Living the Dream.





Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts

Monday, June 4, 2012

re: "Is Italy a Failing State?"

at EagleSpeak ("The main focus of this blog is maritime security. Other matters may appear.") looked at speculation of Italian devolution.



"What might happen if Italy falls apart? Revival of Piedmont, Tuscany, Lombardy, Venice and the kingdom of Naples?

Or might this current crisis cause the country, despite, Mr. Gilmour's words, to pull together or attempt to do so? Do the regions all hang together or wither separately? Go full Balkan or cobble together alliances?
"

Great questions to consider for any multi-region or multi-ethnic confederation under stress.





11/18

Sunday, June 26, 2011

re: "The Ideology of Pestilence"

Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna ("At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe. We are in a new phase of a very old war.") explains how conspiracy is not necessary when consensus suffices.


Money quote(s):



"To conceive of the Islamic invasion as a centrally-directed process is to misunderstand its nature and impose a Western model of behavior on the collective psychological, social, and political actions of Muslims.

Overall Islamic strategy is not coherent and well-organized, no matter how shrewd and effective any of its individual actors and groups may be. To conceive of it as a political entity with a dictator or single decision-making body is to miss the point.

Islam is effective precisely because it is a distributed phenomenon, and utilizes what might be called a micro-ideology — a small set of easily-understood instructions that are encoded and replicated in hundreds of millions of minds across the length and breadth of the Ummah.
" (Emphasis in original text. - CAA.)

Author Tom Kratman says something similar about transnational progressivism; that it's not necessary for there to be a conspiracy, only a widely-accepted consensus about a world-view.


"The exploitation of the infidel may involve a full violent jihad. It may also take the form of razzia — armed raids, pillaging, looting, rapine, and destruction.

In 21st-century Europe, Canada, and the United States, however, the preferred method is what has been called the “stealth jihad” — the gradual but steady infiltration, occupation, and subversion of Western countries.

This does not need to be a hierarchically-arranged and centrally-directed process to be effective. In fact, a full onslaught organized by an outside political entity would be detected and countered, because this is the traditional form of political conflict which the West recognizes, and in which it is supreme.

The stealth jihad in all its forms is the only strategy which can conquer the West, and it is very effective indeed, since our political systems have no template that includes it. We cannot fit it into any conceptual framework, and seem unable or unwilling to devise a new one that would allow us to deal with it effectively.
" (Emphasis in original text. - CAA.)


The Muslim Brotherhood actually developed, and U.S. law enforcement discovered, the plan for an Islamic takeover of the U.S. Set your search engine for the Holy Land Foundation trial and take a look at was was entered into evidence. Or peruse some of my earlier posts with the Muslim Brotherhood tag.


"Most of the boat people who arrive on Lampedusa or Pantelleria do not view themselves as the vanguard of an Islamic invasion. They come with all the various motivations that you would expect from a group of poverty-stricken and mostly illiterate refugees — fear of repression and violence back home, a desperate search for a better means of subsistence, the desire to take advantage of the legendary bounty of Europe, etc.

However, since they carry within themselves the encoded instructions of Islamic micro-ideology, their modus operandi will be one of rapacious exploitation. They will have no moral scruples of the sort that a Westerner would understand, and feel no shame or embarrassment about being indolent parasites upon their infidel hosts — the simplified Islam they bring with them tells them that this is exactly their due, their basic right as members of a superior social group living amidst their inferiors.

Individual behavior driven by this imperative, when multiplied by thousands or millions, aggregates into an Islamic conquest. Not necessarily suddenly. It doesn’t have to happen all at once. Gradually, over decades, there are more and more Muslims. Always taking, taking, taking from the kuffar. Slowly, imperceptibly, as they become more numerous, our system fades away and is replaced by theirs.

In the long run, Islamic exploitation always fails. The parasite always kills its host. The process takes centuries — the glory of the Persians and the Byzantines persisted for a long time after the Islamic conquest. But in the end their lights guttered and died, and they became corrupt and backward satrapies until the magic of petroleum revived them.
"


This process is well understood among leading Islamic scholars. Witness a recent call, in the interests of ending Egyptian poverty, for the taking of loot, booty, and slaves from the (infidel) West.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

re: "A Fitting Inspiration"

TSB at The Skeptical Bureaucrat ("Giving my fellow Americans the view from my cubicle") found a sign for hope.


Money quote(s):


"Omar Mukhtar, the political-religious figure who led native resistance to Italian colonization of Libya from 1912 to 1931. Anthony Quinn played him in the movie.


A national hero. That's a good sign."




Tuesday, March 29, 2011

re: "Obama's Meglomania: What He Should Say Tonight About Libya"

Peter Schweizer at Big Peace thinks the Europeans have our number.


Money quote(s):


"I suggest instead.... that he tell the truth: He got played. Obama got maneuvered into getting involved in Libya because the Europeans, particularly the French and Italians, were concerned about their access to oil and a refugee crisis. And as much as Obama wants to believe that he can “hand over” the Libyan operation to the Europeans, the Colin Powell Rule in International Affairs still applies: ”If you break it, you fix it.” The United States can’t just bomb Libya and then walk away.


The Europeans played Obama so easily because they appealed to his guilt instincts. Obama sincerely believes that under Bush the United States was a Cowboy Empire, insensitive to the sophisticates in Europe. He has been all to eager to demonstrate that he’s different and willing to allow them to lead. What Obama failed to take into account is that Europe has a history of wanting the fruits of military power without actually having military power. It’s the same with Libya. If things go awry, you can bet that the French will gripe and blame the Americans, cajoling the White House to get more firmly involved.


The Europeans no doubt played on Obama’s meglomania and presented this as an opportunity for him to appear both strong and selfless. Strong because he could use military power! ”Selfless” because there are exactly no American interests at stake.


Our enemies and allies are both very shrewd at figuring out what personal qualities they can manipulate in our leaders and using them to their advantage. Sarkozy played Obama perfectly."


As fond as I am of Sec. Powell, I'm less enthused about the "Pottery Barn" rule about owning the things you break, at least when it comes to warfare. There are such things as punitive expeditions, after all, where the whole point is to break things (and leave without paying).


Tuesday, March 30, 2010

NT - Italy, US at ease with Knox verdict in friend's slaying

From my archive of press clippings:

Nashua Telegraph

Italy, US at ease with Knox verdict in friend's slaying

Tuesday, December 8, 2009


By ALESSANDRA RIZZO
The Associated Press

U.S. murder suspect Amanda Knox, center, is accompanied by penitentiary police officers as she leaves the court after a final hearing before the verdict, in Perugia, Italy, Friday, Dec. 4, 2009. An Italian court began deliberations Friday in the yearlong trial of American student Amanda Knox, who is charged with murdering her British roommate. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito) Enlarge

From left, Janet Huff, Mick Huff, the aunt and uncle of Amanda Knox, friend Alexandra McDougall and grandmother Elisabeth Huff react to the news of a Knox's guilty verdict at the home of Mick and Janet Huff in Seattle, Friday Dec. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Alan Berner, Pool)

U.S. murder suspect Amanda Knox is escorted by a Police officer as they arrive for a hearing at Perugia's court, Italy, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. A lawyer for the former boyfriend of Amanda Knox painted the U.S. coed as naive, spontaneous and imprudent as she argued Monday that both Knox and her lover were innocent in the slaying of the American's British roommate. Giulia Bongiorno, who is defending Knox's ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito of Italy, compared Knox to the film character Amelie in the 2001 French movie of the same title. That is the film Knox and Sollecito claim they were watching on video the night that Meredith Kercher was fatally stabbed in the throat in 2007, Bongiorno reminded the court in final arguments. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

U.S. murder suspect Amanda Knox, center, is accompanied by penitentiary police officers as she leaves the court after a final hearing before the verdict, in Perugia, Italy, Friday, Dec. 4, 2009. An Italian court began deliberations Friday in the yearlong trial of American student Amanda Knox, who is charged with murdering her British roommate. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

ROME – The murder conviction of U.S. student Amanda Knox has not damaged U.S.-Italian relations, despite suggestions the verdict was tainted by anti-American sentiment, a top Italian diplomat said Monday.

Read the whole article here.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

S&S - General returning to serve in Vicenza again

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

General returning to serve in Vicenza again


By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes

European edition, Saturday, May 16, 2009

Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army

Brig. Gen. David S. Elmo will become deputy commander of the Southern European Task Force/U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.

Read the whole article here.

Monday, September 7, 2009

S&S - COLA jumps $150 in Germany, Italy

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

COLA jumps $150 in Germany, Italy


Stars and Stripes European edition, Friday, April 17, 2009


Troops in Germany and Italy got a $150 monthly bump in their cost-of-living allowance starting Wednesday, although for many in Germany, the increase could be short-lived.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"No reason was given for the increase in COLA, though the dollar has lost some strength against the euro in recent weeks.

But, troops should temper any celebration of the extra money in their paycheck: Last month, the committee announced that servicemembers in Germany would see a $200 cut in their monthly COLA as a result of rising prices for goods in the U.S. "

_____

To calculate COLA, got to the committee’s Web site at: http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/perdiem/ocform.html.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

S&S - Naples barracks to close early

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

Naples barracks to close early


By Lisa M. Novak, Stars and Stripes European edition, Friday, April 17, 2009


NAPLES, Italy — A Navy barracks building on Capodichino will close three months earlier than expected. But at least troops’ moving expenses will be paid for.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The building, called BEQ (bachelor-enlisted quarters) 1, had been scheduled to close by the end of September. But officials, offering no explanation, said Thursday that the building will now close by June 30.

The closure means about 80 junior enlisted troops have to move off base. Officially, bachelor housing was only supposed to be provided for servicemembers E-3 or below."

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

S&S - AFN radio may go silent in Naples

Stars and Stripes

AFN radio may go silent in Naples

By Kent Harris and Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes


European edition, Sunday, April 26, 2009

Courtesy photo
A view of numerous broadcast towers on Mt. Camaldoli in Naples, Italy.

The military network’s radio service will go off the air in Naples beginning Monday unless there’s a "miracle" this weekend, the senior commander of American Forces Network operations in Italy said.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Radio broadcasts heard on 106.0 and 107.0 FM frequencies in Naples will stop unless Italian environmental officials provide written permission for use of a new transmitter site to replace the current one, which must be dismantled, Maj. Tom Bryant said Friday in an interview in his Vicenza office."

&

"Bryant said the lease on a transmitter that AFN has been using for decades expired last year. Military broadcasters were allowed to continue to use the transmitter — located inside the walls of a monastery atop Mount Camaldoli — for an additional nine months. That deal ends Thursday, and the transmitter needs to be disassembled and taken away by then, a process that will take a couple of days.

AFN has negotiated a deal with RAI, the Italian state-run broadcasting system, to use one of its existing towers — also on the mountain but outside the monastery — but needs to receive a series of approvals before it starts to broadcast."

Thursday, March 12, 2009

S&S - Italy: Officials, activists rescue dogs from shelter. Raid saves 51 animals from substandard living conditions

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

Italy: Officials, activists rescue dogs from shelter

Raid saves 51 animals from substandard living conditions

By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes


European edition, Saturday, February 14, 2009

Sandra Jontz / S&S

Animal activists team with and Italian health officials to load some of 51 shelter dogs seized Friday into a truck, which would take them to other Naples-area shelters. The shelter was shut down Friday after a court injunction on charges of cruelty to animals.

Sandra Jontz / S&S
This damaged and unsafe pen is but one example of the poor conditions dogs at a Castelvultorno animal shelter lived in. The shelter was shut down Friday, and the 51 dogs taken to other Naples-area shelters.


Sandra Jontz / S&S
Salvatore De Micco, an official with Naples' health department, scans a shelter dog to read its microchip. Animal Activists, some of whom are spouses of military members stationed at NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command or the U.S. Navy base, have worked to make sure all the dogs at the shelter were neutered and micro chipped so they could be taken to other area shelters.


CASTELVOLTURNO, Italy — Italian health officials, flanked by animal activists, raided and shut down an animal shelter Friday that officials said was being run in a substandard manner.

Read the whole article here.

Monday, February 23, 2009

S&S - Stray animals remain a problem in Naples

Stars and Stripes



Stray animals remain a problem in Naples


By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes

European edition, Sunday, February 8, 2009

Sandra Jontz / S&S


A group of stray or abandoned dogs available for adoption gather at a gate of the Lega Pro Animale veterinary clinic and shelter in Mondragone, Italy.

Sandra Jontz / S&S

One of the stray or abandoned dogs available for adoption from the Lega Pro Animale veterinary clinic and shelter in Mondragone is this German Shepherd mix, which was microchipped and registered to a U.S. Navy servicemember who had been stationed in Naples, Italy. The dog likely was abandoned after the member left, said Dr. Dorothea Friz, adding the Navy said it was unable to locate the individual.

Sandra Jontz / S&S
Petty Officer 2nd Class Steve Dockendorff plays with Russell, one of several dogs the Naples, Italy-based sailor has fostered. Over the years and between duty stations in Italy and Bahrain, Dockendorff has adopted or fostered roughly 17 stray dogs.


NAPLES, Italy — Marcella Falco loves her job. But each morning, she dreads going to work.
Will this be another morning when she finds a dog chained to the gates of the animal shelter?
"It just breaks my heart. Every week, we find one dog, two dogs, just left outside the shelter," Falco said. "Sometimes they are just running around outside the gate. Sometimes they are chained. What choice do we have? We give them a home."

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"In Italy, animal shelters too often become the final home for thousands of abandoned or stray dogs, including the 550 dogs and puppies that reside at the privately run Rifugio San Francesco in Ischitella, a suburb of Naples. "

&

"Some are abandoned by U.S. servicemembers when they leave their duty stations, although the number of pets left behind by the military is not available. Most, however, are from the country’s rampant stray population.

Italy has nearly 150,000 stray dogs and nearly 2.6 million stray cats, according to Ministry of Health data.
"