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Carlos Carvalho, 47, was at the Glen Africa Country Lodge in South Africa shooting a series about a British family in a game lodge when he attempted to get a close-up shot of Gerald, the giraffe, Deadline reported. While Carvalho was trying to get his shot, Gerald head-butted the filmmaker and sent him 16 feet in the air. Carvalho suffered massive head injuries as a result. The filmmaker was airlifted to Johannesburg’s Milpark Hospital where he died. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Richard Booker, whose family owns the lodge, told The Telegraph that Gerald would not be put down. "Gerald will remain at the...

Gerald Walpin, the inspector general who was at the center of controversy in 2009 when he was fired by the White House amid an investigation of an Obama friend, died today. He was 84. Walpin's son-in-law, Allan Tananbaum, said Walpin was struck by a car while crossing a street in Manhattan. Walpin was fired in June 2009 for his investigation of the misuse of money in AmeriCorps, the service organization that was part of the Corporation for National and Community Service, where Walpin served as inspector general. The investigation focused on Kevin Johnson, the former NBA star who became mayor...

The USS Gerald R. Ford, a huge new aircraft carrier, reached a milestone in its pricey and extensive construction Thursday when its final keel section was lowered into place at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. The 680-metric-ton lower bow unit is one of the largest of the 500 modules that will make up the completed ship and is over 60-feet-tall. The bulbous bow seen in the picture shifts water flow around the hull, reducing drag and thus increasing speed, range, fuel efficiency, and stability. Carriers with bulbous bows have achieve about 12 to 15 percent increased fuel efficiency than vessels...

The fake "recovery" was nice while it lasted, says famous apocalyptic forecaster Gerald Celente, founder of the Trends Research Institute. But now the fun's over, and we're headed for what Celente describes as the "Greatest Depression." (Snip) The crux of the problem, Celente argues, is that the middle class has been wiped out. America used to be a land of opportunity for all, where hard-working people could build their own small businesses in their own communities and live prosperous and fulfilling lives. But now a collusion of state and corporate interests that Celente describes

Snippets of different Celente clips regarding the collapse of 2009. "Tax Revolt, Riots Violent crime" -- Gerald Celente

Let’s have a moment of silence in memory of ME ...12:29 pm There’s been some bad press for former President Jimmy Carter lately, in reaction to his book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” Alan Dershowitz has notably eviscerated in him in columns here and here. Fourteen of the advisors on the board of Jimmy’s Carter Center have just resigned in protest at what they call his “malicious advocacy” and his “strident” positions as expressed in the book. Putting aside Carter’s visceral antipathy towards Israel, which to me is beyond debate at this point in time, there was recently a stunning example...

REVIEW & OUTLOOK President Ford History dealt him a weak hand; he played it well. Thursday, December 28, 2006 12:01 a.m. The abiding cliché about Gerald Ford--who died Tuesday at age 93--is that he was a decent man who steadied the country but held the White House too briefly to leave a major imprint. We've always thought that view of his Presidency is too diminishing, not least because he led the nation at a dangerous time and resisted political furies that could have done the U.S. far more harm. "America's Suicide Attempt" is how the historian Paul Johnson describes the...

Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster Joe Garagiola Sr. had front-row seats for the 1976 presidential election. The Paradise Valley resident and his wife stayed that night in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House and watched election coverage on television with President Gerald Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter had gained a slight lead, and the president decided to go to bed when it appeared no quick winner would emerge. Garagiola, a former St. Louis Cardinals catcher and “Today Show” panelist, shared the story Wednesday, a day after Ford’s death at his California home. Garagiola, now 80, said watching the election unfold with Ford...

Another great voice has been silenced. R&B singer-songwriter Gerald Levert, whose velvety yet powerful pipes brought him solo success and contributed to the soulful harmonies of the group LeVert, died Friday of a heart attack at his Cleveland home. He was 40. "All of us at Atlantic are shocked and deeply saddened by his untimely death," read a statement released by Atlantic Records, which Levert had worked with since 1986. "He was one of the greatest voices of our time, who sang with unmatched soulfulness and power, as well as a tremendously gifted composer and an accomplished producer. "Above all,...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

ANNAPOLIS (AP) - A lobbyist whose fraud conviction prompted lawmakers to make a tougher ethics law has been released from federal custody, and he has taken steps to work again at the Maryland State House. Gerard E. Evans, 46, filed papers Friday with the state ethics commission to represent a handful of high-profile clients. They include Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos and the Baltimore and Prince George's County chapters of the state's largest police union. [SNIP] Evans built his $1 million lobbying franchise largely on the strength of his ties to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Prince...