Iran’s nuclear program – Europe threatens, Russia encourages

The U.S. government is not about to get caught up in a controversy involving potential weapons of mass destruction and a non-democratic nation in the Middle East.

The Iranian government most likely got tired of waiting for the U.S. to continue with their plan to whitewash the axis of evil and has decided to speak up for its own supposed rights to nuclear arms.

Washington is afraid to be goaded into anything in light of a recent history of bad moves. The Pentagon and White House continually remind the public that things are going well, and we must stay the course. But whoever would have thought that Iran and North Korea would be making the first moves in the new nukes game while America lay glued to its vast green pastures of naivete.

AP: Iran isn’t taking lightly a move by Europe aimed at forcing Iran to stop some of its nuclear activities.

Iran will not accept any deadline or any trigger mechanism.
In any such case, it will give its appropriate response.

Russia is defending Iran’s right to a civilian nuclear power program because it has vital interests of its own in doing so, and Moscow will not reverse its position despite US and EU pressure to do so, analysts said.

The EU is routing the case to the security council at the UN in New York…. ???
Iran senses victory in nuclear battle

Russia eyes its own interests in backing Iran’s nuclear program

Is North Korea In Control of the Global Media?

Anyone else notice that North Korea has seemed to dominate front page news on nearly every continent this week? They’re really at it – and there are no bombs involved. Even The Dear Leader has been mysteriously silent. But North Korea is creating daily headlines that are befuddling all of the nations in the civilized world – and even the media is falling for it.

President Bush has not said anything about North Korea’s hogging of the international squawk box lately, however, he has found a way to stay the course despite the fact that TEXAS is about to get hit by a massive hurricane. According to the Taipei Times, however, Christopher Hill, the chief US nuclear negotiator has expressed a desire to visit the communist country for talks. According to tomorrow’s JoongAng Daily, Pyongyang welcomes his visit.

Yesterday North Korea reiterated demands for light water reactors from the U.S. (audio | text). Simultaneously, DPRK Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon announced that U.S. tourists will be allowed to visit for the first time in three years to mark 60 years of North Korean independence and to visit relics from the Korean War.

Wonka Bar You’d think those New Orleans evacuees who apparently had things going “very well” when they were left homeless on the Astrodome floor no longer feeling like they found Babs’ golden ticket. Surely Papa Bush can’t be pleased that his home state can only cross its fingers with Hurricane Rita on the way. According to the President’s speaker Scott McClellan, the federal government is going to try and coordinate a little better than last time. What more can you ask of a privatized national crisis management organization?


President Bush decided that staying to course is the surest resolve for natural disaster when he suggested for the second time this month, (contrary to NY Times’ report) that devastation from Hurricane Katrina is linked to the persistent terrorists’ threat. Although NOBODY could have imagined Iraq would break, the administration’s talking points continually allude to the notion that the insurgency would wreak even more havoc if American troops left Iraq… they laugh at our suffering, and “we’re at war with these terrorists…” The truth, as John McCain was noble enough to point out, is that “congress [is] spending more on rebuilding schools in Iraq before they rebuild schools in New Orleans.” New Orleans’ education system was bankrupt BEFORE Hurricane Katrina.
Fox News
Choe Su Hon - S. Korea Deputy Foreign Minister
“On Monday, North Korea shocked the entire 6 nation Beijing gathering by announcing that they would ditch their nuclear weapons program. In return they would receive a light-water reactor and other goods from the United States.

The Western media reported this as good, if not revolutionary news, declaring the news an end to nuclear testing in the DPRK, without realizing that a main clause of the agreement would involve an arms/energy deal with the U.S.

Today, North Korea has decided they just don’t want any help at all anymore, despite considerable evidence of a major food shortage. It may seem that this is equivalent to an aid package for disaster victims across the world, but let us not forget North Korea’s utter disregard for civil rights.

All of a sudden, Kofi Annan appears headed out of the disheveled U.N. – doubly shaken by the antics of John Bolton. George Bush’s popularity at home has finally caught up with his reputation globally. Germany just had an election in which d) none of the above came out on top.

Consider the (American media’s reaction of Iran’s nuclear announcement (that they have the right to explore nuclear energy) | compared to the Iranian media’s criticism of America’s reaction to the announcement)

Oh, and by the way, there was a presidential election this week in AFGHANISTAN. But who really cares anymore, right? The U.S. government declares it was a success! And North Korea, without raising the slightest threat to the global community – albeit with absolute disregard for its own citizenry – has the media of the world on a roller coaster ride of unpredictable, yet globally relevant headlines.

Declared National DisastersMy thoughts are with everyone who will be battling Hurricane Rita over the next few days. Write your congress reps to suggest raising the gas tax by a few cents and setting up a public fund for disaster relief from the revenues. And do yourself a favor and fill ‘er up today.

The public MUST help. FEMA has its own agenda and they prove it on their home page, where a national disaster has been declared in nearly every state in the union.

House Reps Release Opinion Reacting to Majority’s Reluctance to hear testimony on the Valerie Plame CIA Leak Case

From The Dissenting Views to Accompany H.420, penned by Rep. John Conyers and released today. H.420 was issued as a means to get members of the Bush administration to testify to Congress in regards to the Valerie Plame Wilson leak. The House majority shot it down. The entire text is HERE, or click here for the dirt!

Judith Miller

Judy Miller

Nice to see her back in the news – if ANYTHING should be an eye opener it is this. Miller has just spent her 75th day behind bars for, as Mediachannel.org put it standing on a principle protected by the laws of 49 states and the District of Columbia – honoring the promise of confidentiality made to a source.

While this story elicits a sensation of shock and dismay everytime it pops on my screen, Editor and Publisher printed it like-it-is today:

Miller is one of several reporters sought by Fitzgerald as part of his long-running investigation into who leaked the name of former CIA agent Valerie Plame, whose identity was first revealed by columnist Robert Novak in 2003. Miller, who never wrote a story about Plame’s identity, had been subpoenaed along with Time magazine writer Matthew Cooper last year.

Cooper avoided jail after revealing that his source was White House aide Karl Rove, a revelation that came about after Rove consented to be identified. Miller, however, has continued to decline to name her source or sources.

Judy Miller will most likely be set free when the jury closes its case in late October, however, Peter Fitzgerald has not let up on his investigation and one could only hope that he stands up to his reputation as a tough prosecutor and U.S. district attorney stickler and blow up this case in the name of justice and free speech. Unfortunately, he seems to be sidetracked by what appear to be more urgent matters closer to home, those being (but hardly represent what the Miller / Plame / Rove / Novak case does to the country and world) the corruption trials of former Illinois Governor George Ryan and current Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich .

Paul McMasters opines. He is the ombudsman of the First Amendment Center.

And Daniel Schorr, in the September 23 Christian Science Monitor.

Meanwhile, this past weekend marked one year in a Beijing jail for New York Times reporter Zhao Yang, who reported that a Chinese politician was stepping down before the official announcement.

another day in Iraq

In FURTHER New York Times news, An Iraqi journalist working for The New York Times was killed after men claiming to be police officers abducted him from his home in the southern city of Basra, the newspaper announced Monday