There have been numerous unsubstantiated claims of malfeasance, and even of attempts by LANL's new M&O contractor to cover up on-going illegal activities at Los Alamos. The subject came up again on the Comments of the Week, Friday Edition post, in between whinings and complaints about LANS' new online travel system. These comments from that post are a polite way of suggesting that staff who claim knowledge of cover ups of said illegal activities should put up, or shut up.
-Gus
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Dec 15, 2007
29 comments:
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Anonymous said...
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Good idea, Gussie. The original LANL blog actually did break a story about a UC/LANL attempted cover up. LANL had been sitting on the story for ten days, apparently hoping that nobody would find out. See Americium Contamination Event for the details.
However, I believe the ratio of brave/cowardly staff at LANL has decreased slightly since July, 2005. It has gone down by approx. 5/12,000 so far as I can tell, so good luck with getting any "scoops" about LANL's operator these days. -
12/15/07, 11:25 AM
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Anonymous said...
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DOE has a long history of punishing the messengers. Blow the whistle at your own risk.
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12/15/07, 12:00 PM
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Gussie Fink-Nottle said...
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Given 12:00pm's comment, I believe I begin to understand what 11:25 was getting at regarding that decreasing ratio he mentioned.
-Gus -
12/15/07, 12:04 PM
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Anonymous said...
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You mean like someone in the Director's office sending out an e-mail containing classified material to the ADs (oops!).
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12/15/07, 12:54 PM
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Anonymous said...
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Yes, 11:25AM, a walk through the original blog archives and you will see that during this time it was uncovered that LANL was sitting on another story for several days. Take a look on the days following the Americium Contamination Event and you will see the Aqua Regia Inhalation Event and ... well ... the Tommy Hooks scandal and poor Kuckuck trying to discuss the values in good leaders.
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12/15/07, 1:48 PM
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Anonymous said...
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12:54,
Big whoop, if it even happened. A LANS board member already played that trick about 6 months ago. LANS didn't even get a slap on the wrist. You seem to forget that DOE has LANS' back.
Besides, where's the proof? -
12/15/07, 2:32 PM
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Anonymous said...
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Anonymous at 12/15/07 12:00 PM said
"DOE has a long history of punishing the messengers. Blow the whistle at your own risk."
Yes! One would be prudent to report corruption, etc., anonymously. -
12/15/07, 3:08 PM
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Anonymous said...
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There are a lot of comments about the LANL staff being "cowardly." Do not forget that we are operating under "employment at will" in a state where there are no other jobs available for 50 year-old PhD physicists and living in a housing market where the prices are just about to really tank.
I cannot imagine coming home from work with my books and junk and having to explain to my wife that I lost my job, we have to move out of state, and we have to sell the house as a major loss just because I asked the wrong question in an all-hands meeting. -
12/15/07, 3:11 PM
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Anonymous said...
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I don't think that it is correct to classify the travel system as "malfeasance."
But it sure as hell is incompetence! -
12/15/07, 3:18 PM
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Anonymous said...
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You can Google "Concur" and find that it is distributed by a commercial software company. It was not developed at LANL, but obviously it wasn't well-tested there either, and they didn't do the required homework of finding out how well employees here and elsewhere were able to utilize it.
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12/15/07, 4:06 PM
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Anonymous said...
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Some RIF information:
487 applied for the Phase 1 SSP.
70 retracted their applications.
LANS required 750 FTEs leave to meet the optimistic budget scenario.
LANS refused to show anybody the DOE approved Phase 1 terms and conditions.
LANS remains silent on Phase 2.
Group Leaders sent funding estimate shortfalls to the Division offices on Friday.
Any guesses what sort of Christmas party LANS is planning? -
12/15/07, 4:10 PM
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Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...
I don't think that it is correct to classify the travel system as "malfeasance."
But it sure as hell is incompetence!
12/15/07 3:18 PM
If in fact the alleged "incompetence" serves as a means to give LANS an interest free loan against Federal monies it is in fact malfeasance. In the rst of America, it actully is considerd a crime.
So the question is - what is the dollar amount owed to employee's due to the alleged "incompetence?" If it is in fact material then it is actionable and should be reported.
How many are owed how much? -
12/15/07, 5:14 PM
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Anonymous said...
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If people are really not getting their travel reimbursements for two to three months, then there may be a state labor law issue here.
State labor law requires that employees be paid within a certain number of days following the end of the pay period. I believe that the number is two weeks.
SO, non-payment of travel expenses effects a delay in the payment of salary.
So, does the phrase "class action suit" have any relevance here? -
12/15/07, 5:40 PM
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Anonymous said...
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"So, does the phrase "class action suit" have any relevance here?"
Baaaaaa!
Baaa bah baa baaah bleat baahhh baaaaa ba ba ba *baaaah* bahh-baaa baaa baaa.
Baaaa, baah *baaa* bahhaa bleat baa.
[Translated, "No!
We let Nanos and UC walk all over us when we *weren't* at-will employees. Now, (undecipherable) we're (undecipherable) (undecipherable) (undecipherable).
But, we're *not* glad any more that UC won the contract."] -
12/15/07, 5:49 PM
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Anonymous said...
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LANL/LANS has come up with a unique way of violating a section of the original contract regarding contracting with small northern NM businesses. They have willingly spent the money to renew a BOA with a small local company but since July have not placed any orders against the new contract. The company has gone outside the county drumming up business to keep from folding. LANL/LANS management are absolutely amoral.
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12/15/07, 8:42 PM
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Anonymous said...
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2:32 PM - 12:54 here. I work for one of the ADs. It was a big deal to things cleaned up in a hurry and some how nothing was ever mentioned. Irks me after the all the computer labelling crap coming down the pike to ensure we know if the computer contains Pii, UCNI, classified, etc. Still won't do any good if the person sending the e-mail has his head up his rear and does not care to know the rules.
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12/15/07, 8:57 PM
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Anonymous said...
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Well, 12/15 @ 5:49 pm....
What, exactly, are YOU going to do?
I figure your post is about all you can manage. -
12/15/07, 9:12 PM
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Anonymous said...
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Some might find this hard to take, but this is the truth: the GAO, you Congressional Representative, your Senators, the US Attorney, the DOE IG and anyone else you can imagine in a position of responsibility...none of them have any interest in pursuing wrongdoing brought to their attention by whistleblowers. You could have a file 2 feet thick proving the theft of a billion dollars, pictures of executives dumping plutonium scrap into an arroyo, whatever...unless there is at least one dead body, a video of the industrial accident caused by management safety negligence, and you get it onto 60 Minutes unedited. And even then your life will be destroyed. So do yourselves a favor, look out for yourselves and your families. Very sorry to report that the bad guys have won the current round. Maybe it will change in a few years when there is a new US attorney but I doubt it. Go thrive to fight another day. Better to be happy and healthy at half the salary and benefits than living a nightmare on easy street.
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12/15/07, 10:26 PM
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Anonymous said...
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"I cannot imagine coming home from work with my books and junk and having to explain to my wife that I lost my job, we have to move out of state, and we have to sell the house as a major loss just because I asked the wrong question in an all-hands meeting."
So you have no problem telling your wife that the house and job depend on you keeping your mouth shut no matter what is going on around you. Or do you tell her? -
12/15/07, 10:50 PM
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Anonymous said...
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I am getting tired of the completely dubass comments. I mean they are from the lowest subset of the F students, such as:
So you have no problem telling your wife that the house and job depend on you keeping your mouth shut no matter what is going on around you. Or do you tell her?
12/15/07 10:50 PM
Are you really that stupid? Come on, please. -
12/16/07, 12:33 AM
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Anonymous said...
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I think Espanola is mounting an attact. How pathetic. Stupid arguments at best. What else could one expect.
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12/16/07, 12:34 AM
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Anonymous said...
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Go to bed.
-dubass -
12/16/07, 12:42 AM
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Anonymous said...
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dubass?
Best you can do?
I am tired of the lesser half driving the lab dow - i want to make you mad and i want you to prove me wrong (hahahaha - like that is possible) -
12/16/07, 12:45 AM
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Anonymous said...
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dubass? you have a head cold or something?
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12/16/07, 12:51 AM
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Anonymous said...
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I was quoting you and making the case that you really should go to bed.
"I am getting tired of the completely dubass comments." -
12/16/07, 12:59 AM
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Anonymous said...
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Anonymous at 12/15/07 10:26 PM said...
"Some might find this hard to take, but this is the truth: the GAO, you Congressional Representative, your Senators, the US Attorney, the DOE IG and anyone else you can imagine in a position of responsibility...none of them have any interest in pursuing wrongdoing brought to their attention by whistleblowers."
I believe that this statement is correct. Nobody gives a shit about the waste and malfeasance that goes on at LANL. These people didn't care that the contract award cost ~$200M and about 1500 jobs. -
12/16/07, 7:00 AM
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Anonymous said...
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Only those who have been asleep for the past few years wouldn't know about all the corruption problems at the Lab. Repeated articles in the media have revealed the Lab's penchant for denial and cover-up over the years, but of course some now want a list of specifics. What a crock! The best thing for the American taxpayer would be to purge staffing at Los Alamos and start over. There are just too many entrenched interests and denial among existing staff to change in any significant way. Rich Marquez, Terry Wallace, Nick Salazar, Janette Wallace, Ben Lujan and all their family and friends working at the Lab should be gotten rid off and then maybe, just maybe we'd have a chance once again as an institution. But no, let's keep blaming people like Walp, Doran and others who have tried to fix problems at the Lab. It's easier perhaps to do that, but also shows why we're a lost cause anymore as an institution. We can't learn from our mistakes if we can't admit them, and we will never admit them even as the ship sinks, we won't admit them. Just shut the place down, already!
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12/16/07, 8:25 AM
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Anonymous said...
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Pinknottle Gus Brain
I did give proof to the IG of KSL mischarging (stealing)- even used my own name. They investigated, found out what I said was true. So in response what did LANS and DOE do? FIre them? Call the FBI? Call LAPD?..... Hmmmmmm...No.THey hired half of them into LANS directand extended the KSL contract for a year.
Not a sheep but I feel like a Shroom
Festus -
12/16/07, 3:56 PM
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Anonymous said...
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Opps, KSL is running out of cash. Looks like it's time to start doing some more wide scale fire alarm testing at LANL to fatten up the KSL payroll. The beauty of this KSL scheme is that it can be defended for safety reasons, but by doing it all the time it's like owning a money minting machine.
How many KSL workers does it take to check out a fire alarm system? Don't ask, you don't want to know. -
12/16/07, 10:04 PM
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Anonymous at 12/15/07 10:05 AM writes:
"..the corruption is significant AND widespread at Los Alamos."
Lots of talk here, but no specifics. If there is indeed corruption that this writer REALLY knows about, then s/he is responsible to report it to the IG, GAO, DOE, etc.
My guess is that this person is just blowing wind (or passing wind.)"
As far as an earlier poster's statement about Tommy "Lap Dance" Hook and Chuck Montano finding all of the corruption, that is no doubt also nonsense.
Alternatively, anybody who finds themselves in possession of proof of illegal activity being covered up by LANS, and who doesn't want to go to the trouble of reporting it to the IG, GAO, DOE, etc., we will try to find space here on the blog to squeeze that documentation in.
-Gus
Gee Gussie, that's exactly what I was thinking. Narf!