Historic sites that attract a lot of tourists know that if they loose their historical look that the tourists will stop coming, so how do you locally produce renewable energy while not looking modern? This question has been answered by the stewards of Pompeii with a simple solar solution. A
Continue readingTag: Italy
Things Are Good: Roasting Coffee by the Rays of the Sun
In Italy your next cup of coffee may come from a solar roaster instead of an unsustainable source. Climate change is threatening the ability of coffee plants to survive, as a result the entire industry may not exist by the end of the century. This has got smaller players in
Continue readingThings Are Good: In Italy, Art is Used to Block Illegal Fishing
It’s well known that industrial fishing is bad for the environment and bad for the fishers involved in it. A local fisherman, Paolo Fanciulli, had enough of the industrial fishing in their area and decided to fight it using art. Fanciulli creates large marble art pieces on land then drops
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Somehow South Tyrolean autonomy doesn’t sound like the best way to sell the Alberta Fair Deal Panel’s dumb ideas
Sure sounds like Jason Kenney has a problem. He’s promised to release his Fair Deal Panel’s report next Monday, but it’s not at all clear Albertans are going to like what they hear. In politics, like the dairy cooler, things come with a best-before date. And the Fair Deal Panel’s
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: MASS QUARANTINE, POLICE STATE MEASURES, PROVEN UNJUSTIFIED
A report from the Italian government confirms what should have been obvious weeks ago: the virus danger is vastly exagrated, mass quarantine is utterly unjustified, and the draconian responses are infinitely more dangerous than the virus itself. Bloomberg picked up the story on the Italian government report. GreenMedInfo reports on
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The coronavirus pandemic: Not good news for anyone, but probably worse news for the West than China
The novel coronavirus hit China first. Today was the first day China reported no new local infections since the global pandemic officially began in Hubei province in the fall of 2019. No new local infections means that while there were 34 cases reported in China in the previous 24 hours,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: It’s almost as if the new coronavirus has evolved to exploit the vulnerabilities of the modern neoliberal state
“The risk to Albertans is still low,” the Government of Alberta’s official website soothingly assured us yesterday afternoon, the day the World Health Organization officially declared the effects of the coronavirus swiftly coursing ’round the globe to be a pandemic. This may reassure some of us. Others, not so much.
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Lockdown: Fascism 1, Sanity 0
China and Italy, both with authoritarian governments, are the first to put their countries under lockdown. The Davos oligarchs think that’s wonderful, of course. Divide & conquer, sow fear & reap control. There are many roads to fascism. This is one. The response is far more dangerous than the crisis
Continue readingcmkl: Road biking in Umbria
A world full of beautiful back roads wending their way through valleys, fields, medieval hilltop towns, up mountains. Umbria is a great place to ride. It’s known mostly for food and festivals. Where I was, the countryside is dotted with agri-turismo places — basically farms where you stay the night,
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The irony of Italy’s immigration policy
Italy has a baby problem. Apparently Italians aren’t making enough of them. The country’s birth rate is the lowest it’s been since Italy itself was born in 1861. With deaths now greatly exceeding births, the population is shrinking. “We are in a terrible state,” says Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini,
Continue readingPostArctica: Ruth Orkin, An American Girl in Italy, 1951
Iconic photograph often thought to portray the negative experience of women as they walk city streets. Yet the woman photographed, Ninalee Craig, has since said, “At no time was I unhappy or harassed in Europe” and that “[the photograph is] not a symbol of harassment. It’s a symbol of a
Continue readingThings Are Good: International Leaders of Geothermal Energy Agree to Work Together
Geothermal energy is very simple in principal: drill a hole into the hot earth and use the naturally occurring heat to get turbines spinning. In practice it can be very hard. To bridge the practical difficulties getting geothermal around the world running leaders behind the technology are gathered in Florence
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Referendums and Social Movements in Italy and Europe | The Bullet No. 1340
Matteo Renzi’s recent attempt to constitutionally embed neoliberalism and simultaneously legitimize and secure his tenure as Prime Minister via a refe Source: Referendums and Social Movements in Italy and Europe | The Bullet No. 1340 Filed under: Europe Tagged: Europe, Italy, Referendums, Social Movements
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Democracy Against Neoliberalism | Jacobin
Matteo Renzi’s constitutional reform was politically illegitimate in method and antidemocratic in content. We should celebrate its rejection. Source: Democracy Against Neoliberalism | Jacobin Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Italy
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: The Italy to Come | Jacobin
If Italian voters reject Sunday’s constitutional referendum, the country could see a left revival in the name of popular democracy. Source: The Italy to Come | Jacobin Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Italy
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: First Brexit then Trump. Is Italy next for the west’s populist wave? | World news | The Guardian
Italians will soon vote in a referendum on constitutional reforms which could have dramatic results for all of Europe Source: First Brexit then Trump. Is Italy next for the west’s populist wave? | World news | The Guardian Filed under: Eurozone crisis Tagged: Five Star Movement, Italy, Populism
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Italy’s Looming Referendum Risk Splits Southern Europe’s Bond Markets – MoneyBeat – WSJ
Italian 10-year yields are now nearly half a percentage point above their Spanish cousins, the highest in five years. Source: Italy’s Looming Referendum Risk Splits Southern Europe’s Bond Markets – MoneyBeat – WSJ Filed under: Eurozone crisis Tagged: Italy, Referendum, Renzi
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Greece eyes alliance of southern EU states – POLITICO
September conference planned with France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta.
Source: Greece eyes alliance of southern EU states – POLITICOFiled under: Eurozone crisis Tagged: France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Southern Europe, Spain
Alberta Politics: News Satire: U.S. will not tolerate foreigners acting like Americans, officials say
ILLUSTRATIONS: A map showing some of the countries in which the United States has interfered in the political process (grabbed from Geology.com). Below: U.S. CIA Director John O. Brennan, Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candid…
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: A €45bn headache for Italy
Italian banks stricken by massive amounts of bad loans and falling shares are becoming a financial and political problem for PM Matteo Renzi and for the EU.
Source: A €45bn headache for ItalyFiled under: Eurozone crisis Tagged: Banking, finance capit…