While Berlusconi whines to the world about the "red magistrates" persecuting him, the economy is on melt-down. Millions are unemployed, there are lay-offs and factory closures go unabated. Young people, people in their thirties, middle-agers and workers too young to collect pensions and too old to work are in dire straits and falling into poverty. The rich countries are being pauperized. But in the land of the Ying-Yang, where the liberalists live, the glass is half full and half empty. If millions are on the edge of poverty, millions of others crowd the ski hills, dock their yachts in Portofino, visit offshore banks, pay no taxes, pay themselves millions, collect villas, hold orgyastic parties. That, they say, is the beauty of the market system where an invisible hand rewards and punishes. Neoliberal politicians keep reminding us how capitalism depends on growth: the more the worker works the bigger the GDP, the bigger the GDP the higher the salaries, the higher the salaries the higher the spending, the higher the spending the faster we get out of this economic crisis. And there is the "rub". It looks like the growth of the GDP hasn't raised the salaries of the low and middle income people. In fact, the Resolution Foundation, a British think-tank doing research on low and middle income wages, reported that from 2003 and 2008 GDP grew and so did the high-end wages and, as you probably have figured out, low and middle wages "flat-lined" or fell. Actually, the stagnation started thirty years ago, if not more. In any event get this: the think-tank did some projections and it figured that a growing GDP will not affect the living standards of ordinary workers since in 2015, wages will be no higher than they were in 2001. If the projection is correct it means that the bigger the cake the smaller the slice for low and middle income earners. And Berlusconi thinks he has it tough.

I thought I would translate Sonia Alfano's letter addressed to the President of the United States. The Italian text is in "Il Fatto".

Dear Mr.President Obama:

Had I been told twenty years ago that one day I would be writing to the President of the United States of America, I would not have thought it possible. Now, circumstances demand that I do in the interest of my country, which I have the honor to represent in the European Parliament.

Italians have seen the embarassing G8 video of Deauville in which you were approached by our Prime Minister updating you on the "drift" taken by our "politicized magistrates" and the fact that "leftist" judges are trying to ruin him. I'm certain he failed to tell you he is being investigated as the mastermind of the 1993 massacres in Italy. But I know that the international press has given Silvio Berlusconi's scandalous behavior ample space, that probably the American people know of his scarce political ability more than Italians do.

I'm aware of the difficult task incumbent on the President of the United States and I understand the protocol that must be followed in entertaining the Prime Ministers of the most important countries. I would not be so bold as to inquire about your answer to Premier Berlusconi, I imagine your embarassment must have been at par with the embarassment you may have felt when in 2009, at Buckingham Palace, our Prime Minister, recently remanded to judgement for prostitution of minors and extortion, began shouting, "Mister Obama" eliciting himself to be scolded by the usually impassive Queen of England who sternly glanced at him and said, "Must he be so loud?"

What presses me to write is to inform you that should you have the slightest doubt regarding the magistrates our Prime Minister referred to you, I as an Italian citizen and president of the National Association of Families Victimized by Mafia, European parliamentarian and member of the LIBE Commission, will make myself available to tell you the true story of the Italian Magistrature and the work of the anti-mafia judges which I'm honored to know one by one and whose honesty and rectitude I'm ready to swear by. They battle each day on two fronts: the Mafia that wish them dead and, since 1994, a Government obstructing their work.

Allow me the possibility to tell the truth. I wouldn't want your idea about the Italian Magistrature to be distorted by a man who insults judges by calling them "anthropologically different," "mentally deviated," and a "cancer," and that offends their work by saying that seeking the truth about mafia massacres is a waste of public money. Berlusconi is a man in politics to save himself from the troubles of his own making and who represents no one.

The history of the Italian Magistrature is a proud-rich history made by the most incorruptible men and women with many, too many, of their colleagues blown up or assassinated as they struggled against terrorism and are now struggling against organized crime.

No more than a few days ago a plot to assassinate Antonino Di Matteo was discovered. Mr. Di Matteo is following the most complex trials while occupying himself with collusions between institution and mafia. Mr. Di Matteo is one of the most exposed magistrates, a dedicated professional under attack by civil servants like himself. Italian magistrates do not deserve to be ridiculed before the world and before the President of the United States.

Awaiting your reply
and greetings from the "normal" people of this country.

On. Sonia Alfano
Member of the European Parliament
Member of the Commission LIBE

-- i have no shares from google, however must remind that google was (and is) fundamental to scientific research. it is used to search documentation, both primary on research and from scientific mailing lists. i am not aware that the said managers and politician have ever contributed to knowledge and culture to that extent (just compare a telecom database with google). their alleged action - if what is reported on mr grillo blog is proven - is just in the opposite direction. most unfortunately the citizen have taken the habit to listen to opinions rather than to information. the culprit is their dependence from windows (systems without journaling should not be properly called oss) at a time that gnu-linux - os that has conquered the mainframes - has become usable by even the less clever mind for common affairs. is the owner of this blog free from windows dependence? if not, his calls to freedom will continue to be seen suspiciously by the gnu community --

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In absolute agreement with # peterfieldman ....

but for the sake of ignorants .... this must be expanded and explained.

Why is all this happening ?
North Africa
Spain
...and WOW ... even backward Italy.

Moore's Law - of sorts.

But Moore's law to the power of 10x10x10 etc.

After 7 years of trying to get the human genome - the scientists were at 1%.
Everyone laughed at them.

5 years after that - they completed the genome, because after the 7th year, their research speed due to technology evolution - no pun intended - went exponentially from 1 to 7 to 14 to 28 to 56 to 112 percent - hence they got the 100% mark in 12 years.

This is happening everywhere.

AND FASTER THAN YOU WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE.

8 years ago people were not using search engines much
Look at google now.
2 years ago social networks were a whim for most.
Look at facebook and Twitter today.

Same in the A.I. sector today.
Not absolutely related to A.I. .... or maybe yes - definitely YES - .....today we have artificial hands for handless people which would be unthought of 3 years ago.

3 Years ago North Africa was less connected to the internet as it is today.

2 years ago - even many italians were not using internet as they do today.

So we have a speeding up-of of all technological processes, which assist the speeding up of human conception - of at least INFORMATION.

INFOMATION MACHT FREI !

The politicians, industry groups and above all media lobbies just cannot keep up.
[ all connected ]
But also they cannot anymore keep everyone canned in their non-information status as they have up til now.

The information-shit is only now starting to rain - but at least today we can see the evolution of this enlightening rain of shit DAILY.

Italy is a prime example of this speeding up of the times-a-are-a-changing rhythm.

The PDL, Berlusconi, Lega and all the crap and bullshit that surrounds them are falling to pieces.

Even the most hardend pro-Hitlersconi fanatics are coming to the conclusion that this is not the way to go.

And this because via the internet - the power of the regime has started to lose it's suffocating grasp on objective information.

All this is speeding up daily.
Think about it.

This is not to say that Pisapia or DeMagistris must win this time round.

But if they don't two things happened.

1.
You Italians are more stupid and slower then the signs of the times

or

2.
Your ballottaggi were not all that transparent and someone cheated.

So ..... whilst up to now we have had one italian in two who screwed one italian in two and the third italian watched idly on ... today this has started to change.

We still have one italian in two screwing one italian in two - but the third italian has started to become aware that maybe he should not then screw either of the first two italians - but to make up his own opinion and idea of the situation.
And maybe even not screw anyone to live and enjoy a better life.

And also ..... although we are still waiting for the fourth italian to come forth and save the nation - we now know that he will not be either the first or the second italian who have kept screwing each other.

He will come from the third, own-opinonated italian.

Keyser Soze
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The leaders at the G8 summit, who are still trying to pretend they rule the world, are like children building sandcastles on a beach oblivious to a tsunami that is approaching. While they and their wives dress for photo calls the Greek revolution, the Spanish revolution and Italian revolution are gaining momentum and calling for a change to the capitalist world which is destroying society.
Sarkozy and his friends think they are doing great deeds by allocating 20billion euros to the Arab Spring. They should start to look closer to home and think about the European Spring before it engulfs them