The 31-Year-Old in Charge of Dismantling G.M.

WASHINGTON — It is not every 31-year-old who, in a first government job, finds himself dismantling General Motors and rewriting the rules of American capitalism.

But that, in short, is the job description for Brian Deese, a not-quite graduate of Yale Law School who had never set foot in an automotive assembly plant until he took on his nearly unseen role in remaking the American automotive industry. .... he has emerged as one of the most influential voices in what may become President Obama’s biggest experiment yet in federal economic intervention. ....

U.S. officials raise alarm about new Venezuelan missiles

Venezuela's recent purchase of the most lethal shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles in the Russian arsenal is sharpening U.S. concerns that parts of President Hugo Chávez's massive weapons buildup could wind up in the hands of terrorists or guerrillas in neighboring Colombia. ....

GM to get $30.1 billion more in federal aid for bankruptcy

By Sharon Silke Carty

DETROIT — The U.S. government will invest an additional $30.1 billion in General Motors (GM) to finance its bankruptcy reorganization to be filed Monday, President Obama's auto task force said in a statement.

The government, which already has provided $20 billion in aid, says this will be the end of the taxpayers' financial support of GM..... bailout

Gitmo case highlights challenge facing Obama

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - A session of the Guantanamo war crimes court that began Sunday will likely show the difficulties President Barack Obama faces in changing the system and closing the prison by January. ....

Civil unrest to hit this summer? Black unemployment rate reaches depression level of 15 percent

With unemployment hitting 10 percent, the United States may be headed into a summer of civil discord not seen since the late 1960s, Jerome Corsi's Red Alert reports.

Unemployment in March and April remained 20 percent higher in states won by Democratic candidate Barack Obama in last fall's presidential election than in states won by Republican presidential candidate John McCain, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

. ....

Obama solicitor general supports Saudis' immunity in 9/11 lawsuit Brief seeking to deny Americans access to court remedies for attack

The Obama administration has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Saudi Arabia and four of its princes from being held accountable for their alleged role in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States that killed almost 3,000 Americans, according to a report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

Through its solicitor general, Elena Kagan, the Obama administration has asked that the Saudis be held immune under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, or FSIA, even though there is ample U.S. evidence of complicity by the Saudi government and the named princes in support of al-Qaida's terrorist attack.

While the FSIA generally protects a sovereign state, there are exceptions under which its provisions can be invoked. Such interpretations are left largely to the courts to determine.

Families of the 9/11 victims, however, have expressed outrage over the Obama administration's filing. They regard the action as undermining the continuing fight on terror.....

Lawmaker joins push to up cost of drilling

A powerful congressional chairman has joined a growing number of Democrats who want to sharply increase the cost of drilling leases that the government provides on federal lands, a move vigorously opposed by Big Oil and Republicans. ....

What Obama's Cyberplan Means For Business

Digital Threats Mark New Front in Nation's Security

from The Online News Hour

.... Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups have spoken of their desire to unleash a cyber-attack on our country, attacks that are harder to detect and harder to defend against. Indeed, in today's world, acts of terror could come not only from a few extremists in suicide vests, but from a few key strokes on the computer, a weapon of mass disruption.

JEFFREY BROWN: Just last April, The Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. electrical grid had been hacked. It said cyber-spies probed the power system and planted software to cause disruptions.

Another report said the Pentagon's Joint Strike Fighter program was struck, but officials insisted the breach was nothing serious.

Overall, the Defense Department reported 360 million attempts to penetrate its data networks last year, up from six million in 2006. And cyber-damage has cost $100 million over six months. Add to that rising threats to the private sector, including losses from identity theft and monetary scams, and the president said, it's clearly time for urgent action. ....

A New Red Line For Iran

By Graham Allison

The Iranian nuclear challenge was transformed on President George W. Bush's watch. Events in Iran have advanced faster than the policy community's thinking about the problem. The brute fact is that Iran has crossed a threshold that is painful to acknowledge but impossible to ignore: It has lost its nuclear virginity.

Over the past eight years, the United States has insisted that Iran would never be allowed to develop the capability to enrich uranium, as that could be used to build a nuclear bomb. Three unanimous U.N. Security Council resolutions demanded that Iran "suspend all enrichment-related activities." That was a worthy aim. Technically, mastery of enrichment is the brightest red line short of nuclear weapons. Israelis have called it the "point of no return." .....

Jihad terror on American soil: Muslim kills soldier, wounds another at Arkansas military recruiting center

from Jihad Watch

"Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad -- a 24-year-old Little Rock resident formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe -- faces a first-degree murder charge and 15 counts of engaging in a terrorist act..."

"Suspect arrested in Arkansas recruiting center shooting," from CNN, June 1 (thanks to Don):

(CNN) -- An Arkansas man was arrested Monday in connection with a shooting at a Little Rock military recruiting center that killed one soldier and wounded another, authorities said.

Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad -- a 24-year-old Little Rock resident formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe -- faces a first-degree murder charge and 15 counts of engaging in a terrorist act, Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas said. The terrorist counts stem from the shots fired at an occupied building.

The soldier who was killed was identified as Pvt. William Long, 24, of Conway, and the wounded soldier is Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville, Thomas said....

Although military officials initially believed that the shooting was a random act, Thomas said police think the shooter acted alone "with the specific purpose of targeting military personnel."...

Thomas said police recovered three guns from Muhammad's black Ford SUV: an SKS semi-automatic rifle, a .22-caliber rifle and a pistol....

Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad had "political and religious motives." -- so says "Shooter, Victims Identified in West LR Shooting," from KATV7.com, June 1 (thanks to Benedict).

The Detainee Shell Game

The revelation last weekend that the United States is increasingly using foreign intelligence services to capture, interrogate and detain terrorist suspects points up an uncomfortable truth about the war against Islamist terrorists. Demands to raise legal standards for terrorist suspects in one arena often lead to compensating tactics in another arena that leave suspects (and, sometimes, innocent civilians) worse off. ....

NKorea prepares long-range missile launch

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea has transported its most advanced missile, believed to be capable of reaching Alaska, to a launch site on its west coast near China, news reports said Monday.

The reclusive communist country was also reportedly bolstering it defenses and conducting amphibious assault exercises along its western shore, near disputed waters where deadly naval clashes with the South have occurred in the past. ....

Interpol Chief Seeks Police Alliance to Fight Piracy Off Somalia

PARIS — While warships pursue pirates around the Horn of Africa, the secretary general of Interpol, Ron Noble, is pressing for a global alliance of criminal investigators to hunt the bandits by examining the money trail of million-dollar ransoms. ....

Congress to Obama: Gitmo Plan Before Gitmo Money

Members of Congress from both parties clamored Sunday for President Obama to develop a plan for dealing with the suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay if he intends to fulfill his promise to close its prison by early 2010. ....

Better cybersecurity through acquisition key part of White House report

The biggest difference between the Obama administration and the Bush administration's strategies to address federal cybersecurity weaknesses has little to do with technology itself.

Uncle Jay Explains the News: Transform

FBI planning a bigger role in terrorism fight

Bureau agents will gather evidence to ensure that criminal prosecutions of alleged terrorists are an option. The move is a reversal of the Bush administration's emphasis on covert CIA actions. ....

A Closer Look at the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces

By Michael Webster:

Protecting America against terrorist attack are the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces, or JTTFs, our nation's front line fighting terrorism: JTTF (much like their prey the terrorist) they consists of small cells of highly trained, locally based, passionately committed volunteers. However, in the case of JTTF they also have professional investigators, analysts, linguists, SWAT experts, and other specialists from dozens of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies from all over the U.S.

According to the FBI when it comes to investigating terrorism, they do it all: chase down leads, gather evidence, make arrests, provide security for special events, conduct training, collect and share intelligence, and respond to threats and incidents at a moment's notice.....