I'll make it quick, dear readers.
"Berlusconi pledges end to garbage crisis" by Associated Press | October 23, 2010
ROME — Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi promised a swift solution to the latest garbage crisis in southern Italy, saying yesterday that the government will take over management of a local dump where angry residents and police have clashed for days, and pledging millions of euros in compensation.
Berlusconi held an emergency meeting in Rome after residents of a small town near Naples protested the stench and poor conditions of the local dump, as well as plans to open a new one in Vesuvio National Park....
Yeah, I thought I smelled something.
The Naples area has had garbage crises for years, the result of corruption, poor management, and infiltration by organized crime.
The government plans to open more dumps and build more incinerators as part of a long-term solution.
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FLASHBACK:
"Protesters injure 20 officers over plans for dump near Italian park" by Associated Press | October 22, 2010
ROME — Demonstrators set vehicles ablaze and hurled stones and firecrackers at police yesterday over plans to build a garbage dump at a national park, authorities said. Twenty officers were reported injured.
The clashes highlighted the latest garbage crisis around the Naples area in southern Italy. Two years ago, Premier Silvio Berlusconi intervened to resolve an emergency caused when collectors stopped picking up trash because dumps were full and residents protested new ones.
Berlusconi called an emergency meeting to be held in Rome, probably today, a statement from the premier’s office said. The meeting will gather the ministers of interior, environment, and economics and the head of the Civil Protection Department.
The protests have been going on for days, but they escalated as protesters clashed with police after officials confirmed a decision to open a dump in the Vesuvio National Park.
The Europeans really don't take any shit, do they?
AmeriKans, on the other hand, consume gobs of it thanks to the agenda-pushing corporate media.
Police were escorting more than 30 garbage trucks to a dump in the municipality of Terzigno.
To serve and pro.... tect?
The protesters blocked the garbage trucks from unloading at an existing site, and police charged and used tear gas to disperse them.
By sundown, 20 police officers had been injured, said Antonella Calvanese, a spokeswoman for the Naples police.
And protesters? F*** the fascist cops.
Some garbage trucks and two police cars were set on fire, she said.
I'm not for that stuff.
As the Beatles sang, "But when you talk about destruction, don't you know that you can count me out!"
Naples and surrounding areas have suffered garbage crises for years, the result of corruption, poor management, and infiltration by the local mob.
All governments are the same.
After a flare-up in late 2007 and 2008, the Berlusconi government reopened some dumps, started shipping garbage to Germany, and ordered the construction of dumps and incinerators.
Since when did Germany become a garbage dump?
Critics said the latest crisis shows Berlusconi had failed to find a long-term solution.
That's government all over.
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"Rome is warned on Naples trash
ROME — The European Commission warned Italy yesterday it may face sanctions if it doesn’t remove 2,400 tons of trash in Naples. For several days, protesters in Terzigno, near Naples, have torched vehicles, burned flags, and hurled stones at police to protest the stench at a local dump and plans for a new one in Vesuvio National Park (AP)."
Watch wear you step, Silvio!
"Berlusconi remark intensifies call to quit" by Associated Press | November 3, 2010
ROME — Premier Silvio Berlusconi dismissed calls yesterday to resign over his involvement with an underage Moroccan runaway — and created a new uproar by saying it was better to love beautiful girls than gays.
His comments sparked outrage from gay rights groups and fueled new calls for him to step down....
Oh ho-ho you really stepped in it now!
Even center-right commentators in Berlusconi’s family-owned newspapers have criticized him for intervening in a possible criminal case.
But Berlusconi again defended his lifestyle, telling a trade fair in Milan yesterday that it was “better to be passionate about a beautiful girl than a gay.’’
And it's okay to be a pedophile -- if you are in government.
The gay rights group Arcigay demanded an apology, saying Italy’s leader had caused offense to women and to gays....
You better, Silvio; you can't go up against the gay lobby and win.
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Isn't that what you are supposed to do with trash? Throw it away?
"Gladiator house falls in Pompeii
ROME — A 2,000-year-old house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which was once used by gladiators to train before combat, collapsed early yesterday, officials said. The site was closed at the time and nobody was injured, but the collapse underscored a controversy over the poor state of Pompeii, one of Italy’s main tourist attractions. The cause of the collapse was not determined, but water damage was suspected (AP)."
Time to get out of Italy.
"Italy to China with no maps — or drivers" by Associated Press | October 29, 2010
SHANGHAI — The vehicles ran at maximum speeds of 38 miles per hour and had to be recharged for eight hours after every two to three hours of driving.
F*** that! I don't have that much time!
A computerized artificial vision system dubbed GOLD, for Generic Obstacle and Lane Detector, analyzed the information from the sensors and automatically adjusted the vehicles’ speed and direction.
Though the vans were driverless and mapless, they did carry researchers as passengers in case of emergencies. The experimenters did have to intervene a few times — when the vehicles got snarled in a Moscow traffic jam, and when they had to pay tolls....
Across Eastern Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan, and the Gobi Desert — it certainly was a long way to go without getting lost.
Four driverless electric vans successfully ended an 8,000-mile test drive from Italy to China — a modern-day version of Marco Polo’s journey around the world — with their arrival at the Shanghai Expo yesterday.
The vehicles, equipped with four solar-powered laser scanners and seven video cameras that work together to detect and avoid obstacles, are part of an experiment aimed at improving road safety and advancing automotive technology.
The sensors on the vehicles enabled them to navigate through wide extremes in road, traffic, and weather conditions, while collecting data to be analyzed for further research, in a study sponsored by the European Research Council....
Does anyone feel this was a waste of money?
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