Hundreds of scientists working in a top US nuclear weapons lab have been laid off. This year Congress cut $100 million from the California lab, which was simultaneously hit with $180 million in unexpected costs.
US Senator Dianne Feinstein says the employment issue is a "serious national security danger point." All of the 440 scientists most recently laid off had put in at least 20 years of work at the location. Some fear that these highly trained specialists, in need of a livelihood, could go work for other countries, and potentially those hostile to the US.
You can rest a little easy for now. The National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency which keeps up on all current and former employees of the US nuclear program, does not know one instance in which a former employee went to work for another country.
Still, even if they don't go work for a foreign friend or foe, replacing humans with computer nuclear experts might still threaten US national security. Representative Jerry McNerney explains that the US needs the human expertise to help put together clues from other countries' nuclear programs.
In this case, will you lose sleep over someone else's pink slip?
Psssy
Time to Spa
D.E.P.T
I hear Iran is looking for a few nuclear techs.
1Wow. I never thought "nuclear scientist" was a job that you'd have trouble finding a market for here in the US.
2Considering how the government loses laptops, can't get organized on tracking terrorists, downplays scientific information and sent tax rebates to the wrong people, why would I feel better because these guys say they don't know of one instance of anyone going to work for another country? That's probably on a phone recording the last guy left as he borded a plane for Russia.
3Man talk about lay offs in general besides those at one nuke plant. San Francisco city employees over 1,000 layoffs due to budget, United Airlines removing over 80 aircraft from service and hundreds laid off due to budget, County jails reducing staff to dangerous levels due to budget, Commuter services removing trains and buses from service due to budget, Manufacturing plants closing all around the country due to budget, Police officers being asked to work days without pay due to budget. Literally hundreds of thousands of people laid off due to budget within the span of one week.
This is not only dangerous for our National security this is dangerous for us because one of us could be next.
4i've always wondered what really matters to this white house and in the last eight years i've discovered over and over that it's not the American people.
5Another reason not to trust that the government knows what it's doing:
"The Department of Defense (DOD) now employs contractors to keep contractors in check in Iraq, under a new framework for war industry management solidified last month." (from truthout.com)
6cant we move these folks into energy research?
7With the crappy economy, I feel fairly secure in my position. People are constantly looking for ways to get around paying more in taxes, and I work for an accountant.
8I hope my boss doesn't fire me.
(I'm self-employed)
9I bet you run around telling your self what to do all day UnDave and then you get into these circular arguements with your alter ego.
10$180 million in unexpected costs? Maybe they should start car pool.
11He does
I do not
Yes you do
No, I don't
12Yeah and try using one ply instead of two.
13Oh see I knew you were two of a kind.
14whoa i just went back and re-read this article - it's the lawrence livermore lab! i just went there last month for a tour of their advanced light source. this is a huge part of our economy here in the bay area and it's bad to see this large # of high paying jobs cut. there's a lot more to this story than what the article states, too.
15Yep right up the hill from me. I hike by it often. In a few more weeks I should be able to glo in the dark. Hey that's hot a dude with his own night light. Hmm.
16you live near the lab?? wow! it's really pretty out there. i went to an event at the martinelli center / garre winery recently - VERY nice.
17All the money is going to the war. This sends such a bad message too. Kids don't want to grow up and be a scientist anymore, they want to be a Paris Hilton.
18yes, super, if we could end this war we could have money for educ, homeless, alternate energy, mental illness treatment.
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