Berlusconi ahead in key Italy Senate race: projections

To contact us Click HERE
Projections from an early vote count in Italy's election on Monday showed Silvio Berlusconi's center right slightly ahead in the Senate, a result that could cause deep government instability if confirmed.

The projections on RAI, Sky, Mediaset and LA 7 television stations were the reverse of earlier predictions from telephone polls that showed the center left taking a strong lead in both houses of parliament.

The change in predictions had an immediate impact on markets which rose earlier on hopes of a stable and strong centre-left led government.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/25/us-italy-vote-idUSBRE91M0EB20130225

Israel fears new Palestinian uprising could erupt

To contact us Click HERE
Masked Palestinian gunmen fired in the air on Monday as thousands marched at the West Bank funeral of a prisoner whose death in an Israeli jail has raised fears in Israel of a new uprising.

Arafat Jaradat's death on Saturday and a hunger strike by four other Palestinian inmates have raised tension in the occupied territory after repeated clashes between stone-throwers and Israeli soldiers in recent days.

Israeli troops, on high alert, took up positions outside Jaradat's home village of Se'eer, in likely earshot of the bursts of automatic fire from the half-dozen masked Palestinians in full battle dress.

"We sacrifice our souls and blood for you, our martyr!" mourners chanted.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/25/us-palestinians-israel-idUSBRE91O0K420130225

How many convicted paedophiles have police lost track of in your area? Map shows where 137 have gone missing

To contact us Click HERE
Police have lost track of almost 140 paedophiles, sparking fears many may have left the country, it has been revealed.

Government figures show a total of 137 child sex offenders have disappeared after signing the sex offenders' register, which requires them to inform police of their whereabouts or any changes to their details.

The shock figures show the Metropolitan Police has lost by far the most paedophiles, with 40 on the run from the authorities in London.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2284129/Revealed-The-map-Britain-shows-convicted-paedophiles-run-area-police-lost-track-them.html

Obama selling meetings with himself at White House for $500,000 each

To contact us Click HERE


MSNBC’s Chuck Todd criticized Monday the new fundraising efforts of President Obama’s dark money group, Organizing for Action, calling a scheme for high donors to meet regularly with Obama “the definition of selling access.”

Todd was describing the quarterly meetings that will be enjoyed by OFA’s $500,000 donors, the New York Times reported over the weekend:

But those contributions will also translate into access, according to donors courted by the president’s aides. Next month, Organizing for Action will hold a “founders summit” at a hotel near the White House, where donors paying $50,000 each will mingle with Mr. Obama’s former campaign manager, Jim Messina, and Mr. Carson, who previously led the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Giving or raising $500,000 or more puts donors on a national advisory board for Mr. Obama’s group and the privilege of attending quarterly meetings with the president, along with other meetings at the White House. Moreover, the new cash demands on Mr. Obama’s top donors and bundlers come as many of them are angling for appointments to administration jobs or ambassadorships.

http://freebeacon.com/chuck-todd-on-ofa-fundraising-this-just-looks-bad/

NRA uses Justice memo to accuse Obama admin of wanting to confiscate guns

To contact us Click HERE
His plan also includes tougher federal laws against gun trafficking and straw purchases, which occur when a person legally buys a firearm but sells it to a criminal or someone else barred from owning a weapon.

Interest in the gun issue has intensified since the December shootings in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 first-graders and six staffers at an elementary school. The Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee plans to write legislation addressing some of Obama’s proposals in the next week or two.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/23/nra-uses-justice-memo-accuse-obama-admin-wanting-c/?page=2#ixzz2LwaToDAf

Nature Study: Birds

To contact us Click HERE
Birds are a delight in our home, and sighting a new bird is a particular thrill.

Last February I had the thrill to see for the first time, in the crab apple tree outside my kitchen window, a cedar waxwing. Sadly it took me a good ten minutes to realize that I was not looking at a female cardinal, and the six "female cardinal"s were long gone before I managed to find a source that helped me understand that I had been seeing a cedar waxwing. And no photographs taken.So bear with me here for a few minutes. All winter this year I have been missing our seasonal birds. Now I still think of it as winter, but on February 2 Pauxatauney Phil said that spring will come early this year. Imagine my delight, yesterday, when I found my yard and tree swarming with robins and starlings!  I can see from my photos that I didn't photograph the swarms, preferring to photograph individual birds.             

I can even forgive them the mess they were making of my van! 
    
One handsome bird even came to pose right in front of me!
      
    
But imagine my joy when I detected that there was an additional bird among the swarms: my annual visit from the cedar waxwings!
   
   
I'm not sure how many there were, but this year I was able to get some very satisfying photographs, although not many. 
Now, unfortunately my son didn't get to see Mr. Cedar Waxwing. It was lunch break and he was playing Mine Craft. By the time he came to see, all the birds had "flown the coop".
Thanks for reading!

TOS Homeschool Crew

To contact us Click HERE
If you have been reading my blog a while, you probably know that I review products (chiefly) for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Schoolhouse Review Crew.  I mention it here because the new review year is about to get underway. I do not get to review all the products that are reviewed by the crew partly because I can only review products that are appropriate for my 7th Grade son's age, and partly because there are only so many hours in the day and I cannot possibly review everything!

That said, I wanted to let you know about reviews that will soon be available for you to see on the Old Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog:

Apologia Elementary-level Sciences (beginning today, 2/8/13);

Flowering Baby (2/13);

Classical Academic Press: Song School Spanish and God's Geat Covenant Old Testament (2/15);

Handwriting Without Tears (2/18);

 A+ Tutorsoft (2/20);

College Common Sense (2/25);

Abraham's Journey (2/27);

Lone Star Learning (3/1);


Artistic Pursuits (3/6);

EGM Educational Systems (3/8);

TouchMath (3/11);

Essentials in Writing (3/13);

Classical Academic Press: Poetry/Logic (3/18);

Adventus (3/20)

The ones highlighted in blue are ones I will be reviewing. I'm SO excited to get all these neat products to tell you about, so I hope you'll watch for my reviews. If you want to see a review of a product I'm not reviewing, don't forget to visit the Old Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog.