Crooks Were Running Wild In Bell

Let's talk about the City of Bell right here in California. Bell is a city in Los Angeles County. Its population was 36,664 according to the 2000 census, and is a suburb of the city of Los Angeles. At 2.5 square miles, Bell is listed as number 13 in the list of the 25 smallest cities in the United States that have a population of at least 25,000. In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau ranked Bell's land area at 1245 out of 1257 cities.

Isn't it amazing how stats are kept on just about everything? Well, in some cases the data serves us well. It puts things in proper perspective. For example, there are about 40,000 people in the City of Bell. The racial makeup of the city is mostly Hispanic, with about 40% being White. We also know that the median income for a household in the city was $29,946, and the median income for a family was $30,504. It had a per capita income (PCI), or average income income of $24,800 in 2008, according to the city’s last annual report. More than 25% of its residents live below the poverty line, including 30% of those under age 18 and 17% of those age 65 or over.

So in a city where the average income is about $25,000 a year, why was the City of Bell city manager Robert Rizzo getting $787,637 a year?

Yes, that's almost double the salary of the President of the United States. Imagine that for a second, this guy Rizzo was a City Manager of one of the poorest cities in all of Southern California.

So if we include benefits, he received $1.5 million in 2009. Rizzo's assistant Angela Spaccia, was earning $376,288 a year, more than the top administrator of Los Angeles County. And as for the City of Bell police chief, Randy Adams, well he was paid $457,000. That my friends is 33% more than the City of Los Angeles Police Chief.

All three resigned following news reports and public protests for justice. All but one of the members of the city council were receiving $100,000 a year for service on a City Council that meets about once a month in the modest working-class Los Angeles suburb where one in six people live in poverty.

And by the way, in case you're curious, they voted in their own salaries through rules they formed and passed during a special election where only 400 voters showed up to give the city its Charter status. If that sounds like our Congress, you're right. And to demonstrate how crooked this all was, think about this, usually Council members in cities similar to Bell in size make an average of $4,800 a year.

On September 15, 2010, the California Attorney General's office filed a lawsuit against eight former and current employees, requesting the return of what the suit calls "excessive salaries" as well a reduction in pension benefits accrued as a result of those higher salaries.

Allegations about problems in the 2009 election also have been examined by the FBI and California Secretary of State office. The city's high property taxes were also investigated because of the city inflating the values so that they can get more taxes out of their people. Only recently have the property taxes in Bell been readjusted to their correct rates.

On September 21, 2010, former city manager Robert Rizzo, Mayor Oscar Hernandez, former assistant city manager Angela Spaccia and council members George Mirabal, Teresa Jacobo, Luis Artiga, George Cole and Victor Bello were arrested and charged with misappropriation of public funds. All in all, the City of Bell mayor Oscar Hernandez and former city manager Robert Rizzo are among those accused of looting $5.5million from public funds.

So now fast foward to February 23, 2011, this year.  We now know that Rizzo and the others were arrested and gained national notoriety last summer after their crimes were revealed. We also know that Rizzo is being charged with more than 50 counts of misappropriating public funds, conflict of interest and falsifying public records.

But on the first day of a preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for Rizzo and three other past and present Bell officials to stand trial, his attorney indicated it was Rizzo and not the people of Bell who was victimized.

Can you image the cojones on this guy! He wants people to believe that Robert Rizzo was victimized, and not the City Of Bell. Rizzo's attorney James Spertus said during his opening statement, "Everybody has agreed that it’s not a crime to be paid too much."
Then, believe it or not, attorney James Spertus went on to say that if it wasn't for The Los Angeles Times' report on Rizzo's salary, and the international media attention and public outrage that created, Rizzo would not be facing charges. Imagine that! No shit! That's like saying, well if Rizzo hadn't gotten caught than it wouldn't have been a crime!

And let's all thank God that the prosecutors disagreed with Rizzo's lawyer. It was a crime and Rizzo got caught at it.

Rizzo and three other city officials are the last of the Bell Criminals to be arraigned, as the other current and former council members have already been ordered to stand trial following a similar hearing earlier this month on charges.

To give you an idea of the kind of underhanded dealings that was going on in Bell. Look at Bell resident Roger Ramirez who said he got wind of the huge salaries in 2008 and actually confronted Rizzo. Ramirez asked Rizzo whether he made $400,000 a year as Ramirez had heard.

"He immediately said, 'No, Mr. Ramirez, if I would be making $400,000 a year, I wouldn’t be working here," Ramirez testified.

Ramirez subsequently filed a public records request and received documentation showing Rizzo was paid $15,478 a month and the council members $673 a month. Imagine that! Talk about lies and corruption. Of course, Bell's administrative services director, Lourdes Garcia, testified that after Ramirez made his request, Rizzo told her to provide those phony numbers.  Just so if anyone inquired, that's the amounts they would find.

The Los Angeles Times eventually obtained Bell’s true salaries last year through its own public records request.  Garcia said shortly before that, City Clerk Rebecca Valdez told her Rizzo had ordered that she have Hernandez sign his contracts even though Hernandez wasn’t mayor at the time they were written. Valdez testified at the earlier hearing that she provided Ramirez with false information on Rizzo's orders. She was expected to testify at this hearing as well.

And after the hearing, Rizzo reportedly put on a pair of dark glasses and tried to leave court anonymously. I bet he longs for the days when crooks were running wild in Bell and no one knew about it.

To me, there is something satisfying, almost wonderful, when corrupt leaders of a community get caught and are brought to justice. The whole stinking attitude of "Since there isn't anywhere in the rules that says that I can't do it, it ain't a crime," is just bullshit! It's pure nonsense to think that you can get away with things like this, and the people who believe that there are no consequences to what they do are simply wrong. Thankfully, those in Bell are being made to pay for their wrongs.

Famed western writer Louis L'Amour once wrote, "Everything a man does is an indication of his character, whether he cheats at cards or takes an unfair advantage because it is legal."

I know one thing, it ain't the Cowboy way! And yes, that's just the way I see it.

Tom Correa

Let's Hear It for Great Britain!

That's right, and everyone today should be saying that same thing. So let's hear it for Great Britain!

You see there is no law enforcement agency to call when the same sort of graft and corruption found in a small town like Bell California is found in a place as huge and complex as the United Nations. 

So knowing this, the only real way of getting the U.N. to understand that they better clean themselves up is to cut off their funding.

And yes, that's what the British have done to the U.N.. They've cut their funding and told them to clean up your act or more will be cut.

So OK and let's be honest here, the United States has paid the biggest share of cash to keep the United Nations afloat for years.  We spend a huge amount of money on the U.N., and they can't account for a great deal of that money. 

Now in the last few days, critics of how much money we spend on the United Nations got a huge boost from Great Britain when the British government, one of the U.N.’s staunchest supporters, decided to cut its funds going to many U.N. agencies.

The U.N actually is more like the City of Bell, California, then some might want to admit. Their administration down to their field people have shown themselves to be corrupt throughout. 

So yes, I'm glad to see that in a huge step to reorganization its priorities for its $10.6 Billion foreign aid program that Great Britain, under the leadship of Prime Minister David Cameron, has pulled the financial plug on four major U.N. agencies.

Great Britain's actions were made public just as Conservative members of the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives have started to take a long overdue and very critical look at our U.N. funding as part of its overall budget plan.

And the Americans who I know, all agree that it's about time!  Americans are tired of footing the bill for the U.N. awash in corruption and unashamedly trying to force it's political ideology on us. These are hard times in America with more and more people losing their jobs and most of the States running in the red by Billions upon Billions of dollars.

At a time when our teachers are being fired and many of America's basic social services are being cut off completely, I think the idea of a place as extensively corrupt and as costly as the United Nations which performs no tangible service is not one that we can afford.

The solution that Americans face is to cut essential services, and yes it will affect our infrastructure and social responsibilities at their core. So please tell me why we're spending money on the United Nations?

Corruption at the U.N. is widespread. Corruption is the U.N.'s normal operating procedure. It is systemic at the U.N. by individuals and corporations who reap the benefits of greed.

And to make things worse, the U.N. fails to live up to their most basic mission. If not then is the United Nations a place where the representatives of all nations have gone to settle disputed lands, encourage freedom, end famine and starvation, and support the people of the world? 

Or has it become a corrupt headquarters for a Third World Marxist ideology where dictators and tyrants can hide behind resolution after resolution and condemnation after condemnation? Is the U.N. a shield for radical Muslims who want to bring death and murder to the civilized world?

Let's all do as Great Britain has obviously already done and take a hard look at the importance of the U.N. with a realistic look at what it actually achieves.

Is the sprawling bureaucratic U.N. system ripe with corruption and greed, vice and scandal, and of course intrusions on freedom loving peoples like Americans? You bet they are.

And yes, I'd like to know why do we support the U.N. so blindly? The U.N. sits as a world example of corruption, scandal, and hypocrisy. And it's not just lately, this has been going on for years.

Remember the Iraq Oil for Food scandal where the U.N was taking bribes at the highest levels? Or how about the U.N. Peacekeeper's rape scandals? Or how about the bribes and influence peddling, the falsifying of climate data and the lobbying? How about the graft and the institutional waste? How about its members embezzling funds from programs?

And who is the U.N. to condemn Americans for what we do as a free people? They criticize how we treat people coming into our country illegally. They want to regulate our ownership of guns as stated in our 2nd Amendment of our Constitution. They have actually come out to condemn our voting certain laws into effect like the law against illegal aliens in Arizona voted into law after the murder of an American citizen. And how dare they?

Have they stopped the slaughter in Kenya and the Sudan?  Have they stopped the atrocities committed in the Muslim world on a daily basis?  Have they ruled against Iran and North Korea?  Has anyone heard about the U.N. World Food Program shifting food to Government Armys instead of those starving in Ethiopians where it was supposed to end up? And of course there's the Somali pirates who get a pass from the U.N., after all they can't even come to an agreement on what to do about these killers.  

What are they doing about any of this? Nothing. But they can criticize the U.S. for our actions, and everyone knows how the U.N. feels about Israel who seems to stand more and more alone these days.

It's like my grandfather used to say, "It's easy to correct a friendly dog, but the dogs that need a lesson are never dealt with until someone gets bit."

So what does this British action do for us, the American Taxpayer?  Well, it changes the focus of the debate from just a debate about how the world needs the U.N. to what it actually gets done.

The United States pays 22 percent of the so-called "core" budget of the U.N. Secretariat, and 27 percent of the Peacekeeping expenses, but its so-called voluntary spending on U.N. agencies and programs goes far beyond that, to an estimated $6.3 billion overall.

Even that number is likely a significant under-estimation, since many U.N. agencies operate as so-called "implementing agencies" or program managers for U.S. funds that are channeled through non-U.N. institutions, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), where the U.S. has donated $5.1 billion since 2002, and pledged an additional $4.4 billion.

The implementing U.N. agencies typically charge a percentage for their services.

So let me see here, we're already paying the U.N. to do the task but then they are actually charging us again to "implement" what we are paying them to do already?  OK, I get it now, it's called a Shake Down! A Scam! Racketeering! Criminal! Organized Crime!

What other words do you use when you find out that people are stealing from you and trying to legitimize it by calling it "administration cost" for "implementing agencies"?

The British gave the ax to many agencies, but also gave other U.N. agencies a sharp warning to shape up within two years or face deep funding cuts -- or perhaps worse.

I'm sorry, but I can't help but ask where all the money is going?  Billions, not just Millions, but Billions and Billions of dollars. Billions of dollars is a lot of money. So where is it going? Or does that matter to the U.N. because they know that they answer to no one?

And how about the shock waves given off by the British announcement? What might come out of the British government doing this? And it's not only the U.S., but also there are other nations that may want to take a look at where their money is going?

Heck, maybe other nations will want to know who's getting rich at the U.N.?  In fact has anyone ever asked the question as to why it is that the U.N. "needs" more and more money every year while it produces very little to no results.

I read where Norway, for example, has long been one of the most reliable U.N. donors and gives a full 1% of its $380 billion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to foreign aid, often through U.N. channels. No kidding! A full 1% of its GDP! And friends, that's a lot of money anytime  -- but especially these days.

Norway's direct contributions to U.N. organizations are upwards of $900 million, not counting money it channels through U.N. "affiliated development banks." Whatever that is.

Norway ranks as the U.N.’s sixth-largest donor, but I can't help but wonder what the folks in Norway get for their money?

And I'm sorry, but in today's world wide financial crisis I don't see why the wonderful people in Norway should have to shoulder the such a burden as they do. Especially since they give so much to an organization that has shown itself to be as effective as castrated bull   - and as corrupt as the City of Bell.

But maybe, just maybe, there will be other nations who'll grow a set of cojones like the British have and make some tough choices when it comes to what the U.N. is doing  -- and what its not.

May God Bless Great Britain! 

Story by Tom Correa

Gay Wikileaks Soldier Gets Help

The gay Soldier who committed high crimes against the United States by disclosing the U.S.Army's most sensitive classified documents to a foreign company Wikileaks is being charged with an additional 22 charges, including aiding the enemy, which is equivalent to treason in the civilian world.

Private First Class (PFC) Bradley Manning is accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks that Pentagon officials say endangers U.S. operations, our troops and informants.

Pain and simple, it is a terrorist act!
For me, I have nothing against gay people. But then you might ask, if that's so then why mention that Manning is gay?

Because of the same reason that the Fort Hood terrorist should be referred to as a Muslim terrorist, Manning should be referred to as America's First Gay Terrorist.

Because he is what he is, and what he is goes to why he committed the crimes that he did.

Fact is that Army Major Nidal Hasan shot those people in Fort Hood because he is Muslim. According to eye witness reports, Nidal had screamed "Allahu Akbar!" before he started shooting, the same as any other Muslim terrorist would do.

Bradley Manning leaked classified documents because he's gay. There is no question about it, Manning is gay. And according to all of the reports, there is agreement that the Clinton imposed military policy banning gays from serving openly was Manning's motive for leaking the classified documents.

Another report says that Manning's motives go to his gay partner being supposedly reprimanded somehow or another and he didn't like it.

But if all of the reports are wrong and it wasn't the act of a gay Soldier acting out his anger against a policy he didn't like, and since no moneys are involved, then maybe a friend of mine is right when he said that Manning sounds like a spoiled child that's angry because he hasn't got his way over something.

Either way, I agree it seems like an unbelievably small reason to sell out your country. I mean if someone out there were to sell us all out for any reason at all, then that really seems to be a pretty cheap price. Cheap indeed, all over Gay Pride.

It reminds me of the days when I was working in Corrections in the Marine Corps and how protective one gay male would become of his partner in the Correctional Facility. In those days we were trained to recognize it and be aware of it, but I only experienced it once.

I was with another Brig Chaser when we found two men in the midst of an unlawful act. One lunged at the other Chaser, while his partner cowarded away from us.  It took two of us to restrain the one. I believe both were later discharged from the Service.

But taking your Nation's most sensitive documents and allowing them to become public for the reason that he don't like some policy or that his gay partner might of gotten in trouble over something or other seems extreme.

Very extreme, if not psychologically screwed up. Maybe there should have been red flags regarding his mental instability?

With the Liberal Media and Democrats fighting so hard to have "Don't ask, Don't tell" lifted, it's no big surprise that the reasons for PFC Bradley Manning's treasonous activities hasn't been made an issue.

After all it would not help the Liberal or the Gay Agenda, if there were a Psychologist out there ready to testify that there may be something inherently psychologically wrong with a gay person like Manning.

Although I wouldn't put it pass his attorney to use the whole "we all know that gays are not as mentally stable as heterosexuals" as a defense. Who knows?

I mean really, who knows? I'm sure his attorneys are thinking of anyway they can to get him off, including a possible Presidential Pardon if they and their liberal supporters would have their way about things.

PFC Manning improperly obtained secret information, including classified State Department cables and video footage of a July 2007 Military Operation, while he was stationed at a base east of Baghdad, Iraq.

Manning was exposed after telling notorious online hacker, Adrian Lamo, he was the one who released the video of the 2007 military operation. Lamo shared this knowledge with authorities, later saying Manning also took credit for releasing hundreds of thousands of sensitive diplomatic cables.

Other charges announced on Wednesday includes wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet knowing that it will be accessed by the enemy, theft of public property or records, transmitting Defense information, and fraud in connection with computers. Sounds like terrorism to me!

Trial proceedings against Manning have been on hold since last July, pending the results of a medical inquiry into Manning's mental capacity and responsibility. If that inquiry determines that he is mentally fit to be tried, the military equivalent of grand jury proceeding may be held.

If someone would ask me what I think, I'd have to say that I think his mental capacity is shot!

Why? Well why in all that's right would you join the military knowing full well that you are gay and there is a policy in effect that says that gays can't serve openly. Then once you're in, you attack the very thing you took an oath to serve and protect because you're upset over the very policy that you knew full well was in effect before you ever enlisted.

It's called irrational behavior! I mean think about it, it makes no sense. And if it's not irrational behavior, then it's no big deal because either way he's just a Traitor! If it was stupidity on his part than he is a Stupid Taitor, and if it was crazed behavior then he's just a Crazy Traitor. Either way, his crimes speak for themselves.

The Army said Manning was notified in person of the additional charges on Wednesday while being confined in the Marine Corps Base Quantico Brig in Quantico, Va.

But honestly, I'm sure it wasn't a surprise to Manning. It appears that Bradley Manning has a lot of Leftist friends. Big time, big money, Leftist friends.

In fact, Manning has a lot of big time money coming in as donations to his defense fund. No kidding, there is an anti-war group called "Courage to Resist" which has established a "Bradley Manning Defense Fund."

On their website, that anti-war group says:

"2,911 individuals have donated a total $184,320 to the defense fund, while an additional 613 supporters (including WikiLeaks) have given $60,464 to Bradley's legal trust account.

Bradley's total legal expenses are currently estimated at $120,000. Along with direct contributions, $112,464 has been transferred to the legal trust. (Updated 25 Feb. 2011, 3pm)"

And then there is the Bradley Manning Defense Fund which is tax-deductible! No kidding!

"The Bradley Manning defense fund is hosted by Courage to Resist in collaboration with the Bradley Manning Support Network. With 90% of the total projected legal fees already covered, donations are now primarily being routed towards public education and support activities. The defense fund will contribute to the remaining legal fees as needed."

These folks at “Courage to Resist” state that the 23 year old Soldier has a legal trust account as well. Imagine that, there is a Defense Fund and a Legal Trust Account for Manning.

That's right. Imagine the situation here, you commit treason but you have friends that raise funds in your name and they are not considered co-conspirators. No, instead they are legally able to write off their donations on their taxes.

Having Manning's legal trust account managed by his attorney David Coombs is no big surprise, but having "all proceeds offset Bradley's legal expenses. Any funds remaining at the end of Bradley's court martial will be available to him for appeals. Any funds remaining at the resolution of the legal case will become Bradley's with interest." Now that's interesting. 

Well yes, that surprised me. But that wasn't the last thing to surprise me in this situation, no it wasn't. The last thing that I expected to learn is that if someone out there wanted to donate to this guy, so that he can get off for the harm that he has done to our country, then their checks will be deposited to a Bank of America account.

That's right, Bank of America. I find this all incredible!

An openly gay U.S. Army Soldier disagrees with a policy from Washington D.C., and sells out his country not for money but out of anger.  Then an ultra-liberal leftist organization comes in to set up support for this Soldier who has openly admitted to committing treason. The organization who supports him is a self-proclaimed anti-American anti-War group who has ties to Code Pink and other anti-War groups who help gays, draft dodgers and deserters.

As for the anti-War group, well they have the Soldier's donations in an account at Bank of America in Massachusetts.  Considering the group is located in Oakland, CA, it's strange that they would pick Bank of America in Massachusetts. But then again one of the stranger parts of this story is that instead of it being a couple of hundred thousand dollars, it should only be a few coins in some shoebox on a shelf that no one should give a shit about.

I've had to realize more and more lately that, even if I don't want to, I just have to admit that certain things in life are just true.

And one of those things that I have learned actually since the Clinton Administration is that for a bunch of Socialist who hate American Capitalism, the wealthy Liberal Left is always willing to support any and all anti-American behavior with their wallets.

Don't ask me why, they just do. The first American Gay Terrorist included!

Story by Tom Correa

My Small Tribute To Aneta Florczyk

So who is Aneta Florczyk?

Well friends, Aneta is 5 foot 5 inches tall, she weighs a mere 165 pounds, she's from Poland, and she's also a great deal more. See besides having a career in sports, she's recently been elected to the Malbork City Council.  The city of Malbork in Poland is where Aneta lives. 

That's where despite her new duties as a "Councilor" on the City Council, which I'm sure is the same as a Councilmen and women here, Aneta still maintains her sports career and businesses.

So who says you can't be beautiful, strong, and smart and successful? Aneta is certainly a great example of how to get things done. And by the way, she pronounces her name "Ah-net-ah" and not "Ah-neat-ah".

She has the will, the motivation, the knowledge, and the capability to go as high as she wants to in life. And friends, God Bless her for that. There is nothing worse than a person who has the knowledge and capability to strive for a higher purpose in life, but yet does not have the will and motivation to do it.

She gets it done!  

And of course, she still has to find time to do her most famous demonstration of strength - rolling a frying pan! Yes, rolling a frying pan!  

Don't kid yourselves, friends, this gal is strong! She's not a very big gal at all in comparison to some women bodybuilders and powerlifters who I've known in the past, but God knows Aneta is strong. If you can't imagine rolling a frying pan, then check out this video on YouTube.

                             

And here's a YouTube Video of Aneta, this is when she set the last Guinness Record Book record on China television.

      

I have no idea how she does what she does, and I have never seen anyone like Aneta. Friends, this little lady is incredible. At the age of sixteen, when she weighed about 130 pounds, Aneta started powerlifting as something to do for recreation. Well she took to it like a swan takes to water, and now to her credit she's an International Champion and in the Guinness Record Books. 

Too Cute!

Looking at this very sweet young women, I'm willing to bet that most folks would probably never believe that she is a Four-Time World's Strongest Women.  Well, she is.

She was World's Champion / World's Strongest Woman in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008.

Aneta's Powerlifting and Bench Press achievements:

• 19 years old Juniors' Champion of Poland in bench press
• 23 years old Juniors' Champion of Poland in bench press
• Silver medal in Seniors' Polish Championship in bench press
• Silver medal on Polish Cup in bench press
• Gold medal on Polish Cup in powerlifting
• Seniors' Champion of Poland in powerlifting
• Sport class - champion' s international
• Member of National Team in bench press and powerlifting 1999-2001
• Powerlifting - second place in European Championship of seniors, Luxembourg 2000
• Record holder of Poland in powerlifting, weight category - 82,5 kg
• Juniors' Record holder of Europe in dead lift - 213 kg
• Silver medal in International Arm wrestling Tournament
• As a first Polish woman she broke the barrier of 500 kg in powerlifting (507,5)
• As a first Polish woman she broke the barrier of 200 kg in deadlift

And of course, here are some of  her Strongwoman achievements:

• 2003 – Second place on Scandinavian Championship in Vasteras, Sweden
• 2003 – First place on Built Solid Strongman Challenge in Columbus, USA
• 2003 – Fourth place on European Strongest Woman in Ireland
• 2003 – First place on World' s Strongest Woman in Zambia
• 2004 – First place on European Strongest Woman in Northern Ireland
• 2005 – First place on FitExpo in London
• 2005 – First place on International Norway's Championship in Larvik
• 2005 – First place on World's Strongwoman Championship in Northern Ireland
• 2005 – Second place on World's Highland Games Cup in Scotland
• 2005 – First place on Bregstaed contest, Norway
• 2005 – First place on Europe's Strongwoman Championship in Bydgoszcz
• 2006 – First place on World's Strongwoman Championship in Opalenica
• 2007 – Winning the European Strongwoman Championship - Trondheim, Norway
• 2008 – Winning the World Strongwoman Championship - Poland, Tczew 

Other achievements:

• Guinness Record in rolling the frying pans for time - 4 pans of 26cm diameter in 1 minute (Madrid, February 2008)
• Third place in the polish edition of Stars dancing on ice TV show (March-May 2008)
• Appearing in many popular programs in polish and foreign TV.
• An appearance in the Polish edition of the popular adventure show called "Fort Boyard" (July 2008).
• Improving her own Guinness Record - rolling 5 pans of 26cm diameter in 1 minute (Beijing, China - November 2008).
• A Guinness World Record in lifting up adult men overhead - 12 persons in 2 minutes (Madrid, Spain - December 2008).

Impressive isn't it! Well, there's more!

Marina Kigileva and Aneta in 2010

In August of 2010, Chelyabinsk, Russia hosted "a battle of two strong women" as the Uralstrong Federation staged a two-event Strongwoman Showdown between Marina "The Armor" Kigileva and Aneta Florczyk. On that day, the outcome was a draw and they both shared the title for 2010.

To me, Aneta is a great champion. And that's not only in powerlifting, but to my way of thinking, she is also a great champion in life itself. Why you ask? Well friends, it's because Aneta has been able to make her sport a positive part of her life while at the same time being a great role model for others. All while being happy with what she's doing. And as we all know, that's a big deal. 

Like most folks, I've known many people in my lifetime. But frankly, I've actually met very few who can say that they are happy with what they're doing in life.

She is a wonderful role model in a world that needs good examples. And yes, in a world where great examples are sometimes hard to find, Aneta is a great example of what a person can do if he or she puts their mind to it. From the pictures that I've seen of Aneta, I would say that besides being an extremely beautiful woman, dimples and all, she also looks like she enjoys what her hard work has brought her. Anyone can see that she likes what she's doing.  She definitely looks like she's having fun.

One last note about her life.  From what I gather, she had to choose which way she wanted to go in life as a kid in the small town where she comes from in Poland.  I guess options for recreation for young people there were really very limited there.

For Aneta, she chose the gym and working out which lead to her interest in powerlifting. She asserted herself and found her sense of individualism. And from what I see, it appears she's won the greatest prize of all in that she enjoys a good life. A good life is not a bad prize at all.

It reminds me of that Robert Frost poem "The Road Not Taken" where he wrote:

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

  I took the one less traveled by,

 And that has made all the difference."

Make not mistake about it, Aneta Florczyk has taken the road less traveled by others. She has persevered. And that, as Frost wrote, has made all of the difference. All while becoming a wonderful role model to others. And really, since the world need more people like her, may God Bless her for that!

Below are a few pictures of Aneta. To learn more about this amazing woman, please click on this link to her website: http://www.anetaflorczyk.com/

And as you can see, I'm definitely a fan!

Tom Correa