FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Leaking to the press. Contributor Chandler Harris reports, “After Stephen Jin-Woo Kim was sentenced to 13 months in prison for leaking classified information to a reporter, questions are being raised regarding the challenges of interpreting new laws prohibiting discussions with the media.”
2. Winning job descriptions. Contributor Jillian Hamilton advises, “The job description speaks volumes about your company. A confusing and vague job description could cause a candidate to think twice about applying to a company that does not have thorough and clear communications.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Thailand—the Coup is on. WashingtonPost.Com’s Chico Lawrence and Lennox Samuels report, “Soldiers swept into the streets of Bangkok, protest leaders were rounded up and international TV networks went dark Thursday after a military coup pitched Thailand into an unsettling new period of political uncertainty. The coup was bloodless as of Friday morning, but it marked a risky play by the Thai military to take over a polarized country with an already feeble democracy and a beloved but ailing king.” See also from BBC.Com, “Thailand military seizes power in coup.”
2. Our troops in Africa. Also from WashingtonPost.Com, “President Obama’s announcement that United States has deployed 80 troops to Chad came as a surprise to many. But as my colleague Craig Whitlock points out, the United States already has boots on the ground in a surprising number of African countries. This map shows what sub-Saharan nations currently have a U.S. military presence engaged in actual military operations.”
3. Russia reacts—to new NATO presence. Reuters reports from Moscow, “Russia’s top general said on Friday that Moscow would retaliate against increased NATO activity near its border as tensions with the western alliance over Ukraine escalate. Since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region, NATO has moved to reassure its nervous eastern European allies. Ships and planes have been temporarily deployed to their countries and military exercises in the region stepped up.”
4. Boko Haram makes the list. LongWarJournal.Org’s Thomas Joscelyn reports, “The United Nations has added Boko Haram to its al Qaeda sanctions list, citing the Nigerian group’s ties to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and prolific terrorist acts. The move comes more than one month after Boko Haram kidnapped over 200 girls, thereby gaining international infamy. Boko Haram ‘has maintained a relationship with ‘AQIM’ for training and material support purposes’ . . . .”
5. CJCS Dempsey on drones. American Forces Press Service’s Jim Garamone reports, “Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey bristles when he hears someone use the word drone. ‘You will never hear me use the word ‘drone,’ and you’ll never hear me use the term ‘unmanned aerial systems,’ the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today. ‘Because they are not. They are remotely piloted aircraft.’ . . . The American people seem to have the image of robots ‘flying around semi-autonomously making their own decisions and conducting kinetic strikes without oversight by responsible human beings . . . . It’s not like that at all.’”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Pre-solicitation: Cameras for the Puma. MilitaryAerospace.Com’s John Keller reports, “U.S. Special Operations experts are asking industry to supply an electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) camera with laser pointer for a 14-pound hand-launch unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in surveillance and reconnaissance applications. Officials of the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., issued a presolicitation this week (H92222-14-R-0023) to supply EO/IR UAV cameras with laser pointer for the RQ-20A Puma small UAV from AeroVironment in Monrovia, Calif.”
2. Misbehaving contractors. GovExec.Com’s Amelia Gruber reports, “Federal agencies are strengthening programs to find and punish unethical contractors, and the efforts may have paid off in increased suspension and debarment activity . . . . Governmentwide suspensions and debarments have increased from 1,836 in fiscal 2009 to 4,812 in fiscal 2013 . . . .”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. Snowden fallout. TheGuardian.Com’s Jason Leopold reports, “A top-secret Pentagon report to assess the damage to national security from the leak of classified National Security Agency documents by Edward Snowden concluded that ‘the scope of the compromised knowledge related to US intelligence capabilities is staggering’. . . . But while the DIA report describes the damage to US intelligence capabilities as ‘grave’, the government still refuses to release any specific details to support this conclusion.”
2. NSA reform makes it through the House. WashingtonPost.Com’s Andrea Peterson reports, “The House passed a bill Thursday aimed at reforming the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of phone records, a policy that came to light due to documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The bill, known as the USA Freedom Act, would shift responsibility for retaining telephonic metadata from the government to telephone companies. Providers like AT&T and Verizon would be required to maintain the records and let the NSA search them in terrorism investigations when the agency obtains a judicial order or in certain emergency situations.” See also Christian Science Monitor’s “USA Freedom Act 101: How far did House go to rein in the NSA?”
3. The MS Laplet. Slate.Com’s Will Oremus reports, “Pivoting from small to big, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro 3, its largest and most impressive tablet yet. With a 12-inch(!) screen and a price tag ranging from $799 to nearly $2,000 for the top-end version, it is not a tablet for the faint of purse. In fact, one could argue it’s not really a tablet at all. With its big screen, capable keyboard, flexible kickstand, and full-fledged Windows 8.1 operating system . . . it’s more like a laptop in tablet’s clothing.”
4. DARPA’s Top Four. DefenseOne.Com’s Patrick Tucker reports that “the technologies that [DARPA director Arati Prabhakar] highlighted in her recent testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee look like a list of insider favorites. Many have received much less public attention than DARPA’s flashier robot initiatives. Here are four of DARPA’s potential next big things . . . .” Read Prabhakar’s testimony.
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Boehner Threat: “Democrats have a new message for House Republicans who have been reluctant to take up a comprehensive immigration reform bill this year: Pass a bill in six weeks, or watch the White House take action on its own. Four Senate Democratic leaders told reporters on Thursday they want House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to bring legislation to the floor ‘before the August break,’ or else President Obama would begin taking executive action on immigration issues.”
2. Political Blood Sport: “Embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki is becoming a lightning rod in the battle for the Senate. Democrats are trying to distance themselves from the VA chief and scandal, while Republicans are trying to tie Democratic candidates to the controversy. Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, who is challenging Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in what is expected to be the most expensive race in the country this year, called Thursday for Shinseki’s head. Rick Weiland, the underdog Democrat running to try to keep retiring Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D-S.D.) seat, also called for Shinseki to step down, declaring ‘a single scalp is not nearly enough.’”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “China-Russia is a match made in heaven, and that’s scary.” Must Read. Reuters’ contributor Anatole Kaletsky argues, “Against a different diplomatic background, Wednesday’s Sino-Russian gas agreement might have been just another trade deal. It would seemingly have had no great geopolitical significance apart from its impact on energy prices in different parts of the world. But things look very different in the light of recent global confrontations, not only between the West and Russia over Ukraine, but also between the United States and China—over Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and, most recently, cyber-espionage.”
2. “Why Thailand’s coup must be its last.” Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board argues, “With so many Asian nations having adopted democracy or in the midst of improving one, the region cannot afford to let one of its pivotal economies slip behind in basic freedoms. Thailand is long overdue in embracing the concept of citizenship for all in its electoral politics.”
3. “Libya’s rogue general and the democratic struggle.” Aljazeera.Com contributor Mansour O El-Kikhia explains, “Libya today stands at the edge of a precipice and very few appreciate the depth of the abyss it risks falling into. . . . Hifter’s dictatorial tendencies are evident and frightening to many Libyans. Indeed, some political parties have already told him he needed to commit to democracy and free elections. Hifter seems to cherish his newfound power and although he has in the past professed a disinterest in holding office, he has now proclaimed that he would run for president should the people of Libya wish it.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Sibling rivalry.
2. Chin-zilla.
3. Copping Zzzzz’s.
