The Destinee Charity Foundation believe that in order to ensure the economic and social well being of each country, and subsequently, the world, we must start by investing in those most marginalized – our children – in addressing their basic human rights and needs.

“A child will forever benefit from primary education… “ as stated by Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General, United Nations, reporting on the progress of Millennium Development Goals 2008.

By 2015, the Millennium Development Goals hope to achieve universal primary education. According to their statistics: Globally, 570 million children are enrolled in school. The number of children of primary school age who were out of school fell from 103 million in 1999 to 73 million in 2006. In that year, primary school enrolment in developing countries reached 88 per cent on average, up from 83 per cent in 2000. In sub-Saharan Africa, the net primary school enrolment ratio has only recently reached 71 per cent, even after a significant jump in enrolment that began in 2000. Around 38 million children of primary school age in this region are still out of school. www.un.org/millenniumgoals.

Sadly, most of the indigenous communities in Cameroon in Western Africa lack the very basic educational facilities; therefore, the children remain uneducated and unskilled. An appalling ninety-nine percent (99%) of the children cannot read or write, and girls view their bodies, instead of their minds, as their only currency. Though the girls are the most marginalized and vulnerable members of these communities and though their future looks bleak, they are the most eager to learn and improve their lives.

To help them, Destinee Charity Foundation is in the process of constructing and equipping a fully functional basic primary school for the indigenous children of Kilombo-Kribi, in southern Cameroon. But right now, our resources are being stretched. Children in Kilombo desperately need our help now more than ever. The total cost of construction, equipment, and managing the school amounts to $50,000.00 USD. We’ve managed to start construction, raising almost half the budget of the project through government funding and private donations, but we need help making it the rest of the way.

With your extraordinary support, children can go to school for basic programs in math, reading, and writing; gain access to health care, better nutrition, and cleaner water; and ultimately help their communities find sustainable solutions for themselves. Please give in any way (money, supplies, clothing) and any amount that you can. Find out how you can help now by going to their website – www.destineecharity.org

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I am not my teeth.

When I speak, I notice that you are staring
at my misshapen nose. It is hard for me
not to laugh, because . . .

I am not my nose.

When I speak, you’re looking at my eyes,
but still, you see not who I am, you’re too
busy studying my age lines.

I am not those lines.

Are you listening to my utterances?

Are you feeling the essence of my words?

Or are you so caught up in my physical
accoutrements that you miss the meaning
of what you thought you heard?

When I speak, I speak not from my
intellect, but from my heart. For my
heart is the home of the Divine.

So the next time we have a conversation,
stop checking out my sagging breasts and
my expanded waistline. Instead, focus on your
heart, and you will feel mine . . .

then the real communication will flow, and
like the river of life that empties not onto
rocks and hard surfaces, it will empty into
the ocean of bliss.

For only then have we found our connection,
and separation will fade away as an empty
idea fades away.

Speak to me and I will listen.

I hear you.

© by Adele L Nieto
January 17, 2010

copyright by Adele L Nieto
January 17, 2010

Why didn’t the public know about the collapse of the economy before it collapsed?

There must have been signs indicating an economic meltdown way before the end of the Bush administration? Why did financial experts Ben Bernanke and before him, Alan Greenspan who were the bean counter experts, fail to warn us about the future financial woes? Why were we not aware of the fallout on Wall Street before it spilled over on Main Street? How did the banking business become so aloof in handing out credit to those who could barely afford to pay their debt? Back in the 80’s people could only qualify for a house mortgage that was 3x the amount of their annual salary, plus they needed to have at least a 20% downpayment. How and why did these financial institutions become so lax in their lending criteria? Could it be that they all knew they’d be bailed out?

What about Tim Geithner? The fact is that, when he was the chairman of the New York Federal Reserve Bank he had racked up millions when he made an undisclosed purchase of Goldman Sachs stock, “a violation of Federal Reserve policy,” as stated by the Wall Street Journal. This activity occurred at a time when the New York Fed was supposedly overseeing the actions of the Wall Street firm. Why didn’t that antic of Geithner’s raise an eyebrow from the SEC, Congress or the MS Media?

Not only did Goldman Sachs receive a huge cash infusion from the Government, Goldman also received an additional $8.1 billion that the taxpayers will never receive back. Could this be a gift of sorts engineered by then-N.Y. Fed president Geithner of AIG, which listed Goldman as its top insured credit-swap customer?1

According to a Wall Street Journal article, The US Treasury has bailed out AIG several times since last September to the tune of at least $180 billion. No one knows for sure where the money went. Regulators refuse to identify AIG’s counterparties. The US Federal Reserve refuses to publicize a list of AIG’s derivative counter parties. The bailout giveaway has been going on since last September whereby no one from Congress has bothered to be truly concerned about until recently. Now they’re crying outrage, after the milk has been spilt — a little late don’t you think? WE, the taxpayers, are going to pay for the greedy bankers who are laughing all the way to the bank.

Now to another unanswered question:

Why are we still fighting two unnecessary wars? Besides stretching our armed forces to the limit, there is also the war on drugs that we have been fighting in our own country for donkeys years — a necessary war, and one that we can’t seem to get control of. Yet, while our troops are in Afghanistan, the opium poppy business has skyrocketed.

As an industry, the farming and harvesting of the opium poppy has taken over every other form of agriculture in Afghanistan, making millions for the opium drug lords, keeping innocent families in poverty, and augmenting the strength of the Taliban. This situation will not change by foreign troop occupation, nor will we succeed in wiping out the Taliban or Al Qaeda. These faction groups will simply pop up somewhere else. These guys are not like any military we have ever fought.

So the premise from President Obama is that our forces will train an Afghani police force that will tackle the problem of illegal drug trade and enforce the law against the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Okay, just how many years will that effort take in order to show some slight progress? The Afghanis are not your everyday enlistees. Most of them are illiterate, poor, desperate and do not like being told what to do by outside parties. Good luck. Meanwhile the burden of another triple billion dollar bill gets paid for by the taxpayers. And just where are all the taxpayers going to find the money to do this if they have no income? To add insult to injury, we still have the huge debt of the Iraq war, which by the way has there been any mention of a withdrawal date yet?

Why hasn’t the Obama administration called for a criminal investigation of George Bush, Dick Cheney and the rest of the Bush cabal for invading a country based on lies and causing the deaths of thousands of innocent people? And for creating the worst financial mess since the Great depression?

Ah, and last but not least, The Tiger is loose. Yes, I mean Tiger Woods. OMG, he’s committed adultery, not once, not twice but more times than he would care to admit and with different lasses. Of course, this is putrid fodder for the news media and all those opponents he’s beaten mercilessly on the golf course. I’ve never been more appalled at the media than I am now – and let’s not forget the one important thing here, Tiger Woods is not a world leader for humanity – he is a sportsman, plain and simple. He does not influence world, national or regional policy, and that’s that. Leave the man and his family alone to work it out the way they see fit. Besides, I really don’t know of any male celebrity that can keep staving off the she-bears out there that would sleep with a married man in order to secure some infamous dalliance that they can brag about later on; plus make a few bucks from some rag-tag media outlet. Enough about Tiger Woods and his groupies.

Ask this question: Why is the private life of Tiger Woods more important than the failing economy? Or the environment? Or man’s inhumanity towards man? Or illegal wars? Or a lying bunch of politicians hell-bent on ruining the fabric of society? Or how about milking the taxpayers so the very few rich can maintain their ultimate lifestyle? Or how about the thousands of people who, everyday go hungry, are sick and are fearful of the future?

Aren’t those questions more important to address than the life of Tiger Woods?

I think I may, I think I might,

But all dreams sink like ships in the night.

Swell of ocean’s fearful fray,

The visionary dashed on rocks does lay.

Light of hope more hopeless fading,

Through the froth the tired frame is wading.

The carnage of love not found, the carnage of unfruitful ground,

Is nothing now, just lapping gently,

on a morning shore, Awaking empty.

Eff Strick

The drive can be awfully long
when the windows are rolled up
and the radio can’t drown out the sound.

I shrink to the size of a fly,
listening to them argue about where to
turn and how fast to drive.

The abuse that spews from one’s
mouth to the other can cause even a fly
to shudder.

Doesn’t matter.

And they wonder why I cry and tell
them how much i can’t stand going
on that journey again.

Doesn’t matter.

They pack up the car. I’m in the back seat.
We set off on that journey back in
time, to that place where another journey
began in much the same way.

Doesn’t matter.

The long journey is always the same.
and the destination keeps slipping
away from memory. Even a fly has a very
small brain.

The Spiral of Being is the first novel by Adele Nieto. The genre is fiction/adventure set in modern day times. The book marks the first of a series in the unfolding saga of how the main character, Noah Goodarte, must overcome great obstacles in fulfilling his destiny as the “Savior of the Earth Colony”.

Across the universe the Great Spiral of Being governs the evolution of life on all worlds. Each planet forms a unique link in the evolutionary spiral and the progress of each species is guided by laws decreed on the planet Oliphum. The colony called Earth is threatening the well being of the whole. Humans are on the verge of causing the extinction of the animal kingdom. The council of the Placiturn will determine the fate of the planet. Thirteen-year old Noah Goodarte must represent the people of the earth and answer for the past actions of mankind. He must convince the council that the Earth deserves another chance but first he will have to overcome some great and dangerous challenges and prove his worth. Time is running out and the council do not believe that humans can change their destructive ways. Noah and his friends are the last hope for the people of the Earth. Will humans be given the chance to mend their bond with the animal world or is their fate already sealed.

I will not ruin the ending. You can now download this story as an ebook at www.lulu.com for $5.00. Not only is it a good read but great value. All you need to do is type in Spiral of Being inside the search box and go for it!

Hope you become a fan of Noah the Goodheart & Friends!

The newest addition to the Circle of Existence series entitled Ambient Bach (variations and inspirations on the music of JSBach) is indeed an inspirational work from the composer of Circle of Existence, Graeme Chaves. Being a great admirer and lover of JSB’s music, it is my opionion that Graeme Chaves showed respect and didn’t damage the integrity of the Maestro’s great works-of-art. If you are a real Bach purist you may not connect with these variations when you hear Ambient Bach. However, I think most people would thoroughly enjoy this unique interpretation of JSB’s music.

Every well-crafted track offers themes of Bach taken from Goldberg’s Variations, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the B-minor Mass to a Violin Sonata, to name a few. The end result is that Graeme Chaves kept the spirit of JSB alive in Ambient Bach.

Click this link for a free Ambient Bach MP3 download of the first track called Gold Sleep/BWV988 (from Goldberg’s Variations). In addition to a free track you can also read a brief biography of Johann Sebastian Bach on the Circle of Existence website.

With the highest illiteracy rates found in the less developed nations of Africa, Asia, and South America; the lowest are in Australia, Japan, North Korea, and the more technologically advanced nations of Europe and North America. Using the UN definition of illiteracy, the United States and Canada have an overall illiteracy rate of about 1%. In certain disadvantaged areas, however, such as the rural South in the United States, the illiteracy rate is much higher.1

Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for diminishing poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy.

You can participate in the International Literacy Day by organizing a marathon race, a 100-mile hike, a movie-fest in order to raise literacy awareness. You can blog about it, twitter it — but by all means remember the millions of illiterate children and adults who have not had the means to pursue a proper education. Find a charity and donate, or volunteer your services in promoting the building and managing of schools, raise funds to hire teachers, or teach the teachers if you are qualified to do so. Give back so that you may know how much has been given to you.

Increase literacy and you can increase self-empowerment!

www.bloggersunite.org/event/international-literacy-day

through every child’s joy, adults will enhance their own joy!

1See C. Jeffries, Illiteracy: A World Problem (1967); F. Laubach, Forty Years with the Silent Billion (1970); H. Graff, The Literacy Myth (1979) and The Legacies of Literacy (1987).

2UNESCO

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