US – Sunday, March 21
Final push is on for health care reform
Democrats in the House of Representatives on Thursday predicted weekend passage of a sweeping health care overhaul that budget analysts said would cut the U.S. deficit over 10 years and dramatically expand health coverage.
 
Pakistan charges U.S. 5 with terror
A Pakistani court formally charged five young Americans of plotting terrorism in the country yesterday, their lawyer said, in a case that has raised alarm over the danger posed by militants using the Internet.
 
Just when it couldn’t get worse for Bullock, here come the neo-Nazis
Sure, it’s Monday, but it could be worse — you could be Jesse James. On Saturday, James went back to work at West Coast Choppers, days after allegations surfaced that he cheated on his wife, Sandra Bullock, with a tattoo model. Us Weekly notes he was wearing a wedding ring.
 
SXSW ’10: Get your dance on, great songs optional
The trends that emerged from the SXSW Music Conference in Austin last week are still bubbling to the top as I make sense of the hundreds of songs that filled the city for four days, but one thing I definitely noticed is that popular music may soon have a lot more emphasis on flexibility.
 
‘Free’ ad leads to fraud suit
NEW YORK. A Wisconsin college student is suing credit firm Experian — the brains behind the ubiquitous FreeCreditReport.com jingles — for fraudulent advertising after she inadvertently signed up for a monthly $14.95 monitoring service.
 
At AKC, it’s score one for the mutts
Founded in 1884 as a registry for pure-bred dogs, the American Kennel Club didn’t traditionally offer many perks for your beloved lab-poodle-schnauzer mix. But as of April 1, the AKC Canine Partners Program will offer mutts not only membership benefits, but opportunities to compete at dog sporting events.
 
Updated 22:44, December the 4th, 2007
 

For the record Martin B. Malin, executive director of the Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard University

 
Considering the rather tense relationship between the United States and Iran — one still lacking true diplomatic ties — recent findings about Iran’s nuclear program may help soften the rhetoric.   Considering the rather tense relationship between the United States and Iran — one still lacking true diplomatic ties — recent findings about Iran’s nuclear program may help soften the rhetoric.   
Photo: AP
 

Exchanging rhetoric for reason with Iran

Report’s findings may actually aid U.S. diplomacy

INTERVIEW. So Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons: Now what?

According to Martin B. Malin, executive director of the Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the National Intelligence Estimate's  not-so-shocking revelation may give the United States and its European allies greater latitude in their discussions with the Iranian government. 

How do the NIE’s findings affect both your job and the jobs of others following Iran’s nuclear ambitions?
I think the majority of the people who look at this problem objectively have understood that Iran has had considerable difficulty enriching uranium and that it is extremely unlikely that they have nuclear materials in Iran.

Now, nobody knows whether or not Iran has a covert nuclear program that might be enriching uranium out of public view. We do know what it’s doing at Natanz and that the International Atomic Energy Agency visited there, and we know how many centrifuges are spinning there, etc., so the NIE doesn’t come as a great surprise.

In comparison to a nuclear program such as Pakistan’s, which followed a similar blueprint, why has Iran’s nuclear push proven so difficult?
In order to make a bomb, you need either plutonium or highly enriched uranium. To get plutonium, you need a reactor and the technology to separate the plutonium and get the stuff you can make the bomb with. To enrich uranium, you need to procure it or enrich it yourself — and the process of enriching  it through fast-spinning centrifuges is very difficult. Iran has had technical difficulties with their centrifuge program for a number of years.

What the NIE said is that while they are interested in achieving the capability to produce nuclear fuel, they’re not looking to produce a weapon. So, what’s been holding them up has been largely the technological challenge of enriching uranium and not the political costs of going after a weapon — an endeavor they abandoned in 2003.

Does the abandonment of that program bode well for Iran’s nuclear future?
It’s generally a positive thing. It shows that diplomacy seems to be working, that Iran is carefully assessing its own risks, costs and benefits of pursuing its own nuclear capability and is sensitive to the international pressure that’s been placed on it. I feel like it’s a good thing for the expert community that’s been looking at Iran. Most people have been saying that we ought to be pursuing the diplomatic track and that Iran is not a threat in the near term, and this has been confirmed by the Intelligence Estimate.

Will the NIE’s revelation help or hurt the diplomatic process?
That’s a good question. I hope it will cause the diplomatic track to take a more intensive turn. I hope the Iranians will be amenable to negotiating a suspension of their enrichment program,­ and I hope the United States will be willing to deal with the Iranians, either through the U.N. or perhaps even directly to negotiate that suspension and a broader package of inspections and a broader relationship.
 

 
 
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MMMpod
The March MMMpod features conversation and music from Surfer Blood and The Allman Brothers Band (There's a double-bill you're not too likely to see. However, Gregg Allman does mention Hannah Montana!). We also speak with Vampire Weekend and the Dropkick Murphys.
 
 
Metro Life Panel