Lazy Translate diary: Beppe Grillo on Italy

by Turambar
Fri Apr 11th, 2008 at 12:36:28 PM EST

Just read an interesting interview with Beppe Grillo on SpiegelOnline about the upcoming Italian elections. So, let's test the Tribext translate feature.


Wahlen in Italien: "Berlusconi ist eine wandelnde Leiche" - Kultur - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten elections in Italy, "Berlusconi is a walking corpse" - Culture - SPIEGEL ONLINE - messages
WAHLEN IN ITALIEN "Berlusconi ist eine wandelnde Leiche"ELECTIONS IN ITALY "Berlusconi is a walking corpse"
Schon zweimal hat er sie enttäuscht, trotzdem werden die Italiener wohl wieder für Silvio Berlusconi stimmen. Der Satiriker Beppe Grillo wettert im Interview gegen korrupte Greise im Parlament - und hofft auf die Jugend, den Leck-mich-am-Arsch-Tag und einen Einmarsch der Deutschen.Already he has disappointed them twice, but the Italians will probably vote for Silvio Berlusconi again. The satirist Beppe Grillo fulminates in an interview against corrupt old men in Parliament - and hopes for the youth, the lick-my-ass day and an invasion by the Germans.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Vor ein paar Wochen haben Sie in der "Zeit" die Deutschen dazu aufgerufen, Italien zu besetzen. Wann sollen wir denn kommen? SPIEGEL ONLINE: A few weeks ago you called for the Germans to occupy Italy in the "Zeit". When should we come?
Grillo: Ihr könnt sofort nach diesen Wahlen bei uns einmarschieren und für ein bisschen Ordnung sorgen - nach diesen illegalen und verfassungswidrigen Wahlen. Grillo: Immediately after these elections you can invade and make some order - after these illegal and unconstitutional elections.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Verfassungswidrig? SPIEGEL ONLINE: Unconstitutional?
Grillo: Aber sicher, man sagt, wir hätten hier ein Verhältniswahlrecht wie in Deutschland, aber in Wirklichkeit haben wir überhaupt keine Wahl. Wir können für keine Partei stimmen, denn die sind alle miteinander verschmolzen. Und wir haben auch keine Wahl zwischen unterschiedlichen Programmen, denn die sind sowieso alle identisch. Grillo: Sure. You say we had a proportional representation as in Germany, but in reality we have no choice. We can vote for no party, because they are all merged together. And we have no choice between different programs, which are all the same.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: In Ihrem Appell haben Sie die Deutschen auch dazu aufgerufen, Ihnen Ihre Politiker abzunehmen. Sie meinen es nicht gerade gut mit uns. SPIEGEL ONLINE: In your appeal, you have asked the Germans to take your politicians. You don't mean us well.
Grillo: Aber nicht doch. Ihr sollt sie ja nur entsorgen - so wie ihr das bisher mit unserem Müll aus Neapel macht. Natürlich müsst ihr gut aufpassen, denn unsere Politiker sind der reinste Giftmüll. Grillo: No, no. You shall only dispose of them - just like with our garbage from Naples. Of course you have to watch out, because our politicians are the purest toxic waste.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Korrupte Politiker sind aber keine italienische Eigenheit. SPIEGEL ONLINE: corrupt politicians don't exist only in Italy.
Grillo: Das stimmt. Vor zwei Wochen hatte ich einen Auftritt in Köln. Dort hat man mir vom Kölner Klüngel und den dortigen Korruptionsfällen erzählt. Ich habe mich fast wie daheim gefühlt. Aber es gibt einen Unterschied: Bei euch werden korrupte Politiker festgenommen, ihnen wird der Prozess gemacht. Da seid ihr uns 30 Jahre voraus. Bei uns schickt man die Korrupten ins Parlament. In unserem Parlament sitzen 100 Abgeordnete, die verurteilt wurden oder gegen die ermittelt wird. Und nach den Wahlen kommen voraussichtlich noch ein paar dazu. Grillo: That's true. Two weeks ago, I had a gig in Cologne. Someone told me of the "Cologne Klüngel" local corruption cases. I almost felt like at home. But there is one difference: you arrest corrupt politicians and bring them to court. You are 30 years ahead of us. We send the corrupt to parliament. In our Parliament there are 100 MPs who have been convicted or investigated. And after the elections there will probably be a few more.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Sie selbst haben nun die Konsequenz daraus gezogen und angekündigt, nicht zur Wahl zu gehen. Aber verzichten Sie damit nicht auf das fundamentalste Grundrecht in einer Demokratie? SPIEGEL ONLINE: you've drawn the consequence and announced not to vote. But do you not give away the most fundamental right in a democracy?
Grillo: Wir leben doch in einer Wahnvorstellung. Wir glauben noch immer, dass die Stimmabgabe ein Mittel ist, mit dem sich das Volk als Souverän ausdrückt. Aber Demokratie ist in Italien ein leeres Wort. Demokratie ist nur möglich, wenn die Leute informiert sind. Wir haben hier allenfalls Demokratie light. Grillo: But we live in a delusion. We still believe that the vote is a means by which the people expresses as the sovereign. But in Italy democracy is an empty word. Democracy is only possible when the people are informed. We have "democracy light".
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Aber wie wollen Sie etwas ändern, wenn Sie dann nicht als Wähler für ein neues Parlament sorgen? SPIEGEL ONLINE: But how do you change something if you will not vote for a new parliament?
Grillo: Das Parlament wird bei uns nicht vom Volk gewählt. Die Wähler gehen nur an die Urnen, um ihre Stimme Politikern zu geben, die die Parteien vorher ausgewählt haben. Sie können für keinen Kandidaten stimmen. Das ist eine Secondhand-Wahl. Und die Politiker, die uns die Politiker vorsetzen, sind alt und praktisch im Delirium. Wir haben eines der ältesten Parlamente in der Welt. Das sind alles 70- bis 90-Jährige. Unser Staatspräsident ist 84 Jahre alt. Diese Politiker schlafen, sie sehen die Welt aus der Greisenperspektive und haben Angst. Grillo: Parliament is not elected by the people. Voters only go to the polls to cast their votes for the politicians the parties previously selected. You can't vote for a candidate. This is a second-hand choice. And the politicians who put politicians forward are old and virtually in delirium. We have one of the oldest parliaments in the world. These are all 70- to 90-year-olds. Our State President is 84 years old. These politicians sleep, they see the world from the perspective of seniors and have fear.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Da ist Veltroni mit seinen 53 Jahren doch geradezu jugendlich. SPIEGEL ONLINE: In comparison, Veltroni (53) is almost youthful.
Grillo: Er tut so, als sei er jung. Aber in Wirklichkeit ist er auch ein alter Mann. Und Berlusconi ist eine wandelnde Leiche. Eigentlich wollen beide gar nicht regieren. Sie wissen, dass die Regierung maximal ein Jahr durchhält, vielleicht anderthalb. Denn unser Land ist bankrott. Wir haben 1630 Milliarden Euro Schulden, Zinsen in Höhe von mehr als 700 Milliarden Euro. Die Steuereinnahmen reichen noch nicht einmal, um die Zinsen zu bezahlen. Das Wirtschaftswachstum ist unter null. Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt wächst nicht. Grillo: He acts as if he's young. But in reality he's also an old man. Berlusconi is a walking corpse. Actually, both do not want to govern. They know that the government will last no more than one year, maybe half a year. Because our country is bankrupt. We have 1630 billion debt, interest in the amount of more than 700 billion euros. The tax revenue is not even enough to pay the interest. Economic growth is below zero. The gross domestic product is not growing.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Sie setzen Ihre Hoffnungen dagegen auf die Jugend? SPIEGEL ONLINE: you set your hopes on the youth?
Grillo: Ja, wir brauchen die 25-Jährigen, die 30-Jährigen. Wir brauchen neues Blut im Parlament; Politiker, die von Energiesparen sprechen anstatt von Kohlekraftwerken, die von Solarenergie sprechen statt von Atomkraft. Die Politik muss sich darum kümmern, wie es uns in 20 Jahren geht. Aber heute ist es ja schon eine Revolution, wenn man den gesunden Menschenverstand einsetzt. Grillo: Yes, we need the 25-year-olds, the 30-year-olds. We need new blood in Parliament, politicians who speak of energy saving instead of coal-fired power plants, solar power instead of nuclear power. The policy must be about how we'll be off in 20 years. But today it's already a revolution if you use common sense.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Der gesunde Menschenverstand müsste doch eigentlich sagen: Bloß nicht wieder Berlusconi! Die Italiener waren schon zweimal von einem Premier Berlusconi enttäuscht und haben ihn abgewählt. Aber so wie es jetzt aussieht, werden sie ihn wieder ins Amt heben. Wie kommt's? SPIEGEL ONLINE: Common sense should actually say: Do not bring back Berlusconi! The Italians were already disappointed twice by a Premier Berlusconi and have him voted out of office. But as it stands now, they will lift him back into office. How come?
Grillo: Das ist eine Form von Masochismus. Grillo: This is a form of masochism.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Setzt man in Italien denn tatsächlich Hoffnung in diesen Mann? SPIEGEL ONLINE: Are people in Italy actually setting hope on this man?
> Grillo: Die Italiener befinden sich doch schon längst im Koma. Wir sind immer auf der Suche nach dem kleineren Übel. Eigentlich sollten wir dem "kleineren Übel" ein Denkmal setzen. Ein riesiges Monument mitten in Rom. Grillo: The Italians are in a coma. We are always looking for the smaller evils. Actually, we should build a monument for the "smaller evil". A huge monument in the heart of Rome.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Und für Sie gibt es kein kleineres Übel? Berlusconi oder Veltroni - das ist doch ein Unterschied. SPIEGEL ONLINE: And for you, there is no lesser evil? Berlusconi or Veltroni - that is a difference.
Grillo: Wo ist da ein Unterschied? Das ist doch ein einziger Brei - Veltrusconi. Die beiden geben sich nicht viel. Keiner von den beiden will das Wahlgesetz ändern. Keiner will das Mediengesetz ändern. Beide setzen in Energiefragen auf Kohle und Atomkraft. Beide wollen große Häfen für die riesigen chinesischen Containerschiffe. Beide wollen die Brücke über die Meerenge von Messina. Es spielt überhaupt keine Rolle, wer von beiden das Rennen macht. Auch wenn es wieder Berlusconi ist, ist mir das egal. Ich gebe ihm ein Jahr. In Wirklichkeit ist er längst tot. Das ist wie bei Lenin. Schauen Sie sich das Gesicht genau an! Der sieht aus wie eine Leiche, die noch einmal für die Angehörigen zurechtgeschminkt wurde. In 20 Jahren werden wir uns an ihn erinnern als eine kleine Episode in der italienischen Politik ohne Bedeutung. Grillo: Where is there a difference? This is but a single porridge - Veltrusconi. The two are very similar. Neither of the two will change the electoral law. Nobody wants to change the media law. Both support coal and nuclear power. Both want major ports for the giant Chinese container ships. Both want the bridge over the Strait of Messina. It plays no role which of the two wins. Even if it is Berlusconi again, I do not care. I give him a year. In reality, he has been long dead. That's like Lenin. Look at the face! He looks like a corpse with make-up for the relatives. In 20 years we will remember him as a small episode in Italian politics without meaning.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Warum kandidieren Sie nicht selbst? Sie hätten Umfragen zufolge gute Chancen, gewählt zu werden. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Why don't you candidate? According to recent surveys, you'd have a good chance to be elected.
Grillo: Ich möchte nicht in diese Falle treten. Ich werde bestimmt keine Partei gründen. Die Parteien sind am Ende. Ich habe eine andere Auffassung davon, wie man Politik macht. Außerdem werde ich dieses Jahr 60 Jahre alt. Ich will, dass die 20- und 30-Jährigen Politik machen. Mit meinem Blog kann ich beobachten, beraten. Die Jungen müssen das Schicksal des Landes in die Hand nehmen. Nicht ich, ich mach' lieber den Clown. Grillo: I don't want to fall in that trap. I won't start a party, the parties are at the end. I have a different view of how to make policy. Moreover, I will be 60 years old this year. I want the 20- and 30-year-olds to make policy. With my blog, I can observe, advise. The youngsters have the fate of the country in their hands. Not I, I do prefer the role of a clown.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Und woher sollen die jungen Hoffnungsträger kommen? SPIEGEL ONLINE: And where should the young and promising come from?
Grillo: Über meinen Blog haben sich viele Menschen gefunden, die etwas ändern wollen und können. Wir beteiligen uns jetzt mit Listen an den Kommunalwahlen. Da sind nur Kandidaten im Alter von 20 bis 40 Jahren dabei. Das sind lauter unbescholtene Kandidaten. Es gibt sie nämlich noch in Italien, unbescholtene Menschen. Grillo: On my blog, many people who want to change something have found each other. We participate with lists at the municipal elections. There are only candidates at the age of 20 to 40 years. The candidates are all legitimate. There are there in Italy, legitimate people.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Und wieso kandidieren sie nur auf kommunaler Ebene? SPIEGEL ONLINE: And why they only at the municipal level?
Grillo: Weil hier die schmutzige Politik der Parteien entsteht. Der Plan ist, dass Personen, die in keiner Partei sind, Plätze in den kommunalen Parlamenten übernehmen. Sie werden dann vor allem dafür sorgen, dass es Transparenz gibt. Über das Internet und auf den Marktplätzen werden die Menschen wirklich erfahren, was in den Gremien beschlossen wird, wo die Gelder hingehen. Diese Art der Basisdemokratie wird dann von den Kommunen auf die Regionen und von dort auf die nationale Ebene überspringen. Grillo: Because this is where the dirty party politics begins. The plan is to get people who are not in any party seats in the municipal parliaments. They will mainly ensure that there is transparency. With the Internet and at the market places, the people will really know what is decided, where the funds go. This kind of grassroots democracy will then spill over to the regions and from there to the national level.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Im September haben Sie mit großem Erfolg ein V-Day, einen Vaffanculo-Day (Leck-mich-am-Arsch-Tag) organisiert und dabei Unterschriften gegen verurteilte Politiker im Parlament gesammelt. Am 25. April soll es nun einen neuen V-Day geben. Worum geht es? SPIEGEL ONLINE: In September, you have had great success with a V-Day, a Vaffanculo-Day (lick-my-butt Day) where you collected signatures against convicted politicians in Parliament collected. On 25 April, there will be a new V-Day. What is it?
Grillo: Wir wollen drei Referenden auf den Weg bringen, mit denen wir die Subventionierung der Verlage abschaffen, den von Mussolini eingeführten Journalisten-Orden, in dem man Mitglied sein muss, um als Journalist arbeiten zu dürfen, und das Gesetz über die Verteilung der Fernsehfrequenzen, das es zulässt, dass ein einziger Mann drei Fernsehkanäle und 20 Zeitungen kontrolliert. Diese drei Referenden werden Italien verändern. Grillo: We want three referendums on the way, with which we want to abolish the subsidising of the publishers, the Order of Journalists Mussolini founded, where one has to be a member to work as a journalist, and the law on the distribution of television slots, which allows a single man to control three television channels and 20 newspapers. These three referendums will change Italy.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Sie haben also Ihren Kampfgeist nicht verloren. SPIEGEL ONLINE: you have not lost your fighting spirit.
Grillo: Nein, ich bin zuversichtlich. Wir werden nicht mit Gewehren kämpfen, sondern mit Anwälten. Statt der Molotow-Cocktails haben wir die Referenden. Wir werfen keine Steine und zerstören keine Autos. Aber die Politiker kriegen trotzdem eins auf den Sack. Grillo: No, I am confident. We will not fight with guns but with lawyers. Instead of Molotov cocktails, we have the referendums. We do not throw stones and destroy any cars. But the politicians still get a kick in the sack.
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Well, I had to change a few things. But that's Google's fault, of course, the feature itself is wonderful.

Berlusconi led by six points in the latest polls. Hard to stomach.

"If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles." Sun Tzu

by Turambar (sersguenda at hotmail com) on Fri Apr 11th, 2008 at 12:44:13 PM EST
The spread was just under four, not six, and polls have not been published since last week. The electoral market is less and appears more trustworthy.

Whatever lead Berlusconi may have had, he has done everything to ruin it these past days. His attack on Totti last night will cost him crucial votes in Lazio, which is one of the four key regions that will decide the elections. Paradoxically, we on the left have to cheer on the extreme fascists in Lazio to drain votes off Berlusconi. That's what you get with this electoral law.

Other than that, Beppe is great in getting a message across on the rot in Italy but as far as I'm concerned his opinion on Veltroni is dead wrong. Does he want five to twelve more years of Berlusconi, his favorite kicking bag? This is a vote to send a clique of mobsters packing. Beppe's gripes aren't my priority at the moment- nor have they ever been.

by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Fri Apr 11th, 2008 at 05:05:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Of course, I hope for a Veltroni victory as well. Seems like not all is lost yet. Can we expect an election diary?

"If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles." Sun Tzu
by Turambar (sersguenda at hotmail com) on Sat Apr 12th, 2008 at 02:31:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Poll booths close at 3 PM on Monday the 14th. Useless exit polls will be then published. Results will start coming in within six hours.

So Monday would be a good day to put up an Italian election open thread.

by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Sat Apr 12th, 2008 at 07:05:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
nice job, turanbar.

i agree with degondi on veltroni, he may be far from perfect, but he wouldn't have to walk on water to be lightyears better than the alternative.

burly should quit with the monkey gland extract and fade the f. away, preferably behind bars. the political late night show Matrix had to cue the final music and titles early because the psychodwarf would not stop his vicious yapping.

i am sad to see that veltroni's policies so closely resemble burlesquoni's, if what beppe says is true, (de gondi?).

but i have to agree with grillo that senility is definitely a problem, (not that youth immunises from corruption), and that the electoral system is a mess.

i am hoping the polls are wrong, and that italians recognise that when it comes to lesser evils, veltroni is not worse than b. and vote him in. otherwise beppe's right that a large part of italians are either maso, or just look up to b. as the baddest hustler on the block and think that even if he's evil, he can't be stupid and that rich.

only problem is that he is!

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sat Apr 12th, 2008 at 01:42:55 AM EST
melo:
i am sad to see that veltroni's policies so closely resemble burlesquoni's, if what beppe says is true, (de gondi?).
Neo-liberalism has attained the status of conventinal wisdom so to expect a big-tent candidate to challenge that is too much.

It's not so much in policy as in style that the left and the right differ. Berlusconi represents cronyinsm and the Mafia state. Veltroni and Prodi before him can be expected to govern technocratically, which is a definite improvement but not exactly "left".

When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Apr 12th, 2008 at 03:11:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
The essential difference between Berlusconi's platform and Veltroni's program is that Berlusconi's has never gone through on an electoral promise nor assumed the consequences of his failure to do so. Berlusconi now accuses Casini for having prevented him to impliment his 2001 contract, a banal admission of irresponsability and incompetence.

I'll repeat once again that throughout his life Berlusconi has had only one program: to enrich himself and his friends by any means possible.

Veltroni's program is not identical to Berlusconi's. What's wrong in Italy is so obvious and elementary that it is perfectly normal that any program to address issues would resemble another, especially in a globalized Europe. Does Grillo have a novel solution for the deficit? Or the lowest wages in core Europe? I'm afraid Grillo is demagogic on this. At least Veltroni would do his best to follow through on his promises.

by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Sat Apr 12th, 2008 at 07:01:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
that's beppe's paradox, and probably why he doesn't want to be a politician.

he is catalytic though, because people are using him as mouthpiece and springboard, he's hot, and some of his ideas are surfacing in veltroni's speeches, tho' i somehow doubt he'll give him credit.

veltroni lacks flash, just as prodi did, and to appearance-obsessed italians, berlu looks more 'splendido' (barf!).

i wish prodi could have stayed, he was doing real good stuff, but the media found him dull, and beppe rudely named him 'valium'.

the italian mind is often flighty, excitable and inconsistent, italy really needs serious solutions to very difficult, intransigent problems, starting with energy. from where i stand dull is a very positive virtue for politicians, give me plodders, as long as it's in the right direction!

veltroni brought up the scandalously incestuous media panorama here, and also brought up the baroque system of laws, committing to pare down the absurd number to something more like france or germany, between 6-9000, instead of the 120,000 he quoted!

he made many other good points, but what really got to me was when he'd mention berlusconi there was a rolling roar that started growling in the crowd, they really wanted to vent their fury, but he shushed them and told them not to go there, on several occasions.

there was something else i found myself nodding affirmatively to, namely his lack of demagoguery. watching bertinotti foaming and fist waving like something out of the thirties, in front of his rainbow flag, it felt sad and hollow, whereas walter didn't really play the crowd cleverly, there were times when he could have let them applaud him, but he talked through it, never basking or working that groove.

at first i thought it undermined his talent for glomming onto big issues and addressing how to change them, then i gradually came to admire the artlessness of it, he spoke mostly without notes, and his language was sensible, lacking polemic, but making up with common sense what it lacked in fire and spin.

the nationalism was wearisome, the usual symbols were trotted out, but it seemed a bit by rote, and not especially pavlovian in effect, tho' that was undoubtedly the intent.

old paradigm...when he mentioned energy, it was way too brief, and while nodding towards green, glossed right over how unless that is sorted, we can kiss most of the rest bye bye. there was also depressingly little crowd reaction to that brief segment.

gah.... that's where a bit of righteous demagoguery would have me doing a happy dance around the tv!

75% of italy's energy comes from abroad! in a such a heavily indebted country the capital flight daily is another alitalia, writ even larger.

it's a frickin' hemorrhage!

and the sun shone on and on and on....

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sat Apr 12th, 2008 at 09:26:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
What Grillo has down is to take little known issues that had been around for years and - as you point out- bring them to the forefront, popularize them.

One key issue has been the presence of criminals in parliament and government, people condemned or on trial for crimes, at times extremely grave such as association with the mafia, extortion, bribery.

This battle has been going on for over two decades but was seen as a fringe issue until Grillo ranted about it over and over again.

Finally, this year the Democratic Party and it's allies did their best not to present candidates that were condemned or on trial. It had become a public issue. Finally!

On the contrary Berlusconi and Casini flaunted this issue to the point of seeing Casini declare, "We're not going to let judges decide candidates!" As if judges dish out browny points. It's a matter of a candidate's integrity and people like Cuffaro, Dell'Utri, Mastella or Ciarrapico are unpresentable. The present electoral law allows parties to put any damned criminal they want in parliament without popular mandate thus assuring immunity and impunity.

by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 at 04:30:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]
well summarised, de G.

the other issue he's wailing on is the matter of a paid-by-the-state press, and media conglomeration here in general. (also referred to in walter's last speech.)
wimax italia!

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 at 04:51:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]
European Tribune - Lazy Translate diary: Beppe Grillo on Italy
Vaffanculo-Day (Leck-mich-am-Arsch-Tag)
I think Der Spiegel sanitised that a bit. It's more like "go fuck yourself day".

When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Apr 12th, 2008 at 03:16:25 AM EST
Ah. I wondered about that.

"If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles." Sun Tzu
by Turambar (sersguenda at hotmail com) on Sat Apr 12th, 2008 at 02:28:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
It is even worse, or better, depending on your perspective.

From wiktionary:

Contraction of "va a fare in culo"; literally: "go away and have a sexual intercourse into the anus".

by gioele (gioele(daught)sandler(aaaattttt)gmail(daught)kom) on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 at 05:36:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Our esteemed SCOTUS member, Antonin Scalia, is quite familiar with the phrase....

He used the gesticular version when asked a question he didn't like by a reporter -- in a Catholic church no less! What would his mama say!?

From a Boston Herald article in 2006:


by gioele (gioele(daught)sandler(aaaattttt)gmail(daught)kom) on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 at 05:45:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Well, yes, "go get sodomised", but that's not English.

When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 at 05:46:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Actually, I'd think that "go bugger yourself" might fit.

- Jake

Your representatives may not listen to you. But they do read your e-mail.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 at 05:49:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Beppe: just alter names and specific local issues and this could be about politicians in the USA, the UK and almost anywhere else on the planet. You are SO right, but we are all comatose when it comes to changing things, anywhere, in a positive way. As I see it, there are three factors which impede constructive, intelligent, realistic and non-violent change from the bottom up:

  1. DISTRACTION - we are bombarded from all sides with  gimmicks, technology, entertainment, advertising, sound-bytes, chatter and twitter, all of which serve as a drug to keep our brains either irrelevantly busy or anaesthesized, incapable of concentrating on questions that really matter and that we might, if sufficiently moved, be able to find imaginative answers to.

  2. POWERLESSNESS - a feeling that anything we might do as individuals is useless because all power is in the hands of Giant Entities - corporations, governments, institutions, media, authorities of all kinds - in the face of which we become impotent. Past experience (such as the failure of mass demonstrations to stop the Iraq war) also make us feel disillusioned and cynical about the ability of people power to bring about significant positive changes.

  3. TALK TALK TALK - When we do get together at well-meaning conferences, committees and assemblies to discuss what can be/should be done to Make Things Better (whatever the problem) we spend most of the time talking, presenting papers, networking, taking notes, arguing.  While all these words spoken and written may have their usefulness, the procedure merely imitates the approach of those giant Entities our Small And Beautiful outlook wants to change.

So, taking the above three impediments in consideration, it seems to me that any constructive change has to begin from within - ie from ourselves. The human mind can be a dangerous weapon (enough of those around, we don't want anymore), a passive machine permanently set on 'brainwash' cycle, or a miraculous inventor of appropriate and imaginative solutions to apparently insoluble problems. This miraculous faculty is what needs encouraging, stimulating, nurturing, rewarding, inspiring. Thanks Beppe.  

Blaugustine
by Augustinatalie (endapressNOTblueyonderNOTcoNOTuk) on Sat Apr 12th, 2008 at 11:09:53 AM EST
great comment, welcome natalie!

nice to have you on board, i hope to see some of your great graphics gracing our pages too.

i hear you about the talktalktalk, sometimes it seems like pissing in the wind.

however it it's so great, after battling mammon, to log on and get your news'n'snark rations so promptly served, in such a handy onestop location.

some of the discussions here revolve around my brain while i'm at work, or goofing around, and then when i tune back in, i find the rest of the crew have been puzzling away too and it's like a story unfolding. the benefits of groupmind without the downside of groupthink...

an ET narrative!

There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sat Apr 12th, 2008 at 09:34:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
By the way, I read the other day that Time elected Grillo's blog as one of the top 25 in the world. (Don't know if it's true.)
by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 at 04:34:23 AM EST
 (Don't know if it's true.)

heh

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/0,28757,1725323,00.html

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1725323_1725329_1725342,00.html


There are no blank spots on the map any more, anywhere on earth. You want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. Jon Krakauer

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun Apr 13th, 2008 at 04:58:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]


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