US ready to attack Iran, says envoy to Israel

Iran nuclear crisis

The US has plans in place to attack Iran if other measures fail to stop it developing nuclear weapons, Washington's envoy to Israel says.

Dan Shapiro said the US hoped diplomacy and sanctions would persuade Iran to alter its nuclear programme, but a military option was "ready".

US President Obama has previously said military action has not been ruled out.

The US and its allies say Iran is developing a nuclear bomb, an accusation Tehran denies.

Talks between Iran and six world powers are due to resume in Baghdad on 23 May.

Mr Shapiro made his comments to the Israel Bar Association on Tuesday, a recording of which was later obtained by the Associated Press news agency.

"It would be preferable to resolve this diplomatically through the use of pressure than to use military force," Mr Shapiro said. "But that doesn't mean that option is not fully available. Not just available, but it's ready. The necessary planning has been done to ensure that it's ready."

Both Israel and the US have said they consider military force a last resort to stop Iran using its uranium enrichment programme to make a weapon.

Israel, which feels threatened by the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran, has hinted it could launch a pre-emptive strike.

The BBC's Iran correspondent, James Reynolds, says Mr Shapiro's remarks go further than previous comments by President Barack Obama that all options are on the table, including military action.

Although aimed at an Israeli audience, the ambassador's comments will not go unnoticed in other capitals, including Tehran, our correspondent says.

Sanctions Six world powers - the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany - are trying to persuade Tehran to reduce uranium enrichment and open up its nuclear facilities to inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Fresh talks opened in Istanbul in April - the first for 15 months - and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton described them as "constructive and useful".

The EU, the US and the UN have all imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme. In the past, US officials have stressed the regional instability that would result from any attack on Iran. In March, Mr Obama said there was "still a window that allows for a diplomatic resolution". He warned there was "too much loose talk of war" and that it was playing into Iran's hands. However, he stressed that all options remained open.

Tehran insists it is enriching uranium to produce medical isotopes and fuel for nuclear reactors.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18110191

She hunched her shoulders to her ears. He thought it made her look adorable, that hunching, slouching way she had of standing. She hated it. She only did it because she was tall, too tall.

He watched her. She stood there waiting, a crocheted bag slung across her body. She didn't even notice him.

He watched her. She relaxed her shoulders a bit and kicked one leg forward, slightly bending over to watch her foot swing. She didn't look up.

He walked over to her. She put her foot down and leaned her weight on it as she felt an approach.

Then she saw him. He was watching her.

She liked it, and, reflexively, she hunched her shoulders and smiled slightly.

'Over-consumption' threatening Earth
Latest survey says we are using 50 per cent more resources than what can be sustainably produced.
Last Modified: 15 May 2012 01:18
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Qatar was named as the country with the largest ecological footprint, followed by Kuwait and the UAE [Reuters]

Spiralling global population and over-consumption are threatening the future health of the planet, according to a latest survey of the Earth's health.
"We are living as if we have an extra planet at our disposal."
- Jim Leape, WWF international director
The environmental conservation charity World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in a report released on Tuesday said the demand on natural resources has become unsustainable and is putting "tremendous" pressure on the planet's biodiversity.
WWF named Qatar as the country with the largest ecological footprint, followed by its Gulf Arab neighbours Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Denmark and the United States made up the remaining top five, calculated by comparing the renewable resources consumed against the earth's regenerative capacity.
The Living Planet Report found that high-income countries have an ecological footprint on average five times that of low-income ones.
"We are living as if we have an extra planet at our disposal," said Jim Leape, WWF international director general.
"We are using 50 per cent more resources that the Earth can sustainably produce and unless we change course, that number will grow fast -- by 2030 even two planets will not be enough," added Leape.
The survey, compiled every two years, reported an average 30 per cent decrease in biodiversity since 1970, rising to 60 per cent in the hardest-hit tropical regions.
The decline has been most rapid in lower income countries, "demonstrating how the poorest and most vulnerable nations are subsidising the lifestyles of wealthier countries," said WWF.
The report comes ahead of June's Rio+20 gathering, the fourth major summit on sustainable development since 1972.
The WWF is urging governments to implement more efficient production systems that would reduce human demand for land, water and energy and a change in governmental policy that would measure a country's success beyond its GDP figure.
But the immediate focus must be on drastically shrinking the ecological footprint of high-income countries, particularly their carbon footprint, the WWF said.
"This report is like a planetary check-up and the results indicate we have a very sick planet, said Jonathan Baillie, conservation programme director of the Zoological Society of London, which co-produced the report along with the Global Footprint Network.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/05/201251502351773351.html

i love the smell of freshly mown grass. i love the feel of it under my feet. i love the sea of green carpet of a lawn; it is inviting.

i don't like living in the city. it's too noisy, too complicated, too busy. give me a small town or a farm, somewhere out in the woods. somewhere slow and peaceful and quiet. a place where the days melt rather than clunk along.

at least there are many old trees in the town where i live.

summer is coming. today i can feel it.

big diva lost a tooth while eating candy yesterday. another exciting moment. maybe this is one we'll remember years in the future. maybe not.

we went to the field museum this weekend and saw the genghi khan exhibit, among other exhibits. that was pretty neat.

i bought flip flops for the girls because it's getitng warmer.

i have three more episodes left of BSG to watch. next i'll have to move on to caprica. i really like this series. i might even watch it again some day. i also have some stargate series to finish up.

i haven't been drawing. maybe i'll do some sketching or drawing this week because i won't have the girls. i really wish i had a desk...space for a desk where i could draw and write.

i now have the hotel booked so i'm good to go. good thing i have HANDY a set of ear plugs because our hotel is over a busy bar. then again, my bff and i can drink (if we want) and tag team harass the patrons without having to walk anywhere.

i'm excited to see the Book of Kells and the Trinity library. i like really really old stuff.

i'm looking forward to this trip and imagine myself understanding no one. maybe i'll just pretend i want to barcelona and speak broken spanish to the natives.

This morning, little diva asked me to pull her tooth out, so I did. it didn't take any effort, really.