September 2006
Monthly Archive
Fri 29 Sep 2006
Posted by Robert C. Nordvall under
2006[3] Comments
A little early this week because I am out of town tomorrow.
A Slight Correction
When my new granddaughter was born, my son Andy wrote me an e mail that Zoey Audrey Ngov-Nordvall had arrived. Soon I noticed that the grandmother, Edie, was referring to Zoe, not Zoey in her messages. It turns out that the spelling had been changed after the original message from Andy. So I announced in my newsletter that Zoe Audrey was born. Then a few folks, who looked at the new child’s web site that I mentioned, told me the web site said her middle name was Judith. Although it was not known to me, the middle name too was changed after her birth. Andy is a creative writer by profession – just not a person to remember to communicate the simple facts at times.
Documentary on Italian TV on 9/11 Attacks
I did not see this film which I believe was made in the USA. It claims that there was a conspiracy behind the attacks that has been hidden. I saw an advertisement for the film in which the narrator said that a certain point of damage to one of the twin towers was not made by the crash of a 747 plane. Many Italians have asked me is I saw the documentary. I have mentioned before that Italians love conspiracy theories. Hardly any Italian believes that Oswald alone shot Kennedy, and you would have no trouble selling in Italy a conspiracy theory saying that, despite what was shown on TV, Jack Ruby did not shoot Oswald.
Problems –As I Expected
I wrote recently how the Italian Consulate in Paris had my wallet which was lost in France. They sent to me (through the police in Pistoia) my Italian identity card and a letter saying that they had other property of mine too (I assume the wallet and its other contents). I wondered why they just did not send all the items with the identity card. I was to call a man at the Consulate to arrange to get the other items. When I called, the man had retired and there was nobody there who could access his computer records. I predicted that getting this property back would be difficult. I tried a few more calls without success. Then I wrote a letter asking them to send me the other items in the mail. I got a call from the Consulate saying that they are authorized to return my identity card, but for any other property, I must go to the consulate in Paris and pick it up personally. It is a toss up as to whether Italian or French bureaucracy is worse. So you can be sure that an Italian Consulate in Paris will be impossible to deal with.
‘Thank You For Smoking’
I saw this film in Florence in English with Italian subtitles. The only time you see a film with Italian subtitles if it is a version shown at a film festival in Italy before the official Italian version was dubbed. With subtitles you can see the difference between the English dialog and the subtitles. One thing I noticed was that the characters used a variety of English swear words most of which were translated as the same Italian swear word.
Girl from Byelorussia
For years Italian families have hosted during the summer children from Byelorussia who are orphans of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. This year one Italian couple refused to send the girl back who was visiting them because they said she had been sexually abused at the orphanage in Byelorussia. They sent her into hiding, but the police found her and put her in police custody while the Italian courts decide what to do. Naturally the authorities from Byelorussia were not happy at this ‘kidnapping.’ They promise to put her in a different facility. Also there are Italian families who adopt children from Byelorussia. This group wants the girl to be returned to her homeland so that Byelorussia will not close off adoptions by Italians.
Religious Retreat
My church had a weekend retreat at the Convent of Saints Jacob and Phillip in Lecceto near Florence. The setting was so lovely that one could not help but think good thoughts. The landscape of Tuscany is not awesome as are areas such as the Grand Canyon or the Rocky Mountains. It is simply incredibly pleasant.
Pistoia as a Tourist City
This week some friends from the USA visited Pistoia for a day. As always, such persons were impressed at what a lovely city it is. For someone visiting Tuscany, Pistoia is centrally located and clearly less expensive and hectic than a city like Florence. Pistoia is an excellent base from which to visit the rest of the region, but it is hard for a city to establish itself as such a base. People seeking accommodations in Tuscany through the internet or a travel agent will ask for what is available in Florence, Siena, Pisa, etc. They will not say or write the word ‘Pistoia’ and thus not be presented with the possible accommodations and prices here.
‘An American in Rome’
This is a famous Italian film from the 1950s in which Alberto Sordi plays a character obsessed with all things American. I saw it for the first time on TV recently. One character in the film is the American Ambassador to Italy. He speaks in English and there are Italian subtitles. As I watched the film, it took me a while to realize that this guy was playing the American Ambassador because he spoke with a heavy British accent. I have trouble in Italy recognizing the various accents so I guess few Italians in the 1950s would have noticed that the American Ambassador in the film spoke as if he were from London. I think this comedy had a little sub theme that said ‘just as the main character is a little crazy, so it is crazy for Italy as a nation to be so in love with all things American.’
Monsignor Milingo
I’ve written before about this guy who left the Catholic church to marry a Korean woman, returned to the church after renouncing his marriage, and then left again with his wife. Now he is in the USA ordaining married men as priests. The Vatican got around to excommunicating him last week.
Wiretapping Scandal
The laws protecting privacy are stronger in Italy than in the USA. As is often the case, the reality and the laws are far apart. It has come to light that there has been widespread illegal wiretapping of conversations done through the main Italian telephone company. It is unclear just who ordered and paid for these taped conversations. The government has ordered all the tapes to be destroyed, but prosecutors and the newspapers don’t want this to be done. They think the tapes may contain ‘useful’ information for various investigations. One friend told me that these people wanted to retain the tapes only to investigate who had ordered them to be made, but it seems to me that some authorities think they may be ‘useful’ too for other investigations. Such illegally made tapes can not be used as evidence in court. Anyway, unlike in the USA where the Bush administration claimed that recent widespread taping of conversations was authorized by law, nobody in Italy claims that this wiretapping was legal. Still there is a controversy about destroying these illegal items.
Sat 23 Sep 2006
Posted by Robert C. Nordvall under
2006No Comments
First an Important Bit of Personal News
My second grandchild, both girls, was born September 15, 2006 to Andy Nordvall and Sally Ngov-Nordvall. Andy has opened a new blog for both his daughters, http://fromathenatozoey.blogspot.com/ Go there for photos and news of the arrival of Zoe Judith Ngov-Nordvall. As for older sister Athena, photos of her are still on the old blog at http://howbigisathena.blogspot.com/ I am thrilled and excited about this new arrival, although even in my role as grandfather I cannot say that I think a one-day old baby is beautiful. I am sure she will be a great joy to her parents and grandparents.
School Menus
When I lived in Gettysburg, the school menus would often be printed on about page 10 of the local newspaper. In Pistoia the new menus were front page news. Only the very young children eat at school; for others the school day finishes before lunch time. I can not compare the quality of instruction for these young children in the USA and Italy. I can say that the Italian menus sounded more appetizing, and I am 99% sure the food is better prepared in Italy.
Tourism in Naples
I’ve mentioned that Naples is a bit of a lawless city, but that it is safe for tourists to go there and visit the tourism areas. Last week an Canadian tourist was shot in the leg in a tourist area in the cross fire of some gang type shootout. This most certainly is not an everyday event, but, if and when it happens, it is more likely to happen in Naples.
The Problem of Italy’s Underdeveloped South
Recently Italian President Giorgio Napolitano spoke about the problem of underdevelopment in Italy’s south. Italian politicians have been talking about this and launching programs to help the south for 100 years with meagre results. The south is better off today, but primarily for two reasons. A disproportionately high number of southerners work for the national government, and those who don’t work are much more likely to get transfer payments through government programs than are Italians in the central and northern regions. Private employment in the south is still quite low.
Often the rest of Italy sees southerners as poor cousins to whom one has to send money so they won’t starve — objects of charity whose misery really does not effect the rest of the nation. Napolitano pointed out that if Italy wants to advance to be a first-rate economic power, it cannot continue to have one-third of the nation in a permanently backward state. This is too big of an anchor for a nation to pull if it really wants to progress.
Baseball in Italy
Professional baseball exists in Italy, but it is a minor sport. I noticed recently that at least some players are from the USA. There are many Americans who play professional basketball in Italy, but in the USA there is not an extensive minor league system for professional basketball. So players who are not good enough to play in the NBA come to Europe to play where there are many more professional leagues. In baseball, on the other hand, there are many minor leagues in the USA. So who are the American players in Italy? Are they players who are not good enough even for the minor leagues in the USA? Perhaps the minor leagues in the USA are primarily for talent development of younger players so that older players are not retained on the teams. In any case, I can’t imagine that the pay for a baseball players in Italy is very high.
Italian Trains — You Always Have to Remember that the Prices are Low
Recently I had a 90 minute layover in Lucca to get a train to Pistoia. There are few trains that run in the middle of the day. In this case for a two-hour period there were no trains from Lucca to Pistoia. When service resumes after 1 pm, the first two trains arrive seven minutes apart. Something wrong with this picture?
That evening, I was going to take the 7:12 pm train from Pistoia to Florence which starts in Viareggio. There is also a train that leaves for Florence at 7:22 and starts at Pistoia . The 7:12 train showed a 15 minute delay. So which train would go first to Florence, the 7:12 one (now arriving at 7:27) or the 7:22 one? I figured the 7:12 one because it does not make all stops as does the 7:22 one. So if the 7:22 went first, the 7:12 train might catch up with it and be held up by it — thus becoming even further late. To be sure, I asked the conductor. To my surprise, he said the 7:22 would leave first. So I got on the 7:22 (which was standing ready to depart), but kept an eye out to see when the 7:12 one was arriving. At 7:25 the station PA system announced that the 7:22 was leaving. Some folks waiting on platform for the 7:12 wandered over to the 7:22 train platform to board it. But the 7:22 did not go. At about 7:30, the 7:12 finally arrived, and, as I had originally expected, it left first. Now why did the conductor tell me the 7:22 would go first: stupidity, laziness, ignorance?? This is a small example of how poor customer service can be in Italy.
A Trip to Sicily
A family in Sicily advertised in the Florentine newspaper for an English native speaker who would come spend some time with them to help the parents and children better learn English. After some exchanges of e mail, I went to visit them for a get acquainted weekend. There parents are in their early 40s; the children are 8, 11, and 13. They live in Sciacca on the southern coast of Sicily. I flew into Trapani on the second day of a new flight service from Pisa to Trapani of Ryanair. On the airplane I won a raffle for a free return ticket on my next round trip with Ryanair.
In visiting some sites in Trapani before going over to Sciacca, I discovered that a series of wood statue scenes (of the passion of Christ) , I Misteri, that are treasures of Trapani were damaged during WWII by bombing. I asked my host in Sciacca if it too suffered damage during the war. He told me that in 1923 a French dirigible the Dixmudo, went down in the sea off of Sciacca. Local fishermen rescued passengers and crew. As a thank you, in WWII the French persuaded the allies not to bomb Sciacca. A lovely story — I hope it is true.
Sicily is beautiful, but a land of contrasts. You will be traveling through a lovely area, and suddenly come upon an impromptu garbage dump that someone has started on the side of the road. I’ve noted in earlier messages that I don’t find Italian drivers to be as lawless and crazy as is their reputation elsewhere. In Sicily (as in Naples) they certainly come closer to meeting that reputation.
The youngest child in my host family, a boy, is clearly hyperactive. I asked his mother is the teachers from school complained about his behavior in the classroom. She said no. Maybe his teachers have been more tolerant of his behavior than some in the USA might be. Perhaps his behavior at school is much less extreme than at home. I have always had the suspicion that in a more authoritarian classroom atmosphere, hyperactive children might behave a little better, even if this did not mean that they were learning more.
Now in the USA, children get put on Ritalin, in my opinion, for two reasons. The first is inability to concentrate at school and do the required work. The second is because they drive their parents crazy. I think this second reason is much less likely to occur in Italy. Italian parents are much more tolerant of children’s misbehavior than are American ones. The hyperactivity of this child, including constant forms of misbehavior, seemed to bother his parents much less.
I enjoyed visiting the family very much. I look forward to visiting them again in January.
Health Update
My shoulder is healing. The doctor ordered an ecograph which showed that a tendon is inflamed. The doctor also ordered an X ray. The order for the ecograph stated it should be done quickly. This required a one week wait. The order for the X ray did not specify that it needed to be done quickly. This requires a seven week wait. In Italy, if you are willing to pay for a test as a private patient, it can be scheduled more quickly.
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My Most Recent Article in The Florentine, Florence’s English Language Newspaper
From Tourist to Italian Citizen — A Primer
A guide to the steps to take when simply being a tourist in Italy no longer satisfies your Italian desires.
Many tourists, seduced by the beauty and life style of Italy, fantasize about living her either
temporarily or permanently. How do you do it?
First, a dark secret. Although Italy is concerned about illegal immigration from some countries, if you arrive as a tourist from a nation that is not seen as an immigration problem, you can just stay. As long as you remain under the radar of the Italian bureaucracy, it’s very unlikely that an official will come knocking at your door. Your stay, nevertheless, is illegal under Italian law, and it is impossible to guarantee that you won’t be ‘discovered’ by the authorities. Of course you cannot do all the things a legal resident can, such as obtaining a driver’s license or registering a car, but clever folks find ways around these limitations.
Still, for the sake of convenience, if not for that of legality, most people living here eventually want a more permanent status. The initial problem is that the first step in that process is a visa to stay in Italy that must be obtained in your home nation. This must be done at an Italian Consulate or Embassy. There are different types of visas, simply to live here, to work, to study, etc., and the time and documentation required to obtain these will differ by type. Unfortunately you cannot apply for a visa on a short visit home and then pick it up later on your next visit. You have to stay in your home nation long enough to complete the process. (I am told that a smart and expensive Italian lawyer, as is often the case, may be able to simplify this process, but I can’t verify this claim.) In at least some countries the Italian Embassies (and also Consulates) have web sites that list the visa requirements.
After arriving with your visa, you must right away get a Permesso di Soggiorno at the local Questura. This is the building in Italy that often has a large crowd of foreigners in front of it waiting in line to apply for or to pick up their Permesso. There are specific days and times during the week when this office processes Pemessi. It is wise first to check the schedule and to ask exactly what documents are needed — even if it is a national form for some reason the document list may not be the same at all offices. At the Questura be prepared to arrive early and maybe come more than once to get your form filed. The Permesso is not permanent and must be periodically renewed.
The next step you may take is to get is your residenza obtained from the commune. For this the police must come to your house to verify your residence there. With a residenza you can also get from the commune a Carta di Identitá — a useful document that can replace your passport as a form of identification. Another minor advantage of the Cartá is that if you are not an EU citizen, you ordinarily do not qualify for discounts at museums, churches, etc, but the clerks at these places often don’t check the nationality on a Carta di Identitá and give the discount to anyone presenting it. Now, if you are not otherwise enrolled, for the payment of a reasonable yearly fee, you can join the Italian national health system. You enroll at the local ASL office.
Most residents stop at this point. Moving from being a resident to becoming a citizen is far more complicated. There is a shorter route. You may qualify for citizenship on the basis of your Italian ancestry. The rules for who qualifies in this manner can be found at the web site www. myitalianfamily.com.
Another short route. A foreign citizen married to an Italian citizen can apply for Italian citizenship six months after the marriage if living in Italy. Other foreign citizens can apply after 10 years of residence (the Prodi government plans to introduce a law in Parliament to lower this to five years) or only after four years if a citizen of a European Union nation. Foreigners serving the Italian state can apply after five years. The application for citizenship is made through the mayor of the commune where you live to the Minister of the Interior. Although you make it through the mayor, the list of documents you need for it is available at the Prefettura. This certainly is not an exhaustive statement of the citizenship rules; anyone considering this option should look at websites with Italian citizenship rules (many of which unfortunately are only in Italian) and consult an attorney. In Italy you often hear stories of people who did not seem to qualify for citizenship under the published rules but were able to obtain it after employing an attorney.
Not surprisingly the citizenship process often requires much patience, but if you don’t have a lot of patience, you don’t want to live in Italy anyway.
Bob Nordvall, upon retiring to Pistoia, arrived with his visa in hand. Later he completed the procedures to become a permanent resident, but he does not plan to apply for citizenship. He thanks attorneys Federico Antich and Francesco D’Addario for reviewing this article for technical correctness, but any errors are those of the author alone.
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Fri 15 Sep 2006
Posted by Robert C. Nordvall under
20061 Comment
This really is the 200th issue. One time I repeated a number for two consecutive issues. Later I skipped a number by mistake.
Would You See This Ad in the USA?
When I was younger, Black people (as well as other minorities) did not appear in advertising unless it was aimed specifically toward the Black community. This has all changed. On Italy I saw an ad for a company that makes dyes to tint clothing. A wimpy looking guy wearing only white jockey shorts comes into a room and his wife (or girlfriend) lures him over to the washing machine. She dumps him into the machine. When the cycle is over, she lifts the door to the machine and a handsome black man emerges from it. The narration says ²colored is more beautiful.² My guess is that this type of ad would not appear in the USA.
Homework Over the Summer
I have a friend whose son is about 12 years old. Over the summer he was assigned four books to read, including ²Ivanhoe.² I had to read ²Ivanhoe² when I was a freshmen in high school. In general Italian schools assign a lot more homework than American ones, but also the school day is shorter in Italy. When I enccounted my friend’s son after the summer and asked him who was Rowena, it soon became clear that he had not read ²Ivanhoe.²
Police Armaments
I¢ve noted that all police forces in Italy, even the one that enforces tax laws, are armed with pistols. Still in Salerno there was a controversy about giving the police billy clubs which are not standard issue in Italy. My guess is that people feel that the police are more likely to use the billy clubs while the pistols in general are for show only.
Promoting Your Home Town
In the film ²The Godfather² Marlon Brando plays Don Coreleone, named after the character’s town of ancestry in Sicily. So the city of Corleone is associated in the public mind with the Mafia. Now the town of Corleone has started a public relations campaign with the logo I Love (using the heart) Corleone. One can buy caps, shirts, etc. with the logo on them. Now the controversy. Is this campaign a way to erase the old image of the city and produce a new healthy one or is it a way to capitalize upon the old bad image? Nothing is ever simple in Italy.
A Weekend –Not Necessarily Typical
People sometimes ask me what I do to fill my time in Italy. Here is an account of last weekend.
Friday night I went to hear a jazz group at the Festival of Unity in Pistoia. Such Festivals are sponsored by the center left political parties. I know that a friend who works at the local office supply store is a jazz fan. So I went to tell him that there was a group playing that night at the Festival. It turned out that he was the guitarist in the group.
Saturday morning I went to the semi-weekly market as usual. Then I went to meet a friend of a friend of a friend, a man who has moved back to Pistoia after living almost all his adult life in the USA. He had planned to retire to Arizona, but relatives in Italy persuaded him to come back here. Now he is often frustrated by dealing with the inefficiencies of life in Italy. If you become too Americanized, coming back to live in Italy can be a problem.
I took a bike ride and then finished, with a little help from friends, assembling anew wardrobe cabinet. I should stop buying clothes so I don¢t need more space to store them.
Saturday night I went to a talk by a prominent philosopher at a local theatre. In the USA this type of event would be hosted by a college or university, but cultural events in Italy are often sponsored by local businesses and the community and take place in a general public venue. I am told that by law in Italy businesses must contribute a certain portion of their profits to organizations that promote such civic events. After the talk, I went to bar/tea shop with a friend to discuss what we had heard.
Sunday I was an usher at church in Florence. Sunday afternoon I took a fall on the sidewalk. I find that I fall more often here because the sidewalks and streets are less predictable. I’ve never fallen badly, just slowly. Unfortunately a slow fall that would have had no consequences for me 20 years ago now results in various aches and pains. (It is taking at least a week for my shoulder to heal.) The joy of getting older! Both of my sisters have suffered similar falls on the sidewalk while visiting Italy — one got a broken nose and the other had a tooth chipped in two and a cut inside the lip.
Coverage of 9/11 Anniversary on Italian News
I watched one news show that had a interesting angle. First they talked about the victims of the attack who were illegal aliens working in the restaurant on top floor. I guess these folks, and their families, did not qualify for any aid to victims. Their families are not included in the organizations of families of victims. They are sort of “invisible” victims. This story is typical of the Italian concern for the underdog and the less fortunate. I don¢t think that Italian society is particularly well organized to help the less fortunate, but there is more concern expressed for them than in the USA.
Next they talked about the woman whose son was killed in the World Trade Towers who has forged a friendship with the mother of the terrorist who was sentenced to life in prison in the USA for his part in the 9/11 attacks. I would say that the theme of this story was making peace. Nobody likes war, but peace (as opposed to war) is a much stronger value in Italy than in the USA. As I¢ve noted before, this all goes back to the Italian experience in WWII in which, despite surrendering to the Allies in 1943, Italy was racked with both the war between Germany and the Allies (both sides bombing and killing Italians) and a Civil War for two more years. Some people think that Italian casualties from 1943-45 were higher than if Italy had remained in the War as part of the Axis Powers.
In his marvelous film ²Radio Days² Woody Allen notes at the end that he still hears the sounds of those Golden Days of Radio, but each year they grow a little more faint. This is true about WWII in general. (I think President Bush’s attempt to get some political support for the war on terrorism by calling Islamic terrorists ²fascists² will fail for this reason.) Still the sounds of WWII are 20 times louder today in Italy than they are in the USA
Explaining a Difference Between Politics in Italy and in the USA
In the 1990s a number of candidates for the House of Representatives in the USA took the term limit pledge. I believe they promised not to serve more than three terms. The point arrived when some of these folks had completed their third term. They had to decide either to retire or to break their promise. I heard on the radio in the USA one of these representatives who decided to run for a fourth term. He said that his term limit promise would definitely be an issue in the campaign, and he would have to convince the voters to reelect him despite this promise.
In Italy, if a candidate made such a promise it would be long forgotten 6 years later. He would not have to defend his breaking of the promise. Ironically, although he obviously made the promise as a way to gather support, (This is why politicians make promises.) few Italians would expect him to honor his pledge.
Sat 9 Sep 2006
Posted by Robert C. Nordvall under
20061 Comment
The Big News is Mushrooms
There is an unusually large mushroom crop this year in the nearly mountains and an unusually large group of people seeking to pick them. The police handed out many fines to people collecting undersized mushrooms. So far there have been at least four cases near Pistoia of people becoming injured (e.g. falling into a ditch) or dying (heart attack) while searching for the mushrooms. So there is talk of new rules (which will not be obeyed anyway) to govern the collection of mushrooms. Rescue missions in the woods are very expensive.
The World Basketball Championship
A reader of this newsletter asked for my thoughts about Greece’s victory over the USA. I had written earlier about the fundamental weaknesses of the American team which were exposed brutally in the game against Greece. I see it this way. In the USA this tournament did not get extensive press coverage — only a few newspapers sent correspondents to cover it and TV ratings of the games were low. It was, on the other hand, a big deal in Europe. When the USA lost, it caused some disappointment in the USA and perplexity as to how a team of guys making $3 million a year can lost to guys who make $50,00 a year. Had the USA won, it would have caused some mild satisfaction. Greece’s victory, on the other hand, caused that small nation to go berserk with joy. Two days later, it was Spain’s turn to overflow with happiness when the Spanish team (without its star player) upset the Greeks. So looking at the world’s overall Happiness Quotient (amount of joy for winners minus amount of sadness for the losers), this HQ certainly was much higher because the USA lost. That’s fine with me. (Besides, I don’t think you could pay me to go to an NBA basketball game.)
Meeting My Substitute ‘Mailman’
I live at 77 Corso Gramsci in Pistoia. Recently I met a man who lives at 11 Corso Gramsci. He knew who I was because sometimes mail to me from the USA comes to his house. Why? Because writing 77 in the American style, without the line crossing the middle of the seven, can look to Italians as an 11. So he has dropped off to me from time to time my mail misdelivered to his place.
Malaria
In 1960 the great Italian bicycle racer, Fausto Coppi, died of malaria after a trip to Africa. Stories of his death often ask how, in the age of modern medicine, he could have died from this curable disease. Last week another prominent Italian died from malaria in Italy after a trip to Africa. The problem is that malaria has symptoms similar to those of more prosaic maladies. So doctors who are not used to seeing this disease often don’t recognize it. By the time they do, it is too late.
My Wallet from France
I lost my wallet in France in July. Last week I got a note from the local police that they had a document for me. My wallet had been found and sent to the Italian consulate in Paris. On August 7 the consulate there send a letter to the police in Pistoia who got around to telling me this at the beginning of September. When I went to the local police, they returned my Italian Identity card, but nothing else. They gave me a letter from the consulate in Paris saying that they had other property of mine and to contact them about the return of this additional property. (Why this property could not have been sent to Pistoia along with the Identity Card is one of those questions you don’t even bother to ask.) When I called the man named in the letter at Italian consulate in Paris, it turns out that he had retired in August. His replacement did not yet have access to the computer records of the predecessor. So I am supposed to call back after a week. My guess it will take a lot more than one week to get the process moving.
August Vacations
One of the reasons the police in Pistoia did not notify me for almost a month about letter they received from France, is that EVERYBODY goes on vacation in August in Italy. A national political leader has suggested that this custom be changed and that vacations be distributed more evenly throughout the year as they are in other European nations. He noted that this could have positive results for example for the tourist industry and for varying the terms of the school year. From what I can tell, most Italians just laugh at his idea. As I’ve pointed out repeatedly, tradition in Italy is a much more important value than rationality.
My Railway Discount Card
I discovered that the card that was to come to me ‘presto’ after I registered for it on the internet, may take two months to arrive. I guess one can translate ‘presto’ in various ways. Fortunately I was able to obtain a card at the station (by showing them the receipt for my internet enrollment) that allows me to get my Senior Citizens discount.
Punctuation Problem
When I post this newsletter on my web site, www.bob.it.tt , the punctuation is correct. The newsletter is then sent via e mail through a program of the web site. As it is converted from a web page to an e mail message, some punctuation, especially apostrophies and quotation marks, disappears. I am trying to figure out how to avoid this problem, so far without success.
Latest Fashion Trend
This trend my have already reached the USA. It is wearing clothes that have the labels sewed on the outside of the garment. One nice thing. You don’t have to buy a new wardrobe. You can just wear your present clothes inside out.
Missing Brothers
I wrote a few months back about the two young boys who disappeared in Puglia. From the start, the parents, who are separated, have been suspects because they hate each other. Recently the man who lives with the mother was arrested for sexually abusing her daughter who lives with them. Then there was an article in the paper that the father is under greater suspicion because of some inconsistent statements he made. The problem to me is that if either parent arranged for the kidnapping of the two boys to keep them from the other parent, the guilty parent too could never see the boys again.
Sat 2 Sep 2006
Posted by Robert C. Nordvall under
2006No Comments
Return of Etruscan Vase
The news reported that the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art was returning to Italy an Etruscan vase that apparently was exported from Italy in violation of Italian law. The Italian news, however, noted that Italy had offered to give the Metropolitan in return a copy of the vase. The expert ‘art forger’ interviewed said that he had made four of these vases that nobody could tell from the originals. After the World Cup victory of Italy over France, I saw a sign “Now give us back the Mona Lisa.”.Italy should get one of its master art forgers to make a copy of this painting and send some thieves into the Louvre to swap the copy for the original.
Frisky Old Geezers
In Pistoia a 50 year old Romanian woman who provided in-home care for an 80 year old man complained to the police that he had molested her. I believe that cases like this are not rare among women who (in private homes or senior citizen centers) care for old men. Usually it is not difficult to fend off the advances of the old guys. Sometimes this is a continuation of a lifetime behavior for the old man; sometimes it is a new behavior brought on by senility. I don’t know what the police are going to do to change or punish an 80 year old man. There is a solution, however, in Italy for this problem. In Gela in Sicily their is a public square frequented by old retired men. Woman from Eastern European countries come to the square and for a small fee allow the old men to kiss them or grab their breasts. Sort of a ‘prostitution light.’ Sometimes the women even marry these men, but then often a divorce quickly follows with the woman returning to her Eastern European country with enough of the pensioner’s assets to live well.
A Move for Sexual Equality in Italy
Recently I stopped at a bar that had tables outside that often host card games among the patrons. At a table were four young people playing cards with a some observers joining them. What struck me is that the card players were three men and one young woman. In the past card games such as this were ‘men only.’
Cheating the State vs. Cheating Your Fellow Citizens
A friend told me that recently he visited a medical clinic. At this clinic the visit is free if you sign a paper that your family income is under a certain sum. This sum is not a particularly high one, but nevertheless everyone, except my friend, signed the paper. He felt sure some of these people di not qualify for the free care. The National Health Service, despite its shortcomings, is something that has worked well in Italy. Italians have one of the highest average longevity in the world. Yet when people lie about their income, they don’t think of themselves as robbing money from the Health Service (which in fact they approve of) directly or from their fellow citizens indirectly; they think they are cheating only The State which they equate with dishonest politicians. This complete separation (ultimately illogical) of The State and The Italian People in the minds of Italians allows them not to pay taxes without ever thinking of this as a dishonest act.
The Wonder Product — Listerine
In 2003 when I had a tooth pulled the dentist insisted that I gargle with Listerine mouth wash (not sold in Italian drug stores) which I had to go to Livorno to buy at the American market there. Recently a friend asked me if I could get for him some Listerine Cool Mint toothpaste which is sold in Italy but was no longer carried by local pharmacies in Pistoia. The dentist of his grandchild told the kid that he must use only this toothpaste because it kills germs. I had some of this toothpaste sent to my from USA for him. Now I don’t know who the Listerine company has hired to smooze with dentists in the Pistoia area, but this person is doing a hell of a job.
Italian Troops to Lebanon as Part of UN Peacekeeping Force
Italian troops are taking a key role in this effort. The Italian Army has a good reputation for serving in peacekeeping efforts. It is well known that the Italian Army does not have a good reputation as a fighting force. So we have an army that is better at waging peace than making war — not a bad thing at all.
How Hard is it to Fire a Public Employee in Italy?
Notice in story below that the original sentence (suspended) and fine of the teacher were not for her pornographic activities but for filing a false lawsuit.
Families outraged at failure to transfer sex-site star
(ANSA) – Pordenone, August 30 – Italian parents are up in arms about a teacher who seeks no-holds-barred sex on her hard-core website .
The school’s switchboard has been jumping with irate calls since authorities backed down on a pledge to transfer the so-called ‘Porno Prof’. The 30-year-old literature teacher, who goes under the web name ‘Isabella la Porcona’ (Filthy Isabella), insists she should only be judged on her teaching ability .
Speaking through a lawyer, she said she was the victim of “the same sort of discrimination that gays and Muslims face” .’Isabella’ first made headlines four years ago when pupils posted stills of her website in school toilets . She sued for defamation, claiming not to be the masked woman depicted – but a judge soon saw through her disguise . Convicted of feigning innocence, she got a five-month suspended sentence and a 4,000-euro fine .
The affair prompted a teaching board to transfer her to her present school, but parents soon got wise to the new appointment .”We don’t want our kids taught by a woman they might – God forbid – come across on the Internet in such a guise,” a parent’s representative said . “Some of these children are only 11. They should be allowed to enjoy their innocence as long as they can” .
The lawyer, Sergio Gerin, told ANSA that “judgments on my client’s personal activities can’t affect her professional standing” . “No one has been able to question her skills and conduct at school. We’ll take this to a workers’ rights tribunal, if we have to” .
Sex Sells
In Italy good looking babes, often not fully dressed, as used more in commercials than in the USA. I think I saw the ultimate this week. It was an ad for a silicone-seal calking compound. A lady comes out, takes off her clothes, and enters the shower. As you see her naked body luxuriating in the glass shower stall, you see the frame of the doors of the stall being sealed with this compound.
Political Riddle
The center-right coalition is led by Silvio Berlusconi. The party he founded, Forza Italia, got the most votes of any party in last election even though his coalition lost. So why is there an insistent and continuing call among certain other politicians in the center-right that Silvio step down as leader of this wing? On the one hand, some of these others want to assume the leadership themselves, but it is more than that in my opinion. Although Forza Italia got the most votes in the last election, it got far fewer than it did six years ago. I think many believe that Berlusconi’s star has crested. Even if he is still very popular, they believe that he is not going to be able increase his popularity to the point that he can lead the center-right to victory. Others, not so popular now, have more potential for the future than he has. Of course, unpredictable events can change political forecasts, but I think those who see Berlusconi as more and more of a liability for the future are correct. Furthermore, the center-left coalition, which has always been fragile in the past, is held together in part by fear and hate of Berlusconi. So getting rid of Silvio might make not only make the center-right stronger for the future, it also could make the center-left majority weaker right now. But since Berlusconi is the “owner” of the biggest party in the right, calls for his resignation go nowhere.