How to maintain the world leadership of the absurd - Mr. Berlusconi, I'm tired...

This is a Beppe Severgnini's article published on Italians, a column of the Corriere della Sera. It's a long time I'm not writing about politics but believe me: I'm so sick of reading Italian newspapers (and now, foreigners press too) that I try to forget what's happening in my home country. Nevertheless I'll do this exception, once more to celebrate Beppe Severgnini's acumen and sarcasm, and I will (try to) translate his last Italians column post to English.

How to maintain the world leadership of the absurd.

The President of the Council is convinced that Italian journalists are the inspirers of all the negative comments abroad. Impossible, for two reasons. Given the number of published comments, we should be inspiring the whole holy day, and we have other things to do. And then, let us say, there is no need to do that. Our political class - not only its Chief - is capable of getting in the mess alone, without any help.

I know that it is shocking, but there are countries, like Great Britain, in which the ministers will resign when surprised to bill a lawnmower (in Italy a politician could bring home the entire factory, explaining that he's got have an immense lawn, and we would believe him). I know that it appears fool but an American president - Bill Clinton - risked the impeachment for a lie about a girl (we would like to know if it is nice, and if the lie comes from the Conservatives or the left wing).

However, let's think about the unimaginable. Let's suppose that the Italian Politicians had lost all of their imagination. The last story, from Casoria and Villa Certosa, is so incredible that our minds are tired. Here are some suggestions. How to maintain world leadership of the absurd, conquered at the price of so many outrageous efforts.

THE CARTHUSIANS (it's a joke about the name of one of the estates of the President of the council) - All of the PDL parliamentarians, anxious to demonstrate solidarity to their leader, rented a house in Sardinia and organize hundreds of parties simultaneously with fake volcanoes. The NATO thinks of an attack and sends flocks of F16 on the island. An euphoric Apicella (A Berlusconi's friend, a guitarist), on top of the Gennargentu, sings "So sweet to die for Silvio".

THE STORY OF QUIRINALE - Unbeknown to the President Napolitano, a group of young parliamentarians of PD, seven women and three men, detain in the palace for ten days to escape the black plague of the election results, and in turn tells stories of cutting humor. Does it seem like Boccaccio? Well, at least you pull on morale.

BICAMERAL VICE - Massimo D'Alema called on Silvio Berlusconi for a table of reforms. The latter agrees, praising the constructive spirit of the opposition, and then continues to do what it wants and likes (2nd episode, the result within twelve years).

MICROEXPO - Giulio Tremonti, in agreement with the Northern League, decided to lower further the appropriations for the Expo 2015. The event will cost 15,000 euros, to be spent on snacks (the theme is nutrition). The new CEO protests, the Minister of Economy quotes Cesare Pavese "Working, tires".

HOT WASTE - Throughout southern Italy, the garbage is collected and disposed on time with precision and regularity. Without protests? Without patronage systems? Nothing criminal? No pre-election promises? The world holds its breath, then bursts into an applause: incredible, unbelievable! They are really incredible, these Italians.

--

The original article, in Italian language, can be read here.

A letter of Professor Saint Illicit - by Beppe Severgnini

This imaginary letter from an University Professor to a newspaper, written by Italian columnist Beppe Severgnini, has caught my attention because you prove a delicious intelligence and a fine irony, one more time, Mr. Severgnini. This post would surely enrich another post I recently wrote, Italy's a geriatrics hospital whose hall is full of spoiled children, but I prefer this stand-alone post because, at least this time, we can laugh.

Read the original letter.

Italy's a geriatrics hospital whose hall is full of spoiled children

I don't know where to start writing this. It's such a long time I want to shout out all the shame I feel towards the news I read on Italian newspapers, towards the things I see every time I fly to my hometown, towards the attitude of the people I meet with, that I don't really know how to do it properly.

Let's try and put order into the chaotic mix of anger, sadness and deception I feel almost daily. I'll do that just making examples. This post could also be titled What you'll find every day digging into an Italian newspaper or A small guide to survive Italian paradoxes.

Let's open the home page of the two most read Italian newspapers: Il corriere della sera and La repubblica.

Alitalia
Both newspapers open with the struggle of Alitalia. I don't known what a stranger would feel if he tried to follow what's going on with our national airline. History of Alitalia may be both an interesting anthropological and historical study over political corruption and medieval phenomenons such as feudalism. But the result is what's important: years of debts, a great percentage of workers doing absolutely nothing except throwing their shadows on the floor, above the average fees, impossibility of restructuring the enterprise because of the unity and the power of the workers' organizations which want to defend every single privilege they've gained over the years. I'm absolutely favorable to workers' organizations as a mean of organizing and protecting the individuals' rights but I think that every thing's a limit. Your firm is slowly and inexorably sinking with few spikes of vitality artificially produced by injections of liquidity by the State or by some banks and you don't want to face reality. You're going to lose your work and the only thing you can gain protesting is delaying the few possibilities left to Alitalia. For example, what's the point of a (yet another) strike at this stage of the events? Moreover, in Italy strikes are something normal and recurrent just as full moon nights, and they scare nobody.

Global state of economy and people perception
The annual report of the National Institute of Statistics confirms the trend of the last few years. It can be resumed in the following points:

• a poorer country with even less hope for the future
• one fifth of the population is over 65
• population growth produced only for the effect of immigration: of about 488.000 new Italians registered, 494.871 are immigrants which neutralized the -6.868 loss for death
  
• the percentage of the population satisfied or quite satisfied for their situation has dropped one year more: 43.7% against the 51.2% registered in 2007.
• the percentage of the population who perceived a worsening in their situation has raised to 54.5% from the 41% registered in 2007. A 16% of this percentage thinks that their situation has worsened greatly over the last year.
  
• the report confirms the great gap and the perception of the differences between the North and the South of the country.
• 40% of the populations is suffering for chronic pathologies.
• difficult access to basic services such as Hospitals is perceived by the 55.7% of the population

People asks: what's the government doing?
It's a spontaneous question. Given the fact that Italians aren't great readers, what would they find in the newspapers? News like these, which are daily overlooked by television and by themselves. It's something normal, politicians often steal. Costs of the Politics continue to rise. How? Well:

• beautiful desktop calendars exclusively designed by Nazareno Gabrielli: 260.000 Eur. More than 200% of the budget for every research about children leukemia coordinated by the City of the hope, in Padova, which, amongst other things, it's hosting the database of children affected by cancer. Another example which is cited by the article is a research of the University of Pennsylvania: according to their data, desktop calendars cost 28.000 Eur more than the salary of the Governors of Colorado, Tennessee, Arkansan and Maine. To-ge-ther.
• This is funny: Mr. Schwarzenegger salary as Governor of California, which he is not receiving, amount to 162.598 Eur. Less than a Counsellor's one for the County of Abruzzo.
  
• Going on with salaries. USA Governors salary is 88.523 Eur on the average. Less than half than what a Counselor receives in Lombardy. Luis Durnwalder, president of the Autonomous County of Bolzano, receives a salary of 320.496 Eur. More than the president of the United States.
  

The government is unable to resolve the situation. Saying that the barber service is no longer free for Senators sounds like a grotesque joke. The Senate expenses in 2008 amount to 570.000.000 Eur. I repeat: 570.000.000 Eur. Five hundred seventy thousand millions of Euros. 13.000.000 more than during 2007 balance. Some examples? Here they are:

• 19.080 Eur for the renting of plants and flowers (6 months)
• 8.200 Eur for stockings (3 months). Yes, it's not a joke. Stockings. Sarah Palin is like Mother Teresa, compared to Italian Senators.
• 56.000 Eur for shirts (6 months)
• 16.200 Eur for motor bikers' equipment
• The best for last: life annuities for non reelected members of the Senate and the Chambers. The official name in Italian is: Assegno per il reinserimento nella vita sociale. As I already said, grotesque.

Summing up: in Italy, during 2008, expenses rose up to 1.998.000.000 Eur, more than in 2007, despite promises of cutting up these kind of expenses. But the goal has finally been achieved: Italian politicians sacrificed and cut the 0.3% of the expenses. Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth achieved a 61% cut in one year but that's another story.

But are these cuts realistic?
No. At the end, on the balance weighs heavy a monstrous number: 2.055.000.000 Eur. And the cuts? They're not there. What's there, is a 5.6% increase with respect to the 2007 balance closings.

Is there any cut?
Yes, as usual: Mr. Berlusconi's government is fond of cutting funds to instruction and research and innovation institutions.

What does people do?
Well, as far as I read and as far as I can see what is thinking the people I met during my trips to Italy: closing their eyes, closing their nose and keep on dreaming the situation is not so bad. Cellular phones, cars, are the good old first class priorities for the average Italian. Look at data and you'll see with your eyes.

My thought.
I just reported data from newspapers but today is no special day, it's the same news I keep on reading year after year. The very sad part of the story is that the population living in Italy seems not to realize the gap which is opening between Italy and other European countries. When I think about this, most of the times I cannot but think that mine, will be the first generation since World War II whose life condition will be worse than its fathers'.

Stupidity never ends, as time, it continues to flow...

Just few hours ago I spent some time writing an entry about Mr. Berlusconi and his will to give advice to young and inexpert Mr. Obama.

No time has passed since then and I find myself writing again about the Italian Prime Minister and his first, and I bet not last, gaffe. If you can read italian, read it yourself. Here's the translated excerpt:

"Barack Obama? Young, beatiful and sun-tanned."

Mr Berlusconi goes just where nobody has, and wouldn't, gone before. I cannot even imagine Mr. McCain referring to Mr. Obama as "sun-tanned". What's worst, when he returned at his hotel and was asked about that unhappy statement, he quickly answered:

"If they don't have any sense of humor then it means that those fools have come into action, that they go be [offensive verb has been omitted]."

It's very sad, but sometimes I'm really ashamed that in my country, such a guy has been elected Prime Minister.

Yes, with Silvio, we can

Weren't he Mr. Berlusconi, when I read the news, I wouldn't believe somebody would say it. And when this somebody is such Prime Minister, it's even more unbelievable.

Here's the article (sorry once more, it's Italian) and here's the translated excerpt:

"The Prime Minister Mr. Silvio Berlusconi sent a message to Mr. Obama «for the important job waiting for him»: «I'm absolutely certain that friendship and collaboration between our two countries will continue growing and strengthening.». During his visit to the Eicma Fair in Milan, Mr. Berlusconi more informally added: «I can advise him [Mr. Obama] because I'm elder than him. I'll do it as soon as I'll be personally hugging him.»"

I'm recalling into my mind the victory speech of Mr. Obama. I was imagining him standing in front of his supporters and adding: "Yes, with Silvio, we can." It's no coincidence that Mr. Severgnini had a very similar reaction, has he commented in his blog, Italians, in the Corriere della Sera homepage. Thanks Beppe for this image.

Mr. Berlusconi, I would like to ask you some sincere questions: do you really believe what you're saying or it's just demagogy? And if it were demagogy, do you really think the average Italian is so stupid?

Personally I believe, Mr. Berlusconi, you should be asking Mr. Obama for advices, rather than offering yours. Italy would have its chance to change, too.

America has chosen: Obama

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.” - Barack Obama

The racial barrier has been swept away: the 44th President of the United Stated of America will the first black man who will enter the Oval Office as the President.

Seen by the humble eyes of a stranger as I am, it seems the last victory, a highly symbolic victory of freedom in a relatively new nation whose history has unfortunately been stained by many racist acts and decades of bloody fights to establish a situation of freedom and justice. For all. For a situation which, at my eyes, should just be called democracy or normality.

Many newspapers are reporting extracts of the speech of Mr. Obama and I opened the blog with one of the phrases I liked most, because it contains and synthesized the hope and the trust in democracy, which was what I had lost after almost a decade with Mr. Bush in the Oval Office.

Congratulations, Mr. Obama, and have luck. You made history and will enter the White House in one of the most difficult periods in the North American history that I can remember since I'm alive. A probably prolonged and very difficult economic recession is waiting for you. People who trust you will be waiting for the change you promised. And the weariness and the disenchantment produced by two wars, left as a heavy legacy by the George Bush administration, will be waiting for you to ease.

You said "That's the genius of America - that it can change." And it's true. So, good luck Mr. Obama, and thank you America: you could and you did the change. I hope that now America will have much more credit, and it deserves it. Reading the international press, I think the mood of the world has already changed. Mine, has. And I really feel confident that this time, the great problems of the world such as economy, environment, the Middle East question, do really have a chance to be solved.

Is there a correlation between Socialism and Free Software ?

The word Socialism is a broad term. There are different streams of socialism. On one end of the spectrum, there is the extreme form of socialism known as communism infamous for its stringent following of its ideology, which was practiced by countries such as the erstwhile USSR (present Russia) and currently by China and Cuba. And at the other end, there is the more humane form of socialism as practiced by countries such as India and Sweden. That is right, India is a sovereign socialist democratic republic nation as stated in the constitution of India.

And before any of you point at the problems faced by India, let me tell you most of those problems are due to its burgeoning population and should not be attributed to its socialist aspect. And as far as Sweden is concerned, it is ranked as the 4th least corrupt nation in the world. A clue that it's people lead contented lives. And Sweden enjoys an ultra low unemployment rate of around 4% which is the least in the European Union.

Simply put, socialism is a process of control of resources by a community or state in varying degrees. So the big question is does the Free Software movement enjoy any relation with socialist ideology ?

If you go by the definition of Socialism, I would say yes. The source code is open and is controlled by the Free software community at large. And it is the community which largely decides and dictates the direction of a software's progress. Each decision is taken through consensus and by interacting with its users. Though at times there is bound to be a lot of bickering and clash of egos, for the large part, the job gets done splendidly. And socialism works in the software realm when it is a massive failure when implemented in an extreme form (read communism) in real life is because unlike the resources in real life, software is a replenish-able resource. You can literally make millions of copies of your source code and distribute it to others free of cost and still you will be left holding the original copy of the source code.

Having stated my views about this topic, I came across this lengthy article which talked about the inherent link between Free software and socialism. What held my attention was the insidious way in which they had portrayed the 'X' in Linux with a hammer and sickle - the trademark of communist movement. If anything, Free software movement is far removed from the mess that is communism.

Linus Torvalds vs Jonathan Schwartz - clash of two titans ?

The fire started when Linus Torvalds wrote a reply to a mail in the Linux kernel mailing list where he pondered on Sun Microsystem's true intentions in willing to release Solaris under a GPLv3 licence and how the rise of Linux has hurt Solaris and how Sun doesn't want to help Linux.

In his own words, this is what Linus said (and I quote parts of the mail):

They may like open source, but Linux _has_ hurt them in the marketplace. A lot.

They want to use Linux resources (_especially_ drivers), but they do *not* want to give anything back (especially ZFS, which seems to be one of their very very few bright spots).

So to Sun, a GPLv3-only release would actually let them look good, and still keep Linux from taking their interesting parts, and would allow them to take at least parts of Linux without giving anything back (ahh, the joys of license fragmentation).

Jonathan Schwartz the president and CEO of Sun Microsystems has written a reply on his blog to Linus Torvalds explaining Sun's true intentions and why it is taking so long for Sun to release Solaris under GPLv3.

But most of all, from where I sit, we should put the swords down - you're not the enemy for us, we're not the enemy for you. Most of the world doesn't have access to the internet - that's the enemy to slay, the divide that separates us. By joining our communities, we can bring transparency and opportunity to the whole planet. Are we after your drivers? No more than you're after ZFS or Crossbow or dtrace - it's not predation, it's prudence. Let's stop wasting time recreating wheels we both need to roll forward.

You may also be interested in reading the comment made on Jonathan Schwartz's blog by OpenBSD founder Theo de Raadt.