Iran Vs U.S.???

Ok...so why havent I heard these stories in the mainstream U.S. News Outlets...
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The Invasion of Iran MAY HAVE BEGUN
28-Mar-2007UPDATE -

The BBC reports that the US Navy has begun "war games" in the Iran region by sending two aircraft carriers, containing 100 war planes and over 10,000 soldiers, into the Gulf. Fly over air maneuvers have also begun.

This is the largest "exercise" in the Gulf since our 2003 invasion of Iraq. A French group of ships are also in the Arabian Sea, one of which has already been launching flying missions into Afghanistan.

The news site (Unknown Country.com) where I gleamed this info from predicted the start of the Iraq war 4 years ago, almost to the day.
Is Shock & Awe about to happen all over again—this time in Iran? And will our military go along with these plans?

In Globalresearch.ca, Michel Chossudovsky reports on what he says the US military has code-named TIRANNT, which means "Theater Iran Near Term," and identifies targets inside Iran which will all be hit by bombs simultaneously. Chossudovsky says the Arab media reports that this will happen in the next 30 days.

And this:
Possible US Troop Build-Up on Iran Border
29-Mar-2007

More news about US military activity near the Iran border: The Russian News & Information Agency (NOVOSTI) reports that Russian military intelligence is seeing a US troop build up along Iran's border with Iraq.
This could indicate a pending invasion of Iran OR it could mean that the US and its allies are attempting to spark a coup against the Ahmadinejad regime, which is rapidly losing popularity in the country.

NOVOSTI reports that, "The latest military intelligence data point to heightened US military preparations for both an air and ground operation against Iran" and also that "the US Naval presence in the Persian Gulf has, for the first time in the past four years, reached the level that existed shortly before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003."
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So I guess it is time to drill into the U.S. media and other worldwide media to see if we are on the verge of another full scale U.S. led invasion of another soverign country over there....with the Bush administration nothing really suprises me anymore.......

A good Friday to all.

*Revision:
Ok so after drilling down a few pages in the New York Times Newspaper (online)....I found this little ditty:

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March 28, 2007
U.S. Opens Naval Exercise in Persian Gulf
By MICHAEL R. GORDON
WASHINGTON, March 27 — In a calculated show of force, the United States Navy began a major exercise in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, a move that Bush administration officials said was part of a broader strategy to contain Iranian power in the region.

Two American aircraft carriers — the John C. Stennis and the Dwight D. Eisenhower — participated in the exercise along with more than a dozen other warships. It was the first time that two carriers have conducted joint operations in the Persian Gulf since 2003, the year the United States invaded Iraq.

American officials said the deployment was planned before Iran’s capture of 15 British sailors and marines last week. But the exercise was clearly intended to send a signal that even with its forces stretched thin by the Iraq war, the United States still has the military means to project power in the region.

The Bush administration initially considered canceling the exercise after the British troops were detained. After consulting with the British government, the exercise was adjusted so that it would take place farther away from where the Britons were captured, American officials said. A scheduled port call by the Stennis in the United Arab Emirates was canceled so the exercise could get under way.
“We don’t want them to determine what we do when we think we are within our rights to do it,” a senior Bush administration official said, referring to the Iranians.
With the grinding war in Iraq and American lawmakers pushing for troop withdrawals, there is uncertainty over the future American military role in the region. That uncertainty has coincided with Iran’s growing influence throughout the Middle East, including a nuclear program that American officials assert is intended to develop weapons.
“Iran has been trying to send a message for some time that we are on the way out, that they are the natural great power of the region and that everybody should circle around Iran,” said the senior American official, who declined to be identified because he does not customarily speak to the news media.

The American naval maneuvers are one element of a broader strategy to counter the Iranians and reassure nervous allies. It also involves the deployment of Patriot antimissile systems to Qatar and Kuwait and the dispatch of minesweeping equipment to the region.

The appointment of Adm. William Fallon as the head of the United States Central Command, which has responsibility for the Middle East, is another signal that the Bush administration intends to emphasize the use of naval power to counter the notion that it is too bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan to respond to other threats. Admiral Fallon is the first naval officer to head the command.
“This whole thing is designed to send a message to the region,” the official said, referring to the naval exercise. “We are sending a message that we are here to stay.”
Toward that end, the American military made an effort to facilitate news coverage of its two-day carrier exercise by Middle East news organizations. Arab as well as Western media were offered an opportunity to board ships participating in the exercise.

The goal, according to military officials, was to reassure “regional audiences” of the capability of American naval forces and Washington’s determination to keep forces in the region.
American relations with Iran have involved recent diplomatic talks in Baghdad as well as strenuous efforts at the United Nations to build support for economic sanctions against Iran because of its determination to move ahead with its uranium enrichment program. The American military has also conducted raids in recent months against suspected members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iraq and still have five Iranians in detention.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that the recent talks with Syria and Iran in Baghdad represented a “good start” and added that the Bush administration “is open to higher level exchanges.”
But Mr. Gates also cautioned, “We should have no illusions about the nature of this regime or about their designs for their nuclear program, their intentions for Iraq or their ambitions in the gulf region.”

Before venturing into the gulf, the Stennis had been providing aircraft for the NATO military operation in Afghanistan from the Arabian Sea. It headed to the Persian Gulf after the Charles de Gaulle, a French aircraft carrier, took up the Afghanistan mission.
With American carrier aircraft flying simulated attack missions in the Persian Gulf, some administration officials sought to emphasize that the exercise was not a cover for an impending air strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Nor would the United States enter Iranian territorial waters, the officials said.

“It is not a precursor to war,” said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. “It is not a sign that we are building up capability in the region to attack. Sending two aircraft carriers should be seen as a demonstration of our capability.”
World

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So folks...has a new war begun or not???
Hmmm.........................

6 tips on how to be happier

What makes you happy?
Many things for many different people....

Does money make one happy?
That has been a question for many people for a long long time.

Here are some suggestions from an article I grabbed from the Today Show Web site:

6 tips on how to be happier - Money Matters - MSNBC.com

"Happy Thursday"....

FCC Will NOT Allow Cell Phone Use on AirPlanes (for now)

This just in from the New York Times.

I often wondered the reasons for not being able to use the cellphone on a plane.
The following story makes sense....

On a related note, when I was flying to Florida a few months ago, I left my phone on by accident. When we landed I went to look to see if there were any messages and my phone battery was dead...my friend later told me that my phone was looking for singnals the whole time we were in the air and that drained my battery....I am just glad that my phone being on didnt affect the performance of the airplane....ikkkes!!! Who knew??

The story in full below
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March 23, 2007
Chief Says F.C.C. Is Against Cellphone Use on Airliners
By MATTHEW L. WALD

WASHINGTON, March 22 — The Federal Communications Commission will give up on the idea of allowing cellphone use on airplanes, the chairman said on Thursday, because it is not clear whether the network on the ground can handle the calls.

While the chairman, Kevin J. Martin, cited a technical reason, thousands of air passengers have written to the F.C.C., urging rejection of the proposal because of the potential for irritating passengers in airline cabins. The Federal Aviation Administration had been laying the groundwork to allow in-flight cellphone use.

Both agencies would have had to approve before the phones could be legally used on board.
The problem cited by Mr. Martin did not have to do with flight safety or the mood in the cabin, but a problem raised by the cellphone industry. The system is designed for phones to communicate with a single cell tower at a time. But a cellphone that is several miles in the air can contact many towers at once, tying up circuits in all of them, the industry argued.

“The record was still unclear as to whether it would create interference, so at this time it doesn’t make as much sense to go forward,” Mr. Martin told reporters. A motion to drop the proceeding, which began in December 2004, is now circulating among the five commissioners.
At the cellular industry’s trade association, the CTIA, Joseph E. Farren, a spokesman, said, “When I’m walking down Pennsylvania Avenue and I make a call, it’s a lot different than placing a call 20,000 feet in the air going 500 miles an hour.” But he also alluded to the social problem. “From an in-flight perspective, there is some talk of, ‘O.K., maybe cellphone conversations would drive people crazy,’ ” he said.

The issue for aviation safety is that planes navigate by way of faint radio signals from the ground and from satellites. These are on frequencies different from the ones authorized for cellphone use, but safety experts worry that any electronic equipment might emit signals at a frequency that would drown out the navigation signals.

The airlines were ambivalent about the desirability of cellphone use on board. Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American, said his airline was concerned about the “social implications,” and would probably have considered setting aside certain times in the flight, or parts of the plane, for cellphone use.

The airlines are still interested in providing customers with e-mail access and the ability to browse the Web, however. “We believe our customers value that and would love to have that on the airplane,” Mr. Wagner said. American carries 250,000 to 275,000 people a day, he said, and “life doesn’t necessarily stop” when they are on board.

The step backward for wireless devices on planes probably comes to the relief of some passengers. Among the more than 8,100 comments received by the F.C.C., for example, was this message from Thomas F. Flournoy III, of Atlanta: “Please for the sanity of the majority of air passengers who do not want to hear cellphone conversations in the air, and to avoid confrontations between passengers, do not allow this practice to begin.”
F.C.C. to Study Net Neutrality

The Federal Communications Commission said yesterday that it would study the business practices of high-speed Internet providers and consider adopting rules to ensure that all Web traffic is treated equally.

The study will focus on how Internet service providers are managing traffic on their networks and whether they are charging different prices for different speeds or levels of service, the commission said.

The F.C.C. adopted four principles on Internet policy in 2005, and the study will consider whether a principle of nondiscrimination in Internet traffic should be added.
Consumer advocates and other supporters of so-called net neutrality have pushed for the F.C.C. to adopt such rules.

The net neutrality issue pits consumer groups and some Internet content providers against telecommunications carriers.
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Happy Friday to all......

YouTube - Vote Different

The latest political ad picking fun of my favorite presidential canidate...Hillary Clinton!!

YouTube - Vote Different

A good thursday to all.....

HP Rich Bitch Escapes Justice: Charges dropped in boardroom spying

I only hope that if I ever get to some esteemed position such as the one Patricia Dunn had at Hewlet Packard and that if I do something as nasty as what she and her cronies did at the company....that I am just as lucky to get off without a hitch....

Read on for the full article:
JS Online: Charges dropped in boardroom spying

This whole thing just reaserts my position that things are seriously flawed with holding people in executive positions accountable for the things they do....

The Federal Government and it's Role in our Daily Lives

I was reading an article relating to the intrusions of the federal government into our daily lives and I came across this comment from a reader in response to that article.
(The article talked about the government's request to have phone records and driving records maintained in a national database of sorts).

Link to that story below:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070308/181842.shtml#comments

The person that wrote the following response says pretty much everything I agree with:
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The government was never supposed to have the ability to do such things. They shouldn't monitor our behaviours, spending habits, or our general day to day activites.
The FEDERAL Government is only supposed to be in place to do the things that the local and state governments cannot. Such as enter into treaties with other countires, collect taxes for the services offered, and have a military force.

Congress should not be allowed to enact a law that requires every ISP in America to retain data on it's users. Quite frankly they shouldn't be able to tell a business what they can or cannot do; that's up to the cities and states to decide.

So when the goverment starts tracking where our car has been, and how crooked politicians can be, it wouldn't take long for them to start using the data they've collected with malicious intent.

As far as us "privacy advocates" go we happen to understand there's a Constitution of the United STATES of America.
Not a Constituion of the sole governing body of Washington D.C.

Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness doesn't mean the goverment should be there to restrict our abilites to function. Instead of them prying into every aspect of our personal lives, they should only be there to interveen where a communities ability to resolve a conflict fails.
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I esp. like the last sentance. I think it says it all..

The New World Order is at it Again..

I came across this story on another website and there was a link to this story as well.

Interesting information in the article below esp. if you consider some of the names and companies being mentioned.

By now it is a "no brainer" to assume that our V.P. (Dick Cheney) is very heavily financially involved with all the wars and other things that the current administration has it's hands in through out the world. If anyone has any doubts, after reading the following article, hopefully those doubts will be put to rest once and for all.
It is funny that his company Haliburton is at the core center of so much of this stuff.
An owner of a company couldnt ask for a better situation. Being part of the biggest government in the world and a part of a company who's tenticles reach far and wide through out the world.....that is just the beginning....

What many do not know is that some of the other names and companies mentioned (KBR for instance) have ties and influence that go back many years and many administrations and if one were to delve into a company like KBR(which used to simply be: Kellog, Brown & Root) they would see quite a few famous names linked to the Bush family, former presidential administrations and globab highrollers....all the different pieces of what some call "The New World Order".

A little "Wikopedia" history on KBR:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellogg,_Brown_and_Root

I have read up on some of these names and companies and it is just amazing how things are coming together for the main purpose of global control by a very few wealthy people in the world.
In fact a book I am reading right now that was written in the mid 90s talks about alot of what is happening with these companies now......as if the author of the book was fortelling the near future.
Some of the things he talks about are totally freakish......for expample I was reading a chapter one night and the next night on the news....the names of some of the "players" in that chapter were splashed across the headlines. Wow factor times four for me there!

There IS a conspiracy and it is not very well hidden anymore. If one reads the news and sees what is happening in the world right now they really dont even need to "read between the lines" any longer.
Things are right out there in full view for all to see....that a few people (Dick Cheney being one of them) and others are the real rulers of the world at large.


Read on:
Privatized Walter Reed Workforce Gets Scrutiny - washingtonpost.com

Gates speaks about the sad state of Education in the U.S.

I have often thought that our educational system has been purposely "dumbed down" as to make sure that we do not question what is going on in the world and so that we as a nation can be "led down whatever path our government chooses to lead us down and we wont have the intelligence to question their motives for doing different things".

While the following story doenst exactly go in that direction, it does have many ideas for one to think about.

Some day I will write about the "purposeful dumbing down of education" by none other than the creater of what today is our "educational system". His name is familiar with anyone who has ever used a library card file.....his name was Thomas Dewey (of the Dewey Decimal System).

Read on for an interesting article where Bill Gates of Microsoft fame talks about the sad state of the educational system in the U.S. and how things need to be done so we as a country can remain competitive in this day and age.

Gates Speaks The Truth ~ IT Professionals

Grand Canyon Skywalk

I have yet to visit the majestic Canyon in all of my travels of the recent few years. But I may just have to make it part of my next vacation...esp. after hearing about the "skywalk" that a tribe of indians who's reservation butts up against one wall of the canyon have erected and which will very soon (March 27th, 2007) be open to the public.

It sounds and looks (from the photos I have seen) very cool.

Read on for more info:
Grand Canyon Skywalk

NASA lacks funds to find killer asteroids???

The story below talks about NASA's inability (because of $$$) to look for astroids that could hit earth and possibly wipe out life as we know it....

So my question is this:
Is any amount of money not enough to safeguard civilization as we know it?
Who care if it costs $1 Billion or $65 Billion (or more).....
I really do not think money matters in this case.
I think the ideots who run our government and the leaders of the world should put this search on the front burner and do WHATEVER it takes to find these "civilization killers" before it is too late and we are a part of a real life movie such as was depicted in Meteor and Armergedden and a slew of others....

Comments welcome...
NASA lacks funds to find killer asteroids - CNN.com

Cell Phone Companies On Mission To Kill WiFi

While by all accounts it seems that WI-FI is becoming more and more popular there is a growing concern with the various cell phone companies out there that think their profits may be eroded because of some of the options WI-FI brings...

Read on for this "lockergnome guy's" musings on the subject:

Cell Phone Companies On Mission To Kill WiFi « usrbingeek’s musings

Starbucks...Free Coffee on March 15, 2007

One of my addictions is giving me more reasons to be addicted.....

Thursday, March 15th nearly all Starbucks stores world wide will be giving away free Tall (12-ounce) cups of coffee between 10am and 12 noon.
Last year many stores also gave away free pastries samples.

I know where I will be on Thursday between 10am and 12 noon.
I will probably be going through the drivethrough numerous times.....I wonder how many refills one can get in those two hours???

More Info on the NEOCON Shadow Government (AKA: The Current Bush Administration)

I have blogged about the "Shadow Government" and the "New World Order" in the past and it seems from alot of stories and accounts being brought forwards these days that this "shadow government" is not so much in the shadows any longer and their covers are slowly but surely being blown.

This article below-click on link- (courtesy of the New York Observer) gives some interesing info and also suggests further reading at one of the biggest NEOCON-SHADOW GOVERRNMENT web sites out there....the PNAC (Project for the New American Century), which has lots of interesting info on what these sneaky and ruthless people are up to....

Read the article below to learn more:
New York Observer

A good Monday to all....

Another Step towards 1984...Mind Reading Getting Closer to Reality

Something to "think" about....Is the world of the movie "Minority Report" which was set in the year 2054 -coming closer to reality???

After reading the article below I have to wonder....

A link to that movie's sypnosis in case someone reading this post has never heard about it or seen it (and in that case I highly reccomend that they do):

http://www.minorityreport.com/

And a little more info on the world in 2054 as envisioned by this cool movie:

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/home.nsf/webpages/minorityx21x06x02

A few paragraphs from an article on mind reading....

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For the moment, reading minds is a cumbersome process and there is no chance scientists could spy on decision-making surreptitiously. Haynes' studies focus on people who choose between just two alternatives, not the infinite number present in everyday life.

But scientists are making enough progress to make ethicists nervous, since the research has already progressed from identifying the regions of the brain where certain thoughts occur to identifying the very content of those thoughts.

"These technologies, for the first time, give us a real possibility of going straight to the source to see what somebody is thinking or feeling, without them having any ability to stop us," said Dr. Hank Greely, director of Stanford University's Center for Law and the Biosciences.

"The concept of keeping your thoughts private could be profoundly altered in the future," he said.

Civil libertarians are concerned that mind-reading technology may fit into a trend of pre-emptive security measures in which authorities could take action against individuals before they commit a crime - a scenario explored in the 2002 science fiction film "Minority Report."

Already, Britain is creating a national DNA database that would allow authorities to track people with violent predispositions.

In addition, the government has also floated the idea of locking up people with personality disorders that could lead to criminal behavior.

"We need to start thinking about how far we are going to allow these technologies to be used," said Wolpe.

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My thoughts:

Even though the world of "1984" envisioned by George Orwell didn't come to pass that year (the year I graduated from high school by the way), it seems that we are slowly but surely catching up to that world that he depicted in such vivid and sureal terms.....

The story below sheds some light on what scientists are up to these days in the area of "reading minds". Interesting stuff and alot of implications I can see already....most not very positive.
The ability to read a person's thoughts.....hmmm.

I do not know if I am ready for this future that we are carving for ourselves.
Star Trek and science fiction and Orwell's world are coming ever so close.
It is scary to say the least.

Read on for the rest of the story:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/READING_MINDS?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

A New Twist on the Effects of Loosing the War on Terrorism

An interesting theory put out by a fellow blogger.

You have to read the entire post for it to even begin to make sense and then you may just have to read it again......

Crawford's Take: Tying It All Together: DJIA, Milw Suburbs, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Opium

After I read it and re read it....I was like "WOW"!
Alot of things begin to make a little more sense.

I had read before about how the "drug trade" is one of the most profitable and influental money makers in the world and how our government (and many others) are involved in the trade and have been for many years. Some stories are out there that even "suggest" that the deaths of the two Kennedy's are somehow related to this profitable undertaking.

Who knows for sure....

The Death of TV???

It seems like "convergence" of all the technology that we use on a daily basis is coming together more and more lately.....

Is Tv taking the same path as the stereo turntable (and prior to thet the old gramaphone) to obsolesence???

From this story below it sounds as if this isnt too far off......

I have to confess that with the current technology today, I still do not watch too much tv on the web....there are not too many "live" broadcast tv feeds that I can find easily and some of the (most) video feeds available on the web such as with CNN and MSN are actually videotaped and not live per say....

There is AOL TV which has some pretty decent older offerings of tv shows of the past but the quality isnt that great yet....considering all the video compression that current technology offers...and the speed at which people who have broadband internet access connect to the net......but all in all it is a start.

Dump the TV set, watch the web instead - tech - 03 March 2007 - New Scientist Tech

I have also included a link to the AOL Tv service where one can watch older episodes of shows such as Wonder Woman, The A Team, Facts of Life and other 70s-80s shows for free.
http://television.aol.com/in2tv

I have to confess also that I have not visited the site in a while but today is saturday and it is snowy and gloomy outside here in Wisconsin so I may just take this site and a few others for a spin....that is if Nick at Night and I love Lucy dont take most of my attention away....

A good saturday to all....

The Bad Apple spoils the Bunch

I have a problem at work.....

And I guess I am not the only one.

A question to ponder after reading the following missive....

Can one change a "bad apple" into a "tasty piece of fruit"???

Suggestions welcome....

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One Bad Apple
If you look around any organization, chances are you'll be able to find at least one person whose negative behavior affects the rest of the group to varying degrees. Just one negative person in an office or other organization can have powerful and often detrimental influence on the others. Where in the US are workers happiest?

The UNhappiest workers are in the Middle Atlantic states (NY, NJ and PA), with the West South Central region (TX, OK, AR, LA) coming in second. The most content workers tend to reside in the Mountain states (MT, ID, WY, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM), where 56% percent of all workers say they are satisfied with their job.

Researcher William Felps was inspired to investigate how workplace conflict can be affected by one's co-workers after his wife experienced the "bad apple" phenomenon. Felps' wife was unhappy at work and characterized the environment as cold and unfriendly. Then, she said, a funny thing happened.

One of her co-workers who was particularly caustic and was always making fun of other people at the office came down with an illness that caused him to be away for several days.
"And when he was gone, my wife said that the atmosphere of the office changed dramatically," Felps says. "People started helping each other, playing classical music on their radios, and going out for drinks after work.

But when he returned to the office, things returned to the unpleasant way they were. She hadn't noticed this employee as being a very important person in the office before he came down with this illness but, upon observing the social atmosphere when he was gone, she came to believe that he had a profound and negative impact. He truly was the 'bad apple' that spoiled the barrel."

Following his wife's experience, Felps got together with management expert Terence Mitchell, and together they analyzed two dozen published studies that focused on how having bad teammates can destroy a good team.

They found that the vast majority of the people that were surveyed could identify at least one "bad apple" that had produced organizational dysfunction.

Felps and Mitchell also found that negative behavior outweighs positive behavior: a single "bad apple" can spoil the barrel but one or two good workers can't unspoil it.

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Maybe workers in the Mountain states know how to get rid of their bad apples. I wish I did. I guess it is time to go out to the Mountain states to see what they are up to.

I actually lived in Colorado for a few years and though there were a few of these "spoiled fruits" hanging around....the vibe in the workplaces was overall good and positive most of the time.