tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67583986186632321652024-03-05T05:04:56.605-08:00ATOPOSFrancesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-58898945548946063632012-02-16T08:06:00.000-08:002012-02-16T12:29:44.724-08:00THE GREEKS HAVE TO PAY, SAID THE WISE MAN TO THE CROWD<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 5.3pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">The EU is determined, "the poor out of the Union, only the rich stay!" Christine Lagarde of IMF warns the situation is much like the '30s. But are these people really talking just of economy, or they see that beside economy, before economy, there are people? People who are not always protesting because they want to overthrow the system, but if "we" force them, I'm sure they will do so. And if they overthrow the government, if Greece becomes a new Tunisia, or rather a Germany of the 30's then Mrs Merkel and the international creditors can go to hell with their damn credit. Or better, she will have to lead the way, because the speculators are not people, but systems. Systems that now rule over countries and sovereignity. Some call it "debtocracy".</span></div><div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 5.3pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The money banks invented through promises and speculation, the capitals that rich companies make is not enough to help the real greek economy, so why should they want it anymore? It's enough to overthrow the government, refuse democracy (the greeks!) and voilà, international credit doesn't exist anymore. They simply will refuse to pay. As Hitler did, after years of too high payments due to the Versailles Treaty. In 1935, he simply refused to pay. And what did the "serious" countries come up with? "Appeasement!" They were scared! All the civilized, modern (and colonial) countries of Europe got scared! Because the only thing that really scares capitalism, even much more than crisis itself, is the end of the game. If Greece withdraws, the game's reduced, much less fun ahead.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HsdXexYVHbPjuttIyM8kpmzJC9armC0McbgteB1a004Z-oZEOu9yIH2GsM3J4bmi4zt47xPznAb1ERqSWvd-DMCq3x9IS4tsPQRL3sqx0nOh2J2WnlzHcXt4kHUKZljo6XR5povOfTbp/s1600/images-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7HsdXexYVHbPjuttIyM8kpmzJC9armC0McbgteB1a004Z-oZEOu9yIH2GsM3J4bmi4zt47xPznAb1ERqSWvd-DMCq3x9IS4tsPQRL3sqx0nOh2J2WnlzHcXt4kHUKZljo6XR5povOfTbp/s400/images-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">They say the debt needs to be repaid, if you're not able to keep up we won't give you anything anymore. In fact, what the EU is asking of Greece could be asking from any other european country as well. They say Greece has an enormous debt. Don't they also in the Usa, in Japan, in Italy or in the Uk? Certainly, what about Finland, The Netherlands, Austria.. Germany? All those countries who once again proved how serious they are. Greece has to pay because it cannot pay. And if the state cannot pay, let the people pay.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> We hear of "recession", "growth", "credit", and the people who are working on these terms are analysing the data, explaining why Greece hasn't done enough to make its money deserved. All of a sudden, more times on a row, the EU starts panicking as the markets (and IMF) pressure them to find a solution for the greek recession. Athens has to cut costs if it cannot improve its productivity. "Hurry Greece, hella hella!"<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Now, EU’s genius plan is to cut up to 150,000 public jobs, let alone the cuts on the retirement funds. All of this just after decreasing unemployment subsidies, after cutting salaries, raising taxes and basically forcing many people to evade taxes even more, as high as they are.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">They say greeks lived beyond their means, or at least some greeks. Is that enough to condemn a whole country? Can the guilt of a government and those who cheated in the past have their citizens pay? Because this is what we're asking of greeks, to pay off a debt that would never be claimed, for the sake of "justice". The justice of capitalism, where everything is rational, much more rational than life itself. And to such a rational stand, irrational actions soon follow.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8mTju72NlIv2GX2HbzYm64p2Eq6a66IcwwF2lzzekO8VSKMnGqauB3AzO__QUbEMhc7P5xI7lqKmAdG86xaO3hGR3rRtzq87escotnpvV-IIm7MwtCqCLylA9E-SDoZ2x-Tt_OUZIxxb9/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8mTju72NlIv2GX2HbzYm64p2Eq6a66IcwwF2lzzekO8VSKMnGqauB3AzO__QUbEMhc7P5xI7lqKmAdG86xaO3hGR3rRtzq87escotnpvV-IIm7MwtCqCLylA9E-SDoZ2x-Tt_OUZIxxb9/s400/images.jpg" width="346" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Of course, the serious nations (!) of Europe are saying: "we work hard, we deserve not pay for those who don't work as hard as us". But then, should we be surprised if the greeks of today don't want to pay for the mistakes of yesterday?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Greeks have free University, free health care for public workers and their families, "privileges should be broken down", the experts say. But who are these "experts", these virtuous people instructing sovereign countries on what to do to best service their people?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">It's rating agencies for example, with billions of budget every year, richer than countries themselves, lending imaginary money to institutions and down to real people, until some genius realizes: "hey, you didn't make any real money out of that, give it back!" They<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Fortunately, there is not just rating agencies and their customers (public institutions and media, for example). There is not just the capital and the very rational way of saying "let's either cut costs or improve productivity". <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">say corruption is a plague in Greece. Well, why did you let them in then? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Every new month, when bonds are sold, when credit is purchased on the "free market", somebody makes money by betting on which cards the other player is holding. This drunken game sees international speculators playing the role that once belonged to States. Rating agencies are waging war at countries, declaring them insolvable - unable to pay. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">"Ok then, we are insolvable right? Then we won't pay anything anymore".</span></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFgTpGGXQTykZGFEfh03BaX69x2BUbVoksIqMgl9F0gyPSfqnuOxCWvVGCi_l_M85i_1vl1qwaR44yvUQsrECltpUhemg_SJPjx0FDvcI5FGsksw7CF0Ujbm-HYAtFBE6SfVxs4FHKq9p/s1600/images1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFgTpGGXQTykZGFEfh03BaX69x2BUbVoksIqMgl9F0gyPSfqnuOxCWvVGCi_l_M85i_1vl1qwaR44yvUQsrECltpUhemg_SJPjx0FDvcI5FGsksw7CF0Ujbm-HYAtFBE6SfVxs4FHKq9p/s400/images1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">This is the way it could end anytime soon if the EU still rambles on about "austerity". Mrs Merkel certainly appeases its people by making them believe Germany is a good country, and there is never going to be a risk with them. Too bad history is very clear on that, after all Weimar’s Germany was in a very similar situation, owing money to France. We all know how it went on, with Hitler promising its people France will not get any more money from them. Because "it was unjust".</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> This is what we're doing to Greece, we're forcing them out of the game, because they can't play. Obviously, we hope they will bet on their house, on their car, on their clothes as well. We absolutely want to play with them, we need them, but we have to try and pull the rope as much as we can. At the other end of this rope there are hundreds of thousands of people who were given a job by a public institution, with a contract stating they shall be working, they shall retire, etc. (and then what? Only to be betrayed in the end..etc)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> The market says the rope won't hold much longer, so we'd better keep it for ourselves. If they really want to be helped they should drop everything left on them, and only then we will pull the rope.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">So it's them and us. On the same rope. In our frenzy to face the present and the crisis that's everywhere in Europe and not just in Greece, we believe we will always be "we". We think we can always look at "them" and at their problems. In the meantime though, we can't really be without them, because after all we let Greece in the EU because it would help the exports of other countries, such as Germany. Mrs Merkel’s country has sold billions worth military equipment to Greece in the last years, didn’t that increase the greek debt too? </span></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVWciOEeym5bghWltrdF1mpmEzc1ZZDKyTM38yQZrKpLojMZCIY_BC79V7Uo3emhTrtw638oIs8UKoNHCBmhn78FRFv-gg9UceA85WUkmzMCdhwHIYh6i5EWVO7YhkANHeT3ZDIOE-O5R/s1600/CARTOON+GREEKS+021412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVWciOEeym5bghWltrdF1mpmEzc1ZZDKyTM38yQZrKpLojMZCIY_BC79V7Uo3emhTrtw638oIs8UKoNHCBmhn78FRFv-gg9UceA85WUkmzMCdhwHIYh6i5EWVO7YhkANHeT3ZDIOE-O5R/s400/CARTOON+GREEKS+021412.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Obviously I'm not suggesting a new Hitler will get the power in Greece, but if we condemn generations to pay for what their parents did, I'm sure many people will be really pissed, trained against the system (and the countries) that sent them to sudden poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">"So, thank you capitalists/corporations for creating jobs with your funds (on which you pay ridicolously low taxes, by the way) since those jobs won't be there anymore, we're afraid you won't get any money back, sorry!"<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Mr Monti says the politicians "had too much heart in the past". They spoiled their people seeking their vote in the next elections. Now, we're all against politics these days, the politicians are those who created or didn't solve the problems we're facing, ect. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">It's like a discussion between two people who can't see each other, bluffing on what they really look like, it's just logically impossible to understand who's right until you don't see both of them. What Germany and the EU and the banks and mr Monti are saying is: "we're right. We're sure". And many are happy about this, "oh, finally somebody who knows what they're talking about". Yet didn't the EU foresee<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Lehman crisis, why didn't the banks pay off their debt, instead of getting money from the states. The truth is THE BANKS WERE THE FIRST TO BORROW, WITHOUT GIVING BACK THE MONEY TO THE STATES. They can do what the people cannot. Not only the financial markets drank everything there was to drink, but now they want to take the bottles from the people involved in the real economy, so as to make sure they won't drink not even their damn coffee.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">So we are to believe cutti</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ng 150,000 jobs will make anything better in the future? I mean, DO WE THINK THAT NUMBERS COUNT MORE THAN PEOPLE? Of course, if you still didn't get this you really have no idea what system capitalism is. "The best system around", it figures.</span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNIcMv7C2zHZLQ0OrlCQ-TB4M2h9Beh8Qo69F3y1s3t_B2c2y0b9MMYaACatIYcbhceTzhbcvw5KZry_itrLb0esConfAi-2h5LULppoZkOQKafd1cJpk0PaTYqLJFYhH98uk8EnZdTAh/s1600/images3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNIcMv7C2zHZLQ0OrlCQ-TB4M2h9Beh8Qo69F3y1s3t_B2c2y0b9MMYaACatIYcbhceTzhbcvw5KZry_itrLb0esConfAi-2h5LULppoZkOQKafd1cJpk0PaTYqLJFYhH98uk8EnZdTAh/s400/images3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Reminds me a lot of Pangloss, of Voltaire's "Candide", who was absolutely certain this world is the best possible. I believe if only 50,000 out of those 150,000 do not find a way to make a living we will soon have 4 times those people promising that they will never pay the taxes again. Out of those, a few good thousands will have good reason to think violence can be the only way to be respected by the capitalists. And the first capitalists I can think of are the usurers. This is what the market systematically does. It promises you good and then one it shows up and asks for it back. You ought to be prepared for that day, where the distinction between "them" and "us" will be very clear.</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli5eDox1AoLF06udV8HJRN4uMcpE2-adlrtsQaFD6A9hgqgd7Fnt227x3tJTcUkkTYl0b9S0Xa4ByUHlyN8VT3xqNfCKv-U0qtprN80lEjW9X0srGAxuqmk8uCTERAYUj9j8gCpmoJdgy/s1600/images4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli5eDox1AoLF06udV8HJRN4uMcpE2-adlrtsQaFD6A9hgqgd7Fnt227x3tJTcUkkTYl0b9S0Xa4ByUHlyN8VT3xqNfCKv-U0qtprN80lEjW9X0srGAxuqmk8uCTERAYUj9j8gCpmoJdgy/s400/images4.jpg" width="299" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A good quote to remember follows:</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3SmPcZ79zsDZZokHz-3YlPST5IS_JvWfdU8wDdtosTn5cWiyE_rA2D2I_4nGrqVV1AQ1BmQnYiQbs_ba2qGGz2uSYTe4hzul3yH8LGwLl8HupstK_SwaVkVPH0rgz9hAbyS65spGZi-f/s1600/NiemoellerQuote02SFPeaceMarch260pxw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3SmPcZ79zsDZZokHz-3YlPST5IS_JvWfdU8wDdtosTn5cWiyE_rA2D2I_4nGrqVV1AQ1BmQnYiQbs_ba2qGGz2uSYTe4hzul3yH8LGwLl8HupstK_SwaVkVPH0rgz9hAbyS65spGZi-f/s400/NiemoellerQuote02SFPeaceMarch260pxw.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/niem.htm#versions">read here</a> for the very interesting story about this quote</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/11/nearly-50-of-the-young-people-in-greece-and-spain-are-unemployed/249286/">here</a> you can find a short description of why Germany still wants to play the game with Greece and why it's better for them if they don't insist too much on Greece, forcing unforeseeable situations they should remember well from their history.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.p-ttrader.com/2011/07/euro-crisis.html">here</a> you can read and understand how even an undergraduate can replace its passion for videogames with a love for financial markets (meaning, it's really a game isn't it?)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://lolgreece.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html">here</a> you can find other financial delicacy, for real gourmets</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">last but not least, <a href="http://www.debtonation.org/topics/unemployment/">here</a> you can enjoy how the debt can be actually turn on your brain after too much TV</span></div>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-26454779845300886452011-12-31T08:42:00.000-08:002011-12-31T08:42:10.731-08:00Kekomike - Chum Kem et son orchestre Oriental<iframe width="480" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_b3nHpa9G8U?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-9654308880509241762011-10-02T12:35:00.001-07:002011-10-02T12:35:13.344-07:00Traveling<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/960314788/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="desert" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1245/960314788_9e81b0e329_s.jpg" alt="desert" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/949790686/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Abulemain and his brother's camel" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1214/949790686_d655064673_s.jpg" alt="Abulemain and his brother's camel" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/905734751/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="With Abdulemain" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1052/905734751_576bc21b2e_s.jpg" alt="With Abdulemain" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/916925923/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Red" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1198/916925923_71c923aec4_s.jpg" alt="Red" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/905683929/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Gabron" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1349/905683929_8c45de9c6a_s.jpg" alt="Gabron" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/906084330/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Gabron" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1135/906084330_9e5ca08422_s.jpg" alt="Gabron" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3350649983/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Fran ATopos in European Tour" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3599/3350649983_be5b45b19b_s.jpg" alt="Fran ATopos in European Tour" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3337146218/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Le Marais" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3326/3337146218_86bd5b2b82_s.jpg" alt="Le Marais" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3324365572/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Entrée" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3361/3324365572_31d060d190_s.jpg" alt="Entrée" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3194373192/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Laurentiu Stoica" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3489/3194373192_a70e1220e5_s.jpg" alt="Laurentiu Stoica" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3159608517/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Pietracatella" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3100/3159608517_8f2d9e98bc_s.jpg" alt="Pietracatella" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3084106943/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Palazzo Nuovo" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/3084106943_934948b256_s.jpg" alt="Palazzo Nuovo" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3094833127/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Sardegna" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3080/3094833127_7c7ef25d44_s.jpg" alt="Sardegna" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3081254104/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Dietro le quinte" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3284/3081254104_0bc2bbdc33_s.jpg" alt="Dietro le quinte" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3063435166/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="From the top" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/3063435166_26aaac1b7a_s.jpg" alt="From the top" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3070368627/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Poco prima (o dopo?) del Frozen torinese" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3252/3070368627_6115653d39_s.jpg" alt="Poco prima (o dopo?) del Frozen torinese" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/2928514825/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Sardinia" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3224/2928514825_af662c816b_s.jpg" alt="Sardinia" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3608484681/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="ATopos in the balcans" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3625/3608484681_7f889d5b7c_s.jpg" alt="ATopos in the balcans" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/2873239843/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Fontana allucinante" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3007/2873239843_90d33deeb8_s.jpg" alt="Fontana allucinante" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/2778009876/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="San Simplicio" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3202/2778009876_f99a599d06_s.jpg" alt="San Simplicio" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/2788812429/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Tavolara " style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2788812429_482cfdeb74_s.jpg" alt="Tavolara " style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3396297737/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="PORTUGAL E PIEMONTE - TRIP" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3547/3396297737_56baa447c9_s.jpg" alt="PORTUGAL E PIEMONTE - TRIP" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3383080509/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Dal Castello di Noarna verso Brancolino" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3593/3383080509_305110ab60_s.jpg" alt="Dal Castello di Noarna verso Brancolino" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/3472642413/in/set-72157601115735150/" title="Plaza de Espana, Sevilla" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3590/3472642413_b30d427cdf_s.jpg" alt="Plaza de Espana, Sevilla" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/sets/72157601115735150/">Traveling</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div><p>some of my best shots while traveling</p>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-10369081310093258802011-09-07T14:46:00.001-07:002011-09-07T14:46:51.366-07:00Stairway to park<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/6125302780/" title="Stairway to park"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6077/6125302780_ca0c6c8bb6.jpg" alt="Stairway to park by fran_atopos" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/6125302780/">Stairway to park</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/">fran_atopos</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>new pictures in Ancona, Marche, Italy. My hometown =)</p>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-55649799671087461192011-08-30T14:23:00.000-07:002011-08-30T14:23:43.664-07:00Inside Mexico's mud-hut mosque - Features - Al Jazeera English<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/08/2011830124432487342.html?utm_content=automateplus&utm_campaign=Trial5&utm_source=SocialFlow&utm_medium=MasterAccount&utm_term=tweets#.Tl1Uy8XvhxY.blogger">Inside Mexico's mud-hut mosque - Features - Al Jazeera English</a><div>visit a Mosque in Chiapas!</div>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-26193879093559053262011-08-30T07:27:00.000-07:002011-08-30T07:27:31.391-07:00the Italian Tour: TIRED OF THE CRISIS? GO LIVE IN CALASCIO OR ON GRA...<a href="http://italiain30giorni.blogspot.com/2011/08/tired-of-crisis-go-live-in-calascio-or.html?spref=bl">the Italian Tour: TIRED OF THE CRISIS? GO LIVE IN CALASCIO OR ON GRA...</a>: It's a chance we made it up to Rocca di Calascio. I had met some time before 2 people from Calascio, where they grow bio-food and live in r...Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-44561637935982299512011-08-24T04:30:00.000-07:002011-08-24T04:30:29.045-07:00the Italian Tour: VENICE - THE MUST OF ANY TOURIST IN ITALY<a href="http://italiain30giorni.blogspot.com/2011/08/venice-must-of-any-tourist-in-italy.html?spref=bl">the Italian Tour: VENICE - THE MUST OF ANY TOURIST IN ITALY</a>: Ok, I'm not crazy about suggesting you what you already know: Venice is unique, impossible to miss, a real must for anybody. When you do ...Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-38386530309634702842011-08-24T04:19:00.001-07:002011-08-24T04:19:48.789-07:00I Bonzi<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/6076328778/" title="I Bonzi"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6067/6076328778_80093dede1.jpg" alt="I Bonzi by fran_atopos" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/6076328778/">I Bonzi</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/">fran_atopos</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>pictures from Spazio Sofà, teatro San Marcello</p>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-70075617692338781702011-08-22T13:33:00.001-07:002011-08-22T13:33:30.225-07:00Eyes<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/6070909550/" title="Eyes"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6086/6070909550_33315a98cf.jpg" alt="Eyes by fran_atopos" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/6070909550/">Eyes</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/">fran_atopos</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>my son, Adamo!! =)</p>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-19690605264830039872011-08-03T06:39:00.001-07:002011-08-03T06:39:14.714-07:00PPsssh<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/6004842211/" title="PPsssh"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6137/6004842211_6766687415.jpg" alt="PPsssh by fran_atopos" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/6004842211/">PPsssh</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/">fran_atopos</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>Ecce Adamo!</p>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-74022158115444187382011-07-27T07:19:00.000-07:002011-07-27T07:21:20.437-07:00EUROPE WAS FASCIST LONG BEFORE YOU<div style="text-align: justify;">The madness of this norwegian killer whose name will NOT be remembered here, reminds me of something else. About 100 years ago, many political parties were active in Europe: the socialists, the anarchists, the communists, the fascists..</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyawoPFVW0Q2B1KNTybXoW3PLnUvzcbsuPmRgKnthjiswqOrccwOSxA0m__Fz_HVhbLcc2wtWfOTZ89FGQjz3qYUxLkvLo2BnvXSUbnwwcR9N3Ww9MYXYF-sAE23rnUaYNPb063TktOr6x/s1600/P1080732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyawoPFVW0Q2B1KNTybXoW3PLnUvzcbsuPmRgKnthjiswqOrccwOSxA0m__Fz_HVhbLcc2wtWfOTZ89FGQjz3qYUxLkvLo2BnvXSUbnwwcR9N3Ww9MYXYF-sAE23rnUaYNPb063TktOr6x/s320/P1080732.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Are we ready to deal with them? Rom kids in Shutka, Macedonia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I want to speak about the latter ones. Respected and dignified countries such as Great Britain and France were at that time quite easy going with the daring machism of countries like Italy, which in 1911 invaded Libya and took it from the Ottoman Empire. Great Britain and France were ok with it. Later on, much later ok, but it proves the point, the Reich of Hitler conquers Austria and then it invades Poland. Great Britain and France were ok with it. They called it "<b>appeasement</b>".</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The truth is, as it was largely shown also by academics in the recent years, that many European countries actually appreciated and encouraged fascisms, in opposition to bolsheviks, which by then, in 1917, had made "communism" a real enemy. That's how italian fascism and german nazism got to power, by using first the label "socialism" and then switching to a nationalist, racist, exoteric root.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a war and a few genocides around the world, the European Union has become the symbol of the highest standard of democracy in the world (is it?). Thanks to the great hope it has sparked in eastern European countries, the EU can now say "we stand for democracy and human rights".<br />
<br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXuQg0Y8YsOdyRfC4M-GjoWawy0am6JH3brDELedzeqtLlZvzLq3-_TDmzXrBxDZCEF7YEeBi-onLWctM5bfDy5R6WpHhUo6Cq6KEeQvzXqvxD8BKBiUjGNsvrIId1jQXHzeH5SIFPMcn/s1600/P1040635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXuQg0Y8YsOdyRfC4M-GjoWawy0am6JH3brDELedzeqtLlZvzLq3-_TDmzXrBxDZCEF7YEeBi-onLWctM5bfDy5R6WpHhUo6Cq6KEeQvzXqvxD8BKBiUjGNsvrIId1jQXHzeH5SIFPMcn/s320/P1040635.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Afghan kids in Patras, Greece</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">It might sound weird that a country like Norway has decided to be outside of the EU, but in any case, it doesn't seem strange to me that somebody out there is actually planning to go back to the real European spirit, the one that has made us build up the European Fortress itself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since the time of Delors, great politician behind the empowering of the EU, this very peculiar confederation of States has set itself the goal to be better than the rest, therefore following the path of positivism, eurocentrism and an invisible will to dominate, with the good, or with the bad manners.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6u_FpM5ln0ptNIdUDPlB2p5v2PDjK6JZTFgfw7EuxZLLOz5ZKPCUMdRl62Gxh55JS9MEWJ0bszfINtThtxKSaSZX7F0jzNVDg9y75NRnRZIk6C9uZSm4nZu2LcI6iI5VsxXGMOBaxKP_g/s1600/P1040642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6u_FpM5ln0ptNIdUDPlB2p5v2PDjK6JZTFgfw7EuxZLLOz5ZKPCUMdRl62Gxh55JS9MEWJ0bszfINtThtxKSaSZX7F0jzNVDg9y75NRnRZIk6C9uZSm4nZu2LcI6iI5VsxXGMOBaxKP_g/s320/P1040642.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles is from Sudan and he wants to seek asylum in the UK</td></tr>
</tbody></table>On one side we have a Europe which strives to be politically correct, acknowledging rights to Rom or to gay people, on the other hand we have a Europe that cannot stand being confronted by lesser nationalities. Among the latter, we can find awful European Parliament member <a href="http://news.liquida.it/focus/2011/07/26/borghezio-sulla-strage-in-norvegia-le-idee-di-breivik-sono-buone-in-qualche-caso-anche-ottime/">Mario Borghezio</a>, who recently stated how the ideas behind the Norway massacres are "100% good".</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's up to us to decide whether to be facing the crisis with poorer people coming at our doors, or shoot at them in the face as soon as they approach the borders of our countries. Eventually, the hatred speeches, racism on any level will bring to that point. Or else, we can avoid choosing at all, making it much easier for both -the desperate and the racist - to fight each other while we think our views are just too unique to be summed up in a geopolitical struggle. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Europe was born after great tragedies, do we need new ones in order to create a better union, or shall we learn history and do our best in order to avoid a very near disaster?</div>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-9753996821737258792011-07-27T06:52:00.000-07:002011-07-27T06:52:25.353-07:00Atopos in the Balkans, PRIMA TAPPA<iframe width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9DgE-JPGjv0?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-11330950761796871692011-07-23T15:40:00.001-07:002011-07-23T15:40:09.464-07:00desert<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/960314788/" title="desert"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1245/960314788_9e81b0e329.jpg" alt="desert by fran_atopos" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/960314788/">desert</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/">fran_atopos</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>desert picture I took in Acacus, Libya</p>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-20578436053705789172011-07-22T01:49:00.000-07:002011-07-22T01:49:29.945-07:00Organised Crime in Greece: trends and countermeasures Analyses REPORT Flare Network<a href="http://www.flarenetwork.org/report/analyses/article/organised_crime_in_greece_trends_and_countermeasures.htm">Organised Crime in Greece: trends and countermeasures Analyses REPORT Flare Network</a><div>an article by greek journalist Ioannis Michaletos</div>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-71913222707790359182011-07-11T12:30:00.000-07:002011-07-11T12:30:26.148-07:000 the 1: Adamo is bornmy babyyyyy <div><a href="http://zerotheone.blogspot.com/2011/07/adamo-is-born.html?spref=bl">0 the 1: Adamo is born</a>: "Towards the last week of June, I've been having contractions by the day. Fra had several exams to complete in University then and was asking..."</div>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-65544879998685582642011-06-27T08:21:00.000-07:002011-06-27T08:21:46.687-07:00Ongoing protests for democracy and free media in Macedonia - European Journalism CentreMy article on European Journalism Centre about protests in Macedonia after the death of Martin Neshkoski. <a href="http://www.ejc.net/magazine/article/ongoing_protests_for_democracy_and_free_media_in_macedonia/">Ongoing protests for democracy and free media in Macedonia - European Journalism Centre</a>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-23513226315322611532011-06-08T08:01:00.000-07:002011-06-08T08:01:24.436-07:00Referendum in Italy, is Berlusconi losing again? (Text) - Youthmedia Europe<a href="http://www.youthmedia.eu/media/115850--referendum-in-italy-is-berlusconi-losing-again-">Referendum in Italy, is Berlusconi losing again? (Text) - Youthmedia Europe</a><br />an article on upcoming referendum in Italy, by italian journalist Francesco Conte. Originally published by European Journalism Centre magazine.Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-69819295357689135792011-06-02T01:19:00.000-07:002011-06-02T01:19:10.996-07:00LA MORTE DI BIN LADEN (lacrime di coccodrillo)È sempre una notizia quando un ricco muore, tanto che i giornali hanno già la biografia pronta dei notabili del villaggio (globale), ma stavolta il nome in questione ha forse preso alla sprovvista pure gli stakanovisti di wikipedia. Osama Bin Laden deve la sua fama alla famiglia da cui proviene ma di certo ha avuto modo di distinguersi in vita per una certa scellerata originalità che l’ha portato a essere il nemico numero 1 degli Stati Uniti e causa della “guerra al terrore” degli ultimi 10 anni. Di origine sunnita, la famiglia Bin Laden è riuscita a mimetizzarsi nel grigio mondo degli affari cui anche il colonnello Gheddafi – suo acerrimo nemico - appartiene. Come un novello Saladino, Osama ha voluto difendere l’Islam dall’affronto degli infedeli invasori, ma invece che i Templari, stavolta c’era da attaccare prima i traditori in terra araba e poi tutti indistintamente in nome del terrorismo internazionale e della sua “Gerusalemme liberata”. Bin Laden ha dichiarato guerra a un certo Islam in nome del vero Islam, ma ha anche combattuto contro il grande mostro americano dal suo interno, con il potere dei soldi e l’immunità del milionario. Al Dio di tutti americano, Osama ha opposto l’Allah dei “veri” musulmani, incitando alla rivolta i mullah e gli imam di mezzo mondo, in vista di un Islam d’avanguardia con il quale annientare il collaborazionismo arabo con gli occidentali.Strano che Bin Laden scompaia proprio all’indomani delle grandi rivolte arabe in cui spesso il fantasma di Al Qaeda viene evocato. E mentre cadevano prima Mubarak e poi (forse) Gheddafi, Osama stava pensando a una nuova offensiva in terra d’Africa a suon di jihad e capitale. Con il business infatti, il clan Bin Laden ha armato Al Qaeda da una parte e iniziative filantropiche come la Benevolence International Foundation da un’altra, creata per mano di suo cognato Mohammed Kalifa, di Gedda. Come nell’araldica medievale europea, ogni signore della dinastia Bin Laden ha la sua provenienza nel cognome che porta, ma se Riccardo Cuor di Leone volle Gerusalemme cristiana (e non vi riuscì), Osama Bin Laden portò la guerra in bocca al paese più grande del mondo. Gli Usa, che da allora non poterono fare a meno di attaccare, fino a quando un presidente nero, di nome Barack Hussein Obama, invece di esibire con orgoglio la foto trionfale della morte del nemico, preferì mostrare un vecchio con la barba tinta di nero. Così si conclude “Morte a Abbottabad”, dove pure il nome del paese ha il segno del nemico, il capitano inglese James Abbott, che lì partecipò all’accordo coloniale tra russi e britannici per spartirsi Tibet, Afghanistan e Persia.Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-79919304276966788552011-05-26T06:49:00.001-07:002011-05-26T06:49:03.206-07:00Francesco Conte on Vimeo by Fran Atopos Conte<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/5761859814/" title="Francesco Conte on Vimeo by Fran Atopos Conte"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/5761859814_9c0b6f4055.jpg" alt="Francesco Conte on Vimeo by Fran Atopos Conte by fran_atopos" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/5761859814/">Francesco Conte on Vimeo by Fran Atopos Conte</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/atopos/">fran_atopos</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>videoreel made by Katerina Bonvora</p>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-72946615776081294662011-05-10T02:57:00.001-07:002011-05-10T02:57:05.637-07:00GLI ARABI E L'ISLAM, DI FEDERICO ARBORIO MELLA<link href="file://localhost/Users/nikola/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Se uno dovesse dar retta alle teorie post 11 settembre, ad Al Qaeda da una parte e allo scontro delle civilizzazioni dall’</span><span lang="IT" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">altra, dovremmo probabilmente dimenticare capolavori come Battaglia ad Algeri, di Gillo Pontecorvo, oppure relegare alle cassetto delle buone intenzione un libro come “Gli Arabi e l’Islam”, di Federico Arborio Mella. Pubblicato da Mursia nel 1981, “Gli Arabi e l’Islam” è un piccolo capolavoro che ripercorre 1000 anni di storia con la sapiente passione di uno storico antico. Da Maometto ai Mongoli, passando per Romani, Persiani, Berberi, Normanni e Visigoti, il libro di Arborio Mella è un compendio prezioso per chiunque voglia capire l’anima araba, ma soprattutto l’arrivo della civilizzazione sotto forma di Islam. Baghdad, Cairo, Palmira, Kabul, Bukhara, Damasco, Gerusalemme o San Giovanni d’Acri, innumerevoli sono i luoghi ricordati lungo la narrazione, che dalle prime dinastie di Medina e Mecca arriva fino all’invasione di Gengis Khan e al suo breve e anomalo sultanato che non s’occupò mai di religione.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="IT" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Gli Arabi e l’Islam però tiene fede al suo titolo dando ampia importanza ai personaggi musulmani che più caratterizzano la storia araba e le sue molteplici declinazioni. Dall’imam nascosto della tradizione sciita fino a Saladino, la storia d’Islam è fitta di intrighi e vicende poco conosciute come quelle della setta degli Assassini, dall’arabo “hashashiyun”, “coloro che assumono l’hashish”, il cui maggior colpo terroristico ante litteram fu niente meno che l’uccisione del visir persiano Nizam al-Mulk, tutore del sultano Malikshah nonché autore di un celebre trattato sull’arte e la scienza di governare e fondatore di università di scienze politiche e teologiche, di cui la più celebre quella di Baghdad, nel 1067, ben prima delle università europee. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="IT" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Alla luce degli avvenimenti odierni, il libro di Mella è utile per una migliore comprensione della complessità dietro al termine “religione”. Sunniti, Sciiti, ma anche decine di staterelli, sette e predicatori videro la luce in terra d’Islam, mai del tutto cementata dalla religione comune, soprattutto in base alla dominanza dell’etnia araba su quelle africane o asiatiche. Sin dai tempi di Maometto inoltre, i vicini che gli arabi avrebbero dovuto affrontare con sempre maggiore difficoltà erano i cristiani da una parte, eredi dell’impero romano, e i persiani dall’altra, poi accomunati sotto il nome di Allah, con l’esclusione degli ebrei che per secoli saranno una presenza sui generisin tutta la penisola arabica. Se la religione non poteva accomunare tutti i popoli di territori tanto vasti, doveva farlo la politica, in una difficile sintesi tra mondo iranico e arabo, tanto che la stessa capitale dell’impero si spostò con le sue dinastie più influenti: dalla Medina di Maometto alla Mecca dei Quraysh, l’Islam nacque come religione nomade e “imperialistica”, che voleva portare ordine tra le agguerrite tribù di Arabia e Medio Oriente. Se la Mecca rimase sempre la capitale spirituale, il centro politico si trovò presto a Baghdad, e da lì passò in Egitto prima e infine addirittura in Spagna. La distinzione tra potere politico e religioso si gioca insomma su un filo sottile e tagliente, dove il carisma personale va di pari passo con la fortuna degli eventi. È il caso di Gia’far, brillante capo della Baghdad dei primi anni del nono secolo fino alla sua caduta in disgrazia e decapitazione, che lo rese leggendario in una novella delle Mille e una Notte. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="IT" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">È un mondo antico quello che racconta Mella, ma che dimostra la sorprendente ampia superiorità culturale del primo mondo islamico sul tardo medioevo europeo alla luce di personalità straordinarie come Al Ghazzali o Avicenna. Medici, chimici, grammatici, cantori e ovviamente poeti resero le capitali della Mesopotamia e dell’Egitto il centro più avanzato del mondo conosciuto, fino all’incontro (per corrispondenza) simbolo dell’epoca, tra il califfo Harun ar-Rashid e il re cristiano Carlo Magno, erudito e raffinato il primo, prode soldato, ma analfabeta il secondo. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="IT" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Per gli italiani poi il libro assume un significato speciale anche per la presenza di un interessante – e inevitabile – excursus sulla Sicilia. Sarà infine Federico II, che proprio in Sicilia aveva imparato a rispettare l’Islam, a trovare, secoli dopo, uno speciale accordo sulla visita dei pellegrini cristiani a Gerusalemme, prima di una nuova ricaduta nelle ostilità tra Europa e Arabia. Particolarmente gustosi sono a questo riguardo i capitoli che riguardano le crociate, dalla prima, una vera e propria emigrazione in massa da parte dei più poveri e derelitti su indicazione della chiesa di Roma, fino alle crociate di nobili e notabili europei: Normanni, Franchi, Templari, fino a un altro incontro che avrebbe lasciato il segno, quello tra Saladino e Riccardo Cuor di Leone, che riuscì a vincere sul primo per poi accapigliarsi con Austriaci e Tedeschi. È un’altra però la nazionalità che desta più curiosità, quella dei Turchi, nemici dell’Islam prima in quanto Impero romano d’Oriente, e poi lentamente assimilati, ma non del tutto. Sono di origine turca persino gli Uighur, l’unica popolazione musulmana di Cina, e pur essendo periferici al califfato, i Turchi ebbero modo di prendere il controllo politico grazie alla loro fama come corpo militare. E se questo non bastasse a invogliare a leggere questo testo, provate a immaginare i primi discendenti di una casa reale europea, figli del visigoto Roderico di Spagna, deportati al cospetto del califfo di Baghdad, che non aveva mai visto prima d’ora degli uomini biondi. <o:p></o:p></span></div>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-87935705550837239792011-05-06T06:15:00.000-07:002011-05-06T06:19:33.304-07:00MUSSOLINI NEGLI OCCHI DEGLI SCRITTORI AMERICANI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4Xyzk9nYltL33wFTwEat10SvpQDTAXeOc3biu2wbNEmE2KcOco2WY9Vqysnpdd-kd31Ee38LKLOMaZ9IS-v53vqiGjBxnPAPTqDjL-FkzKONxIebejoCmrkwgTlsdYPhX1TBpIgJE537/s1600/240px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-2007-1022-506%252C_Italien%252C_deutsche_Frontka%25CC%2588mpfer_in_Rom_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL4Xyzk9nYltL33wFTwEat10SvpQDTAXeOc3biu2wbNEmE2KcOco2WY9Vqysnpdd-kd31Ee38LKLOMaZ9IS-v53vqiGjBxnPAPTqDjL-FkzKONxIebejoCmrkwgTlsdYPhX1TBpIgJE537/s1600/240px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-2007-1022-506%252C_Italien%252C_deutsche_Frontka%25CC%2588mpfer_in_Rom_crop.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
"Mussolini ha occhi neri e una guardia del corpo e tiene appesa al muro, alle sue spalle, una sua fotografia presa mentre legge un libro alla rovescia" (E. Hemingway, 1923)<br />
<br />
"Chi si lascia impressionare dalla pseudo-attività del paese sotto Mussolini, è tratto in inganno dall'ultimo sussulto di quello che è ormai un cadavere" (S. Fitzgerald)<br />
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"L'uomo che tiene le armi in pugno ha il mondo ai suoi piedi. Ecco perchè, sebbene io provi disprezzo per il suo programma, preferisco mille volte Mussolini a tutto l'impero britannico" (H. Miller, 1937)<br />
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"Il fascismo è una specie di Ku Klux Klan, ma più efficiente" (Sinclair Lewis, 1923)<br />
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citazioni tratte da pag. 323 e seguenti, John Diggins, "L'America Mussolini e il fascismo", Laterza 1982Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-45135769824445250452011-04-27T04:52:00.000-07:002011-04-27T04:52:48.586-07:00SKOPJE'S BUREK IS THE BEST<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/22412402?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/22412402">Burek</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2081438">Fran Atopos Conte</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-37939089363683821242011-03-26T11:02:00.000-07:002011-03-26T11:02:49.114-07:00NEXT WEEK IN SKOPJENEXT WEEK<br />
Skopje, Macedonia for Balkans Beyond Borders workshop<br />
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theme: CRISIS<br />
<br />
hypothesis: SKOPJE 2014 as example of how to fight the crisis?<br />
<br />
answer: CRISIS sometimes increases expenditure.. building constructions seems to be the favorite past time for local politicians anywhere, but are these ones doing any good?<br />
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Skopje knows no crisis, or we have just missed something?<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zA_CeLEd_5k" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe>Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-86665147601642397532011-03-24T03:36:00.001-07:002011-03-24T04:25:01.779-07:00FROMM, FUGA DALLA LIBERTA'Era ancora il 1941 quando Fromm pubblicò questo libro, negli Stati Uniti, dove si era rifugiato insieme a quel che rimaneva della Scuola di Francoforte. In “Fuga dalla libertà” (Edizioni Comunità 1980), Fromm mette a nudo la comprensione della crisi che aveva portato alla seconda Guerra Mondiale, focalizzandosi su un tema: la libertà come esperienza umana.<br />
Si parte con la comparazione di Hitler e Lutero, entrambi desiderosi di sottomissione e sensibili al richiamo dell’autorità. Sia per Lutero che per Hitler, sottolinea Fromm, la libertà non ha significato e la trascendenza divina è assoluta, rendendo l’uomo un minuscolo punto malvagio e impotente. La convinzione di una corruzione radicale dell’essere umano porta entrambi a ritenere la giustizia completamente estranea al mondo, indebolendo così la fiducia nell’uomo e nei suoi ideali. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnOHhYLRVE2NYGPMl0drJWTr9EVg1XlK12yC0J0FjDmCpS60Z7WfM-_2gryxqaNIYw3tZkD3MCFGKyUj9VVE70unTG57-2EPtXTwylLX3WVfy4IOxG2KV6MP00Pm0Y1s4_0h5Gkk3Fczc/s1600/fromm2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnOHhYLRVE2NYGPMl0drJWTr9EVg1XlK12yC0J0FjDmCpS60Z7WfM-_2gryxqaNIYw3tZkD3MCFGKyUj9VVE70unTG57-2EPtXTwylLX3WVfy4IOxG2KV6MP00Pm0Y1s4_0h5Gkk3Fczc/s400/fromm2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>da: http://socialismoryourmoneyback.blogspot.com/2009/12/erich-fromm-part-3.html<br />
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Ciò che accomuna inoltre Hitler e Lutero è il loro appellarsi a una massa che disprezzano, quella che Fromm chiama “classe media inferiore”, cresciuta come loro in un regime di autoritarismo a rischio di fronte ai grandi cambiamenti della società. Come era successo alla classe media post medievale di essere soppiantata dal nascente capitalismo, i piccoli borghesi di Weimar si ritrovavano spogliati della possibilità di sottomettersi all’autorità della monarchia, caduta con la fine della Grande Guerra, per finire invece in una repubblica dove l’elite era composta di ebrei, socialisti e simpatizzanti bolscevichi o anti-autoritari. <br />
Se nel medioevo però il piccolo bottegaio poteva contare sull’aiuto di tutta la sua categoria, anche se non su grande possibilità di introiti, con la nascita del capitalismo il commerciante si ritrovava più isolato dalla comunità, ma con più chance di arricchimento. Il successo dipendeva ormai solo da lui, come anche il suo fallimento non riguardava più la comunità, mostrando quindi i primi segni di irrilevanza del singolo.<br />
Fromm però non si limita a guardare alla Germania, la cui distruttività aveva assunto i tratti razzisti che Hitler aveva morbosamente mutuato da Darwin. Altro oggetto della ricerca di Fromm è infatti la vita nel mondo del capitale, gli Stati Uniti, dove masochismo e sadismo avevano accondisceso a non mostrarsi l’un altro, rendendo quindi uguali la brama di potere e il desiderio di sottomissione. Il conformismo del singolo in una società di massa capitalistica è per Fromm il tipico esempio di rimozione dell’io originario, in un procedere da automa che a forza di consumismo si ritrova sempre più isolato. Le auto, gli incontri di lavoro, persino radio e cinema portano l’individuo a non riconoscere più un’emozione vera da una indotta dall’educazione, dalla manipolazione della coscienza. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zdbcqWazNvc8bgJOD6_mZpExu5EMprMYYXfJOnkc9Wu6GdnLG-o7vzustAnh9yEhClJBR8NB6l2MrLzTjrQkkFRr90YbV6cm8M2Z5HtCOxDi4o-P2c0_w4t3HJFe7QsD_lNR1Td8GJ2G/s1600/i_love_you_picture_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zdbcqWazNvc8bgJOD6_mZpExu5EMprMYYXfJOnkc9Wu6GdnLG-o7vzustAnh9yEhClJBR8NB6l2MrLzTjrQkkFRr90YbV6cm8M2Z5HtCOxDi4o-P2c0_w4t3HJFe7QsD_lNR1Td8GJ2G/s320/i_love_you_picture_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">da: http://sms2palace.blogspot.com/2011/03/mans-main-task-in-life-is-to-give-birth.html</div><br />
In particolare Fromm analizza dei sogni per mostrare come l’erosione della libertà personale sia opera dello stesso individuo che voglia essere accettato dalla società di massa, esautorando così ogni possibile contributo dell’irrazionale nella produzione creativa di relazioni umane. In sostanza, per Fromm si diventa irrazionali non per un obiettivo, ma per fuggire, come nel caso di una persona che assediata da un incendio nel suo palazzo si butti dalla finestra.<br />
L’esempio dell’ipnosi inoltre dimostra come volere, pensare e sentire possano essere influenzati dall’esterno, così che la persona ormai in preda alle fiamme, senza speranza di uscire viva dalle scale, tenderà a buttarsi di sotto, mentre potrebbe aspettare l’aiuto di qualcuno, se solo fosse convinta che questo aiuto verrà. Per Fromm, il pensiero genuino va distinto dallo pseudo pensiero, che si limita soltanto a riportare le opinioni ricavate da una fonte di autorità. Lo stesso dicasi della volontà e del desiderio, sostituiti con dei simulacri come “razza” o “potere”, che portano l’individuo sadomaso ad amare il potente e a odiare l’inerme. Per questo, sottolinea acutamente Fromm, le politiche di appeasement portate avanti nei confronti del nazismo avevano acuito, anziché diminuire, il disprezzo di Hitler verso i cosiddetti stati liberali.<br />
Negli Usa come in Germania o in Italia, secondo Fromm gli individui non sentono la libertà come realizzazione attiva e spontanea dell’io individuale, bensì come simbiosi con qualcosa di esterno, la razza appunto, magari il lavoro, o la patria. L’io però, dice Fromm, è tanto più forte quanto più è attivo, dimostrando così che una società davvero creativa non ha bisogno di fuggire per essere libera. La libertà positiva è infatti la personalità totale che non rinuncia alla spontaneità, lasciando da parte invece lo pseudo desiderio che spinge a voler essere diversi a qualsiasi costo. Proprio questa condizione porta l’essere umano a essere disposto a qualsiasi ideologia, a qualsiasi capo purché prometta azioni ed emozioni forti, perché da solo non riuscirebbe. Di fronte a un io piccolo, la dittatura è grande – spiega Fromm – perché il fascismo indebolisce la vera individualità, la stessa che può procurare crescita e forza ai singoli, invece di spingerli verso una dicotomia tra sadismo e masochismo, odio e amore, amico e nemico, ragione e natura.Francesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6758398618663232165.post-33886004737276734022011-03-21T14:24:00.001-07:002011-03-21T14:24:11.987-07:00NAPOLITANO E LIBIANon possiamo aspettarci troppo da Napolitano, per lui l'Onu è tutto. Se si parla di legalità - di legittimità - allora possiamo essere d'accordo: questa è una guerra giusta.<br />
Al tempo stesso, da un punto di vista italiano, la nostra posizione non può che essere meschina.. d'altronde una parola che i libici conoscono bene. Dopo averli colonizzati, aver chiesto scusa a fior di miliardi e promesso un'autostrada, portiam le bombe invece..<br />
facciamo tristezza, nel bene e nel maleFrancesco Contehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08698238344033382005noreply@blogger.com0