This is the English edition of our newsletter
May 2010
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Letter from Washington
Editor Oscar Bartoli
Oscarb1@starpower.net
www.oscarb1.blogspot.com
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(Beyond the News)
Circulation 21,000 in Italian and English
Basta! mood
The primaries held on Tuesday, May 18 in several states are being seen as a clear signal by the voting public of its dissatisfaction with the so-called establishment. Swept out were long time senators and congressmen, the very same ones who often fiercely attacked Washington when tending to their constituents. It is noteworthy that this protest, emerging from within both the Republican and Democratic parties, has been named the “Basta! Mood.” That’s right. The Italian language, for once, is not being used solely to define food and beverages (wine, pizza, cappuccino, spaghetti, pasta, etc.) and opera, but is being used to categorize a very specific feeling. That “basta!” stands for: enough is enough! Wouldn’t it be something if Italians, who love to adopt English language expressions, will exchange the favor and use the American expression for the very same purposes?
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What’s going on?
From reading Italian newspapers, including those owned by the family of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, it seems that:
1) The head of the government is locked in a fight with Gianfranco Fini who is his ally, co-founder of the People of Freedom movement as well as President of the Chamber of Deputies.
2) Scajola, an important government Minister, had to tender his “spontaneous” resignation because involved in a squalid deal having to do with an apartment purchased by certain people and basically given to him in exchange for who knows what.
3) The judges in a number of jurisdictions are hard at work and the list of people close to the Prime Minister being investigated for malfeasance is getting longer. (Of course it is well known that Italian judges are all Communists, while Putin, Berlusconi’s great and close friend, is basically a Barnabite.)
4) There have been leaks to the press according to which Berlusconi has agreed to a settlement in the matter of his failed marriage with Mrs. Veronica Lario by which she would get 300,000 Euro per month plus half ownership of the mega mansion in Macherio. However this may not be accurate as apparently the Mrs. Is demanding much more. Meanwhile, to boost the sales to a gossip crazed nation, the scandal sheets owned by Berlusconi have published accounts on Mrs. Lario’s supposed affair with her bodyguard as well as on the past history of Fini’s current companion.
5) Despite official denials, the Italian economy is in as much bad shape as that of other troubled European countries. Stop gap measures have been announced that will drain what few resources remain to Italian families, while young people who are trying to build their futures have no idea what to do.
6) The really serious problem for Berlusconi is Rupert Murdoch, the owner of the world’s biggest media empire. Even though Murdoch leans to the right, he is mainly interested in making money. The fight with Berlusconi’s Mediaset for control over not only Italian TV but that of other countries is increasingly ferocious. Up until now Berlusconi has had his way in Italy by brainwashing Italian masses through the stations he either owns or controls. What will happen when Italy joins the rest of the western world and has ever growing numbers of people using the Internet (PCs, smart phones, etc.) with consequent freedom of choice for millions of citizens? Time will tell. Meanwhile there is a new law that aims at silencing all electronic sites that host comments unfavorable to Berlusconi and his cronies.
7) President Obama’s personal invitation White House invitation to Giorgio Napolitano (the current President of Italy) was deemed an unforgiveable insult.
The question is: how can Berlusconi sleep at night?
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Newsweek to the Highest Bidder
Newsweek, together with Time, is one of the best known magazines in the world. In the current issue, the editor of this prestigious publication (its first issue goes back to 1933) writes that it’s for sale to the highest bidder. Newsweek is part of a group owned by the Washington Post, the most important newspaper in the nation’s capital and the one whose journalism scoops are legendary (as in the articles that led to the fall of the Nixon presidency). Unfortunately print media is in crisis worldwide, and particularly in the US. Rupert Murdock is the Australian magnate who owns the world’s largest media empire (including the Wall Street Journal and Fox Television). Recently Murdock stated that we are undergoing a very rapid switch from a centuries old system of print media (that began with the Gutenberg revolution of 1450) to a global digital one. Many people, including me, no longer read print news as we have become accustomed to go to our trusted sources of information on the Internet. And then there is the whole world of the blogosphere where information, true or false, bombards anyone who dares to approach. Traditionalists say that reading a newspaper or magazine in hard copy is a ritual that is difficult to give up. Obviously, this point of view must be respected. However, at least in the US, print news has suffered in terms of circulation, graphics and quality. The only exception has been the Wall Street Journal which, since its purchase by Murdoch three years ago, has become a shining example of what a paper should be in terms of reporting.
The growing cost of news bureaus (particularly foreign ones) and the decreasing number of ads placed has created severe difficulties for many of leading print publications. The result has been a rush to lower costs by cutting staff, overhead and even the actual size of publications.
The crisis has also overtaken television networks that until now had seemed immune to print media’s distress. CNN and CBS have announced that they will launch a merging of the news bureaus. CNN, in particular, after 20 years as a leader in global news has seen a decrease in viewers. What works today are radio and TV outlets that are openly biased. Take the case of Fox, which is heavily slanted to right in American politics. This gives it a guaranteed audience, given the polarization of public opinion. Newsweek is one of the latest, and most prestigious, media outlets undergoing a change towards an uncertain future. A year ago the magazine changed format and began focusing on in depth thematic coverage of issues to better compete with instantaneous radio and TV broadcasts. The loss in advertizing income, however, has forced it to seek a buyer – assuming anyone is still interested.
The Verbal Incontinence of an Italian Under-Under Secretary
“When I saw Clinton at the end of March I felt like making a joke, but then didn’t. I wanted to say that we both had a problem named Monica, but then I didn’t because I don’t think I had any real problems with a Monica, while he probably had had a few little ones.” This is what was said by Under Secretary Guido Bertolaso at a press conference held at Palazzo Chigi in Rome.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Frattini, had to make an official disavowal. It’s the second time he has been forced to do this. The first time was when, after a lightening short visit with earthquake victims in Haiti, Bertolaso heavily criticized the United States. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reacted sharply.
Officials in Washington DC wonder how an ally such as Italy can allow for people like Bertolaso whose verbal incontinence does nothing to improve the country’s already problematic image.
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New NATO Missile System
A press conference for defense and armament sector journalists was held at the National Press Club by MEADS (Medium Extended Air Defense System), the international consortium headed by Lockheed Martin with the participation of German and Italian companies (17% for the latter) including Italy’s Finmeccanica (whose US representatives were – strangely – not present). The purpose was to highlight progress made in this NATO adopted defense system. Lockheed Martin’s VP, Mike Trosky, in charge of the air and missile defense program and George Kee, for NATO’s MEADS Management Agency, touched on the characteristics of this program that will replace the Patriot missiles in the US and the Nike Hercules ones in Italy. Unlike previous and now obsolete systems, MEADS will have a 360 degree functionality, great flexibility in use and employ thousands of personnel in Europe and the US. We asked Mr. Trosky about Russia’s reaction to the system’s capabilities. Trosky, after a light hearted comment on his last name’s origin, replied that there have been no comments from the Russians. He also stressed that MEADS is a defense system and not a strategic attack one. He added that non NATO countries are indicating increased interest in the system as a way to safeguard their air space in the event of attack by other countries (China, North Korea, and Iran). Since Trosky is in charge of Lockheed Martin’s air sector, we asked if there was any truth to the rumors of accelerated discussions between the Lockheed group and its rival Boeing (Sykorsky) on a resurrection of the contract (cancelled by President Obama) for the updating of White House helicopters. Trosky confirmed that in depth discussions are taking place but did not provide any further details.
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Dear Mr. President….
President Obama invited the President of the Republic of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, for an official visit to the White House. We are publishing this letter from a young Italian with the hope that someone in President Napolitano’s entourage will bring it to his attention.
Dear Mr. President:
I am an Italian citizen. My name is Igiaba Scego, class of 1974. I wanted to let you know that I am giving up. A while ago you had words of encouragement for temporary workers, the unemployed and free lance researchers. You told us to keep the faith, to not give up, and to not leave Italy. These were kind and sincere words. Unfortunately Mr. President, I am giving up. I would like to have the courage to do as you said. But times are very hard and I do not think I am the only one to feel this way. I belong to a generation whose wings have been clipped. I live in a part time culture and am becoming a part time person. I have been thinking about what you said for weeks. I told myself I had to let you know. I pondered how one addresses the president of one’s country. In the end I decided to use the words Dear Mr. President because the word “dear” is tied to the intimacy of a paternal (and always friendly) figure as well as that of the quiet desperation I wish to communicate to you. I am the daughter of Somali parents. I was born in Rome. I am an Italian citizen. Somalia, the country of origin of my parents, of my other native tongue, of my skin, and of my most intimate traditions, has disintegrated. Somalia ceased to exist as a country in 1991. The war has resulted in an apocalypse and the end of all dreams. But the loss of Somalia made me understand how important it is for me to do something, however small, to save Italy and the dreams of my generation. I have two countries. I have lost (I hope only temporarily) one of them. I do not want to lose the other one. But what should I do, Mr. President? How can I not give up when everything seems against me? I do not want to leave. I do not want to join the brain drain. I do not want to write one more letter to a newspaper as a person who can’t take it any more and is abandoning everything and emigrating. I do not want to give up on Italy. But finding only temporary employment, the constant uncertainty, is literally killing me. I have an excellent resume, but it is of no use. My health is starting to suffer due to all my worrying. A while ago a family friend asked me, “What does Italy consider you? “ He then also asked, “What do you do?” I tried to answer by saying that I temped. But he wanted more details. I blurted out that I have a PhD, am a writer, a journalist, a free lance researcher. I added that people read me, that I write for magazines and newspapers, that I hold diversity workshops in the schools, and that I have taught in juvenile detention centers. I started compiling a list and added that people in other countries have written dissertations about me. I started to describe my personal archipelago of jobs: the via crucis of not having a full time job. With the hope that my friend would be impressed and stop asking troubling questions that, with every sigh, risked the collapse of the house of cards I had built for myself, I reiterated that I have college degrees, specialization certificates, did an internship at Radio Vatican, two programs for Italy’s Radio Tre, actively collaborate with young students at the ESC social center, have worked in the theater, written essays, and done translations from Spanish. I saw that he was about to say something, so I continued by telling him that I know what hard work is because I been a bartender, I’ve sold shoes at an open air market, sold records, been a hostess at conferences, and worked as an entertainer for children. I said so much that my mouth ran dry. But my friend had one last shot – the one I feared the most. He asked me if with all these jobs I earned enough to live. I could not lie. I answered that I did not, that I barely make it every month, that I’d like to have a family one day but have no idea how I’d feed a child, and that things are getting worse due to the economic crisis and the lack of work.
Mr. President, I am smart and capable but I will consider myself lucky if I can get a job at a call center for a few months. That’s because in Italy, to someone such as me, all there is are unpaid internships. Qualifications do not matter. It doesn’t matter if you are smart and have experience. I truly love Italy. Lately, however, resignation has become deep depression. All around me, people are leaving. People in their thirties increasingly want to emigrate. Italy is once again becoming a country of emigrants. The latest of my friends to pack up and go is Gordana Gaetaniello. Now she’s in India and will probably end up in Australia. She is just one more of the ones to join the brain drain. Italy is always in my heart. I know it sounds romantic, but it’s true. It’s in my blood. As is Somalia. But Dear Mr. President, all is not well in Italy. It is seriously ill, but – as I keep saying to my friends – not yet terminally so. We can regroup and have another chance. I see Italy as a country full of potential, full of capable people with lots of ideas and a great will to work. However I also see the barriers erected by the powers that be (and I do not mean only politicians). Let me give you an example: the universities. I have a PhD and I know a lot of intelligent people. But the Italian system does not allow them to do research. Many of my friends have emigrated. Others have given up their dreams and are working as sales clerks, waiters or answer phones at call centers. Italy paid to educate these people and instead of reaping the benefit, it is throwing everything away. The universities are like the wayward child of a rich family. The child has lots of money, but wastes it and ends up with nothing. The same applies to the universities. Everything is frozen. We need serious reform, the type that asks hard questions, leaves no stone unturned, takes responsibility and does this with honesty, transparency and consistency. I believe change will come to Italy only if there is a clean sweep. I do not want to emigrate, Mr. President. At such a historically delicate moment, when Italy has changed into a truly multicultural society, I feel I represent a kind of bridge. I could help explain what is happening. I do not want to leave, Mr. President. Please help me stay. Help us all stay.
Igiaba Scego
(For more information, write to graziasantini@tiscali.it )
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Italian Director Max Bartoli’s Film Chosen by Hollywood Special Effects Guru
Adam Rote, one of Hollywood’s best computer generated imagery professionals, will film the digital special effects for Max Bartoli’s latest science fiction thriller “Atlantis Down” starring Michael Rooker (JFK, Mississippi Burning, Jumper, The Bone Collector), Dean Haglund (X-Files, The Lone Gunmen, Spectres) and Greg Travis (Watchmen, Starship Troopers, Showgirls).
Adam Rote teaches special effects at Chapman University in Orange, County, CA and is a CGI magician. He has worked with Twentieth Century Fox, Dreamworks, and with the likes of Oscar winners Robert Zemekis, James Cameron and Steven Spielberg. Rote worked on the movies Minority Report, Cats & Dogs, Contacts Kung Pow, and Equilibrium, as well as on the creation and production of major videogames like Star Trek: Starfleet Command, Star Trek, Klingon Academy and Wiz War –Codefire.
According to Rote, working on Atlantis Down is a challenge given the budget and deadline limitations, but Max Bartoli’s vision and passion won him over. Rote added that it was unusual to have such highly motivated people involved in an independent production.
For his part, Bartoli told us that he knew it would almost take a miracle to get the type of CGI he wanted for his movie and that for over two months he was repeatedly told that it couldn’t be done on his budget. Bartoli added that, when the movie’s executive producer Ethan Marten found Adam Rote, and got him on board, he knew the search was over. Why? Because Adam Rote has a wealth of experience, has worked with the best in the business, is passionate and will add an incredible dimension to the movie.
Adam Rote is joining a creative team with a heavy Italian component: direction, music, costumes, production design, directing support and editing are all in the hands of Italians.
Atlantis Down was filmed in Virginia last December and made independent US movie world headlines when Bartoli and Marten announced they had met their budget with a sale of TV rights for a reality show to COX 11.
Media contact: Max Bartoli 646-639-8152 or maxbartoli@maxamproductions.com
(Beyond the News)
Circulation 21,000 in English and Italian
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Translation by Prof. Maria Enrico --- m.enrico@att.net
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