The members of Zillow’s Broker Advisory Board are 10 influential leaders in the real estate industry who are actively involved in running their respective companies: Steve Baird, President/CEO of Baird & Warner; Ken Baris, President of Jordan Baris; Bob Blount, CEO of RE/MAX Allegiance; Sherry Chris, President and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, LLC; Craig Cuyar, SVP & Chief Information Officer for the Realogy Franchise Group; Dan Elsea, President of Real Estate One; Pat Lashinsky, CEO and President of ZipRealty; Mike Montsko, President of Weichert Lead Network; Harley Rouda, Jr., CEO of Real Living; and Mark Woodroof, Managing Partner for Prudential Gary Greene.

“In selecting our Broker Advisory Board, we wanted a range of different types of companies represented — both franchise and independent, large and small, national and regional,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, Zillow’s vice president of partner relations. “We asked people whom we know to be leaders in the industry, and we believe this Board will help us in planning and building our products and services in a way that serves the real estate community to our full potential.”

By Dave Wilcox

Chris Rose, John Salley, Chris Byrd and the entire “Best Damn Sports Show Period” team were on hand at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California to watch the rematch between two former heavyweight champions, James “Lights Out” Toney and Hasim “The Rock” Rahman. Also at ringside to call the action were the best announcing team in the business. I just love listening to Barry Tompkins and Rich Marotta call a fight. Of course this time I’d have to wait until I watch my DVR to hear their greatness. I guess just sitting behind them at ringside while drooling will have to do for now.

This bout is a rematch of their dreadful 2006 bout that was declared a draw and allowed Rahman to retain his WBC strap that he held at the time. Rahman would lose that same belt just six months later when he was knocked out by Oleg Maskaev in August of 2006.

Coming into the bout, there were many questions surrounding both men. Could Toney beat the battle of the bulge with his toughest opponent to date, the buffet line? Could Rahman, at age 35 regain his championship form? Both men have had stamina issues in the past as well, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as Jimmy Lennon, JR. Started the introductions.

Rahman entered the ring first, sporting his “Dad Rocks” t-shirt. Rahman was joined in the ring by family members, most notably his teenage son, who by the way is the spitting image of the old man. Rahman looked focused and in good shape as he waited for Toney to make his entrance to the ring.

Toney only made Rahman wait about five minutes before heading to the ring. Joining “Lights Out” in his corner before the fight were former WBO heavyweight Champ, Lamon Brewster, as well as up and coming Heavyweight superstar and Toney stable mate, Chris “Nightmare” Arreola. Lamon Brewster was the main sparring partner for Toney as he prepared for this fight.

Leading up to the bout, all I heard from Toney and his people was how focused and in shape he is for this comeback bout, and then the robe came off.

Either Toney was lying, or my ringside eyes were. They announced Toney as 226 pounds? Wholly crap, it looked more like 250 to me. James Broad would have been proud.

The fighters touched gloves and we were ready to go.

Round one was fairly uninspiring with both men throwing a few jabs and feeling each other out. I gave it to Rahman because the coin said “heads”.

Round two started the same way as the first stanza with both guys playing paddy-cake until Toney unleashed with a nice right hand to wake up both Rahman and me from my slumber at ringside. In this round, an accidental head butt opened a small cut over the left eye of Rahman. At the time, it seemed insignificant, or so we thought.

As round three began, it almost looked like a fight might break out. Toney came out quick throwing some hard shots that were landing on the jaw of Rahman. The two exchanged a pair of nice left hooks and action was picking up. Toney would land a couple big right hands, including one at the bell.

As the two went to their corners, I mentioned to the scribe next to me that Rahman looks a little worried and Toney seemed cool a cucumber.

Next thing I know, the fight is over! “What the hell happened?” was the battle cry ringside. The fight had been stopped and we weren’t sure why.

The great Jimmy Lennon, JR., would make the call.

“Referee Ray Corona stopped the bout after round number three on the advice of the ringside physician, upon hearing Rahman say he couldn’t see out of his left eye.” “Winner by TKO, James “Lights Out” Toney”

HUH?

If it’s an accidental head butt, shouldn’t it be a no-contest because the fight didn’t go four rounds?

Rahman’s people were going crazy at ringside and confusion was king. I happened to be in the right place at the right time when referee, Ray Corona came ringside and stood by me.

“Ray, what happened?” I asked.

“The doctor did not advise me to stop the fight, Rahman quit” said Corona

I replied, “Rahman quit, what did he say”

“I asked him if he could continue, he replied he can’t see. I asked him again and he just said he couldn’t see and stayed seated on his stool”

“I had no choice but to stop the fight”

As it turns out, the cut over Rahman’s eye was not bad enough to stop the fight. It was Rahman’s decision not to continue.

As it was explained to me by someone from Goosen-Tutor, if in fact the Doctor had stopped the fight due to the severity of the cut caused by an accidental head butt, the fight would have indeed been declared a no contest. Due to the fact that the Doctor wasn’t involved in the decision to stop it and Rahman choose not to continue, a TKO victory belongs to Toney. Just when a fight was about to break out, the Heavyweight curse of horrible fights continue.

Toney improves his record to 71-6-3 (44KO). Rahman falls to 45-7-2 (36KO)

Did somebody say Rahman didn’t want to fight?

I’m sure the television audience didn’t see the spectacle that happened Ringside. As it became apparent that Rahman chose not to continue, the chants of “Rahman sucks” began to bellow though the arena. As I mentioned earlier, the teenage son of Rahman was part of “Team Rock” and he didn’t take kindly to the chants and started yelling back at the drunks, errrrrrrrrrrrr I mean fans.

“Say it to his face!” said little Rahman, who by the way is not that little. In fact he is as tall as the old man.

As the temperature of young Rahman got higher, so did his desire to go have a chat with the fans face to face. That young kid has some testicular fortitude and showed that at least one Rahman was ready to fight on this night. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and the youngster showed more class than probably anyone in the arena as “Team Rock” convinced him to leave it alone and come back to the ring. Nice job, young man!

Mando Ramos

Before the bouts were to begin, Jimmy Lennon, JR., asked all to rise for the ceremonial “ten count” for the great Mando Ramos, who passed away just a few weeks ago. The Los Angeles legend that helped build the great history of Boxing at the Olympic Auditorium and Sports Arena is a beloved figure out here in Southern California and beyond.

After battling his own demons with drugs and alcohol, Ramos would form his own group, B.A A.D. (Boxers against Alcohol and Drugs)

The former lightweight Champion will be missed. God rest his soul.

Press Conference

James Toney and his team were in full force at the post fight press conference, while Hasim Rahman was represented by one of his team, Top Rank’s Todd duBoef.

Todd duBoef did his best to be politically correct, but was obviously disappointed with the decision to award Toney the TKO victory.

“All sports suffer when things are not done right” “The rules are the rules and should not be open for interpretation” duBoef said.

“I love James Toney, we go back 15 years and sixty pounds, but if the shooters foot is behind the line, it’s a three pointer, if it’s in front of the line, it’s two points” duBoef would go on to say.

I hope you readers are now as confused as I was last night.

James Toney then grabbed the microphone and started in with his unique brand of chatter.

“I’m back”

He would then proceed to call Steve Kim from Maxboxing Deuk Koo Kim and another reporter from Boxingtalk “Baldy”. This in itself is weird because he too is hair challenged.

Toney went on to badger old friend duBoef.

“Call his (Rahman) daddy, Bob Arum, open the check book and we can do it again.”

When asked if he thought Rahman quit, Toney got abit irritated and replied. “I wouldn’t quit, if I get in trouble, I would knock the other guy out”

Toney then went on to say that he would fight anyone, including Klitschko’s sister. Not sure if they have a sister, but it sure is a good line.

Rahman was not in attendance at the press conference, but he was quoted by the Pechanga staff.

“It was a head butt and I wasn’t going to fight with one eye”  “I couldn’t see the right hand coming” said “The Rock”

The Undercard

The first bout of the evening was a scheduled four round affair between two young heavyweights. Heleman “The Dream” Holguin from Lancaster, California would get an early start on his dreams tonight when he was put to sleep at 2:04 of the third round by Marcos Dickerson from San Diego, Cal.. Referee Dr. James Jen Kin halted the bout after the third knockdown of round number three.

The Dream was making his professional debut and fell to 0-1. Dickerson improved to 2-0 (2KO)

The second bout had good looking young Jr. Middleweight prospect, Francisco Santana of Santa Barbara, CA. going against the tough, but overmatched Alejandro Bogarin who hails from Ontario, CA.  Bogarin went down from a hard right in the first round, but got up and took quite a beating until Santana landed a vicious body shot that Bogarin couldn’t get up from. The bout was stopped at 2:34 of round number four.

Santana improves to 9-1 (5KO), Bogarin falls to 8-6-3 (2KO)

Next up was a nice little scrap that was a scheduled four rounder. Undefeated Super bantamweights would square off. Rico Ramos of Los Angeles beat Johnathon “Boneyard Baby” of Houston, Texas by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 39-37 for Ramos. I had it scored a draw at 38-38 and was told I’m a moron at ringside. Don’t worry, it wasn’t the first time. I think I was swayed by the great nickname and gave Boneyard the benefit of the doubt.

Ramos record jumps to 5-0(3KO), while the “Boneyard Baby” falls 6-1(4KO)

Next up was a painful fight to watch. In a scheduled four round Lightweight bout, Juan Angel Zavala of Indio, CA. took on Carlos Herrera of Oxnard, CA. The punches were wide and the skill level was not very good. I don’t think we have two future champions here. In the end, Herrera came away with a unanimous decision victory over Zavala.

Herrera’s record jumps to 2-2(1KO) while Zavala falls to 0-2

-The last fight before the main event pitted a nice looking Jr. Welterweight prospect in Mike Dallas, Jr. from Bakersfield, CA. Dallas, who is managed by Jackie Kallen, against the tough Artemio Reyes, Jr. of Moreno Valley, CA. in a scheduled four round affair

You might remember Jackie Kallen from the early years of James Toney’s career. She shot to fame as Toney’s manager and looks to recreate the magic with Dallas, Jr.

Dallas was the more skilled boxer throughout and landed many more punches than the bloodied, but not bowed Reyes. Reyes had a nice fourth round that made me think we might have had a barn burner if it was an eight or ten rounded. As it were, Dallas was awarded the much deserved unanimous decision. Dallas, Jr. might be a guy to keep your eyes on.

Credit where it is due

I’ve been known in past to give James Toney a hard time for his lack of conditioning and his tendency to say dumb things. I think it’s out of love. As I tell the kids, if I didn’t care, I wouldn’t say anything. James Toney has so much more skill than any heavyweight out there. If he could get into shape, even at his advanced age and lack of height, I think he could beat most Heavyweights in the division, if not all of them.

Toney is also deeply involved in an organization that helps children with Autism.

The organization is called The Autism Tree Project. You can check it out by going to www.autismtreeproject.org

Nice job, “Lights Out”, I take it all back…..Keep punching

For more breaking boxing news visit www.ringsports.com

Former President Bill Clinton says he’s ready to hit the campaign trail for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama “whenever he asks”.

“I just told him that whenever he wanted to do it, I was ready,” Clinton told a room full of reporters, following a news conference at his foundation’s Manhattan headquarters about new agreements that will lower the price of malaria medication.  “It’s basically on their timetable. He’s got a lot of things to do between now and the convention of which this is simply one. So, I’ll do whatever I’m asked to do, whenever I can do it.”

And speaking of the Democratic convention in Denver, Clinton says he’s given “no thought” to whether or not he’d like to headline as one of the speakers.  The relationship between the Obama campaign and the presidential campaign of the former president’s wife New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has only recently begun to heal itself following a hotly-contested battle for the Democratic nomination that ended on June 7 when Sen. Clinton conceded the nomination to Obama.

Clinton also said he hasn’t spoken to Rev. Jesse Jackson since his “hot mic” incident but expressed sympathy for an off-air moment caught on tape and commended Jackson for his quick apology.

“If all of us lived on live mics then 100 percent of us in this room would be embarrassed from time to time.  He’s a good man and he did what he could to make it right,” Clinton said, adding “I think Senator Obama accepted his apology.  I think it’s over.”

Minneapolis – Fue un año que pasaría a los anales de la historia de la humanidad. Fue el año del lanzamiento del muñeco Beanie Baby. Al Gore inventó Internet.  Indudablemente fue un año de trascendencia histórica incomparable, y tambien fue el nacimiento de un pequeño restaurante italiano en el sótano de un edificio de Minneapolis. Buca di Beppo se fundó en 1993.

            Desde sus humildes comienzos esa tarde de verano en Minneapolis, Buca di Beppo abrió 89 locales en todo el país, desde Nueva York hasta Hawaii, y ha sido galardonado con cientos de premios culinarios y aplaudido por cientos de miles de comensales que visitaron sus restaurantes.

            Ahora, para celebrar su 15º aniversario, Buca di Beppo creó un menú especial con 15 de los platos más conocidos de los últimos 15 años. Este menú con especialidades clásicas de la cocina italiana también se ofrece a precios clásicos, retrotraídos a 1993 cuando un galón de gasolina costaba sólo $1.16 y la entrada de cine $4.25.

            “En los últimos 15 años, Buca di Beppo se caracterizó por ser un lugar para celebrar. Ya sea que se trate de un cumpleaños, una graduación o una cena de ensayo para una boda, queremos que sea una experiencia inolvidable para todos los comensales. Vamos a retrotraer los precios como una forma de darles las gracias a todos nuestros clientes en el marco de la celebración por los primeros 15 años de la empresa”, manifestó John Bettin, Director de Operaciones, Buca, Inc. “No vemos la hora de cumplir otros 15 años”.

            Del 14 de julio al 10 de agosto, los clientes podrán disfrutar los siguientes platos tradicionales de Buca di Beppo a precios clásicos:

1. Fried Calamari: calamares fritos servidos con salsa de tomate casera picante, un favorito de la casa  
2. Garlic Bread: pan de ajo con abundante ajo fresco tostado, orégano y un toque de queso romano
3. Mixed Green Salad with Prosciutto & Gorgonzola: ensalada verde con jamón serrano, gorgonzola y aderezo italiano de la casa
4. Spaghetti Marinara: espagueti con salsa de tomate casera y pasta de trigo duro importada
5. Linguini Frutti di Mare: pasta con camarones, mejillones, almejas, calamares y salsa de tomate
6. Ravioli Pomodoro: ravioles rellenos de mozarela y queso romano
7. Chicken with Lemon: pollo con salsa de mantequilla y limón casera
8. Chicken Marsala: pollo con champiñones frescos y salsa de marsala casera
9. Eggplant Parmigiana: berenjenas estilo parmesano cubiertas con tomates, trozos de albahaca y mozarela
10. Margherita Pizza: pizza margarita con mozarela de leche entera fresca, albahaca y salsa de tomate
11. Pepperoni Pizza: pizza de salchichón con chiles pepperoncini
12. Garlic Mashed Potatoes: puré de papas con ajo, un ícono de los platos de Buca di Beppo
13. Green Beans: judías verdes al dente con aceite de oliva y limón
14. Tiramisu: bizcocho empapado en café expreso intercalado con capas de natilla y queso mascarpone
15. Cheesecake: pastel de queso casero del día, cubierto con frambuesas y avellanas

Buca di Beppo creó este menú clásico al precio clásico para agradecer a los miles de comensales que nos permitieron ser un gran éxito en los últimos 15 años con su gran lealtad al restaurante. Tanto los clientes como los críticos elogian las especialidades de la cocina italiana que ofrece Buca di Beppo; el restaurante ha recibido más de 100 premios “Best of Citysearch (Mejor de Citysearch)” y decenas de recomendaciones en revistas nacionales, periódicos importantes, publicaciones semanales comunitarias, guías turísticas y revistas de entretenimiento. Algunos premios obtenidos son “Best Italian Food (Mejor comida italiana)”, “Special Occasion (Ocasión especial)”, “Best Pizza (Mejor pizza)”, “Group Dining (Cena en grupo)” y muchos más.

Si bien la comida ha deleitado miles de paladares de costa a costa, Buca di Beppo también es famoso por su decoración excéntrica y su ambiente alegre. Dos mil fotos adornan cada centímetro cuadrado de las paredes. La entrada está flanqueada por estatuas clásicas italianas, reproducidas en rosa neón, azul y degradado de colores. La “Mesa del Papa” muestra un busto hecho a mano del papa Benedicto XVI, que vigila a todos y cada uno de los comensales desde una bandeja giratoria. El santuario con velas en homenaje a Frank Sinatra inspira reverencia y contemplación. El baño de caballeros se describe en miles de ciberbitácoras de todo el país.

Del 14 de julio al 10 de agosto, los clientes podrán disfrutar el menú clásico de Buca di Beppo a los precios de 15 años atrás, además de muchos concursos, obsequios y premios en cada uno de los locales como celebración del 15º aniversario.

A teenage hacker could end up working on the right side of the law after a run-in with the police.
 
Owen Walker from Whitianga was discharged without conviction for his part in an international cyber crime ring.

Police say they could use his talents.

The hapless hacker left court lucky after the judge decided Walker’s computer hacking skills were born out of curiosity, rather than criminal intent.

Inside court the 18-year-old, sandwiched between security guards, couldn’t help but smile when his computer mastery took centre stage.

Crown Prosecutor Ross Douch said Walker is considered to by e-crime investigators to be the most advanced bot programming encountered.

“He has got some ability which is quite unique. He is often described, and I would agree, by people around the world as among the top people who can write this kind of software,” said Martin Kleintjes, police e-crime manager.

Known by his cyber ID Akill, Walker was the mastermind of an international “botnet” group which infected tens of thousands of computers, including the collapse of a computer server at the University of Pennsylvania.

The group had been botnetting, using viruses, spam and corrupt software to ruin large computer systems. A botnet is a jargon term for a collection of software robots, or bots, which run autonomously and automatically. They run on groups of “zombie” computers.

A 20-year-old American student worked with Walker, known by his cyber ID Akill, and they called themselves the A Team, reportedly infecting 1.3 million computers and costing victims around $20 million.

His arrest followed an 18 month investigation by New Zealand, Dutch and American authorities.

The police say Walker put New Zealand on the world map for cyber crime. He is now being wooed by major computer companies overseas.

Lawyers told the court police are interested in using Walker’s talent, and Justice Potter discharged him without conviction, saying he was a young man with a potentially outstanding future.  He was ordered to pay costs and reparation for damage caused to Pennsylvania University in the US.

Outside court, Walker says he understands what he did was wrong. He says the police might offer him a job but they haven’t yet, adding he would be interested if they did.

His mother Shell Whyte hopes whatever he chooses to do, it’s on the right side of the law.

Internet safety group NetSafe says the case is a reminder that large scale cyber-based organised crime is not something that only happens “over there”.

The survey found 1.6 percent anticipate losing their primary residence over the next 12 months. Of those surveyed, 36 percent have a second residence for personal use and 5.6 percent of those expect to lose the property over the next year. Of those surveyed almost 45 percent own residential real estate as an investment, and 20 percent of those expect to lose their investment during the next 12 months.

“One of five plan to walk away from residential investment property,” Schiff said. “They’re going to walk away like they had made a bad portfolio decision. Some are losing $100,000 to $200,000.”

“We’ve heard of the subprime crash. Next we’ll see the residential real estate investors in trouble,” he said.

Many of these investors turned to so-called Alt-A mortgages, which fall between prime and subprime credit quality. During the housing bubble, such loans were popular because they typically required no or little documentation for a borrower’s mortgage application - an attractive feature for people with complex finances.

More real estate investors - even those with relatively deep pockets - heading into foreclosure doesn’t bode well for the pace of recovery in the housing market.

Schiff said one of the traits of middle class millionaires is perseverance and forging ahead when mistakes are made. But in the case of homes going into foreclosure, a toll is taken on the surrounding neighbors and community, he said.

But for some of these wealthy real estate investors, cutting losses on an investment property is similar to dumping a stock that went bad, he said.

Compete also shows a pattern of healthy growth, albeit one that still leaves Trulia a little behind Zillow.

Trulia benefits from the general trend in which homebuyers are using the Web more and more in their real estate search, and advertising follows suit, Flint says. In the current climate, it makes sense that advertisers, have to be smart about where they spend their money.

Divorce lawyers are not usually known for treading lightly - but even they were horrified the down-and-dirty Christie Brinkley-Peter Cook battle lasted so long.

“One has to wonder why they put their children through this horrible, horrible media circus that is going to impact on them for the rest of their lives,” divorce lawyer Robert Dobrish said.

He and others said that while Brinkley may have bested Cook, Jack, 13, and Sailor Lee, 10, are the real casualties.

“The kids took this on the chin,” Manhattan matrimonial lawyer Lois Liberman said. “These kind of scars don’t heal quickly.”

Legal experts said the final deal - Brinkley got custody; Cook got some cash - was close to what the judge would have decided.

“They could have settled that eight months ago,” lawyer Bonnie Rabin said.

The only quirk was the stipulation they sell their fishing boat, “Sweet Freedom,” and split the proceeds.

The modest vessel was a 40th birthday gift from Brinkley to Cook - and she was determined he not get to keep it, a source said.

“In every divorce there’s one thing that never makes sense,” divorce lawyer Nancy Chemtob said. “It’s the chandelier, the boat, the dog. I once had a case where it was skis.”

NEW YORK (Fortune) — The two companies underpinning much of the global capital markets debt and derivative trading are in a world of pain, and various media outlets reported that the government officials were considering several options for intervention.

So what would government relief look like, and is it really necessary?

The current thinking, according to senior mortgage executives who describe themselves in frequent contact with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, centers around the U.S. Treasury Department’s offering some form of a guarantee to $1.5 trillion of their debt. Perhaps more important, such a guarantee would also extend to the $2.3 trillion worth of derivatives that both companies are party to in some fashion.

Another idea making the round of trading desks and hedge funds Friday includes a more “moderate” direct-investment from the Treasury of up to $10 billion for each company, perhaps in the form of buying triple-A debt securities directly from their portfolios.

The problems with this are obvious: Putting more mortgage credit risk on the taxpayer’s back is likely to be politically unpopular in the short term and would only immediately benefit the company’s shareholders.

The perception of shareholder benefit from government intervention is something that policy makers were greatly concerned about during the Bear Stearns crisis in March. As such, any plan to help Fannie or Freddie, real or prospective, is almost certain to wipe out the value of their common stock

As of late Friday, a huge government intervention appeared unlikely - at least in the immediate future. Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500) and Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500) both bounced back after reassuring words from Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson and Senate housing committee chairman Christopher Dodd.

Dodd made a point of saying that the companies were sufficiently capitalized. And he’s onto something. Their combined equity capital bases are $75 billion to $80 billion.

A worst case scenario for credit losses is between $35 billion and $40 billion over the next 12 months, according to a report by Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, an investor in mortgage-related assets. So concerns of immediate collapse seem overwrought.

In addition, investors are hoping Fannie and Freddie’s funding needs for the immediate future could be put to rest if Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke allows both companies to borrow directly from the so-called discount window, like commercial banks do. That would mean they wouldn’t need to go to the public debt markets to raise money to keep operating.

However, Federal Reserve spokeswoman Michelle Smith told CNN late Friday that no discussions with Fannie or Freddie about access to the discount window have taken place.

Smith added that “the Fed is following the situation with Fannie and Freddie closely” and that she was “not prepared to discuss the range of options and alternatives” available to the Fed regarding Fannie and Freddie.

And besides, both GSE’s continue to enjoy widespread support from the debt market, where they are large-scale issuers of short-term debt that isn’t subject to revocation, like repurchase agreements. Veteran mortgage analysts told Fortune that Fannie and Freddie have their financing needs in place through the end of next year. In fact, save for the U.S. government, the GSE’s likely pay the lowest borrowing costs in the world on their debt.

As shareholder value is wiped out by billions daily, the GSE’s debt continues to appreciate in value, according to prices from mid-afternoon Friday trading.

Where Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have gotten into real trouble before is when their funding costs sharply outstripped their interest income, as happened in the early 1980s when the Paul Volker-era Federal Reserve ramped up interest rates to choke off inflation. Though interest rate increases might be in the offing again, few forecasters see dramatic hikes in the offing.

Iran’s test firing of a medium range missile that it said could reach Israel drew anger in Washington but US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the United States and Iran were not close to war.

Asked if the two countries were closer to a military confrontation in light of the escalating rhetoric, Gates said, “No I don’t think so.”

“The reality is there is a lot of signalling going on, but everybody recognizes what the consequences of any kind of a conflict would be,” he said.

“And I would tell you that this government is working hard to make sure the diplomatic and economic approach to dealing with Iran and trying to get the Iranian government to change its policy is the strategy and is the approach that continues to dominate,” said the defense chief.

Iran’s missile launch Wednesday came a day after an aide to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Tehran would “set fire” to Israel and the US navy in the Gulf in response to any American attack over its nuclear program.

The missile launch is “very disturbing, provocative and reckless,” said William Burns, the top official handling Iranian issues at the US State Department.

But Under Secretary of State Williams played down any imminent dangers from Iran’s uranium enrichment despite fears among world powers fear the sensitive nuclear program could be used to make a nuclear weapon.

“While Iran seeks to create the perception of advancement of its nuclear program, real progress has been more modest,” he told Congressional hearings on the “strategic challenge posed by Iran.”

Iran has not yet mastered uranium enrichment, thanks to three rounds of sanctions imposed on Tehran by the UN Security Council for not suspending the nuclear program, he said.

“It is apparent that Iran has not yet perfected enrichment, and as a direct result of UN sanctions, Iran’s ability to procure technology or items of significance to its missile programs, even dual use items, is being impaired,” Burns said.

In addition to limiting Iran’s access to proliferation sensitive technologies and products, Burns said key officials involved in Iran’s procurement activities had been “cut off” from the international financial system and restricted from travel.

Iran’s banks were also being pushed out of their normal spheres of operation, he said.

Burns also told Iran to seriously reconsider its “provocative” and “threatening” policies and move towards a “cooperative and constructive” path.

“Until that time, however, the US and the international community remain committed to meeting the challenges posed by Iran,” he said.

US lawmakers meanwhile expressed concern over the Iranian nuclear drive and missile tests and urged the administration of President George W. Bush to step up diplomatic efforts to end Iran’s defiant nuclear drive.

“Iran daily inches closer to the point where it can produce enough weapons-grade uranium to make a nuclear bomb,” said Howard Berman, the chairman of the House of Representatives foreign affairs panel.

“No one knows precisely when that will happen, but most experts say it will be soon,” he said. “Some predict as early as the end of this year.”

Senate foreign affairs panel chairman Joseph Biden called on the Bush administration to hold direct talks with Iran similar to those with North Korea that led to commitments to end the hardline communist state’s nuclear weapons drive.

Iran insists its nuclear activities are aimed solely at generating energy but the West fears could be aimed at making an atomic bomb.

The United States has never ruled out military action against Iranian atomic facilities.

Burns said Washington would pursue “tough minded diplomacy, maximizing pressure on the Iranians at multiple points to drive home the costs of continued defiance of the rest of the world, especially on the nuclear issue.”