My deepest condolences to my country for one of the worst choices ever. The numbers are now officially inverted, not 21st but 12th century.

On Nature:

Italian jobs cause ruction

Research is important, the italian Government should be much more attentive and concerned about promising without delivering.

On the 2nd of August, 1980 a bomb exploded in the train station of Bologna at 10:25 am, killing 85 people and injuring two hundred more.

Today, on the 26th Anniversary of the massacre, the masterminds behind the bombing are still unknown.

1980: Bologna

Fourteen years ago, in 1992, Paolo Borsellino was killed by a car bomb.

In a Country where all kind of political prevarication goes unpunished but the World Football Cup gets thousands of people on the street there is a strong need to remember and regain some sort of dignity and understanding of what is important in life.

Update - 2006/02/19: Italian Quits Over Cartoons and
Italy cartoon row minister quits

On the Guardian: Nine killed in Libya over cartoon

The Italian minister that said is going to wear the T-shirt with the cartoons shouldn't be a minister at all. To work for a Country requires historic knowledge that that guy doesn't have, requires a degree of professionality that that guy never even knew existed. I'm Italian which unfortunately means it's also my fault for having people like that representing me, altough I did not vote them. Not that I think the rage sparked in February 2006 by some cartoons published in September 2005 (a decision that shows a serious lack of understanding and responsability from the newspaper editor, anyway) has anything to do with the cartoons really, it's just an excuse to manipulate opinion and create unrest used by people with the usual personal power agenda. I don't see any difference between the Italian minister and the manipulators, they are all the same, just trying to get whatever is it that they want through deception and violence. The same old scheme, repeated over and over all along human history...will we ever learn and change? The difference in the World is between people that have too much and people that have nothing. That's the same in the West, East, Middle-East and wherever else. Religion is a personal choice that should not prevent people from coexist peacefully and together create a better division of wealth and resources to assure dignity to everybody.

A survey about Italy on the Economist :

Addio, Dolce Vita

There is not much that I can say, just read the articles:

• Abducted imam aided CIA ally
• Italy seethes at US abduction of imam
• A Roman Mess
• Up to 200 Italian police “ran parallel anti-terror force”

Round four of the CIA - Italy match:

• Italy denies
• Italy knew this is what the Italian Government denies

The CIA in Italy saga goes on:

“ The abduction of Nasr, who court documents say was flown to Egypt and tortured there, threatens to rattle U.S.-Italian relations three months after U.S. troops shot dead an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq without facing disciplinary action.”

I don't care much for the relations between US and Italian governments, what leaves me wondering is the fact that it's considered normal and right to kidnap someone anywhere in the world for whatever reason and torture him/her in the name of...I'm not clear in the name of what.

“ The CIA has broad powers to abduct terrorism suspects overseas and transfer them to third countries under a classified directive signed by President Bush days after the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. officials have said.”

Terrorism suspects? Wasn't "Innocent until proven guilty" ? This is VERY dangerous stuff to let happen, these are idiots steering the boat and can only get it stranded. Is the “Might is Right” theory, spiced up by the “No moral comparison” belief..

On to nicer things, Database-driven tree structures with XML and XSLT is an article that I found interesting and has a few useful links.

From this article by Joe Clark came Roger Johanson and Douglas Bowman articles.

..no, it goes on.

Apparently is a matter of procedure, beat them first then ask or ask and then beat them?

This Parmalat stuff is another thing Italy is sadly famous for:

creative accounting..

“They” are apparently chasing each other around:

• Italy seeks “CIA kidnap agents”
• Italian Judge Orders Arrest of 13 CIA Operatives for Kidnapping
• Italian judge orders CIA team arrested over kidnap

“They” MUST be watching too many movies..and all of us simple citizens can only hope not to get caught in the professional secret web “they” weave all over. Maybe it's so secret that even “they” have difficulties to see it ?

Is all this idiocy ever gonna end ?

I'm Italian so I can express my opinion on national politics knowing what I'm talking about (if it's at all possible..):

• Castration

What I want to say is that all the italians that think that immigrants are criminals should think about when Italians where the immigrants (Germany, France, USA, South America, Australia) and the things that “we” were doing (and sometimes still do) at the time. Also, criminality in Italy is everywhere, it's always been and probably will always be, especially when the government is so corrupt. Those guys asking for castration are supposed to be the leaders of the country and I'm deeply ashamed by the lack of intelligence they display at every turn. A country that has such a long beautiful history should come up with better representatives, should have a deeper understanding of history and change, should inform his own people better on all important issues. Every time I go back to Italy it surprises me how little people know about the real motives behind most of the political choices made by “the world leaders”.

Ultimately, it's just sad how a nation of supposedly great culture can be lowly and hollow.