The sponge

Walter Veltroni, leader of PD

Really a sad day the one that see us giving the Nation to the Fascist Right, but my comment today is another.

Veltroni. Veltroni lost, miserabily lost, giving that now, with the electoral logics (that he wanted) one only vote less means being in minority. And he obtained (i could say stole) ten percent less of the forecasted votes.
And this, in my opinion, if he wants to be honest, has to respond at first to his electors. He has to respond if his media machine was not good enough to beat the psycho-dwarf and his camerades, and it is really incredible, given that also the loyal electors of the Right were beginning to say that they don't like Berlusconi! "Yeah, right", one could return, "Berluscoin controls a good half of the Italian media, i could believe that he won the media game!". Sure one should also investigate on the absurd reasons for which who owns half of the Italian media is allowed to run for elections... but this is all another subject.

Not only. Veltroni should answer, in my opinion, above all, to who followed the philosophy of "the useful vote". Which is who, among the electors of the Left, decided to plug his nose (and also his ears and any other orifice) and vote for PD which, frankly with the Left has really nothing to share, to vote for the Padroni, just after having finished to march against them. Those people, in order to fight against Fascism didn't give their lives, as our ancestor did, but their conscience. They betrayed their values to fight Il Merda ("The Shit"). They gave a part of thirselves, and Veltroni was able to defend not even them.

Veltroni failed, and how one could expect in a modern and civil Country, in a logic towards which Veltroni tended during the electoral campaign, should resign. I believe he should do it, publicly admitting his own defeat, as a sign of excuse to who, with his/her heart, or plugging his/her orifices, voted for him.

Veltroni failed.
But in one thing he perfectly succeeded. In passing the sponge.
Now Italian Parliament must do without the Left, magically disappeared in the hat of the illusionist, by hand of Veltroni.
Sixty years of tradition. Sixty yeard of defence of the weakest. Sixty years of rights for who built with his sweat, with the blood of the worker deaths.
Very good, Mr. Veltroni, now we can say that the Country obtained that democracy and governability that really we were missing.

Election day

Good election day to all Italians!

A guest on the terrace

salamander

This salamander was lying thoughtful on the terrace of the house yesterday morning, scanning the horizon.
This is one of the positive sides of living in half mountain, right next to the stream, happy when it's raining... one can see animals that cannot be seen in the town. Too bad that i had to move the salamander and put it safe from the fangs of our doggie Maddie: i didn't want it ending up like the lizards which Maddie happens to be wanting to play with.
Other regular guests are Freddy and Freeda, the finches, that have the habitude to challange the quadruped to eat the grains of cereals we put on the terrace for them.
Far from the houses instead one can find hedgehogs and squirrels, with often end up to be squashed under the cars.
I am still waiting, this year, the bees to come to pollinate the peaches, the cherry and the plum trees.... it's still too cold for them, i guess.

Wow... a nice bucolic digression, heartening in this tense electoral period.

Trains

High speed train

On sunday i caught the train. A local train that from the province goes to the main town.
I was amazed to find the perfect timing of the train, probably because on sundays there is not a big mess and it is easier to schedule.

The booking office was closed, because it was sunday. The automatic ticket machine was broken. That's not a news, i noticed this situation since years, the few times that i have to catch the train. Ticket office closed and ticket machine broken. I go to the bar of the station and they tell me that the ticket has to be bought on the train. I knew that, but every now and then they change those rules, so i wanted to make sure. So, i had to walk all along the train to find the conductor to buy the ticket. Okay...

The really disgusting thing was the condition of the train itself. Dirty, filthy and stinky.
To me it was not that big drama because i catch the train seldom and i can bear it. But i can imagine those people that everyday catch that train in order to go to work, surely very busy and late. I remember when i was a commuter too, on a different line. Those were the conditions. Late and dirty trains.

I think that it is a matter of respect for the workers. Those ones that make the Italian economy, moving like animals in cattle-wagons twice a day, once to go and once to come back. Well, those people deserve a better respect.
But not. They develop the big projects. Wonderful trains, very fast, on brand new railways, to transport those characters in jacket and tie that enjoy that economy produced by the workers on the cattle-wagons.
Let's give all the comforts, to those tied-ones, air conditioning, hostesses with tiny mini-skirts. High-speed-train? Wouldn't be better to spend those money in improving the bad service for the workers, instead?

And you all, what kind of relationship do you have with trains?

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

Fascists

This man

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

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.

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