http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/ A blog on Italian politics and society. en-us Copyright 2008 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:44:20 +0100 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:48:51 +0100 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.14 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss It was inevitable that, sooner or later, someone in the Italian press/blogosphere would link Euro 2008 and the recent rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by the Irish electorate. Giordano Bruno Guerri, self-declared 'anti-modernist', blogger and journalist with il giornale, steps... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/06/juventus_and_th_1.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/06/juventus_and_th_1.php Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:44:20 +0100 Tough talk, characterised most often by the phrase 'amarezza' (bitterness) from Italy's leading politicians following the news of Ireland's 'no' vote to the Lisbon treaty. Ex President of the EU Commission Romano Prodi pulled no punches: "We can't go on... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/06/every_cloud_ita.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/06/every_cloud_ita.php Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:25:45 +0100 This monkey just managed to get his hands on a copy of NaziRock, the new documentary by film-maker Claudio Lazzaro. The film takes a look at the neo-nazi scene in Italy, focussing in particular on a number of bands that... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/06/distorted_selfp.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/06/distorted_selfp.php Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:38:04 +0100 Underneath the mountains of rubbish that litter the streets of Napoli and surrounding towns lies a complex, profitable, and extremely dangerous system run by the Camorra. In essence, for years this organised crime outfit has taken toxic industrial waste from... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/05/the_napoli_solu.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/05/the_napoli_solu.php Thu, 29 May 2008 08:49:39 +0100 One of the first moves of Berlusconi's new government was for the Finance minister Giulio Tremonti to announce that an agreement had been reached with the Italian banking association (ABI) to allow for cash-strapped mortgage-holders to renegotiate their variable-rate loans... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/05/trasformismo_an_1.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/05/trasformismo_an_1.php Wed, 28 May 2008 08:37:54 +0100 http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/05/dancing_with_de.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/05/dancing_with_de.php Thu, 15 May 2008 19:14:06 +0100 By chance this week, this monkeys saw an episode of the truly terrible Francesco's Italy (worth watching, if you turn the sound down), where host Count Francesco Da Mosta pulled his alfa-romeo spider into Verona. In keeping with the rest... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/05/an_untimely_dea.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/05/an_untimely_dea.php Sun, 11 May 2008 10:02:49 +0100 Rosa Luxembourg, the Polish-German socialist famously theorised 'you lose, you lose, you lose, you win', and that will be of a certain consolation to Walter Veltroni, the first leader of the new left-wing party Partito Democratico, particularly given the shock... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/the_left_lose_r.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/the_left_lose_r.php Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:19:31 +0100 On Friday, the 25th of April (liberation day), an estimated two million people gathered in over 40 cities in Italy to protest about the state of journalism (print and television) in Italy. Over 500,000 people in one day queued up... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/right_or_wrong.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/right_or_wrong.php Sun, 27 Apr 2008 11:54:21 +0100 Today is a national holiday in Italy, though not one that everybody celebrates. The 25th of April comemorates the liberation of the country from the Nazi occupying forces, and from the Fascist rump government of Mussolini's Repubblica Sociale Italiana. Luckily... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/remembering_the.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/remembering_the.php Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:51:31 +0100 There's been widespread news coverage in Italy regarding the recent decision in Canada to ban polycarbonate baby bottles containing bisphenol-a, a chemical that has been linked to hormonal changes in animals tested. Risks related to the use of the chemical... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/maybe_that_expl.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/maybe_that_expl.php Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:10:10 +0100 So the post-mortem sets in, with the 'extreme'* left wiped out in this election. They're blaming the 'moderate' PDs, who were undoubtedly the main challengers to Berlusconi. The theory is, put simply, that PD leader Walter Veltroni's strategy of excluding... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/walter_knows_hi.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/walter_knows_hi.php Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:56:45 +0100 Tree huggers, eco-warriors, and stuffy scientists pushing for aviation taxes were all celebrating last night at the news that Silvio Berlusconi and his right-of-centre party the Pdl had won a landslide victory in the Italian elections. Or at least they... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/the_environment.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/the_environment.php Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:19:09 +0100 All the major parties have stressed, during this election campaign, that Italy faces huge challenges ushered in by globalisation. The way to confront this differs, depending upon your political persuasion, but the challenge can't be ignored. Lucky for Italy that... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/globalisation_a.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/globalisation_a.php Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:36:58 +0100 Amongst other thorny issues largely ignored by the two major parties competing in this weekend's general election is gay marriage. Veltroni and Berlusconi have studiously avoided being drawn into the issue. Veltroni's party, filled with a sizeable proportion of theo-cons... http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/gay_marriage_th.php http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/blogs/view_from_bologna/archives/2008/04/gay_marriage_th.php Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:58:45 +0100