And, yes, I DO take it personally: El Baradei talks about Iran and Argentina's nuclear program - more news we never see from a source we can't access

mohamed el baradei, the head of the international atomic energy agency, was in buenos aires earlier this week to receive an honorary doctorate from the university of buenos aires... he also met with outgoing argentine president nestor kirchner and granted an interview to the largest argentine daily, clarín... the translation is courtesy of the open source center (see below) via juan cole...

"I hope that what was done in Iraq will not be repeated. We have all learned a lesson and I hope with all my strength that the situation in Iran will be resolved diplomatically." [emphasis in original] Egypt's Mohamed ElBaradei, who is now in Buenos Aires and gave an exclusive interview to Clarin yesterday afternoon, is at the center of a storm and is working against the clock. ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is supervising the Iranian (nuclear development) plan, and he is also under pressure from the United States and its allies to harden his stance toward Tehran. Both the United States and Israel have sharply attacked the IAEA report on Iran.

el baradei continues...

I try to convince, argue, apply pressure, and use persuasion. Of course, my diplomacy is limited to dialogue, as there is no army behind it. I am indeed the target of pressures, but as long as you know that you have your feet on the ground and are sure of what you are doing, pressures are like Teflon; they do not stick. Moreover, I have gotten used to this, as we have been criticized by Saddam, by Korea, and now by Israel. We deal with extremely sensitive issues and we have to be very careful that we are not pushed in any direction. Everyone listens to us with great attention. This does seem rather schizophrenic, doesn't it? Governments hire us, but at times we make a judgment about them and it is difficult for them to accept the fact that, even though they are paying us, we can still judge them.

as much time as i spend there, i still have to remind myself that argentina's a nuclear nation... here, el baradei responds to a question about argentina's nuclear program...

Argentina is the only country in the region that has developed the complete nuclear fuel cycle and that is in a position to export nuclear technology, like the reactor that was sold to Australia, which is very pleased with it. Argentina may play a significant role as a possessor of this technology. It could be part of this possible rebirth of nuclear energy, and Argentina and Brazil may be in a position to cooperate by supplying nuclear fuel.

ok, back to the open source center... juan cole regularly posts excerpts in translation from media outlets around the world that he credits to the u.s. government "open source center"... this morning i was moved to go check it out... what i found is that it's definitely not "open..." here's what they say on their password-protected site (see screen shot below)...

Welcome to the website of the Open Source Center. OSC provides foreign media reporting and analysis to policymakers, government institutions and strategic partners. We deliver targeted, timely and authoritative open source intelligence for analysis, operations and policymaking. [...] This is a U.S. Government computer system. You have reached a United States Government computer system. Unauthorized access is prohibited by U.S. Public Law 99-474 (the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986) and can result in administrative, disciplinary, and/or criminal proceedings. If you are not an authorized user, exit this system immediately. Use of this system constitutes consent to monitoring at all times.

so, who CAN access the open source center (besides juan cole)... again, from their website...

# U.S. Government Employee
Select this option if you are an employee of a U.S. Federal Government agency.
# U.S. Government Contractor
Select this option if you are a U.S. contractor working under the terms of an active U.S. Federal Government contract, and if our material is required to support your work for the U.S. Federal Government.
# State and Local Government Employee
Select this option if you are an employee of a state or local government in the United States with Homeland Security responsibilities.
# State and Local Government Contractor
Select this option if you are working under the terms of an active contract with a state or local government in the United States with Homeland Security responsibilities.
# BBC Monitoring Employee
Select this option if you are an employee of the BBC Monitoring Service, and if our material is required to support your work for BBCM.
# Foreign Liaison with U.S. Government
Select this option if you are an officer of a government other than that of the United States, or if you are employed by a government-level international organization. Note that you should only apply for this account after having secured our explicit consent to do so. If you would like an account but have not secured such consent, please contact us at OSCinfo@rccb.osis.gov.