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Author: TriSec    Date: 06/11/2013 10:19:59

Good Morning.

Today is our 4,265th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing war, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 2,233
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,095

We find this morning's Cost of War passing through:

$ 1, 446, 795, 250, 000 .00



I've got a mixed bag today. We'll start with the economy; it seems like there's a wee bit of good news on the veteran's hiring front - for perhaps the first time since I've been tracking this, the "post 9-11" vet unemployment rate is actually lower than the national unemployment rate. While neither number is that great, perhaps this is a sign that we're slowly waking up and are giving our returning soldiers their due.


For Post-9/11 veterans, the job market appears to be improving as the unemployment rate for May fell to 7.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

One year ago, the unemployment rate for the Iraq and Afghanistan generation of veterans was 12.3 percent. In April, the jobless rate for Post-9/11 veterans was 7.5 percent.

The national unemployment rate for May was 7.6 percent, unchanged from April, as the economy grew about 175,000 jobs, according to the employment report. There are about 11.8 million people who are unemployed and about 155.7 million with jobs, according to the report.

Overall, veterans continue to do better than non-veterans, although the 6.6 percent jobless rate for veterans of all generations is higher than the 6.2 percent rate reported in April.

The May jobless rate for male veterans was 6.7 percent for men and 6 percent for women. he jobless rate for Post-9/11 male veterans was 7.8 percent while the rate for women was 4.9 percent. Small sample sizes for women in the survey could be responsible for the lower rate.

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment rates were lower in 276 of 372 metropolitan areas in April, a sign of widespread improvement. Unemployment rates were higher in 78 areas and unchanged in 18, the report say. The city with the highest unemployment rate was Yuma, Ariz., with 30.3 percent.


Speaking of the economy, here's something curious. Remember when the United States used to have a shoe industry? For some of us, that's still within living memory. A city near me (Lynn, MA) was once the shoe capitol of the United States, but that's far in the past now. The military was once the largest purchaser of domestic-made footwear, but over time that's eroded. Like everything else, Uncle Sam has outsourced their combat boots. But a new proposal from the 2 senators from Maine would force those that receive "vouchers" for footwear to purchase only American-made items. It's maybe Pork-y, as New Balance of Maine would likely be the sole beneficiary, but nevertheless it might help a little.


Athletic shoe vouchers for Army, Navy and Air Force recruits could be used to purchase only American-made footwear under a bill introduced Thursday by two senators from Maine.

They argue it would not only help domestic manufacturers such as New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc., a Boston-based company with offices and plants in Maine, but it might also save money.

The footwear battle, which has gone on for years, involves a decision made in 2002 to provide vouchers to new service members to purchase athletic shoes rather than provide military-issued shoes. Comfort, safety and varying tastes were cited as reasons for the change.

About $15 million is spent each year on the vouchers.

Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King Jr., an Independent, introduced S 1051, which would require the military to either directly buy domestic shoes or restrict the vouchers to be good only for U.S.-made shoes — complying with a 1941 law, the Berry Act, which requires preference be given to American manufacturers for clothing on any contract valued at $150,000 or more.

The bill includes one exception: Foreign-made shoes could be purchased for valid medical reasons.

In a statement included in the Congressional Record as she introduced the bill, Collins said the Defense Department is spending 100 times the minimum contract value required to buy from U.S. producers. “It is time for DoD to treat athletic footwear like every other uniform item, including boots, and buy them from American manufacturers,” she said.

Military officials have defended letting new service members pick their own shoes for comfort and safety, but Collins said the military buys domestically made boots and other uniform shoes “with no adverse effect upon recruits.”

Collins and King will try to get their restriction added to the 2014 defense authorization bill when the Senate Armed Services Committee begins writing that measure in mid-June. King is a member of the committee.


But then again, baby steps in the right direction aren't of much help when the train is rolling backwards down the tracks anyway. Despite some high-profile items, much of the sequester is rolling along almost completely unnoticed by the masses. An awful lot of folks have been furloughed, and the Navy at least, is discovering that maybe some of those guys are actually important. Believe it or not, there's been some outreach to try to get some of them to re-enlist, but like everything else, there's a catch. This would be for a short-term contract, and for many hundreds of sailors that are within a few years of their 20 needed for full benefits, this isn't sitting well.


YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — One month after being cast out of the Navy because his career field was overmanned, the Recruit Training Command called Robert Van back with a plea — come back, we don’t have enough sailors like you.

But there was a catch — Van’s contract would only be guaranteed for two years, which would leave him looking for another job about three years short of his 20-year retirement eligibility.

Van was one of nearly 3,000 sailors laid off, or in Navy parlance, “involuntarily separated,” as a result of the former Enlisted Retention Board’s mandate to thin the ranks in 31 overmanned job fields by September 2012.

Yet, less than a year later, the Navy found itself thousands of sailors below its congressionally mandated strength, so it boosted recruiting by 6,000 sailors per year and shelled out incentive pay to make up in an attempt to make up for the shortage, especially in undermanned sea rates.

The seemingly contradictory actions left former sailors — and at least one congressman — to question whether the service made a mistake in cutting so many experienced sailors in the first place.

Perhaps in an effort to right the ship, so to speak, the Navy is now offering some sailors a chance to put the uniform back on.

What it isn’t doing, however, is offering sailors like Van — who by service evaluation standards was among the best at what he did — a chance to come back on a permanent basis.


Finally this morning...a bonus story. This has nothing to do with veterans, except perhaps fleetingly, but being the WWII aviation geek, I can't resist. The hull of perhaps the only remaining intact Do-17 has been recovered from the Channel and is headed for the restorer's shop. (Surely to static display, but imagine if she could ever take to the sky!)
 

100 comments (Latest Comment: 06/12/2013 00:22:27 by clintster)
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Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 12:47:49
Morning.

Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 12:49:19
:plays masterful air guitar to "All Along the Watchtower": Seriously you have never seen anything this amazing.

Comment by Scoopster on 06/11/2013 12:54:58
Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 12:58:04
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all..

Well.. my ride to work was interesting today!



Spot o' rain, eh?

Comment by wickedpam on 06/11/2013 13:00:55
Morning

Comment by Scoopster on 06/11/2013 13:04:30
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all..

Well.. my ride to work was interesting today!


Spot o' rain, eh?

Yeah just a tad!

Last time we had this much rain the local major river flooded badly & almost every route south of Providence was blocked. They're saying it might get close to that level again later today.

Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 13:10:01
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all..

Well.. my ride to work was interesting today!


Spot o' rain, eh?

Yeah just a tad!

Last time we had this much rain the local major river flooded badly & almost every route south of Providence was blocked. They're saying it might get close to that level again later today.



That sounds like...fun.

Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 13:15:00
good morning!

Comment by TriSec on 06/11/2013 13:17:46
TriSec is Paul Revere!

Last night, there was an "alarm", so I found the fastest horse in town and headed for Lexington to warn my fellow Patriots....

No, that's not right.

Paul is known for his "midnight ride", but it's less well known that Mr. Revere cultivated a vast network of contacts throughout the Patriot community. It was important that he rode, but it was even more important that he knew WHO to alert and where they were.

I was at city council last night, and there was some interesting sausage-making going on. During the meeting, I managed to re-connect to two of my compatriots from when I ran 4 years ago, both of them on the ballot again this year. I made a new connection to a gentleman from the Unitarian Church that was there to speak on an issue, and I realized that I know the Sargeant-at-arms on the outside - we've been doing the 'Hey, you look familiar" routine for a few months now.

This is all groundwork and networking for 2015...

Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 13:28:48
Wow, Eric Snowden is really a douchebag for what he did to his Girlfriend


Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 13:48:26
Quote by Raine:
Wow, Eric Snowden is really a douchebag for what he did to his Girlfriend
and -- her website is now unavailable -- that was some fascinating stuff.


Comment by BobR on 06/11/2013 13:49:33
Quote by Raine:
Wow, Eric Snowden is really a douchebag for what he did to his Girlfriend

I suspect he took her to Hong Kong to scope out his future getaway locations.

Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 13:52:38
Quote by BobR:
Quote by Raine:
Wow, Eric Snowden is really a douchebag for what he did to his Girlfriend

I suspect he took her to Hong Kong to scope out his future getaway locations.
He traveled in April to the mainland -- I was reading stuff from last year -- they both traveled all around the world. I hope her website comes back online, but I doubt it.

What the Mail article is saying was meshing up with what I was reading.




Comment by TriSec on 06/11/2013 14:04:18
There is testing going on of the kind that involves sniffs.

I'm afraid this story grows increasingly rank.




Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 14:06:31
this story is really getting curious. Snowden worked at BAH for three months -- by his own statement. he left May 1.

So how did this all begin?
I was originally contacted in January, anonymously.

By Edward Snowden?
Well, I didn’t know who it was.

What was the format?
Via email. It said, I want to get your encryption key and let’s get on a secure channel.

And he didn’t say what it was about?
He just said — that was the first, and the second was, I have some information in the intelligence community, and it won’t be a waste of your time.


This is also interesting:
So how did it then become two separate stories in the Washington Post and the Guardian?

The source also has a relationship with Glenn. Which I can’t speak to.


Since he contacted you before he started working at Booz Allen, the implication people were drawing was that he went to Booz Allen with the express intention of leaking this.

That’s completely absurd. I had no dialogue about what the information was — there were claims, that’s all I received.


The real question is what did Greenwld know... he said he was contacted in February by Snowden --

Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 14:13:27
Quote by Raine:
Wow, Eric Snowden is really a douchebag for what he did to his Girlfriend



That is a pretty dick cheese move. But when you are in danger of rendition or assassination by a Hong Kong Triad, you don't want to put the woman you love in danger.

I've slept on this issue and I've come to the conclusion that Snowden a couple bricks shy.

Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 14:17:38
Booz Allen Statement on Reports of Leaked Information

June 11, 2013
(Updated Information Underlined)
Booz Allen can confirm that Edward Snowden, 29, was an employee of our firm for less than 3 months, assigned to a team in Hawaii. Snowden, who had a salary at the rate of $122,000, was terminated June 10, 2013 for violations of the firm’s code of ethics and firm policy. News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.


Comment by wickedpam on 06/11/2013 14:20:53


and my company will be very happy to sell that water to those thirsty hipsters with extra cash who want their water to be as douchy as their choice in beer

Comment by wickedpam on 06/11/2013 14:26:33
Quote by Raine:
this story is really getting curious. Snowden worked at BAH for three months -- by his own statement. he left May 1.

So how did this all begin?
I was originally contacted in January, anonymously.

By Edward Snowden?
Well, I didn’t know who it was.

What was the format?
Via email. It said, I want to get your encryption key and let’s get on a secure channel.

And he didn’t say what it was about?
He just said — that was the first, and the second was, I have some information in the intelligence community, and it won’t be a waste of your time.


This is also interesting:
So how did it then become two separate stories in the Washington Post and the Guardian?

The source also has a relationship with Glenn. Which I can’t speak to.


Since he contacted you before he started working at Booz Allen, the implication people were drawing was that he went to Booz Allen with the express intention of leaking this.

That’s completely absurd. I had no dialogue about what the information was — there were claims, that’s all I received.


The real question is what did Greenwld know... he said he was contacted in February by Snowden --



to contact a report prior to getting a job tells me he knew before had what information he was going to be in contact with - how did he know, who told him and why




Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 14:42:15
Quote by Raine:
Booz Allen Statement on Reports of Leaked Information

June 11, 2013
(Updated Information Underlined)
Booz Allen can confirm that Edward Snowden, 29, was an employee of our firm for less than 3 months, assigned to a team in Hawaii. Snowden, who had a salary at the rate of $122,000, was terminated June 10, 2013 for violations of the firm’s code of ethics and firm policy. News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.



That is rather bland.

Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 14:48:13
Quote by wickedpam:


and my company will be very happy to sell that water to those thirsty hipsters with extra cash who want their water to be as douchy as their choice in beer
Which is essentially bottled water... oh the irony.


Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 14:51:16
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Booz Allen Statement on Reports of Leaked Information

June 11, 2013
(Updated Information Underlined)
Booz Allen can confirm that Edward Snowden, 29, was an employee of our firm for less than 3 months, assigned to a team in Hawaii. Snowden, who had a salary at the rate of $122,000, was terminated June 10, 2013 for violations of the firm’s code of ethics and firm policy. News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.



That is rather bland.
It's CYA. Snowden was sill employed -- as thus he may have still had access to information. Also of interet is his salary. Snowden himself said he earned 200K at BAH.


Comment by wickedpam on 06/11/2013 14:51:24
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:


and my company will be very happy to sell that water to those thirsty hipsters with extra cash who want their water to be as douchy as their choice in beer
Which is essentially bottled water... oh the irony.



we just started selling Perrier, San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna - I can't tell the difference in any of them

Comment by wickedpam on 06/11/2013 14:52:50
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Booz Allen Statement on Reports of Leaked Information

June 11, 2013
(Updated Information Underlined)
Booz Allen can confirm that Edward Snowden, 29, was an employee of our firm for less than 3 months, assigned to a team in Hawaii. Snowden, who had a salary at the rate of $122,000, was terminated June 10, 2013 for violations of the firm’s code of ethics and firm policy. News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.



That is rather bland.
It's CYA. Snowden was sill employed -- as thus he may have still had access to information. Also of interet is his salary. Snowden himself said he earned 200K at BAH.


what contracts get paid is obscene - I will never forget what my mom told me how salary's work when she worked for one, total craziness!


Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 14:52:51
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Booz Allen Statement on Reports of Leaked Information

June 11, 2013
(Updated Information Underlined)
Booz Allen can confirm that Edward Snowden, 29, was an employee of our firm for less than 3 months, assigned to a team in Hawaii. Snowden, who had a salary at the rate of $122,000, was terminated June 10, 2013 for violations of the firm’s code of ethics and firm policy. News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.



That is rather bland.
It's CYA. Snowden was sill employed -- as thus he may have still had access to information. Also of interet is his salary. Snowden himself said he earned 200K at BAH.


I noticed the difference in salary.


Comment by BobR on 06/11/2013 14:52:57

"Resource"? They should have named it "Brawndo", because - really - do you want to drink water like what comes from the toilet?

Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 14:53:46
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:


and my company will be very happy to sell that water to those thirsty hipsters with extra cash who want their water to be as douchy as their choice in beer
Which is essentially bottled water... oh the irony.



Well played.

Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 14:55:53
Quote by BobR:

"Resource"? They should have named it "Brawndo", because - really - do you want to drink water like what comes from the toilet?


Brawndo is trademarked by 20th Century Fox.



Comment by BobR on 06/11/2013 15:06:18
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by BobR:

"Resource"? They should have named it "Brawndo", because - really - do you want to drink water like what comes from the toilet?


Brawndo is trademarked by 20th Century Fox.




Comment by wickedpam on 06/11/2013 15:10:24
I guess all the spoof songs got pulled for copyright

Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 15:10:55
You know, Jim keeps mentioning Daniel Ellsberg -- comparing him to Snowden.

He's ignoring the fact that Ellsberg tried to reach out to Senate and government officials. Crazy Uncle Senator Mike Gravel was the one to enter it into the Senate Records on the senate floor.

Snowden didn't even try.


Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 15:11:00
Quote by BobR:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by BobR:

"Resource"? They should have named it "Brawndo", because - really - do you want to drink water like what comes from the toilet?


Brawndo is trademarked by 20th Century Fox.




I'm not sure if Resource got electrolytes.


Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 15:11:30
Quote by wickedpam:
I guess all the spoof songs got pulled for copyright

Well that's a bit of BS considering they are all pretty much karaoke trax.

Comment by wickedpam on 06/11/2013 15:17:42
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
I guess all the spoof songs got pulled for copyright

Well that's a bit of BS considering they are all pretty much karaoke trax.


that's just a guess based on what Jackie and Jim were hinting at with RMM's originals. I can't think Katrina and the Waves would pull their song from the show.

Comment by wickedpam on 06/11/2013 15:18:52
and Steph just proved me wrong

Comment by TriSec on 06/11/2013 15:21:08
Don't underestimate just how giant dicks the record companies can be.



Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 15:27:55
Quote by TriSec:
Don't underestimate just how giant dicks the record companies can be.




You don't want to mess with Big Vinyl! They have hordes of hell hound like lawyers who want nothing more than to make you into a metaphorical grease spot.

Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 15:31:25
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
I guess all the spoof songs got pulled for copyright

Well that's a bit of BS considering they are all pretty much karaoke trax.


that's just a guess based on what Jackie and Jim were hinting at with RMM's originals. I can't think Katrina and the Waves would pull their song from the show.
I have a feeling it's a bumper song that went too long.


Comment by wickedpam on 06/11/2013 15:35:58
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
I guess all the spoof songs got pulled for copyright

Well that's a bit of BS considering they are all pretty much karaoke trax.


that's just a guess based on what Jackie and Jim were hinting at with RMM's originals. I can't think Katrina and the Waves would pull their song from the show.
I have a feeling it's a bumper song that went too long.



that would be also logical

Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 15:37:21
I'm calling shenanigans on Snowden. He is full of shite.

Snowden, who said he leaked top-secret documents to expose abuse and not to cause damage to the United States, told the Guardian that he had “full access to the rosters of everyone working at the NSA, the entire intelligence community, and undercover assets all around the world, the locations of every station we have, what their missions are and so forth.”



Doubtful. Raine you rightly mentioned compartmentalization. Nobody would have system rights that would grant him this kind of access.

Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 15:52:12
Quote by Mondobubba:
I'm calling shenanigans on Snowden. He is full of shite.

Snowden, who said he leaked top-secret documents to expose abuse and not to cause damage to the United States, told the Guardian that he had “full access to the rosters of everyone working at the NSA, the entire intelligence community, and undercover assets all around the world, the locations of every station we have, what their missions are and so forth.”



Doubtful. Raine you rightly mentioned compartmentalization. Nobody would have system rights that would grant him this kind of access.
I just don't believe this guy.

Administration officials said Monday that they are working to confirm that Snowden leaked the documents and build a case against him without relying on his admissions in his video interview with the Guardian.


Anyone recall what the leaked documents are? I'm not being a smartass here.



Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 15:55:36
Joel Brenner, a former NSA inspector general, said any investigation needs to focus on how Snowden “had access to such a startling range of information.”

“The spy you want in an organization may not be the executive assistant to the secretary of state; it may be the guy in the bowels of the IT department because he has system-administrator privileges and because that person is also in a position to insert malware into your system to facilitate remote access,” Brenner said.

Further information about Snowden’s personal and professional life was scant Monday.
I actually mentioned this to Bobber this morning -- what if this dude is a spy gone rogue? That isn't tinfoil, this is a real ponderance.

Comment by wickedpam on 06/11/2013 15:58:46
No, Esmeralda on Bewitched was played by Alice Ghostly. Serena was Samantha's twin

Comment by wickedpam on 06/11/2013 16:02:09
Quote by Raine:
Joel Brenner, a former NSA inspector general, said any investigation needs to focus on how Snowden “had access to such a startling range of information.”

“The spy you want in an organization may not be the executive assistant to the secretary of state; it may be the guy in the bowels of the IT department because he has system-administrator privileges and because that person is also in a position to insert malware into your system to facilitate remote access,” Brenner said.

Further information about Snowden’s personal and professional life was scant Monday.
I actually mentioned this to Bobber this morning -- what if this dude is a spy gone rogue? That isn't tinfoil, this is a real ponderance.



that would explain why he ran to China instead straight to Iceland


Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 16:02:40
Quote by wickedpam:
No, Esmeralda on Bewitched was played by Alice Ghostly. Serena was Samantha's twin
THANK YOU! I was just getting ready to say something about this. THEY ALL FAILED.


Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 16:02:45
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
I'm calling shenanigans on Snowden. He is full of shite.

Snowden, who said he leaked top-secret documents to expose abuse and not to cause damage to the United States, told the Guardian that he had “full access to the rosters of everyone working at the NSA, the entire intelligence community, and undercover assets all around the world, the locations of every station we have, what their missions are and so forth.”



Doubtful. Raine you rightly mentioned compartmentalization. Nobody would have system rights that would grant him this kind of access.
I just don't believe this guy.

Administration officials said Monday that they are working to confirm that Snowden leaked the documents and build a case against him without relying on his admissions in his video interview with the Guardian.


Anyone recall what the leaked documents are? I'm not being a smartass here.




Some Power Point slides. He gave them to the WaPo and the Guardian.

From der WaPo site.

Comment by Mondobubba on 06/11/2013 16:03:32
Quote by Raine:
Joel Brenner, a former NSA inspector general, said any investigation needs to focus on how Snowden “had access to such a startling range of information.”

“The spy you want in an organization may not be the executive assistant to the secretary of state; it may be the guy in the bowels of the IT department because he has system-administrator privileges and because that person is also in a position to insert malware into your system to facilitate remote access,” Brenner said.

Further information about Snowden’s personal and professional life was scant Monday.
I actually mentioned this to Bobber this morning -- what if this dude is a spy gone rogue? That isn't tinfoil, this is a real ponderance.



That thought crossed my mind as well.

Comment by Raine on 06/11/2013 16:04:08
From the initial guardian leak article:
The Guardian has verified the authenticity of the document, a 41-slide PowerPoint presentation – classified as top secret with no distribution to foreign allies – which was apparently used to train intelligence operatives on the capabilities of the program. The document claims "collection directly from the servers" of major US service providers.

Although the presentation claims the program is run with the assistance of the companies, all those who responded to a Guardian request for comment on Thursday denied knowledge of any such program.
There HAS to be more than a powerpoint presentation.