Obama to visit Turkey

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Obama to visit Turkey

by Mike Dorning and Christi Parsons

President Barack Obama is planning a trip to Turkey as part of his administration's ongoing outreach to the Muslim world, a senior administration official said this morning.

The trip is meant to continue dialogue with leaders in Muslim countries, the official said. But it will not include the speech from a Muslim capital that Obama spoke of during his presidential campaign.

"Planning for the Turkey visit is just the beginning," the official said. "It will be an important opportunity to visit a NATO ally and discuss shared challenges."

Obama said in an address in the summer of 2007 that he would deliver an address in a "major Islamic forum" during the first hundred days of his administration. He said he would make it clear that "we are not at war with Islam" and that "we'll stand with those who are willing to stand up for their future."

But in an interview with the Tribune in December, Obama said he wasn't sure about the timing of that speech.

Earlier this week, the White House announced that the president is planning a trip to Europe the end of this month, and that he will be at the NATO meeting in Germany in early April.

Week In Review With Daniel Schorr

This week, more sobering economic news from the Labor Department. The country's unemployment rate jumped to 8.1 percent last month, the highest since 1983. Meanwhile, President Obama held a day-long summit on health care at the White House. And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is making the rounds with visits to the Middle East, Brussels and Geneva.

Clinton Hits Wrong 'Re-Set' Button With Russia

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A federal appeals court upheld most of the bribery and corruption charges against former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and all of the charges against former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy.
Clinton Hits Wrong 'Re-Set' Button With Russia
ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: The Obama administration has said it wants to "reset" relations with Russia, which have again become strained in recent years, but an attempt to illustrate this was sidetracked by a translation error. Secretary of State...
Clinton's 'reset' button: 'Overcharging'

by Mark Silva

What's a little humor between Doomsday players?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went for a little joke today about resetting relations with the Russians, but it turned out the joke was on her.

Clinton, presenting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with a gift-wrapped "reset" button, called the "little gift" symbolic of what President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have been saying about the U.S. and Russia.

""We want to reset our relationship," she said.

Yet something may have been lost in translation in the gift before closed-door talks in Geneva. The word on the button was meant to say "reset" in Russian.

"We worked hard to get the right Russian word," Clinton told Lavrov. "Do you think we got it?"

"You got it wrong," Lavrov repliedthe word actually means "overcharge.''

"We won't let you do that to us," Clinton said, with the two laughing.

Growing more serious, Clinton told Lavrov: ""We mean it and we look forward to it." Lavrov, smiling, said: "Thank you very much. It's very kind of you." And on the serious side, see the National Security Network essay on the Obama administration's idea of resetting U.S.-Russian relations:

(Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pictured above, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after presenting him with a "reset'' button. Photo by Fabrice Coffrini / )

The Reset Button is Pushed on Russia: What Next?

Washington, D.C.In the first year of his presidency, George Bush famously looked into Putin's "soul" and found a man he could trust. The results have been disastrous. Putin was able to use his personal friendship with Bush to insulate himself from American criticism as he undermined Russia's fledgling democratic institutions, restricted civil liberties, and consolidated power. When the warm personal relationship unraveled, little serious attention to either our important shared interests of areas of friction with a leading energy, nuclear and geostrategic player remained. The failure to develop a more thorough understanding with Russia, combined with the administration's push for NATO expansion along Russia's border, helped facilitate the Russia-Georgia conflict.

Today, Secretary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov withliterallya "reset button" for the US-Russia relationship. Her gesture at their first meeting capped forty days of positive signals to Moscow on the need to forge a new relationship based around "mutual respect" and the urgent need for cooperation on a range of issues including Iran, Afghanistan, nonproliferation, and EuropeanRussian relations. Under Secretary of State Bill Burns had already visited Moscow, and President Obama had earlier sent a letter to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev offering to forgo missile defense in Europe for Russian help in addressing Iran. This, along with other gestures signaling the Obama administration's willingness to pursue a new relationship, was received warmly in Moscow. But a reset button is not a new soul. Moscow remains determined to project power, limit human rights at home, play politics with oil and gas and exclude the US from a sphere of influence in its surrounding countries. The challenge ahead is in maintaining perspective and signaling Russia clearly both on our disagreements and where we are willing to work together.

Busy week marks turning point in U.S.-Russian relations. Obama, Clinton and other officials have reached out to Russia on multiple fronts, signaling a new tone and pragmatic possibilities for cooperation. The New York Times reports that "President Obama sent a secret letter to Russia's president last month suggesting that he would back off deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons, American officials said Monday." Additionally, the administration "set Moscow's security community abuzz by signaling Washington's willingness to work up a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, which would otherwise expire at the end of this year... The high-level meetings ahead between the US and Russia are likely to be followed by intense activity as the two sides strive to map out a fresh accord by the Dec. 5 deadline," reports the Christian Science Monitor. The reports that "Seven months after breaking ties with Russia over its invasion of Georgia, the NATO alliance moved Thursday toward resuming formal relations despite lingering concerns about Moscow's approach to reasserting its regional influence." And Clinton's first meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, at which she handed over a small red button marked "reset," made the agenda clear. [NY Times, 3/2/09. CS Monitor, 3/5/09. Associated Press, 3/6/09. NY Times, 3/06/09]

Cooperation with Russia is essential for addressing core foreign policy challenges such as Iran's nuclear development, nuclear proliferation, energy security, and the crisis in Afghanistan. As a 2006 Council on Foreign Relations task force report says, "U.S.-Russian cooperation can help the United States to handle some of the most difficult challenges it faces: terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, tight energy markets, climate change, the drug trade, infectious diseases, and human trafficking. These problems are more manageable when the United States has Russia on its side rather than aligned against it." Additionally, Russia is a necessary partner in America's efforts in Afghanistan. This issue was "underscored this month when the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan announced that a crucial American military base that supplies forces in nearby Afghanistan would be closedapparently at Moscow's urging. At the same time, the Russians said they would let nonlethal cargo for the American-led NATO mission be transported across Russia," reports the New York Times. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer recently expressed the importance of the West working with Russia, saying: "Russia is a global player. Not talking to them is not an option." [CFR, 2006. NY Times, 2/21/09. Reuters, 3/05/09]

For years, U.S. policy towards Russia has lacked strategic direction and has been based on maintaining a personal relationship, not advancing national interests. The Obama administration has inherited a derelict Russia policy. President Bush based his approach to Russia on his personal relationship with Putin. In 2001, when President Bush and Vladimir Putin met for the first time, Bush infamously declared, "I looked the man in the eye. I was able to get a sense of his soul." While the Bush administration viewed the close personal relationship as signaling a new alliance and common understanding with Russia, Putin used the personal relationship to insulate himself from American criticism as he consolidated his power, undermined democratic institutions, and suppressed civil liberties. Furthermore, having misread the relationship, the Bush administration withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic missile treaty and pushed for NATO expansion without having reached a broader understanding with Russia. This latter choice disastrously contributed to the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. As the New York Times notes, the "exuberant support of the United States for President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, a figure loathed by the Kremlin on both personal and political terms," helped foster antagonism between the two counties that led to the conflict. This not only soured the relationship with Russia but undermined NATO expansion efforts. Now the US faces a steep challenge with few good options. [BBC, 12/13/01. NY Times, 3/15/08. The Times, 7/16/07. Vice-President Cheney, 5/4/06. NY Times, 8/10/08. NSN Russia Policy Paper]

Even a "reset" relationship will still pose significant challenges, disagreements. Russia and the U.S. will each pursue their own national interests, but should work together on areas of mutual concern and attempt to mitigate areas of disagreement. So far, Russian behavior toward the new Obama administration has been mixed. Russia has signaled its willingness to work with the U.S., but it has also taken action to constrain U.S. options. For instance, just a few days into Obama's presidency, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev announced "that Moscow was ready to help stabilize the situation in Afghanistan by allowing cargo destined for U.S. and coalition forces there to be shipped across Russia," according to the Associated Press. But a few days later, "Russia announced a financial rescue fund for a group of ex-Soviet allies and won their agreement to form a military rapid reaction force in the region that it said would match North Atlantic Treaty Organization standards. That came a day after Kyrgyzstan announced, at Russian urging, that it planned to evict the U.S. from the base it has used to ferry large numbers of American troops into Afghanistan"a move that appeared calculated to make the U.S. more dependent on Russia's offer of assistance with supply routes. Russia's economic strength has declined significantly as a result of the economic crisis and forecasts predict a 2.2% contraction in GDP. Nevertheless, Russia's huge energy wealth means that it retains considerable capacity to project influence in the region, something it demonstrated this winter as Vladimir Putin "ordered natural gas shut off to Ukraine, in the process cutting supplies to Europe." These signs indicate that to forge agreements with Russia on issues like Iran, nonproliferation, and energy will be challenging. At home, there is little near-term prospect of improvement on human rights concerns that many in the US have raised. While it is good that the Obama administration has sought to move toward a Russia policy based on interests instead of personal feelings, partnering with Russia will not be without friction, requiring a realistic and consistent approach. As Secretary Clinton said today "We are entering into our renewed relationship with our eyes open." [Pravda, 2/18/09. NY Times, 1/29/09. , 1/23/09. WSJ, 2/05/09. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 3/06/09]

An Emotional Time In The American Workplace

People who are left standing after a corporate bloodletting often report feeling a wide range of emotions — including survivor's guilt.

Michelle Obama's soup-kitchen duty

Obama: "No Sacred Cows" In Health Reform
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Army Suicides Remain High in February
ABC News' Luis Martinez reports: The Army has had another bad month for suicides within its ranks with 18 suspected suicides during the month of February. That is a decrease from January's record-high of 24 suspected suicides, but one Army...
Michelle Obama's soup-kitchen duty

by Mark Silva

First Lady Michelle Obama stopped in at Miriam's Kitchen, a soup line for the homeless just seven blocks from the White House.

Tucked in the basement of Western Presbyterian Church in Foggy Bottom, and recognized for its work with the homeless for 26 years, the kitchen serves breakfast for 200 to 250 a daymainly men, according to Sara Gibson, director of development. The privately funded kitchen has the help of more than 1,200 volunteers.

The homeless here are called "guests''"because it's all about dignity,'' Gibson says. On average, the guests have been homeless for nearly five years.

Today, Obama became the first first lady to volunteer here, Gibson says, though Karen Hughes, a senior aide to former President George W. Bush, had pitched in at the kitchen. The first lady made it clear that she hopes to set an example for other volunteers.

"We're really just thrilled that our new neighbors took notice of what we're doing," said Gibson.

A White House-wide food drive yielded several cases of fresh fruit, delivered the night before, enough to offer fruit at almost two weeks of meals, according to executive director Scott Schenkelberg,

The first lady ladled Mushroom Risotto cooked in chicken stock from a steam table in the kitchen, the men and women lining appearing "genuinely delighted by her presence,'' pool reporter Paul West of the Tribune Washington Bureau tells us.

"We are facing tough times in this country,'' Obama said, and it is important to help those who have no place to live. Miriam's Kitchen "is an example of what we can do, as a country and as a community, to help folks when they're down... We're all going to need one another in these times. We're going to need to keep lifting each other up, in prayer and in hope.

"We're going to continue to be a part of Miriam's Kitchen, and other facilities just like this across the country, and we urge everyone listening . . . to think about ways they can become involved, too,'' the first lady said.

A wheelchair-bound Pierre D. Carter, 61, suggested that homelessness "is getting worse, and there's more people coming in here every day. Carter, wearing a well-worn Obama cap which he said he had owned for some time, clasped the first lady's hand: "God bless you," he told her. "I guarantee you four more years."

(With thanks to Paul West of the Tribune Washington Bureau for superb pool reporting from Miriam's Kitchen).

Backers Of Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Face Backlash

Since California voters passed a ban on gay marriage, some supporters of the measure have found themselves squarely in the bull's-eye of angry gay rights activists. Some businesses have faced picketing and the directors of two arts organizations resigned to avoid more controversy.

Limbaugh dares Obama: 'Debate me'

The GOP's Awkward Dance With Limbaugh
Two days after calling Rush Limbaugh a mere "entertainer" with an "incendiary" talk show, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele apologized and acknowledged the radio commentator as a "national conservative leader."
Limbaugh dares Obama: 'Debate me'

by Mark Silva

Rush Limbaugh, the radioactive Republican, has a dare for Barack Obama, the president:

"Debate me.''

Days into the debate over Limbaugh's stated desire for the failure of Obama's economic agenda, the radio commentator says he is tired of the "odious', empty, nasty"' people in the White House who are targeting him and attempting to make him the de facto spokesman for the Republican Party. That includes "ballerina'' Rahm Emanuel, he says.

"I have an idea,'' Limbaugh (pictured in an photo by Ron Edmonds) said today. "If these guys are so impressed with themselves, and if they are so sure of their correctness, why doesn't President Obama come on my show? We will do a one-on-one debate of ideas and policies... ''

But the White House has its own word on "engaging'' Limbaugh and the likes, those "cable-chatter'' critics. "It may be counterproductive -- I'll give you that,'' White House press secretary Robert Gibbs (pictured at left by the 's Gerald Herbert) said today. "Look, I -- are there days in which I just turn my television off? Yes.''

"Listen to the radio,'' someone suggested.

"I wish I had a radio,'' Gibbs said. "I don't. Maybe I should just hook my iPod up.''

But some of the 12 million people who do have radios and comprise Limbaugh's listening audience may have heard this today:

"I am offering President Obama to come on this program -- without staffers, without a TelePrompTer, without note cards -- to debate me on the issues. Let's talk about free markets versus government control. Let's talk about nationalizing health care and raising taxes on small business...

"Let's talk about the New Deal versus Reaganomics,'' Limbaugh said today. "Let's talk about closing Guantanamo Bay, and let's talk about sending $900 million to Hamas. Let's talk about illegal immigration and the lawlessness on the borders. Let's talk about massive deficits and the destroying of opportunities of future generations...

" The president yesterday suggested "we're getting to the point where profits and earnings ratios are approaching that point where you want to invest." Uh, Mr. President? There is no "profits and earnings" ratio. It's "price and earnings" ratio. He's the president of the United States. He doesn't know anything about the stock market. He's admitted it before. Let's talk about it anyway.

"Just come on this program,'' Limbaugh says to Obama. "Let's have a little debate...

" You've debated the best! You've debated Hillary Clinton. You've debated John Edwards. You've debated Joe Biden. You've debated Dennis Kucinich. You've debated the best out there. You are one of the most gifted public speakers of our age. I would think, Mr. President, you would jump at this opportunity.

"Don't send lightweights like Begala and Carville to do your bidding -- and forget about the ballerina, Emanuel. He's got things to do in his office. These people, compared to you, Mr. President, are rhetorical chum.''

This is what Gibbs had to say about "engaging'' Limbaugh and the like today:

From the White House press briefing today:

Q The Republicans are -- are criticizing the White House for engaging in the Rush Limbaugh issue. I wanted to raise a somewhat separate issue on this as well, because --

MR. GIBBS: Don't engage me because then we'll get criticized.

Q (Laughs.) Well, you and the president have used the term "cable chatter" a lot. You guys have kind of derided that. You've also said -- I've heard administration officials deride sort of superficial, food-fight political reporting. But you've repeated engaged from the podium here with CNBC reporters as well as Rush Limbaugh, which seems to feed that very process you're criticizing. Seems a little hypocritical.

MR. GIBBS: It may be counterproductive. (Laughs, laughter.) I'll give you that.

Look, I -- are there days in which I just turn my television off? Yes. (Laughs.)

Q Listen to the radio. (Laughter.)

MR. GIBBS: I wish I had a radio. I don't. (Laughter.) Maybe I should just hook my iPod up.

Look, there are -- there are days in which, yeah, your head throbs from listening to arguments that aren't necessarily centered on delving into some important issue, but finding two people at completely opposite ends of the spectrum to yell loudest in a seven- minute segment before we go on to something else.

The Gospel Truth: Sometimes A Little Hazy

Bible scholar Bart Ehrman says that the Gospels are at odds with each other on important points regarding the life, death and divinity of Jesus.

Stimulus patrol: 'RAT' board gears up

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President Barack Obama's top economic officials vigorously defended the administration's $3.6 trillion budget against Republican claims that it contained overly optimistic economic assumptions and included stealthy tax increases.
Stimulus patrol: 'RAT' board gears up

by Rebecca Cole and updated

President Barack Obama today appointed Earl E. Devaney to serve as chairman, along with Vice-President Joe Biden, of the new Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board. Devaney, a former white-collar crime investigator for the Secret Service, has served as inspector general for the Department of the Interior since 1999.

Obama had high praise for Devaney when he announced the pick during a meeting of the nation's governors, with the president saying Devaney's "reputation of being one of the best IGs that we have in this town" would make him a capable "guardian of the hard-earned tax dollars the American people have entrusted us to wisely invest."

Known for his tenacious investigation into former lobbyist Jack Abramoff's criminal dealings with the Indian gaming industry, Devaney and his team also uncovered the sex-and-drugs scandal that last year that rocked the Minerals Management Service, the Interior's oil and gas royalty collection agency.

Devaney began his law enforcement career in 1968 as a police officer in his native Massachusetts. After leaving the Secret Service in 1991, he was the director of criminal enforcement for the Environmental Protection Agency.

"I mean he looks like an inspector general," Obama said. "He's tough. You know, he barely cracks a smile."

Devaney may need to be tough.

The recovery board, dubbed the "RAT-Board" by some industry insiders, is an $84 million element of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created to coordinate oversight and government-wide policy on how the overall $787 billion economic stimulus is spent. A key part of Obama's promise to provide transparency and accountability to taxpayers, the recovery board is charged with monitoring how funds are awarded and distributed and with providing information about the progress to both Congress and the public.

But to some, the idea of a recovery board is akin to closing the barn door after the cows have escaped. Former comptroller general and head of the Government Accountability Office, David M. Walker, said the focus of the board appears to be more about monitoring what is done after the money is doled out, rather than a concerted effort to fully define objectives before it is spent.

"I don't think that's going to address what the real meat is," Walker, now president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, said, "and that is that we are spending a tremendous amount of money very quickly. Once the money is gone it is too late, all you can do is learn from it is what went wrong."

(Earl Devaney pictured above testifying on Capitol Hill, photo by Susan Walsh / )

While additional transparency and accountability are good, Walker said, the critical issue is to make sure that distribution of the stimulus money is on economic merit rather than political considerations.

Using the TARP as an example, Walker said the lesson to be learned from the $350 billion handed out to banks without stipulations or transparency is that "we still don't know what we got" from that program.

"We need to have clearly defined objectives and a mechanism of deciding what the appropriate criteria and conditions are before the money flows," Walker said. "We need to maximize effectiveness and minimize waste, because there will be waste."

"With Mr. Devaney's leadership, we will use the new tools that the recovery act gives us to watch the taxpayers' money with more rigor and transparency than ever," Obama said. "If a federal agency proposes a project that will waste that money, I will put a stop to it."

The recovery board has the same power to conduct audits and reviews as that granted to inspectors general, and can subpoena non-federal officers or employees to compel testimony. And it has the authority to refer "matters it considers appropriate for investigation" to an inspector generalhowever, the IG can reject the request.

Yet even with the explicitly-stated independence of the inspectors general "to determine whether to conduct an audit or investigation of covered funds," some lawmakers have expressed concerns. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) told the DC Examiner last week that the authority vested in the recovery board compromises the autonomy of inspectors general.

"Anytime an inspector general has somebody questioning his authority, it tends to dampen the aggressiveness with which they pursue something, particularly if it is going to make the incumbent administration look bad," Grassley said.

Biden echoed Obama's endorsement of Devaney, calling him the "best known inspector general" and one ready to "get to work" on the stimulus rollout. Devaney still will require Senate confirmation, before he can tackle the oversight of billions of dollars in spending.

Foreign Service Jobs Reopening

Cutbacks at the State Department during the Bush administration left the diplomatic corps short on qualified foreign service workers. That changed late in Condoleezza Rice's tenure as Secretary of State, when she was finally able to convince Congress to appropriate funds for additional postings. But before you apply, be sure to brush up on your Arabic, Mandarin, Dari or Russian.

Clinton Pledges $900 Million to Help Palestinians

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Clinton Pledges $900 Million to Help Palestinians
ABC News' Martha Raddatz Reports From Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt: Speaking to an international donors conference set up to aid the Palestinians in war-torn Gaza, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today pledged $900 million in U.S. aid, saying, "We gather...
Southern conservatives like their pork

by Frank James

Taxpayers for Common Sense has e-mailed reporters its database of earmarks in the omnibus $420 billion spending bill currently being debated in the Senate and here's one conclusion to draw from it: Republican senators from the South may hate Big Government but they sure love Big-Government pork.

By one measure, three of the top five senatorial earmarkers were southern conservatives, Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker from Mississippi and one from David Vitter of Louisiana. Sens. Mary Landrieu, also of Louisiana, and Tom Harkin of Iowa were the two Democrats in the top five.

Stephen Ellis, TCS's vice president, sent this note with the database:

Here's the database you all have been waiting for ... the FY09 Omnibus earmarks (8,570 worth $7.7 billion). Since the Senate started debate on the bill today, we tabulated the Senate recipients of earmarksfrom top to bottom. So you'll find the Mississippi delegation at the head of the pack followed by the Louisiana delegation hot on their heels...

This is version one, it is accurate, but we will add more detail, house member totals and track down the states of many of the earmarks (we have to do a little digging in some cases where they are not described). So check back frequently. And remember, this is just the Omnibus and does not include the three FY09 spending bills that passed back in the fall (Defense, Homeland Security, and Military Construction/Veterans Affairs) that had more than 2,000 earmarks worth $6.6 billion.

Obama To Rescind Provider Conscience Regulation

The outgoing Bush administration issued a rule that protects healthcare workers who refuse to administer services or prescriptions that go against their beliefs. Abortions and contraceptive medications are at the heart of the ruling, which President Obama plans to withdraw.

Obama To Tap Sebelius for HHS Secretary
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is President Barack Obama's choice for secretary of health and human services, a White House source said Saturday
Obama's Marine One secrets in Iran?

U.S. President Barack Obama and family arrive from Chicago aboard Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House February 16, 2009. (Photo by Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images)

by Frank James

A Pittsburgh TV station is reporting that a computer file containing sensitive information about presidential helicopter Marine One's communications equipment and security features was accessed by a computer in Iran.

The weak link was evidently a Bethesda, Md. defense contractor with an employee who downloaded peer-to-peer file-sharing software onto a computer with the sensitive file, a major security mistake. The breach was discovered by a Pittsburgh-area Internet security company.

An excerpt of the WPXI.com story:

PITTSBURGH -- Target 11 has learned a Cranberry company that monitors peer-to-peer file-sharing networks discovered what it said is a potentially serious security breach involving President Barack Obama's helicopter.

Tiversa employees found engineering and communications information about Marine One at an IP address in Tehran, Iran.

Bob Boback, CEO of Tiversa, said, "We found a file containing entire blueprints and avionics package for Marine One,which is the president's helicopter."

The company was able to trace the file back to its original source.

"What appears to be a defense contractor in Bethesda, MD had a file sharing program on one of their systems that also contained highly sensitive blueprints for Marine One," Boback said.

Tiversa also found sensitive financial information about the cost of the helicopter on that same computer.

Boback said someone from the company most likely downloaded a file-sharing program, typically used to exchange music, not realizing the potential problems.

"When downloading one of these file-sharing programs, you are effectively allowing others around the world to access your hard drive," Boback said.

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, an adviser to Tiversa, said, "We found where this information came from. We know exactly what computer it came from. I'm sure that person is embarrassed and may even lose their job, but we know where it came from and we know where it went."

This story will no doubt help Tiversa raise its profile and perhaps will boost its chances of getting new internet-security business.

Something we don't know is whether the U.S. was aware of this breach before Tiversa learned of it. U.S. intelligence agencies are presumably constantly probing the computers of foreign nations so it may be that this breach had already been discovered.

In any event, it's another reminder of how porous U.S. computer networks are since they're always at the mercy of the weakest links in the network which often are the humans.

At 50, Barbie's Accomplishments Impress

She's worn spangly gowns and cut-off jeans. She's been an astronaut, a pilot and a flight attendant, a doctor, a nurse and a veterinarian, a NASCAR driver and the driver of a pink Corvette. Over the years, she's represented an ideal for some young girls and an epithet for some social critics.