Reps on the move

[Here's my friend PM new post. He is quite enjoying this! MV]
 

20.10.2012, Berlin,Bundestag SPD Veranstaltung Europäisches IndustrieforumRepublicans in the House of Representatives finally did something besides voting (for the 36th time) to overturn Obamacare.  Today they voted to end federal subsidies of student loans. The current rate is 3.4 percent. If it becomes law (fat chance) this latest Republican move in support of “the free market” would cap some loans at … 10.5 percent.

Glad to see the Repubs are standing like rocks behind their principle: the “free market.” That would be banks, would it not? Banks of course are never known to manipulate lending costs … at least, not since the last time they got caught playing with the Libor rates. You don’t think House Republicans have placed those bankers’ interests ahead of the students, do you? Continua a leggere→

Republicans. And Oklahoma

[My dear friend Peter Mark, Wesleyan University Professor, has just sent the following remarks to The New York Times, minus the passage on the Oklahoma representatives. I am honored to post them in this little space of mine. My heart is out to the many great people I have met in my short time in Norman, after the devastating tornado. MV]
20.10.2012, Berlin,Bundestag SPD Veranstaltung Europäisches IndustrieforumNate Silver, the reliable Democratic statistician, writes today that in spite ofsupposed “scandals,” Obama’s approval rating remains relatively high (49%-51%). Historical perspective may add another insight: the last Democratic President to be reelected also faced a “scandal” during his second term; Bill Clinton’s poll numbers also remained high, even during the Republican-generated impeachment hearings. In both instances, CongressionalRepublicans sought to thwart a 2nd-term Democrat from pushing through his legislative agenda by putting him (Clinton then; Obama now) on the defensive. Continua a leggere→

Point Lenana: casual offshoots

215px-TheFirstGrader2010Poster

  • Le torture inflitte ai Mau Mau negli screening camps della Pipeline raccontate in Point Lenana mi hanno fatto pensare al film “The first grader,” visto poche settimane prima della lettura del masterpiece quadrumane. La sinossi del film:  ‘In a small, remote mountain top primary school in the Kenyan bush, hundreds of children are jostling for a chance for the free education newly promised by the Kenyan government. One new applicant causes astonishment when he knocks on the door of the school.  He is Maruge (Oliver Litondo), an old Mau Mau veteran in his eighties, who is desperate to learn to read at this late stage of his life.  He fought for the liberation of his country and now feels he must have the chance of an education so long denied – even if it means sitting in a classroom alongside six-year-olds. Moved by his passionate plea, head teacher Jane Obinchu (Naomie Harris), supports his struggle to gain admission and together they face fierce opposition from parents and officials who don’t want to waste a precious school place on such an old man. Full of vitality and humour, the film explores the remarkable relationships Maruge builds with his classmates some eighty years his junior. Through Maruge’s journey, we are taken back to the shocking untold story of British colonial rule 50 years earlier where Maruge fought for the freedom of his country, eventually ending up in the extreme and harsh conditions of the British detention camps. Directed by Justin Chadwick (THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL/BLEAK HOUSE) from a script by Emmy-winner Ann Peacock (THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, NIGHTS IN RODANTHE, KIT KITTRIDGE), THE FIRST GRADER is a heart warming and inspiring true story of one man’s fight for what he believes is his right in order to overcome the burdens of his past. It is a triumphant testimony to the transforming force of education.The filming process itself was quite extraordinary, as the children in the film – who are in many ways the stars – had never even seen a film or television set before let alone been involved in the filming process. Their involvement in the shoot was a totally novel experience for them and their enthusiasm and energy is captured beautifully on screen.’ [Fonte: http://www.thefirstgrader-themovie.com/synopsis/] Continua a leggere→

Point Lenana

E Comici                                                                  Sì, raggiungerò il Monte Kenya. Entrerò nella foresta e cercherò i Mau Mau,  
per combattere insieme a loro.

     Point Lenana, p. 82

 

Non mi paghi signora, ‘No gavemo fato niente, non prendo soldi per così poco’ (PL, 269). Emilio Comici, alpinista, rocciatore, idolatrato dagli amici e dagli appassionati di montagna, non se la sente di farsi pagare per quelle che per lui sono delle semplici passeggiate in montagna, prive di difficoltà per chi è abituato ad aprire nuove vie in parete senza soluzione di continuità. Trasferitosi dal Friuli alla Badia, Emilio Comici fa ‘ombra’ alle guide di Cortina e di Misurina, e vive quasi di stenti, anche per ‘colpa sua’:
Continua a leggere→

Quelli che

imagesQuelli che “da vent’anni le ideologie sono morte!” e sono convinti di essere diventati dei pensatori, oh yes!

Quelli che Bersani va cacciato perché ha spaccato il partito, oh yes!

Quelli che spaccano i partiti perché c’hanno i figli da mantenere, oh yes!

Quelli che la Mussolini sa chi veste il diavolo, oh yes!

Quelli che votano scheda bianca per non sporcare, oh yes! Continua a leggere→

R.I.P. PD

19 aprile 2013It’s not a silly little moment,
It’s not the storm before the calm.
This is the deep and dying breath of
This love that we’ve been working on.

Can’t seem to hold you like I want to
So I can feel you in my arms.
Nobody’s gonna come and save you,
We pulled too many false alarms.

We’re going down,
And you can see it too.
We’re going down,
And you know that we’re doomed.
My dear,
We’re slow dancing in a burning room.