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November 2009
Iran nuke plans largely bluster, experts say
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's announcement of plans to build 10 more uranium enrichment facilities is largely bluster after a strong rebuke from the U.N.'s nuclear agency, analysts said Monday. Nonetheless, the defiance is fueling calls among Western allies for new punitive sanctions to freeze Iran's nuclear program.
U.S. and European officials were swift to condemn the plans, warning that Iran risked sinking ever deeper into isolation. Iran responded that it felt forced to move forward with the plans after the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution Friday demanding that it halt all enrichment activities.
Iran's bold announcement Sunday appears to be largely impossible to achieve as long as sanctions continue to throw up roadblocks and force Iran to turn to black markets and smuggling for nuclear equipment, said nuclear expert David Albright.
"They can't build those plants. There's no way," he said. "They have sanctions to overcome, they have technical problems. They have to buy things overseas ... and increasingly it's all illegal."
A more worrisome escalation in the standoff would be if Iran reduced its cooperation with the IAEA, as some Iranian officials have threatened to do if the West continues its pressure. The U.N. inspectors and monitoring are the world's only eyes on Tehran's program. The head of Iran's nuclear agency on Monday ruled out an even more drastic move, saying Tehran does not intend to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Enrichment is at the center of the standoff between Iran and the West because it can be used both to produce material needed for atomic weapons as well as fuel for nuclear power plants. Iran insists it only wants the latter.
New enrichment plants, on the scale of the one Iran already operates in the town of Natanz, would be extremely expensive, take years to build and would be difficult to stock with centrifuges and other necessary equipment while sanctions are in place, Albright said.
Further dimming the credibility of the plan, 10 new facilities on the scale of Natanz would put Iran in league with the production levels of any of Europe's major commercial enrichment suppliers, said Albright, president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security.
"And also they don't have enough uranium. They would need a massive amount of uranium," he said.
A diplomat from one of the six world powers attempting to engage Iran on its nuclear program described the Iranian announcement as a "political move" with little immediate significance beyond demonstrating Tehran's defiance.
The diplomat, who follows the nuclear dossier the IAEA has gathered on Iran, noted that Tehran appears to have significant problems with its present enrichment program, to the point that it cannot even keep the centrifuges it has set up at Natanz running without breakdowns.
The diplomat demanded anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the issue.
Still, the announcement is of major concern because it could signal an intention to put up numerous decoy sites to deceive the outside world, while building perhaps a few secret military enrichment sites on a small scale that could be put to use in weapons production if Tehran decides to do go down that path, Albright said.
Such concerns were heightened with the recent discovery that Iran had a second, previously unknown enrichment facility burrowed partway into a mountain near the holy city of Qom.
"I tend to think that this Qom site was probably meant to be a clandestine facility for breakout that they wanted built for nuclear weapons," said Albright. "And now that it's been exposed they may want to replace it."
Iran's announcement triggered calls for new penalties that Albright said could evolve into a "mini-cold war strategy" to further isolate and contain Iran while holding out a hand for negotiations.
The United States' ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, said Iran's plans would be "completely inappropriate" and would further isolate it from the world.
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called Iran's decision "a bit childish."
"Iran is playing an extremely dangerous game," Kouchner said on France's RTL radio Monday. "There's no coherence in all this, other than a gut reaction."
The French defense minister, Herve Morin, said the international community should "probably commit toward new economic sanctions against Iran."
Iran and the top powers at the U.N. are deadlocked over a U.N.-drafted proposal for Iran to send much of its enriched uranium abroad, which the West seeks because it would at least temporary leave Tehran unable to develop a nuclear bomb. So far Iran has balked at the offer. The unusually strong IAEA censure of Iran over enrichment was a sign of the West's growing impatience with its defiance.
Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who heads the nuclear program, told state radio that the decision to build the new uranium enrichment facilities was necessary to respond to the resolution.
"We had no intention of building many facilities like the Natanz site, but apparently the West doesn't want to understand Iran's peaceful message," Salehi said.
Salehi said Iran would not go so far as to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, under which Iran is subject to oversight by the U.N. nuclear agency.
"If we wanted to obtain nuclear weapons, we would have pulled out of NPT ... Iran doesn't want to withdraw from the treaty," the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying Monday.
Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani insisted "a diplomatic opportunity" was still possible "under which Iran will continue its (nuclear) work under international surveillance."
But a day earlier, Larijani warned that Iran could reduce its cooperation with the IAEA if the West continues its pressure and doesn't compromise.
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Keyser reported from Cairo. Associated Press Writers George Jahn in Vienna and Ingrid Rousseau in Paris contributed to this report.
Senate opens work on healthcare bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) –
The U.S. Senate began work on a sweeping healthcare overhaul on Monday, with senators on both sides pouncing on findings in a nonpartisan budget report on insurance premiums to bolster their arguments.
With the debate expected to last up to three weeks, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid warned senators they would work on weekends if necessary to hammer out compromises on issues like a government-run insurance plan, abortion coverage and holding down costs.
"The next few weeks will tell us a lot about whether senators are more committed to solving problems or creating them," Reid said.
In a report that gave ammunition to both sides, the Congressional Budget Office estimated on Monday that the 70 percent of Americans who receive insurance through employer-sponsored plans would see little change or slight reductions in their insurance premiums by 2016.
Those who buy coverage independently could see premiums rise by 10 percent to 13 percent by 2016, although the federal subsidies given to lower-income individuals to help them purchase coverage would reduce the actual costs for more than half of that group, the CBO said.
The higher premiums would be incurred in part because they would get more comprehensive coverage, it said.
"The analysis we received today indicates that whether you work for a small business, a large company or you work for yourself, the vast majority of Americans will see lower premiums than they would if we don't pass health reform," said Democrat Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Americans do not want the healthcare bill to pass and the CBO report showed why. "A bill that's being sold as a way to reduce costs actually drives them up," McConnell said.
Senator Charles Grassley, the senior Republican on the Finance Committee, said the CBO report showed the Senate bill would not fix a fundamental problem -- the high cost of healthcare.
'MILLIONS PAY MORE'
"Millions of people who are expecting lower costs as a result of health reform will end up paying more in the form of higher premiums," Grassley said.
The Senate plan is designed to rein in costs, expand coverage to about 30 million uninsured Americans and halt industry practices such as denying coverage to those with pre-existing medical conditions.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the healthcare overhaul on November 7. If the Senate passes a plan, the two versions will have to be reconciled and passed again by each chamber before they are sent to Obama for his signature.
Shares of health insurers were weak as the broader market showed modest gains. The Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor stock index closed 1 percent lower and the S&P Managed Health Care stock index was almost 1.5 percent lower.
Many Democratic senators have expressed concern about the bill's effect on consumer costs and insurance premiums. Democrats cannot afford to lose any of them in the debate -- they control 60 seats in the 100-member Senate, exactly the number needed to overcome Republican opposition.
At least four moderate Democrats have voiced doubts about the bill because it includes a government-run insurance option, which backers say will create more choice but critics believe will lead to a government takeover of the industry.
Some Democrats also hope to tighten language barring the use of federal funds for abortions to make it match the stricter restrictions in the House bill.
The Senate held no votes on the healthcare overhaul on Monday. The first Republican amendment was offered by Senator John McCain, the party's 2008 presidential candidate.
McCain proposed sending the legislation back to the Senate Finance Committee to restore about $400 billion in cuts to Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly.
He chastised AARP, the powerful lobbying group for seniors, and the American Medical Association, which represents doctors, for endorsing a healthcare reform effort he said would cut Medicare benefits for patients and doctors.
"Shame on AARP and shame on the AMA," McCain said.
(Editing by Doina Chiacu and Alan Elsner)
Solid Perfume
The word perfume used today derives from the Latin "per fumum", meaning through smoke. Perfumery, or the art of making perfumes, began in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt but was developed and further refined by the Romans and Persians. Although perfume and perfumery also existed in East Asia, much of its fragrances are incense based.
The world's first recorded chemist is considered to be a person named Tapputi, a perfume maker who was mentioned in a cuneiform tablet from the second millennium BC in Mesopotamia.
Israel approves new homes in east Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (AFP) –
Israel approved the construction of hundreds of new housing units in annexed Arab east Jerusalem on Tuesday, driving another stake into troubled US efforts to restart Middle East peace talks.
The interior ministry said it approved the construction of 900 new units in Gilo, one of a dozen Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem, adding that the project still faced review.
Israeli news reports said that hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected a request from his US ally to halt construction in Gilo. It was not clear whether the request concerned the project approved on Tuesday.
The approval is likely to further hamper Washington's so-far futile efforts to get Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, amid deep disagreements over the thorny issue of settlements.
The Palestinians demand that Israel freeze all settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, before any resumption of talks but Israel has so far offered only a limited reduction in new building.
The Palestinians condemned the new authorisation, saying it was a fresh blow to efforts to relaunch peace talks.
"The Palestinian Authority strongly condemns this decision," said Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat.
"Settlements must be stopped, that is the only way back to a real peace process," he said.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Tuesday that the impasse has given him no choice but to seek international recognition of a Palestinian state, even as Europe and Washington discouraged the move.
"We feel we are in a very difficult situation," he said in Cairo after talks with Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak. "What is the solution for us? To remain suspended like this, not in peace? That is why I took this step."
Palestinian officials said earlier this week that they intend to ask the UN Security Council to recognise a state in a move analysts said was aimed at pressuring Israel amid the floundering US peace efforts.
The European Union, the Palestinians' biggest donor, joined the United States in urging reconsideration of the move and instead called for a return to talks.
"I don't think we are there yet," said Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.
"I would hope that we would be in a position to recognise a Palestinian state but there has to be one first, so I think it is somewhat premature," he told reporters in Brussels.
The United States said it opposed any unilateral moves.
"We support the creation of a Palestinian state that is contiguous ... We are convinced that has to be achieved through negotiations between two parties," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said on Monday.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who was due to meet with Abbas in Amman later on Tuesday and with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Wednesday, said he will insist on a resumption of negotiations.
"We have to find ways to surmount the current obstacles," he told the Palestinian Al-Quds daily.
Netanyahu has warned that "any unilateral action will undo the framework of past accords and lead to unilateral actions from Israel."
And the Islamist Hamas movement, a bitter rival of Abbas's Fatah movement, poured cold water on the move to seek international recognition.
"The proclamation of a Palestinian state should be the result of the resistance putting an end to the occupation ... and not a decision taken by (the Palestinian Authority) to fill the void after the political option has failed," said Hamas's exiled political supremo Khaled Meshaal.
Israel captured east Jerusalem with the rest of the West Bank in the Six Day War of 1967. It later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community and insists on retaining the whole of the Holy City as its "eternal, indivisible" capital.
The Palestinians are determined to make the city's eastern sector the capital of their promised state.
'Remote Control' gameshow host Ken Ober dies at 52
LOS ANGELES – Ken Ober, who hosted the 1980s MTV game show "Remote Control" and helped produce the shows "Mind of Mencia" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine," has died. He was 52.
His agent, Lee Kernis, says Ober was found dead Sunday in his Santa Monica home. Kernis says Ober complained of headaches and flu-like symptoms on Saturday night but the cause of his death wasn't clear.
Ober hosted five seasons of "Remote Control" beginning in 1987. Contestants in lounge chairs were asked pop-culture questions from categories such as "Dead or Canadian?" The show featured early appearances by comedians Adam Sandler, Denis Leary and Colin Quinn.
Ober, who was born Ken Oberding in Massachusetts, is survived by his parents and a brother.
Astronauts inspect space shuttle in case of damage
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts scoured their ship Tuesday for any signs of launch damage while pursuing the International Space Station.
Atlantis and its crew of six will hook up with the space station Wednesday.
After waking to their first full day in orbit, the astronauts pulled out a 100-foot, laser-tipped inspection boom to check the shuttle's thermal shielding, routine work before arriving at the space station. The right wing was scanned first.
It was a long, laborious job that was expected to last well into the afternoon.
NASA said a quick look at the images from Monday's launch shows nothing to be worried about. The inspection will provide additional data, as will pictures taken right before Wednesday's docking. The space station residents will take a few hundred close digital photos as Atlantis pulls up and performs a somersault.
Engineers will pore over all the information to ascertain whether Atlantis is intact and able to make a safe descent, when it comes time to return home at the end of next week.
The space agency has been extra cautious since the Columbia disaster nearly seven years ago. The left wing was punctured by a big chunk of foam insulation that came off the fuel tank at liftoff, causing the shuttle to break apart during re-entry. All seven astronauts were killed.
Officials believe three small foam pieces peeled away from Atlantis' tank, but it happened too many minutes after liftoff to pose any danger.
Atlantis is delivering big spare parts to the space station — nearly 15 tons' worth.
It's an 11-day flight, which will keep the crew in orbit over Thanksgiving.
"Congratulations on a beautiful, flawless launch, Atlantis!" Mission Control told the crew in a wake-up message. "Now the fun begins."
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On the Net:
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission(underscore)pages/shuttle/main/index.html
Wallets
A wallet, or billfold, is a small, flat case used to carry personal items such as cash, credit cards and identification documents, such as a driver's license. Wallets are generally made of leather or fabrics, and they are usually pocket-sized.
Wallets are usually designed to hold bills and credit cards and fit into a pocket (or handbag). Small cases for securing bills which do not have space for credit cards or identification cards may be classified as money clips.
Merkel addressing climate change with US lawmakers
WASHINGTON – German Chancellor Angela Merkel was making the case Tuesday for a global deal on climate change to a skeptical audience: members of Congress.
Merkel was addressing both chambers of Congress, a rare honor extended to America's closest allies and not to a German chancellor since Konrad Adenauer in 1957. She was to meet with President Barack Obama before the speech.
It is an opportunity for Germany to make a case to the lawmakers whose support will be crucial if the United States is to sign on to a new global climate deal that European leaders and Obama are seeking.
Merkel's address comes ahead of the 20th anniversary Nov. 9 of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and she also was expected to highlight the trans-Atlantic cooperation that brought it down. The theme of solidarity probably will touch on Germany's commitment to Afghanistan, a delicate issue for Merkel. The United States has urged European countries to step up efforts in NATO's operations, but the war is unpopular in Germany.
The speech comes less than a week after Merkel was sworn in for a second term. Her formation of a new center-right coalition has created some expectations in Washington that the coalition would make it easier for Merkel to support the United States on Afghanistan and other foreign policy issues, including reining in Iran's nuclear program.
Annette Heuser, executive director of the Bertelsmann Foundation Washington, a nonprofit organization that focuses on trans-Atlantic cooperation, said political pressures in Germany against the war in Afghanistan remain the same for Merkel.
"On Afghanistan, it will be a big challenge for her to balance the speech for both an American and a German audience," Heuser said.
Despite some skeptical lawmakers, climate change may be less contentious. Ahead of her trip, Merkel said she would look to build support for the climate change deal, which will be under negotiation during a December meeting in Copenhagen. World leaders had hoped the meeting would seal a follow-on agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, but now expect it will take longer.
The United States did not sign the Kyoto document, even though former Vice President Al Gore was a negotiator behind it.
"The world will be watching Copenhagen, and the fight against climate change is one of the most urgent tasks worldwide," Merkel said in a weekend video message posted on the Internet.
U.S. commitments have been tied up in legislation slowly making its way through Congress and unlikely to be completed before the conference. The House has passed a version of a bill that has been criticized as not going far enough, while the Senate is just beginning legislation.
Obama has promised to return the United States to a position of leadership on managing climate change after years of U.S. resistance to capping emissions that scientists believe contribute to global warming.
Merkel also was expected to take up the issue in her meeting with Obama. The leaders also were likely to discuss Afghanistan, Iran, Middle East peace talks and the delicate global economic recovery.
Merkel and Obama have demonstrated a friendly and pragmatic relationship, but there have been few signs that they have forged particularly close ties.