Newsgroup: it.politica
Titolo: leggendo i giornali USA

The Nation:
Italy's 'House of Freedoms'
by Eric Foner
For ten days in mid-May, I lectured in Italy promoting the translated 
version of my recent book, The Story of American Freedom. Among other 
things, the book relates how in the past generation US conservatives
have "captured" the idea of freedom, identifying it ever more closely
with low taxes, limited government and the ability to choose among a 
cornucopia of goods in an unregulated global marketplace. Little did I
anticipate that on the day I arrived, Silvio Berlusconi's coalition of
right-wing parties, calling itself La Casa delle Libert (the House of 
Freedoms), would triumph in Italy's national elections.
Berlusconi's victory was good for me in that it inspired a flurry of 
interest in the history of the idea of freedom and
larger-than-expected audiences for my talks. 
BUT VERY BAD FOR ITALY!
 Berlusconi is one of Europe's richest men, with a history of
corruption, conflicts of interest and alliance with some of the most
retrograde elements in Italian life. 
For the first time since World War II the country's governing
coalition will include parties that consider themselves the heirs of
Fascism. But to Americans, what may be most striking is how his
campaign's program, tactics and imagery were consciously borrowed from
this side of the Atlantic.
Like Ronald Reagan, Berlusconi described himself as a "great 
communicator" and promised to "revolutionize" Italy by liberating the
power of 
free enterprise. Like Newt Gingrich, he announced with much fanfare a 
Contract With Italians, which boiled down his campaign to a few simple
points, including tax cuts, privatizing state enterprises and law and 
order (a thinly veiled appeal to anti-immigrant sentiment). And like
George 
W. Bush, he portrayed himself as a compassionate conservative. 
Berlusconi's contract, unlike Gingrich's, promised to raise state
pensions and 
combat unemployment through highway construction and other public 
works.
Berlusconi "Americanized" Italian politics in other ways as well. He 
poured his personal fortune into the campaign, outspending the
incumbent 
center-left Olive Tree coalition ten to one. He mailed a brief 
autobiography to every family in Italy (some 12 million copies in
all). Titled An Italian Story, it was a quintessentially American
rags-to-riches tale. 
Every Italian, he insisted, could follow in his footsteps; his 
wealth should be an inspiration to others, not a source of concern.
But more than specific programs and electoral tactics, Berlusconi
brought to Italy the moral-political outlook of American populist
conservatism, something quite different from the traditional European
right oriented toward state, church and social hierarchy. Like Reagan,
Berlusconi rooted his appeal in broadly shared images and values
derived from the mass media and consumer capitalism.
It is significant that Berlusconi's wealth rests in large part on 
ownership of television networks, shopping malls and a major soccer
team. 
For his is a politics that identifies freedom with the private realm
of personal wish fulfillment without any sense of public participation
or collective empowerment. Far better than his opponents, Berlusconi 
understands the political dynamics of a society knit together not by 
traditional organizations like unions and churches rooted in local
communities but the dream world of mass culture and mass consumption.
If the Italian right has emulated America, the left in this country 
might well learn from the problems of its Italian counterpart. Since
the end of the cold war, the European left has been almost obsessively
concerned to demonstrate its legitimacy and respectability. It has
become suspicious of idealism of any kind, considering it na&iuml;ve, 
old-fashioned and politically dangerous. In response to Berlusconi's
utopia of private freedom, the Olive Tree coalition offered little
more than an image of competent, corruption-free administration. The
left's aura of managerial competence appealed to middle-class voters
in Italy's prosperous northwest, and the Olive Tree did well in the
old (and aging) communist strongholds of central Italy. But Berlusconi
swept the less economically developed south and did especially well
among young voters, who found his vision of a new, privatized Italy
more appealing than the left's promise of good government. Young
Berlusconi supporters interviewed by the newspaper La Repubblica
described the left as old, even "geriatric," and Berlusconi as young
and dynamic. "He's one of us," declared an unemployed youth, of
Italy's richest man. (sic!)
As in the United States, the defeated coalition has directed much 
recrimination toward a small group of independent voters, in this case
the Refounded Communists, which remained outside the Olive Tree
umbrella and  whose 5 percent of the vote exceeded Berlusconi's margin
of victory. 
But in both countries, it is far easier to blame a tiny cadre of
voters for the defeat than to look candidly at the weaknesses of
campaigns characterized by an absence of courage, vision and idealism
or to think creatively about how to regain the political initiative. A
good place to start would be to try to recapture the language of
freedom--linking it, as it has been in the past, with ideals of
participatory democracy, social justice and the willingness to combat
the depredations of the unregulated capitalist market. The idea of
freedom is too important to be surrendered to the Berlusconis of the
world.
----------------------------
DON'T SURRENDER...;-))))

Che sia il neofascista Fini il colpevole dei massacri di Genova????
------------------------ THE NATION ----------------
August 20, 2001
FASCISM's FACE IN GENOA
by John L. Allen Jr.
While violence generated by the radical "black bloc" dominated initial
headlines during the G-8 summit in Genoa, it is now Italy's men in
blue who find themselves at the center of criminal investigations and 
political debate. Using physical evidence and eyewitness testimony,
critics charge that the Italian police engaged in systematic beatings
and human rights abuses, leading some to compare the conduct of the
Italian police to the Chilean security forces under Pinochet. At an
August 3 press conference, lead investigator Francesco Meloni said,
"The reports of violence, and the identical testimony of scores of
persons who passed through jails in diverse hours and days during the
G-8, suggest a systematic method of torture and genuine violations of
human rights."
Most pointedly, Italian magistrates, journalists and politicians are 
demanding to know how a July 21 midnight police raid on the
headquarters of the Genoa Social Forum, organizers of the
antiglobalization protests, was authorized, and who is responsible for
the wide range of abuses alleged to have taken place. A police review,
a parliamentary inquest and at least four judicial investigations are
looking into accusations. 
In all, ninety-three people were arrested, and all but one released 
without charges. Photos taken of protesters show broken teeth, bruises
and head wounds. Police are also said to have confiscated videotapes
and computer hard drives that the Genoa Social Forum had been using to
document misconduct.
Police justified the raid on the grounds that the Genoa Social Forum 
was aiding and abetting the violence of the "all blacks." Only two 
Molotov cocktails were actually found, however, along with a handful
of sticks, iron bars and pocketknives, which strained credulity as a
"cache of weapons." Many observers believe the raid was in fact a
calculated reprisal against leftist organizers, blamed by police for
giving cover to the violent protesters, despite the fact that the
Genoa Social Forum had called for nonviolent modes of resistance. "It
was probably a sort of vendetta--of a Chilean type," said Riccardo
Barenghi, editor of Il Manifesto, which has been following the story
closely.
Initially the new, right-wing Italian government of Silvio Berlusconi,
for whom the G-8 summit was supposed to be a kind of debut, blocked 
calls for a parliamentary investigation. Berlusconi later changed
course. 
The first casualties of the probes came August 2, when three top
police officials were removed from office by Interior Minister Claudio
Scajola, who himself had just survived calls for removal from Italy's 
center-left opposition. Opposition leaders want the scope of the
investigations to include political responsibility for the violence.
Most important, they want a close examination of the role of
Berlusconi's deputy prime minister, the NEO-Fascist Gianfranco Fini,
who was in Genoa during the G-8 and maintained close contact with the
police and security forces. 
For at least some of this time, Fini was actually ensconced at police 
headquarters. Was he involved, investigators want to know, in the
decision to raid the Genoa Social Forum or in encouraging police to
take a! hard line?
Barenghi said he believes that the ascent of Fini's National Alliance 
Party, with its roots in Italy's Fascist past, helped shape the
climate in which the police operated. "Certainly the most violent
among the police felt themselves authorized to beat people from the
fact that today in Italy we have a government of the right, which has
within itself the heirs of Fascism," he said in an interview. A
related issue is exactly who made up the "black bloc." Spokespersons
for the Genoa Social Forum charge that some black-clad protesters were
drawn from the far right and infiltrated the antiglobalization
movement to discredit it. Italian newspapers have published documents
revealing that police had knowledge of such plans. One high-profile
observer, Italian activist-priest Fr. Vitaliano Della Sala, has said
he believes that some far-right elements had tacit police support.
What impact such charges may have on Berlusconi's government, if they 
are confirmed, is unclear. The story has dominated Italian newspapers 
and television broadcasts. Three Italian bishops issued a statement 
saying they had not seen such violence in Italy since World War II,
and that the beatings suggested that police were "punishing the
expression of ideas someone doesn't like." Polls by the respected firm
Datamedia show, however, that most Italians are less outraged by the
police, even if accusations of misconduct are true, than by the
protesters, whom they blame for an estimated $40 million in property
damage. Many Italians are terrified of a resurgence of the violent
radicalism of the 1970s and the Red Brigades. Berlusconi has said he
is "100 percent with the police," and in a sense he may be reading the
national mood about right.
-----------------
Ieri la TV hawaiiana ha mostrato delle scene di genova coi poliziotti
italiani che pigliavano a calci in testa, ripetutamente, un poveraccio
stesso esamine in mezzo a una piazza..... che vergogna, mamma mia!
e.

by Eric Foner
[cut]
l'america è una grande nazione liberale,
ma che si facessero i cazzaccci loro, visto che non conoscono bene la
situazione italiana!
e poi questo Foner è chiaramente sinistrorso.
-- 
sk4zz0

 e poi questo Foner è chiaramente sinistrorso.
... eh! No, pur essendo dalla tua parte, non si può parlar bene degli
americani solo quando fa comodo: questo è il gioco della sinistra italiana!
Il problema è diverso: non bisogna dar retta ad Ernesto.

 [...]
Chi vincera' il campionato? ;-)

 DON'T SURRENDER...;-))))
Don't worry ;-)

 On Sun, 12 Aug 2001 20:10:15 GMT, 
erne...@aloha.net
 (ernesto) wrote:
 > damage. Many Italians are terrified of a resurgence of the violent
 > radicalism of the 1970s and the Red Brigades.
Menzogne liberal.
Nessuno e' terrorizzato dalle BR di per se: non hanno mai attaccato la
popolazione civile (negli anni '70 io c'ero, i tuttologi biellesi non
so........ :-)
Probabilmente le nuove BR vedono proprio in voi ulivisti i peggiori
traditori degli ideali, pur distorti, che animavano la sinistra.
Dopotutto, chi ha tradito le famiglie e i lavoratori che pagano le
tasse siete voi.................
 > Berlusconi has said he is "100 percent with the police," and in a sense
 > he may be reading the national mood about right.
 > Ieri la TV hawaiiana ha mostrato delle scene di genova coi poliziotti
 > italiani che pigliavano a calci in testa, ripetutamente, un poveraccio
 > stesso esamine in mezzo a una piazza..... che vergogna, mamma mia!
 > 
I vertici dei servizi di sicurezza sono tutti ulivisti, i reparti di
delinquenti poliziotti drogati responsabili delle peggiori violazioni
della legalita' sono romani, Genova venne scelta come sede del
vertice G8 dal governo ulivista. Ti basta ?
Berlusconi non e' affatto al 100% con la polizia, perche' ha promesso
che i crimini non verranno coperti.
Il governo Berlusconi non ha ancora avuto il tempo di cambiare il
paese, le istituzioni e le forze dell'ordine sono ancora quelle del
passato a forte connotazione mediterranea e ulivista.
Comunque, se ti vergogni di essere italiano, fai benissimo.
--
  Robert.

distruggere il mondo in qualche centesimo di secondo in meno.
Sei divertente: il piduista corruttore e spergiuro, riciclatore di
denaro mafioso, ha tentato in tutti i modi di ingraziarli il
petroliere Bush jr! Perfino appoggiandogli lo scudo stellare!
Il Berlusco darebbe il culo per una parola di elogio di Bush Jr., anzi
gliel'ha dato e a Roma ne ha spillato alcune.
Qui in USA è ben divrso: Bush Jr. si guarda bene perfino da nominare
questo Berlusconi sentenziato corruttore, piduista e spergiuro!!!
In TV tagliano i pezzi per non mostralo. I giornali che ne parlano lo
fanno solo per ricordare al mondo che è al governo coi fascisti e che
è un delinquente.
Credi che questo gioverà al nostro Paese? 
aloha
ernesto

 Credi che questo gioverà al nostro Paese?
Non sarebbe diverso con un altro governo.
Il conflitto di interessi e' vergognoso, ma per noi, non per gli americani.
Deve essere risolto, ma non e' giusto premiare la sinistra per la sua
ignavia nel risolverlo.
Non ci resta che aspettare le proposte dei "tecnici" e valutarle molto
attentamente.

 Credi che questo gioverà al nostro Paese?
Non sarebbe diverso con un altro governo.


attentamente.
Non sono d'accordo. Sullò'ignavia della sinistra sì, forse cc'è anche
altro peggio... però il voto non è stato libero, perchè inficiato
dalle TV, cosa incredibile in ogni altro Paese.
Quindi il governo che c'è non è democratico e lo dimostra ogni giorno,
a cominciare dalle torture nelle caserme... per arivare
all'autocancellazione dei processi penali del premier.
Non so che si può fare: siamo messi male.
ciao
ernesto

 accadendo da noi.
.....
Il mentecatto cialtrone megalomane e mendace tuttologo millantatore,
é stato riconosciuto da un cameriere che gli serviva "grosse lobster"
in uno sperduto isolotto della Hawaii e come abbiamo ripetutamente
appreso dalle sue predecenti deliranti scemeggiate, ha tutti i
giornalisti d'America alle costole, persino quelli di piccole testate
locali.
In effetti il povero megalomane esibizionista é un cialtrone panzanaro
che nella realtà _nessuno si fila di pezza_ e che si é rifugiato nello
spazio virtuale nel quale continua a millantare ed a raccontare le
balle che lo hanno reso lo zimbello della rete.
La sfernata megalomania che domina il pensiero e le dita sulla tastiera
del povero 'ernesto' ciancialesto, é tale da impedirgli di millantare
e panzanare in ogni suo scritto. Si va dall'esame di ammissione
all'Accademia Aeronautica quando aveva 15 anni, alla fantomatica laurea
in economia e commercio, al Professore di informatica, al progettista e
costruttore di hardware vario con LED's che funzionano sullo stesso
principio dei cristalli liquidi, ai consigli che avrebbe dato agli
astronomi della Royal academy, alle lezioni di aggiornamento che tiene
a "famosi chirurghi" sulle ultime novità della loro professione, alle
sue continue frequentazioni di giornalisti americani, fino alle
grosse aragoste che ha raccontato di avere mangiato in occasione di
un presunto lauto banchetto offertogli dai suoi "nuovi amici"
dell'isolotto Hawaiiano.
La saga infinita del cialtrone millantatore fantastiliardario 'ernesto'
ciancialesto de' cialtronis continua ....
g

 Non so che si può fare: siamo messi male.
Si, ma dobbiamo risolverci i nostri problemi con le nostre forze.
Il conflitto di interessi deve essere risolto!
Da noi!

 Non so che si può fare: siamo messi male.
Si, ma dobbiamo risolverci i nostri problemi con le nostre forze.
