Sat 21 Nov 2009
On my block on the other side of the street, there is a closed restaurant that is moving to a different location. Close to it there is a shop of vending machines distributing drinks, candy, snacks, sandwiches, etc. The newest food vendor (not yet open) is called American Fast Food.
When a health reform bill passed the U. S. House of Representatives, it was big news in Italy. Some Italians seemed to think that this was a final decision. Italy too, however, has a bicameral legislature in which both houses must pass a bill for it to become a law. So the next step in the process is easy for Italians to understand. In Italy, though, as far as I can tell, the bills voted on in the two houses are identical. You don’t have the American situation where the houses pass different versions of a bill, and there has to be a committee from both houses to reconcile the two bills and come up with one that both houses will accept.
If I had to characterize the marital situation of top male political leaders in the USA, here might be a set of categories:
1. Single (never married, divorced, or widowed)
2. Still married to first wife
3. Married to wife who is not first wife and may well be younger than he
4. Married to wife who is not first wife and who is much younger than her
5. Married to wife who is not first wife and who is much younger and looks like a model or movie star.
Let’s just say that category number 5 is much more common in Italy than in the USA. Of course the couple may be simply living together and not married; this too is more common among political luminaries in Italy than in the USA.
The latest example of category 5 is a guy named Brunetta, a cabinet minister. He is so short that his nickname is “the dwarf.” He is not just short: he is ugly. He has never been married, but now says he may marry his current fiancÈ, a tall blond babe. This is a strong example of the Henry Kissinger’s saying that “power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.”
Bus Service
Bus service around Pistoia is quite good. I don’t think that bus services are expected to be self-sustaining: I assume they get tax money. Buses may run a little late, but in general they are more timely than trains. You have to be a little careful, however, because, whereas a train will never the leave the station early, a bus sometimes does arrive a few minutes before its scheduled stop. Nobody takes tickets on a bus. Perhaps a ticket taker on the bus would not be cost effective. You stamp your ticket in a machine. Many passengers don’t stamp a ticket in the machine. An employee can get on at times to check if people have tickets. I’ve only seen this once. I’m told that at the start of the school year, this check is done more frequently to be sure that students buy their long-term special tickets. The driver can sell you a ticket (at a higher price than a regular ticket), but the driver doesn’t collect them. Who knows why?
Given the strong emphasis in Italy on children and their welfare, it is surprising that on Italian broadcast TV there are very few programs of quality for children. Of course, there are the usual cartoon and animation shows, but little with an educational emphasis. Some channels via satellite have more educational programs, but the offerings on regular TV are quite drab.
A few weeks ago I wrote about a murder that was captured on a video surveillance camera in Naples. There was a clear image of the killer. I asked how long it would take to capture him. The answer was about three weeks.
If you watch news on TV, it is amazing the number of stories that show a public meeting (called by a government office, a political party, an association, etc.) where some current issue is being discussed. There is a panel of experts or politicians at the front of the room. The news will include a few quotes by the panelists. A year later little or nothing will have changed concerning the subject of the discussion. If talk equaled power, Italy would rule the world. If talk equaled money, Italy would buy the world.