Leave Libya Immediately, Says US State Department to US Citizens

Article Title: US tells its citizens to leave Libya amid unrest

Snippet of Article: "...The US has warned its citizens to leave the country, saying Libya is "unstable and unpredictable"... The US state department has warned any American citizens in Libya to leave the country immediately. ..."
Source: www.bbc.com Libya Travel Warning, Department of State,

Federal Employee Pay Raise in 2015?

Article Title: Lawmakers want 3.3 percent pay raise for federal workers in 2015

Snippet of Article: "...A pair of Democratic senators has introduced legislation that would give federal employees a 3.3 percent pay raise in 2015...."

Source: al.com

EcommerceBytes: eBay blaming the Postal Service for delivery failures

Article Title: eBay Customer Service Reps Fault Sellers for Using USPS

Snippet of Article: "...With eBay's new defect rate breathing down their necks, sellers are calling eBay to ask why it will penalize them for late deliveries or missing packages, which are outside their control - and eBay is placing the blame directly on sellers for using the USPS...."

Source: www.ecommercebytes.com

CDC: Arabian Peninsula Travel and MERS

Article Title: MERS in the Arabian Peninsula

Snippet of Article: "...If you are traveling to countries in or near the Arabian Peninsula,* CDC recommends that you pay attention to your health during and after your trip. You should call a doctor right away if you develop fever and symptoms of lower respiratory illness, such as cough or shortness of breath, within 14 days after traveling from countries in or near the Arabian Peninsula. Tell the doctor about your recent travel. CDC does not recommend that travelers change their plans because of MERS. ..."

Source: cdc.gov MERS in the Arabian Peninsula,

Costs tied to some of NASA's largest space programs

Article Title: Is NASA masking billions in costs tied to some of its largest space programs?

Snippet of Article: "...As noted by the GAO, the limited scope that the agency has chosen for constructing preliminary and baseline cost estimates means the estimates are unlikely to serve as a way to measure progress and track cost growth over the life of the programs...."

Source: www.bizjournals.com

The Ryan budget plan would impact people age 56 and younger

Article Title: Beware of Candidates' Misleading Appeals

Snippet of Article: "...The Ryan budget plan would impact people age 56 and younger. We all have family members and former co-workers under the age of 55. There is no justification for cutting their benefits. We know that as we age, we need our medical benefits more than ever. Let’s tell Congress that they can fix the national deficit by increasing taxes on the wealthy...."

Source: www.apwu.org

A great federal employee recruitment technique: New hires will owe retroactive pension contribution payments

Article Title: New Feds Will Owe the Government Retroactive Pension Contribution Payments …

Snippet of Article: "...workers hired in 2014 will owe back payments retroactive to when they came on board. These debts will be collected from the employees’ paychecks in up to $25 increments until the balance is paid back in full. ..."

Source: www.govexec.com

The Postal Service seems to think it can do whatever it wants; YOUR historic Post Offices are being sold!

Article Title: ACHP to report on disposal of historic post offices this week; the sales go on

Snippet of Article: "...Individual communities have had an equally hard time getting information from the Postal Service. Rather than cooperating with communities, the Postal Service seems to think it can do whatever it wants. For example, the La Jolla Historical Society said that its efforts to get involved with purchasing the post office were stymied at every step, even with members of Congress trying to help. ..."

Source: www.savethepostoffice.com Historic Post Offices for sale,

5% pay cut and an end to social security supplement? That's what your politicians want for federal workers

That's ok federal workers! Just continue to keep silent and don't worry about writing the president and your congressmen and this will happen.

Article Title: House approves budget that would save money by taking from federal workers

Snippet of Article: "...Ryan’s plan would make the majority of federal employees pay 5.5 percentage points more toward their retirement program with no increase in benefits. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, called this “a straight-out 5 percent pay cut.”..."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Federal workers would get a 3.3% pay increase under legislation

Article Title: Proposed Bill Would Give Federal Employees a 3.3% Raise

Snippet of Article: "...Federal workers would get a 3.3% pay increase under legislation proposed today by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). Connolly said that federal workers deserve a fair raise ..."

Source: www.fedsmith.com

Army sends fake email warning of a security breach in federal retirement plans

Article Title: Gone phishing: Army uses Thrift Savings Plan in fake e-mail to test cybersecurity awareness

Snippet of Article: "...An ominous e-mail message landed in the inboxes of a small group of U.S. Army employees last month, warning of a security breach in their federal retirement plans and urging them to log in and check their accounts...."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com phishing, Thrift Savings Plan

For Official Use Only: Adobe unsolicited mailing

Article Title: Adobe’s Gift of Solar Phone Chargers Prompts a Pentagon Inquiry

Snippet of Article: "...The Navy Criminal Investigative Service is looking into the unsolicited mailing last month of the devices by Adobe, the largest maker of graphic-design programs, to about 100 defense workers as gifts, according to an Army memo labeled “For Official Use Only.” ..."

Source: www.businessweek.com

USAJOBS mobile app - official app for searching for federal employment on USAJOBS

Article Title: USAJOBS mobile app - official app for searching for federal employment on USAJOBS

USAJOBS App

Snippet of Article: "...App users can search jobs, track application status and connect to USAJOBS social media pages while away from their computers. This app..."
Source: Android and iPhone Apps and News USAJOBS mobile app, USAJOBS.GOV,

Federal pay not high enough to be competitive with private industry; Government does it cheaper as usual

Article Title: Department of Interior can't retain oil and gas employees because of higher private sector rates

Snippet of Article: "...Higher salaries in the oil and gas industry are luring employees away from the Interior Department..."

Source: roller-cone-bits.blogspot.com Department of Interior employment

TSA recognized baggage lock; A Red Tab alerts you if opened by TSA

Article Title: TSA recognized baggage lock; A Red Tab alerts you if opened by TSA

Snippet of Article: "...Makes it easy to reset the inspection status & lock combination and protect your possessions whenever you travel. The TSA logo alerts screeners, who can open and relock your bag using codes and secure tools, and allows TSA screeners to inspect and relock..."
Source: TSA recognized baggage locks from Amazon

President's new budget will not contain 'chained Consumer Price Index' proposal

Article Title: Obama dumping chained CPI, which feds, employee groups strongly opposed

Snippet of Article: "...Unlike his 2014 budget proposal, the President's new budget will not contain a proposal to calculate cost-of-living increases for federal retirees and Social Security recipients using a "chained Consumer Price Index."..."

Source: www.federalnewsradio.com chained CPI

Save us from Social Security cut! Send a quick message please

Article Title: No Chained CPI

Snippet of Article: Article Snip: "...We cannot break our promise to our seniors. These are benefits they earned over a lifetime. Our parents and grandparents put their faith in us, and we will not let them down. Please use this link to send a message to the president...."

Source: ourfuture.org Chained CPI

Senate Moves 'Clean' Debt Bill Forward; Federal Minimum Wage Increase

Article Title: Senate Moves 'Clean' Debt Bill Forward; Federal Minimum Wage Increase

Five-Day S&P 500 Index (CNN)

Debt Ceiling Raised until 2015

This extends the Treasury's borrowing authority without any more raping of the American working class to satisfy the 'extreme' wealthy. However, huge tax breaks and protections for the extreme wealthy are still protected. The debt ceiling is raised until 2015. Anticipation of the debt ceiling increase has led to a five-day change to the S and P 500 Index to an increase of 3.76% (at the time of this post).

Federal Minimum Wage for Contract Workers Raised

On this same date, the President Obama has raised the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 per hour starting next year in an attempt to set an example for private and corporate entities. The president also complimented Costco for providing decent wages and advancement opportunities.
Source: The Federal Newsgroup
Federal Minimum Wage, Debt Ceiling Raised,

Federal employee retirement eligibility boom could produce mission-critical skills gaps

Article Title: Fed-worker retirement eligibility to skyrocket by 2017, report says

Snippet of Article: "...The GAO concluded that the large numbers of retirement-eligible employees in coming years may be a cause for concern because “their retirement could produce mission-critical skills gaps if left unaddressed.”..."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Congress screws blue-collar federal employees again but took care of white-collar feds, as congress takes another holiday break

Article Title: Feds will soon see first pay raise in three years - but not all will benefit

Snippet of Article: "...the modest pay raise only applies to white-collar employees under the General Schedule system. Some 200,000 blue-collar federal workers at places such as the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs as well as the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, will not see a similar increase in pay. ..."

Source: www.federalnewsradio.com

HHS says they don't trust Rep. Darrell Issa

Article Title: HHS to Darrell Issa: We don’t trust you

Snippet of Article: "...The Health and Human Services Department told House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa that it won’t turn over documents related to the security of the Healthcare.gov website because it can’t trust him to keep secret..."

Source: www.politico.com Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Health and Human Services (HHS),

Budget agreement will not require additional contributions toward retirement by any current federal employees, but...

Article Title: Budget deal protects current feds, while new workers will pay more toward retirement

Snippet of Article: "...Federal employees hired after Jan. 1 will make higher contributions toward their retirement benefits than current workers under a budget deal announced Tuesday night...."

Source: www.washingtonpost.com Federal Employee Retirement,

2014 sequester cuts may be coming

Article Title: Sequester in 2014 will be worse, report warns

Snippet of Article: "...options will be harder to come by if a second round of sequester cuts strikes early next year, a liberal-leaning think tank warns in a new report...."

Source: www.federaltimes.com

Update on stolen Cobalt-60: 6 people in hospital for possible radiation poisoning

Article Title: 6 hospitalized in Mexico for possible radiation poisoning

Cobalt-60 [Wikipedia]

Snippet of Article: "...Cleaning up the area could take weeks, he said, because they don't have robotic equipment they would need to quickly collect the dangerous cobalt. They're coming up with a plan and considering asking for help from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United States or Canada...."
Source: www.cnn.com cobalt-60, International assistance provided by the United States of America, International Atomic Energy Agency,