By Amy Bingham
ABC News
Aug 1, 2012
In the 18 months the 112th Congress has been sworn in, the House has introduced 60 bills to rename post offices. Thirty-eight have passed the House and 26 have become law. During those 18 months, the House has produced 151 laws, 17 percent of which have been to rename post offices, according to Congressional Democrats.
Not a single bill has come to the House floor aimed at reforming a Postal Service, which is bleeding billions of dollars because of Congressional mandates.
Today the United States Postal Service will default on a Congressional mandate to pay $5.5 billion to “prefund” health benefits for future retirees. On Friday, the House of Representatives will leave town for a five-week summer vacation. There is no plan to take up postal reform before that summer recess.
The Postal Service has attempted to enact an array of cost-cutting measures to pull itself out of a $22.5 billion budget shortfall. Over the past five years USPS has cut more than 110,000 employees. The mail service, which takes no taxpayer money but is regulated by Congress, has announced plans to close or consolidate 230 mail processing centers, cutting 13,000 jobs and saving an estimated $1.2 billion annually.
The service attempted to close 3,700 post offices under a plan announced last year, but after public outcry decided to cut operating hours to between two and six hours per day at 13,000 locations. USPS claims that move will save $500 million per year.
One of the largest cost-saving measures would be ending Saturday mail delivery, a move the Postal Service says will save $3.1 billion a year. But USPS can’t cut delivery without Congressional approval, and partisan disagreements over whether Congress should take control of USPS’s operations until it is solvent again or if it should leave the decision making to the postmaster general have halted any action on Capitol Hill.
USPS claims that if Congress does not act, the mail service will default not only on the $5.5 billion payment due today, but also on another $5.6 billion payment for future retiree’s benefit due September 30.
The Postal Service has pleaded with Congress for years to end the requirement that it pre-fund its retiree’s health benefits. But many lawmakers claim that because USPS has such a massive workforce – there are 614,000 Postal Service employees—if it does not pre-fund retirement benefits, it will not be able to pay them in the future.
And as long as these disagreements persist, it looks like naming post offices is the closest Congress will get to passing postal reform.
Showing posts with label government inefficiency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government inefficiency. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Audit reveals $200 million wasted on Iraqi Police program that the Iraqi themselves DID NOT want
US audit: $200M wasted on Iraqi police training
ASSOCIATED PRESS/NYPOST
Posted: July 30, 2012
BAGHDAD — US auditors have concluded that more than $200 million was wasted on a program to train Iraqi police that Baghdad says is neither needed nor wanted.
The Police Development Program- which was drawn up to be the single largest State Department program in the world - was envisioned as a five-year, multibillion-dollar push to train security forces after the US military left last December. But Iraqi political leaders, anxious to keep their distance from the Americans, were unenthusiastic.
A report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, released Monday, found that the American Embassy in Baghdad never got a written commitment from Iraq to participate. Now, facing what the report called Baghdad's "disinterest" in the project, the embassy is gutting what was supposed to be the centerpiece of ongoing US training efforts in Iraq.
According to the report, the embassy plans to turn over the $108 million Baghdad Police College Annex to Iraqis by the end of the year and will stop training at a $98 million site at the US consulate in the southern city of Basra. Additionally, the number of advisers has been cut by nearly 90 percent - from 350 to 36.
"A major lesson learned from Iraq is that host country buy-in to proposed programs is essential to the long-term success of relief and reconstruction activities. The PDP experience powerfully underscores that point," auditors wrote in a 41-page summary of their inspection. An advance copy was provided to The Associated Press.
Auditors noted that it "has clearly been difficult" for American diplomats to secure a solid commitment from Iraq's government to participate in the training program. Still, the report concluded, "the decision to embark on a major program absent Iraqi buy-in has been costly" and resulted in "a de facto waste."
The findings call into question funding needs at the largest US embassy in the world, as the Obama administration prepares its new spending plan for the 2013 fiscal year that begins Oct 1. While auditors said it's unknown how much the embassy in Baghdad is requesting, additional money for the police program "may not be needed."
Despite years and billions of dollars of training, Iraq's police force remains a vulnerable target for militants. On Sunday, seven police were killed and nine more wounded in bombings and shootings near the former al-Qaida stronghold of Fallujah, about 64 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad. It appeared to be the latest strike by the Sunni insurgency as it seeks to reclaim areas where US troops ousted them...
(click here to read the full article)
ASSOCIATED PRESS/NYPOST
Posted: July 30, 2012
The Police Development Program- which was drawn up to be the single largest State Department program in the world - was envisioned as a five-year, multibillion-dollar push to train security forces after the US military left last December. But Iraqi political leaders, anxious to keep their distance from the Americans, were unenthusiastic.
 |
| AP |
According to the report, the embassy plans to turn over the $108 million Baghdad Police College Annex to Iraqis by the end of the year and will stop training at a $98 million site at the US consulate in the southern city of Basra. Additionally, the number of advisers has been cut by nearly 90 percent - from 350 to 36.
"A major lesson learned from Iraq is that host country buy-in to proposed programs is essential to the long-term success of relief and reconstruction activities. The PDP experience powerfully underscores that point," auditors wrote in a 41-page summary of their inspection. An advance copy was provided to The Associated Press.
Auditors noted that it "has clearly been difficult" for American diplomats to secure a solid commitment from Iraq's government to participate in the training program. Still, the report concluded, "the decision to embark on a major program absent Iraqi buy-in has been costly" and resulted in "a de facto waste."
The findings call into question funding needs at the largest US embassy in the world, as the Obama administration prepares its new spending plan for the 2013 fiscal year that begins Oct 1. While auditors said it's unknown how much the embassy in Baghdad is requesting, additional money for the police program "may not be needed."
Despite years and billions of dollars of training, Iraq's police force remains a vulnerable target for militants. On Sunday, seven police were killed and nine more wounded in bombings and shootings near the former al-Qaida stronghold of Fallujah, about 64 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad. It appeared to be the latest strike by the Sunni insurgency as it seeks to reclaim areas where US troops ousted them...
(click here to read the full article)
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Federal Reserve hypocrisy: Jon Stewart sets it straight for us common folk
Jon Stewart Exposes the Fraud of the Federal Reserve
David Kramer
LewRockwell.com
April 16, 2012
A TV show segment is worth a million words. Stewart even mentions hyperinflation as a result of creating money out of thin air. Perhaps Stewart has finally gotten around to reading Murray Rothbard’s What Has Government Done to Our Money. (I…don’t think so—but I can dream, can’t I?)
LewRockwell.com
April 16, 2012
A TV show segment is worth a million words. Stewart even mentions hyperinflation as a result of creating money out of thin air. Perhaps Stewart has finally gotten around to reading Murray Rothbard’s What Has Government Done to Our Money. (I…don’t think so—but I can dream, can’t I?)
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
TSA screener at JFK 'hurled hot coffee at American Airlines pilot who told her to stop swearing'...yea its part of their training
Mail Online
By SUZANNAH HILLS
April 4, 2012
An airport security worker was arrested after throwing a cup of hot coffee over a pilot who told her to stop swearing.
Transportation Security Administrator (TSA) Lateisha El, 30, was in the middle of a conversation with work colleagues at a JFK Airport terminal when she was interrupted by the American Airlines pilot.
Off-duty airman Steven Trivett, 54, was exiting terminal 8 when he overheard El swearing and asked her to tone down the profanity.
Trivett, of Butler, Tennessey, told them they should 'conduct themselves more professionally in uniform and not use profanity or the n-word,' according to the New York Post.
One TSA screener told Trivett to 'mind his own business' and swore at him.
Trivett then identified himself as a 'TSA officer' - an armed pilot - before trying to grab the ID tags of screener El to get her name.
But Port Authority police sources told the newspaper that El responded by hurling a 'full cup' cup of hot coffee over the pilot.
Trivett was not seriously injured. El, of Brooklyn’s East New York, was charged with harassment and misdemeanor-assault for the incident at 5am on March 28.
By SUZANNAH HILLS
April 4, 2012
Transportation Security Administrator (TSA) Lateisha El, 30, was in the middle of a conversation with work colleagues at a JFK Airport terminal when she was interrupted by the American Airlines pilot.
Off-duty airman Steven Trivett, 54, was exiting terminal 8 when he overheard El swearing and asked her to tone down the profanity.
 |
| Arrested: Airport security worker Lateisha El, 30, threw a cup of coffee over pilot Steven Trivett, 54, when he told her to stop swearing at JFK Airport (pictured), credit DailyMail |
One TSA screener told Trivett to 'mind his own business' and swore at him.
Trivett then identified himself as a 'TSA officer' - an armed pilot - before trying to grab the ID tags of screener El to get her name.
But Port Authority police sources told the newspaper that El responded by hurling a 'full cup' cup of hot coffee over the pilot.
Trivett was not seriously injured. El, of Brooklyn’s East New York, was charged with harassment and misdemeanor-assault for the incident at 5am on March 28.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Uprising 2012 (Video); Revolution against the NWO
Uprising: 2012. We DARE you to WATCH and SHARE this video! *(MUST SEE!)*
Uploaded by freedominfonetwork on Mar 5, 2012
http://youtu.be/dZwqQo4_B2E
Join the FIN community! Online since January 2012 and growing rapidly! Please share this video and help spread the word about the network and help as we grow the community together!
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For a full transcript of the monologue contained in this video: http://pastebin.com/A68LxS4b
This video was created by EndFear for the Freedom Informant Network.
(click on video link for full credits for music and source)
[Video property and courtesy of the FreedomInfoNetwork`s Channel, please give proper credit and citation]
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The use of incidental copyrighted material is covered under 'Fair Use' (Copyright Act, 1976) Title 17 U.S.C Section 107, with particular emphasis on such use for educational and non-profit purposes. Under Sec. 107 of the Copyright Act (1976), allowance is made for 'Fair Use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair Use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of Fair Use (Moe, AllSeeingEye). If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'Fair Use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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[View the blog`s full Fair Use Copyright Disclaimer at the end of the homepage]
Uploaded by freedominfonetwork on Mar 5, 2012
http://youtu.be/dZwqQo4_B2E
http://www.freedominfonetwork.org
FIN on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/freedominfonetwork
FIN on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/freedominfonet
For a full transcript of the monologue contained in this video: http://pastebin.com/A68LxS4b
This video was created by EndFear for the Freedom Informant Network.
(click on video link for full credits for music and source)
The use of incidental copyrighted material is covered under 'Fair Use' (Copyright Act, 1976) Title 17 U.S.C Section 107, with particular emphasis on such use for educational and non-profit purposes. Under Sec. 107 of the Copyright Act (1976), allowance is made for 'Fair Use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair Use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of Fair Use (Moe, AllSeeingEye). If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'Fair Use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act-
In Aug 2008, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel of San Jose, California, ruled that copyright holders cannot order a deletion of an online file without determining whether that posting reflected "fair use" of the copyrighted material.
[View the blog`s full Fair Use Copyright Disclaimer at the end of the homepage]
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Laptop used to control the ISS lost...but NASA says not to worry?
NASA loses laptop with command code for ISS
RT News
Published: 02 March, 2012, 03:22
Edited: 02 March, 2012, 20:37
Four dozen high-tech computing devices disappeared from the offices of NASA over a two-year span, including one laptop that contained the code needed to command the International Space Station.
No big deal, guys!
A laptop with the algorithm used to control the ISS was one of 48 gizmos and gadgets that NASA either reported lost or stolen between April 2009 and April 2011, the agency’s inspector general, Paul Martin, tells the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Although the incidents date back to nearly three years ago, Martin has only now informed Congress of the accidents. They are discussed in a written statement he authored and published this week under the title “NASA Cybersecurity: An Examination of the Agency’s Information Security.”
For the Cliff Notes version, we’ve got you covered. Information security at NASA: not so good.
Over the course of ten pages, Martin makes mention of what he says are five issues that NASA believes, based on their “extensive audit and investigative work,” make up NASA’s “most serious challenges in the admittedly difficult task of protecting the agency’s information.”
For starters, we suggest putting a damn lock on the safe.
Martin goes on to list those challenges as including a “lack of full awareness of Agency-wide security posture,”“shortcomings in implementing a continuous monitoring approach to IT security” and the “slow pace of encryption.” Also, however, he adds that one “challenge” in particular, is the ability to handle a sophisticated cyber attack.
Now, what separates a sophisticated cyber attack from a stupid, simple-minded one is something Martin would have to extrapolate on a bit more. But in regards to losing four dozen mobile computing devices — well, keeping a close eye on those things isn’t rocket science. And if it was, you’d expect NASA of all agencies to be able to handle it, wouldn’t you?
According to the congressional testimony, NASA spends around $1.5 billion each year on IT-related activities, which includes approximately $58 million on IT security. And while the statement acknowledges that losing sensitive information could “adversely affect national security,” Martin makes note that lapses have caused concern time and time again. He also admits that security within the agency is not up to snuff, while at the same time revealing that NASA is a “regular target” of such attacks.
The 48 missing mobile devices isn’t the biggest number in the report, though. In 2010 and 2011, reveals the report, NASA reported over 5,400 incidents where either malicious software was found on computers or unauthorized users were granted access to the agency’s systems. For the sake of pointing out the significance of how spectacular of a security flaw this is, we will publish this line as a standalone statement:
NASA SUFFERS OVER 5,000 SECURITY BREACHES A YEAR ON A SYSTEM THAT IS IN CHARGE OF GIANT, SPACE-SURFING MISSILES.
You would only assume that if they can land a man on the moon, surely they could install a copy of McAfee Antivirus.
Those problems, adds the report, have indeed caused the disruption of mission operations and is estimated to have costs NASA $7 million in just one years’ time. In their defense, however, the agency has issued 21 audit reports during the last five years, which have spawned 69 IT-related recommendations. Whether or not they followed through with those, however, is anyone’s guess. Regardless, Martin does make note that the agency has identified that there is indeed “weakness” in regardless to its IT security. That, you see, is something you shouldn’t have to admit to. Over the span of just ten pages, the word “weakness” appears four times.
One of those weaknesses is indeed the ability to monitor mobile devices that are lost. The damage, reveals the report, has been not just the loss of the code used to command and control the International Space Station (that one-million-pound hunk of machinery that NASA allocated $72.4 billion towards), but also Social Security numbers and other sensitive data.
Don’t worry too hard, though. NASA says that eventually they will able to remediate these issues. It’ll take a bit of work though. "Until NASA fully implements an agency-wide data encryption solution, sensitive data on its mobile computing and portable data storage devices will remain at high risk for loss or theft," reads Martin’s report.
And if you were wondering, “risk” appears an average of twice-per-page in the report.
Additional Readings:
Nasa sells shuttle PCs without wiping secret data
RT News
Published: 02 March, 2012, 03:22
Edited: 02 March, 2012, 20:37
 |
Cosmonaut participate in a session of extravehicular
activity (EVA) to continue outfitting the International Space
Station (AFP Photo / NASA)
|
No big deal, guys!
A laptop with the algorithm used to control the ISS was one of 48 gizmos and gadgets that NASA either reported lost or stolen between April 2009 and April 2011, the agency’s inspector general, Paul Martin, tells the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Although the incidents date back to nearly three years ago, Martin has only now informed Congress of the accidents. They are discussed in a written statement he authored and published this week under the title “NASA Cybersecurity: An Examination of the Agency’s Information Security.”
For the Cliff Notes version, we’ve got you covered. Information security at NASA: not so good.
Over the course of ten pages, Martin makes mention of what he says are five issues that NASA believes, based on their “extensive audit and investigative work,” make up NASA’s “most serious challenges in the admittedly difficult task of protecting the agency’s information.”
For starters, we suggest putting a damn lock on the safe.
Martin goes on to list those challenges as including a “lack of full awareness of Agency-wide security posture,”“shortcomings in implementing a continuous monitoring approach to IT security” and the “slow pace of encryption.” Also, however, he adds that one “challenge” in particular, is the ability to handle a sophisticated cyber attack.
Now, what separates a sophisticated cyber attack from a stupid, simple-minded one is something Martin would have to extrapolate on a bit more. But in regards to losing four dozen mobile computing devices — well, keeping a close eye on those things isn’t rocket science. And if it was, you’d expect NASA of all agencies to be able to handle it, wouldn’t you?
According to the congressional testimony, NASA spends around $1.5 billion each year on IT-related activities, which includes approximately $58 million on IT security. And while the statement acknowledges that losing sensitive information could “adversely affect national security,” Martin makes note that lapses have caused concern time and time again. He also admits that security within the agency is not up to snuff, while at the same time revealing that NASA is a “regular target” of such attacks.
The 48 missing mobile devices isn’t the biggest number in the report, though. In 2010 and 2011, reveals the report, NASA reported over 5,400 incidents where either malicious software was found on computers or unauthorized users were granted access to the agency’s systems. For the sake of pointing out the significance of how spectacular of a security flaw this is, we will publish this line as a standalone statement:
NASA SUFFERS OVER 5,000 SECURITY BREACHES A YEAR ON A SYSTEM THAT IS IN CHARGE OF GIANT, SPACE-SURFING MISSILES.
You would only assume that if they can land a man on the moon, surely they could install a copy of McAfee Antivirus.
Those problems, adds the report, have indeed caused the disruption of mission operations and is estimated to have costs NASA $7 million in just one years’ time. In their defense, however, the agency has issued 21 audit reports during the last five years, which have spawned 69 IT-related recommendations. Whether or not they followed through with those, however, is anyone’s guess. Regardless, Martin does make note that the agency has identified that there is indeed “weakness” in regardless to its IT security. That, you see, is something you shouldn’t have to admit to. Over the span of just ten pages, the word “weakness” appears four times.
One of those weaknesses is indeed the ability to monitor mobile devices that are lost. The damage, reveals the report, has been not just the loss of the code used to command and control the International Space Station (that one-million-pound hunk of machinery that NASA allocated $72.4 billion towards), but also Social Security numbers and other sensitive data.
Don’t worry too hard, though. NASA says that eventually they will able to remediate these issues. It’ll take a bit of work though. "Until NASA fully implements an agency-wide data encryption solution, sensitive data on its mobile computing and portable data storage devices will remain at high risk for loss or theft," reads Martin’s report.
And if you were wondering, “risk” appears an average of twice-per-page in the report.
Additional Readings:
Nasa sells shuttle PCs without wiping secret data
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