Misery reigns in gridlocked Manhattan

IT WAS miserable yesterday in Manhattan. The rain teemed down all day with no sign of relenting. The streets of the Upper East Side were gridlocked.

Miserable outside. Miserable inside the UN building near the East River, a couple of blocks away. There were faint hopes before the UN General Assembly met yesterday of some movement towards compromise on Iraq among the five permanent members of the Security Council. But as the morning ground on, it became clear that neither the US nor those that had opposed war were showing any signs of relenting. We had gridlock here too.

The address of US President George W Bush to the General Assembly yesterday was widely anticipated. The war in Iraq cost the US $79 billion but the "peace" that has followed is costing $4bn per month. There's a request before Congress for an additional $87bn in funding.