If you thought Hellfire-armed Predator drones were something, just wait until you see Taranis. This prototype unmanned stealth bomber, developed by BAE Systems for Britain’s Ministry of Defence, is said to be capable of operating autonomously and thinking for itself, as well as striking targets deep inside enemy airspace. It won’t ever go into service, but will allow BAE and Britain to test technologies for future aircraft. BAE stresses that despite the computer programs allowing Taranis to think for itself, ground crews would be in control of it at all times. But isn’t that what they all say? What’s really…
Monthly Archives: July, 2010
The U.S. Postal Service today will release stamps honoring the Negro Leagues, and to mark the occasion, Ed O’Keefe at the Washington Post takes a look at the agency’s only remaining employee who played for the all-black baseball teams. Cleophus Brown, 76, was a southpaw pitcher with a 100 mile-per-hour fastball for the Birmingham Black Barons and Louisville Clippers. Today, he drives a mail truck for the Postal Service in Birmingham and told O’Keefe he has no plans to retire. Brown said he usually doesn’t collect stamps, but he plans to get copies of the two stamps being released today.…
The Washington Post just posted a fun article that peeks inside the State Department’s high-pressure, round-the-clock operations center. In an office that coordinates phone calls to the most powerful people in the world, even things as mundane as bathroom breaks have their own protocol: “I’m going blue!” duty desk officers call out when they stand up to go to the bathroom. They flip a switch, triggering a blue glow from the [Barbie-sized, light bulb-equipped wooden] outhouse. As on an airplane, the light signals: Bathroom occupied; remain in your seats. Work stations must be staffed in case of an emergency.
No-bid contracts? Lobbyists and special interests? Multi-billion dollar Defense acquisition projects that don’t work? Bo-ring! The Onion reports that the public is increasingly demanding that if the government’s going to waste taxpayer dollars, at least spend them on things that are cool. And I think we all can get behind this kind of spending: A CNN poll conducted last month found that, among Americans who favor eliminating tax breaks for Big Oil and blowing the cash on something that’s actually cool, 41 percent want to build a shopping mall in the clouds that would be accessible by hovercar, 33 percent…
Steve Kempf, acting commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service since April, has been tabbed by administrator Martha Johnson to take on the post permanently. Jon Jordan, a 36-year GSA veteran, has been named Kempf’s deputy. Here’s the memo that Johnson sent out this morning announcing the move: MEMORANDUM TO ALL GSA EMPLOYEES FROM: MARTHA N. JOHNSON ADMINISTRATOR SUBJECT: NEW FAS COMMISSIONER Many of you have heard me speak of this as GSA’s moment. We have set aggressive goals and been challenged to play a leading role in key Administration priorities by the White House. We are on…
President Obama has just selected Jacob Lew to replace Peter Orszag as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. More to come.
Judge Tauro’s decision last week striking down a section of the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional could have big consequences for married gay and lesbian federal employees in Massachusetts. If you’re one of them — or the spouse or partner of a gay and lesbian fed — we’d like to hear from you on the possibility of gaining spousal health insurance benefits. E-mail me at slosey@federaltimes.com if you’d like to talk.
The Thrift Savings Plan’s long-awaited website overhaul went up over the weekend and is now online here. The site offers more interactivity, a cleaner interface, and easy-to-find information on life events, retirement planning, managing contributions, and researching various funds. “Our goal is to provide you with better, faster and easier access to the information you need to make the best decisions for your TSP account,” executive director Greg Long said in a message posted online. Even the folks on the TSP Talk message board are giving the update a thumbs up, and they don’t cut the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment…
The results of this year’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey were largely positive, but one thing jumped out at me: Collaboration and cooperation seems to have taken a significant hit. Positive responses to question 20 in the survey — “The people I work with cooperate to get the job done” — dropped sharply from 2008. That year, 83.9 percent agreed or strongly agreed, but this year, only 74.7 agreed. Question 26 — “employees in my work unit share job knowledge with each other” — also showed a decline, though not nearly as steep. Positive responses to that question dropped from 75.4…
Harvey Pekar, the sarcastic and irritable writer who chronicled his life and experiences as a Veterans Affairs Department file clerk in the underground comic book American Splendor, was found dead this morning at age 70. Pekar’s darkly humorous comic was about as far from standard superhero fare as could be. Besides his misadventures at the Cleveland VA, he wrote about his everyday troubles and anxieties, battles with cancer, family life, and love of jazz. But although his collaborations with artists such as Robert Crumb brought him fame (and several notorious appearances on David Letterman’s show), Pekar had to keep working…