US Energy Department to shut down labs over leaks

[Generic Other]

I say shut 'em down for good. Anyone who chooses to work in one of these places is no better than a terrorist as far as I am concerned. They are draining our resources for no other purpose than to enrich their masters and frighten the rest of us into compliance. They are committing crimes against humanity and history will judge them (and us) as monsters.


<snip>

AP , WASHINGTON
Sunday, Jul 25, 2004,Page 1
The US Department of Energy (DOE), responding to a security scandal at the Los Alamos weapons lab, ordered a halt to classified work at as many as two dozen facilities that use removable computer disks like those missing at the New Mexico lab.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said on Friday that the "stand-down" at DOE operations that use the disks, containing classified material involving nuclear weapons research, was needed to get better control over the devices.

The disks, known as "controlled removable electronic media" or CREM, have been at the heart of an uproar over lax security at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where work has been stopped as scientists search for two of the disks reported missing on July 7.

Fifteen workers have been suspended, including 11 who had access to a safe where the disks were stored. Officials believed they had been accounted for in an April inventory, but that also is being questions because of possible irregularities in that audit.

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http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/07/25/2003180308

[jimshoes]

1. Does this reflect badly on the chimp, ...Yes.

Will we hear the gasbags mention it?...No.

[Generic Other]

2. Taipei paper seems to think it worth noting

Probably because that's where the friggin disks disappeared to.

[jimshoes]

3. This story seems to be a lot bigger than just a few missing disks.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/07/25/2003180308

The missing Los Alamos disks raised concern within the Energy Department about the handling of the devices at other facilities involved in nuclear weapons research, department officials said.

Abraham said he wanted to "minimize the risk of human error or malfeasance" that could compromise the classified nuclear-related information held in the devices that are used at DOE facilities nationwide in nuclear-related work.

"While we have no evidence that the problems currently being investigated are present elsewhere, we have a responsibility to take all necessary action to prevent such problems from occurring at all," Abraham said in a statement.

The department declined to identify the sites that will be affected by the work suspensions, beginning tomorrow.

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Here is another article from SFGate

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/07/15/MNGKE7LMNK1.DTL

[Joanne98]

4. I think this is a set up

I think the BFEE had someone inside steal the disks so they could cancel the UCLA contract and give it to a University in TEXAS.