FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
IT jobs at Veterans Affairs. Contributor Charles Simmons reports, “The VA plans to open 27 learning hubs across the nation this year. These sites will utilize both online and in-person course work. Along with the opportunity to hear from subject matter experts and to network, a successful completion will earn one free verified certificate. The hubs were selected for areas that offer the greatest opportunities for veterans in the IT field.”
Foreclosures and clearances. Contributor Sean Bigley advises, “Foreclosure law and its applicability to your security clearance case is a highly complicated area. If the foreclosed home was in a judicial foreclosure state, there is a real probability that you are, indeed, personally liable for the deficiency and it would need to be responsibly addressed like any other debt to salvage your clearance. If, however, your property was located in an exclusively non-judicial foreclosure state, you may be able to rely on the state’s anti-deficiency law as a defense to the debt in a security clearance case.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Xi Jinping arrives. Christian Science Monitor’s Simon Montlake reports, “Within a decade . . . authoritarian China will become the world’s largest economy, ending more than two centuries in which English-speaking democracies in the West – first Britain, then the United States – held that position. Already, China trades and manufactures more goods than any other country. With economic power go the privileges of primacy. For now, the global economy is expanding, and China is an integral part of it. Yet history is replete with examples of rising powers that, intentionally or not, spurred incumbent great powers to take up arms against it.”
Middle East problem. Reuters’ Michelle Martin and Alastair MacDonald report, “Germany re-imposed border controls on Sunday after Europe’s most powerful nation acknowledged it could scarcely cope with thousands of asylum seekers arriving every day. A day before deeply divided European Union ministers tackle the migrant crisis, the U.N. refugee agency also called on every member state to take in a share of asylum-seekers under a Brussels plan which some countries are fiercely resisting.” See also, “EU ministers discuss sharing refugees among nations,” “Overwhelming Influx,” and “Journey to Germany From Hell on Earth in Syria.”
Islamist spring unfolding. The Long War Journal’s Thomas Joscelyn reports, “Al Qaeda has released the second installment in its ‘Islamic Spring’ series, which features Ayman al Zawahiri delivering lectures. . . . Zawahiri calls on all of the ‘mujahideen’ in Iraq and Syria to cooperate and ‘help each other,’ because the jihadists’ enemies are supposedly waging a vicious ‘crusade’ against them. And he wants Muslims living in the West to help by attacking the ‘crusader’ countries. See also, “Al Qaeda chief urges lone wolf attacks.”
Taliban’s Ghazni prison break. AP reports, “More than 350 inmates escaped an Afghan prison following a coordinated attack by Taliban insurgents, an Afghan official and the Taliban said. . . . [I]nsurgents wearing military uniforms launched a well-organized attack early Monday morning that included using a suicide bomber to breach the compound’s walls. Four guards were killed and seven others were wounded, while three insurgents were also killed, Ahmadi said.”
CONTRACT WATCH
DARPA’s call for Wafer Scale Infrared Detectors. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. military researchers are asking industry to develop infrared sensors and cameras for low-cost, large-format, and high-performance imaging in the short-wave infrared (SWIR), medium-wave infrared (MWIR), and long-wave infrared (LWIR) spectral bands. These infrared detectors must be able to be fabricated directly on silicon-based readout integrated circuit (ROIC) substrates at the wafer scale.”
GSA’s calls for Network Services 2020 strategy. Federal Times’ Aaron Boyd reports, “The General Services Administration is getting ready to release the solicitation for the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract, the massive telecommunications vehicle that’s part of the agency’s Network Services 2020 strategy. The 15-year, $50 billion contract will cover traditional telecom services, as well as voice-over-IP, virtual private networks and emerging communications technologies.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Long Rang Strike Bomber uncovered. Defense One’s Marcus Weisgerber reports, “For years, the Long Range Strike Bomber project has been shrouded in secrecy, likely at Area 51, the Air Force’s top-secret proving ground deep in the Nevada desert. Service leaders say little beyond that they plan to buy 80 and 100 aircraft for about $550 million each, and will award a contract ‘soon’ to either Northrop Grumman or a Boeing-Lockheed Martin team . . . . But it’s becoming clear that this bomber will do a lot more than drop bombs. More than just a first-strike weapon, it is expected to be a centerpiece of future U.S. warfare.”
Prosthetics revolution. Nextgov’s Mike Murphy reports, “The robotic arm is connected by wires that link up to the wearer’s motor cortex—the part of the brain that controls muscle movement—and sensory cortex, which identifies tactile sensations when you touch things. The wires from the motor cortex allow the wearer to control the motion of the robot arm, and pressure sensors in the arm that connect back into the sensory cortex give the wearer the sensation that they are touching something.”
Cyberwar Phase II. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “James Clapper, director of U.S. intelligence, and other senior intelligence officers, have warned Congress that the next phase of escalating online data theft will likely involve the manipulation of digital information. Clapper on Wednesday told lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee that a ‘cyber Armageddon,’ in which a digitally triggered damage to physical infrastructure results in a series of catastrophic events, is less likely than ‘cyber operations that will change or manipulate data.’”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Shutdown showdown. “Conservative budget hawks, frustrated by the lack of significant progress on fiscal discipline in Washington, appear to be gunning for another showdown, fueled by an unpredictable Republican presidential primary in which Donald Trump has roared to the front of the pack. . . . Conservatives say Republicans were initially winning the budget battles that dominated Washington since 2011 and produced flatter spending at the beginning of Boehner’s tenure, but have since given up the fight.”
Walking the line. “As Vice President Joe Biden continues to test the waters for a possible White House run, he’ll be faced with the increasingly difficult challenge of arguing that the country has problems that need fixing, without placing too much blame for those problems on President Obama or the administration he still serves.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Here’s What Yemen and Pakistan Say About Drones vs. ISIS.” Defense One contributor David Alpher argues, “[T]here’s no evidence that drone strikes work.”
“Say Something Nice or Nothing at All.” US News contributor Nancy Gallagher argues, “If members of Congress want to give voice to informed public opinion, then they should think seriously about voting to approve the Iran deal, despite lingering concerns, because this option received clear majority support, and far more than any of the alternatives.”
“What we got wrong about holacracy.” Fast Company contributor Leo Widrich explains, “Within the first few months of being completely flat, slowly but surely, a few things started to feel quite odd. People were easily lost, especially those that had just joined Buffer. More experienced people often didn’t quite see a place to help out and share ideas around which direction a project could take.”
