After all, if the point is to get uranium enrichment suspended, this statement negates the entire purpose of the meeting.

Iran on Saturday ruled out freezing its uranium enrichment program, casting doubt over the value of its talks with six world powers less then an hour after they started.

The talks _ with the U.S. in attendance for the first time _ had raised expectations of possible compromise on a formula under which Iran would agree to stop expanding its enrichment activities. In exchange, the six powers _ including the five permanent U.N. Security Council members _ would hold off on passing new U.N. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

But the comments from Keyvan Imani, a member of the Iranian delegation, appeared to indicate that his government was not prepared to budge on enrichment _ at least going into the talks.

"Suspension _ there is no chance for that," he told reporters gathered in the courtyard of Geneva's ornate City Hall, the venue of the negotiations.

Time to put away the documents, lock the briefcases, and return home. Iran just isn't interested in progress towards disarmament.

Looks like the Israelis may have to handle this matter after all.

Posted by: Greg at 05:47 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I hear you don't like the way we deal with murderers down here in Texas -- giving them the justice they deserve, especially when they rape little girls. I've got a message for you.

The World Court ordered the United States on Wednesday to do all it could to halt the imminent executions of five Mexicans until the court makes a final judgment in a dispute over suspects' rights.

The row, which has strained relations between the neighbors, centers on the fact that the United States failed to inform 51 of its citizens sentenced to die in U.S. jails of their right to consular assistance.

One of the five Mexicans on death row, Jose Medellin, is due to die on August 5 in Texas.

My personal solution? Daisy-chain the other four Mexican murderers (César Roberto Fierro Reyna, Rubén Ramírez Cárdenas, Humberto Leal García, and Roberto Moreno Ramos) to José Ernesto Medellín Rojas on August 5 and make the entire matter moot. And should the World Court decide to send the World Police to take Texas officials to the World Jail, we'll show them all what Texas justice looks like.

Oh, and to the government of Mexico that is struggling to keep these despicable pieces of garbage alive, I repeat my earlier message.

But then again, that's my attitude towards Mexico in regards to most everything.

Posted by: Greg at 11:26 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Over the last three decades, one of the regimes least amenable to diplomatic pressure from the West has been Iran.

Which is, of course, why there is such pressure to solve the problem of the Iranian nuclear program through diplomacy.

President Bush, in an appearance before reporters at the White House earlier Wednesday, was asked about increasing speculation that Israel will attack, saying all options remain on the table but that military action would not be his first choice.

"I have made it very clear to all parties that the first option ought to be solve this problem diplomatically," Bush said. "And the best way to solve it diplomatically is for the United States to work with other nations to send a focused message — and that is, you will be isolated, and you will have economic hardship, if you continue to enrich" uranium for a bomb.

Sorry -- with oil at $146 a barrel, it is unlikely that Iran is going to be facing economic hardship any time soon. And given the fungibility of a commodity like oil, it is very possible for Iran to sell its oil to other countries despite an embargo -- indeed, the US has not bought oil from Iran for three decades, yet the Iranians have never had any difficulty selling oil on the world market.

What's more, the Israelis have an indisputable right to defend themselves from Iran -- and given the repeated threats with nuclear overtones made by Mahmoud the mad against Israel, it seems to me that there is a clear basis for Israel to believe that the program is intended to develop nuclear weapons with but a single target -- Israel.

So it is all well and good to call for a diplomatic solution to the current situation. It isn't our survival as a nation at stake. On the other hand, for Israel this is a matter of life and death.

Posted by: Greg at 12:41 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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