Two of our loyal blog readers have asked me to share these suggestions with other readers. The first is a survey being taken by POGO on the federal government's use of private contractors. The second is a request for comments on a proposal to establish a Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE) in the nuclear weapons complex.
October 13, 2009
POGO Survey to Provide a More Complete Outsourcing Picture
Private contractors can help government achieve public purposes, but ensuring that the public interest is protected requires clear standards, adequate information and oversight. Today, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) launched a web-based survey designed to examine the federal government’s policies and practices in using private sector contractors to perform services. POGO will solicit responses from federal government and contractor employees to help determine the extent to which the government’s service contracts conform to regulatory standards and are achieving the goals for using private contractors instead of government employees.
The reasons most commonly invoked by the government for outsourcing services include acquiring hard-to-find skills, saving money, and augmenting the federal workforce on a temporary or emergency basis. However, information available from the government about service contracts and the contractor workforce make it difficult to determine whether those goals are being achieved.
According to Danielle Brian, POGO’s executive director, “contracting has its place, but good management demands that it be used only when it is cost effective and achieves public goals. Each year, the federal government spends hundreds of billions of dollars on service contracts. Unfortunately, it is unable to ensure that work performed by contractors is as good as work performed by government employees; is in fact cost effective; and protects against fraud, waste, abuse, and unethical conduct. Furthermore, it is unclear whether adequate controls are in place to ensure that contractors are not performing work that is ‘inherently governmental.’ POGO hopes this survey will provide a more comprehensive picture of the government’s outsourcing efforts.”
POGO’s survey is organized into several sections. Respondents will be prompted to answer only the section that pertains to their particular job skills and/or work experience. Persons with experience on federal service contracts are invited to respond to POGO’s survey, which is posted on the Web at www.pogo.org. We will publish the results of the survey next year.
Founded in 1981, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is an independent nonprofit that investigates and exposes corruption and other misconduct in order to achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government.
# # #
Comment on Rulemaking - Safety Conscious Work Environment/DOE
Tom Carpenter, HanfordChallenge.org
Submit Your Public Comment on Protecting Nuclear Whistleblowers at DOE
Deadline: Dec 15, 2009
Protecting freedom of speech for workers when it comes to raising safety, health and environmental concerns has long been a concern at the nation’s nuclear weapons facilities.
Employees are the first line of defense for safe and effective operation of the facility, including the efforts to remediate the long-lasting and deadly legacy of plutonium production.
The U.S. Department of Energy has requested comment on a proposed rule submitted by Hanford Challenge to establish a Safety Conscious Work Environment. This is a formal program adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to ensure that employees are free to raise concerns internally without fear of reprisal. Failure to maintain such an atmosphere on the part of an NRC licensee can result in fines and a suspension of the operating license. The NRC audits commercial nuclear facilities and takes action if it finds that a nuclear operator has a “chilled working environment” that discourages the raising of issues.
The nuclear weapons complex has a long and inglorious history of reprisals against workers who raised concerns. A recent example was the $7 million jury verdict against Hanford contractor Fluor Federal Services after 11 pipefitters filed complaints following their terminations for refusing to install a questionable valve in a radioactive waste piping system.
A Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE) is defined as an environment in which employees are encouraged to raise concerns, where concerns are promptly reviewed, given the proper priority based on their safety significance, and appropriately resolved with timely feedback to employees. Attributes of a SCWE include (1) a management attitude that promotes employee involvement and confidence in raising and resolving concerns; (2) a clearly communicated management policy where safety has utmost priority, overriding the demands of production and project schedules; (3) a strong, independent quality assurance organization and program; (4) a training program that encourages a positive attitude toward safety; and (5) a safety ethic at all levels characterized by an inherently questioning attitude, attention to detail, prevention of complacency, commitment to excellence, and accountability in safety matters.
“The public relies on employees to come forward with issues that might affect human health and safety, the environment, and efficient use of government resources. Such employees deserve strong and effective protections against reprisal, and the government should make sure that there is free-flow of information from workers so that problems are addressed at an early stage and effectively,” states Tom Carpenter, Executive Director of Hanford Challenge.
Public comment is now being taken by the DOE. We urge all who believe in protecting workplace free speech and protecting safety and health to comment on this Rule by DECEMBER 15, 2009.
For a copy of the Rulemaking Petition, check the Federal Register website: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-24929.htm
Regarding the "deadly legacy of plutonium production."
ReplyDeleteReally? Is this industry deadly? Who/what/when/where was the death or deaths?
You could Google HREX to read about the people intentionally killed. There are also plenty of former nuclear workers who should still be alive. The cost in lives among the general public is certainly not zero. The latest tragedy is the death between your ears.
ReplyDelete"...contracting has its place, but good management demands that it be used only when it is cost effective and achieves public goals."
ReplyDeleteGood management? - you mean like DOE, NNSA US Post Office, etc, etc,etc.?
"Is this industry deadly?"
ReplyDeleteNo, not in comparison to other industries but, it’s always easy to frighten the public with a PU or nuclear weapon story.
It's always easy to draw out the apologists. How about you provide input to DOE on the proposed SCWE instead of making fools of yourselves here.
ReplyDelete“It's always easy to draw out the apologists.”
ReplyDeleteAnd, it’s always easy to draw out the name callers especially when others disagree with their viewpoint.
And, I’ve already made comments regarding the Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE. I doubt you’d agree with them though.
In my opinion the problem is that there is too much focus on safety, namely to the extent that it isn't possible to get anything done. That's why the costs are so high. For everybody who is trying to do something useful you have three people looking up his behind with a proctoscope to make sure he is doing everything "properly". Accountability is extremely expensive and it isn't cost effective. The government never considers that.
ReplyDeleteOk, I googled HREX. Human Radiation Experiments. Please explain what this has to do with plutonium production and manufacturing.
ReplyDeletePu is a strange substance in that it can be placed in your hands safely with little danger. But, get just a few tiny grains of it into your lungs and then watch out!
ReplyDelete"Good management? - you mean like DOE, NNSA US Post Office, etc, etc,etc.?"
ReplyDelete10/19/09 6:01 AM
I would take the US Post office managing LANL over NNSA any day. At least they know how to get a letter to any location in the US with a 99.99% success rate for under 50 cents. That's pretty impressive. They're also a lot nicer to their postal employees than DOE/NNSA is to their contractors.
And keep your fingers off Frank's buttons!
ReplyDeleteSo, which of you are holding your breath while waiting for the DOE to admit their mistake in turning LANL and LLNL over to for-profit corporations?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lcni5.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?075+article+News+20091019172537075075003
ReplyDeleteHREX!! It was removed from the WWW several years ago! Where is Young writing from???
ReplyDeleteI don't see how these comments are "making fools of themselves." Their points are valid and I seriously doubt you will get input from people (esp. LANL workers) when the source is POGO-clearly an organization with an anti-nuke agenda.
ReplyDelete" They're also a lot nicer to their postal employees than DOE/NNSA is to their contractors."
ReplyDeleteGeeze, I think we found your problem.
Try sucking your thumb - you'll feel better.
It is not LANL but who cares we can always blame LANL.
ReplyDeleteScientist Arrested On Spy Charges
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Nozette worked in varying jobs for the Energy Department, NASA and – in 1989 and 1990 – the National Space Council in the president's office. He developed the Clementine bi-static radar experiment that is credited with discovering water on the south pole of the moon. He also worked at the Energy Department's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he designed highly advanced technology, from approximately 1990 to 1999.
At Energy, Nozette held a special security clearance equivalent to the Defense Department's top secret and "critical nuclear weapon design information" clearances. DOE clearances apply to access to information specifically relating to atomic or nuclear-related materials.
Based on the time stamps on postings vs the actual posting times today, I conclude neither Frank nor Doug any longer has time to administer this blog. On Sunday when people actually have time to post, there was a several-hour delay, resulting in many apparently off-topic posts just due to the delay from previous post to response. This is unacceptable. I hope that Frank and Doug will recognize their essentially ego-driven reasons for doing this, combined with their obvious inability to do it effectively, and give it up to someone who actaully cares. It should be obvious that both are LANL-haters, and I don't mean LANS- or NNSA- or DOE-haters.
ReplyDelete10:42 Give it a rest. You haven't got the foggiest idea what you are talking about.
ReplyDeleteFrank, Doug - as a long time LANL employee, I say thank you for the blog and for shedding light on the LANS/DOE/NNSA roaches that have taken over. Keep up the good work.
Frank and Doug are doing us a great service here. I am personally indebted to them for exposing LANS. It will all come out one day. Keep up the great work! Big deal, so you had to wait 2 hours to post your comment. Send complaints to Mikey's complaint box, Mail Stop IM-GOD, I'm sure you'll get an immediate response and resolution.
ReplyDeleteOff topic, but what's up with the FBI investigation of the house on North Mesa - LANL related?
ReplyDelete9:38,
ReplyDeleteThey finally found Nanos' missing CREM. Now they're trying to figure out how it got there.
10:42, ooooh poooor ittie bittie baby oooh.
ReplyDeleteTry sucking your thumb, it will make you feel better.
Anastasio's LANS-loving roaches are busy this morning, aren't they? Time to reach for a can of bug spray.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work, Frank and Doug! I doubt you'll ever know just how many people support and appreciate your "open mike" policy that helps to broadcast what is really happening inside LANL. Most blog readers can filter out the noise by themselves.
The FBI must be here for the recent Nozette espionage case (former LLNL employee).
ReplyDeleteAnytime the FBI hears the words "spy" and "DOE", they immediately head up to Los Alamos, no matter what. Maybe Congress can even find a way to hold some meetings and pin it on LANL. The morale beatings might help Mikey meet his 5% attrition rate figure for this next year.
I, like most Lab loyalists, get my news from the Lab News Bulletin. And from my group leader of course.
ReplyDeleteNow excuse me while I chew my cud.
--baaaa...baaaa.....baaaaaaaa...
Thanks everyone for the kind words. It has been another long day and I'm just now catching up. I plan to roast a troll for lunch tomorrow and you are all invited.
ReplyDeleteI've never had roasted troll before, but I'm sure it's delicious. What type of wine should be served with it, red or white?
ReplyDelete5:43 pm: "I, like most Lab loyalists, get my news from the Lab News Bulletin. And from my group leader of course."
ReplyDeleteMost educated people, "lab loyalist" or not, get their news from a variety of sources, of course. If you are a lab employee, you ignore the NewsBulletin and your Group Leader at your own risk. However, the more important question is, why would anyone with integrity work for an employer he couldn't feel loyslty towards?
"I've never had roasted troll before, but I'm sure it's delicious. What type of wine should be served with it, red or white?"
ReplyDeleteThey come with their own whine but I prefer beer.
The LA Monitor had a short piece about that FBI investigation but still no details about what they were looking for in that house:
ReplyDeleteBreaking News: FBI tapes off local home under investigation
Los Alamos Monitor, 10-19-09
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation entered a home on Camino Mora in North Mesa today for reasons not yet clear. The home was sectioned off with yellow police tape and members of the Los Alamos Police Department were with agents outside the home.
"This is part of an ongoing federal investigation," FBI Public Information Officer Darren Jones said at the scene.
Police Chief Wayne Torpy also did not go into detail saying only, "Our officers are providing ground support to the FBI for this investigation."
Nothing more could be said at this time, Jones explained, because of the nature of the investigation. Jones added that he hoped to be able to share additional information within a couple of days.
Ah, here it is, in the NY Times...
ReplyDelete-----
"Property of Nuclear Critic Is Seized by Federal Agents"
NY Times, Oct 20 '09
Federal agents have seized six computers, two cameras, two cellphones and hundreds of files from a Los Alamos, N.M., physicist who for two decades has criticized the government’s nuclear agenda as misguided.
A Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman in Albuquerque, Darrin E. Jones, said that the action on Monday was part of “an ongoing federal investigation” and that he could provide no details.
The physicist, P. Leonardo Mascheroni, said he was told that the seizures were part of a criminal investigation into possible nuclear espionage. Dr. Mascheroni also declared his innocence.
“If I were a real spy,” he said Tuesday in a telephone interview, “I would have left the country a long time ago.”
Dr. Mascheroni was laid off from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1988 and has ever since championed an innovative type of laser fusion, which seeks to harness the energy that powers the sun, the stars and hydrogen bombs.
In recent years, he has repeatedly gone to Congress to question the management of the nation’s nuclear laboratories and arsenal, saying his laser was needed to ensure weapon reliability. In theory, its tiny blasts could test arms dependability, eliminating the need for underground explosions.
The secrets of hydrogen bombs and laser fusion can be similar, and the federal investigation appears to center on whether Dr. Mascheroni broke federal rules in discussing his proposed laser with a man who called himself a representative of the Venezuelan government.
Venezuela has begun exploring for uranium, but its president, Hugo Chávez, has denied any interest in developing nuclear arms.
Dr. Mascheroni, a naturalized United States citizen and a native of Argentina, said in the interview that he tried to drum up foreign interest in his laser after Congress in 2007 rejected his pleas for a hearing. He said he had written to physics institutions in Britain, France and, because of its oil wealth, Venezuela.
Last year, he said, a man claiming to be a Venezuelan representative agreed to pay him $800,000 for a laser study. Dr. Mascheroni said he delivered the unclassified study but was never paid. He said his intent was never to build the laser in Venezuela but to use that country’s interest to pressure Congress and the federal bureaucracy into taking his ideas seriously.
Dr. Mascheroni said F.B.I. agents told him the bureau caught the man two weeks ago and found the laser study, prompting the wide seizures of his papers and property.
“They took 30 years of my work,” he said. “It’s horrible.”
Dr. Mascheroni said about 20 agents swept through his Los Alamos home from early morning Monday until late at night, removing about 50 boxes of files and papers. He lives with his wife, Marjorie, who worked as a writer at the weapons laboratory until Monday, when she was put on administrative leave.
“They took her badge,” Dr. Mascheroni said. “So she cannot go back to work.”
Federal and laboratory authorities have previously investigated him twice for security violations, Dr. Mascheroni said, adding that each time he was exonerated. He said he saw the disruptive episodes as harassment for his outspoken views.
www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21
/us/21alamos.html
-----
After the latest FBI sting with the former LLNL scientist, you just knew the FBI would have to find some means to bring a former LANL scientist into the espionage picture, too!
i have a suggestion, throw a bunch of paper towels inthe toilet for some kind of building sabotage!
ReplyDelete---
There is substantial evidence suggesting that the recent flooding and sewage problems in SM-123 were the result of someone deliberately placing a huge amount of paper towels into the toilets in the men's bathrooms. This action resulted in facilities, custodial and crafts personnel having to spend an inordinate amount of time and effort into late last night and today to identify the problem, in addition to the money spent by the laboratory to resolve the problem. It now appears someone has crossed the barriers placed on the bathrooms and once again stuffed paper towels into the toilet, causing the same problem again today.
If true, I will consider these to be deliberate actions of sabotage of Lab property and a cause for disciplinary action. This is similarly true of anyone crossing the clearly marked barriers. Anyone with information should let me know.
Alan.
we would be much better off without POGO!
ReplyDeleteGiven that there has been much discussion recently within DOE regarding pensions and how underfunded they are...
ReplyDeleteCongress established National Save for Retirement Week to increase awareness of the need to save for retirement.
In 2009, the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate unanimously approved resolutions designating Oct. 18-24 as National Save for Retirement Week. The resolutions seek to increase personal financial literacy and raise public awareness of the retirement-savings vehicles available to all workers, including public- and private-sector employees, employees of tax-exempt organizations, and self-employed individuals.
Research shows that more than half of all workers in the United States, 53 percent, have less than $25,000 in total savings and investments, excluding their home and defined benefit plans.* With longer life expectancies and rising costs, especially for health care, it is critical that Americans understand the importance of saving for their future - now.
Gee it must be a slow news day. Two spy cases involving the DOE and nuclear secrets. I heard my former group leader once tell me that "a fish rots from the head down". He said that a lot when Nanos was running the place! Spies and DOE just go together, like peas in a pod!
ReplyDeleteLooks like T-Div needs some bathroom monitors! May I suggest "the plagiarist" Tony Redondo?
ReplyDeleteHe is probably not the best person to prevent a copycat crime.
ReplyDelete"Good management? - you mean like DOE, NNSA US Post Office, etc, etc,etc.?"
ReplyDelete10/19/09 6:01 AM
"I would take the US Post office managing LANL over NNSA any day. At least they know how to get a letter to any location in the US with a 99.99% success rate for under 50 cents. They're also a lot nicer to their postal employees than DOE/NNSA is to their contractors."
USPS is 'nicer' to their employees because there is a union in place and most are union members. If this was not the case there would be no guarantees of fair treatment. USPS management are already in the mode of putting more work on the internal mail support teams via attrition and no hiring... and no overtime pay.
I'm fairly new to the lab (2+ yrs), though having worked in industry for several years, I'm not entirely wet behind the ears. And if it weren't for finding this blog, I would have no antidote to the Kool-aid that they serve beginning at orientation.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for this being a bit off-topic, but I'm beginning to wonder whether there is anyone here who actually has a good manager? And if so, are there any positions available in your group? I see all the "trainings" that the managers have to go through, but I'm starting to wonder what it is they actually do there, because, well, they don't seem to be working very well.
After the latest FBI sting with the former LLNL scientist, you just knew the FBI would have to find some means to bring a former LANL scientist into the espionage picture, too!
ReplyDelete10/21/09 1:14 AM
There is a lot more history to this story than you are apparently aware of.
Am I to assume that "Alan" in the SM-123 memo is the distinguished Alan Bishop (Associate Director of Science & Tech at LANL)?
ReplyDeleteHow sad it has come to this... ADs having to threaten employees about juvenile toilet room "sabotage".
The stress of working at a place that is "going into the toilet" seems to be getting to both the employees and managers. Maybe turning LANL over to a for-profit Bechtel construction company wasn't such a great idea.
No matter, into the shit'er we all go! Last man left at LANL -- please remember to flush the toilet and wipe the seat.
9:38 AM: "And if it weren't for finding this blog, I would have no antidote to the Kool-aid that they serve beginning at orientation."
ReplyDeleteAnother fine kudo to Doug and Frank for at least letting LANS employees get a peek into what's really happening at the nation's once "crown jewel" national lab. LANS has started bringing out the 100 ounce pitchers of Kool-Aid for everyone to drink, but the taste of the stuff is extremely bitter. Can't wait to see the results of the recent morale survey... if LANS ever releases them.
10/21/09 9:38 AM - So what brought you to LANL in these days?
ReplyDeleteSSPed
A more interesting question might be
ReplyDeleteDo public employees serve the 'public interest'?
These government auto task force auditors (story below) haven't seen the inside of LANL. I have no doubt that LANS could easily beat out both GM and Chrysler in terms of clueless and inept upper management. Unfortunately, LANL will not be seeing any federal "bailout":
ReplyDelete** Auto task force shocked by state of GM, Chrysler **
By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer, Oct 21 2009
WASHINGTON – Shockingly poor financial management at General Motors and Chrysler weakened their case for a federal bailout, but officials feared letting them collapse, the former head of a government auto task force said Wednesday.
In a first-person account posted on Fortune magazine's Web site and in a Brookings Institution speech, Steven Rattner said he was alarmed by the "stunningly poor management" at the Detroit companies and said GM had "perhaps the weakest finance operation any of us had ever seen in a major company."
GM's board of directors was "utterly docile in the face of mounting evidence of a looming disaster" and former GM chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner set a tone of "friendly arrogance" that permeated the company, Rattner wrote.
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091021/
ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_auto_bailout
-----
Sound familiar to anyone? Mikey and company... meet Rick Wagoner. You two have a lot in common. Let's hope our US nukes don't become the next GM Nova as they age.
"Last year, he said, a man claiming to be a Venezuelan representative agreed to pay him $800,000 for a laser study. Dr. Mascheroni said he delivered the unclassified study but was never paid."
ReplyDeleteHe also gave his bank account numbers to an individual claiming to be a Nigerian prince, but was never paid.
"He lives with his wife, Marjorie, who worked as a writer at the weapons laboratory until Monday, when she was put on administrative leave."
ReplyDeleteOh, ouch for her. Like it isn't tough enough in a small town.
Alan could probably care less, I'm sure its his lap dog putting his name on the threat.
ReplyDeleteKnowing Tony Redondo, yes, he would personally guard the toilets, day and night, if Alan Bishop were to ask that of him.
ReplyDeleteHe lives with his wife, Marjorie, who worked as a writer at the weapons laboratory until Monday, when she was put on administrative leave."
ReplyDeleteOh, ouch for her. Like it isn't tough enough in a small town.
10/21/09 4:29 PM
No kidding, just ask Mustang Sally, the lost CREM gang, or Doc Aq!
He lives with his wife, Marjorie, who worked as a writer at the weapons laboratory until Monday, when she was put on administrative leave."
ReplyDeleteOh, ouch for her. Like it isn't tough enough in a small town.
10/21/09 4:29 PM
No kidding, just ask Mustang Sally, the lost CREM gang, or Doc Aq!
10/21/09 9:13 PM
It's way too early to know what's really going on here folks. Wen Ho Lee should be a serious lesson. Administrative Leave isn't done unless the FBI requests it. There are serious indications here, and I wouldn't be surprised if big names are involved. Rest assured, nobody in FBI, LAPD, or LANL or NNSA security is getting much sleep.
Double up on the piss tests, begin polygraphing everyone and fire those who fail, and start up the Congressional kangaroo courts.
ReplyDeleteIt's time, once again, to hear that famous Congressional refrain: "Shut the place down!"
Does this latest espionage story mean we're about to have another six month shut-down?
ReplyDelete"Knowing Tony Redondo, yes, he would personally guard the toilets, day and night, if Alan Bishop were to ask that of him." (8:37 PM)
ReplyDeleteOf course he would. The next iteration of LANS upper management at LANL will be:
* Tony Redondo --> ADTSC
* Alan Bishop --> PADSTE
* Terry Wallace --> Director
Tony probably feels that being the next LANL AD for science is worth poking around in T-Div bathroom stalls to keep a close eye on the toilets. Heck, he'd probably even scrub the crap off the bowls if that would snag him the ADTSC position.
Shouldn't LAPD and the FBI be investigating the toilet paper bandit? Alan tells me National Security (and my bonus) is a stake.
ReplyDelete-MIKEY
10/22/09 12:36 AM
ReplyDeleteNow that would be a leadership team that is full of crap from the top.
Double up on the piss tests, begin polygraphing everyone and fire those who fail, and start up the Congressional kangaroo courts.
ReplyDeleteIt's time, once again, to hear that famous Congressional refrain: "Shut the place down!"
10/21/09 11:26 PM
Don't forget FBI taking over the entire main NSSB conference room as their new LANL home base. Actually, they can have the entire old Administration Building. Is that why Mikey still hasn't torn it down or is that the new Bechtel Administration Building? Either way it will be well used.
McMillan or Rees will be the next director. Terry Wallace still has no national security credentials. Just ambition.
ReplyDelete"Don't forget FBI taking over the entire main NSSB conference room as their new LANL home base."
ReplyDeleteThis sounds serious! Time for X-Div staff to start making those calls to hire a private defense lawyer once again. It's too bad that this year's raises won't help to cover all these little extra expenses that come up when you attempt to have a career at LANL.
Quck! Everyone start checking around the X Division copy machines before the FBI come in to look!!!
ReplyDeleteI say we put anyone at LANL who speaks 'Argentinian' on leave without pay, just to be extra safe.
ReplyDeleteOh, and lock out all the FNs from their computer accounts!
I suspect that Alan's interpretation of the "subversive" toilet incident is errant. Having worked in T-Division myself, a more likely explanation is that they have some new staff who haven't been properly toilet trained.
ReplyDelete1:25 You are obviously the last experimentalist left at LANL.
ReplyDeleteOh noes not another training! Maybe just for FN's that remind them the allotted "one square" of TP that is funded for them.
ReplyDeleteMost of the restrooms in the older buildings like T Division are in such sad shape since LANS/Bechtel took over, it's hard to tell if the over-flowing toilets are an act of sabotage or simply life at the "new & improved" LANL. I've seen better facilities at research institutions in third world countries! It's a disgrace.
ReplyDeleteThe "good days" at LANL are the ones when you walk into these decrepit restrooms and find a working faucet and perhaps some soap.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand what you morons are all complaining about. All the restrooms on the top floor of the NSSB are sparkling clean and the servants who work there are always ready to spritz me with a bit of nice smelling cologne. We even have thick cloth towels with the Bechtel logo stitched on them!
ReplyDelete- MIKEY
"I've seen better facilities at research institutions in third world countries! It's a disgrace.
ReplyDelete10/22/09 7:46 PM"
This is true!
LANL is not a research institute. It is a pre-production Plutonium pit fabrication plant (LAPPPPFP).
ReplyDeleteMcMillan or Rees will be the next director. Terry Wallace still has no national security credentials. Just ambition.
ReplyDelete10/22/09 6:45 AM
Terry Wallace has no science credentials to speak of either, yet look where he is now.
Terry Wallace has one major attribute that will serve him well on his climb to the top... the ability to look you in the eye and feed you lies while smiling and then later to stab you deeply in the back. He'll be our next Director, just you watch! He's a 'LANS-man', through and through.
ReplyDelete6:45 AM: "Terry Wallace still has no national security credentials. Just ambition."
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, 6:45, but you seem to have mistaken LANL for some type of research lab involved with national security. Perhaps you haven't been paying attention. Let me help.
LANL is now little more than a "production facility" run by two very large and very politically connected construction companies, Bechtel and Babcock & Wilcox (BWXT). We do a little science "on the side". Does that help?
Terry Wallace will do just fine in this environment. His momma also has strong political credentials.
Hey folks, here's a triva quiz for you.
ReplyDeleteWho is the larger threat to national security?
Mascheroni or "Director-in-waiting" Wallace?
Hey folks, here's a triva quiz for you.
ReplyDeleteWho is the larger threat to national security?
Mascheroni or "Director-in-waiting" Wallace?
10/23/09 8:09 PM
Easy. Mascheroni, because he actually knows something foreign governments are willing to pay for. Wallace just knows how to parlay his mother's political influence inot big bucks for him, with zero credentials.
Hey, so if we could just get Jeanette Wallace voted out of office, we wouldn't have to see Terry's ugly mug anymore?
ReplyDelete10/24/09 8:53 PM
ReplyDeleteHey, so if we could just get Jeanette Wallace voted out of office, we wouldn't have to see Terry's ugly mug anymore?
Don't you mean sexy Terry? That is what Seestrom calls him. Hubba, hubba!
He lives with his wife, Marjorie, who worked as a writer at the weapons laboratory until Monday, when she was put on administrative leave."
ReplyDeleteOh, ouch for her. Like it isn't tough enough in a small town.
10/21/09 4:29 PM
No kidding, just ask Mustang Sally, the lost CREM gang, or Doc Aq!
10/21/09 9:13 PM
... Oh, Doc Aq is just beginning to feel the pain for not towing the line and being a bitch. Things are just getting started for this trouble-maker who has pissed off so many managers. Enjoy the fruits of your labor!!!
Please elaborate for us retirees who know her, 11:18.
ReplyDelete4:57 PM, you will just have to wait for the headlines. No special favors for retirees.
ReplyDelete4:57 PM, you may have to wait until Wednesday, drunk night.
ReplyDelete10:16 and 7:16.
ReplyDeleteThe suspense is killing me! Please have mercy and give a hint.
"... Oh, Doc Aq is just beginning to feel the pain for not towing the line and being a bitch. Things are just getting started for this trouble-maker who has pissed off so many managers. Enjoy the fruits of your labor!!!
ReplyDelete10/25/09 11:18 PM"
The stalker is at it again. Sad we thought that you had been making real progress and than you relapsed.
"... Doc Aq is just beginning to feel the pain for ... being a bitch. "
ReplyDelete11:18 PM, don't you mean assertive go-getter?
7:16 here. I stand corrected. Apparently poster 1:06 PM is drunk already.
ReplyDelete"Perhaps naming *him* here on the blog would teach him when to shut the fuck up.
ReplyDelete10/27/09 1:06 PM"
Perhaps "her", would make more sense.
7:16 here. I stand corrected. Apparently poster 1:06 PM is drunk already.
ReplyDelete10/27/09 8:07 PM
Anonymous blog stalking is particularly hard to take when one knows who the stalker actually is. One need not be drunk to express that frustration. Although it helps.
Perhaps "her", would make more sense.
ReplyDelete10/27/09 8:34 PM
Or "it" considering what he did to his poor ex-wife. Now he has another "wife" ...
Let's quit dancing around: out with the chicken shit's name. Out with both their names. Let's see how they like a taste of the stalker treatment.
ReplyDeleteThe good news is: you *know* his other "wife" is now experiencing living hell. I can just hear them talking over their pre-dinner Chardoneys: "But honey, what will we do if our names are posted all over the blog?"
Payback's a bitch. So to speak.
"10/28/09 8:39 PM"
ReplyDeleteUh, you sound crazy, really really crazy.
"10/28/09 8:39 PM"
ReplyDeleteUh, you sound crazy, really really crazy.
10/28/09 9:20 PM
Uh, you sound scared, really really scared.
Gay-boy stalker, give it a rest! Don't you have more important things to do with your time ... like trying to get tenure at Penn?
ReplyDeletewhat is wrong with you people??? seriously, give it up because you sound ignorant and a bit prejudice against people with alternative lifestyles.
ReplyDeletebesides, the comments were probably made by our troll jamie tourner. she's been bashing jackie for years on this blog with no reason to stop now.
I have two more suggestions. How about we continue this discussion without the use of the words "bitch" and "gay-boy". Or how about we stfu.
ReplyDeleteSir Pinkster, excellent suggestions!
ReplyDeleteWhy is everyone so concerned about protecting the privacy of a man who openly declared his sexual orientation and the identity of his S.O. in all the cover letters for his academic job applications?
ReplyDeleteYou can't get much more "out" than that.
Sure you can, 7:57. You could blow the chairman of the search committee.
ReplyDelete2:28 AM: "you sound ignorant and a bit prejudice against people with alternative lifestyles."
ReplyDeleteThere is certainly no moral or legal restriction about being prejudiced against "alternative lifestyles." Mass murder is an alternative lifestyle, as is child sexual exploitation. I absolutely reserve the right to be prejudiced against anything I find repugnant and disgusting. I won't kill anyone for it, hopefully.
Good point, 10:04. I personally find those who chose a lifestyle devoted to studied stupidity and ignorance to be especially repugnant. Republicans who are enamored of Sarah Palin, for example.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, there are too many of them to kill.
yeah, that makes sense. he wrote on his cover letters his sexual orientation because 1) employers care about that and 2) it provides him an added advantage because he's considered a "minority".
ReplyDeletewhy would anyone want to come here as a postdoc? i said it before and i'll say it again, any success a person has here is minimalized by these jealous assholes. how about you get back to your own chemistry rather than bitching on a blog about how someone has it better than you? ah, i get it now. it's because you have nothing and you will be nothing when you leave. then again, the measure of success at this lab is not how good of a chemist you are but rather how well you play the game. since the game appears to be cheap shots against your fellow colleagues and wasting as much time as possible on the taxpayer's dime, you are what i call conversion material. now, go back to your chemistry that has been done 20 years ago but is new to you because you can't bother to read the stacks.
Sir Pinkster? I've been knighted without getting to meet the queen?
ReplyDelete"provides him an added advantage because he's considered a "minority"."
ReplyDeleteYes, that would make for some nice diversity on an Ivy campus that wants to be viewed as progressive.
Answers to 10/30/09 12:21 AM:
ReplyDeletewhy would anyone want to come here as a postdoc?
Salary and the fact that you could not get away with your laziness at an academic or industrial institution.
i said it before and i'll say it again, any success a person has here is minimalized by these jealous assholes.
See above. what have you done while at LANL?
how about you get back to your own chemistry rather than bitching on a blog about how someone has it better than you?
Prove it.
ah, i get it now. it's because you have nothing and you will be nothing when you leave.
Clearly.
then again, the measure of success at this lab is not how good of a chemist you are but rather how well you play the game.
Bingo. Just talk to Jackie Veauthier.
since the game appears to be cheap shots against your fellow colleagues and wasting as much time as possible on the taxpayer's dime, you are what i call conversion material.
Why yes, exactly why C-division was not willing to convert Eric Schelter or his lover-boy.
just talk to now, go back to your chemistry that has been done 20 years ago but is new to you because you can't bother to read the stacks.
Ya lost me here bubba....
You know, I feel sort of compelled to point out that not all chemists at Los Alamos are cannibalistic. Something seems to have gone very wrong at TA-48. Perhaps this is a bizarre adaptation to some environmental stressor - too many inorganic chemists with too little funding and lab space?
ReplyDelete"too many inorganic chemists with too little funding and lab space?
ReplyDelete10/31/09 3:44 PM"
"too little funding" Bingo!
more like too many inorganic chemists who have no original ideas. look at how many of them redo the work of richard andersen!
ReplyDelete"ah, i get it now. it's because you have nothing and you will be nothing when you leave.
Clearly."
yeah! you spend a lot of your free time talking about this guy! you comment quite a bit on the blog about him, you even mentioned in the past that you're stalking him over facebook, and i'm sure you have annoyed the shit out of your coworkers talking about him. look, i don't know if you want him or you want to be like him, but clearly it's time to let it go, especially since he left the lab what, back in july? move on.