Last week the largest defense contractor in the world and the United States government’s top technology information provider battled off a “significant and tenacious” cyber attack, Lockheed Martin Corp announced Saturday. And, the Huffington Post Reports, the Department of Homeland Security has now confirmed it: Hackers launched a “significant and tenacious” cyber attack on Lockheed...

From NPR: “Gil Scott-Heron, Poet and Musician, Has Died.”

Ezra Klein calls it the “now more than ever” plan:

The nation’s three biggest cities did not even make the list. Very disappointing.

The updated number of Joplin, Missouri, residents killed by last Sunday’s massive tornado is 132; 156 people are still unaccounted for. Joplin authorities say the bulldozers will not come out until every missing person is found.

Karl Rove thinks Republicans need a more “populist” narrative on Medicare (emphasis is mine):

This case has been closely watched by those involved on both sides of the illegal immigration debate. It involves an Arizona law known as the Legal Arizona Workers Act that requires employers to use E-Verify to ascertain the legal status of prospective employees and provides for sanctions, including revocation of state business licenses, for those who do not, and who intentionally hire illegal aliens. The...

It’s denial, of course.

Not exactly a stunning decision by the judge but he has ruled that Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner is not competent to stand trial. This will most probably result in his being sent to a mental hospital for a long long time. Although I am generally a law and order kind of guy, this seems a reasonable ruling. The man is clearly deranged and we do not punish people with prison for acts they have no control...

Going back to the 1990’s, California’s prison system has been found to be in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Designed to hold roughly 80,000 inmates, the prison system has been averaging a population of nearly 160,000 over the past 11 years. Two separate lawsuits ensued. Coleman v. Brown alleged inability to adequately provide mental health treatment,...

As David Headley gets ready to spill the beans at a Chicago court about Pakistan ISI’s direct involvement in Mumbai 26/11 attacks, the White House in Washington is nervous. Headley’s statements during Chicago trial “will be explosive,” said one senior Obama administration official, who confirmed that White House officials are well aware and closely watching, says MSNBC. But that’s...

While President Barack Obama gingerly navigates the minefields of Israeli security and the Arab spring, a potentially devastating crisis for American foreign policy and security is shaping up in Pakistan. Even as I write this, a terrorist attack is reported underway in Pakistan against a major air force base and nearby naval base outside the southern city of Karachi. About 15-18 well-armed terrorists affiliated...

Andrew McCarthy accuses Pres. Obama of “borderline treachery” for telling Israel that a future Palestinian state must be drawn along Israel’s original 1967 borders, also called “the Green Line.” Here is a chunk of what he writes (emphasis is mine):

Jared Loughner, who killed six and wounded thirteen in the January 8 assassination attempt on Congresswoman Giffords, had a troubling and well documented history of mental and emotional disturbance. An upcoming competency hearing is scheduled in court to determine his ability to stand trial. More than 200 emails have now been released as well as other records from his time at Pima Community College. A pattern...

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This column was written in 1994 when Harold Camping made his prediction for the apocalypse. He now says he’s certain—absolutely, positively, 100% certain the rapture begins at 6 p.m., Saturday, May 21. But, what’s telling is that America hasn’t changed since 1994—the issues noted lightly in the column are still here. The facts change, the problems don’t. So, enjoy...

Early reactions from Europe and Asia to President Barack Obama’s elegant eloquence include caution and puzzlement at the key issues left out, although they stem from Mideast events and his support for democracy and human liberties. Somewhat like an educator, he clarified the broad lines of US policies in the Mideast and explained the recent historical context. But they were mostly restatements of already...

With all the hand wringing that has gone on this week in the wake of the former Speaker of the House’s comments about “social engineering”, I began to wonder if we couldn’t take care of two birds with one stone. I propose we create only one party and call it the “Zealot Party” (ZP). I know, you are wondering if you too could join this new party. Well, the primary criteria for membership, the litmus...

Before you buy another IPhone, or any IPhone if you are a first purchaser, read this article about almost a dozen suicides at the company in China that makes IPhones. The article is dated September 9, 2010, and the horror it describes happened in August 2010, but this is the first I’ve heard of it. And the only reason I heard about it now is because I am on TechRepublic‘s mailing list. The company’s...

The concluding paragraph in the Washington Post’s announcement that “Trump won’t run for president in 2012,” pretty much says it all from the Republican front: Trump’s decision not to run is likely to be greeted by a sigh of relief by most Republican Party strategists who viewed Trump as a major distraction for the more serious contenders for the nomination. To those who have consistently viewed...

Today makes it official:

I sure think it is. Wish we had us some of it in this country.

Yesterday, I noted the ironic metaphor contained in the comments of the Palestinian and Israeli responses to George Mitchell’s resignation. In the first of two paragraphs I quoted from the New York Times account of that resignation, Fatah’s senior foreign affairs person blamed Israeli intransigence for the failure of peace talks, and in the second, a spokesperson for Israel’s prime minister,...

The two paragraphs come at the end of the New York Times‘ article about George Mitchell’s decision to step down from his position as U.S. envoy to the Middle East:

This is not a moral judgment; it is a biological fact. Someone needs to tell the Florida Senate.

Here is something interesting, from the National Catholic Reporter. John Boehner is a devout Catholic, but it seems that not all Catholic leaders are down with Boehner’s understanding of Catholic social teachings, and in the light of those teachings they would like him to reconsider his support for laws that eliminate programs that help the most vulnerable members of society. The following is part of a...