Friday Finale & This Time Last Year: Taliban Peace Talks, DNA Hard Drives, Desert Falcons
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Smart money. Contributor and in-house counsel Sean Bigley advises, “[M]any security clearance holders wisely choose to investigate their options when it appears they are in danger of losing their home. One of those options is called a ‘short sale.’ If done correctly, a short sale can offer a borrower – particularly one with a security clearance – major benefits.”
Survival skills. Contributor Jennifer Cary writes, “One of the benefits of working in a small office is you get to know everyone and they get to know you. For those who are self-motivated and ambitious, working in a small office is a great opportunity. Senior partners are more likely to know your name and you can build beneficial relationships with your coworkers. Even your day-to-day grind can be easier.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Sanctioning N. Korea. AP’s Eric Talmadge reports, “As the U.S. Congress passed a new set of sanctions on North Korea this week, South Korea shut down the last symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation and the United Nations Security Council discussed its own measures to punish the North for what it claimed was its first H-bomb test and subsequent rocket launch, people in Pyongyang were literally dancing in the streets.”
Simmering Cold War. Defense News’ Tom Kington reports, “Fear of Russian aggression will help drive European defense spending up by 8.3 percent this year, putting a halt to 20 years of declining budgets . . . . Over two decades after the end of the Cold War, Vladimir Putin’s expansionist policies in Crimea and Ukraine have pushed European leaders to once again increase their spending on military programs . . . .”
Iraq’s missing isotope. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “Iraqi security agencies are searching for ‘highly dangerous’ radioactive material stolen last year. Experts are worried that the material could fall into the hands of ISIS. The material – Ir-192 — is designated a Category 2 radioactive by the IAEA, and it could be used to build a ‘dirty bomb,’ which combines nuclear material with conventional explosives to contaminate an area with radiation.” See also, “Nuclear materials in Iraq ‘stolen’.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Progeny’s Payload Control System. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Navy undersea warfare experts needed an integrated system to help submarine crew members control submarine combat weapons such as torpedoes, missiles, mines, and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV). They found their solution from Progeny Systems Corp. in Manassas, Va. Officials of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington announced a $54.7 million five-year contract to Progeny on Wednesday to design and build the Payload Control System (PCS) software portion of the AN/BYG-1 submarine combat control system for all Navy submarines.”
Oshkosh win in detail. DoD Buzz’s Brendan McGarry reports, “The report recently released by the office of the Pentagon’s top weapons tester, J. Michael Gilmore, concluded that Oshkosh’s vehicle was not only more reliable than the existing up-armored Humvee (UAH), but was also far more reliable than its competitors . . . .”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Killer robot questions. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “The United Nations’ effort to ban killer robots will fail, but there are three important steps the United States can take to help slow the rise of lethal autonomous weapons systems, one of the most prominent voices in the robotics debate said this week.”
Cyberthreat info sharing. FierceGovernmentIT’s Molly Bernhart Walker reports, “The Homeland Security Department this week issued guidelines and procedures that will help government and private-sector entities better share cyberthreat information through DHS’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Center, or NCCIC. . . . The guidance included specific threat information sharing requirements for federal government entities and for non-federal.”
Clapper Tumbles. Nextgov reports, “James Clapper, director of national intelligence, isn’t your typical Tumblr user. However, he recently participated in the blogging network’s #AnswerTime. . . . Questions ranged in tone from confrontational to lighthearted, and Clapper discussed both his testimony on NSA surveillance and the potential existence of extraterrestrials . . . .”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Time bomb. “Republicans’ refusal to consider President Obama’s pending Supreme Court nominee is setting up the possibility of radical rule changes in 2017 that would change the Senate as it’s known today, by imposing what some are already calling the ‘thermo-nuclear’ option. . . . by the time next year rolls around both parties will be under tremendous pressure to push through their party’s favored nominee and block the other party’s pick.”
On the levers. “While the Vermont senator and real estate mogul have defied all pundit predictions, there are power brokers on both sides of aisle who will play major roles in deciding who will advance to the general election. Some are fans of the grassroots movements that have catapulted Trump and Sanders; some are not. The following is a list of major power players who could alter the 2016 election. . . .”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“For the Mideast, an anniversary to remember.” The Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board argues, “While Kuwait is valued as a source of oil – one reason for the Gulf War – it should now be valued more as a counterpoint to the growing authoritarianism and extremist Islamic rule in the region.”
“Selling You a Phone, Not Civil Liberties.” Lawfare contributors Susan Hennessey and Benjamin Wittes argue, “The problem is that Apple is actively—and we think somewhat duplicitously—using its various positions in different fora to map out a zone of immunity for itself, a kind of legal black hole in which nobody can force it to do anything.” See also, “Former NSA Chief Michael Hayden Sides With Apple.”
“The First Four Things You Should Do.” Levo contributor Elana Gross writes, “I learned just how productive one can be when you’re thoughtful about this. So grab some coffee and start make these four things a staple in your morning work routine . . . .”
