THE PEACOCK REPORT (TPR)

Multibillion Nuke Facility Planned for Tennessee

A uranium processing facility with an estimated cost  of $1.4-$3.5 billion is slated to be built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, according to a Dept. of Energy (DoE) Request for Proposals [Download y12nukecontract.doc (259.0K)] that The Peacock Report has obtained. DoE contractor Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) Technical Services Y-12, LLC, currently is assessing the availability of subcontractors to assist in this nuclear design and construction endeavor.

Goodbye 'Exhortations'

Exhortations to the Oblivious, the political humor sister-site of The Peacock Report (TPR), exists no more. It's not that I didn't enjoy engaging in such humor, but I just don't have the time to devote to a separate writing venture. Plus, by eliminating the site, I have freed up enough space via Typepad to devote that alloted segment to what I hope what will come to represent a more noble endeavor. Stay tuned for more on that new initiative. In the meantime, I have imported most of the archived Exhortations posts to TPR.

Now, moving on to more serious matters.

Afghanistan Media Adviser Document Missing

The Peacock Report (TPR) last year broke the story about USAID's planned deployment of a so-called "cognizant technical officer"  to Afghanistan, where this private contractor purportedly would be tasked with fostering the growth of independent media. An accompanying planning document, which TPR had uploaded to this site via the piece USAID Recruiting Independent Media Consultant for Afghanistan, has mysteriously disappeared.

Adding to this mystery is the fact that the document similarly has been relegated to the Orwellian memory hole of FedBizOpps, the U.S. government contracting-opportunities database. Though FedBizOpps typically places such documents in a searchable database of archived material, a search today of the system produced no such document or related literature. TPR is looking into this matter, and will report any developments as soon as possible.

Perspective on Spitzer Prostitute Scandal

I once personally encountered a top police official whom a hooker had robbed at the Helmsley Palace in New York City, where for years I had worked as a hotel detective. People like him -- and those such as ex-N.Y. Governor Eliot Spitzer -- are not simply patrons of prostitutes. They are violators of the public trust; indeed, they are criminals who should be prosecuted for violating that trust. -- Steve Peacock; author, Hotel Dick: Harlots, Starlets, Thieves & Sleaze; editor, The Peacock Report.

State Dept. Creating Private 'Quick Reaction Force'

The U.S. State Dept. intends to create a on-call soldier-for-hire team capable of swiftly locating, seizing, and destroying weapons on behalf of the U.S. government, The Peacock Report has discovered. A Quick Reaction Force, or QRF, capability would enable State to deploy private military contractors, on an as-needed basis, to conflict zones across the globe, according to a departmental sources-sought document dated March 3. Such a group of "weapons removal and abatement" (WRA) experts would be tasked with removing landmines as well as conventional weapons, the document said.

In short, the QRF must be:

capable of deploying world wide to implement conventional weapons destruction and mitigation solutions that minimize or eliminate the threat posed by conventional weapons and/or explosive hazards to civilian populations, protect victims of conflict, and restore access to land and infrastructures.

It should be noted that State only provided a five-day window of opportunity for vendors to submit "capability statements" if they wished to be considered for potential contracts. No further information is available.

Education Program (Title) of the Year

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is launching a five-year, nationwide professional-development project for health education teachers, a measure the agency deems critical toward enhancing school-based HIV prevention, nutrition, and physical fitness programs. The first order of business for this new endeavor? Creating the most unnecessarily lengthy and redundant program moniker: The "Enhancing Professional Development Among Education Agency Personnel and Others Who Work With Youth to Deliver Effective Education for Reducing Health Risk Behaviors Among Youth" initiative.

The agency on Tuesday began soliciting potential contractors to carry out the "Enhancing, etc., etc., etc." program. CDC did not disclose the estimated cost of outsourcing this initiative to a U.S. nongovernmental organization.

DHS 'Racing' to Fill Border Patrol, Customs Vacancies

The Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) has come up with a new idea to help secure the nation's borders and airports: by sponsoring NASCAR racing teams.  DHS is soliciting bids from marketing firms capable of arranging the placement of Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) advertising on the cars of winning racers in competitions in the coming years. The goal of the endeavor is to entice potential recruits to fill critical vacancies at CBP. According to a Request for Proposals that The Peacock Report located via a routine search of the FedBizOpps database, DHS wants to secure "Primary sponsorship of a vehicle in 29 domestic races during the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series and the transportation and setup of a Government-furnished recruiting booth at these events." DHS did not disclose the estimated value of the contract.