Amid the calming mesas of Los Alamos, "Doctor Atomic" librettist and director Sellars visits the site that gave birth to the a-bomb.Friday, September 30, 2005
Anonymous posting: the best and the worst in people is brought out by it
It is interesting that tonight we experienced another example of cowardice, delivered by an anonymous poster. Yesterday I had the privilege to be one of the panel members at discussion on blogging, hosted by the Public Relations Society of America at a seminar in Albuquerque. The other panel members were Joe Monahan, well known political analyst, and Julie Goldberg, editor of the Santa Fe Reporter. One of the topics that we all agreed upon was that the privilege of anonymity in blogging brought out both the best, and the worst in people.
The best is evidenced by those who present well-written, thoughtful commentary which they perhaps would not be free to publish in their own name, given the political sensitivities that often exist in the work place.
The worst is all too-frequently seen in those who hide behind the cloak of anonymity to launch cowardly attacks on those with whom a personal grudge, real or perceived, exists. Our anonymous poster, referred to in my previous post this evening is a good example of the latter.
It is interesting that the anonymous hate-mongers are among the few fooled by such transparent attacks. Also, sadly, these types of people seem blind to their own particular brand of bigotry and prejudice. However, this is one of the prices that we all pay to allow freedom of speech in the blogoshpere.
The best is evidenced by those who present well-written, thoughtful commentary which they perhaps would not be free to publish in their own name, given the political sensitivities that often exist in the work place.
The worst is all too-frequently seen in those who hide behind the cloak of anonymity to launch cowardly attacks on those with whom a personal grudge, real or perceived, exists. Our anonymous poster, referred to in my previous post this evening is a good example of the latter.
It is interesting that the anonymous hate-mongers are among the few fooled by such transparent attacks. Also, sadly, these types of people seem blind to their own particular brand of bigotry and prejudice. However, this is one of the prices that we all pay to allow freedom of speech in the blogoshpere.
An example of the down-side of anonymous posting
A comment from the
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/laboratory-is-seeking-nominations-for.html
post:
Cowards hid behind the cloak of anonymity to say things that they would be ashamed to have other people know that they said. Here is one such example. I would like to meet this particular coward in person, in order to have a discussion.
--Doug
________________________________
(what is wrong Doug, you can dish it out but you can't take it?)
Or how about Doug Roberts and Brad Holian receiving the "let me hold the mud bucket, here is a trowel" prize for defaming a great institution. Hosting, and participating in, the mud slinging that is the unifying element of this site is a notable distinction, but the honor will be passing.
But from me, shame on you both!
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/laboratory-is-seeking-nominations-for.html
post:
Cowards hid behind the cloak of anonymity to say things that they would be ashamed to have other people know that they said. Here is one such example. I would like to meet this particular coward in person, in order to have a discussion.
--Doug
________________________________
(what is wrong Doug, you can dish it out but you can't take it?)
Or how about Doug Roberts and Brad Holian receiving the "let me hold the mud bucket, here is a trowel" prize for defaming a great institution. Hosting, and participating in, the mud slinging that is the unifying element of this site is a notable distinction, but the honor will be passing.
But from me, shame on you both!
Lockheed and Loaded
[Story submitted by Rick Sterling, rsterling@ssl.berkeley.edu]
The Company That Runs the Empire
Lockheed and Loaded
By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR
Lockheed-Martin is headquartered in the Bethesda, Maryland. No, the defense titan doesn't have a bomb-making factory in this toney Beltway suburb. But as the nation's top weapons contractor, it migrated to DC from southern California because that's where the money is. And Lockheed rakes it in from the federal treasury at the rate of $65 million every single day of the year.
From nuclear missiles to fighter planes, software code to spy satellites, the Patriot missile to Star Wars, Lockheed has come to dominate the weapons market in a way that the Standard Oil Company used to hold sway over the nation's petroleum supplies. And it all happened with the help of the federal government, which steered lucrative no bid contracts Lockheed's way, enacted tax breaks that encouraged Lockheed's merger and acquisition frenzy in the 1980s and 1990s and turned a blind eye to the company's criminal rap sheet, ripe with indiscretions ranging from bribery to contract fraud.
Now Lockheed stands almost alone. It not only serves as an agent of US foreign policy, from the Pentagon to the CIA; it also helps shape it. "We are deployed entirely in developing daunting technology," Lockheed's new CEO Robert J. Stevens told the New York Times report Tim Weiner. "That requires thinking through the policy dimensions of national security as well as technological dimensions."
[...]
Full Story
The Company That Runs the Empire
Lockheed and Loaded
By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR
Lockheed-Martin is headquartered in the Bethesda, Maryland. No, the defense titan doesn't have a bomb-making factory in this toney Beltway suburb. But as the nation's top weapons contractor, it migrated to DC from southern California because that's where the money is. And Lockheed rakes it in from the federal treasury at the rate of $65 million every single day of the year.
From nuclear missiles to fighter planes, software code to spy satellites, the Patriot missile to Star Wars, Lockheed has come to dominate the weapons market in a way that the Standard Oil Company used to hold sway over the nation's petroleum supplies. And it all happened with the help of the federal government, which steered lucrative no bid contracts Lockheed's way, enacted tax breaks that encouraged Lockheed's merger and acquisition frenzy in the 1980s and 1990s and turned a blind eye to the company's criminal rap sheet, ripe with indiscretions ranging from bribery to contract fraud.
Now Lockheed stands almost alone. It not only serves as an agent of US foreign policy, from the Pentagon to the CIA; it also helps shape it. "We are deployed entirely in developing daunting technology," Lockheed's new CEO Robert J. Stevens told the New York Times report Tim Weiner. "That requires thinking through the policy dimensions of national security as well as technological dimensions."
[...]
Full Story
The Laboratory is seeking nominations for the 2005 Los Alamos Medal
From Anonymous:
I nominate Doug and Brad for their contributions. They helped rid us of the worst director in the entire history of LANL, thus "facilitating a major enhancement of the Laboratory's ability to accomplish its mission..."
__________________________________________________________________
Nominations sought for 2005 Los Alamos Medal
September 30, 2005
The Laboratory is seeking nominations for the 2005 Los Alamos Medal. The medal is the highest honor the Laboratory can bestow on an individual or small group of three or less individuals.
Nominees for the medal are judged on strict selection criteria that include making a contribution that changed the course of science, facilitating a major enhancement of the Laboratory's ability to accomplish its mission, having a significant impact on Lab sustainability, and establishing a major direction for Los Alamos and/or the nation.
Nominations should be submitted to Laboratory Director Bob Kuckuck in care of the Science and Technology Base (STB) Program Office at Mail Stop M714. Nominations should address the selection criteria; three supporting letters also are required.
Previous recipients of the Los Alamos Medal include former Laboratory Director Harold Agnew, Hans Bethe, who died last spring, Nerses "Krik" Krikorian, George Cowan, Louis Rosen, Frank Harlow and Conrad Longmire.
Nominations should be submitted by Oct. 14.
For more information, see the all-employee memo (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
http://www.lanl.gov/news/index.php?fuseaction=nb.story&story_id=7287&nb_date=2005-09-30
I nominate Doug and Brad for their contributions. They helped rid us of the worst director in the entire history of LANL, thus "facilitating a major enhancement of the Laboratory's ability to accomplish its mission..."
__________________________________________________________________
Nominations sought for 2005 Los Alamos Medal
September 30, 2005
The Laboratory is seeking nominations for the 2005 Los Alamos Medal. The medal is the highest honor the Laboratory can bestow on an individual or small group of three or less individuals.
Nominees for the medal are judged on strict selection criteria that include making a contribution that changed the course of science, facilitating a major enhancement of the Laboratory's ability to accomplish its mission, having a significant impact on Lab sustainability, and establishing a major direction for Los Alamos and/or the nation.
Nominations should be submitted to Laboratory Director Bob Kuckuck in care of the Science and Technology Base (STB) Program Office at Mail Stop M714. Nominations should address the selection criteria; three supporting letters also are required.
Previous recipients of the Los Alamos Medal include former Laboratory Director Harold Agnew, Hans Bethe, who died last spring, Nerses "Krik" Krikorian, George Cowan, Louis Rosen, Frank Harlow and Conrad Longmire.
Nominations should be submitted by Oct. 14.
For more information, see the all-employee memo (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
http://www.lanl.gov/news/index.php?fuseaction=nb.story&story_id=7287&nb_date=2005-09-30
"I'm in awe..."
A comment from the
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/expect-20-reduction-in-funding.html
post:
_____________________________________________
Bodman (2005): "I'm in awe over the science that happens at this place."
Bodman (2006): "I'm in awe over the number of scientists I'm going to
have to layoff this year."
Bodman (2007): "I'm in awe over the fact that I'm forced to announce the
shut down of one of DOE's premier research facilities."
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/expect-20-reduction-in-funding.html
post:
_____________________________________________
Bodman (2005): "I'm in awe over the science that happens at this place."
Bodman (2006): "I'm in awe over the number of scientists I'm going to
have to layoff this year."
Bodman (2007): "I'm in awe over the fact that I'm forced to announce the
shut down of one of DOE's premier research facilities."
Los Alamos National Laboratory to Change Management
By Ben Bendig
Epoch Times San Francisco Staff
Full Story
On Sept. 30, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will decide on new management for Los Alamos National Laboratory, possibly replacing the University of California (UC), which has managed the labs for 62 years.
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), located in New Mexico, famously began during WWII for the Manhattan Project, the secretive operation to build an atomic bomb. At its conception in 1942, UC Berkeley physics professor J. Robert Oppenheimer led the lab, and in 1943 UC began managing Los Alamos.
[...]Full Story
Activists oppose any role for CU at Los Alamos lab
Anti-nuclear activists, professors and students criticized the University of Colorado's Board of Regents at a public forum on the Boulder campus Thursday night over CU's pending partnership with Lockheed Martin and the University of Texas to manage the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
"I question both the legitimacy of the partnership and the process," said Adrienne Anderson, former CU environmental studies instructor and corporate whistle-blower whose contract wasn't renewed last spring. Anderson was one of 15 people who spoke to the crowd of about 50 during the public hearing.
[...]
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Budget cautions prompt LANL hiring policy
KSFR News 90.7 FM
Budget cautions prompt LANL hiring policy
LOS ALAMOS (2005-09-29) -- A new policy to manage the hiring of employees
is being set up at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the face of tight
budget projections for the fiscal year that begins October 1.
Director Robert Kuckuck says in an all-employees memo that funding for the
lab's nuclear weapons program, its biggest single program, is expected to
decline in the new year. He says that even though the number of people
leaving the laboratory in the past 12 months has doubled over last year,
uncertainties about funding and which organization will be awarded the
lab's management contract dictate a more measured approach to adding new
hires.
[...]
Full Story
Budget cautions prompt LANL hiring policy
LOS ALAMOS (2005-09-29) -- A new policy to manage the hiring of employees
is being set up at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the face of tight
budget projections for the fiscal year that begins October 1.
Director Robert Kuckuck says in an all-employees memo that funding for the
lab's nuclear weapons program, its biggest single program, is expected to
decline in the new year. He says that even though the number of people
leaving the laboratory in the past 12 months has doubled over last year,
uncertainties about funding and which organization will be awarded the
lab's management contract dictate a more measured approach to adding new
hires.
[...]
Full Story
Expect a 20% reduction in funding
From Anonymous:
There was a memo to SNL people earlier that due to potential cuts in the upcoming budget to expect a 20% reduction in funding for the next year. Hiring and purchasing are slowed until the 2006 FY funding is signed. I am guessing that with LANL's position more tenuous than SNL's (no contract change) that LANL has been told to be frozen. From friends in other places, they are under similar slowdowns until it is seen where the budget axe falls for the 2006-2008 fiscal years.
There was a memo to SNL people earlier that due to potential cuts in the upcoming budget to expect a 20% reduction in funding for the next year. Hiring and purchasing are slowed until the 2006 FY funding is signed. I am guessing that with LANL's position more tenuous than SNL's (no contract change) that LANL has been told to be frozen. From friends in other places, they are under similar slowdowns until it is seen where the budget axe falls for the 2006-2008 fiscal years.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Subject: URGENT NOTIFICATION
Subject: URGENT NOTIFICATION
At the direction of the Laboratory Director, HR has been advised to
suspend all hiring actions, both internal and external, as well as all
supplemental staffing actions. A newly created Laboratory Hiring Council
will evaluate our staffing levels and develop a strategy for moving
forward under current budget constraints. This suspension is effective
immediately.
Formal employment offers (for regular and limited-term appointments) that
have been authorized by HR and accepted by the candidate, effective COB
9/27/05, will be processed. Employment offers that have been extended,
but not yet accepted, may be subject to the review of the Hiring
Council. Discuss these situations with your Deployed Group Leader.
Additionally, the Laboratory will not extend any new staff augmentation
agreements (Butler, Comforce, Weirich, Plus Group) without review by the
Hiring Council.
Until further clarifying guidance is provided, additional employment
actions affected by this suspension include:
* New job postings
* Directed transfers
* Conversions (Limited-term to Regular; Postdocs to Limited-term or
Regular; GRA to Regular)
* Promotions / reclassifications
* Internal transfers on advertised jobs
Employment actions not affected by this suspension include:
* Postdoc hires
* Student hires
* Extensions of Limited-term appointments
* Rehire of Retirees as Lab Associate
Further direction will be issued by the Director regarding the process for
review and approval/disapproval of all actions suspended.
At the direction of the Laboratory Director, HR has been advised to
suspend all hiring actions, both internal and external, as well as all
supplemental staffing actions. A newly created Laboratory Hiring Council
will evaluate our staffing levels and develop a strategy for moving
forward under current budget constraints. This suspension is effective
immediately.
Formal employment offers (for regular and limited-term appointments) that
have been authorized by HR and accepted by the candidate, effective COB
9/27/05, will be processed. Employment offers that have been extended,
but not yet accepted, may be subject to the review of the Hiring
Council. Discuss these situations with your Deployed Group Leader.
Additionally, the Laboratory will not extend any new staff augmentation
agreements (Butler, Comforce, Weirich, Plus Group) without review by the
Hiring Council.
Until further clarifying guidance is provided, additional employment
actions affected by this suspension include:
* New job postings
* Directed transfers
* Conversions (Limited-term to Regular; Postdocs to Limited-term or
Regular; GRA to Regular)
* Promotions / reclassifications
* Internal transfers on advertised jobs
Employment actions not affected by this suspension include:
* Postdoc hires
* Student hires
* Extensions of Limited-term appointments
* Rehire of Retirees as Lab Associate
Further direction will be issued by the Director regarding the process for
review and approval/disapproval of all actions suspended.
Hiring freeze at LANL, starting immediately
From Anonymous:
I just heard, on good authority, that a hiring freeze was imposed today. The only hires to be considered from now until March are students, post docs, and retiree lab associates. This, apparently at a recommendation of a newly formed "Hiring Committee".
I just heard, on good authority, that a hiring freeze was imposed today. The only hires to be considered from now until March are students, post docs, and retiree lab associates. This, apparently at a recommendation of a newly formed "Hiring Committee".
UC President's Council meets at Laboratory
September 28, 2005
Laboratory Director Bob Kuckuck and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Michael Anastasio talk with Bob Van Ness, left, University of California assistant vice president for laboratory management, before the start of the UC President's Council meeting Tuesday at the Laboratory. The meeting continues today in the Jemez and Cochiti rooms of the J. Robert Oppenheimer Study Center at Technical Area 3. The council heard updates on the status of the Laboratory contract, performance reports on Appendix F objectives, stockpile stewardship and budgetary matters.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Science and Politics: A Dangerous Mix (Tell Me About It!)
Science and Politics: A Dangerous Mix
By Gregory M. Lamb
The Chrisitan Science Monitor
Tuesday 27 September 2005
'Twisted science' may endanger America's future, one journalist warns.
The Republican War on Science lives up to its incendiary title. The book will undoubtedly raise hackles among conservatives and spawn sharp-tongued counterattacks. But the real test of its efficacy may be whether or not it persuades independents and moderate Republicans that without a new approach toward science America is headed for what the author calls "economic, ecological, and social calamity."
[...]
Full Story
By Gregory M. Lamb
The Chrisitan Science Monitor
Tuesday 27 September 2005
'Twisted science' may endanger America's future, one journalist warns.
The Republican War on Science lives up to its incendiary title. The book will undoubtedly raise hackles among conservatives and spawn sharp-tongued counterattacks. But the real test of its efficacy may be whether or not it persuades independents and moderate Republicans that without a new approach toward science America is headed for what the author calls "economic, ecological, and social calamity."
[...]
Full Story
Reduced Role for LANL?
A comment from the
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/more-on-verip.html
post, in which a VERIP was being discussed as a part of a larger plan to drastically reduce the scope of work performed at LANL:
______________________________________________
That does make sense, 7:04. Los Alamos has probably become almost more trouble than it is worth. Even the "nuclear mission" work can mostly be done elsewhere. Livermore can do weapons design (please, let's not start that arrogant crap of "but we are so much better than Livermore" again). None of the other non-nuclear research has ever really been sanctioned by DOE. At best it could be said that DOE grudgingly "allowed" LANL to branch off into non-weapons areas. About the only work that could not readily find a home elsewhere is pit manufacturing.
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/more-on-verip.html
post, in which a VERIP was being discussed as a part of a larger plan to drastically reduce the scope of work performed at LANL:
______________________________________________
That does make sense, 7:04. Los Alamos has probably become almost more trouble than it is worth. Even the "nuclear mission" work can mostly be done elsewhere. Livermore can do weapons design (please, let's not start that arrogant crap of "but we are so much better than Livermore" again). None of the other non-nuclear research has ever really been sanctioned by DOE. At best it could be said that DOE grudgingly "allowed" LANL to branch off into non-weapons areas. About the only work that could not readily find a home elsewhere is pit manufacturing.
Monday, September 26, 2005
More on the VERIP
Doug,
Could you please post this anonymously.
____________________________________________
I have read all of the comments here pro and con regarding a VERIP at LANL. Frankly, none of the the "pro" arguments make any sense to me. Given that DOE must give its approval to a VERIP before it can happen, the justification seems to boil down to just one thing: does DOE expect there to be a budget shortfall for LANL in coming years, or not?
If the expected answer to that is "yes", then a VERIP makes perfect sense. Otherwise, I can see no rational explanation for one, economic or otherwise. A VERIP would further drain LANL of expertise. In fact, it would make the 1,150 staff who left by July 1 of this year look piddle'n by comparison. In spite of the analyses of the financial "experts" on this blog, I just don't see how a further decimation of experienced staff would be in anybody's best interest.
However, I grant that we are talking about the same DOE who "fully backed Director Nanos in his decision to shut LANL down" last July. As with all important decisions regarding the running of LANL, the decision on whether or not to allow a VERIP is therefore a crap shoot. I give it 50-50 odds.
Could you please post this anonymously.
____________________________________________
I have read all of the comments here pro and con regarding a VERIP at LANL. Frankly, none of the the "pro" arguments make any sense to me. Given that DOE must give its approval to a VERIP before it can happen, the justification seems to boil down to just one thing: does DOE expect there to be a budget shortfall for LANL in coming years, or not?
If the expected answer to that is "yes", then a VERIP makes perfect sense. Otherwise, I can see no rational explanation for one, economic or otherwise. A VERIP would further drain LANL of expertise. In fact, it would make the 1,150 staff who left by July 1 of this year look piddle'n by comparison. In spite of the analyses of the financial "experts" on this blog, I just don't see how a further decimation of experienced staff would be in anybody's best interest.
However, I grant that we are talking about the same DOE who "fully backed Director Nanos in his decision to shut LANL down" last July. As with all important decisions regarding the running of LANL, the decision on whether or not to allow a VERIP is therefore a crap shoot. I give it 50-50 odds.
UC President Dynes message to Laboratory work force
September 26, 2005
University of California President Robert Dynes released a message to Laboratory workers last week. In the message, he talks about the status of the contract for management and operation of Los Alamos and the upcoming open enrollment for UC Lab employees and retirees.
To read Dynes' message, click here (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
University of California President Robert Dynes released a message to Laboratory workers last week. In the message, he talks about the status of the contract for management and operation of Los Alamos and the upcoming open enrollment for UC Lab employees and retirees.
To read Dynes' message, click here (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Richardson: Wen Ho Lee Was 'Mistreated'
The Associated Press
Sunday, September 25, 2005; 2:40 PM
SANTA FE, N.M. -- A former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist who was held in solitary confinement for nine months was "badly treated," Gov. Bill Richardson acknowledges in his new autobiography.
Richardson was former President Clinton's energy secretary when Wen Ho Lee was indicted in 1999 on 59 counts alleging he mishandled nuclear information.
Lee was released in September 2000 after pleading guilty to a single felony count and received an apology from the judge who released him.
"As for Lee, he committed a crime, but he also was badly treated," Richardson wrote in "Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life," due out Nov. 3.
[...]
Full Story
Sunday, September 25, 2005; 2:40 PM
SANTA FE, N.M. -- A former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist who was held in solitary confinement for nine months was "badly treated," Gov. Bill Richardson acknowledges in his new autobiography.
Richardson was former President Clinton's energy secretary when Wen Ho Lee was indicted in 1999 on 59 counts alleging he mishandled nuclear information.
Lee was released in September 2000 after pleading guilty to a single felony count and received an apology from the judge who released him.
"As for Lee, he committed a crime, but he also was badly treated," Richardson wrote in "Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life," due out Nov. 3.
[...]
Full Story
Disagreements between Bechtal / UC on how one felt the labs should be run
From Anonymous:
http://www.lansllc.com/LANS_team.html
I have heard from a person that was sitting in the audience while UC / Bechtal and U of T / Lockheed was giving their proposal that one group outdid the other by a long shot. I heard that there were many disagreements between Bechtal / UC on how one felt the labs should be run , while the U of T / Lockheed presentation went as smooth as ice. To me this is a no brainer. They had their chance and blew it. Now it is time to award the winner.
Personally I hope Lockheed Martin wins at LLNL. I have a ton of reason why which I am sure no one wants to hear.
Enjoy
http://www.lansllc.com/LANS
I have heard from a person that was sitting in the audience while UC / Bechtal and U of T / Lockheed was giving their proposal that one group outdid the other by a long shot. I heard that there were many disagreements between Bechtal / UC on how one felt the labs should be run , while the U of T / Lockheed presentation went as smooth as ice. To me this is a no brainer. They had their chance and blew it. Now it is time to award the winner.
Personally I hope Lockheed Martin wins at LLNL. I have a ton of reason why which I am sure no one wants to hear.
Enjoy
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA On the Record: Robert Dynes
Sunday, September 25, 2005
[...]
Q: The Los Alamos National Laboratory that the university runs has been rocked in recent years by financial scandals and security and safety issues. The contract is now up for bid. What are you going to do if you lose it?
A: I think you should not only ask that, but what if we win it? Winning it will be a very different world from the world today. "We" is a different entity. "We" is Bechtel, the University of California, the Washington Group and BWX Technologies. It will be run by a board that is separate from the university.
What do we do if we lose? We go on. The University of California's mission, nowhere does it say that we are responsible for the nuclear stockpile in the United States. Our mission is to create new knowledge, create the next generation of creators and take those creations for public service. That's our mission.
Q: To lose the contract would be a big public embarrassment to the university.
A: I believe that we have offered the nation a choice. There are two competitors for this contract. There is a science-and-technology-based group and that is the University of California, Bechtel and the Washington Group. It is unequivocal that our proposal is based on building the best science and technology for national security. There's one choice. The other is a defense contractor. The nation gets to choose whether they want the nuclear weapons programs overseen by a science-and-technology-based organization or a defense contractor.
[...]
Saturday, September 24, 2005
There is a lot of dead wood that needs to be pruned
Comment from the
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/it-is-cronyism-that-grows-from-living.html
post:
________________________
I'm afraid that before LANL can go forward, there is a lot of dead wood that needs to be pruned. The LANL system of management has been broken for so long that the whole system has become inbred. The (sometimes) poisonous flow of invective regarding LANL, cronyism, nepotism, religious favoritism, etc. that we have been seeing on the blog is indicative that the entire LANL system in dire need of overhaul.
There are individual managers, program offices, whole divisions that need to be rethought, or at least largely restaffed. It is my sincere hope that Lockheed Martin wins the contract, because it is with them that there is any hope whatsoever for positive change at Los Alamos.
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/it-is-cronyism-that-grows-from-living.html
post:
________________________
I'm afraid that before LANL can go forward, there is a lot of dead wood that needs to be pruned. The LANL system of management has been broken for so long that the whole system has become inbred. The (sometimes) poisonous flow of invective regarding LANL, cronyism, nepotism, religious favoritism, etc. that we have been seeing on the blog is indicative that the entire LANL system in dire need of overhaul.
There are individual managers, program offices, whole divisions that need to be rethought, or at least largely restaffed. It is my sincere hope that Lockheed Martin wins the contract, because it is with them that there is any hope whatsoever for positive change at Los Alamos.
It is the cronyism that grows from living in a company town
A comment from the
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/raises-for-uc-managers.html
post:
_______________________________________
The problem at LANL is not a Morman conspiracy. It is the cronyism that grows from living in a company town. People just spend too much time together outside of work. They go to church together, to soccer games together, etc. They see each other in the grocery store. And, with only one employer in town, there are the matters of spousal employment and summer jobs for the kids.
Those who do not live in Los Alamos are left out of a seat at the promotion table. After all, it is a lot easier to pass over an applicant that you do not see every Sunday in church.
Some of this led to the sinking of IBM. The IBMers only socialized with IBMers. They had their own sports leagues, card clubs, etc. They ended up with a very distorted picture of the outside (aka, non-IBM) world. It resulted in a lot of not very smart people moving up the org chart.
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/raises-for-uc-managers.html
post:
_______________________________________
The problem at LANL is not a Morman conspiracy. It is the cronyism that grows from living in a company town. People just spend too much time together outside of work. They go to church together, to soccer games together, etc. They see each other in the grocery store. And, with only one employer in town, there are the matters of spousal employment and summer jobs for the kids.
Those who do not live in Los Alamos are left out of a seat at the promotion table. After all, it is a lot easier to pass over an applicant that you do not see every Sunday in church.
Some of this led to the sinking of IBM. The IBMers only socialized with IBMers. They had their own sports leagues, card clubs, etc. They ended up with a very distorted picture of the outside (aka, non-IBM) world. It resulted in a lot of not very smart people moving up the org chart.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Don't worry about the boogey men
A comment from the
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/to-put-recent-pro-nanos-posts-into.html
post:
____________________________
8:05 here again.
I have been here for about nine years.
I was hurt professionally by the stand-down.
I blame Pete for his stubbornness in the face of facts. I blame Washington for their usual need to make points at other people's expense. I blame the media for generating news where little existed. I blame UC for doing their usual job of making a mole hill into Mount Everest. I blame LANL managers that have not had the spine to do what they should know is right.
But I need to live and work so I am trying to get over what is past and work in the remaining mess in hopes that I can still make a contribution to my field that will not be overshadowed by having been at LANL during this period.
I still find it hard to believe that there are LANL people that really think some shadowy 'them' is out to get them. Don't worry about the boogey men. Worry about your HR generalist, your group leader or your program manager. They are the ones that can really make your life go down the tubes.
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/to-put-recent-pro-nanos-posts-into.html
post:
____________________________
8:05 here again.
I have been here for about nine years.
I was hurt professionally by the stand-down.
I blame Pete for his stubbornness in the face of facts. I blame Washington for their usual need to make points at other people's expense. I blame the media for generating news where little existed. I blame UC for doing their usual job of making a mole hill into Mount Everest. I blame LANL managers that have not had the spine to do what they should know is right.
But I need to live and work so I am trying to get over what is past and work in the remaining mess in hopes that I can still make a contribution to my field that will not be overshadowed by having been at LANL during this period.
I still find it hard to believe that there are LANL people that really think some shadowy 'them' is out to get them. Don't worry about the boogey men. Worry about your HR generalist, your group leader or your program manager. They are the ones that can really make your life go down the tubes.
Observations on 'LANL: The Real Story"
As someone interested in the LANL management issue I have started following
your website. I would like to toss out a few observations plus questions and
information for anyone interested:
* While many contributors raise interesting criticisms or comments there
seem to be a small number of very outspoken contributors who like to 'name
call' and intimidate.
* I have received personal email from some obviously dedicated and
thoughtful people from LANL who are very upset with the situation and are
thinking of the bigger picture. However I am struck by the apparent overall
lack of care for the bigger issues involved.
* Some contributors apparently don't know it was a Republican Eisenhower who
warned about military contractor influence on foreign policy.
* I have noticed the strong role of POGO in pushing negative and highly
misleading or exaggerated publicity about LANL. The recent example of
Americium-241 and front page story here of it "contaminating New Mexico and
three other states" was pretty remarkable. What is your take on this?
* Does anyone care about the connections between Lockheed Martin and
current US foreign policy?
If you DO care, the following are good resources:
1. www.corpwatch.org - interesting overview of lockheed martin.
2. International Relations Center based in Silver City, NM. Terrific
information on the background and inter-connections of the far right. For
example, on Linton Brooks:
http://rightweb.irc-online.org/ind/brooks/brooks.php
Interesting stuff on Heather Wilson, Bruce Jackson, etc etc..
Best regards,
Rick Sterling
your website. I would like to toss out a few observations plus questions and
information for anyone interested:
* While many contributors raise interesting criticisms or comments there
seem to be a small number of very outspoken contributors who like to 'name
call' and intimidate.
* I have received personal email from some obviously dedicated and
thoughtful people from LANL who are very upset with the situation and are
thinking of the bigger picture. However I am struck by the apparent overall
lack of care for the bigger issues involved.
* Some contributors apparently don't know it was a Republican Eisenhower who
warned about military contractor influence on foreign policy.
* I have noticed the strong role of POGO in pushing negative and highly
misleading or exaggerated publicity about LANL. The recent example of
Americium-241 and front page story here of it "contaminating New Mexico and
three other states" was pretty remarkable. What is your take on this?
* Does anyone care about the connections between Lockheed Martin and
current US foreign policy?
If you DO care, the following are good resources:
1. www.corpwatch.org - interesting overview of lockheed martin.
2. International Relations Center based in Silver City, NM. Terrific
information on the background and inter-connections of the far right. For
example, on Linton Brooks:
http://rightweb.irc-online.org
Interesting stuff on Heather Wilson, Bruce Jackson, etc etc..
Best regards,
Rick Sterling
To put recent pro-Nanos posts into perspective
From Anonymous:
Doug,
You might be interested to learn that without exception, every upper level manager with whom I've spoken is unwaveringly of the opinion that Nanos really, unbelievably screwed up while at the helm of LANL. Granted, I don't often speak with Don Cobb or his ilk, but that is primarily a matter of personal choice. Further, I know a few people in Washington; and some of those at DTRA in particular. DTRA has bottled Nanos up tight. He needs approval to go to the bathroom, much less to attempt any task that requires more discretion than that. His sweetheart deal with UC was that he be employed by UC long enough to get his 5 years. That leaves 1 1/2 more years under the UC umbrella before they cut him loose. I suppose that if UC looses the contract for LANL in December, George may find himself screwed, if UC chooses to cut that particular anchor.
Don't let the flack you are sporadically getting from the one or two remaining pro-Nanos staff at LANL rattle you. Nor, the heat from the tattered remnants of the formally strong "Mormon Mafia". Their heyday was under the Jim Jackson reign, but they are waning now.
Regards, and thanks for a job exceedingly well done with your blog. Had this particular blog not sprung into existance when it did, we could well now be seeing these last days of UC stewardship at LANL still under the incompetant rule of George P. Nanos.
Doug,
You might be interested to learn that without exception, every upper level manager with whom I've spoken is unwaveringly of the opinion that Nanos really, unbelievably screwed up while at the helm of LANL. Granted, I don't often speak with Don Cobb or his ilk, but that is primarily a matter of personal choice. Further, I know a few people in Washington; and some of those at DTRA in particular. DTRA has bottled Nanos up tight. He needs approval to go to the bathroom, much less to attempt any task that requires more discretion than that. His sweetheart deal with UC was that he be employed by UC long enough to get his 5 years. That leaves 1 1/2 more years under the UC umbrella before they cut him loose. I suppose that if UC looses the contract for LANL in December, George may find himself screwed, if UC chooses to cut that particular anchor.
Don't let the flack you are sporadically getting from the one or two remaining pro-Nanos staff at LANL rattle you. Nor, the heat from the tattered remnants of the formally strong "Mormon Mafia". Their heyday was under the Jim Jackson reign, but they are waning now.
Regards, and thanks for a job exceedingly well done with your blog. Had this particular blog not sprung into existance when it did, we could well now be seeing these last days of UC stewardship at LANL still under the incompetant rule of George P. Nanos.
Editorial: UC Administrator Pay is Over the Top By BECKY O'MALLEY
Berkeley Daily Planet
Edition Date: Friday, September 23, 2005
Index of Sections
Edition Date: Friday, September 23, 2005
Article
Back to MainpageIndex of Sections
Editorial: UC Administrator Pay is Over the Top By BECKY O'MALLEY
A professor friend called me on Thursday morning, furious. She’d just heard a radio report on a committee formed to advise the University of California Board of Regents which is recommending that seven U.C. executives, who already make more than $350,000 a year, now need to have raises funded by private donations. Why did that make her so mad? Well, she’s the chair of a science department at a state university, and with seven years experience and a four-course teaching load she has yet to take home $60,000 a year. I was already planning this editorial on the topic, because I’d seen an excellent piece by Tanya Schevitz in the Chronicle earlier in the week with all the facts and figures. An example of shocking data: one senior vice president, a committee member who is listed as making $350k, actually pays taxes on more than $450k, probably because of bonuses on top of his salary. And, if we are to believe the report, he and his cohorts want even more. That’s greed, plain and simple. Obscene greed, actually. The excuse the committee gives is that it’s hard to recruit competent executives because other institutions and private businesses are now paying so much more. Sorry, but I can’t believe that somewhere in the United States there’s not a competent woman or man who can handle a vice-president’s job at UC for less than half a million dollars a year. That’s what some of these compensation packages could net out at, if you add in jobs for significant others, like the one offered to the partner of the latest UC Santa Cruz chancellor.
[...]
Thursday, September 22, 2005
What the regents are smoking
From Anonymous:
The blog readers might find this interesting. makes you wonder what the
regents are smoking.
____________________________________________
UC regents optimistic about joint bid to retain Los Alamos lab
By Betsy Mason
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
SAN FRANCISCO - Confidence flowed from the University of California regents
Wednesday as they discussed UC's joint bid with Bechtel for Los Alamos
National Laboratory.
UC's team and its main competition, a team led by Lockheed Martin and the
University of Texas, presented their cases to the National Nuclear Security
Administration earlier this month.
"We showed the quality of the people that we're bringing to bear on this,"
said regent Gerald Parsky at the regents meeting Wednesday. "I think we are
prepared to take the management of this lab to the next level."
[Full Delusionary Recitation]
Main Entry: de·lu·sion
Pronunciation: di-'lü-zh&n
Function: noun
1 a : the act of deluding : the state of being deluded b : an abnormal mental state characterized by the occurrence of psychotic delusions
2 : a false belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self that persists despite the facts and occurs in some psychotic states —compare HALLUCINATION 1, ILLUSION 2a
Delusion
n 1: (psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary [syn: psychotic belief] 2: a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea; "he has delusions of competence"; "his dreams of vast wealth are a hallucination" [syn: hallucination] 3: the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas [syn: illusion, head game]
Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
The blog readers might find this interesting. makes you wonder what the
regents are smoking.
____________________________________________
UC regents optimistic about joint bid to retain Los Alamos lab
By Betsy Mason
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
SAN FRANCISCO - Confidence flowed from the University of California regents
Wednesday as they discussed UC's joint bid with Bechtel for Los Alamos
National Laboratory.
UC's team and its main competition, a team led by Lockheed Martin and the
University of Texas, presented their cases to the National Nuclear Security
Administration earlier this month.
"We showed the quality of the people that we're bringing to bear on this,"
said regent Gerald Parsky at the regents meeting Wednesday. "I think we are
prepared to take the management of this lab to the next level."
[Full Delusionary Recitation]
Main Entry: de·lu·sion
Pronunciation: di-'lü-zh&n
Function: noun
1 a : the act of deluding : the state of being deluded b : an abnormal mental state characterized by the occurrence of psychotic delusions
2 : a false belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self that persists despite the facts and occurs in some psychotic states —compare HALLUCINATION 1, ILLUSION 2a
Delusion
n 1: (psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary [syn: psychotic belief] 2: a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea; "he has delusions of competence"; "his dreams of vast wealth are a hallucination" [syn: hallucination] 3: the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas [syn: illusion, head game]
Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
New website for the UC-Bechtel group
Hi Doug,
I just ran across the new website for the UC-Bechtel group bidding to run
LANL. I wasn't sure if you had seen it;
http://www.lansllc.com/
--Anonymous
I just ran across the new website for the UC-Bechtel group bidding to run
LANL. I wasn't sure if you had seen it;
http://www.lansllc.com/
--Anonymous
LANL tests fell behind schedule
ROGER SNODGRASS, roger@lamonitor.com, Monitor Assistant Editor
A report by the Inspector General of the Department of Energy has revisited the subject of a nuclear test facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory, finding once again that the hydrodynamic test program has not been making schedule.
The review found that only six of 15 hydrotests scheduled from October 2002 through the end of September 2004 were completed on time, that six of them had been delayed up to two years, and that three were not completed as of April 2005.
A reply by the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the weapons complex, said that the report understates the progress that has been made and that the number of experiments was not the most important measure.
| |
[...]
Full Story
Lab bidders set up shop in LA
ROGER SNODGRASS, roger@lamonitor.com, Monitor Assistant Editor
The two finalists bidding to run Los Alamos National Laboratory are opening offices on the Hill to oversee the transition to new management next year.
University of California officials said they would announce the board members of their new limited liability partnership with Bechtel Corporation at a meeting in Los Alamos on Oct. 6.
At a board of regents meeting in San Francisco on Wednesday, UC President Robert C. Dynes said, "We will do everything we can to make (the transition) as smooth as possible."
| |
[...]
Full Story
Raises for UC Managers
From Anonymous:
On the Paul Harvey Radio Show, yesterday - Sept 21 - he announced that UC
was going to ask for private donors to donate money to give raises to the
administrative/executive levels at UC.
On the Paul Harvey Radio Show, yesterday - Sept 21 - he announced that UC
was going to ask for private donors to donate money to give raises to the
administrative/executive levels at UC.
Regents prepare to work on ‘revolutionary’ strategies
By Robert Faturechi
DAILY BRUIN REPORTER
rfaturechi@media.ucla.edu
SAN FRANCISCO – The UC Board of Regents set the stage for a look into new strategies to help the university system ride out future financial difficulties at their meeting Wednesday.
UC President Robert Dynes told reporters after the meeting that the ideas to be discussed at their November meeting would border on "revolutionary."
[...]
Full Story
DAILY BRUIN REPORTER
rfaturechi@media.ucla.edu
SAN FRANCISCO – The UC Board of Regents set the stage for a look into new strategies to help the university system ride out future financial difficulties at their meeting Wednesday.
UC President Robert Dynes told reporters after the meeting that the ideas to be discussed at their November meeting would border on "revolutionary."
[...]
Full Story
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Reporter at Science
Looking into an IG report on LANL's Hydrodynamic Test Program that just
came out.
If any scientists would be willing to discuss the findings with me to
provide background and context, I'd be obliged.
(http://www.ig.doe.gov/pdf/ig-0699.pdf )
Thanks, Eli
Eli Kintisch
Science Magazine
202 326 6446
came out.
If any scientists would be willing to discuss the findings with me to
provide background and context, I'd be obliged.
(http://www.ig.doe.gov/pdf/ig
Thanks, Eli
Eli Kintisch
Science Magazine
202 326 6446
UC Regents meet today in San Francisco
September 21, 2005
Regents of the University of California are scheduled to meet today and Thursday at the UC, San Francisco's Laurel Heights campus. Among the items on the regents' agenda is a report from the committee on oversight of Department of Energy national laboratories.
The meeting begins at 10:30 this morning (Mountain Daylight Time). The DOE national labs oversight committee report is scheduled to begin at 12:50 this afternoon (MDT). Regents will hear a status report on the contract competition for operation of Los Alamos.
[...]
Full Story
Regents of the University of California are scheduled to meet today and Thursday at the UC, San Francisco's Laurel Heights campus. Among the items on the regents' agenda is a report from the committee on oversight of Department of Energy national laboratories.
The meeting begins at 10:30 this morning (Mountain Daylight Time). The DOE national labs oversight committee report is scheduled to begin at 12:50 this afternoon (MDT). Regents will hear a status report on the contract competition for operation of Los Alamos.
[...]
Full Story
Re: Leaving Los Alamos....
"A Convenient Spy: Wen Ho Lee and the Politics of Espionage" is a pretty good book. It describes Lee's education as M.E. with PhD but says his actual work was programming and designing algorithms. Maybe it would be more correct to describe him as scientific programmer. As to his trial, the judge's apology speaks volumes. See page 330 of the book. Yes the prosecution was botched .... partly forced by some ambitious zealots.
Sorry that one blogger thinks I am a 'malicious idiot'. I don't agree with the nuclear weapons design at LANL but realize there are undoubtedly many well-meaning people involved in it.
Yes, I think the management contract is a done deal. Hope I am wrong because L-M will only make matters worse.
Along with many others, I would rather see the human and material resources at the DOE labs tackling global warming and finding effective and efficient energy alternatives instead of propelling the arms race.
Rick Sterling
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Raymond Rogers, a chemist and LANL Fellow
Shroud of Turin Conference Awash in Controversy and Criticism
Tuesday September 20, 7:55 am ET
NEW YORK, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a report published today on the Shroud Story website (http://www.shroudstory.com), a recent conference on the Shroud of Turin erupted in controversy over how the Papal Custodians of the Shroud were dealing with scientific evidence. The report is entitled, "An Enchilada Comes to Mind."
The conference, held from September 8 to 11, in the grand ballroom of the historic Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, Texas, was attended by about 100 archeologists, scientists and historians from around the world.
According to Daniel Porter, author of the report, conference organizers had wanted a positive discussion of the Shroud's possible authenticity. What they encountered instead was a barrage of criticism about a secret restoration of the cloth in 2002 and probing questions about why Turin officials summarily rejected chemical proof of failed carbon-14 dating.
According to the website report, most researchers at the conference, representing a broad spectrum of Catholic, Anglican (Episcopal), Protestant and Evangelical Christians, felt that the restoration was scientifically, archeologically and preservation-wise reckless. Moreover, they wanted to know why scientific evidence, published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, Thermochimica Acta, and independently verified by other scientists, was being ignored.
"John Paul II was clear when he said the church did not have specific competence to pronounce on scientific matters," said Porter. "He said the Church entrusts that task to scientists. And just last week, Turin's archbishop, Cardinal Poletto, reiterated that point. But Turin officials are ignoring microscopic, spectral and chemical analysis from multiple scientists. Instead they rely solely on the opinion of a non-scientist textile consultant. It doesn't make any sense."
In an attempt to minimize controversy, conference organizers decided to prohibit questions and comments from the floor. But the scientists attending the conference were not deterred by this tactic.
"You don't treat full professors and published scholars this way," said Porter.
In a presentation that had been billed as a tribute to the late Raymond Rogers, a chemist and Science Fellow of the Los Alamos National Laboratory who had studied the Shroud for many years, researcher Barrie Schwortz instead showed an interview with Rogers taped shortly before his death on March 8, 2005. In the interview, Rogers explained why the 1988 carbon-14 dating had been invalid because samples contained significant amounts of new material from discrete repairs to the cloth. He also offered a blistering criticism of the secretive restoration and explained why the cloth and the still-unexplained images of a crucified man may have been damaged in the process.
In a letter to the conferees, the Vatican Secretariat of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, wrote that His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, "trusts that the Dallas Conference will advance cooperation and dialogue among various groups engaged in scientific research on the Shroud."
"Cooperation and dialog happened," said Porter, "but in startling ways that Turin had not expected."
Tuesday September 20, 7:55 am ET
NEW YORK, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a report published today on the Shroud Story website (http://www.shroudstory.com), a recent conference on the Shroud of Turin erupted in controversy over how the Papal Custodians of the Shroud were dealing with scientific evidence. The report is entitled, "An Enchilada Comes to Mind."
The conference, held from September 8 to 11, in the grand ballroom of the historic Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, Texas, was attended by about 100 archeologists, scientists and historians from around the world.
According to Daniel Porter, author of the report, conference organizers had wanted a positive discussion of the Shroud's possible authenticity. What they encountered instead was a barrage of criticism about a secret restoration of the cloth in 2002 and probing questions about why Turin officials summarily rejected chemical proof of failed carbon-14 dating.
According to the website report, most researchers at the conference, representing a broad spectrum of Catholic, Anglican (Episcopal), Protestant and Evangelical Christians, felt that the restoration was scientifically, archeologically and preservation-wise reckless. Moreover, they wanted to know why scientific evidence, published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, Thermochimica Acta, and independently verified by other scientists, was being ignored.
"John Paul II was clear when he said the church did not have specific competence to pronounce on scientific matters," said Porter. "He said the Church entrusts that task to scientists. And just last week, Turin's archbishop, Cardinal Poletto, reiterated that point. But Turin officials are ignoring microscopic, spectral and chemical analysis from multiple scientists. Instead they rely solely on the opinion of a non-scientist textile consultant. It doesn't make any sense."
In an attempt to minimize controversy, conference organizers decided to prohibit questions and comments from the floor. But the scientists attending the conference were not deterred by this tactic.
"You don't treat full professors and published scholars this way," said Porter.
In a presentation that had been billed as a tribute to the late Raymond Rogers, a chemist and Science Fellow of the Los Alamos National Laboratory who had studied the Shroud for many years, researcher Barrie Schwortz instead showed an interview with Rogers taped shortly before his death on March 8, 2005. In the interview, Rogers explained why the 1988 carbon-14 dating had been invalid because samples contained significant amounts of new material from discrete repairs to the cloth. He also offered a blistering criticism of the secretive restoration and explained why the cloth and the still-unexplained images of a crucified man may have been damaged in the process.
In a letter to the conferees, the Vatican Secretariat of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, wrote that His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, "trusts that the Dallas Conference will advance cooperation and dialogue among various groups engaged in scientific research on the Shroud."
"Cooperation and dialog happened," said Porter, "but in startling ways that Turin had not expected."
Leaving Los Alamos: Its UC Legacy, Military Future
By RICK STERLING
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
In about eight weeks it will be official: Management of Los Alamos National Laboratory will be transferred from the University of California to the Lockheed Martin group. After managing Los Alamos since its inception in 1943, UC will no longer oversee the birthplace of the atomic bomb and world's premier nuclear weapons design facility. What does it mean and does it matter?
[...]
Full Story
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
In about eight weeks it will be official: Management of Los Alamos National Laboratory will be transferred from the University of California to the Lockheed Martin group. After managing Los Alamos since its inception in 1943, UC will no longer oversee the birthplace of the atomic bomb and world's premier nuclear weapons design facility. What does it mean and does it matter?
[...]
Full Story
Monday, September 19, 2005
Anderson files grievance
[Interesting because of the Lockheed Martin connection. --Doug]
Anderson was notified in February her contract with the CU-Boulder environmental studies department would not be renewed beyond the spring semester.
She claims she was forced out because of her research into alleged environmental hazards at Lockheed Martin Corp. facilities and the Lowry Landfill Superfund site.
[...]
Full Story
BY MATT WILLIAMS Colorado Daily Staff Writer
Monday, August 29, 2005 8:43 PM MDT
Anderson was notified in February her contract with the CU-Boulder environmental studies department would not be renewed beyond the spring semester.
She claims she was forced out because of her research into alleged environmental hazards at Lockheed Martin Corp. facilities and the Lowry Landfill Superfund site.
[...]
Full Story
Accountability for people who violate Code of Ethics (and worse)
Comment from the
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/04/running-list-of-wasteful-activities-at.html
post:
___________________________
Borrowed comment from another post.
* Install some form of accountability for people who violate Code of Ethics (and worse). **
It would be great to have the Zero Tolerance policy enforced! Why is it that there are managers here who are allowed to harass their people to to the point of being ineffective or phyically ill. I had to deal with such a manager for 2+ years. Even after complaints and letters to 4 different group leaders, 3 different HR people, and a division leader. There are also at least 8 others that I know of who have also complained about this person. This person is still working here and managing (harassing) others.
That being said, why if they don't actually help the work force do we have an entire HR division?
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/04/running-list-of-wasteful-activities-at.html
post:
___________________________
Borrowed comment from another post.
* Install some form of accountability for people who violate Code of Ethics (and worse). **
It would be great to have the Zero Tolerance policy enforced! Why is it that there are managers here who are allowed to harass their people to to the point of being ineffective or phyically ill. I had to deal with such a manager for 2+ years. Even after complaints and letters to 4 different group leaders, 3 different HR people, and a division leader. There are also at least 8 others that I know of who have also complained about this person. This person is still working here and managing (harassing) others.
That being said, why if they don't actually help the work force do we have an entire HR division?
Director’s Development Program to host motivational speaker
September 19, 2005
The Director’s Development Program (DDP) is sponsoring a talk by Richard Leider, a nationally certified master career counselor, entitled “Claiming your place at the fire; Living the second half of your life on purpose” at 9 a.m., Friday (Sept. 23), in the Physics Building Auditorium at Technical Area 3. The talk is open to all Lab employees.
During the talk, Leider, who also offers workshops on leadership development, will present his model of vitality for people entering into and moving through the second half of their lives, and discuss his latest book, “Claiming Your Place at the Fire.” His goal will be to encourage the audience “to re-examine and rediscover who we are, where we belong, what we care about.”
“Leider’s talk is extremely appropriate given that, in this time of change, many Lab employees are at crossroads in their lives,” said John Perreault of Training and Development (HR-TD), coordinator of the DDP. “This presentation, which targets career and life transition, is relevant for people who are considering a change and want to discover his or her life’s purpose.”
[...]
Full Story
The Director’s Development Program (DDP) is sponsoring a talk by Richard Leider, a nationally certified master career counselor, entitled “Claiming your place at the fire; Living the second half of your life on purpose” at 9 a.m., Friday (Sept. 23), in the Physics Building Auditorium at Technical Area 3. The talk is open to all Lab employees.
During the talk, Leider, who also offers workshops on leadership development, will present his model of vitality for people entering into and moving through the second half of their lives, and discuss his latest book, “Claiming Your Place at the Fire.” His goal will be to encourage the audience “to re-examine and rediscover who we are, where we belong, what we care about.”
“Leider’s talk is extremely appropriate given that, in this time of change, many Lab employees are at crossroads in their lives,” said John Perreault of Training and Development (HR-TD), coordinator of the DDP. “This presentation, which targets career and life transition, is relevant for people who are considering a change and want to discover his or her life’s purpose.”
[...]
Full Story
Friday, September 16, 2005
Bankruptcies: The threat to your pension
Doug:
Please post this important and relevant link:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/09
Please post anonymously.
Thanks.
A rational for the VERIP which actually makes sense
A comment from the
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/lets-do-brief-review.html
post; a rational for the VERIP which actually makes sense:
There is an amazing amount of misunderstanding and financial ignorance evidenced on this thread. For a bunch of highly-paid scientists, engineers and technicians. it is sad. How can you effectively plan your retirement if you have only the most rudimentary understanding of finances?
So. what does UC gain in offering a VERIP? It gains the ability to keep in its retirement system all the money actuarily earmarked for those retirees who take advantage of the deal, and use it to generate more income, as opposed to it being syphoned off by the new contractor (whichever one wins, it won't be UC) as required by the RFP.
A VERIP is in UC's best interest, and certainly in the best interest of those current UC employees that could take advantage of it.
Also think of the 7-year new contract. If you retire in the interim, your retirement checks will be signed by "Los Alamos National Security, LLC," or by "Los Alamos Alliance, LLC." In the next contract competition, whichever of those two corporations wins now might be gone, evaporated permanently, since the only reason for their creation or existence was to win the current contract. Who wants to be in that boat?
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/lets-do-brief-review.html
post; a rational for the VERIP which actually makes sense:
There is an amazing amount of misunderstanding and financial ignorance evidenced on this thread. For a bunch of highly-paid scientists, engineers and technicians. it is sad. How can you effectively plan your retirement if you have only the most rudimentary understanding of finances?
So. what does UC gain in offering a VERIP? It gains the ability to keep in its retirement system all the money actuarily earmarked for those retirees who take advantage of the deal, and use it to generate more income, as opposed to it being syphoned off by the new contractor (whichever one wins, it won't be UC) as required by the RFP.
A VERIP is in UC's best interest, and certainly in the best interest of those current UC employees that could take advantage of it.
Also think of the 7-year new contract. If you retire in the interim, your retirement checks will be signed by "Los Alamos National Security, LLC," or by "Los Alamos Alliance, LLC." In the next contract competition, whichever of those two corporations wins now might be gone, evaporated permanently, since the only reason for their creation or existence was to win the current contract. Who wants to be in that boat?
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Orders from line management
Dear Doug
PLEASE POST AS ANONYMOUS
As a low-level LANL supervisor I just went through another grueling
month. Our top line management has ordered us to make our personnel
performance scores fit a gaussian (random) distribution regardless of
the quality of the people in their respective peer groups. Half of my
group's employees are really angry, demoralized and threatening to quit
as they are all good performers and don't deserve to have artificial
constraints placed on their reviews. I see yet another lawsuit in the
works.....
PLEASE POST AS ANONYMOUS
As a low-level LANL supervisor I just went through another grueling
month. Our top line management has ordered us to make our personnel
performance scores fit a gaussian (random) distribution regardless of
the quality of the people in their respective peer groups. Half of my
group's employees are really angry, demoralized and threatening to quit
as they are all good performers and don't deserve to have artificial
constraints placed on their reviews. I see yet another lawsuit in the
works.....
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
LANL Waits on 'Pins and Needles'
Journal Staff Writer
Everything about the competition for who will manage Los Alamos National Laboratory is essentially over, except for the waiting.
"That is basically the gist of what is going on at the lab here— to wait and see what the final outcome is going to be," LANL employee Manny Trujillo said.
Trujillo is also president of the lab's University Professional and Technical Employees union, which is still working toward gaining bargaining status.
"Other than that, it is just a matter of being on pins and needles to see what the final outcome is going to be," he said.
[...]
Full Story
Everything about the competition for who will manage Los Alamos National Laboratory is essentially over, except for the waiting.
"That is basically the gist of what is going on at the lab here— to wait and see what the final outcome is going to be," LANL employee Manny Trujillo said.
Trujillo is also president of the lab's University Professional and Technical Employees union, which is still working toward gaining bargaining status.
"Other than that, it is just a matter of being on pins and needles to see what the final outcome is going to be," he said.
[...]
Full Story
Monday, September 12, 2005
Thanks
Hi Doug,
I've been reading the blog almost daily since it
started. I wanted to thank you for this forum-- I
believe that it has served a good purpose. I was the
asshole who suggested that "People should be exposed
to all viewpoints and ideas, and decide for themselves
what to think." Frankly, I'd like to see more posts
from Gary Stradling, et al. Even though I disagree
with most of what he says, I'd like to hear his voice.
That's what the first amendment is all about. Of
course, this is your blog, and your rules apply.
I was also the person who said that implosion was one
of the things that LANL was good at. Some of my posts
get applauded, and some get yanked (I get pissed at
all the crybabies).
I appreciate your offering this forum, and in thanks,
I will only post under my real name, ksboland.
As far as those who disagree with me, they can feel
free to go f**k themselves.
Thanks,
Kevin
I've been reading the blog almost daily since it
started. I wanted to thank you for this forum-- I
believe that it has served a good purpose. I was the
asshole who suggested that "People should be exposed
to all viewpoints and ideas, and decide for themselves
what to think." Frankly, I'd like to see more posts
from Gary Stradling, et al. Even though I disagree
with most of what he says, I'd like to hear his voice.
That's what the first amendment is all about. Of
course, this is your blog, and your rules apply.
I was also the person who said that implosion was one
of the things that LANL was good at. Some of my posts
get applauded, and some get yanked (I get pissed at
all the crybabies).
I appreciate your offering this forum, and in thanks,
I will only post under my real name, ksboland.
As far as those who disagree with me, they can feel
free to go f**k themselves.
Thanks,
Kevin
Let's do a brief review
From Anonymous:
Let's do a brief review of recent LANL events, as discussed on this blog.
Recent LANL issues discussed on this blog include claims that former director Nanos perjured himself in front of a Congressional committee last May. Then there is the related issue of Todd Kauppila's family, and the apparently empty promise made by acting Deputy Director Cobb that he was actively investigating how UC could help them out financially.
We finally got the real numbers on staff who have left the lab this past year which substantiate the anecdotal claims that there has been a significant outward migration of talent this year.
Requests for information on the specifics of former director Nanos's current job responsibilities went unanswered.
On the positive side, Acting Director Kuckuck continues to do a stand-up job putting a major "happy face" on our situation. He was spotted logging on to the new Enterprise System.
Behind the scenes the oral presentations were given by the bid contestants last week. Depending on you you talk to you can hear that 1) UC/Bechtel did poorly in their orals, or 2) UC/Bechtel did well in their orals.
The rumor of an upcoming 3 & 3 retirement incentive continues to resurface.
Suspiciously absent was any recent mention of Marquez, Fallin, or McCumber. We did have several reminders of Seestrom's contributions to LANL over the past year.
Roughly 2 1/2 months to go until the bid winner is announced.
Let's do a brief review of recent LANL events, as discussed on this blog.
Recent LANL issues discussed on this blog include claims that former director Nanos perjured himself in front of a Congressional committee last May. Then there is the related issue of Todd Kauppila's family, and the apparently empty promise made by acting Deputy Director Cobb that he was actively investigating how UC could help them out financially.
We finally got the real numbers on staff who have left the lab this past year which substantiate the anecdotal claims that there has been a significant outward migration of talent this year.
Requests for information on the specifics of former director Nanos's current job responsibilities went unanswered.
On the positive side, Acting Director Kuckuck continues to do a stand-up job putting a major "happy face" on our situation. He was spotted logging on to the new Enterprise System.
Behind the scenes the oral presentations were given by the bid contestants last week. Depending on you you talk to you can hear that 1) UC/Bechtel did poorly in their orals, or 2) UC/Bechtel did well in their orals.
The rumor of an upcoming 3 & 3 retirement incentive continues to resurface.
Suspiciously absent was any recent mention of Marquez, Fallin, or McCumber. We did have several reminders of Seestrom's contributions to LANL over the past year.
Roughly 2 1/2 months to go until the bid winner is announced.
Peter Sellars: Explosively original
[Another Los Alamos Opera]
OPERA
Amid the calming mesas of Los Alamos, "Doctor Atomic" librettist and director Sellars visits the site that gave birth to the a-bomb.
The mesas stand in hushed majesty. The sky doesn't stop. The vistas, those astounding vistas, humble humanity. Native Americans revere this land.
I'm driving through Bandelier National Monument, just outside Los Alamos. Peter Sellars is my passenger. We are quiet for a moment. "These mesas are incredible, you've got to give Oppenheimer that," Sellars, never quiet for long, finally says.
"Why Western man really does select rare sacred sites to put the most toxic … " He breaks off with a purposeful, infectious laugh. Silent again, he surveys what he will later call "the world's biggest horizon."
[...]
Full Story
OPERA
Amid the calming mesas of Los Alamos, "Doctor Atomic" librettist and director Sellars visits the site that gave birth to the a-bomb.I'm driving through Bandelier National Monument, just outside Los Alamos. Peter Sellars is my passenger. We are quiet for a moment. "These mesas are incredible, you've got to give Oppenheimer that," Sellars, never quiet for long, finally says.
"Why Western man really does select rare sacred sites to put the most toxic … " He breaks off with a purposeful, infectious laugh. Silent again, he surveys what he will later call "the world's biggest horizon."
[...]
Full Story
Friday, September 09, 2005
"We are already looking into it"
From Anonymous:Doug or Brad: Please post this, *exactly* as written. Do not forget to include the picture.
__________________________
This man (Don Cobb) is a liar. A serial liar. On May 16 he promised that "We are already looking into it," when asked if there was anything UC could do to help the family of Todd Kauppila during the question-and-answer session following UC President Bob Dynes' introduction of Bob Kuckuck to LANL staff on May 16, 2005. If Cobb "looked into it" and decided to do nothing, then he, Bob Dynes, Bob Kuckuck, and Bob Foley--mere feet away as Cobb uttered his "promise" of help--are worse than liars, and deserve a warm spot in..."our hearts."
Former Director Nanos' new job at DTRA
Doug,
It'd be interesting to have a summary of what G. Peter's new job is really
like.
Duties, salary, location, title, immediate superior, etc. etc.
--Anonymous
It'd be interesting to have a summary of what G. Peter's new job is really
like.
Duties, salary, location, title, immediate superior, etc. etc.
--Anonymous
A few recent comments
Some comments from the
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/nanos-testimony-before-house-of.html
post:
______________________________________________________
What a pack of cowards!! Is John the only one willing to stand up for what is right here? Just because Nanos is gone doesn't mean that you stick your heads back in the sand and go on like nothing happened. Just because a criminal leaves town doesn't mean you stop pursuing justice. Now that Todd is gone is John going to have to fight these criminals alone? The least you can do is show some support and quit with the Domenici "get over it" lines. Until there is justice there is no getting over it.
______________________________________________________
"What a pack of cowards!!"
Unfortunately true. I have been struck by the general cowardice of the bulk of LANL employees. They cowered before Nanos, they continue to cower even after he is gone. There are a few who are not afraid to speak out about what is wrong at LANL: Sara Kaupilla, John Horne, Brad Holian, Doug Roberts, Dave Hanson, a few others.
Many of the rest, unfortunately, are cowards.
______________________________________________________
9/07/2005 08:19:13 PM Said:
"Just who is even going to read all this crap except those who have a vendetta? Doesn't anyone want to just get over this? Nanos is gone. Who in hell will care about revisting his sins? Get on with life, because it is going to get a LOT more interesting in the next few months. If you want to live in the past, you either don't care about or are oblivious to the potential disasters in the near future. Fasten your seatbelts."
Those are nice lines, but it's justice I seek, not vengance...and I have had my seatbelt fastened for over a year now, and it's still not doing much to protect me or my family. I have to ask the author of the above comment how he or she feels I should "get on with life." The management of the lab and the politicians pulling strings killed my husband and deprived my children of thier father by using him as a scapegoat and deliberately ruining his career so that things would appear other than they are. I'm sorry, but I'm having a little bit more trouble than you getting on with life.
If it helps put things into perspective, even when John Horne obtained a lawyer last fall, Todd was still certain that reason would prevail. He didn't get a lawyer at the time thinking that certainly they'd figure it out and all would be well. In fact, I remember Todd noting that something like this could only help upper managment to fix the procedural problems with security that he and his coworkers had tried for some time to call to upper management's attention. The point is that Todd had a "my employer will take care of me" attitude. Guess what? Your employer will chop you into pieces on a whim to protect themselves. You are expendable. Upper managment has been quoted to say "HR exisists only to protect the Director" (just in case any of you thought HR was on your side.)
Many of you are out there thinking stuff like this won't happen to you. So did we...and we were wrong. If you think that because Nanos is gone all the bad is gone...you're delusional. The rest of the players in this farce are stil here and well employed with apparently no regrets for their part in this. Todd is dead and despite the generosity of the community, I'm faced with whether I can afford to stay in this town because the lab took life insurance away that we'd had for 20 years. For those who were comforting themselves on the comments made shortly after Todd's death about how the lab was "looking into" our situation... Please be assured that the lab and UC continue to do nothing but ask for extensions to and exemptions from legal rules.
Everything John Horne said in his post is true. There is proof that will be presented in proper courts of law. In the meantime, please don't be lured into thinking that things are well... unless you are one who is ok with watching a wrongful hanging as long as it's not you.
Sincerely,
Sara Kauppila
http://lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com/2005/09/nanos-testimony-before-house-of.html
post:
______________________________________________________
What a pack of cowards!! Is John the only one willing to stand up for what is right here? Just because Nanos is gone doesn't mean that you stick your heads back in the sand and go on like nothing happened. Just because a criminal leaves town doesn't mean you stop pursuing justice. Now that Todd is gone is John going to have to fight these criminals alone? The least you can do is show some support and quit with the Domenici "get over it" lines. Until there is justice there is no getting over it.
______________________________________________________
"What a pack of cowards!!"
Unfortunately true. I have been struck by the general cowardice of the bulk of LANL employees. They cowered before Nanos, they continue to cower even after he is gone. There are a few who are not afraid to speak out about what is wrong at LANL: Sara Kaupilla, John Horne, Brad Holian, Doug Roberts, Dave Hanson, a few others.
Many of the rest, unfortunately, are cowards.
______________________________________________________
9/07/2005 08:19:13 PM Said:
"Just who is even going to read all this crap except those who have a vendetta? Doesn't anyone want to just get over this? Nanos is gone. Who in hell will care about revisting his sins? Get on with life, because it is going to get a LOT more interesting in the next few months. If you want to live in the past, you either don't care about or are oblivious to the potential disasters in the near future. Fasten your seatbelts."
Those are nice lines, but it's justice I seek, not vengance...and I have had my seatbelt fastened for over a year now, and it's still not doing much to protect me or my family. I have to ask the author of the above comment how he or she feels I should "get on with life." The management of the lab and the politicians pulling strings killed my husband and deprived my children of thier father by using him as a scapegoat and deliberately ruining his career so that things would appear other than they are. I'm sorry, but I'm having a little bit more trouble than you getting on with life.
If it helps put things into perspective, even when John Horne obtained a lawyer last fall, Todd was still certain that reason would prevail. He didn't get a lawyer at the time thinking that certainly they'd figure it out and all would be well. In fact, I remember Todd noting that something like this could only help upper managment to fix the procedural problems with security that he and his coworkers had tried for some time to call to upper management's attention. The point is that Todd had a "my employer will take care of me" attitude. Guess what? Your employer will chop you into pieces on a whim to protect themselves. You are expendable. Upper managment has been quoted to say "HR exisists only to protect the Director" (just in case any of you thought HR was on your side.)
Many of you are out there thinking stuff like this won't happen to you. So did we...and we were wrong. If you think that because Nanos is gone all the bad is gone...you're delusional. The rest of the players in this farce are stil here and well employed with apparently no regrets for their part in this. Todd is dead and despite the generosity of the community, I'm faced with whether I can afford to stay in this town because the lab took life insurance away that we'd had for 20 years. For those who were comforting themselves on the comments made shortly after Todd's death about how the lab was "looking into" our situation... Please be assured that the lab and UC continue to do nothing but ask for extensions to and exemptions from legal rules.
Everything John Horne said in his post is true. There is proof that will be presented in proper courts of law. In the meantime, please don't be lured into thinking that things are well... unless you are one who is ok with watching a wrongful hanging as long as it's not you.
Sincerely,
Sara Kauppila
Sig in the news
North Korea Stands Fast On Nuclear Energy Use
Rice Gets Report On Eve of Talks
Friday, September 9, 2005; Page A21
Two prominent experts on North Korea who recently made an unpublicized visit to the reclusive nation briefed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday as U.S. negotiators prepared to return to Beijing for a renewal of six-nation disarmament talks.
Rice Gets Report On Eve of Talks
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff WriterFriday, September 9, 2005; Page A21
Two prominent experts on North Korea who recently made an unpublicized visit to the reclusive nation briefed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday as U.S. negotiators prepared to return to Beijing for a renewal of six-nation disarmament talks.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
How UT Learned to Love the Bomb
The University of Texas makes a bid to run Los Alamos
BY FORREST WILDER
If atomic bombs are to be added as new weapons to the arsenals of a warring world, or to the arsenals of nations preparing for war, then the time will come when mankind will curse the names of Los Alamos and of Hiroshima.—J. Robert Oppenheimer upon his resignation as director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1945.
he bomb was born in academia. In 1945, great minds recruited largely from American universities—Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, and Edward Teller to name a few—overcame enormous scientific and technical challenges to bring the first nuclear weapon into the world.Sixty years later, the Manhattan Project is still very much with us, institutionalized at three “national laboratories”—Los Alamos in northern New Mexico, Sandia in nearby Albuquerque, and Lawrence-Livermore in Livermore, California. Together with the various enrichment, manufacturing, and assembling facilities around the country, these three laboratories make up the nuclear weapons complex in the United States. Two of the three—Los Alamos and Lawrence-Livermore—have been managed by the University of California system (UC) since their inception. Sandia is overseen by Lockheed-Martin, the world’s largest military contractor with $20.7 billion in contracts in 2004.
[...]
Full Story
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Re: Those who would rather tear us down than build us up
This recent post may well have homed in on the key problem that stands in
the way of LANL’s success right now – the prevalence of negative
thinking. As several people have noted over the past m
the way of LANL’s success right now – the prevalence of negative
thinking. As several people have noted over the past m