Gino . . .

. . . died yesterday in his sleep.  He was only 50.

Last Wednesday, my commander and I visited Gino and his family in the hospital.  That night, his heart stopped for 30 seconds.  He died peacefully in his sleep Saturday evening.

Protest . . .

. . . not me.

Sixty-six years ago, the United States rained hell on Hiroshima.  People argue about the necessity of the atomic bomb, and the horrible effect on the civilian population.  Unfortunately, the citizen populations of most of the countries in the world were already affected, and none were more responsible for those atrocities than the Japanese Empire.  The good Book says something abut sowing and reaping, and this was the crop they gathered.

Activists will mark the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan with a protest near Vandenberg Air Force Base's main gate today.  Approximately two dozen people will gather about 1 p.m. in front of the base.

Let them gather.  Their right to do so was in no small way guaranteed by that event on August 6, 1945.  I will ignore the protests, as I always do, and I will post this photo every year on this day as long as I can punch a keyboard.

Gino . . .

. . . is back in intensive care. 

Damage from the heart attack was severe, and his heart is operating at about 20%.  His blood oxygen level is depressed, and he has fluid in his lungs. He also may have also had either a stroke or blood deprivation to his brain.

It does not look good.

Hello, George . . .

. . . Orwell, that is

Under the guise of protection, a House committee has approved the “Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011.”

Internet providers would be forced to keep logs of their customers' activities for one year--in case police want to review them in the future--under legislation that a U.S. House of Representatives committee approved today.

A last-minute rewrite of the bill expands the information that commercial Internet providers are required to store to include customers' names, addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and temporarily-assigned IP addresses, some committee members suggested. By a 7-16 vote, the panel rejected an amendment that would have clarified that only IP addresses must be stored.

Apparently, the title was chosen specifically to discourage opposition.  After all, who could vote against a bill with THAT title?

Of course, all data will be securely protected so that it cannot be used for untoward purposes.

Right!

What are we becoming?

Catharsis . . .

One of my employees at the Naval Base, an Italian national named Gino, had a serious heart attack on Saturday.  He has had surgery, and is still in intensive care.  While I don't have all the details, he may have suffered major heart damage as a result of the attack.


Last week, he complained of pains in his left arm and shoulder, and we begged him to go to the hospital.  He went, but the the ER ran a cardiogram, said nothing was wrong, and sent him home the same night.  Three days later, he was rushed to the hospital.


Gino is a sincere, smart and thoughtful human being, and a joy to work with.  He also has one of the wryest senses of humor on the planet.  In less than a year, he has become one of my best friends in Italy. 


He lives in San Giorgio a Cremano, near the slopes of Vesuvius.  We can see the volcano from our office, and Gino and I have been kidding each other that if Monte Vesuvio erupts, someone will eventually see us in a museum like those plaster casts in Pompeii.  That may sound a little dark and strange, but that's Gino's sense of humor. 


No one who reads this will know Gino, so the real reason I'm writing this is explained by the first word above.  I had to put my words down on paper - so to speak.

Unfortunate . . .

. . . juxtaposition

BBC news has announced that, "Singer Amy Winehouse, 27, has been found dead at her north London home."

The sidebar on the same page says, "Winehouse comeback tour cancelled."

I am not making light of Ms. Winehouse's misfortune.  She had a unique talent that the world will be poorer for losing. 

My point is, that in this age of instant information, publishers should pay a bit more attention to proofing their work.

The Italian . . .

. . . next door

Has taken to sunbathing senza vestiti.  Sans vêtements.  Utan kläder. A cappella. 

Make that bare ass, dick-out, buck nekkid.

It is not a pretty sight.  

All the villas here have high walls, so I normally wouldn't have a problem.  But, the only balcony that we use overlooks the area where he likes to plop on the chaise and let it all hang out.
 
I don't need that while cooking dinner.