Beppe Grillo's Blog

Spot the difference

In Italian politics, as in Settimana Enigmistica, it’s possible to play a game, the game of Spot the difference . to find the differences in relation to each other. Between the declarations and the facts. It’s a game that even children can play.
- First difference: "We’re cutting pensions. It’s what Europe wants " versus "the right t o a pension is earned after two and a half years for the parliamentarians "
- Second difference: "Let’s get the State to reduce waste " versus "The parties are sharing out a billion euro in public financing got from contraband for election expenses. The PDL alone (Tremorti’s party) is pocketing half a billion euro "
- Third difference: "The delocalisation of companies abroad is a problem of the market " versus "The companies ranging from Bialetti, to Omsa, to Fiat are delocalising in Serbia or in Romania thanks to EU contributions paid with the taxes of the Italians and their products are anyway maintaining the ‘Made in Italy’ brand. "
- Fourth difference: "Parliament is an expression of the will of the people by means of the vote " versus " Parliament is elected name by name, family by family, arse-licker by arse-licker by 5/6 people responsible for the parties "
- Fifth difference: "In Italy, there’s the freedom of the press " versus "The newspapers are financed by the State, without that financing, they would close down, from Libero to Il Foglio. They have the same independence from political power as ‘Pravda’ (in Russian meaning ‘truth’) at the time of Stalin "
- Sixth difference: "Presidents of the Regions can only be elected for 2 consecutive mandates " versus " Presidents of the Regions don’t care at all and they hang on to their position for life - like Formigoni (PDL in his fourth term of office) and Errani (PDminusL in his third) "
- Seventh difference: "Federalism is one of the objectives of the government " versus "ICI, the only federalist tax, has been abolished and funding to the regions has been cut "
- Eighth difference: "The President of the Republic is the guarantor of the Constitution " versus " Napolitano signed the Lodo Alfano, declared unconstitutional "
- Ninth difference: "Italy repudiates war " versus "Italy participates in the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq where there is a daily massacre of civilians and in the past it has contributed to the bombing of Serbia "
- Tenth difference: "The fight against tax dodging is a priority " versus "The fiscal shield has rewarded the complete tax dodgers and organised crime, with taxation at just 5% on capital "
- Eleventh difference: "The parties are fighting the mafia and they honour Falcone and Borsellino " versus "Two senators convicted at the second level for being in close association with the mafia, Dell'Utri and Cuffaro, have seats in Parliament and often even at the dinner table of members of the Opposition. "
- Twelfth difference: "There’s a Majority and an Opposition " versus "The PDL and the PDminusL exist. They are parties of the mess up "

I realize that I could continue with the game of spot the difference for hours. Today I’m leaving you with a bit of work. If you want to continue….
They will never give up (but is it in their interests?). Neither will we.

Comments

In the agricultural small towns of Southern Italy, African laborers do the stoop-labor Italians refuse to do and are exploited to the bone. Their destitute circumstances leave them no choice but to endure slave-like working conditions and, in many ways, they're no better than the the African slave that picked cotton in the Southern States, if not worse. In Italy, they are exploited by ruthless middle-men who decide and pick whomever they wish and deliver them to the land owner. While American plantation owners valued their slaves, by housing and feed them all year round, Italian slave owners use them for a few months and then forget all about them.
But I don't need to list all the abuses and misuses these human beings suffer at the hands of other human beings. What I want to say is to organize along the lines Martin Luther King and march into the Rosarnos all over Italy. Martin Luther King had thousands of people march into racist cities protesting against slavery, segregation and demanding vote registration for blacks. If Beppe Grillo wants to mobilize the movement he should mobilize it by doing real political action and give the young and old people of Italy something to fight for. Musical events are fine but in the end they amount only to a couple of nights of revelling and mocking the system and when the lights are out everybody goes home to start looking for an existential purpose.
Il Fatto did a piece on the plight of African laborers in Southern Italy. It's a must read.

Posted by: Louis pacella | July 31, 2010 01:11 AM

Posted by: Louis pacella | July 31, 2010 01:08 AM