AND IN THE GROWN-UP WORLD - AT 9:03 A.M. ET:  From AP:

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's nuclear chief said Friday the country has started making more efficient centrifuge models that it plans to put in use by early 2011 -- a statement that underscores Tehran's defiance and adds to international concerns over its nuclear ambitions.

The official, Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, said Iranian scientists are still testing the more advanced models before they will become operational at the country's enrichment facilities.

Tehran has been saying since April that it is building more advanced centrifuges capable of enriching uranium with higher efficiency and precision, but Salehi's remarks were the first indication of a timeline when the new models could become operational...

...The new centrifuge models will be able to enrich uranium much faster than the old ones -- which would add to growing concerns in the West because they would allow Tehran to accelerate the pace of its program. That would mean Iran could amass more material in a shorter space of time that could be turned into the fissile core of missiles, should Tehran choose to do so.

COMMENT:  And of course, we really doubt that they choose to do so, don't we?  You may laugh now.

President Obama's deadline for Iran to show some give in its nuke talks expires in two weeks.  There is no sign of any progress, nor is there any sign that Russia or China would go along with the kind of crippling sanctions that might - repeat might - have some effect.

December 18, 2009