Move to your villa in Sardegna, put your bandanna on and curl up poolside with a good … well, I was going to suggest a good book. But, now that I think about it, do you read? And, while you are at it, take that aging, turkey-necked Flavio what’s his name with the Billionaire Club with you. I am sick of looking at his has-been Elvis chops too.

I know you didn’t mean to insult Mr. President Obama–deep down you are just upset to not be the center of attention.

But, your place is not next to someone who graduated from Harvard Law, who believes in a meritocracy. Your place is at the aging VIP’s table in the Billionaire Club, counting the cronies alive and in power in the Sick Man of Europe. And, I don’t mean Turkey.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/16/arts/kimmelman.php

Having survived four interminable years in Napoli, I am qualified to offer my 2 euro cents worth of advice to Mr. Velardi as to how to chisel away at Naples’ reputation as purgatory on earth. There is really no need to spend a lot of advertising dollars in order to attract more tourists’ rubles, dollars and even euro to bella Napoli. Guajol’ basta che la gente si comporta con un po’ di gentilezza.

So, more specifically:

In ïnformation points, such as the train station at Mergellina, you could in theory, actually retain individuals to work there who speak English, and, this is important, who put down the phone to Mamma when tourists enter the station asking for assistance. Additionally, it doesn’t hurt to educate these service providers a little about Campania’s glories, rather than just having them thrust brochures at tourists — with an ecco fatto attitude. Once, I entered this same information point, and asked about agriturismi in the area, in italiano and received a we don’t have a brochure on that as a reply (and she went back to conversation on cell).

A second bit of consiglio to Mr. Velardi would be to run an internal educational/advertising campaign in Naples similar to what China did prior to the Beijing games, explaining to itscivilians that the civil behaviour is a wonderful thing — single file in lines (yes, even you senior citizens), no fingers in noses in public, smokers should do their best not to burn others passing on the sidewalk. And, for the napoletani men, I would add this special educational message: blonde, foreign women do not, contrary to napoletani belief, do not like to be followed by random men propositioning them with vulgarities sotto voce. One should not assume that a foreign woman is either a prostitute, or in need of a job as your badante. Sometimes, we blondes are simply doctors, lawyers, and yes, even advertising executives.

Then, this is my last item of free advice (you can contact me for my consulting rates at info@americangirlinitaly.com): Naples merchants/restauranteers etc. should be apprised that we foreigners learned how to count at the scuola materna . Ergo, we know how to make change–even in euro. Thus, stop doing that slow-count when you make change, thinking we do not know how much change you should give us post-purchase. That little trick is getting very old, and time is money.

I must admit to feeling really old having started listening to her in the era of Lucky Star and Borderline. In fact, I remember my friend Zan having the single record of Borderline that we listened to over and over again before bolting off to swim team practice, or to watch Eden and Cruz in love on Santa Barbara in the summertime–I think we were ages 15 and 17 give or take a year.

Now, about a quarter of a century later, Madonna’s still on stage making denaro by the million and looking incredible — of course I didn’t have front row seats like we used to have at age 16, preferring to sit at concerts these days.

Well, now that summer is over for me, how many days til All Souls Day and the Christmas holidays?

I am patiently awaiting dinner, which appears to be red peppers, fresh garden tomatoes, carrots, onions simmering in above-mentioned white something or other wine and olive oil sauce. Added to the vegetables are several plump chicken legs, to be served over a fluffy bed of polenta, with of course, an accompanying white something or other wine.

I have been dispatched twice now to our mosquito-infested garden for rosemary reinforcements and fresh basil and the profumo del cena has overpowered my feeble resistence, such that I must snack on Chipsters, those vile chippy snacks that make me ruin my appetite for the above mentioned feast that husband Antonio is preparing.
It is a bad American habit I have never been able to kick–snacking. Often, I will shock Italian colleagues by eating an apple at 11 am, or a yoghurt at 4 pm. (more…)

Just last night, I heard on the RAI news that there is a newly created Ministry of Semplificazione (Normativa).

Um, just a thought from a simple American Girl, but if you are going to have less bureaucracy, why do you need to create another ministry to do it?

Clearly, I am not a product of an Italian liceo classico edcation, or I might understand this concept.

And, guess who the new Minister is?
Mr. Simple himself: Roberto Calderoli!

Yes, the same nimrod (sorry, couldn’t think of a more appropriate, slang word, even if it is archaic) who wore the T-Shirt which had the Danish cartoon version of Mohammed on it while he was Minister for Institutional Reform.

He so provoked the ire of Muslims in Libya, that they rioted, and the ever humane Libyan police shot 11 protestors.

Clearly, this is a guy you want to put in charge of washing cars maybe, channeling his energy to something productive, rather than dealing with politics and people at high levels. Oh, and did I mention that this guy studied medicine? How does this qualify him for legislative reform positions?

If you want to read all about him on Wikipedia, here is his illustrious rap sheet: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Calderoli

Calderoli has particularly impressed me with his views on immigrants, and how we are all a bunch of bingo-bongo who should return to the deserts of our own countries.

So, I guess I would have to go to Arizona or New Mexico, possibly Southern California would count. Maybe I could work for the Italian Consulate in one of these states.

So, this is unfortunately, a fact of Italian life as the desperati try to access a better life.

I have never, however, I repeat ever read such a story illustrating the callous nature of humanity. So with that viewer caveat, here is the article from CNN which triggered this post:

(CNN) — Italian newspapers expressed shock and revulsion on Monday after photographs were published of sunbathers apparently enjoying a day at the beach just meters from where the bodies of two drowned Gypsy girls were laid out on the sand.

Italian news agency ANSA reported that the incident had occurred on Saturday at the beach of Torregaveta, west of Naples, southern Italy, where the two girls, aged 14 and 16, had earlier been spotted swimming in the sea with two other Gypsy girls. Reports said they had gone to the beach to beg and sell trinkets.

The four girls soon found themselves in trouble amid fierce waves and strong currents, according to reports. Two of them were pulled to safety but rescuers failed to reach the other two in time to save them. Their bodies were eventually laid out on the sand under beach towels to await collection by police.

For many beach goers however, the incident appears to have been a mere interruption to their day at the seaside.

Photographs show sunbathers in bikinis and swimming trunks sitting close to where the girls’ feet can be seen poking out from under the towels concealing their bodies. Other photos show police officers lifting the bodies into coffins and carrying them away past bathers reclined on sun loungers.

“While the lifeless bodies of the girls were still on the sand, there were those who carried on sunbathing or having lunch just a few meters away,” Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported.

Corriere della Sera said that a crowd of curious onlookers that had formed around the bodies quickly dispersed. “Few left the beach or abandoned their sunbathing. When the police from the mortuary arrived an hour later with coffins, the two girls were carried away between bathers stretched out in the sun.”

The incident occurred at a time of heightened tensions between Italian authorities and the country’s Gypsy minority amid a crackdown by Silvo Berlusconi’s government targeting illegal immigrants and talk by government officials of a “Roma emergency” that has seen the 150,000-strong migrant group blamed for rising street crime.

That has provided justification for police raids on Gypsy camps and controversial government plans to fingerprint all Gypsies — an act condemned by the European Parliament and United Nations officials as a clear act of racial discrimination. Popular resentment against Gypsies has also seen Gypsy camps near Naples attacked and set on fire with petrol bombs by local residents.

In a statement published on its Web site, the Italian civil liberties group EveryOne said Saturday’s drowning had occurred in an atmosphere of “racism and horror” and cast doubt on the reported version of events, suggesting that it appeared unusual for the four girls to wade into the sea, apparently casting modesty aside and despite being unable to swim.

“The most shocking aspect of all this is the attitude of the people on the beach,” the statement said. “No one appears the slightest upset at the sight and presence of the children’s dead bodies on the beach: they carry on swimming, sunbathing, sipping soft drinks and chatting.”

Links referenced within this article

Italian
http://topics.edition.cnn.com/topics/italy