Lifeguards on-duty at the beach attempted to reach the girls in time, but managed only to pull their lifeless bodies from the sea, then initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Despite the best efforts of the lifeguards and emergency service personnel, the girls were not resuscitated.

After giving up on lifesaving efforts, the lifeguards covered each of the girls’ bodies with a beach towel out of respect for the dead. The feet and ankles of both girls poked from under the beach towels, a testament to two young lives snuffed out.

Within feet of the girls’ bodies, folks went about sunbathing and other beach antics as normal, ignoring the two dead bodies.

What took place on a beach almost half a world away from Philadelphia, or, for that matter, most major American cities, is something that’s a mirror image of things happening more-and-more in society at a quickening pace.

When people die or are murdered, others may stop and look out of curiosity, but most people don’t want to lend a hand to someone in need, let alone do anything to help another human being. Case in point: Esmin Green, 49, who died on the floor of the Kings County Hospital Center, a city-owned hospital, in Brooklyn.

According to the CNN story, a photograph who took photos at the scene said the mood among those on the beach had been one of indifference.

Some of the photos taken by the photographer who spoke with CNN clearly show sunbathers in bikinis and swimming trunks sitting close to where the girls’ feet can be seen poking from under the towels. Other photos show police officers lifting the bodies into coffins and carrying them away past bathers who reclined on sun loungers.

"While the lifeless bodies of the girls were still on the sand, there were those who carried on sunbathing or having lunch just a few meters away," CNN quoted the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, as reporting.

"Few left the beach or abandoned their sunbathing. When the police from the mortuary arrived an hour later with coffins, the two girls were carried away between bathers stretched out in the sun," the Italian newspaper continued.

The Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Crecenzio Seppe, wrote in his parish blog that "indifference is not an emotion for human beings. To turn the other way or to mind your own business can sometimes be more devastating than the events that occur."

In recent weeks, according to the CNN story, there has been problems between Italian authorities and Italy’s Gypsy minority groups amid a crackdown by the Italian government. It seems the government is targeting illegal immigrants — what a concept, huh? — and Italian government officials said there is a "Roma emergency" that has the 150,000-strong Gypsy migrant group blamed for much of the rising street crime.

The bickering has giving police the justification for raids on Gypsy camps, according to the CNN article. But it seems another controversial plan by the Italian government, to fingerprint all the Gypsies in Italy — something the European Parliament condemned, while United Nations officials say is a clear act of discrimination.

CNN reports that the Italian civil liberties group, EveryOne, said Saturday’s drowning occurred in an atmosphere of "racism and horror," added that the group had doubts about the reported version of events.

"The most shocking aspect of all this is the attitude of the people on the beach," the statement said. "No one appears the slightest upset at the sight and presence of the children’s dead bodies on the beach: they carry on swimming, sunbathing, sipping soft drinks and chatting."

While I may not know the situation firsthand in Torregaveta, Italy, in Naples, or elsewhere in Italy, I am aware of the situation in and around Philadelphia. People in certain neighborhoods here shoot each other over drugs, guns, and God only knows what else. There’s no remorse, only killing.

On a positive note here in Philadelphia, however, the killing spree is taking place at a slower pace than in the past year or two, which is good. That people want to kill others, and that innocent people get caught in crossfire — is bad.

More gun laws isn’t the answer. There are enough laws on the books now. Enforcement may be one answer, but the solution lies much, much deeper: the solution is in the fabric of society itself, and starts in the home.

As for Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate who is doing a tour of specific areas in Afghanistan and Iraq, supposedly getting a first-hand look at the situation on the ground, things are much different. His environment will be hot, sandy, dirty, but secure, for the most part. Because Obama, like McCain and others during past trips, are members of Congress, the military will provide a shroud around the "dignitaries" – ensuring, to the best of their ability, the survival of the elected officials, even at the expense of service men and women.

In preparation for his trip this weekend, Obama sought advice from at least two fellow senators in advance of his trip this weekend. They are Sen. Jack Reid, of Rhode Island, and Sen. Chuck Hagel , of Nebraska.

It’s a wise move on Obama’s part to seek out advice before heading into a combat zone, as well, what he calls his wife, a civilian. Barack Obama feels he will make a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, listen to some firsthand accounts from America’s fighting men and women stationed in the war zones, and understand what’s really going on.

As for Obama turning to Reed and Hagel for sage advice, that’s wise. Hagel is a combat veteran, having served with the United States Army in Vietnam in 1968 with his brother, Tom, as an infantry squad leader in the 9th Infantry Division. Hagel earned many military decorations and honors during his enlistment, including two Purple Hearts.

Reed, on the other hand, earned him an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1971. After graduating from West Point, received his Second Lieutenant (butter bar) commission in the United States Army, where he became airborne qualified (paratrooper), and later successfully graduated Ranger school. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division as an infantry platoon leader, a company commander, and a battalion staff officer. Reed resigned from the Army as a Captain in 1979 when he enrolled at Harvard Law School.

Listening to Reed and Hagel is a good start. Visiting Iraq and Afghanistan and listening to the troops – hopefully, firsthand, off-the-record, and without a security detail taking notes and names – he may learn a little more about the realities of day-to-day life for the troops, from the troops’ perspective.

To get a real understanding of the situation in Iraq, though, and to be an effective Commander-In-Chief, Barack Obama ought enlist in the U.S. Army or the U.S. Marine Corps, serve in the Infantry, and go to Iraq for a tour or two. After humping a rucksack, his LBE (load-bearing equipment), his weapon and ammo, his water, and his body armor, as well as fending for his life, not to mention being the eye-and-ears for his team, Barack Obama will learn, firsthand, what combat is like, but, more importantly, what the real situation in Iraq is like.

If Barack Obama wants to take the "short course," dump him in desert fatigues, give him a day of training, a day of weapons qualification, and let him spend a few weeks in Iraq or Afghanistan – his choice – and really go out on patrols. Let him see what it’s like to come under fire, as well as return fire. Let him learn, firsthand, what it’s like to take sight on an insurgent, shoot, and watch the insurgent’s body fall. Yeah, that would give him a better understand of what it’s all about.

Just think, Barack Obama could follow in the steps of some of our great presidents, including George Washington and John F. Kennedy, among others, by serving in the military, during an armed conflict; he could earn his G.I. Bill benefits; possibly pick up a Purple Heart along the way; and, if he survives, he can run for president as "the candidate with real understanding of the situation in Iraq."

Short of that, Barack Obama’s trip to Afghanistan and Iraq is little more than publicity stunt and photo opportunity for his campaign, which, sadly enough, will exploit the trip and photos, most likely, as much as possible between now and the November election.

On that now, do you know what America needs today? Heroes. Real heroes, not these crap-trash heroes we supposedly have in sports and entertainment. We need real men and women – people with ethics, pride, and commitment – for today’s children and teens to look up to as a hero. You – and Barack Obama and John McCain – can get a better understanding of what I am talking about by visiting this real heroes page on a site I found today. Let me know your thoughts afterward.

MSNBC is reporting former Republican Sen. Phil Gramm is stepping down as co-chairman of Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign.

Gramm’s resignation from the McCain campaign follows comments he made in which he called Americans “a nation of whiners.”

Now, for the second time in a month, he is under fire badmouthing presidential candidate Barack Obama, running as a democrat.

When things first blew up just over a week ago, it was initially because Rev. Jesse Jackson, in his humble, Christian demeanor, said he’d like to cut the testicles off of Barack Obama for the ways Obama is talking down to the black community in the United States.

Now, though, keeping the same focus, it seems Fox News did not release the full video, nor the full transcript – in its entirety – of the Fox show, Fox & Friends, being taped. It was during a commercial break – where an open microphone caught Jesse Jackson’s comments. He initially said he wasn’t aware the microphone was still recording him.

For Jackson, when he issued his politically-correct, have-to-do-it-now-to-quiet-things-down apology, he should have faced up to other things – not public, at least at that time – that he said during the taping, and take care of everything all at once. That would have required him to call on his integrity, which right now, seems to be running pretty thin.

Now, thanks to TVNewser, additional comments from that same interview, where Jackson told of his Barack Obama castration idea during a commercial, he also allegedly said Obama was “talking down to black people.” He referred to blacks using the proverbial “N-word” when he expressed his thoughts on Obama telling blacks “how to behave.”

Jesse Jackson, as I said a week ago, is irrelevant in today’s society. He’s out of touch, and from a generation of sit-ins, protests, and other actions to bring about changes in government, civil rights legislation. In today’s society, though, things are different. Things have changed, and for the Rev. Jesse Jackson, he needs to step aside and let the new generation take action to promote the causes they believe in – whether it is for better or worse.

Jesse Jackson, from Chicago, just like Barack Obama, is leader of Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition, is out of the country and unavailable for comment. An aide to Jackson told the Associated Press that said she could not comment on the claim, nor verify he Rev. Jesse Jackson did, indeed, use the “N-word.”

Tags: Rev. Jesse Jackson, Obama for President, McCain for President, Operation PUSH, Rainbow Coalition, Chicago, Chicago Illinois, Barack Obama, Sen. Barack Obama, Obama, presidential candidate, n-word, Christian, testicles, castration, castrate, Fox News, Fox and Friends, n-bomb, commercial break, open microphone, apologies, sit-ins, protests, civil rights