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- Off to the hills for a big lunch with friends and colleagues. Let's hope the rain holds off. Quandary. Shorts? Shoes? Sandals? 9 hours ago
- I managed to cut myself shaving this morning, less than half an inch below my right eye. I MUST learn to concentrate harder on simple tasks. 1 day ago
- RT @deborschneider: The Guardian UK asks: is this the end of genre classification in fiction writing? guardian.co.uk/books/booksblo… 1 day ago
- If you've enjoyed The Slave House and have the energy to write an Amazon review, I'd be disproportionately grateful. amazon.co.uk/Slave-House-Ki… 1 day ago
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Category Archives: politics
Words
If I had a thousand pounds for every time I’ve heard people complain that the use of the word ‘gay’ to describe what these same people tend to refer to as the ‘homosexual life style’ had deprived them of the only … Continue reading
Posted in bigotry, politics, USA, very dark cave
1 Comment
The Slaughteryard
Assuming you know nothing of the work of the nineteenth century Argentine writer Esteban Echeverria, you can approach this book, one of the Friday Project’s Library of Lost Books, in two ways. The first is to cut to the chase … Continue reading
Posted in di giovanni, politics, review, the slaughteryard
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Recycling
The town I live in, Fondi, has a brand new town council. Well, not quite brand new. The freshly elected mayor (with over 55% of the vote) is a Mr De Meo – you may remember him from the election … Continue reading
Posted in corruption, fondi, politics
3 Comments
Vatican update!
The Vatican has been having a bit of a rough time these past few days. News arrives from Poland that the ‘miracle‘ needed to sanctify GP2 smells a bit fishy, news that has been roundly denied by B16. In 2006, … Continue reading
Posted in corruption, hypocrisy, italy, politics, pope, religion, vatican
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Fuck off, Binetti
Good news for all those people, like me, who know that the best way of getting rid of Berlusconi is to concentrate votes on the Partito Democratico (PD), but just can’t stomach it while Paola Binetti, fundamentalist catholic and – … Continue reading
Posted in berlusconi, binetti, homophobia, italy, PD, politics, religion
4 Comments
Personality politics
Local elections are coming up in Fondi and the walls of the town are plastered with advertising for the candidates for town mayor. They tend to appear in pairs, like teenage girls on a first night out. They use as … Continue reading
Posted in election, italy, politics
4 Comments
Fear and loathing in Empoli
This sign, which forbids entry to all Chinese who don’t speak Italian, can be found* in the window of a clothes shop in Empoli, near Florence. In an Italy that seems to have woken up and found itself racist and … Continue reading
Posted in italy, politics, racism
3 Comments
Man meets small spiky object. Object wins.
Berlusconi’s bloodied nose is already an exquisitely political space, populated on the one hand by those who see the Capo’s body as sanctified ground and therefore untouchable (i.e. his supporters) and on the other hand by those who see his … Continue reading
Posted in berlusconi, hypocrisy, italy, politics
4 Comments
Love came down
Are you enjoying the latest cat-fight as much as I am? I’m talking about the one between the Vatican and the Northern League, after Roberto Calderoli, minister for simplification (and they don’t come much simpler than Calderoli) criticised Milan’s Cardinal … Continue reading
Posted in italy, politics, racism, vatican
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Punished for good behaviour
If you’re in Rome on 5 December you might like to take part in No-Berlusconi Day, the product of a viral campaign to eject the Buffoon from power before he does any more damage. Don’t be put off (or encouraged?) … Continue reading
Posted in berlusconi, corruption, mafia, politics
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