According to Thomas Friedman and his recent editorial piece on the New York Times, the American financial crisis emerged from a “critical but unspoken reason”: the fall of the education system. While the subprime mortgage mess involved a huge ethical breakdown on Wall Street, it coincided with an education breakdown on Main Street”.

Friedman is also about “creative workers” the ones that – in his opinion – are becoming untouchables and that in the long run will benefit from their skills. On the other hand, old lazy guys that were waiting for the work to come knock on their doors lost their jobs almost immediately and, most probably, won’t get back to their desks.

Italy, in some ways, is far away from being globalized. For example, the education system and the employment system are very different from the American ones. It is just interesting to notice that the same argument can have very different meanings in two Western countries and the same problems can be addressed in different ways by two famous economists.

For an Italian (European?) reader, these two basic concepts are at the same time familiar and distant. They are familiar because the simplicity of Friedman’s thesis is almost embarrassing (but the geniuses are supposed to be both embarrassing and simple, I guess). They are distant because Italians and Americans clearly have different meanings for the same word: crisis.

After a quick check on the Merrian-Webster, though, I found out that meaning is quite the same: “an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending; especially : one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome <a financial crisis”.

Nevertheless, I must be mistaken. The Italian education system, which was – no longer than twenty years ago -described as “one of the best in the world”, is now light-years away from the American one. Maybe the primary and middle school can still be considered good, but the university is in the midst of a storm.

Italian students don’t get through and are constantly struggling to find a job. If they ever find one, the salary is usually smaller than the average of their European colleagues. During the last ten years, the universities have been overwhelmed by a tsunami of new decrees that were supposed to adjust our education system and make it more similar to the Anglo- Saxon one. Three levels of degrees: bachelor, master, Phd. Those are just names though, you can’t only change the name to something and then hope that this will change its nature.

It is like painting a ancient grave in white: at first look you might think “wow, it really works”, but then you’ll still have spiders, worms and rats happily hanging around in the dirt under the brand new layer of white paint.

With the reform of the labor system that took place under the “white book” of Marco Biagi (assassinated by the Red Brigades on March 2002), Italian authorities and politicians hailed at the “beginning of a new era” in the employment sector. But that reform was introduced in a distorted way. Once again, the metaphor of the white ancient grave: they fixed the outside look but not the core problem. Italians workers got paid less than usual, prices went skyrocketing and the immediate result of the reform was a inflation of the black market and, as a consequence, illegal immigration started soaring.

I don’t need statistics to support my thesis: the reality of a country in which young workers are constantly exploited by their lazy-dinosaurs-like bosses, kept far away from a decent career and underpaid, speaks for itself.

The talk of the town in Italy nowadays is the call for a more stable job (what we call “posto fisso”) coming from our minister of Economy, Giulio Tremonti, a former supporter of the “Biagi reform” who was quickly backed by Silvio Berlusconi. Not that a leftist mantra of the recent years suddenly became the manifesto of a man of the right but, still, Tremonti’s new motto means a lot.

It doesn’t mean that people want to get back to the old labor system which was clearly not functioning well. Up until ten years ago, a state employee could be paid for a no show job, and still be guaranteed all the benefits of this world including three weeks off in August, two during Christmas holydays, and another one for Easter.  But it does mean, in my opinion, that we as Italians are sick of lazy bosses that get paid tons of money for doing nothing while our young talents emigrate in the Us or elsewhere. These are our “new untouchables” . Unfortunately, they are always the same people. Meritocracy is in the eye of the beholder here in the land of spaghetti. New economy is an empty word.

Thomas Friedman is already thinking of changing the Us scholar system, while our minister of economy calls for a return to the past. Our education system should be rebooted and build from scratch, like the employment system. But we are once again painting an ancient grave in white. Worms and rats will feast forever under that new bright white layer of paint. The world is surely flat and crowded, Mr. Friedman, but for a tiny little country in the middle of the Mediterranean sea that they call “Il Bel Paese”.

Andrea Loquenzi Holzer

L’Occidentale

Mohammed Game, the Libyan alleged “lone wolf” suicide bomber who attempted to blow himself up at the military barracks in Milan on October the 12th, is now in a coma and cannot be questioned by the Italian authorities. In the meantime, his two partners were arrested.

The investigators are starting to think that Game was just a tool in the hands of his older mentor, Abdel Azziz Mahmoud Kol.

Kol is a 52 year-old Egyptian plumber and, together with Mohammed Israfel Imbayea (33, an electrician), helped – some believe  convinced - Game to undertake the failed suicide bombing mission at the Santa Barbara army barracks in Milan. Even though the bomb did not explode entirely, the Italian investigators cannot yet determine whether this is just an isolated case of sudden violence erupting from the severe social conditions of a desperate immigrant or a well thought-out plan, perhaps decided elsewhere.

According to Italian Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni, if this was a person, or group of people,  not directly connected to organized structures, but  inspired by religious fanatics, Italians would be in the presence of a new, worrisome phenomenon that should be monitored and followed with great attention.

Maroni also pointed out that the only reason this case is not more spooky, is because the homemade bomb was not perfect. Only 10% of the charge exploded, which caused Game the loss of his eyesight and right hand.

The fact that the explosive device was not perfect, however, leads to a clue: the maker of the bomb was not good at doing this and was therefore probably self-taught.

Various jihadist internet websites have praised Mohammed Game for this attack, saying that the Lord will heal his wounds, and that the Crusaders must leave Afghanistan soon.

In the foggy scenario of this case, only two things seem certain (almost): First, the attack seemed to be linked to the presence of the Italian army in Afghanistan at least in some way  – apparently, Game was talking about the Italian military presence there as he was being transported to the hospital,  plus, even though this could not determined  for sure, Game may have shouted something about Afghanistan a second before the explosion. Further, the date of the 12th is symbolic: on November 12th 2003, the Italians suffered the attack of Nassyria that killed 17 soldiers.

Second, the obvious outcome of this case is that Italian Intelligence is not prepared for these kinds of attacks. In other words, the Lone Wolf is a serious threat to our investigators; they are used to dealing with organized jihadists. Instead, the Santa Barbaras bombing rewrites the traditional analysis, according to which a jihadist is either trained and indoctrinated in one of the religious sanctuaries across the Middle East, or else becomes a radical Muslim in the Western countries.*  This attack adds another category to the list: the homegrown terrorist or the bomber next door.

According to many sources Mohammed Game could have been considered the perfect example of social integration for an immigrant, up until he went bankrupt and met his two friends, Kol and Israfel.

Mohammed Game arrived in Italy in 2003 and quickly adapted himself to his new surroundings. He found an Italian woman, Giovanna, with whom he had two sons, and he founded a construction company which eventually employed 45 workers. The enterprise failed when creditors started to delay their payments. The bankruptcy of his company left Game without a job, and his sons with no food. The family was living in a small squatter’s apartment in the outskirts of Milan. According one neighbor this was no home for terrorists: “It seemed to me like a normal family, he was a polite person, always greeting everyone. I never heard them arguing .But Game was diabetic and had heart problems. The sudden decline of his social and economic life might have caused him to turn toward religion to find an answer to his problems.”

Game intensified his prayers at the local mosque and, according to inquiries, even had an Osama Bin Laden screen-saver in front of which he would usually perform The Cow Sura from the Koran. At this point of his life, Abdel Azziz Mahmoud Kol and Mohammed Israfel Imbayea came along and possibly convinced the desperate Mohammed Game to give his life for a bigger cause: Jihad.

If Game was never involved with any terrorist organization, perhaps Kol or Israfel are? Investigators are looking into it.

The reactions to this suicide bombing have been many, and different from one another. Davide Boni, from the Lega Nord, said that the unauthorized mosques should be closed. Interior minister Maroni suggested a closer monitoring of the mosque’s activities. Abdel Amid Shaari, President of the Islamic Center frequented by Game and his friend, stated that Mosques are needed in order to avoid hatred and violence.

Khaled Fouad Allam, however, an Algerian-Italian sociologist at the University of Treviso, said that the Islamic terrorism is based upon the strategy of targeting poor and desperate people who have nothing to lose, and where it is hard to tell a terrorist from an ordinary person. A major terrorist organization can adapt itself to its environment:  if a certain degree of privacy is needed, it can rely on people who have no criminal background, like Game, for fulfilling its goals.

Game and many other leftist media outlets shared the same view in the aftermath of the September 17th attack against the NATO Italian mission in Kabul:  that Italy should withdraw its 2800 troops from the Herat province as soon as possible.

Marco Vicenzino, head of the Global Strategy Project wrote on the New York Times and LOccidentale that those calling for a pullout of Italian troops not only  denigrated the heroism of  six Italian soldiers  who gave their lives and endangered the lives of other Italian troops and civilians involved in Afghanistan and other international peace-keeping operations around the world, but also unwisely jeopardized the entire international mission and its members, both military and civilian, as well as global stability and international security.

Sorry to say, this is exactly what happened shortly afterwards.

Andrea Loquenzi Holzer

The Hudsonny

L’Occidentale

What the Italians are really doing is fighting a tough war against tough enemies and their “splitting the troops strategy” is not only brave, but is also paying off. And this strategy is risky. It goes without saying that if there were more troops on the ground everything could be easier. The insurgents would have to plan their attacks more carefully and their suicide bombing missions. That would take them more time and time is everything in this war.

When six of our Italian compatriots lost their lives in Kabul after the attack of September 17^th, the total number of Italian soldiers who died in Afghanistan since 2004 was raised to 21. According to various sources, ten Afghan civilians also died in the explosion which left another 55 people injured.

The Italian soldiers are staying in the Herat province of Afghanistan for a “peacekeeping mission,” but the truth is that our soldiers are fighting in there. They are fighting a very hard daily battle against the insurgents and they are calling on every bit of experience they have and giving all they can in this struggle. The Italian foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, told TG1 that “Italian soldiers have paid a high price for the freedom and the security of Afghanistan, Italy and Europe. We must stay the course in order to show everybody that the Italian pride is still high”.

According to NATO Secretary General, Ander Fogh Rasmussen, this is “a great tragedy. Italy is giving a big contribution to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.” The Western world leaders regard Afghanistan as one of the hottest spots on earth right now. This mission is the most important military effort that the international community is involved in, and every head of State from Obama to Sarkozy, is putting his reputation at risk in this war.

Nevertheless, this Afghan mission seems not to be at the center of attention of the media as the Iraq war was. Afghanistan is, in fact, a war that everybody is fighting but nobody is thinking of. Compared to Iraq, this country is much bigger and its territory more impenetrable. Significant internal divisions and tribal sectarianism make this scenario a nightmare for every army. Ask the Russians.

The “International Security Assistance Force” was created to guarantee a safe environment for the Afghan Authority in Kabul, established under the resolution 1386 of the UN Security Council. Even though it was born as a Multinational Mission, it soon became a UN affair, but the main “official” goals for the Italians remained the same: maintaining the security of the Mission Command and disarming mines and explosive devices.

These are just the official goals, though. What the Italians are really doing on the ground is quite different from just disarming mines and it cannot be spoken of – by any stretch of imagination – as a peacekeeping mission. Our commanders made a brave decision by splitting their contingent in several different Battle Groups in order to better control the territory.

For example: clearing the highway 517, which connects Farah to the Ring Road that runs around the whole country, is one of the main objectives of the Italian military. “Before our arrival on last March, the 517 was practically closed. It was impossible to pass from there because that road was under the insurgents’ control” said Lieutenant Colonel Rodolfo Sganga (Commander of the Battle Group South) to L’Occidentale.

After a few months of gun battles and assaults, the road is now usable even though not yet completely safe. The Italians have also won the battle for Bala Morghab (112 miles north-east of Herat), a city that was under the control of Taliban forces not long ago. One of the main strategies of the NATO mission is to reunite the cities of Herat and Mazar-I-Sharif, where the German army is stationed. But the insurgents have always depended on that road – the Ring – for their smuggling activity with Turkmenistan.

We do not only need more soldiers. As the Afghan Army is involved in every single thing the foreign troops do, more military trainers would also be highly welcome, not to mention weapons and military vehicles.

Approximately 300.000 (plus the Iraqi Security Forces and contractors) coalition troops were deployed to win the war in Iraq, a country of 440.000 sq km, with an estimated number of 375.000 Saddam’s soldiers and 70.000 insurgents, plus the Mahdi army. Afghanistan is a much larger country with its 652,000 sq km and the Western coalition is facing roughly 53.000 insurgents with 221,000 men on the ground (100,000 of which are poorly equipped and trained Afghani soldiers).

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday that the US is going to deploy at least another 3000 troops in Afghanistan. Our Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa told the press that the additional 500 Italian soldiers, sent over to Kabul for monitoring the Presidential election, were possibly going to stay.

It is something, but still not enough. General McChrystal is not positive: “clearly the insurgency is serious right now. It has spread geographically, it has spread in intensity in certain areas, and its ability to coerce or control parts of the population has increased,” he told ABC news not long ago. We are losing “the war we cannot afford to lose” and the public opinion does not even know.

Andrea Loquenzi Holzer

The Hudsonny.org

L’Occidentale

Hezbollah, the Party of God, is flexing its muscles again. The situation in Lebanon has deteriorated during the last months, Obama’s diplomatic approach leaves Israel isolated in the land of rogue states, while the Europeans are systematically failing to secure Lebanon.

In the Nazar Valley, scores of trucks have been travelling at nighttime, filled with weapons to be hidden away in the tunnels for the Party of God. European soldiers are powerless: they cannot prevent Hezbollah from getting machine guns, rifles and rockets.

It was nighttime on March 30, south of the Litani River (a no-go area for Hezbollah, according to the UN resolution no. 1701). While European troops were patrolling the area, they spotted an unidentified truck and approached it. Some armed men got out of the truck, pointing their weapons directly at the soldiers’ faces. In order to avoid tensions, the UNIFIL troops had to give up the fight and retreat.

On July 14th, a Hezbollah weapons facility blew up (accidentally?), just a few miles from the Italian headquarters. When UNIFIL soldiers tried to investigate, they were stopped by a large group of rock-throwing civilians.

Last month, when another weapons-filled truck was discovered, the “resistance movement” of Hezbollah prevented European soldiers from patrolling the area.

Nevertheless, the UN mandate for the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon (1978) states clearly that one of its  three main goals is to assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area,” and “[to] assist the Lebanese armed forces in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an free of any armed personnel”.

Moreover, UN Resolution No 1701 further states that: “the Council also authorized UNIFIL to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind; to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council”.

The situation in this area has always been problematic, but ever since Hezbollah lost the elections in 2007 and an internal power struggle started, it has become even worse. A good metaphor for describing it could be a volcano: it sits silently until a certain time and then it explodes – all of a sudden – causing an inferno. It is crucial therefore to understand that the situation in Lebanon is developing along with the situation in the entire Middle Eastern area; it means we all have to look at the bigger picture.

Trapped between Iran and Hezbollah, Israel’s government must make hard choices on a daily bases and since the Europeans are practically powerless (some says that Major General  Graziano is hiding some info from Jerusalem’s government in order to avoid further problems) and the government of the United States are shifting priorities and allies in this area, Israel’s position is made even more complicated.

Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Venezuela, North Korea, Russia and the even communist China, are hot spots in the war against the West and like it or not, we are all taking part in this war. If we, as Westerners, do not connect the dots with a red-alert pen as soon as possible, someone else will. The State of Israel is at the center of everyone’s attention and is combating the most difficult battle for all of us who share the common values of democracy and the rule of law.

All the Rogue States mentioned above (and many others) are joining forces, backed and guided by al-Qaeda’s leadership, its allies and its armed branches such as Hamas and Hezbollah. They share a common value: Radical Islam, and they share a common task: the annihilation of Western civilization as we know it.

If the United States gives up the fight and, if the Europeans are divided and powerless, who is going to be our champion? Israel finds itself in one of the most difficult period since its foundation: we are leaving the country of God alone against the Party of God and its many allies.

Andrea Loquenzi Holzer – The Hudsonny

We Italians woke up today expecting a revolution like the one in Iran. It did not happen. In a way, the assumptions of some newspaper articles are intelligent and, indeed, a certain concern about Berlusconi’s boat in these troubled waters exists. Luckily enough, though, the situation is not so desperate.

Newspaper articles such as Guy Dinmore’s in the Financial Times have appeared about the supposed free fall of the Italian government, depicting a sad Berlusconi on the brink of a precipice.  From this perspective -supported by “well-placed government sources speaking on condition of anonymity” – our Premier is overwhelmed by scandals of all types, ravaged in the solitude of the party he created, running on empty.

According to the Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi’s dream of becoming President of the Republic is vanishing; all of his old time friends and allies are abandoning the ship, except for those who can only survive in his shadow. These few loyalists, nevertheless, are afraid to speak out in his defense.

After the death of his beloved mother and sister and the breakup with his wife Veronica Lario, Berlusconi released an interview with his own magazine “Chi” and he – in at least Dinmore’s vision – would be just waiting for the prosecutors in Bari to start an official investigation, as the G8 meeting scheduled for next month came closer. The European elections, states the Financial Times’s correspondent in Rome, “showed that voters are shifting away.”  The PDL party is just an empty container in which there is no successor. Last but not least, this government would resemble a “Middle Eastern potentate” in which leaving the scene is not an option.

As a start, we could argue that even though, for example, Dinmore’s sources are theoretically “well-placed”, they are still anonymous: meaning that whoever the “spy” is, he doesn’t like the sunlight. In other words, these are just suppositions.

We could also go on to say that the European elections were not a defeat for Berlusconi’s party. On the contrary, they were a big defeat for the left. So let’s do some math: in 30 provinces and 62 capital municipalities, 32 administrations over 32 passed from the left to the right. It’s an incredibly good result. The only thing we could say is that the people at the PDL were just expecting to win more votes than they did.

The third major argument with which we could counter these negative assumptions is even more direct: all the suspects and the “scandals” involving our Prime Minister did not transform into anything real. As of today, not one of the accusations is official and not one single court has ruled anything against Berlusconi.

Regarding the supposed “emptiness” of the PDL: this newborn party has proven to be the only one in our country that can benefit from stable leadership. Saying that there is no successor to Berlusconi inside the People Of Freedom is like saying that, right after Cesar, there was no other man of his height. It is not a negative statement against this party, it is a compliment. Look at the Franceschini’s PD, for example: the present leadership of that party is not so charismatic and the future is unknown and unforeseeable. And we are talking about the main opposition’s party here!  The PDL is full of very well prepared and professional political figures: a good leader will certainly emerge from there when needed.

Despite these recent supposed scandals with the “18 year old would-be-model,” according to the polls Berlusconi’s personal degree of favor among the Italians is still strong.

One last thing: the idea of bringing the G8 summit into L’Aquila and the consequential displacement of funds toward the devastated medieval city was Berlusconi’s idea. The G8 was in fact originally scheduled to take place at the “Maddalena Island,” but in order to set up that place the government costs would have been exorbitant. The funds are now being invested in the reconstruction of Abruzzo, and the idea of having a summit in there seems quite reasonable to us: instead of throwing “lavish parties” and “spoiling his friends with gifts,” Berlusconi will show what the consequences of a strong earthquake are.  This is no Middle Eastern potentate, this is Italy.

Andrea Loquenzi Holzer – The Hudsonny

History is repeating itself: during the year of the global economic crisis, the left is sinking almost everywhere in Europe. The Labors parties in Great Britain have suffered the biggest defeat since 1918. Even in Germany the SPD lost badly scoring 20.8%, a new negative record. In France, Sarkozy’s coalition overwhelmed the socialists (28% against 16.48%), even though the great winner here is the Green Party (16.28%). In Italy (the biggest turnout here) Silvio Berlusconi’s Freedom Party got 34.9 % with the Democratic Party being stuck at 25%. It is a victory, yes, but the expectations were higher.

Generally speaking, these elections clearly indicate that Europe as a whole must change its policy and somehow increase the level of involvement among Europeans. They also tell us that Europeans have a certain need for security and boundaries. Look at the results in the Netherlands, where Geert Wilders’ anti-Islamic Freedom Party scored 17%. Wilders is firmly against the entrance of Turkey into the European Union. The low turnout can also be explained in terms of a popular mistrust feeling toward politics and politicians: as the Europeans struggle to stand up against the economic downturn, they do not feel as if they are being represented or supported by their leaders.

According to Labour’s deputy leader, Harriet Harman, this was “a bad defeat” for the Labor Parties. Gordon Brown will now have to explain what happened to his lawmakers during a closed door parliamentary session. In Germany, Der Spiegel called the results of the elections “catastrophic” for the SPD. In France, Sarkozy’s UMP won the 28% of the votes, while the socialists (16.48%) performed very poorly, almost as badly as in Great Britain. It has been said that the French appreciated what their country’s government did during the six months of European presidency. The big winner, though, is the Green Party:   “June 7 is the D-Day of ecology politics,” said former anarchist Daniel Cohn-Bendi, leader of the “eco-friendly” French party.

In Spain, Zapatero’s socialists lost the elections. The “triunfo de los popolares” (the People’s Party  won 42.3 percent of the vote and 23 seats in Strasbourg) represented a “pérdida de confianza” (a loss in confidence) for Zapatero. The Spanish leader will now have to sail in troubled waters since his electorate is turning from him, while Spain is suffering from the highest unemployment rate in the Old Continent.

In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi’s party (Pdl – Popolo della Libertà) has once again won by a large majority (34.9% Vs. 25%) against the main opposition party, the Partito Democratico. Berlusconi was in fact expected to lose many votes due to gossip-related issues.  The Italian voters turn-out was once again the largest in Europe (66.5 %) but, according to Renato Manheimer, this is due to the fact that our political debate focused mainly on domestic issues. Since the results were better at the April 2008 general elections, when the Pdl got 37% of the votes, Berlusconi announced that “many things will have to change inside the party”.

Surprisingly enough, Umberto Bossi’s Northern League party won 10% of the votes, and even though Bossi himself said that “we will still remain trusted allies”, this might turn into more political weight  for the “Lega Nord”, to be used inside the Pdl. This happened according to a European trend: indeed, extremist and fringe parties gained popularity also in Austria, Finland, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands and Romania.

The PD (Democratic Party) suffered another major defeat but its leader, Dario Franceschini, sees the glass half full: “We were David against Goliath. Nevertheless, even this time, Goliath didn’t win….Italy is against the general tendency in a Europe swept by a right-wing wave. The fact that the PD is the major reformist party in Europe will eventually emerge”.

Andrea Loquenzi Holzer

L’Occidentale - The Hudsonny

During a press conference in Matera on May the 18th, the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Gianfranco Fini, spoke about the difficult situation with immigrants in Italy and reiterated a well known concept according to which every immigrant should respect our constitution and laws.

Immigration is a hot topic on Italy’s political agenda: the biggest communities of immigrants come from Romania, Philippine, Albany and northern African countries. All these people encounter a wide variety a problems, once in this country, but the main risk they take is usually the travel itself. On Sunday, May 10th,  the repatriation of almost 230 illegal Libyan immigrants who were travelling toward our country on three shabby boats was hailed as a “success” by our Home Secretary, Roberto Maroni.

“The tough line will continue in a clear way until the (illegal immigrant) landings cease”, stated the “Lega Nord” (Northern League) former  Secretary, following the repatriation of the Libyans.

According to the international law, though, a immigrant should be granted the status of refugee if he can prove to be persecuted in his home town. In fact, The UN’s high commissioner for refugees, António Guterres, expressed “grave concern” at this the episode and he was backed by with UN’s Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon.

When asked about social integration of the Muslim immigrants by a student in Matera, Gianfranco Fini answered that “the Muslim sermon in a Mosque must be in Italian because we – as Italians – have the right to understand if our fundamental constitutional values are being respected or not, it is an issue of ‘patriotic constitutionalism’: if it’s just to respect human rights, respecting rules and duties must be equally important”.

Bill Frelick of Human Rights Watch, said that our country “seems to be trying to rewrite international refugee law…The 1951 Geneva convention does not say where you can return them from, but where you can—and cannot—return them to.”  Someone argued that the boats were intercepted while still in international waters, which means that they didn’t enter Italian’s territory and therefore were not subjected to our laws that embrace the Geneva convention. Other have argued that Italy should be granted some sort of special status in the convention, given its peculiar geographical position which makes it the easiest European country to reach by most of the immigrants that are coming from the southern Mediterranean nations.

Anyway, following the historical agreement between Berlusconi and Colonel  Muhammad  Ghaddafi (Bengasi, August 30th 2008), which granted the African country a 5 billion check as a compensation for the Italian occupation during II World War, people had high expectations on this matter. Instead, illegal Libyan immigrants have continued to arrive in our country.
With regard to this topic, our Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has announced yesterday  that joint patrols by the Italian Navy and its Libyan counterpart will start this week:
“They are joint patrols which we will carry out in the interest of the whole of Europe,  because obviously it is in everyone’s interest that the boats organized by human traffickers are stopped near the Libyan coast”.

Malta’s Foreign Minister, Tonio Borg, supported Frattini’s call by stating that the top political authorities within the EU need to give their attention to the problem and emphasizing that there is a need of a clear policy in this matter, and this can only be drawn up by the European Union.

“The disproportionate influx of illegal migrants, a common challenge for both of us, has put strain on our absorption capacity and has increased pressure internally for both countries to sufficiently address the core issues faced by peripheral member states,” Dr Borg said.

Many believes that the though attitude of our government toward the immigrants might cause a loss of votes during the forthcoming European elections. The “hard line” seems instead to be well appreciated in Italy, at least so far.

Andrea Loquenzi Holzer – L’Occidentale

The next G8 summit is likely to be hosted in L’Aquila - the Italian medieval town hit by the earthquake less than a month ago – as Ignazio La Russa (Defense Minister) announced today, at the end of a Ministry Council meeting .

The G8 summit was previously scheduled to take place in the “La Maddalena” island, the biggest one of an archipelago situated north-east of the Sardinian’s sea. The sudden decision of re-scheduling the venue of the G8 is a Berlusconi’s idea, motivated by two main reasons: First, as il Cavaliere stated, the entire world will be forced to pay attention to the situation in L’Aquila, forcing as well local politician and others to work hard on the reconstruction of the town. Second, but not less important, the No-Globals – the violent anti-capitalist movement that caused so much troubles in Genova – will . probably be less threatening given the messy situation with L’Aquila nowadays. “The G8 in L’Aquila represents a message of hope for the entire region struck by the earthquake”, said Berlusconi at the end of the Ministry Council meeting, today.

“The No Globals will not be so though to strike a city that has already been wounded by the earthquake”, also claimed our President of the Council, “I really don’t think that they’ll have the will and the nerves to come here for protesting in the hard way”, he added.

Although, there is also another important reason why this decision was taken: “comparing to La Maddalena – Berlusconi told the press today- we will save 220 millions”. In other words the money that were previously budget for setting up the island will now be passed over to L’Aquila, you do the math.

Finally there is also the “façade” issue: Berlusconi thinks that the Isola of La Maddalena would be too luxurious as a venue and that would contrast dramatically with the present economic crisis and especially with the quake’s consequences.

“The G8 leaders will be able to personally check the monuments that were ‘adopted’ by foreigners contributors for reconstruction. Believe me: La Maddalena is even too beautiful. We would have even had a luxury boat at our disposal and that would have been a not appropriate G8 compared to the economic crisis we are facing, while L’Aquila is certainly a much more sober venue”.

This is probably why Angelo Comiti, Major of the Sardinian Island, reacted badly to these news: “Hosting the G8 in L’Aquila is like adding another earthquake to the actual one. I think is an unconvincing and illogical option, that will certainly not be appreciated from those who were already working to organize the forthcoming meeting. There are hundreds of man at work  every day here for the July event, setting up a G8 meeting is not exactly like organizing a birthday party.”

Obviously, on the other hand, Ugo Cappellacci’s (Berlusconi’s man as well as President of the Region of Sardinia) remarks were enthusiastic : “We are proud and happy to help the Abruzzo”.

Even Dario Franceschini, the new PD’s leader, agrees on this idea:  “I understand that this is a very symbolic choice and I also understand that this could contribute to keep Abruzzo at the centre of the attention, I just hope that this will not hinder reconstruction works”.

Now it is only about contacting the other G8 leaders and communicating them this decision, many regard this as just formality though.

Andrea Loquenzi Holzer – L’Occidentale

Parwez Kambakhsh, the young Afghani blogger accused of blasphemy and sentenced to death by the authorities in Kabul two years ago, has been recently charged with twenty years in jail. After a pig-circus trial, they arrested him for preventing his brother Yaqub – a well known investigative journalist – from writing about the misdeeds of the Taliban and the war lords. Kambakhsh is spending his time in jail together with actual criminals and his psychological and physical conditions are deteriorating every day. His brother Yaqub speaks about the situation in Afghanistan and hopes a better future for the Afghani people and for his brother.

Yaqub, your brother was arrested in October 2007 because as they said he was mocking Islam , the Prophet Mohammed and the Holy book, but isn’t there a different story behind the official accusation?

Yes exactly. As you know, they wanted to prevent me from writing about their war crimes, in this respect, my brother was the right target to hit. They also wanted to stop other Afghan investigative journalists in a indirect way so they made it very big and public. They wanted to show every journalist and writer in this country that if you do something “odd” or out of the boundaries, then you will face the consequences. They used my brother as a scapegoat by sentencing him to death – a sentence that was recently reversed to twenty years in jai]. They are showing every journalist what freedom of speech means here in Afghanistan: you can be free to express your opinion, sure, but then you must also be prepared for the worst.

You spent many words about the lack of freedom of speech in your country, did the situation change at all after your brother’s arrest?

As I mentioned, they made his case a symbol of the situation. After my brother’s arrest, all the journalists and writers in this country realized that Afghanistan is under the control of fundamentalist factions in the guise of a democracy. As they understood that in this country there is no guarantee and that no one is free to express his ideas, they started to censor themselves. That is why I am saying that Kambakhsh became a symbol: every time a journalist wants to speak out loud against the government or the factions here, the image of my brother in jail comes to his mind and he gives up. Many of my colleagues would really like to talk about what is happening in this country – as they did 3 or 4 years ago – but they cannot. This means that time is going backwards in Afghanistan.

Kambahsh was at first sentenced to death for blasphemy; now they charged him with 20 years in jail. How is your brother doing, how is his psychological situation at the moment?

He is being held in Kabul central prison, sharing the cell with seven actual criminals, and he is under severe psychological pressure. Every time he thinks about the cruel sentences they charged him with, it is a shock. We are really concerned about his health. About his safety in jail and also about his psychological and physical conditions.

Do you think he can stand all this time in jail?

With all the problems he is going through right now, he still thinks about human rights and he wishes a better condition for all the Afghani people, especially for the women here. Last time I met him he told me: “I can’t stand this at all…when I think about all the accusations with which they charged me and all the cruelty that my country is suffering from, It shocks me”.

Hundreds of Afghan journalists like you have demonstrated for your brother, people have created blogs, made interviews, tried to do something for Kambakhsh, although things have not changed much since he got arrested; do you think he will be released soon, do you still have hope?

Even though hope is the only thing that stands, I have to admit that, unfortunately, the Afghani officials are very good “poker players” and they are cheating the entire international community. After my brother’s arrest nothing has changed, but I still hope that the Afghani people, the champions of democracy and the journalists will not give up. I just hope that we will eventually get something in return for our struggle.

Is the Afghan judiciary system totally corrupted, “Islamized”?

Not only is the Afghan judiciary system corrupted, it is also under control of the Taliban or people that share their same mindset. These people are extremely radical when it comes to religion and they are against modern, western-like thinking and that way of life. The only modern things, during Kambakhsh’s trial were the microphones and the chairs, but the people who were using these instruments were old-fashioned Taliban anyway. This could be a good example of how the judiciary system has changed here: new things, old mindset. They are getting modern equipment from developed countries like Italy, but these people are dark minded and they are using these things against western values.

You have come in Italy to meet with journalists and to speak about the situation in Afghanistan, and to receive the “International Reporter of the Year” award. Speaking about achievements, did the Italian government push for the release of your brother?

I really don’t know what they are doing right now. All I know is that I haven’t seen any results. I don’t know which kind of justice are they are fighting for here. Are they fighting for Taliban-style justice or for the justice human beings really need?

How come Hamid Karzai is not really doing something? Are his hands tied?

I really don’t know, but every time he promises a lot, and, after two years, he is still doing what the Taliban want him to do. Keeping Kambahsh in jail – - despite all the requests and pressure coming from the international community and from the Afghan people.

Andrea Loquenzi Holzer for The Hudsonny

At least 100 people were killed and scores of others wounded tonight in Abruzzo (a region situated east of Rome) when a powerful heartquake shook at 3.32 a.m.

The tremor was reported to be between 5.8 and 6.3 degrees on the Richter scale (with 10 degress being the top) with the centre being in the medieval town of L’Aquila, 75 miles from the Italian capital.

Even though the latest death toll reports more than 100 victims, the official number of dead people is still bound to raise, as stated by the Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni, who added that “the death toll in the central province of L’Aquila was likely to rise further”.

Also, scores of buildings (more than a 10.000) and some major momument were severely damaged by the quake. It seems likely that at least 50.000 people will remain homeless.

“Some towns in the area have been virtually destroyed in their entirety,” told the press this morning in Rome Gianfranco Fini, speaker of the lower house of Parliament,. Later on a mouthpiece from the civil protection agency spoke about the conditions on the ground which are “extremely critical, as many buildings have collapsed”. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi canceled his diplomatic visit to Moscow and declared a state of emergency in the region of Abruzzo.

A doctor of the civil hospital of L’Aquila, Bernardino Persichetti, said that tonight at around four o’clok he felt a “tremendous earth tremor…and I saw three or four kids dying in my hands, choked by the rubale, I will never forget this pain”.

Right after the tremor subsided, hundreds of citizens in L’Aquila gathered in the central ssquare and were immediately assisted by volunteers and nuns from a local convent. In the meantime, firefighters and others started to work in order to rescue as many people as they could. As it is now thousands of volunteers are reaching L’Aquila for donating their blood and helping out.

While the Pope is praying for the victims, “especially the children”, people are concerned about the problem with the elecricity, Enel, the main energy provider of the country had to cut power supplies to 15,000 users as a “security measure”, said a spokewoman.

According to Guido Bertolas, head of the civil protection, this quake was “comparable, if not superior, to the one which struck Umbria in 1997.”

L’Aquila (The Eagle in italian) is a university city that sits on top of a hill and is sorrounded by high mountains such as il Gransasso (The Big Rock). It counts almost 100.000 residents, apparently some students are among the victims. The city is famous for its very ancient churces that date back to the 12th century and for its fountain of 99 spouts, built in 1272.

According to SkyTG24, the thirteenth-century church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio was destroyed by the quake.

Countries like Italy and Greece are earthquake prone, since the lie to the north of a zone where the African and Eurasian tectonic plates rub against each other. Among the most recent earthquakes, the one in Foggia in 2002, left about 30 people dead, then the one in Umbria in 1997, killed about 10 people. The most powerful and damaging hearthquake in Italy was the one in Irpinia, in 1980 which killed 3.000 people.

Silvio Berlusconi has announced that there are at least 5000 volunteers helping the vicitims in L’Aquila right now and that the number of wounded people is 1500.

Andrea Loquenzi Holzer for L’Occidentale