Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Anniversary

Today is the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. I was thinking something to post in my blog for this occasion, without being any pathetic. I don't find a way, so i will just leave a link to a post by Angela that explains enough well my feeling about it, although it is about a completely different story.
http://angelaesiste.blogspot.com/2008/03/la-pasqua-del-mondo.html

Friday, March 14, 2008

Fascists

This man
Giuseppe Ciarrapico
Giuseppe Ciarrapico
is a fascist.
In a Republic like ours, that reject Fascism so that there are explicit laws which forbid in a firm and drastic way the re-formation of a Fascist Party, this statement could sound as an insult. And, in fact, it would sound like that to me if i didn't know that this man did declare himself to be a Fascist. An insult is an insult only if one does say it in order to offend, so, strictly speaking, mine is not an insult, because this man would not offend for sure.
In short, this man not only is, but he also is proud to be a Fascist.
De gustibus non disputandum. Everybody has the right to define him/herself as the hell he wants, and so this man has the right to define himself a Fascist.

But, as i was saying, Italian Republic forbid the re-formation of the Fascist Party, and this principle, in my opinion, has a meaning if it is applied to the values of Fascism, and not simply to its name.
In other words, i think that the meaning of this law is to prevent the election to a political office of who identifies him/herself in the values of Fascism. That is, i deduce, this man, self-defining Fascist, should waive the right to candidate to an electoral roll. If it happened, a Fascist could eventually be elected, which would make the meaning of that law fruitless, even if this would not be exactly even to the re-formation of the Fascist Party.

This other man
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
founder and leader of a party competing in the next elections, inserted in the electoral rolls of that party that man up there, so that it could be elected by the electors that vote for its symbol.
Being that one presumes that the electors that vote for a party implicitly agree with its values, one should deduce that the reason that man up there is candidated by this man in the electoral rolls of that party is the assonance of the values of that man with the values of that party.
That means that the values of Fascism are some ways represented by the Partito delle Libertà party.
In few words, the formation of PdL looks closely like the re-formation of Fascist Party.
Which is forbidden by law.

Anyway i believe that this crime is not liable of persecution because it is difficult to interpret what the hell it does mean a law that forbid the re-formation of Fascist Party. What is a Fascist Party? A party that is named "Fascist"? If it is so, then this crime has not been committed. A party that model its programs with the principles of Fascism? Well, it's not clear what also this means. It is obvious that the reason of that law is to avoid the risk to go back to a regime similar to the one of the Ventennio. And it is also clear that if somebody that declare himself Fascist is elected, this risk would be real. But it is also obvious that nobody that can be elected would admit (even if it was true) he/she want to restore the Racial Laws, to exterminate Jews, homosexuals, communists and nigros, to make an alliance with the Emperor of Japan and the Nazist Germany against the Capitalist West and the Communist East.

Anyway, surprisingly, Ciarrapico is, since some days, in the electoral rolls of Berlusconi's Partito delle Libertà.
This following is Berlusconi's declaration about it:
"Noi dobbiamo vincere. Noi dobbiamo fare una campagna elettorale e si deve vincere. L'editore Ciarrapico ha giornali importanti a noi non ostili ed è assolutamente importante che questi giornali continuino ad esserlo, visto che tutti i grandi giornali stanno dall'altra parte".
"We must win. We must do an electoral campaign and we must win. The publisher Ciarrapico has important newspapers not hostile to us and it is absolutely important that these newspapers continue to be like that, being that all the big newspapers are in favor to the other side" [translation of mine].

Apart from the fact that hearing Berlusconi himself, owner of a half of the national TV networks and a good number of newspaper and weekly magazines (thing anyway well tolerated by the previous governments whichever side), complaining because "the other side" has the monopoly of media is absolutely ridicolous, this declaration is really a masterpiece of idiocy.

Resuming Berlusconi's words, since PdL must win and the way to win is to conquire the favor of somebody like Ciarrapico, owner of other part of publishing, because it would help electoral propaganda, we can close a bit our noses and we candidate him to the electoral rolls.

Which, in my opinion, means these things:
  1. The reason to candidate Ciarrapico is not, as the electors would expect, the one to have a person considered valid to vote, but to provide an exchange of favors: i put you in the roll, you publicize me on your papers.
  2. One thinks that putting Ciarrapico in the rolls, he would make a campaign in favor of PdL, while if he was not in the rolls, he would make a campaign against. And so one could consider implicit that an article on a Ciarrapico's newspaper would not be targeted to the search of the truth, which, atleast formally, should be the task of the Press, but to the return of the favor: I support you because you give me that seat.
  3. Being previous point so obvioius, one can deduce that the readers of Ciarrapico's newspaper are not interested to the truth, but to Ciarrapico's opinion, or, even worse, to what Ciarrapico wants others believe it is his opinion, which is the unconditioned elougy of Berlusconi, whichever he is up to.
  4. So, Ciarrapico's newspapers journaists are not free to write their own opinion, or atleast simply the truth, but they have to reflect Ciarrapico's dictat, unconditionally favoring Berlusconi.
  5. Berlusconi's statement, that sound like "We don't like Ciarrapico, but he's useful for us" means, implicitly, I put him in the electoral rolls, but let's hope he'll not be actually elected. Which makes me think that either Ciarrapico is a stupid, and he accepts the candidature even if he won't be elected, or Berlusconi is a stupid, which let such a statement not in favor of Ciarrapico fall of his big mouth, or the electorate of PdL is so smart to understand that Berlusconi statement is artificially mendacious, that is that Berlusconi says he doesn't like Ciarrapico, but he means exactly the opposite. Which means that also Berlusconi is a Fascist, and he tells it between the lines because he cannot say it loud.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Ten perfect matches

Maurice's and Laura's blogs made my mouth water. So, even if i was not explicitly invited, i go on participating to the meme titled "Ten perfect matches", that is the list of ten perfect gastronomical pairing.

I decided to choose pairings that do not require any cooking preparation, but are served in their simplicity, so that the tastiness is not hidden by the skill of the chef. No offense so to my favorite cheff (my wife), if i don't include in this list any plate she made.
The theory wants that pairing foods one promotes the choice within the same territory, and i think that this is a good way. Nevertheless in this list there are matches of products coming from far apart... they look anyway to me perfect.

There are my ten choices.
  1. Spicey gorgonzola with grapes ambrosia (a kind of syrup) and Passito from Pantelleria Salvatore Murana.
  2. Tuscan bread with some extra virgin olive oil and some grain of coarse salt with Chianti Classico.
  3. Walnut bread with Chevre and a glass of Alsacian Gewürztraminer.
  4. 99% fondant Lindt chocolate with Barolo Chinato.
  5. A slice of toasted wholemeal bread with parcially melted Brie, a slice of Speck Alto Adige and a Chimay White Cap.
  6. Slice of Munster with cumin seeds and Bonne Esperance beer.
  7. Raw breton oyster with Guinness just tapped off (with also the clover drawn on the foam).
  8. Pienza Pecorino aged in walnut leaves with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Marina Cvetic.
  9. Bruschetta (toasted bread) with melted Bagoss and a slice of Colonnata Lard with Masi Campofiorin.
  10. Tuna sashimi with soy sauce and wasabi and a glass of Greco di Tufo Feudi di San Gregorio.
  11. Epoisses spread on still warmish baguette with Chateauneuf du Pape.
Oops... i listed eleven. I should delete one, but i cannot decide which one... well... i'd better stop thinking, otherwise i will end up adding some more.

There we are. Now i should "pass" the meme to other people. I virtually pass to anyone stop by reading this blog. If you accept it, please link this blog and put a comment, so i link yours back and we don't break the chain.

Here the friends that cought the ball:
Mistral