No Clearance Reform = No Progress
Examiner – You cannot reform intelligence until you fix the clearance problem. You cannot privatize well until you fix the clearance problem. In fact, one of the core underpinnings of my “nation-state as a market distortion” argument is the flaws in the security clearance process. It is a mess:
Minoo Krauser, of Gaithersburg, has two cousins living in her native Iran, a faraway family link that could be preventing her from getting a job at America’s secretive intelligence agencies.
Krauser has applied online to three agencies, figuring her Farsi fluency is her ticket to join the war on terrorism, in which language skills are highly prized.
Mike McConnell, the nation’s top intelligence officer, said last month his agencies need more linguists but are stymied by Cold War rules. Agencies, he said, still discriminate against applicants who have family abroad.
This may be the reason Krauser has been rebuffed. She has yet to hear an answer, or even get an interview, after filling out applications for the FBI, CIA and the National Security Agency.
I can relate to this- I recently wasted a lot of time trying to get a foot in that door. (I am fully able to get a clearance. Just did not want to wait several years for an internship.)
Finally: A Useful Facebook App.
DabbleDo –
Collaborative to-do lists are great for coworkers in the type of organizations I lead. And it comes in handy with friends too. Other than the one I am building, this is the only useful Facebook App I’ve come across. (Zoho for Facebook is great too, but I consider that a port.)
Now I’m waiting for a collaborative outliner, but that’s probably a long ways down the pipe, if ever.
Review: Billshare
Been using this to coordinate moving into a new place with a buddy. Pretty slick way to track joint expenses. Lets you see statistics of how much you spend where on what and easily see if you are even. Very handy for two incredibly busy guys.
Would be nice to work with itemized receipts with a contesting mechanism, but this is great if you have a trusted roommate.
Afghanistan’s Failing Ecosystem
BBC – This is what happens when you fail to build a viable ecosystem:
“I am here to transfer my job from Paktika border police to Khost. Inside the ministry they are asking me for $200. But I didn’t join the police force to pay money and I don’t have that kind of money.”
“I am here to ask for my rights, but the people at the ministry are asking me for $15,000 to provide me with justice. How can this be right?”
“In the past when someone was asking for bribes he would do so in secrecy – but now it happens openly and no one seems to do any work without extra inducements.”
The keystone becomes the sole service provider, parasitic species swarm, and the garden gets walled in as.