3/29/11 - Tough Tuesday Stuff

[TSPking]

TSP delays Roth option

Added time will accommodate needs of agencies having trouble adapting to new payroll requirements, officials say.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet

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Firms Face Uncle Sam's Cuts (Do these firms pay Zero Taxes like GE??)

Just as consumers begin to spend again, some companies are staring down almost certain belt tightening by their biggest customer: the federal government.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB1 ... DgyWj.html

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DoD Expects Up To $100 Billion More In Cuts (Better cut back on some operations)

With another round of spending cuts on the horizon, top Pentagon officials spent the last week
trying to determine exactly how they might trim billions of dollars from the 2013 budget.
http://ebird.osd.mil/ebfiles/e20110328811800.html

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Two out of three national security insiders support deeper Defense cuts

Gate's cuts do not go far enough, the National Journal survey respondents say.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet

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Pentagon resists automatic suspension of indicted contractors (So we keep the bad ones??)

Agency officials need flexibility and discretion, Defense acquisition official Ashton Carter
tells the Commission on Wartime Contracting.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet

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Carter: Institutionalize Rapid Weapons Buying for Contingency Ops (You want it bad you get it bad)

http://www.dodbuzz.com/2011/03/28/carte ... ing/?wh=wh

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Harrier Ops Making Case For F-35B (Close Air Support - Not No Fly Zone)

When U.S. naval strike jets hit targets in Libya in the predawn hours of March 20, they weren't
flying from aircraft carriers.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=6072569

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Sub surfaces after oxygen generator fails

The failure of the oxygen generator aboard one of the Navy's newest submarines is not a major casualty,
according to the service.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/n ... s-032811w/

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The Pentagon and Its Bogus Bomb-Zapper: A Love Story (Interesting read)

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/03 ... b-zapper/#

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Incentives grow for agencies to prevent and recover overpayments

A fledgling law is aimed at holding the government more accountable for waste, fraud and abuse.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet

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Raytheon Warhead Deliveries Halted After December Failure

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency in January halted deliveries of Raytheon Co. (RTN)'s most advanced warhead
for the nation's anti-missile interceptors after a December test failure, according to congressional auditors.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-2 ... ilure.html

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Shipbuilding wasn't good fit for defense giant Northrop Grumman, analysts say

Just after the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange next Wednesday afternoon, Northrop Grumman Corp. will
officially be out of the shipbuilding business. That evening following market close, the Los Angeles-based
defense contractor will go back to doing what it believes it does best: high-tech systems like electronics, robotic
systems and cyber security. .
http://articles.dailypress.com/2011-03- ... op-grumman

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Cloud-ready?

U.S. Army Pushes for Online Analysis Apps; Developers Fear Revenue Loss
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=6072545

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Virtual war a real threat

The U.S. is vulnerable to a cyber attack, with its electrical grids, pipelines, chemical plants and other
infrastructure designed without security in mind. Some say not enough is being done to protect the country.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 6856.story

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Solo Iranian hacker takes credit for Comodo certificate attack

A solo Iranian hacker has claimed responsibility for stealing multiple SSL certificates belonging
to some of the Web's biggest sites, including Google, Microsoft, Skype and Yahoo.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/ ... 2011-03-28

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Psst: Did you hear who may replace Bob Gates?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theenvoy/ ... -bob-gates

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Gen. George Casey

Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=6072544

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DFAS cannot promise pay in government shutdown

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service is mum about what will happen to military and civilian pay
if the government shuts down at midnight on April 8 - but they are not promising people...
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/m ... s-032811w/

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Obama's Advantage

GOP strategists privately admit that the president has a good chance
of winning reelection in 2012.
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0311/032911op.htm

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Short-term funding measures have agency budget officials finding ways to save

They have held off on filling some vacancies and slowed grants and contracts
that require up-front funding.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet

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Lawmakers issue bipartisan call to protect nuclear agency funding (So who gets cut?? Or do you raise taxes??)

Panel members suggest agency budget is a national security issue.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet

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Despite pressure to reduce national debt, few in Congress use payback program (How many millionaires are in Congress??)

It sounds like the perfect political gesture for the moment. Congress is getting ready for an epic fight
over the national debt, and House rules allow members to give back a portion of their salaries for debt
reduction.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... ltoafriend

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Claims for Social Security benefits on the rise

Claims for Social Security and disability benefits have grown in recent years, the result of baby boomer retirements
and high unemployment. The Social Security Administration received 10 million new claims in 2009, up from about
8.2 million in 2004.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... ltoafriend

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Jump in energy, food prices pressuring recovery

Fed chief, panelists see joblessness as economic challenge
http://www.boston.com/business/articles ... _recovery/

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Michigan Cuts Jobless Benefit by Six Weeks

The new governor, Rick Snyder, signed a law to provide fewer weeks of unemployment
benefits than any other state.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/us/po ... l?emc=eta1

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Food Inflation Kept Hidden in Tinier Bags

In downturns, companies reduce the size of some products, disguising price rises and
avoiding comparisons on same-size packages.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/busin ... l?emc=eta1

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Amber Waves to Ivory Bolls

Many farmers, both in the United States and abroad, are expected to chase the higher profits
to be made in cotton, with consequences that could ripple across the globe.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/busin ... l?emc=eta1

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States Battling Meth Makers Look to Limit Ingredients

Facing a rising use in methamphetamine, several state legislatures are considering bills requiring
a prescription for decongestants containing pseudoephedrine, a major ingredient in the drug.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/us/29 ... l?emc=eta1

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Arriving as Pregnant Tourists, Leaving With American Babies (Why the citizenship law needs to change)

Officials shut down a "maternity tourism" house in California where, they say,
Chinese women paid tens of thousands of dollars to stay and deliver their babies,
making the infants automatic American citizens.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/us/29 ... l?emc=eta1

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Spending on geothermal technologies is riddled with improper payments, IG says

Audit of economic stimulus projects shows Energy paid companies for unauthorized expenses and travel.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet

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Long blackouts pose risk to US reactors

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

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Afghan Elite Borrowed Freely From Kabul Bank

An internal report depicts the Afghan political elite as using Kabul Bank, the country's biggest financial
institution, as their own private piggy bank.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/world ... l?emc=eta1

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Afghan police: Taliban overrun remote district

About 300 Taliban fighters on Tuesday overran the tiny capital of a remote and mountainous district
in northeast Afghanistan, forcing police to retreat from their small outpost in the area, an official said.
http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/A ... 9-02-14-46

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Clashes Fuel Debate Over U.S. Plan to Leave Iraq

Ethnic violence in Kirkuk has led some to believe that civil war could result if
the United States sticks to its schedule.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/world ... l?emc=eta1

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U.S. Won't Back New Intervention in Syria (Pick and Choose??)

U.S. officials are virtually ruling out an international intervention to stop political violence in Syria,
despite a widening crackdown against dissidents there.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 32482.html

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Eyewitness: Gunfire, tear gas in Syrian city

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

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Despite Promise of Reforms, Syrian Forces Try to Disperse Protesters With Gunfire (Sounds like these citizens need protected)

Syrian forces in the restive southern city of Dara'a fired live ammunition in the
air to disperse hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/world ... l?emc=eta1

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Yemen battles al Qaeda as president clings to power

Fighting between Yemeni security forces and members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has left people on
both sides dead over the past two days, Yemeni security forces said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast ... ml?hpt=T2#

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Yemen Talks Stall

President Ali Abdullah Saleh has backed away from a deal struck over the weekend that would have him step down from
power immediately but keep his relatives in charge of the country's elite counter-terrorism forces, according to Yemeni
negotiators and people familiar with the situation.
http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/e ... 1213047657

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Factory Explosion Follows Yemeni Forces' Pullout

Yemen's political crisis deepened Monday when an explosion tore through a crowd of looters at an
abandoned government weapons factory in the south, killing at least 110 people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/world ... l?emc=eta1

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Report: American technology helps Mideast governments clamp down on websites

The U.S. has strongly supported freedom of the Internet and technology, which has played a crucial role
in spreading and coordinating the protest movements sweeping through Arab countries. Yet American companies
provide much of the technology that Middle East governments use to block websites, the Wall Street Journal reports.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20110 ... ne=NGtoday

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Refocus Mideast Presence

U.S. Should Emphasize Training, Reduce Footprint
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=6072558

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Obama: U.S. had responsibility to act in Libya

President Obama delivered a broad defense Monday of his decision to intervene in Libya and of his leadership
style, arguing that the United States has a strategic interest in preventing the killing of civilians around
the world and that it must do so in partnership with other nations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... ltoafriend

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Analysis: Obama doesn't mention Libyan rebels

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

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Gates, Clinton can't predict when U.S. role in Libya ends

Interviews leave many basic questions unanswered about the mission's duration, point and endgame.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet

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Libyan Rebels Close in on Gadhafi Stronghold

Rebel forces fought their way toward Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, a key government stronghold guarding
the road to the capital Tripoli. Their rapid advance came on the back of international airstrikes that have battered
Gadhafi's air force, armor and troops over the past week.
http://www.military.com/news/article/li ... ghold.html

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Rebel Advance Halted Outside Qaddafi's Hometown

Rebel forces' westward charge was repulsed by those guarding a crucial bastion of
support for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/world ... l?emc=eta1

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Protecting Libyan citizens or aiding the rebels? Role of US, NATO partners under scrutiny

WASHINGTON - The U.S. and its NATO-led partners insist their mission in Libya goes no further than protecting
civilians threatened by their own government's guns, but as rebels regain the initiative and push to the doorstep
of Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, the protectors in effect have become an aerial arm of the rebels.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... ltoafriend

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U.S. deploys low-flying attack planes in Libya (Must be to protect the citizens above)

The U.S. military dramatically stepped up its assault on Libyan government ground forces over the weekend,
launching its first missions with AC-130 flying gunships and A-10 attack aircraft designed to strike enemy
ground troops and supply convoys.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us- ... ltoafriend

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Libyan Rebels Aim to Revive Oil Exports

Exports of high-quality crude could resume in a week, but amounts would be small and
the rebels' hold on oil facilities is uncertain.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/busin ... l?emc=eta1

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Libyans Seek News of Vanished Relatives

After rebels retook territory from Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's forces, a search
began for the hundreds who had gone missing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/world ... l?emc=eta1

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Pirates hijack oil tanker off East Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya - Pirates in two skiffs fired rocket-propelled grenades and guns at an oil tanker off
East Africa before boarding the vessel and hijacking it, naval officials said Monday.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2011/03/a ... er-032811/

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India navy nabs 16 pirates, rescues 16 hostages

India's navy and coast guard have captured 16 Somali pirates after a three-hour-long battle in the Arabian Sea,
a navy spokesman said Monday.
http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/P ... 8-06-26-14

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UK Aircraft Carrier for Sale on Internet

The former flagship of the Royal Navy was decommissioned this month, four years ahead of schedule,
as part of defense spending cuts. Bidders have until June 13 to make an offer. No minimum price was set.
http://www.military.com/news/article/uk ... ernet.html

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As nuclear crisis deepens, Japan's prime minister says country is on 'maximum alert'

TOKYO - Japan's leader insisted Tuesday that the country was on "maximum alert" to bring its nuclear crisis
under control, but the spread of radiation raised concerns about the ability of experts to stabilize the
crippled reactor complex.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as- ... ltoafriend

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Vanishing act by Japanese executive during nuclear crisis raises questions (Sounds like they've learned from U.S. Execs)

TOKYO - In normal times, Masataka Shimizu lives in The Tower, a luxury high-rise in the same upscale
Tokyo district as the U.S. Embassy. But he hasn't been there for more than two weeks, according to a doorman.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/van ... ltoafriend

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Japan's Electricity Shortage to Last Months

The term "rolling blackouts" has become shorthand for noting one way Japan is trying to cope with
its national calamity. Shorthand should not be confused with short term.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/busin ... l?emc=eta1

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