This week’s recommended blogs #2

• Memory (Whittier Strong)
• This is water (Cristian Mihai)
• People with no address: meeting the nomads of Gujarat (The Siracusas)
• In Bologna public schools win against the giants (Struggles in Italy)
• Sharecropping and the convict lease system: “The new slavery in the South” (Kaleido[scopes])

Coming up on Czerulf’s Thoughts

Italy – Comment: Local elections – all eyes on Rome

On Sunday and Monday local elections were held in Italy. It was the first big occasion to measure the political temperature since the general elections in February. In my view the two most significant developments in Rome’s voting (and maybe a sign for things to come also on the national level) were:

This week’s recommended blogs #1

• Death of Don Gallo: communist priest who fought for rights for all (Sruggles in Italy)
• Whatever it takes (Cristian Mihai)
• Guest Blog: Why Read Dickens? (Interesting Literature)
• New Italians, Old Racists: the current Italian debate on citizenship laws (Sruggles in Italy)
• In Spanien trinkt man Rotwein (Uhupardo)

Coming up on Czerulf’s Thoughts

Italia – Video: Don Gallo – Che tempo che fa

“Sono venuto per servire e non per essere servito.” (I have come to serve not for being served.)

A Genova è morto don Andrea Gallo (Genova, 18 luglio 1928 – Genova, 22 maggio 2013), aveva 84 anni.

Czerulf: Italy – Berlusconi, Imu and what comes next

Silvio Berlusconi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Flipping through the newspapers one could get the impression that things are going rather well in Italy. Relatively little space is attributed to the issues that mark the current crisis – a depressed economy, an unemployment rate that is rising month on month (specially among young people) and a political system that fails to address all these issues. One would expect that this mix of upsetting facts should dominate the headlines. Instead what keeps the nation moving like nothing else is the possible suspension (or abolition?) of IMU (Imposta Municipale Propria – a property tax) on family homes. Why is that?