thisweekinitaly.com

Still Weeks Available for Bargain Apartment Rental in Beautiful Tuscany

The following time periods are still available for renting my apartment in Pistoia this summer: July 13-26, All of August, September 6-13.  See item at bottom of this newsletter for information about the rental.

  Recycling Error 

I mistakenly threw a bag of recyclable plastic and glass items into the regular garbage bin. I felt badly, but I figured that with millions of pounds of recyclable materials, such errors occur from time to time. A few minutes later I saw a newspaper headline reporting that a garbage truck had been filmed with workers throwing into the same truck both regular garbage and recyclable items. I can’t way that this story surprised me, but it did make me feel a little less guilty.

 From “Humor in the News” section of Italian newspaper  

“In Milan an illegal immigrant from Egypt assaulted a young Moroccan. The Egyptian was captured thanks to evidence provided by a Romanian prostitute. A typical example of made in Italy.”

Not a Great Day for the Sport of Bicycle Racing 

There is more coverage of bicycle racing on TV in Italy than in the USA.  The season has already started.  I was watching coverage of a stage of a multi-day race.  The first thing shown was a bunch of vandalized automobiles.  The night before the race started, some thieves stole all the bicycles of one of the participating teams. The value of these bikes was over $100,000. Minus one team, the stage began. Soon I saw all the riders stopped and talking to each other.  Apparently the field had decided that at one point on the course the road was too dangerous for a race of so many cyclists. I never did quite discover the source of the danger.  So the cyclists as a protest stopped racing and rode the rest of the way as a compact group. The results of this day’s race were cancelled and not considered as part of the total competition. I don’t know how much the advertisers paid for commercials during this program, but they did not get their money’s worth.

 A Streetcar Not Desired 

After WWII, the Streetcar system in Los Angeles was dismantled.  In the last 20 years LA has been constructing a subway system that in many cases runs along routes similar to those of the old streetcars.  In Florence too the streetcars were removed. The reason was, at that time, it was cheaper to run buses on gasoline than streetcars on electricity. Now Florence is putting in a new streetcar system called the Tramvia. There has been a lot of opposition to this plan for various esthetic and practical reasons. Having lived in Italy for six years, I am fairly sure that, despite whatever rational arguments there may be against the Tramvia, the campaign against it will be primarily emotional.  Even though the system is already under construction, last week there was an advisory, non binding, referendum in the city about continuing to install the Tramvia.  I would expect that in such a vote the opponents would win. People who don’t want the Tramvia are more passionate in their opposition than is the support of those who think it is a good idea. In fact the “no” votes won abut 53-47%.  Less that 40% of the citizens voted. The mayor, the chief supporter, said there was no quorum against the Tramvia, and it will go forward. Of course, the opponents are crying “foul.”

A subway would cost a lot more, and every time you dig down a little in an Italian city, you discover an archeological significant site for which construction must be halted until it is fully explored.

A Little Good News from Newsweek Magazine about Italy’s Economy -– Better than it Looks 

Beyond issues like garbage rotting in the streets, Italy has another problem–its statistics are a mess.By Holger Schmieding | NEWSWEEKFeb 25, 2008 Issue | Updated: 12:10  p.m. ET Feb 16, 2008 

Italy is in deep trouble. Or is it? With the fall of the Prodi government, Italian politics has reverted to its usual postwar mess. In economic terms, the land of la dolce vita seems to have turned into the “sick man of Europe,” falling behind in GDP growth, while the French economy is holding steady and the German export machine is powering ahead. A few smart money managers around the world are betting a collapse in exports caused by excessive wage costs will force Italy to leave the straitjacket of the euro currency within three years and reintroduce its old devaluation-prone lira instead. But this bet against Italy looks set to go wrong.
Rotting garbage in the streets of Naples has shown the world how Italy’s public sector fails its citizens. There are other examples. For instance, Italy’s official economic statistics are a mess. The Italian data show that the country’s economy expanded by an average of 0.9 percent in the last seven years, far behind the 2.1 percent for the rest of Western Europe. Even worse, in the age of rampant globalization, Italy barely managed to raise its export volumes at all, while its Western European peers boosted foreign sales by a total of 40 percent. However, the standard data also show Italy increasing its payrolls by an astonishing 1.2 percent per year since 2001, ahead of the 1.0 percent gain elsewhere in Western Europe. A job miracle in an almost stagnant economy that is losing global market share at an alarming rate? The Italian statistics defy belief.Both sets of data are probably wrong. A key reason for the surging job count is that changes in labor regulations have brought many workers in the shadow economy into the open.
How to explain the Italian data showing near-stagnant real exports? There are two ways to measure exports, by adding up the total value and by counting the number of units. In terms of value, Italy has seen exports grow by an annual average of 4.4 percent in the last seven years, outpacing the 2.2 percent gain for France and just behind the 4.7 percent average which the European Statistical Office recorded for Western Europe as a whole. The Italian statisticians would have us believe that the volume of Italian exports (that is the value of exports adjusted for the rise in export prices ) increased barely at all, while French exports rose a satisfactory 2.1 percent per year.  Once you look hard at the data, the solution seems obvious. Under the onslaught of fierce competition, not least from China and South Korea, Italian producers have moved upmarket fast. While they may not be selling more cars, skirts and handbags than before, the quality of what they sell—and thus the prices their goods can fetch on the world market—has improved dramatically. Italian statisticians seem to misrecord these quality gains as a higher price per handbag, car, or skirt, rather than a genuine increase in value added. The issue may sound technical, but it is crucial. Taken at face value, the official statistics suggest that Italian companies are trying to peddle—say—the same old shirts for much higher prices than before and are thus floundering on the world market. The truth seems to be that Italy’s private sector is now successfully selling top-quality fashion to enthusiastic consumers around the world, and can command the better prices that go with its quality brands.Looked at properly, Italian export data would put the country’s performance in a much better light. Italian GDP growth is probably understated by 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points each year.
Of course, Italy has severe problems. The public sector is in need of root-and-branch reforms. Italy’s open economy is highly exposed to the global downturn. Consumers—shocked by a steep rise in oil and food prices—have shunned the shops in the last few months. But once again, Italy looks more likely to muddle through than to go down the drain.
Those who depict the demise of the European monetary union often overlook one major fact: The currency union has survived one of the sternest tests possible, a wrenching five-year adjustment crisis in Germany, the biggest and most euro-skeptical member. Having lost its competitiveness in the aftermath of unification, Germany was forced to turn itself around early this decade by painful cuts in wage costs and government benefits. Despite the German misery, and despite the strains caused by the gap between near-stagnation in Germany and fast growth in many other parts of the eurozone, the monetary union was never seriously at risk. In early 2006, the euro emerged with flying colors from this test, ultimately propelling the currency to a record high of $1.50 in late 2007. The eurozone will also master the current challenges without ejecting any of its major members.
Italy is the land of the great opera, where grandiose words come naturally. But outside the great arenas, the deeds are often less daring. Of course, some politicians may occasionally reminisce fondly about a largely imaginary sweet life under a soft lira. But a serious political initiative to commit fiscal suicide by returning from low euro interest rates to the cripplingly high lira rates of yore does not look very likely. And that is putting it mildly.
Schmieding is chief European economist at Bank of America.
© 2008 Newsweek, Inc.

 Still Going After Those WWII Nazi Bad Guys 

I wrote last year about the hubbub in Italy when a 96 year old former German officer under house arrest in Italy for WWII crimes was granted work release to work in his lawyer’s office. Last week a 93 year old former German officer was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment; of course he lives in Germany now and has no intention of returning to Italy.  The lawyer appointed  for him at the trial argued that his client was not one of those most responsible for the murders of civilians but was being tried because he was the only one of the German officers still alive. Meanwhile an 86 year old former German officer has been extradited from Canada to Italy to stand trial. If found guilty, at the most he will get house arrest.  Watching him walk on TV, I don’t think he gets out of the house much wherever he lives. I doubt that any other European country is still carrying on such trials.

Woody Allen 

It is my impression that he is less popular in the USA than he once was.  At the time I left the USA, his films were getting only limited distribution, primarily in large cities. I don’t know how much this was due to the quality of the films and how much to the decline in his reputation after his “incestuous” marriage. Meanwhile in Italy he remains quite popular. I heard him interviewed on radio in the USA, and he disclosed that he has a process for making films at a very low cost.  So I am sure that he is making money even if the films are less popular in the USA than in Italy (and perhaps elsewhere in Europe).

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I would like to spend the months of June-October 2008 in the USA. While I am gone from Pistoia, I would like to sublet my apartment. It has a large living room/dining room/kitchen, a bedroom with king sized bed, study, and full bath. There is an airbed which can be used to sleep one or two additional people. Comes with two TVs (stations in Italian), stereo system, and satellite radio which gets programs from USA. There is a washing machine and dishwasher and place to hang out clothes. It is in a modern building with elevator. Pistoia is centrally located along the rail line for easy access to all major cities in Tuscany with connections through Florence (20 miles away) to all of Italy and beyond. Everyone who has visited me in Pistoia has been surprised at how lovely this little known city is.My goal in subletting the apartment is not to make money but to recoup my rent, utility, and condominium costs. Rents (in Euro) are as follows: 1 week – 250, 2 weeks – 475, 3 weeks – 675, and 4 weeks – 800. (Currently one Euro equals about $ 1.50.) I think the rent compares quite favorably to prices for apartments rented through tourist agencies.Interested: contact me at bobnordvall@hotmail.com     

 
Divorce, Italian Style 
I’ve mentioned that the divorce rate in Italy is low by European standards. One reason is that a divorce costs from 1,000 to 15,000 Euro. Many Italians simply separate and never divorce. There are no ads in Italian newspapers for law firms that do “bargain divorces.” I think offering such a low cost divorce would be illegal in Italy where legal fees are regulated and there are compulsory minimum fees. The cost of divorce may not be a total explanation. Although common, divorce is still less socially acceptable in Italy than in the USA.
Upcoming Election
As I’ve noted before, I can’t understand the continuing popularity of Silvio Berlusconi. If I were a supporter of the Center-Right and its programs, I would want a leader who not only supported these programs but also implemented them after he was elected. Berlusconi has shown in the two times he was national leader that he talks a lot and accomplishes little. He and his supporters have excuses why, with a big Parliamentary majority, he accomplished so little, but I would want a new leader who might get the job done rather than making excuses.
Of course, Italians have very low expectations of their politicians. They vote for someone not with the hope that he will do a lot of good things but only that he won’t do the bad things that the other candidate would. So one could like Silvio because he gets elected and thus stops the other side from coming to power, but everyone who votes for Berlusconi could instead vote for another leader of Center-Right who might be more effective.
 
The two other major leaders in Center-Right are Fini and Cassini. Fini said last year that he had broken forever with Berlusconi and would never ally with him again. He called it a “closed case.” Of course he and Berlusconi are now in an alliance for the upcoming elections. Casini too has broken with Berlusconi because Silvio did not keep his promise to step aside if he did not win the last election. (Although the supposed reason Casini won't join the Berlusconi coalition is that Casini is not willing to abandon the graphic symbol of his party -- few believe this is the true reason.) I would not at all be surprised if Casini and Berlusconi kiss and make up soon. Mitt Romney got in trouble in his presidential campaign for changing a number of positions for what appeared to be political expediency rather than a matter of principle. Believe me this type of action by a politician in Italy would not be a problem for him at all.
By the way, the slogan of the new Party Democratic in Italy is "Yes, it can be done." Sound familiar?
 
Brain Drain from Italy to the USA
 
In terms of the academic brain drain, one thinks of scientists who go to the USA for better research opportunities with the most sophisticated equipment, but other scholars flee as well. I read an interview with an Italian who teaches New Testament studies at the University of Michigan. One could certainly do the research in this field in Italy as well. He cited the lack of a meritocracy in Italy as a prime reason for the brain drain. Ironically Italy has more rules and regulations to insure selection on the basis of merit than does the USA, but the reality here is different. Also there is the problem of geriatrics. A brilliant young scholar in Italy will have to wait for a promotion until the senior member of his department dies or retires. Finally the interview noted that Italy spreads its academic resources too thin. Every university in Italy offers BA, MA, and Ph.D. degrees. In the USA, on the other hand, many colleges offer only the bachelors degree.
A Visit from the Tax Police
I have mentioned that in Italy, a seller must give a cash register receipt to a buyer for every purchase because a major tax in Italy is based on the amount of these receipts. Some tax police came into a friend’s bar (in plane clothes) and ordered drinks. The waitress gave them a receipt as required. The police then revealed their identity. They noted that the waitress had taken a glass of water (from a mineral water bottle) for herself to drink and had not given herself a receipt. I guess the law is that all the inventory that is available for sale can only be distributed with a cash register receipt. My friend could hardly believe what the police were saying, but it is the law. The police, agreed, however, not to cite the bar for this violation. With the plethora of laws in Italy, it is impossible for a business to be fully in compliance. A friend once told me about a visit from state safety officers to a factory. After the inspection they complemented the owner on his excellent safety compliance. They were pleased to note that he and only 2000 Euro in violations.
 
Pistoia’s Sad Soccer Team
I don’t want to comment about how weak the Pistoia professional soccer team is. Let’s simply note that when Perugia recently lost 2-0 to Pistoia, the Perugia coach was fired the next day. Pistoia plays at level C-1, and is at risk of being reassigned to C-2 level next year. At each level the bottom four teams go down to a lower level the next year and the top four go up to a higher level. Of course at the very bottom level, it is impossible to be assigned lower and in the top one a team cannot be reassigned higher.
 
Animated Conversation
In Italy people both talk with their hands and often talk more loudly in public than in the USA. Recently a deaf couple came into a shop where I was. Since using the hands is common in Italy, it takes a while to realize that these people are in fact using sign language. What interested me more was, however, the "volume" of the conversation. The woman was obviously yelling at her husband in sign language.
Curing the Blind
In the State Office Building in Harrisburg, PA the candy/news concessions are operated by blind people. Apparently in Italy too some posts are reserved for disabled people or they are given preference in filling them. I discovered this through through an interesting local news article. A retired man was ticketed by the police for operating a small 3-wheel utility vehicle without a license. His wife came down and paid the fine, but they both seemed unusually nervous about such a small infraction. So the police did a little investigating. They discovered that when this man was 25 he got a job in a government office as a switchboard operator because he was blind. He worked there as a blind person until he retired. They now filmed him doing many tasks showing that he sees fine. The article hinted that he may lose his government pension, but you can bet all your fortune that this in fact will not happen.
Woolfie, The “Wonder” Dog
I am house sitting and pet sitting this week for a couple that had to go to England for a funeral. They have a cat and two dogs, Diana age 14 and Woolfie, age 1. Woolfie will chew ANYTHING. Other dogs come in with a stick or a piece of cloth in the mouth; she will come in with a rock. A few weeks ago she destroyed a camera. You can put nothing on the floor or a low surface. There is a table in the middle of the kitchen that is higher and on which the couple themselves places some food. It seemed to be a safe place. Not so. Today I had to buy a new cell phone.
                         

Some Readers Comments on Issue 267
 

A reader who had recently been to Sardinia noted that she saw no evidence of a Sardinian Independence Movement there.  Whoever wrote the graffiti in the German bathroom stall must have been a lone actor or part of a far fringe group. Another reader suggested a third theory to explain the spots reserved for women drivers in the German parking garage — simple polite courtesy extended to women.
 
 

Italy vs. USA vs. Germany
 

I’ve mentioned that when I return to the USA, it is clear that things run much more smoothly than in Italy.  When I come to Germany it is clear that things here run more smoothly than in Italy or the USA. Here is an example.  In Italy when you go to a cash machine and withdraw 150 Euro, for example, you may well get three 50 Euro bills.  Often from an Italian cash machine, you don’t get a bill smaller than 20 Euro.  I think in the USA the $10 bill may be the smallest in many cash machines. In Germany when you withdraw 150 Euro, you get a variety of bills including 50, 20, 10, and 5 Euro denominations.  So if your next purchase is a donut, you don’t have to pay for it with a 20 or 50 Euro bill. 
 
 

Of Course German Efficiency Can Go a Bit Too Far
 

My son tells me that in Germany recenty they readjusted the level of welfare payments.  As a direct or indirect result, some welfare recipients were found to be living in apartments larger than ones to which they were entitled under the new regulations. One would think the welfare recipients would either have to move to a smaller apartment of go off the dole. Instead the government ruled they could stay in their current apartments but they had to close off one (maybe more than one in some cases) room and not use it. Government inspectors make surprise visits to verify that the room in not being used, and some kind of sensors are installed in the rooms to monitor whehter they are being occupied. 

Welcome Back to Italy

As I got to Pisa airport, I went to buy ticket for train to Pistoia at the train ticket window at airport.  It took five minutes rather than one because the printer wasn’t working well at ticket office.  I then went to rest room. As usual when there are faucets that automatically start the water when you put your hands under them, it takes a while to find a faucet that in fact works. My traveling companion foound that the toilet did not flush in the other bathroom. We went out to train platform. You have to stamp your ticket in a machine before boarding the train. The first stamping mechine I tried did not function.  You certainly know when you are back in Italy.  On the other hand, the weather was quite pleasant.
 
 

Footnote on Interest in Italy in American Presidential Race
 

Italy will have national elections in April. One of the leading candidates compared his campaign to that of Barack Obama in the USA, a campiagn emphasizing the importance of change. This comparison may or may not be accurate, but the fact that the candidate thought it helpful to make the comparison shows the high level of interest in Italy in the Democratic race in the USA.

At the Language School Party

 I went to a party for the students of a local language school that teaches English, French, Spanish, and German to adults. What was intersting is that at the party all the students spoke Italian with each other. I checked with a teacher of German (from Germany) who confirmed my opinion — at a similar party in Germany the students would speak in the language that they are studying. One of the many reasons Germans are better at foreign languages than Italians. The teacher of German has a daughter who speaks both Italian and German.  Her German is quite good, but when she goes to Germany, she still gets teased about her German. The reason: she speaks German but uses her hands as if she were speaking Italian.

The American Author

 I saw on TV an interview with an American woman who lives in Rome and writes about the USA for an Italian audience.  The author said that she now speaks, thinks, and writes in Italian.  Her Italian was fine, but when she pronounced the names of American political figures, it was clear that she is not Italian.  Italians always say these names with a slight accent. Also, as she answered questions, she often gave curt, direct answers.  Thus she may have been thinking in Italian but she was not thinking as an Italian.  Italians rarely give short direct answers.

Another Local Slow News Day

You know the newspaper is struggling to find a good local headline when the biggest one for the day is “Broken equipment and delays on trains: Commuters in revolt. “  I’ve forgotten how many times I have seen this headline or a variant of it.

The Sweet Songs of the Birds

Many years ago the mother of an English woman friend of mine visited my friend for the first time in Italy.  The mother said that it was very nice at my friend’s home but something was wrong that she could not quite determine. Later the mother realized that although my friend lives in a country home, there were no sounds of birds singing. The reason: Italian hunters shoot everything that moves. I had read that there was a shortage of birds in Italy because of this predatory hunting. A friend told me that a book on bird migrations in Europe claims that birds have learned to avoid flying over Italy in their migratory travels.

Murdering Women

Since what would be only a local crime story in the USA often gets reported on national news in Italy, Italy seems to have a lot of violent crime.  In fact, it has much less than in the USA, although I don’t know how the crime rate in Italy compares to other European nations. One type of crime seems to be more prevalent in Italy – murder of women.  In fact, the statistics show that this impression from the news has some validity in fact. In the USA 21% of murder victims are women; in Italy it is 29.4%. Usually it is a wife or girlfriend killed by a husband (often estranged) or boyfriend.  It is not uncommon that one or more children of the couple are killed too. Sometimes the man then commits suicide; sometimes not.

I Think, Hope, Pray…

that finally I have solved the problem of the web site through which I distribute my weekly newsletter. As to those who did not get some of the copies in the past, these are posted at www.bob.it.tt  or www.thisweekinitaly.com

Remembering Old Time Radio

When I was a boy there was a radio show, “Life with Luigi” about an Italian immigrant and his misadventures in the USA. The actor, J. Carroll Nash, who played Luigi was not Italian, but spoke on the show with a broad Italian accent.

In Italy until recently there was a national government tourism site on the web, www.italia.it  .  It was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The cabinet member who heads this agency, Minister Rutelli, had a film on the web site inviting tourists in English to visit Italy. He speaks English about like Luigi did on the radio. The best you could say is that there is no doubt watching this advertisement that the person speaking is not some actor hired to do the job.

Something New at Semi-Weekly Traveling Market

At this market there are predominantly clothes from Italy or China. There are some garments “styled in Italy” that are probably made in low wage Eastern European nations or China. Clothes from Germany are not uncommon and you see some made in France. Very occasionally a garment from the USA shows up. This week I saw something new.  I picked up a very attractive sports coat and found a label in Russian. The garment was new, and I was surprised at the quality of the material and tailoring. I guess the new Russian Mafia probably dresses better that the average Russian (or even the Soviet leaders) in the old communist days.

“There She Goes….

Miss America, there she goes my ideal…” On the Italian news I saw the crowning of Miss Michigan as Miss America. Now it makes sense the political news from the USA is covered in Italy; American foreign and domestic policies have implications for Italy.  News from the American entertainment industry has relevance here because films and TV shows from the USA are common in Italy. I don’t know why the selection of Miss America has any importance in Italy. As I mentioned before I generally prefer Miss Italy to Miss America. Miss Italy is usually less “plastic” and more genuinely vivacious than her American counterpart.

Day of Memory, January 27

This was the day of memory for the victims of the Holocaust. On that day and the week preceding there were documentaries on TV, articles in newspapers, displays in bookstores, and showings on TV of films about the Holocaust such as “Schindeler’s List.”  As I’ve mentioned before, Anti-Semitism was not part of the Fascist ideology in Italy, but in 1938, Mussolini, bowing to the demands of his patron Hitler, instituted racist laws in Italy. When the Germans occupied Italy in 1943, they began to export Italian Jews (and other undesirables) to the concentration camps. I find Italians less inclined that Americans to expressions of hatred against groups. So what happened to the Jews in Italy was really contrary to the general proclivity of the Italian people. Many Italians tried to find ways to shelter Jews, but, of course, many others went along with what was happening.  

Although in general I find that Italians try to mute discussion of the evils of the Fascist years, in regard to the Holocaust, the atrocity is acknowledged and greatly regretted.

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I am in Germany visiting My son and his family including Connor, my new grandson

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In a German Public Toilet Stall

Upon entering the stall, I expected to find graffiti (if any) with the usual offers of sexual perversions. Instead I found statements written in English about “Free Sardinia,” “Independence for Sardinia,” and “Sardinia is not a part of F**king Itay.” What surprised me was that I have never seen such statements in Italy — in a bathroom stall or elsewhere.  I have seen anything in the Italian media about a Sardinian Independence Movement. I’ve never visited Sardinia; perhaps I would see such statements there.

In a German Parking Garage

As pulled into the garage, in the first row a car pulled out. I said to my son “how convenient, we can park right here.” My son said we could not because a sign marked the spot as a “ladies’ space.”  The most easily accessible spaces are reserved for the ladies.  Why?   Theory one: the ladies are assumed to have more difficulty negotiating their vehicles into the parking spots. Theory two: these spaces near the entrance are reserved for ladies so they don’t have to walk alone at night through many levels of a deserted parking garage to retrieve their auto.