from AlJazeera.Com: “About 250 prisoners escape after gunmen launch raid on prison in northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan.”

3.  Morsi marches sidestep violence, for onceUPI.Com reports, “Supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi marched on three sites in Cairo Monday, protesting the interim government. No bloodshed was reported.  Protesters were marching toward military intelligence headquarters, the interior minister’s home and on a highway to the airport, the BBC reported.  They also demonstrated at the capital, calling for the reinstatement of Morsi, who was removed from office July 3 amid protests against his administration.”

4.  AFRICOM troopers training Ugandan partners.  U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Andrew Bolla reports from Kampala, Uganda, “Uganda People’s Defense Force soldiers recently completed a 10-week joint engagement with U.S. Marines and Sailors assigned to Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Africa for a deployment to Somalia later this year. Uganda provides troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia, or AMISOM, a regional peacekeeping mission in Somalia supported by the United Nations. The Marine task force supports Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa’s mission, which is to counter violent extremist organizations in Somalia and East Africa, by sharing best practices and building strong partnerships with the Ugandan soldiers.”

5.  Homs back in Syrian government handsReuters reports that al-Assad government is now in charge: “Syrian troops drove insurgents from a central district of Homs on Monday, tightening their siege on remaining rebel bastions in the city, which links Damascus to the Mediterranean heartland of President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect.  The military’s gains in Khalidiya district follow a counter-offensive by Assad’s forces, which have pushed back rebels around the Syrian capital and retaken several towns and villages near the border with Lebanon in the last few weeks.  ‘As of this morning the armed forces, in collaboration with the National Defense Force, took full control of Khalidiya,’ an army officer said, referring to the NDF militia which has fought in the offensive, along with Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.”

CONTRACT WATCH

1.  DHS putting its NSA pants onNextGov.Com reports, “The Homeland Security Department wants to make big data analysis a bigger part of its mission, contracting documents show. . . . The department is asking big data vendors to compete for the opportunity to present their products to Homeland Security technology staffers and contractors. . . . Big data refers to new technologies that are able to spot patterns in large volumes of unstructured information, such as video and satellite feeds or chemical and biological sensors.  The technology has been used extensively by U.S. intelligence agencies to spot suspicious activities and to a lesser extent by the civilian government to root out fraud in federal programs and gather better data about program performance.”

2.  Sequestration compromising contracting efficiencies through second-order effectsDefenseNews.Com contributor Marcus Weisgerber reports, “industry sources said furloughs have made it more difficult for them to arrange meetings with DoD officials since civilian workers began furloughs.  One industry source said regular meetings between DoD and contractors have been difficult to schedule.”

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

1.  Chapter closing on Manning-mania.  Today, we’ll hear military Judge Colonel Denise Lind’s decision: “The verdict will be read on Tuesday at the court-martial of the soldier accused of the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history, the judge said, with the biggest question whether he will be convicted of the most serious charge of aiding the enemy, carrying a life sentence. . . .”  Prediction – aiding the enemy charge will be dropped and saved for a bigger fish.

2.  Biometric Apple in SeptemberVentureBeat.Com contributor John Koetsier expands the leak:  “Apple leaks new iPhone: iOS 7 beta 4 reveals new biometric fingerprint sensor coming . . . This new feature is almost certain to come on Apple’s iPhone 5S, which was rumored to be arriving in July but now looks set for September. . . . Unless Apple is fooling us all by putting random messages into iOS 7 beta 4, of course. That’s unlikely, which means it looks like a thumbprint could be how Apple will enable people to unlock iPhones, as well as perhaps authenticating purchases or contracts, or any other kind of identification protocols that might be imagined by third-party developers.”

3.  Comey – next FBI directorReuters’ Thomas Ferraro reports last evening, “Former Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Comey, a Republican who gained fame when he refused to sanction a government surveillance initiative in 2004, won Senate confirmation on Monday as President Barack Obama’s pick to head the FBI. The vote was 93-1.”  See related from UPI.Com.

4.  A quick glance at the history – and future – of WordPressTechland.Time.Com contributor Harry McCracken shares outcomes from his interview with WordPress deity Matt Mullenweg: “According to WordPress’s creator, Matt Mullenweg, its mission is both simple and wildly ambitious:  It wants to democratize the web. . . . Mullenweg is personally leading development of WordPress’s upcoming 3.8 release, returning to a hands-on management role, which he had passed on to others for other releases.”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

1.  Hillary’s Hitch HikeHuffingtonPost.Com reports, “President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are dining privately at the White House Monday. While it’s not the first time the pair have seen each other since Clinton left the administration earlier this year, each of their get-togethers are closely analyzed.  That’s because Clinton is considered a leading contender to replace Obama, though she hasn’t said whether she’ll launch another presidential campaign.”  Clinton is a leading contender until Chris Christie switches parties and goes for the brass ring.

2.  Christie’s Conga – First dance of a long set indicates Christie heading southWaPo’s Chris Cillizza scores the round: “Christie kicked off a pitched battle that has since only gotten nastier. And his timing was spot-on when it comes to his own political future.  Christie is giving a 2016 presidential run very close consideration. If he does run, he would face immediate challenges in a Republican primary field that promises to be chock-full of broadsides from more conservative candidates. And if the Republican Party continues drifting any further toward Paul, Christie’s path to victory would look even more difficult. So, for the governor, it’s best to have this battle now, well in advance of 2016.”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

1.  Cerebral analysis of Wikileaks and the likeAlJazeera.Com contributor Christian Christensen argues, “While it would be a stretch to say that September 11, 2001 was the genesis date for groups such as WikiLeaks and Anonymous, it would nevertheless be fair to suggest that the range of domestic (US) and geo-political events that followed those attacks 12 years ago had a profound effect upon global activism: from the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the occupations of those two countries, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, the Bush presidency, the London and Madrid bombings, the global War on Terror, The Patriot Act, to PRISM. In all of these cases, from the attacks themselves to the passage of restrictive censorship and privacy legislation, an understanding of “workings” and “process” was (and remains) fundamental.”  Annnnnnnnnnd he quotes Michel Foucault.

2.  US-Afghan Security Agreement ChallengesKhaama.Com contributor Sami Jabarkail argues, “Kabul has been limited in its ability to constructively address Pakistan’s regional concerns and fears while the International community has done less or nothing to build that much needed trust between the two neighbors. Instead of negotiating peace with Taliban officials in Qatar, the focus should be on Islamabad where the key to Afghan peace remains locked.  To ensure long term peace and security, the Afghan army needs to be equipped with sophisticated weapons so that they can thwart any militant attacks. The international partners should therefore be more realistic in delivering on their commitments underlined in strategic partnerships they have signed with the Afghan people. Otherwise, it indicates a dire lack of international partnership to see Afghanistan seeking military assistance from India while NATO allies continue to remove their resources from the war-torn country and implode their military bases.”

3.  Mideast peace – don’t get your hopes upAP’s Dan Perry argues in detailed analysis that “with peace talks finally set to begin anew this week, it is striking how few in the region itself expect a deal: The previous rounds have led many to conclude that when it comes to details, the Palestinians’ minimal demands simply exceed what Israel is willing to deliver.”

THE FUNNIES

1.  Hat trick.

2.  Overkill?

3.  Third time’s the charm?

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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.