Dreams Into Lightning 2

Well, that's quite a change from the Bush years.

"The study by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) will likely cast further doubt on Tehran’s denials that it is seeking atomic bombs as the UN nuclear agency prepares to publish a new report on Iran in the coming days."

Iran's Regrettable Failure

The White House put out a statement using more than the usual number of hand-wringing words like "regrettable" and "unfortunate".

"We regret the failure of Iran to reach an agreement this week with the IAEA that would permit the agency to fully investigate the serious allegations raised in its November report," the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said on Wednesday at his daily news conference.

The nuclear watchdog on Wednesday acknowledged its "failure" in trying to probe suspicions that Tehran has worked secretly on atomic arms. ...

Presumably this is diplo-speak for "we're really pissed". Go to the link for the rest; we'll see what happens next.

Random Roundup

I've been on hiatus for a while, due to a busy personal life. Here's a sampling of some odds and ends that caught my eye recently.

What have the Romans ever done for us? 'Like the rest of the Old City's streets, these straight roads are narrow but, unlike the others, they preserve a historical skeleton of sorts that forms the basis of the Old City we know today. This skeleton was created, most archaeologists agree, not during Jewish, Christian or Muslim rule, but during the Roman period, when the city of Aelia Capitolina was built on the ruins of Jerusalem following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. ...'

Breaking the eyeglass monopoly. 'Both fed-up and puzzled over paying hundreds of dollars for a product that’s been around for hundreds of years, the Warby Parker team is shaking up the eyewear industry by selling prescription glasses online, at a price tag of just $95 a pair. ...'

Lab-grown meat a step closer. 'We are happy to report that the first “shamburgers” should be coming off the grill in October—albeit for the paltry sum of $348,000 each and with a 10–20 year timetable for mass production. But don’t let these figures ruin your appetite; researchers expect to be able to scale up the process and dramatically reduce costs. ...' Winston Churchill was a proponent of the idea, not to mention Samuel R. Delany.

Clayton Sotos, visual innovator. The video is a spoof (er, obviously, Ace!) but it's a brilliant one.

Jihad Fail

The Iranian regime, in search of that elusive kaboom, apparently entrusted one Saeid Moradi with a suicide bombing operation. Mr. Moradi, for his part, seems to have been bent on setting the record for "most incompetent suicide bombing attempt":

An Iranian man carrying explosives blew off his own legs and wounded four other people in two blasts Tuesday in Bangkok, Thai authorities said. A third blast occurred in a nearby house.

Police say a passport found at the scene indicated the man was Saeid Moradi from Iran. Authorities in Tehran could not immediately be reached for comment.

I'll bet they couldn't.

I'll let Harry's Place have the last word on this:

Yes, I know Iranian agents will no doubt continue to try to kill Israelis. And unfortunately there’s a chance that sooner or later they’ll succeed. But in the meantime, I hope I can be excused for finding some grim humor in their failures.

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