US lacks people, authorities to face cyber attack
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon's cyber commander says the U.S. military does not have the trained personnel
or the authorities it needs to respond to a computer-based attack on America or its allies, and a crisis would
quickly strain the force.
http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/U ... TE=DEFAULT
------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Cyber Commander Gives Network Security a 'C'
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5981106
------------------------------------------------------
Private sector not adequately defending U.S. cyberspace, security expert warns
Companies own 85 percent of the critical infrastructure and haven't invested enough to protect
against cyber attacks, an analyst told lawmakers.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet
------------------------------------------------------
CNO Assesses Russian, Chinese Navies
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5982238
------------------------------------------------------
Three Top Names for Next SecDef
At this point in Washington, no one outside a tiny circle of people really knows who President Obama will nominate
as the successor to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The latest reports from well-placed Pentagon sources indicate
Gates is likely to exit the Pentagon by early June after having recommended the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
http://www.military.com/news/article/th ... ecdef.html
-----------------------------------------------------
Defense Programs Face Work Stoppages
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5981516
-----------------------------------------------------
EFV Replace: 'What's Best Deal'
The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle became the focal point again for congressional unhappiness with the secrecy
with which the Gates' Pentagon does business during a hearing of the House Armed Services seapower and projections
forces subcommittee. "It's a systemic problem," Rep. Todd Akin, chairman of the committee, told me after the hearing.
"It's an increasingly systemic problem"
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2011/03/16/efv-r ... best-deal/
-----------------------------------------------------
Dicks: Seven Years Is Too Long for U.S. Army GCV
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5980719
-----------------------------------------------------
HASC Presses Hard on F136
With the F136 engine likely inserted into the coming House of Representative's Continuing Resolution, some of the
second engine's strongest supporters used a hearing today to press the Air Force and JSF leadership about buying
the GE/Rolls Royce engine. The arguments at the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee
were familiar to [.]
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2011/03/15/hasc- ... d-on-f136/
-----------------------------------------------------
GAO: F-35 Software 'Significantly Behind Schedule'
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5978504
-----------------------------------------------------
Navy, Marines Commit to STOVL JSF
One day before the House Armed Services Committee holds a major hearing on the F-35 program, the Navy and Marines
unveiled a memo committing them to buying both the carrier and STOVL versions of the Joint Strike Fighter. The memo
"is a demonstration the secretary and chief of naval operations and the commandant are committed to the success of
both the F-35 B and C variants," Thomas Laux, the Navy's deputy assistant secretary for aviation programs, said
this afternoon."
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2011/03/14/navy- ... stovl-jsf/
-----------------------------------------------------
F-22s 'Not a Fleet of Silver Bullets'
Contrary to what some have proposed, using the U.S. fleet of stealthy F-22 Raptor fighter jets to enforce
a Libyan no-fly zone would likely require almost as many support aircraft and airstrikes against the country's
air defenses as using older F-15s and F-16s for the mission, according to military aviation experts
http://www.military.com/news/article/f2 ... llets.html
----------------------------------------------------
McHugh: U.S. Army Sees Promise in 'Chimneys'
After seeing preliminary blast test results, the U.S. Army is eager to continue testing structural blast
chimney technology as it may improve protection to vehicles from roadside bombs, according to Army Secretary
John McHugh
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5978511
----------------------------------------------------
AF Space Buying Strategy Dismissed
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2011/03/16/exper ... egy/?wh=wh
----------------------------------------------------
HPSCI Vice Questions New Spy Sat
The United States must consider an alternative approach to buying a highly sophisticated, multi-billion eye in the
sky spy satellite, the vice chairman of the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee said this morning. "I think
it's a major issue," Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland told reporters this morning. He said he is working with
DNI Jim Clapper on the best approach to providing troops and the White House with the best mix of capabilities.
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2011/03/15/hpsci ... w-spy-sat/
----------------------------------------------------
Lucrative sole-source contracts to 8(a) firms now require justification
Rule change targets Alaska native corporations, which are among those eligible to receive
noncompetitive contracts of any size.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet
----------------------------------------------------
Battlefield brain-injury assessment tool has high failure rate
This is the seventh story in an ongoing series.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20110 ... ne=NGtoday
----------------------------------------------------
OPM's John Berry calls for new performance-review system for federal workers
OPM Director John Berry calls for a new performance-management system, without big changes
to the General Schedule.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle
----------------------------------------------------
OPM chief calls for new performance review system
John Berry says current process has 'dehumanized' management.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet
----------------------------------------------------
Labor leaders demand answers on agency shutdown plans
Lack of information about furloughs and pay is causing concern among employees, unions say.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet
----------------------------------------------------
DoD paying $163K to study health care costs
The Pentagon's hiring of a former governor to spend one year studying military health
care has drawn a sharp rebuke from a key lawmaker.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/m ... y-031511w/
----------------------------------------------------
Military groups split on Tricare fee hikes
Sharp differences were revealed Wednesday among the views of military associations about Pentagon
plans to raise health care fees for working-age retirees.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/m ... s-031611w/
-----------------------------------------------------
Hitting the Ceiling
What happens to federal employees' benefits when the government bumps
up against its debt limit?
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0311/03171pb.htm
-----------------------------------------------------
Five Tax Season "Gotchas"
http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202 ... html?wh=wh
-----------------------------------------------------
Clinton not interested in second term at State or presidential run
Secretary tells CNN she does not wish to be Defense chief or vice president, either.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet
-----------------------------------------------------
House GOP, White House ramp up talks on budget deal
Shutdown threat remains as negotiations begin between OMB Director Jacob Lew
and top House appropriator Rogers.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet
---------------------------------------------------
Boehner Tries to Serve Two Masters in Budget Deal
Speaker John A. Boehner is navigating the uncharted territory between pragmatism and Tea Party zeal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/us/po ... l?emc=eta1
--------------------------------------------------
U.S. stocks fall on fears of nuclear disaster in Japan
U.S. stocks fell Wednesday on escalating concerns about the damaged nuclear reactors in Japan,
despite large gains in the Nikkei stock index overnight.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle
----------------------------------------------------
California's Brown struggles to strike a budget deal on taxes, spending cuts
The Golden State's governor is trying to work with Republicans to eliminate a shortfall of more than
$26 billion. But even if he does, he still has to sell the public on taxes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle
---------------------------------------------------
Ohio Governor Kasich tries to sell his budget cuts to a skeptical public
Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R.) is enthusiastically telling his state about the good that would come from spending reductions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle
---------------------------------------------------
Economic Downturn Holds Fierce Grip on Border Town (El Centro, CA)
El Centro, Calif., a border town that hosts a substantial amount of Mexican workers, is struggling
with high unemployment made worse by tougher immigration security measures.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/us/17 ... l?emc=eta1
---------------------------------------------------
Lofty Salaries at Hospitals (You gotta be Kidding, How do I get to be a Hospital CEO??)
In the search to cut health care costs, one area remains undisturbed: executive compensation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/nyreg ... l?emc=eta1
---------------------------------------------------
Level of U.S. home construction drops sharply
The level of home construction plummeted in February from a month earlier to its lowest level since
April 2009, and the trend is not likely to improve anytime soon, according to federal data.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle
---------------------------------------------------
Threats to Traveling Data (Traveler Beware)
Security experts say travelers often ignore the added threats to their information - passwords,
credit card numbers, business secrets - in a public place.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/busin ... l?emc=eta1
-------------------------------------------------
Nuclear Agency Tells a Concerned Congress That U.S. Industry Remains Safe
At two Congressional hearings, the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it would learn
from the disaster in Japan.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/scien ... l?emc=eta1
----------------------------------------------------
Japan quake puts spotlight on aging U.S. nuclear reactors, cost of building new ones
The United States is leaning on the first generation of plants built decades ago,
even as critics worry that the reactors have some dangerous weaknesses.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle
---------------------------------------------------
Afghan Contract for Deloitte Suspended
The U.S. government has suspended Deloitte Consulting LLP's contract to advise Afghanistan's central bank ahead
of the release Wednesday of an investigation into the regulator's failure to stem corruption at the country's
largest private lender.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB1 ... DYyWj.html
---------------------------------------------------
Red Cross: Conditions Becoming 'Untenable'
Life for ordinary Afghans has become untenable, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday,
with security seriously deteriorating in the first two months of the year because of a surge in Taliban attacks
and accidental NATO strikes on civilians.
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews ... 5520110315
-----------------------------------------------
'Blood Money' Frees CIA Contractor
A CIA contractor who shot and killed two Pakistani men was freed from prison on Wednesday after the
United States paid $2.34 million in "blood money" to the victims' families, Pakistani officials said.
http://www.military.com/news/article/bl ... ctor-.html
-----------------------------------------------
Iraqi Delay Hinders U.S. Planning
Waiting for Iraq to finalize its government has complicated the Obama administration's plans
for after the end of the year, when the last American troops are supposed to leave.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world ... l?emc=eta1
-----------------------------------------------
US diplomat: Budget fight threatens Iraq gains
A senior U.S. State Department official is warning that eight years of American efforts to stabilize
Iraq could be lost if Congress guts funding to U.S. Embassy's activities there.
http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/M ... 6-11-23-40
-----------------------------------------------
Alarmed US urges calm as Mideast uprisings grow
http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/M ... TE=DEFAULT
-----------------------------------------------
5th Fleet warns sailors to avoid Bahrain protests
MANAMA, Bahrain - Soldiers and riot police expelled hundreds of protesters from a landmark square in
Bahrain's capital Wednesday, using tear gas and armored vehicles to try to subdue the...
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/n ... w-031611w/
-----------------------------------------------
US: Saudis, others on 'wrong track' in Bahrain
http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/M ... TE=DEFAULT
-----------------------------------------------
Bahrain unleashes assault against protesters' camp in capital
Government troops attack pro-democracy demonstrators in defiance of U.S. warnings.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle
-------------------------------------------------
Libyan Rebels May Have Used a MiG-23 to Sink Two of Ghadafi's Warships (Stretch)
http://defensetech.org/2011/03/15/libya ... ips/?wh=wh
-------------------------------------------------
Libyan rebels struggle to hold off Gadhafi (Shouldn't be Struggling if they have MIG-23's)
http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/A ... TE=DEFAULT
-------------------------------------------------
NATO Task Force Seeks Joint Strategies as Budgets Fall
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5980787
-------------------------------------------------
U.S. Calls Radiation 'Extremely High;' Sees Japan Nuclear Crisis Worsening
The chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave a bleaker appraisal of the threat,
but Japanese officials played down the concerns.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/world ... l?emc=eta1
-------------------------------------------------
U.S. sets safety rules for citizens in Japan
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration, taking a tougher stand than Japan on how to deal with a deepening
nuclear crisis, urged the evacuation of Americans on Wednesday within a 50-mile radius of a stricken nuclear
plant, raising questions about U.S. confidence in...
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/a ... ts-031611/
------------------------------------------------
Scientists Project Path of Radiation Plume
The plume may reach California on Friday, but health officials say it poses very little risk.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/scien ... l?emc=eta1
-------------------------------------------------
Flaws in Japan's Leadership Deepen Sense of Crisis
Never has Japan's weak, rudderless system of governing been so clearly exposed or mattered so much.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/world ... l?emc=eta1
-------------------------------------------------
Yen Hits Record High After U.S. Warning on Reactor
The Japanese currency surged after a U.S. nuclear official said the situation at a damaged reactor
was more serious than Tokyo has acknowledged, but the Nikkei fell a relatively modest 1.4 percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/busin ... l?emc=eta1
------------------------------------------------
Long Pause for Japanese Industry Raises Concerns About Supply Chain
Many companies outside Japan remain uncertain, or decline to say, whether supplies of crucial
components from Japan will hit air pockets.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/busin ... l?emc=eta1
-------------------------------------------------
In Japan, production of consumer brands popular in U.S. is halted after earthquake
Only 5 percent of U.S. imports come from Japan, but among those products are some
of the most well-known among consumers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... ailarticle
-------------------------------------------------
SKorea rejects NKorea's offer to rejoin talks
South Korea has rebuffed North Korea's offer to rejoin stalled nuclear disarmament talks
and discuss its uranium-enrichment program.
http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/A ... 7-04-45-05
-------------------------------------------------
3/17/11 - Saint Patrick's Day Stuff
Moderator: Aitrus
3/17/11 - Saint Patrick's Day Stuff
TSPking
It's a gift...and a curse ~ Adrian Monk
It's a gift...and a curse ~ Adrian Monk
Fund Prices2024-03-28
Fund | Price | Day | YTD |
G | $18.15 | 0.05% | 1.05% |
F | $19.08 | -0.06% | -0.74% |
C | $82.21 | 0.11% | 10.55% |
S | $82.43 | 0.30% | 6.92% |
I | $42.57 | -0.24% | 5.95% |
L2065 | $16.38 | 0.02% | 8.37% |
L2060 | $16.39 | 0.02% | 8.38% |
L2055 | $16.39 | 0.02% | 8.38% |
L2050 | $32.73 | 0.01% | 6.95% |
L2045 | $14.91 | 0.02% | 6.58% |
L2040 | $54.38 | 0.02% | 6.22% |
L2035 | $14.34 | 0.02% | 5.79% |
L2030 | $47.67 | 0.02% | 5.38% |
L2025 | $13.15 | 0.03% | 3.43% |
Linc | $25.61 | 0.03% | 2.82% |