In Other News

Yes, believe it or not, there's a lot of other news going on around this globe other than the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Here's a quick 15-minute trip 'round the net--let's see what I find...

Nuclear Weapon Is Years Off for Iran, Research Panel Says - NYTimes
A leading British research institute said Tuesday that Iran was at least five years away from producing sufficient material for "a single nuclear weapon," and that it could make one only if it chose to ignore international reaction and "throw caution to the wind."
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The new report broadly concurs with one completed in May by American intelligence agencies, which concluded that Iran was not expected to build a nuclear weapon before the next decade.

The institute's report suggests that Iran has two principal options to produce highly enriched weapons-grade uranium, one at a relatively small pilot centrifuge at Natanz and the other at a planned industrial-scale centrifuge there, which might take more than a decade to build.

"If Iran threw caution to the wind and sought a nuclear weapon capability as quickly as possible without regard for international reaction, it might be able to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a single nuclear weapon by the end of this decade," and then only if it overcame an array of technical difficulties, the report said.

BMW to join Daimler, GM in hybrid project - MSNBC
BMW plans to join General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG in a joint effort to develop fuel-saving hybrid engines, the companies announced Wednesday.
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The companies said they will also be able to make hybrids less expensive. Hybrids now cost around $4,000 to $9,000 more than their traditional counterparts.

Apple unveils iPod phone hybrid - BBC
As expected Apple has unveiled a gadget that combines its hugely popular iPod music player with a mobile phone.

Announced by Apple boss Steve Jobs the device will be able to store about 100 songs and play them out randomly like the iPod Shuffle.

Developed by Motorola for Apple the gadget, dubbed Rokr, will first be available on the network of US mobile operator Cingular.

Under Ambassador John Bolton, the United States is doing all it can to block UN reform - American Prospect
Under normal circumstances, the stalled negotiations over the most significant package of United Nations reforms in 60 years would be front-page news. But as public and media attention is focused on John Roberts, William Rehnquist, and Hurricane Katrina, it is easy to forget that next week the United States will play host to the largest gathering of world leaders in history.

More than 170 heads of state will descend on New York for a summit billed as the culmination of the most extensive reforms to the United Nations since its founding in 1945.
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According to sources familiar with the negotiations, it is likely that an agreement on most of aspects of the UN reform package will not be reached during the summit, if ever. Instead, delegates are likely to put forth a significantly shortened text and leave out topics that cannot be resolved prior to the summit.

Negotiations over the substance of the reforms were thrown into complete disarray on August 17, when the recess-appointed Ambassador John Bolton submitted some 750 alterations to a 39-page text of proposed UN reforms. Since then, negotiators have been frantically going line by line through the document in a race to reach a consensus before the summit ends September 15. At their current pace, they are not likely to beat the clock.

Hugo's Helping Hand - Alternet
On August 28, before Katrina hit land, [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chávez announced a plan to offer discounted heating oil to U.S. poor through the Citgo Petroleum Corp., a unit of Venezuela's state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela.

"We want to help the poorest communities in the U.S.,'' Chávez said in his weekly television address. "There are people who die from the cold in winter in the U.S.''

Venezuela is the United States' fourth-largest oil supplier and the world's fifth-largest exporter. It sells some 1.5 million barrels a day of crude oil to Americans.
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He was the first foreign leader to offer aid workers, food and fuel. Citgo soon offered a $1 million donation and yesterday the company announced it would sell an additional 1 million barrels of oil to offset losses from the hurricane.

Thus the pickle: the Bush Administration, which accuses Chávez of using oil money to feed populist revolutions in America's "back door," is watching it come through the front in humanitarian envelopes.

But all of Chávez's generosity wasn't about disaster and suffering.

In Chicago, a city with a solid Latino voting block, Chávez's charity machine was at work. The Fiesta Boricua, a popular street festival that draws thousands of Latinos, took place only because a $100,000 donation from Citgo saved it at the last minute, the Chicago Tribune reported last week. "As Puerto Ricans in Chicago salute baseball great Roberto Clemente and other cultural icons at a festival this weekend," the paper said, "they also will pay homage to some unlikely new heroes: the Venezuelan ambassador to the U.S. and the chief executive of Citgo, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-owned oil company."

Basra car bomb kills many - AlJazeera
A car bomb explosion late on Wednesday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra has killed at least 16 people and wounded 21 others.

The explosion targeted a resturant in the neighbourhood of al-Jameiyat, near the centre of the mainly Shia city at around 9.00 pm (1700 GMT), said  police official, Colonel Adnan al-Daraji.   

At that time, the restaurant is usually filled with members of Iraqi security forces who gather there for dinner, Daraji added.

Healy stuns England - Soccernet
Northern Ireland striker David Healy stunned England at Windsor Park on Wednesday night as the underdogs won the World Cup qualifying match 1-0. England looked disjointed in their 4-5-1 formation and after Healy put the home side ahead in the 74th minute a series of unfathomable substitutions by manager Sven Goran Eriksson couldn't prevent the Swede from losing his first competitive match in charge of England.

Hmmm... that was fun. Kind of like playing lightning round on Jeopardy. I might have to do this more often.