I pray that everyone reading this has a good year ahead of them. Just remember when times get tough, and they will get tough this year, we all have each other to lean on. There are 3 things I can guarantee will help all of us get through anything we run up against… God, Family, Country.
Happy New Year Everyone!
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Teaparty.org is inviting all of you to take part in their Liberty Concerts: Tea Party Taking The Next Step “We are setting the tone for taking back America with Liberty Concerts. We are not waiting until the first quarter of the year, we have already begun.” Dale Robertson, President and Founder of the Tea Party – TeaParty.org ‘Liberty Concerts’ is a venue designed to be the key to create a model for our Nation to Take Back America. The Tea Party does not intend to waste their time simply rallying. The Plan is to optimize the events, they will be fun and Citizens will be asked to run for office, with the focus of Restoring America, and thus, putting it on the Conservative track. The goal is to shift attendees from being merely a presence at a rally, into involved Patriots recognizing the need to be engaged in the process of Self-Governance. Robertson stated: “Even though the likelihood of their success is diminished by the lack of experience or financial support; the knowledge will be invaluable for the next election cycle and a point of pride for the American People.” The Tea Party’s number one imperative, is to have candidates on the ballot. The second priority is to get out the vote, especially in Texas where Robertson lives and the home of over 800,000 members of the Tea Party………. Robertson is molding the Tea Party events to empower Citizens so they will make a difference in the November 2010 elections. The ongoing tactics are to prioritize States, creating a durable model for ballot access, voter eligibility, precinct chair/county chairs, and candidate awareness. The Tea Party is actively seeking candidates that represent Conservative Constitutional Values. It appears the Major Parties can’t get in step with such a complex idea as Conservative Constitutional Values; therefore, the Tea Party will make it easy for the Independent Parties to break the glass ceiling and get on the ballot. The ‘Liberty Concerts’ event taking place in Stafford, Texas is a developing prototype, which when successful, will allow the Tea Party to create a thriving event not in months but days. We will be quick on the draw, sure fired and ready to rock in a matter of only a few days. This Tea Party formula will work against incredible odds and will be nothing short of a miracle, but Robertson believes with all his heart all the pieces will fall into place. Does the Tea Party really believe it can make a difference in November? “Some say, “talk is cheap” but 2 years ago when I started the modern day Tea Party no one believed it could work now 7 million strong, the world is listening and America is hoping, we will not fail.” Dale Robertson – TeaParty.org |
I’m sure everyone that frequents Gio’s World was jolted awake when they heard that Rush had a ride in an ambulance this evening due to pains in his chest. Thankfully, from what I have been told he will be just fine.
Looking good!
I am curious about one thing though, and I think you all can help me out with this question. Did it cross your mind for just a split second that both Rush and Obama were vacationing in Hawaii, and thought it suspicious that Rush had the chest pains? Just asking.
Gio-
H/T to GregE from over at Newsbusters.org.
What a crock of Horse Doo-Doo!
Gio-
Have no fear, Obama is here!
In an e-mail this afternoon to supporters — which incidentally excoriated Republicans for politicizing the attempted bombing of Flight 253 — the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) stressed it was President George W. Bush, not his successor, who relegated the fight against the terrorist network to the back burner by turning “its focus from al Qaeda to Iraq.”
Ultimately, the DCCC’s charge on Wednesday is but a direct response to a new fundraising pitch by Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) — a petition Democrats say exploits the terrorism plot in an attempt to raise campaign dollars.
Hoekstra, who is running for governor in Michigan, asked voters in a letter on Tuesday “who will stand up the Obama/Pelosi efforts to weaken our security” to donate to his gubernatorial war chest.
“It is insulting that The Obama administration would make such a claim, but then again, these are the same weak-kneed liberals who have recently tried to bring Guantanamo Bay terrorists right here to Michigan!” Hoekstra wrote earlier this week.
Of course, that enraged Democrats, and the DCCC quickly pounced on Hoekstra’s remarks, claiming he was “playing politics” at the expense of Americans’ lives. They also fired a separate political shot at congressional Republicans, who the DCCC said “repeatedly [refused] to back up their tough talk with actual votes to keep Americans safe.”
“It just goes to show how extreme and out of touch House Republicans have become that their members would try to score political points and even raise money off the terror plot to blow up a plane and kill innocent Americans on Christmas,” DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) explained.
“It’s long past time for House Republicans to put country before political party and work with President Obama and Congressional Democrats to learn from this episode and act quickly to protect the American people,” Van Hollen added.
This is pretty darned funny. Let’s say you have a bitter war going on between you and your next door neighbor. Your neighbor kidnaps one of your kids and holds for negotiating leverage. You hire some spy-types to go to your neighbors house to try and find where they are holding your kid. Then your neighbor finds out that you hired spy-types to look for your kid. Your neighbor retaliates by going to the Press and complaining that you had the nerve to hire someone to search for your kid by spying on your neighbor. Then Gio hears about the whiny little turds in Gaza complaining about the same thing. Gio’s reaction…. LOLOLOLOL… for such a long time that I almost pass out from lack of Oxygen!
Gio-
Hamas claimed on Wednesday that its security forces have uncovered a plot by Israel to gather information about the location of IDF soldier St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who is being held in the Gaza Strip.
A senior Hamas official said that Israel had recruited a number of officers who used to serve in the Fatah-dominated security forces before the Islamist movement seized control of the entire Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007.
Abu Abdullah, who serves with Hamas’s Internal Security Service, said that the officers had been entrusted with the mission of locating the place where Schalit was being held by his captors.
“The Shabak is very interested in obtaining any information about the whereabouts of Schalit through various methods,” Abu Abdullah said, referring to Israel’s Security Agency (Shin Bet). “One of these methods was the last war [Operation Cast Lead], whose goal was to break Hamas and obtain information about the location of Schalit to rescue him.”
The Hamas security official revealed that his men arrested “a number of collaborators” who had rented an apartment and vehicles in the eastern area of the Gaza Strip.
He claimed that the “collaborators” were planning to kidnap a senior member of Hamas’s armed wing, Izaddin al-Kassam, and hand him over to Israel for interrogation about the location of Schalit.
Abu Abdullah did not name the top operative who was supposed to be abducted. However, he told a Hamas-affiliated Web site that his men managed to foil the alleged scheme in the last minute.
He said that the alleged Israeli operation was similar to an earlier incident where undercover IDF soldiers are said to have detained another senior Hamas operative, Muhawesh al-Qadi, from the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip more than a year ago.
Abu Abdullah reiterated Hamas charges that former security officers belonging to Fatah were working with the IDF and other Israeli security branches to undermine the movement and free Schalit. He also claimed that these “collaborators” had also provided the Israelis with information about Hamas men who fired rockets into Israel.
The news about an alleged attempt to rescue Schalit came as Hamas leaders announced that a German mediator would return to the region next week for additional talks on the possibility of reaching a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel.
Hamas spokesmen issued contradictory statements about the outcome of the movement’s discussions in Syria over the past few days. Some rushed to announce that Hamas has rejected the latest Israeli offer to deport about 130 prisoners slated for release, while others stressed that no final decision has been made yet.
Mohammed Nasser, a senior Hamas political figure, said that consultations in the movement would continue about the prospects of striking a deal, but did not give additional details.
Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, said that it was premature to talk about a final Hamas decision on this matter. “Hamas is continuing to study the Israeli response,” he said. “The discussions and deliberations have not ended yet.”
I found the following while working on a different story. I hope you find it as informative as I did…
Military Weaponry for Kids
Identify the theme that doesn’t belong in this series of books for Chinese children published by the Beijing Children & Juvenile Publishing House:
1. Cartoon Characters
2. Cute Animals
3. Mysterious Dinosaurs
4. Pretty Flowers
5. Means of Transportation
6. Military Weaponry
If you guessed No.4, “Pretty Flowers,” you are right!
******
Those Chinese are such jokers (I wish they were joking).
Gio-
Click to enlarge.
This was sent to me with a note attached saying that this story was cross-checked on Snopes but they had nothing on it. And to make things even more confusing, the evidence given is very convincing and I believe has merit. However…. there is one little fact that will make people boo-hoo the entire story. The guy in the video is the infamous Alex Jones!
Click to enlarge.
In my opinion, Alex Jones is one of those people who sees a conspiracy behind every tree, but he does hit pay-dirt more often than one would imagine for such a colorful guy. Google Alex and make up your own mind. After that Google the info he points to in this piece. I did, and I found enough factual info to the story to be very worried.
Click to enlarge.
Imagine foreign Cops under Obama trying to keep the peace in our country?!
We the people would NOT allow it!
Ok, you have to take this with a grain of salt because this comes from the one news outlet that lies more than the NYTimes. Article printed by Al Jazeera. The only reason I’m posting this is to point out how silly the Palestinians are when it comes to their own security. They always seem to leave their security in the hands of anyone that can show them how to shoot a rocket into Israel. And, it’s an amazingly stupid comment to say, “Israel resembles a failed State”. This statement has to come from someone who has never been in Israel. Israel is a thriving state with a standard of living that far surpasses anything the Palestinians can come up with. This just goes to show you that even propoganda can be silly!
Gio-
| ‘Israel resembles a failed state’ |
| By Ali Abunimah |
One year has passed since the savage Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, but for the people there time might as well have stood still.
Since Palestinians in Gaza buried their loved ones – more than 1,400 people, almost 400 of them children – there has been little healing and virtually no reconstruction.
According to international aid agencies, only 41 trucks of building supplies have been allowed into Gaza during the year.
Promises of billions made at a donors’ conference in Egypt last March attended by luminaries of the so-called “international community” and the Middle East peace process industry are unfulfilled, and the Israeli siege, supported by the US, the European Union, Arab states, and tacitly by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah, continues.
Policy of destruction
Amid the endless, horrifying statistics a few stand out: Of Gaza’s 640 schools, 18 were completely destroyed and 280 damaged in Israeli attacks. Two-hundred-and-fifty students and 15 teachers were killed.
Of 122 health facilities assessed by the World Health Organization, 48 per cent were damaged or destroyed.
Ninety per cent of households in Gaza still experience power cuts for 4 to 8 hours per day due to Israeli attacks on the power grid and degradation caused by the blockade.
Forty-six per cent of Gaza’s once productive agricultural land is out of use due to Israeli damage to farms and Israeli-declared free fire zones. Gaza’s exports of more than 130,000 tonnes per year of tomatoes, flowers, strawberries and other fruit have fallen to zero.
That “much of Gaza still lies in ruins,” a coalition of international aid agencies stated recently, “is not an accident; it is a matter of policy”.
This policy has been clear all along and it has nothing to do with Israeli “security”.
Destroying resistance
From June 19, 2008, to November 4, 2008, calm prevailed between Israel and Gaza, as Hamas adhered strictly – as even Israel has acknowledged – to a negotiated ceasefire.
That ceasefire collapsed when Israel launched a surprise attack on Gaza killing six people, after which Hamas and other resistance factions retaliated.
Even so, Palestinian factions were still willing to renew the ceasefire, but it was Israel that refused, choosing instead to launch a premeditated, systematic attack on the foundations of civilised life in the Gaza Strip.
| Operation Cast Lead, as Israel dubbed it, was an attempt to destroy once and for all Palestinian resistance in general, and Hamas in particular, which had won the 2006 election and survived the blockade and numerous US-sponsored attempts to undermine and overthrow it in cooperation with US-backed Palestinian militias.Like the murderous sanctions on Iraq throughout the 1990s, the blockade of Gaza was calculated to deprive civilians of basic necessities, rights and dignity in the hope that their suffering might force their leadership to surrender or collapse.
In many respects things may seem more dire than a year ago. Barack Obama, the US president, whom many hoped would change the vicious anti-Palestinian policies of his predecessor, George Bush, has instead entrenched them as even the pretense of a serious peace effort has vanished. According to media reports, the US Army Corps of Engineers is assisting Egypt in building an underground wall on its border with Gaza to block the tunnels which act as a lifeline for the besieged territory [resources and efforts that ought to go into rebuilding still hurricane-devastated New Orleans], and American weapons continue to flow to West Bank militias engaged in a US- and Israeli-sponsored civil war against Hamas and anyone else who might resist Israeli occupation and colonisation. Shifting public opinion These facts are inescapable and bleak. However, to focus on them alone would be to miss a much more dynamic situation that suggests Israel’s power and impunity are not as invulnerable as they appear from this snapshot. A year after Israel’s attack and after more than two-and-a-half years of blockade, the Palestinian people in Gaza have not surrendered. Instead they have offered the world lessons in steadfastness and dignity, even at an appalling, unimaginable cost. It is true that the European Union leaders who came to occupied Jerusalem last January to publicly embrace Ehud Olmert, the then Israeli prime minister, - while white phosphorus seared the flesh of Gazan children and bodies lay under the rubble – still cower before their respective Israel lobbies, as do American and Canadian politicians. The universalist cause of justice and liberation for Palestinians is gaining adherents and momentum especially among the young. I witnessed it, for example, among Malaysian students I met at a Palestine solidarity conference held by the Union of NGOs of The Islamic World in Istanbul last May. And again in November, as hundreds of student organisers from across the US and Canada converged to plan their participation in the global Palestinian-led campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions modeled on the successful struggle against South African apartheid in the 1980s. ‘Bankrupt’ state This week, thousands of people from dozens of countries are attempting to reach Gaza to break the siege and march alongside Palestinians who have been organising inside the territory. Each of the individuals traveling with the Gaza Freedom March, Viva Palestina, or other delegations represents perhaps hundreds of others who could not make the journey in person, and who are marking the event with demonstrations and commemorations, visits to their elected officials, and media campaigns. Against this flowering of activism, Zionism is struggling to rejuvenate its dwindling base of support. Multi-million dollar programmes aimed at recruiting and Zionising young American Jews are struggling to compete against organisations like the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, which run not on money but principled commitment to human equality. Increasingly, we see that Israel’s hasbara [propaganda] efforts have no positive message, offer no plausible case for maintaining a status quo of unspeakable repression and violence, and rely instead on racist demonisation and dehumanisation of Arabs and Muslims to justify Israel’s actions and even its very existence. Faced with growing global recognition and support for the courageous non-violent struggle against continued land theft in the West Bank, Israel is escalating its violence and kidnapping of leaders of the movement in Bil’in and other villages [Muhammad Othman, Jamal Juma and Abdallah Abu Rahmeh are among the leaders of this movement recently arrested]. Travel fears In acting this way, Israel increasingly resembles a bankrupt failed state, not a regime confident about its legitimacy and longevity. And despite the failed peace process industry’s efforts to ridicule, suppress and marginalise it, there is a growing debate among Palestinians and even among Israelis about a shared future in Palestine/Israel based on equality and decolonisation, rather than ethno-national segregation and forced repartition. Last, but certainly not least, in the shadow of the Goldstone report, Israeli leaders travel around the world fearing arrest for their crimes. For now, they can rely on the impunity that high-level international complicity and their inertial power and influence still afford them. But the question for the real international community – made up of people and movements – is whether we want to continue to see the still very incomplete system of international law and justice painstakingly built since the horrors of the Second World War and the Nazi holocaust dismantled and corrupted all for the sake of one rogue state. What we have done in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and the rest of Palestine is not yet enough. But our movement is growing, it cannot be stopped, and we will reach our destination. Ali Abunimah is co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of One Country, A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. He will be among more than 1,300 people from 42 countries traveling to Gaza with the Gaza Freedom March this week.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy. |
Having polished-off the old Crystal Ball, I’m now ready to make my predictions for the up-coming new year. Earlier today I had asked you the reader to make predictions for 2010 because I was too busy at the time to do it myself. In case you want to add your prediction to the list, you have two chioces. You can write in the comment section below, or you can go back to the post from earlier today here, and leave your words of wisdom.
In no particular order…
For everyone that reads this, please keep in mind that my predictions come from a very old Crystal Ball and has many scratches and cracks. A little like me.
Gio-
A big Gio’sWorld thank you goes out to FS for sending me the link to this very timely video. Enjoy…
I’m in a bit of a rush to post this, but you will get the idea of this posting very quickly. Will be back later with some ideas and articles.
Instead of me making my predictions (for the record, I have many) I would like to hear from all of you. What do you think will happen politically in and to our great nation in 2010. Knowing how educated the Gio’sWorld readers are, I suspect many of you will nail it!
Oh, one last thing… using a Crystal Ball like the one below is quite acceptable…
We had been warned a few days prior to Christmas that something like this was going to happen. But like everything connected to the Obama administration the news was much worse. Instead of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae getting $400 Billion each from the taxpayer to keep them in business, Obama has promised them an unlimited amount of our money.
I had a wonderful Christmas and am in a relatively good mood. I’m telling you this so I don’t go ballistic telling you how I feel about this news. Let me just say this…. EVERYONE HAD BETTER BE PREPARED FOR ONE HELL OF A FIGHT WITH OUR GOVERNMENT. I SUGGEST WE ALL START GETTING IN SHAPE FOR WHAT MAY COME NEXT.
THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE HELLUVA NEW YEAR!
Gio-
The Obama administration’s decision to cover an unlimited amount of losses at the mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the next three years stirred controversy over the holiday.
The Treasury announced Thursday it was removing the caps that limited the amount of available capital to the companies to $200 billion each.
Unlimited access to bailout funds through 2012 was “necessary for preserving the continued strength and stability of the mortgage market,” the Treasury said. Fannie and Freddie purchase or guarantee most U.S. home mortgages and have run up huge losses stemming from the worst wave of defaults since the 1930s.
“The timing of this executive order giving Fannie and Freddie a blank check is no coincidence,” said Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee. He said the Christmas Eve announcement was designed “to prevent the general public from taking note.”
Treasury officials couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.
So far, Treasury has provided $60 billion of capital to Fannie and $51 billion to Freddie. Mahesh Swaminathan, a senior mortgage analyst at Credit Suisse in New York, said he didn’t believe Fannie and Freddie would need more than $200 billion apiece from the Treasury. But he and other analysts have said the market would find a larger commitment from the Treasury reassuring.
In exchange for the funding, the Treasury has received preferred stock in the companies paying 10% dividends. The Treasury also has warrants to acquire nearly 80% of the common shares in each firm.
The Treasury removed the cap on the size of available bailout funds by amending agreements it reached with the companies in September 2008, when the government seized control of the agencies under a legal process called conservatorship. The agreement allowed the Treasury to make amendments through the end of the year, without the consent of Congress. Changes made after Dec. 31 would likely involve a struggle with lawmakers over the terms.
Some Republicans are angry the administration is expanding the potential size of the bailout without having a plan for eventually ending the federal government’s role in the companies.
The Treasury reiterated administration plans for a “preliminary report” on the government’s future role in the mortgage market around the time the federal budget proposal is released in February.
The companies on Thursday disclosed new packages that will pay Fannie Chief Executive Officer Michael Williams and Freddie CEO Charles Haldeman Jr. as much as $6 million a year, including bonuses. The packages were approved by the Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, which regulates the companies.
The FHFA said compensation for executive officers of the companies in 2009, on average, is down 40% from the pay levels before the conservatorship.
Under the conservatorship, top officers of Fannie and Freddie take their cues from the Treasury and regulators on all major decisions, current and former executives say. The government has made foreclosure-prevention efforts its top priority.
The pay packages for top officers are entirely in cash; company shares have been trading on the New York Stock Exchange at less than $2 apiece, and it isn’t clear when the companies will to profitability or whether common shares will have any value in the long term.
For the CEOs, annual compensation consists of a base salary of $900,000, deferred base salary of $3.1 million and incentive pay of as much as $2 million.
When Mr. Haldeman was hired by Freddie in July, the company set his base pay at $900,000 and said his additional “incentive” pay would depend on a decision by the regulator.
At Fannie, Mr. Williams was chief operating officer until he was promoted in April to CEO. As COO, his base salary was $676,000. He also had annual deferred pay of $2.3 million and a long-term incentive award of as much as $1.5 million.
Under the new packages, Fannie will pay as much as about $3.6 million annually to David M. Johnson, chief financial officer; $2.4 million to Kenneth Bacon, who heads a unit that finances apartment buildings; $2.8 million to David Benson, capital markets chief; $2.2 million to David Hisey, deputy chief financial officer; $3 million to Timothy Mayopoulos, general counsel; and $2.8 million to Kenneth Phelan, chief risk officer.
At Freddie, annual compensation will total as much as $4.5 million for Bruce Witherell, chief operating officer; $3.5 million for Ross Kari, chief financial officer; $2.8 million for Robert Bostrom, general counsel; and $2.7 million for Paul George, head of human resources.
The pay deals also drew fire. With unemployment near 10%, “to be handing out $6 million bonuses to essentially federal employees is unconscionable,” said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican who is a frequent critic of Fannie and Freddie.
He also criticized the administration for approving the compensation without settling on a plan to remove taxpayer supports: “To be doing that with no plan in place is just unconscionable.”
The FHFA said that Fannie and Freddie “must attract and retain the talent needed” for their vital role in the mortgage market.
Write to James R. Hagerty at bob.hagerty@wsj.com and Jessica Holzer at jessica.holzer@dowjones.com
The headline below is stating the case mildly. The politicians in this country are about to get a wake-up call they never expected. When you tell “the people” to stick it where the sun don’t shine, don’t act all surprised when the new year starts out looking like a scalping party!
Ho-Ho-Ho Gio-
WASHINGTON, Dec 24 (Reuters) – U.S. Senate passage on Thursday of landmark legislation to overhaul U.S. healthcare is packed with potential political risks and rewards.
Complete story here.
I’ve been a part of Giovanni’s World since October 2008 when I first discovered this blog. Like the many regulars here, I too found Gio’s World to be interesting, its conservative politics compatible, and its owner, Giovanni Faga, a blog host rare in his courtesy, humor, and warm hospitality. Almost immediately I began posting comments. I also started e-mailing Gio news articles I found which I thought he’d find interesting and suitable for his blog.
Thus began an online friendship, founded on mutual respect and a genuine meeting-of-minds.
Several months passed. I was touched when Gio, in recognition of the news articles I sent him, many of which he used, conferred on me the honorary title of Giovanni’s World’s “West coast editor.” Then, sometime in late March or early April of this year, planning a well-deserved weekend away from home, fishing, Gio entrusted me with his blog by giving me the awesome priviledge of all the behind-the-scenes editing functions over Giovanni’s World.
That was the weekend when I, cautiously, began writing posts, learning by doing how to do wordpress blogging.
Sadly, my association with Giovanni’s World must now end.
Some of you know of Gio’s recent 4-day absence that began late Friday night, through Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and most of this Tuesday. Some of the regulars here also know that Gio has been absent from his blog in the past. This time, however, was different because of its duration.
I was already concerned after his first day of absence and silence, because I knew about a possible health condition of his. Then, Sunday went by. Still nothing from Gio. Then, Monday morning passed, which was when Gio would pop back from his absences in the past. I began to be really worried.
My thoughts started racing…. What if Gio had a medical crisis, like a heart attack, and is immobilized and cannot get to a computer? Although I’ve given him my home phone number — and my real name and home address — Gio has refused to give me his. I’ve conducted numerous people searches on the Internet for a “Giovanni Faga” who lives in North Carolina. Each time, the search could not find one; the closest is a “John Faga” (“Giovanni” is Italian for “John”) who is 95 years old and lives in Horse Shoe, NC.
I e-mailed a couple of the regulars of Gio’s World to find out if they have Gio’s phone number. Nothing. I sent a frantic e-mail to Gio, asking “Where are you?”, that his absence and silence were freaking me out, and begging him to please give me a call, or if he can’t call me, to call Steve (whose phone number Gio has) to relay a message to me. My e-mail ends with these words:
“I do not deserve to be treated this way. I certainly don’t treat my friends this way.”
Throughout Gio’s absence and unnerving silence, I kept up with his blog, posting articles, videos, cartoons, jokes, to keep readers informed and hopefully entertained — as I’ve done when Gio went MIA in the past. I was worried sick — but there was NOTHING I could do, except to wait…and hope…and pray.
Late Monday night, while wandering the net, I finally came across a piece of news from a local news outlet in North Carolina that the snow storm that cut through the East coast had caused widespread power outages in the western region of NC where Gio presumably lives. My mind was a bit eased, because now I have some explanation for his absence. But I continued to worry, for what if he got injured in the bad weather?
Then, he finally popped back onto the blog on Tuesday afternoon, with a brief explanation about the blizzard-caused power outage. An hour went by before he returned my frantic e-mail with the same explanation, completely ignoring my plea for his phone number and my last desperate words.
Then, in an exchange of comments with bkeyser and me on his “I’m Baaack” thread, Gio dismissed my query concerning his secrecy about phone calls (or rather the refusal to call) with a self-righteous indignant protest that we’re “questioning his privacy.”
That was when I realized that THINGS WILL NEVER CHANGE. My friendship with Gio and my association with Giovanni’s World will ALWAYS be on his terms. That is, in the name of protecting his privacy (as if I, Steve, and others who have given our phone numbers to Gio do not value our privacy!), ”Giovanni Faga” will NEVER trust me enough to give me his phone number, or his real name, or have the consideration and empathy to relieve me from worrying about him by giving me a call (or have someone give me a call) when he’s absent from his own blog. But I simply CANNOT go through another one of his mysterious absences, worrying and fretting.
Gio’s attempt at an apology, his “Gio – For The Record” post, only confirms the sad conclusion I already arrived at.
So, this is my formal GOODBYE to “Giovanni Faga” and Giovanni’s World. I have so enjoyed being the “West coast editor” of this blog and, in the process, meeting and befriending so many of you. I will treasure those memories.
I hope Mr. Faga will allow me to extend an invitation to the readers of his blog to visit a new conservative blog I, Steve, and my best friend Joan have formed: Fellowship of the Minds. Although it has only just begun, do come by and check us out. We conservatives are truly in a war for the heart, mind, and soul of our beloved country. It is not an exaggeration to say that the very survival of America and the U. S. Constitution is in jeopardy. In this war, we need as many informed fierce combatants on our side as we can muster. Thus, Fellowship of the Minds is not a competitor of Giovanni’s World. We are fighting on the same side, for the same cause.
In closing, Steve and I wish you all a very Joyous Christmas and God’s wondrous Grace and Blessings,
~Eowyn 
Christmas Eve, 2009
Here in the Asheville NC area we have a rather famous News Radio Station whose call letters are WWNC 570 on the AM dial. The only reason why it is famous has something to do with being one of the country’s oldest AM Stations. This radio station is ‘the’ talk radio station for all of Western North Carolina, part of the NC Foothills, the upstate of SC, and a small part of both northern Georgia and Eastern TN. You get to hear Glenn Beck from 9:00 am til noon, then it’s Rush for the next 3 hours. Starting at 3:00 pm a local guy by the name of Matt Mattan has a show called ‘Take a stand’ until 6:00.
On the ‘Take a stand’ show today Matt had a guest fill-in host. The fill-in guy spent 2 out of the 3 hours with Dr. William Forstchen as his guest. If his name sounds familiar it’s because he has written quite a few books with Newt Gingrich, with his latest “One Second After” being written completely by himself. The book recently became a huge bestseller as a disaster story unfolding after the detonation of an EMP Electromagnetic Pulse weapon takes out all communications and the entire electrical grid of the USA.
Well, Dr. Forstchen spent a good deal of time today talking about how people have been calling him over the past few days asking him advice about some of the crazy survival stories that came about because of the weekend snowstorm. He recounted a few of the hellish stories on air, which had a real personal feel to them because of what I had just gone through with my family.
At one point the guest-host asked Dr. Forstchen for some good advice on survival. The good doctor quickly came back and told the listening audience that if you really want to know anything and everything about survival, to look-up a man that goes by the name of Wesley Rawles. I did so, and am excited as you-know-what to let you in on the best kept secret on the internet. For more than you ever thought you should know about survival go to… http://www.survivalblog.com/. This site is awesome, as my granddaughter would say. Make darn sure you bookmark that site, then for kicks, bookmark this one!
Enjoy all they have to offer.
Gio-
I came across this little article about kids and the learning processes they go through and was immediately attracted to it. Sadly though, it was NOT a pleasant read. This may start arguments with some of you Teachers out there, but please know that that is not my intent, I simply have a different idea on teaching young kids.
The story below starts out focusing on 4 year olds and how they learn. Ok, here comes the part where I start getting opinionated… “Why is it so hard for us to let kids be kids for awhile”? I personally do NOT see the advantage of having a child at 4 years of age being able to count or do simple Math tricks. Let the child be a child. In addition to that, I also would much rather see kids outside playing than to see them sitting in front of a computer or a video game for hours on end. So if you know a 4 year old that can count, tell them that Uncle Gio says… “I’m not impressed”!
Gio-
BUFFALO — Many 4-year-olds cannot count up to their own age when they arrive at preschool, and those at the Stanley M. Makowski Early Childhood Center are hardly prodigies. Most live in this city’s poorer districts and begin their academic life well behind the curve.
But there they were on a recent Wednesday morning, three months into the school year, counting up to seven and higher, even doing some elementary addition and subtraction. At recess, one boy, Joshua, used a pointer to illustrate a math concept known as cardinality, by completing place settings on a whiteboard.
“You just put one plate there, and one there, and one here,” he explained, stepping aside as two other students ambled by, one wearing a pair of clown pants as a headscarf. “That’s it. See?”
For much of the last century, educators and many scientists believed that children could not learn math at all before the age of five, that their brains simply were not ready.
But recent research has turned that assumption on its head — that, and a host of other conventional wisdom about geometry, reading, language and self-control in class. The findings, mostly from a branch of research called cognitive neuroscience, are helping to clarify when young brains are best able to grasp fundamental concepts.
In one recent study, for instance, researchers found that most entering preschoolers could perform rudimentary division, by distributing candies among two or three play animals. In another, scientists found that the brain’s ability to link letter combinations with sounds may not be fully developed until age 11 — much later than many have assumed.
The teaching of basic academic skills, until now largely the realm of tradition and guesswork, is giving way to approaches based on cognitive science. In several cities, including Boston, Washington and Nashville, schools have been experimenting with new curriculums to improve math skills in preschoolers. In others, teachers have used techniques developed by brain scientists to help children overcome dyslexia.
And schools in about a dozen states have begun to use a program intended to accelerate the development of young students’ frontal lobes, improving self-control in class.
“Teaching is an ancient craft, and yet we really have had no idea how it affected the developing brain,” said Kurt Fischer, director of the Mind, Brain and Education program at Harvard. “Well, that is beginning to change, and for the first time we are seeing the fields of brain science and education work together.”
This relationship is new and still awkward, experts say, and there is more hyperbole than evidence surrounding many “brain-based” commercial products on the market. But there are others, like an early math program taught in Buffalo schools, that have a track record. If these and similar efforts find traction in schools, experts say, they could transform teaching from the bottom up — giving the ancient craft a modern scientific compass.
Beyond Counting
In a typical preschool class, children do very little math. They may practice counting, and occasionally look at books about numbers, but that is about it. Many classes devote mere minutes a day to math instruction or no time at all, recent studies have found — far less than most children can handle, and not nearly enough to prepare those who, deprived of math-related games at home, quickly fall behind in kindergarten.
“Once that happens, it can be very hard to catch up,” said Julie Sarama, a researcher in the graduate school of education at the University at Buffalo who, with her colleague and husband, Doug Clements, a professor in the same department, developed a program called Building Blocks to enrich early math education.
“They decide they’re no good at math — ‘I’m not a math person,’ they say — and pretty soon the school agrees, the parents agree,” Dr. Clements said.
“Everyone agrees.”
In a Building Blocks classroom, numbers are in artwork, on computer games and in lessons, sharing equal time with letters. Like “Sesame Street,” Building Blocks has children play creative counting games; but it also focuses on other number skills, including cardinality (how many objects are in a set) and one-to-one correspondence (matching groups of objects, like cups and saucers). Teachers can tailor the Building Block lesson to a student’s individual ability.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon at the Makowski center, Buffalo’s Public School 99, Pat Andzel asked her preschool class a question:
“How many did you count?”
From the Desk of: Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI), believing victory is at hand, Dear Patriot, Sen. Whitehouse opened up his Senate floor speech spewing venom Quoting an article, which called those of us opposing the With passage of ObamaCare perhaps imminent, Whitehouse feels By supporting a socialized health care bill fraught Especially considering recent polling suggests a growing ++ “Let the Fax Blizzard Commence”! After yesterday’s message, tens of thousands of faxes were Now in the waning hours leading to this historic vote, I’m Click here right now to schedule your faxes to the Senate: Let’s make sure that Whitehouse and every other Through our Faxfire fax system, you have the potential to I urge you to take action right now either using our custom Whatever method you choose, take action by clicking here now: http://www.grassfire.com/1122/offer.asp?ref_id=500052 + + Action #2: Call your two Senators After scheduling your faxes, call your two Senators. Locate your Senators here: When calling, consider using these talking points: –Identify yourself and the state in which you live. Finally, take a few additional moments to contact Sen. Whitehouse’s Senator Whitehouse: (202) 224-2921 Thank you for standing with GrassfireNation. Steve Elliott |
This is one of those articles where you have to wonder what would it take for this person to consider that a Higher Power, an Angel, or God himself, had intervened. Not once in the entire article does he give thanks to God, and this really bothers me.
Gio-
This guy needs a Band-Aid and an Aspirin!
By any reasonable standards, people who jump out of planes are reckless or suicidal; and people who jump out of planes flying at low altitude over volcanos, well, they’re beyond help. But that was our plan that day.
I was working on a documentary, filming an athlete skydiving over the Kamchatka in Russia. Known as ”the land of fire and ice”, it has 40 or so active volcanos, and is covered in snow for nine months a year. The idea was to get footage of the athlete “flying” in front of a column of steam hundreds of feet high that was spewing from a vent in the side of a mountain.
During my 12 years in the sport, I’ve completed around 2,500 jumps, and at that time I was doing it four or five times a week. But there’s no room for complacency. Our plan was to exit at 6,000ft, fly past the steam, open our parachutes at between 150 and 200 metres, and land. But after we jumped out of the helicopter, the plan wasn’t followed.
I was very focused on my filming and had a viewfinder over my left eye, to help frame the video. To gauge distances, you really need both eyes, and because of the snow covering the volcano it was very difficult to sense height – all we could see was white.
Quite suddenly, I realised I could see the texture of the snow and ice, meaning I had two or three seconds before I hit the ground. I can’t have been more than 20 metres up. Terror gripped my heart and stomach, the darkest of darkness. Then I had a clear thought of my wife and three-month-old daughter, and was overwhelmed by sadness as I felt the parachute lift from my back. I’d opened it without even thinking, just as you might instinctively hit the brakes in a car, and experienced a brief sense of hope. This is going to hurt a lot, I thought, or not at all.
The parachute barely unfurled, but swung my feet up above me, like a child on a swing. Then the ground hit me full in the back with the force of a truck. The impact left me unconscious for a few seconds, and as I opened my eyes two overwhelming emotions raced through me. The first was elation at having survived, the second black, jagged fear. I was certain, straight away, that I’d broken my back – the pain in my spine was so immense that I had no doubt about this at all.
We had a crew of about a dozen, mountain guides with first aid and a stretcher, but it took some time for the helicopter to find a safe spot to land and for them to carry me to it. I left a 1m-deep crater in the snow.Meanwhile, the athlete had drifted safely down beside me – his parachute had opened at the correct time.
I’d become very cold, and one of my lungs had filled with blood, which gurgled in my airways. I thought it likely that I had serious internal bleeding and was about to die. I tried to decide what my last words to my family should be – “I’m sorry this has happened, I love you” – then wondered who in the multinational crew to pass them on to. I ended up choosing an Austrian guy who seemed to have the most fluent English.
It took an hour to reach the local hospital, where a diagnosis wasn’t forthcoming, and another nine to fly on to Moscow, where a CT scan confirmed my back was broken. There was better news, though – it was a stable fracture and I appeared to have suffered no neural damage.
I flew back to the UK for the rest of my treatment. I was fitted with a back brace, and was up and walking within a week. In the six months since, I’ve had a lot of time to consider my jumping from other perspectives. I’ve lived a very internalised life – most of my friends and people I talk to are jumpers, and my whole life has revolved around this extreme sport, this dangerous environment. I’ve been able to reflect on how it’s seen by others, and on my motivation for doing it. My wife, Christina, is also an active skydiver and base jumper, and has jumped since my accident.
In a month or so, I should be fit enough to jump again. I’ll definitely do one more, then see how I feel. My conflict at the moment is to define a balance between having a family and following my passion. I really miss it. How could I not? It’s the closest realisation of Icarus’s dream – you put on a suit and you fly.
Hello to all of you that read this blog.
As some of you know by now, my family and I just came through a rather rough time with the snowstorm we got hit with here in western North Carolina. We have had some members of the blog make some statements and/or have questions about my absence so I’m writing this post to explain some of what I think people really want to know.
This will take some time to write all my thoughts and explanations, so check back often as I will be updating this post more than a couple of times. To give you a small idea of what we went through go here… http://www.wlos.com/. There you will see a video near the top of the page with a picture of trees and snow etc. Watch it and you get just a small idea of what we went through.
I’ll be back shortly with more thoughts and info.
See, that didn’t take long. Ok, now I want to tackle a subject that is near and dear to my heart… Eowyn, the blogs West Coast Editor. One of the things on my Priority-To-Do list for this evening was to thank Eowyn once again for keeping the blog going with some really good info and witty comments. She feels as if I have used her (I think) over the last few days, and for this I am truly sorry. She’s mad at me now so I don’t expect her to reply, but with that in mind I would like to make the following statement…
Eowyn had started to email me and write comments in the blog about a year ago. I was always impressed by her intelligence and wit, but what impressed most was her take-no-prisoner approach when it came to the left. Especially those on the left that support baby-killing (abortion). The two of us would email back and forth and we soon realized that we shared alot of values and views. It was never an attraction like a online dating service thing, no this was just a good friendship. She impressed me so much with her convictions and her ability to put her thoughts into words (something I lack) that I asked her one day if she would like to write for the blog. She said yes, and I was thrilled. Not too long afterwards I wanted to make her feel as if she was really a part of the blog, so I asked her if she would like to be the blogs West Coast Editor (she lives on the west coast. duh!). She said yes to this also, and once again I was thrilled. Over time she became one of the very best friends I have never met (still is).
As mentioned in a few comments made today, privacy is an issue, one that I will talk about a little later tonight. Like I said earlier, check back often.
I have decided to put this off until after the holidays.
Merry Christmas everyone!
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