Smell Naples, and Die!

Happy New Year, Naples!

The famous Italian city, known worldwide for its beauty and magic (along with chaos ...) is expecting a miracle from its patron saint, San Gennaro.

In 2007, Naples and its province have seen the emergence of a big scandal in the waste management area, leaving the streets piled up with garbage. At this time, an estimated 100,000 tons of rubbish are left rotting in the streets and the exasperated inhabitants are showing their frustration and despair by setting it on fire.

On this New Year's Eve, firemen had to put out 130 rubbish fires which led to a dioxin pollution alert. The health risks posed by the piles of rubbish left in the streets have forced the closure of schools. A recent study coordinated by the World Health Organisation showed increased mortality rates among people living near illegal waste dumps in the region.

How is this possible in a metropolis, in a famous city, in a so-called developed country, that is a (founding) member of the European Union? Political mismanagement, conflicting interests and mob influence are the answers.

The Italian Government's grip on the waste management industry in the south of the country is historically less than vigorous, with environmental NGOs fingering organised crime groups as part of the problem. The Camorra has infiltrated parts of the waste management industry in Naples, and a significant part of the budget appears to be disappearing into the pockets of the mafia.

In Naples and the surrounding Campania region the Camorra criminal clans target waste disposal and the unregulated dumping of industrial waste. The ensuing environmental damage, is well documented. The government also claims that the clans are involved in the transport of municipal waste.

This summer, the European Commission (EC) has urged Rome to tackle the problem and has said it considers the region's waste disposal installations inadequate, posing serious problems for human health and the environment. The situation constitutes a violation of EU waste legislation.

In parallel the EC is assessing government plans to open four new waste landfill sites in Campania, checking their compliance with EU law and to see if they will help solving the region's waste problems, especially in the longer term.

The EC has sent Rome a formal letter of warning, the first step in a legal process which could eventually see Italy racking up huge fines.

Now that 2007 is done, now what? The situation has been left unchanged. The leftist government of Romano Prodi, as well as the leftist authorities in Naples (Mayor Iervolino and Governor of the province Bassolino) do not seem to have impacted matters. One should expect to see emergency measures being taken, like sending the Army to clean the streets for a while. Not so in Italy.

I try to imagine what it's like to be a Neapolitan citizen, an honest worker paying heavy taxes and returning home at night, exhausted, just to see a new pile of rubbish in front of the door...

Poor Europe ... Your leaders have abandoned you!

- Filed in Articles on "On the Record" -

Ryanair and the EU ...

Michael O'Leary, the charismatic boss of Ryanair, is an angry man. Reacting to the multiple legal actions taken against its low cost aerial company, he didn't hesitate to accuse EU's institutions of corruption.

Well, a honeymoon between Ryanair and EU isn't for tomorrow. Proof is that all available actions against Ryanair have been tried, especially the ones for receiving illegal allowances from airports managements, while all actions taken by Ryanair against other companies for the same reasons (Alitalia, Lufthansa, Air France) have not.

Yet Ryanair keeps on growing, despite all endeavours to pull it up short. Ryanair employs 4,800 people and is Europe most profitable carrier. In 2008 the number of passengers is expected to overtake British Airways' worldwide total.

O'Leary's USP is simple: low fares. Ryanair's average ticket costs €41 (£27), compared to €62 (£41) on easyJet, or €268 (£178) on British Airways.

The EU's attitude towards Ryanair is more than questionable. Perfect example is the merger between Ryanair and Aer Lingus. The EU anti trust authorities rejected in June Ryanair's takeover bid for rival Irish carrier Aer Lingus, ruling that a combined operation would create a Ryanair monopoly in Ireland.

Yet the EU in this decade has approved a string of other European mergers involving Air France, Dutch carrier KLM, Lufthansa and the defunct Swissair. Clearly there is a double standard: the European Commission refuses a merger for "local reasons" while weeks before, it approved the merger of four big companies operating all over Europe. Indeed, the same logic wasn't applied when the merger Thomas Cook/ My Travel and TUI/ First Choice was approved, creating a real monopoly over seaside resort tourism within Europe.

With regard to Ryanair and Aer Lingus, O'Leary claims the move is politically motivated and is made to appease politicians in Dublin. The Ryanair boss says he will appeal against the expected decision at the EU's Court of First Instance.

He says "This decision is politically motivated, designed to appease the narrow interests of the Irish government, which was the only party, other than Aer Lingus itself, to object to the merger," O'Leary told media sources.

Ryanair has been subjected to a series of EU investigations into its deals with far-flung, small airports, most recently when investigators began probing whether Ryanair's exceptionally cheap contracts with three airports in Germany and Finland violated competition laws. The EU is also looking into Ryanair's contracts with airports on the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Malta.

But while Ryanair is investigated, Michael O'Leary only gets refusals when requesting other companies to be investigated for the same reasons. So Ryanair is suing the European Commission over its refusal to conduct a probe into German government funding for a Munich airport terminal, whether it amounts to illegal state aid for Lufthansa AG.

For the past two years Ryanair has accused European leaders of demonstrating bias in favor of the continent's national flag carriers, citing a range of government financial support, benefiting Lufthansa, Air France, Alitalia and Olympic Airways of Greece.

O'Leary said Lufthansa and its partner airlines enjoyed "exclusive use" of the terminal, which was built with more than €1 billion (US$1.4 billion) in state aid. He said the terminal had run up losses exceeding €100 million (US$140 million) annually.

"No private investor would have invested in the loss-making facility and then granted exclusive access to just one airline. Lufthansa is therefore receiving substantial state aid at Munich Airport, which distorts competition in the European air transport market," O'Leary said.

"Munich Airport's refusal to allow Ryanair to use this facility has subjected passengers in Bavaria to the stranglehold of Lufthansa's high fares and fuel surcharges," he said. Ryanair mounted a similar lawsuit last week against the European Commission, alleging it has ignored a previous Ryanair complaint against French government policies that allegedly favor Air France. That lawsuit was also filed in the European Court of First Instance.

"The French government's operation of massively discounted domestic airport fees in France — almost all of which supports Air France — amounts to approximately €1 billion (US$1.4 billion) of illegal state aid benefiting Air France, yet the commission has refused to do anything about this for the last eighteen months," O'Leary said.

Ryanair also applied to the regional administrative Court in Lazio, Italy for an immediate injunction to overturn the recent unlawful attempt by ENAC (the Italian civil aviation Authority) to restrict capacity at Rome Ciampino Airport by almost 30% from November 2007.

The Irish airline says that in so doing, the Italian authorities are trying to support the terminally ill Alitalia by blocking low fares and competition in Rome. Ryanair has also submitted a complaint to the European Commission, asking it to immediately intervene on behalf of consumers to prohibit this unlawful reduction of capacity at Rome’s secondary airport.

When asked if he was not considering buying Alitalia, O'Leary answered that he was not interested, even for free! Too much trade union and political influence over this company, he said. And he has a point.

What we see with Ryanair is the evil role played by the EU. While the worst performing companies get protection, the best are taking a beating. The EU prefers spending time and money to keep ill managed carriers afloat, instead of encouraging brilliant businessmen.

And what about European citizens! Their tax money is wasted, while the EU tries to force them into expensive air travel!

The EU: ill advised, incompetent, corrupt, an illegal super state.

- Filed on Articles in "The Economics and Monetary Dossier", cat. Economics -

Something Rotten in the State of Europe ...

Maybe I'm missing something, but my feeling is there's something rotten in Europe. Slowly but surely, some invisible octopus is busy hindering the arms and legs of all of us, Western European citizens.

As everybody, I was watching the news to see Gary Kasparov arrested last week while he protested against Putin's regime. The media were unanimous to condemn this act of intimidation towards a citizen, willing to exercise his freedom of speech and opposition before the elections on Sunday. They pointed out that this kind of repression doesn't forecast anything good for democracy in Russia.

Well, well, well... Look at this picture. Date: September 11, 2007. Location: Brussels. Event: a peaceful demo aimed at commemorating the WTC and Pentagon attacks on 9/11 and to draw attention to the creeping Islamization of Western society - a demo forbidden by Brussels Socialist mayor Thielemans. Freedom of speech? Not in Brussels.

The guy assaulted by policemen in the picture is not a common individual. He's the President of a party voted for by 20% of the electorate, a former Belgian senator, and currently a MEP. I fully agree that this party doesn't look friendly to the remaining 80% (and me) and that the guy isn't very sympathetic. A far right guy... But anyway : he represents many citizens, was voted in democratically.

Nobody in the Belgian media protested against his brutal arrest. Why? To me, there's no difference between the two cases: between the arrest of Kasparov and our Belgian bad guy. It's not the responsibility of authorities to decide who is pleasant (or whom to vote for) or not.

The problem is, we have to deal in Belgium with an archaic Left-wing nomenklatura. In the end, I believe what distinguishes Left from Right is the level of confidence in a population. Leftists believe people can't be trusted. In their minds, the totalitarian temptation will always prevail. Ergo, they believe they have to tell people who is votable or not, who has a reasonable political vision or not.

To push this belief the whole way, they even created what they call a "cordon sanitaire" (line of quarantine) around this particular party: the party won't be part of any coalition, there'll be no debate with its leaders, and the media must do their best to ignore them.

That's what they call protective democracy, and that's what I call the beginning of a dictatorship.

After all, the essential thing is not that the Belgian Leftists isolate a party and its leaders, IT'S THAT THEY ISOLATE 20% OF THE ELECTORATE - AND ABOVE ALL - THAT THEY ISOLATE THE POLITICAL ISSUES NOURISHED BY THE FAR RIGHT MOVEMENT, NAMELY INSECURITY AND UNCONTROLLED IMMIGRATION.

Tackling those problems would be considered a break in the cordon sanitaire, as far Rightist parties end up being the only ones bringing these matters up. My opinion instead is, that in a democracy, no subject should be ignored. The best way to fight extremist parties is to find solutions to the problems they point out.

That is what Nicolas Sarkozy did so courageously during the French campaign last spring, shocking Leftists who accused him of flirting with Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of Front National, the far Rightist party dealing with the same kind of ban we find in Belgium. Result: Sarkozy was easily elected while Jean-Marie Le Pen suffered his worst defeat.

Back to the situation in Belgium, it's pretty obvious that Leftists don't act towards certain parties out of political ethics. We are experiencing a clear demonstration of their lack of political morality these days: an exhibition is taking place in Stavelot (in a former (medieval) abbey!!!) to record Ernesto Che Guevara and his "works". And on this occasion, local authorities were very proud to welcome Camillo, son of the famous MURDERER WHO FOUGHT DEMOCRACY FROM THE MOMENT HE CAME INTO POWER.

So, is a far Rightist leader believed to have an undemocratic vision equal to a former far Leftist leader, convinced of an undemocratic vision? Not in Belgium, ladies and gentlemen!

There are many examples of undemocratic sliding in Belgium. Just one of them: because of the Belgian voting system, voters in (French speaking) Wallonia never get the opportunity to reward or penalize the former Prime Minister in an election, because the guy is automatically Flemish and Walloons can't vote for a Flemish candidate!

And undemocratic sliding isn't exclusively Belgian either ... I believe we can find it all over Western Europe. For instance in Italy the Leftist coalition of Romano Prodi is working on a law called "Levi-Prodi Act" to silence Italian bloggers! This law foresees that you should be able to create a blog only if you're backed by an accredited journalist. Moreover, you should pay a tax for the blog, even though you don't make money out of it!

I could also talk about EU and our mysterious MEPs ... and so on. Fellow readers, I'm curious to know if you are also experiencing some strange behavior in your countries. Drop us a line ... (or visit the Forum)

I may be missing something, but my feeling is there's something rotten in the state of Europe ...

Make Way for the European Emperors!

- Français
- Italiano

Giovanna Reggiani was 47 years old. She passed away after being assaulted by a young Rom last Tuesday 29th October in the suburbs of Rome, Italy.

Since Romania entered the European Union on 1st January 2007 an estimated five hundred thousand Romanians crossed the Italian borders. That is five hundred thousand of the poorest, the most desperate, and the most determined to do whatever it takes to partake of Western prosperity. Crime has exploded and shanty areas have sprung up like mushrooms in the Italian suburbs: the price for welcoming into the community a country that obviously isn't prepared to pay the same price.

Giovanna Reggiani, the spouse of a Navy officer, was robbed and raped, dying while fiercely defending herself.

Did I mention the European Union, that shameless bunch of elected politicians (take it as you like, but that's the truth) who couldn't anticipate anything of the above? Or didn't want to. Why admitting Romania into the union as early as 2007? Explain that! One thing is sure though, this European Union doesn't represent its citizens and it doesn't protect them. You can forget that! It has one and one goal only: pushing your head under water and drowning you in a spiral of madness.

We shouldn't be surprised. After all, these corrupt and incompetent politicians who rule this union, originated from the home countries where they started their putrid jobs and then moved on to the super state; an unlawful super state at that, because it is devoid of a democratically approved constitution.

Apart from that, Italian politicians acting at home didn't do anything to anticipate, or react to this situation. They allowed the shanty areas to spring up, crime rates soaring. They left Giovanna Reggiani alone in some hostile suburb and - by the hand of some young Rom - killed her. Today all of a sudden, they are clearing the area, driving away the Romanians and destroying the shacks. Couldn't that have been done prior to her death? And how long will the belated resolve last? Just the time required for the media to forget about Giovanna Reggiani?

Without a doubt they'll quit like they usually do, killing Giovanna once again. On the other hand, they'll all pass the blame off on each other. The so-called political Right-wing will accuse the so-called Leftists of the Prodi Administration they have not taken timely, appropriate measures. Be that as it may, the political Right didn't take any effective measures either when they were in power: the fact is that the shanties may have sprang up impressively since January 2007, the very area where the murderer of Giovanna Reggiani lived, was created five years ago.

Guilty, all of them! They battle each other in a shameless way for just a particle of power, or for money, or easy women, inflating their hyperbolic egos, compromising and bending, like vultures over the poor woman's coffin.

Don't misunderstand me. I don't mean to blame an unlucky man who just lost his beloved wife in such tragic circumstances, but I'm waiting for the day when someone in his situation, man or woman, will have the brilliant idea - at the church door and in front of television cameras - to throw this bunch of hyenas back where they belong. I want to see them fleeing, tails between their legs. And perhaps the widower could spit in the face of some of these evil-minded politicians, for instance the one for whom he voted but who betrayed him; just to see if he has the nerve to have him arrested, preventing him from attending his beloved's funeral.

No doubt all this will have consequences for Italian society. On the evening prior to the funeral three Romanians got beaten up by a group of masked individuals, not far away from the place where Giovanna Reggiani was murdered. I've something to say to these anonymous guys: I condemn violence and what you did makes no sense whatsoever. Who were these three randomly singled out Romanians, after all?

But if you really can't control your behaviour - when the time has come to deal with the fear that some of your beloved ones may have to suffer, like Giovanna Reggiani suffered - if by that time nobody and nothing can stop you, then at least choose your targets carefully. Go and find the truly guilty ones. From Prodi to Berlusconi, to Mastella, Veltroni, Fassino, Diliberto, Casini, Calderoli, Fini, and not forgetting Frattini, you have an ample if not exhaustive list to choose from.

WRITTEN AND POSTED BY JACK DM

Update: EUX: "Romania shocked over Rome killing, premier pledges support to Italy"

Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu on Friday expressed his deepest regret over the killing in Rome of a woman allegedly by a Romanian man, and pledged his full support to Italian counterpart Romano Prodi, news agency Mediafax reported. Romanians were said to have been shocked by the brutal murder of 47-year-old Giovanna Reggiani, with many spontaneously laying candles and flowers on Bucharest's University Square. >>>

On a different note, political Narcissism was the subject of this week's Sanity Squad podcast on BlogTalkRadio. The psychiatrists discuss why we vote for the politicians we do, and why they are running. What's the psychology?

Democracy versus Sharia: "Integration?"

Introduction

Italian correspondents at "Io Sto Con Oriana" ("I am with Oriana" (Oriana Fallaci)) have sent us the following post on Magdi Allam's new book, in which he does a number of recommendations against the precepts of multiculturalism.

Allam is an Egyptian-born journalist and writer, noted for his articles and books on the relations between Western culture and values, and the Islamic world. He holds a degree in Sociology from La Sapienza University of Rome. After working at several Italian publications (including the national daily newspaper La Repubblica, Allam joined the Corriere della Sera, Italy's biggest newspaper, for which he is an op-ed columnist and ad personam assistant publisher.

In "Vincere la paura" Allam reports his own experience as a journalist protected by armed escorts, a condition he has had to endure ever since the Islamic movement Hamas allegedly threatened him with death if he did not stop criticizing Palestinian suicide bombers.








Integration?

Here are a few concrete recommendations from Magdi Allam from his last book. In "Io amo l'Italia, ma gli Italiani la amano?" ("I love Italy, but do Italians love her?", ed. Mondadori), he proposes some practical suggestions for the integration of immigrants in a three step process: repression, prevention and promotion, which we'll outline shortly.

The original text can be read extensively in Magdi Allam's book, pages 274 to 282, Italian version.

- Clandestine and unlawful immigration must be considered an indictable offence leading to immediate extradition. We need to impose sanctions against countries that allow, or do not prevent unlawful immigration.

- Outlaw all Islamic groups who don't recognize the Universal Human Right to Life, those who discriminate and violate individual rights, who preach hatred towards Western culture, and who justify terrorism. Among these groups are the Muslim Brotherhood, best known in Italy as Ucoii (an Ucoii representative sits in the Italian Council for Islam, created by former Home Office Minister Pisanu.)

- Make sure that mosques (all 638 of them, according to Censis, 31st December, 2005) abide by the law. If not, activities must be suspended immediately. Make sure that these mosques are no front for those who disseminate hatred. If such persons are discovered, they are to be deported, if immigrants - tried, if Italian nationals.

- Imposition of wearing hijab on women must be considered a penal offence.

- Religious lessons on Islam must be subject to legal authorization.

- Riddance of religious texts spread by mosques, libraries and schools, promoting terrorism or expressing disrespect for the values of the Italian Constitution.

- Deportation of immigrants who commit physical or moral violence against women.

- Deportation of immigrants who lock up their own children, forcing them to go back to their "roots".

- Deportation of immigrants who practice bigamy or polygamy. Deportation of religious officiants of unlawful weddings.

- Deportation of parents who deny their children access to an Italian public school.

- Effective penalization of apologists of terrorism (article 414-1bis).

- Propagation of destabilizing the Italian state by prohibiting enforcement of its laws or the denial of its values, must be considered a penal offence.

- Legislation to the effect that terrorism equates a crime against humanity.

- Conception and establishment of a pluralistic Islam.

- Establishment and dissemination of the axiom that the concept of "a unique and true Islam" doesn't exist.

- The assurance of religious freedom, meaning the freedom of apostasy, to convert to another religion or to become an atheist without suffering any form of discrimination.

- Outlawing accusations of apostasy against Muslims, knowing that these accusations constitute a death warrant against the apostate.

- Outlawing the use of the term 'infidel' against non Muslims.

- Denying access to the country of preachers of hatred, involved in terrorist activities or promoting anti Western concepts.

- The monitoring activities in mosques.

- To ensure primacy of Italian Law over Sharia Law, the marriage of Italian men to Muslim women doesn't entail forced conversion to Islam.

Ends

So far our colleagues at "Io Sto Con Oriana". We thank them for the initial cooperation and hope for more cross blogging in the near future.