3/11/11 - Spring Clocks Ahead This Weekend Stuff

[TSPking]

All U.S. military in Japan found after quake

BRUSSELS - The Pentagon says that U.S. Pacific Command reports all U.S. military personnel in
Japan have been accounted for after Friday's earthquake and tsunami. Press secretary Geoff Morrell...
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/a ... ke-031111/

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Massive earthquake hits northern Japan

A massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck northeast Japan on Friday, shaking buildings across the country,
setting dozens of fires in the Tokyo region, and prompting a tsunami warning from New Zealand to the west
coast of the United States.
http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/mas ... -1.137327#

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Dicks Worries DoD Wastes R&D Billions

The Chief of Naval Operations told House defense appropriators today he worries that the Pentagon is
"enslaved to a process" of buying weapons rather than buying what it needs when it needs it in the
most expeditious manner possible. Adm. Gary Roughead made his comments in response to questions from
Rep. Norm Dicks, who voiced concerns about the speed and efficiency of the acquisition process.
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2011/03/09/dicks ... -billions/

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Reality Check

Someone needs to deal with reality and deliver the bad news about new Defense Departmemt gadgets and gizmos
that don't meet expectations, said J. Michael Gilmore, Defense director of operational test and evaluation,
during a recent House Armed Services subcommittee hearing on Army network modernization plans.
http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2011/03/ ... _check.php

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Report: Army wasting millions on untested, unneeded gear (Sound Familiar??)

To give soldiers every advantage on the battlefield, the Army is purchasing 181 high-tech communications kits
at $800,000 a pop. But the service is spending that money - nearly $145 million - for something that's still
in the test phase and may never make it to infantry units on the front lines of the future.
http://www.stripes.com/news/report-army ... -1.137275#

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U.S. Military Ops Chiefs: CR Hurts Readiness

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5925130

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U.S. Navy Sees 20-Year, $333 Billion Plan Missing Ship Goals

The U.S. Navy's 20-year plan to spend about $333 billion on new ships may mean fewer vessels built each year
because of the high cost of replacing the Ohio- class nuclear-powered submarines, the service's top acquisition
official told Congress today. "Yearly shipbuilding expenditures during the second decade" from 2022 through
2031 "is projected to average about $17.5 billion" in current dollars, Sean Stackley, assistant Navy secretary
for acquisitions, told the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on seapower and projection forces in
prepared remarks today.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-0 ... goals.html

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Defense must face cuts, key senators say

The defense budget hasn't reached bottom, leaders of the Senate Budget Committee said Thursday.
Both the Democratic chairman and ranking Republican on the committee said the nation's debt crisis has...
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/m ... s-031011w/

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U.S. Navy Ill-Prepared for New Arctic Frontier: Study

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5929020

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Key Army radio system has a 72 percent failure rate

The Defense Department's top weapons tester told lawmakers at a hearing Wednesday that a key component of
the Army's battlefield network now in development failed 72 percent of the time in tests last year. The network
is the centerpiece of the service's modernization strategy, according to testimony by Army Vice Chief of Staff
Gen. Peter Chiarelli at the same hearing.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20110 ... ne=NGtoday

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Pentagon Tester Says General Dynamics' New Stryker Needs Fix

The driver's compartment of General Dynamics Corp.'s revamped Stryker combat vehicle, designed to protect
troops against roadside bombs, is "not suitable" for long missions on Afghanistan's rugged terrain, according
to Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluations.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-0 ... s-fix.html

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Senate Begins Investigation Into Counterfeit Parts in DoD Weapons

http://defensetech.org/2011/03/10/senat ... ons/?wh=wh

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Schwartz, Stavridis Tops For Chairman JCS

http://www.dodbuzz.com/2011/03/10/schwa ... man/?wh=wh

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Navy moving more helicopters to North Island

As the Navy shifts its focus to the geopolitics of the Pacific, San Diego will become even
more of a hub for helicopters over the next five years.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011 ... h-island/#

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Guam could net $8.8M annually from DoD lease

Guam's government could collect at least $8.8 million a year if it leases land near Route 15 and
Finegayan to the military for a firing range and a Marine base, according to federal documents.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/g ... nt-031011/

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Partners of Gay DoD Civilians get Benefits

The Defense Department has updated its travel regulations for civilian employees to include gay domestic partners.
Now the partner of an employee on a permanent change of station outside the United States qualifies as a dependent
for overseas and return travel.
http://www.military.com/news/article/pa ... efits.html

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It doesn't take long for things to get hot during House hearing on salaries

All that Wednesday's House hearing on federal pay needed to be complete was an announcer with a
booming voice asking the packed room, "Are you ready to rumble?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle

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Analysis: and the winner of the pay debate is . . .

Wednesday's House panel hearing on whether federal workers are underpaid or overpaid laid
bare a possible route to reform of the GS system.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet

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Lawmakers seek better oversight of federal workers' prescription drug benefits

New law could save up to $3 billion by opening up the pharmaceutical buying process,
a bill co-sponsor says.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet

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For Richer or Poorer, Part Two

Spousal survivor annuity options for those under the Federal Employees Retirement System.
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0311/031111rp.htm

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Michele Bachmann's 'bombshell' on a 'hidden' $105 billion

The facts on the supposedly $105B hidden in Obama Care
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-c ... =emaillink

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New Temporary Spending Bill in Works

House Republicans are considering another short-term bill to give the House and
Senate time to work out a budget deal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/us/po ... l?emc=eta1

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Where's the economic recovery?

When the economy is recovering but pay isn't, incumbents should beware.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle

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Jitters About Oil, Recovery Send Shares Lower

The Dow closed below 12,000, slipping back under the psychological barrier that it passed in late January.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/busin ... l?emc=eta1

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Oil rallies on Saudi news, erasing most of decline

http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/O ... TE=DEFAULT

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The Burden of Pensions on States

In Wisconsin, new pension cost estimates are expected to show that contribution levels are too
meager and more money will be needed from public workers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/busin ... l?emc=eta1

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Wisconsin governor wins his battle with unions on collective bargaining

Gov. Scott Walker wins his drive to enact a law to strip the state's government workers of nearly
all of their collective-bargaining rights.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle

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In Wisconsin Battle on Unions, State Democrats See a Gift

Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin won his battle to cut bargaining rights but his victory
also carries risks for the state's Republicans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/us/11 ... l?emc=eta1

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Gout, a form of arthritis, is no longer limited to the well-to-do

Gout, wrote the British poet and physician Richard Blackmore in 1726, is "the grievous Calamity of the Great,
the Rich and the most Easy in their Circumstances." The ailment was so uniquely identified with the upper crust
- who else could gobble roasts, organ meats and wild game daily, washing th...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle

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20% Rise Seen in Number of Survivors of Cancer

The implications are that many cancers are treatable, the director of the Centers for Disease Control said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/healt ... l?emc=eta1

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More than half of California children Latino, census shows

More than half the children in California are Latinos, according to new census statistics that
show the nation's most populous state rapidly approaching the day when Hispanics overtake whites
as the largest minority.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle

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Foreign Markets down sharply following Japanese quake

Stock markets in Europe and Asia fell sharply on Friday after a powerful 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck
off the northeastern coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami that geologists warned would likely hit other
parts of the world sometime during the day.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle

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Cousin of Afghan President Is Killed in NATO Raid

The killing in a raid that went awry is likely to increase tensions between
President Hamid Karzai and America.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world ... l?emc=eta1

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Obama Seeks a Course of Pragmatism in the Middle East

President Obama has adopted a policy of restraint in the Middle East crisis, recognizing a stark
reality that U.S. security interests weigh as heavily as idealistic impulses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world ... l?emc=eta1

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Pentagon Places Its Bet On a General in Egypt

Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Enan has become a crucial link for the United States as it navigates
the rocky course ahead with Egypt.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world ... l?emc=eta1

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Police flood Saudi capital ahead of protests

http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/M ... TE=DEFAULT

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Yemeni president offers plan to amend constitution

Ali Abdullah Saleh announced plans for a new constitution that would guarantee the independence of
Yemen's parliament and judiciary.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle

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France Recognizes Libyan Rebels

France blazed a diplomatic trail as it recognized a newly formed Libyan opposition group Thursday,
drawing the ire of other European nations for stepping out on its own even as the situation in Libya
remained unclear.
http://www.military.com/news/article/fr ... ebels.html

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Rebels retreat from Libyan oil port amid barrage

http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/A ... TE=DEFAULT

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Qaddafi Forces Bear Down on Strategic Town as Rebels Flee

Rebels retreated from Ras Lanuf after an assault by forces loyal to the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi,
underlining a shift in momentum.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world ... l?emc=eta1

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U.S. to send aid team to eastern Libya; Clinton to meet rebel representatives

The White House announced Thursday that it will send a government aid team into rebel-held parts of Libya
and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she will meet next week with representatives of the
transition council, moves that edged the Obama administration closer to the formal Libya...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle

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Army Steps Down From Rule in Niger

NIAMEY - Niger's army returns power to civilians in presidential elections on March 12 but it
will remain a key player in a coup-prone state facing a terrorist threat.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5925037

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Canada Opposition Unhappy With F-35's Costs

OTTAWA - Canada significantly overpaid for new fighter jets jointly developed with the United States
and its allies, a parliamentary watchdog said March 10. ...
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5926026

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State Dept. official in Japan fired over alleged derogatory remarks

The head of the State Department Office of Japan Affairs was removed from his position Thursday
following public outrage over alleged derogatory remarks about residents of Okinawa, the U.S.
Embassy in Tokyo said.
http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/jap ... -1.137181#

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Huge Earthquake Triggers Tsunami Off Japan's Coast (Nuke Reactors??)

A devastating tsunami hit the coast of northeast Japan on Friday after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake,
killing at least 23 people and injuring dozens.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world ... l?emc=eta1

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Inflation in China Stays Above Comfort Zone

China said Friday that consumer prices had risen sharply again in February, suggesting that the
government may have a difficult time taming inflation this year amid growing public anxiety.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/busin ... l?emc=eta1

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