Last October, I blogged "Iran: Rush to the Next War," because I was worried that the Neocon Bush/Cheney administration might use further escalation of the Oil War into Iran as a political tool. As it turned out, the Mark Foley scandal proved insurmountable for the president's political party to overcome.
Why am I not relieved of my anxieties concerning "the long war" and a wider, regional escalation of it? I do my own research and reach my own conclusions, but Robert Parry seems to share my concerns.
Mainly, it's because the Bush/Cheney administration seems to want it. Despite Americans voting overwhelmingly for Democrats in November to "send a message" to the White House and the Republican party, BushCo ignores the will of the people. Instead, President Bush will reveal his Hail Mary play as his strategy for his way forward in Iraq. He will send more troops to the meatgrinder, rather than withdrawing any.
MSNBC Keith Olbermann has good rant on the upcoming Bush call for more sacrifice (video and transcript). He mentions how Bush keeps moving the goal posts for success in Iraq, but he doesn't bring in the obvious point. That is, of course Bush has to win in Iraq, but not for Bush's ego. The real reason to win in Iraq is to be able to wage a shooting war with Iran.
The real war Bush World wants is with Iran because of it's growing challenge to the United States as a power in the Middle East. It's quite clear that the neocon cheerleaders for war didn't plan for winning the peace in post-invasion Iraq mainly because their eyes were on the next war with Iran.
Meanwhile, the grand neocon plan in the broader Middle East has only hit a snag because of the Bush/Cheney administration's Katrina-like incompetence for the Baghdad mission. Unfortunately, the plan continues as the State Department lines up Sunni Arab states' support for its policies. The Defense Department dispatches another aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf. The U.S. corporate media establishment, who make money from reporting carnage, is increasingly echoing the plan by hyping the Iran nuclear threat.
Many people far more knowledgeable about world markets than I am think this is the real reason to escalate a war with Iran. Some people use the secular Shia / Sunni issue to divide and conquer. Bush will undoubtedly continue to sell the "nuclear Iran is unacceptable" reason to go to war.
With the U.S. military increasing its presence in the region, it's likely some accidental or planned confrontation with Iran will occur in 2007. Hopefully, the U.S. Navy won't shoot down an Iranian passenger jet this time around. Unfortunately, George Bush has surrounded himself with Reagan-era hawks for the last six years, so anything is possible for the upcoming year.
"When we were young, we never made "to do" lists. We just had dreams." -- J f Z, 07/01/01
There is a correlation between "to do" lists and dreams, though. Some people live by their "to do" lists. At different times in my life, I have lived every day controlled by the notes in a leather-bound day planner. Before I could afford a cool day planner, in college, I used graph paper. At that time, I worked alternatively on afternoons and midnight shifts in a data center, while also going to college full-time during the day.
I can close my eyes today and see my hand-crafted graph paper schedules in my mind. Weekly sheets with every hour in the 24-hour day that I had placed on my refrigerator by magnets. Flourescent highlight markered lines that told me my work schedule, my school schedule, and when I should try to sleep during that 168-hour page.
Unlike a schedule forced upon you by others, when you start a business, you have control over your time. Usually, that can be a relief, just being in control. On the other hand, working for yourself requires far more self-discipline than most people realize. And, oftentimes, you work many more hours for yourself than you'd ever think of working for someone else.
This morning of the New Year, I remember some motivational methods taught to me by some very successful people with whom I've associated in the past and that I plan to use again for myself in 2007. The self-motivating techniques are simple.
Rather than making a "to-do" list for New Year's Resolutions, I will again make my "Dream Book." The Dream Book is different for everyone, but there are some sound psychological principles underlying why it works for anyone. I may even share mine with you, but likely not.
The process/method
First of all, people create reality in the world. That's you and me. So, for example, if your dreams are very, very big, and the underlying reasons why you wish to accomplish a thing is all-encompassing to you, you will do the things along the way that it takes to manifest that reality. There are many examples of one person making world-wide changes.
Rather than saving the world, I want to bring it down to a commonality to explain it more simply. A "to do" style list only describes the "what" of your goals. For example, one might have "lose weight in 2007" as something to accomplish.
However, if you really wish to accomplish that goal, be honest with yourself. Explore it deeper within yourself. Describe not only the "what," but more importantly, the "why" you want to "lose weight in 2007."
As an example, it could go something like this:
My friend has invited me to attend his/her wedding in June. I have to wear a dress/tuxedo. I want to look my best on that day because it will be photographed and videotaped.
That defines the "why" of your weight loss goal. It gives you a deadline. The "what" of "lose weight in 2007" is obvious now. And surprisingly, researchers have documented that if your reason "why" you wish to accomplish that goal is strong enough, you naturally figure out the steps between "what" and "why" with the "how" steps in between, like eat less crap and exercise.
Not only that, if you look at your goals with "why" as your basis for making those goals, your committment for accomplishing those goals are stronger and re-inforced. In this example, that means you'll likely make time to go to the gym or prepare healthier meals for yourself because the "why" is strong enough in your thinking every day to do the "how" and accomplish the "what."
Saddam Hussein was hanged just before dawn Saturday morning in an undisclosed location in Baghdad. Earlier, his defense lawyers had tried to stop the transfer of Hussein from U.S. custody to the Iraqi officials, but the motion was denied. Iraqi officials have said that a doctor was present and the entire procedure was videotaped. (How soon before that hits Gootube?*)
"Today Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial - the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime.
Saddam Hussein's execution comes at the end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops. Bringing [him] to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror.
Many difficult choices and further sacrifices lie ahead. Yet the safety and security of the American people require that we not relent in ensuring that Iraq's young democracy continues to progress."
Saddam Hussein supporters will call him a martyr. In other God news, apparently God tried to send George Bush a message while he was waiting on word of the execution. The first family had to briefly evacuate the Crawford Ranch house to a tornado shelter.
Some observers noted that some Kurdish leaders were not so happy, because they wanted to put him on trial for crimes against the Kurds. One problem: Iraqi law doesn't allow people to be executed after the age of 70. Hussein was 69 and his birthday, April 28th was fast approaching. George Bush recently celebrated his 60th birthday.
* Apparently, Fox News can show arabic-language TV when it suits them. See the video.
YouTube links (added January 1st)
This video was broadcast on Iraqi TV, now with over 1 million views.
This video is Fox News Alert coverage and jabbering.
This video was taken with a cell phone by a witness in the gallows room. It shows what was not broadcast on television. It is gruesome and disturbing, as witnessing an execution would be to most people. Also disturbing to me is simply hearing the bloodlust in the voices of the witnesses to the execution. I link to it here so there can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein is actually dead.
So ... why? Well, I go through the TAG board periodically (or when asked) and delete entries. Mainly, I delete your entries because it reloads the page periodically or when you add a new tag. When it gets too large, it takes up bandwidth loading constantly. My general rule was this: if you put an annoying little smilie emoticon on the TAG, that entry was the first to go when I cleaned house.
The second rule: if the entry was older. But, the second rule bummed me out because I hate to throw away memories. So, some entries were deemed to be classics and had to be preserved (like Hygelic reading my blog in the bathroom on his cell phone).
Then, the first and second rules unfortunately clashed when it came to old school phreeks who might put an ascii emoticon at the end of their sentence, like Skennedy (et al). These people were violating my first unstated rule through no fault of their own, and, because the programmers of the TAG board must have thought to themselves, "how handy-fucking-dandy would it be if we just translated every ascii emoticon to a different happy little yellow face?" So, they dropped another few hits of Exstacy, patted each other on the back and went back to coding the TAG board.
So, whether it is a good thing or a bad thing -- I've decided to archive the TAG board here for all to see -- and still be able to delete older entries (and keep the TAG.html small) with a clear conscience.
jude » Happy New Year you...yeah, you. Brandon Starr » No, your reply to JD wasn't too snarky. It seemed right on target to me. jude » Merry Merry, big guy! chita » e hugs to you too! Gloria » Merriest Christmas, J. All the best to you and your kitty! Halcyon » Merry Christmas silent_will » Maligayang Pasko John! Rita » Merry Christmas, John!!! chita » hey! Ituloy angsulong » Merry xmas J f Z » Your mom reads this, Boang ... after I let her out of my bed. Boang » Who reads this crap? Kyle » Your blog is cool as well Very informative, especially the stuff on the Bush administration and this war. Brigham » Thank you for the welcome. Brigham » This is a very, how do I put it. Advance place you got here. I like it. silent_will » Happy Holidays J! Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon! chrysalis » Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a peaceful holiday season, J f Z. Here's to a better, more peaceful 2007 ... brindha » cool! an awesome informative blog. really nice...chau J f Z » Snicker doodle! melicious » Sings... "It's the most wonderful time of the year. This pic just doesn't get old... tee hee" love ya Gloria » Halcyon » I'm having trouble with the 3oz obsession. Does orange juice become explosive above this limit? Halcyon » <-- Kyrel Black, earning money Xaos » hey hot stuff *bite* silent_will » *peeks* Have a good day! Authenticia » Happy H-days Boi! evie » halloooooo chita » meow meow spacenoodle » boing chrysalis » Dropping by to say hi and leave muddy tracks on your front porch ... sorry 'bout that ... LiNGeR » hey JFZ, thanks for your comment in my latest blog.. was surprised; wasn't aware somebody is reading those shits.. hehehe.. Halcyon » It might be his bank, a handy check of my account online shows the money disappearing on the 1st Steph » My first visit. I arrived here because of Herb, on of my personal favorites. Thanks for posting him! Rita » It's a "hoot" to pop over here and see my "mug" on your blog. I'm honored. Hugs and blessings to you, John. jude » *settles in to read* wailfulrhyme » *huggles* Dennis » It's really good to connect with you again. I thought your blog was gone - it was only "glitched" from my "Favorites" - God bless - happy/serene season! (Wish I was there - not here)
rt » JFZ needed back at the ranch by distressed animals Malthus » SHAP!!! Thanks JFZ...you're alright, man. Nic » Thanks for the heads up on the Iranian women. Unfortunately women are considered chattle there and human rights in the middle east are not a given. keithoe » great blog! Authenticia » Hey boy how the hell are you? tomatothoughts » huwow, your blog has serious talking! EV, fka Jagged » heya, long time no speak. i'm at a different addy now, so i figured i'd let everyone know..... happy christmas half-time! (thanksgiving, in other words) Cari » Happy turkey day! J f Z » I bought 3 dozen egss ... If we don't eat them, I'll donate the remainder to the snowflake chicken orphanage at the White House. melicious » try again i was away from my desk - sorry! melicious » Thanks for the callback babe but can you call me at work? I'll email the number, its 30% important ~mel J f Z » Thanks, Duke. I just spent an hour on Skype with her, but I will have to call her back to her about her surprise visit with you recently! Duke » hey man, Melicious is worried about ya, shez been tryin' to get a hold of ya, can ya give her a call or drop her an email? J f Z » "Tremor" was created by MD & TL from Blogdrive, but I have made some minor modifications to it. J f Z » Dear Hopeless: This blog template is one of the many free ones available to blogdrive users. It's called "Tremor." HopeLess » hie.. do you mind sending me your blog templet in .txt format via email? mat_bicker88@hotmail.com thanks
Very informative, especially the stuff on the Bush administration and this war. 
