Verona

          
        Italian souvenirs by Mirino

In the 'old days' artists had a bound duty to defend their copyright more than might appear to be the case today- thanks to the generous miracle of Internet.

It was signalled to me on one of those 'old days' that someone in Verona was pirating my work in various forms of stationery. I was even given the address. So after writing several

"The spirit of Ronald Reagan is alive and well in America"

Washington-based foreign affairs analyst Nile Gardiner in his blog for the Daily Telegraph:Last November, liberal commentators wrote off conservatism in America as dead and buried. As the latest Gallup poll shows they were spectacularly wrong. It is no coincidence that the most watched news network, the top selling national newspaper, and the most listened to radio shows in the United States are

Not one of those evasive Christians..

They say that big surprises come in small packages, and that’s the plain truth. In this case the package is an article on Slate, written by a guy whose first name is Christopher, but you can bet that he would have preferred a different name—“Christopher,” as it is well known, is of Greek origin, and its meaning is “bearing Christ inside”—had he had the choice. Oh, sorry! I hate people who beat

He who lives by the sword..

You’ll remember in Matthew 26 when the man who drew his sword and cut off the ear of a servant of the high priest was told by Jesus, “Converte gladium tuum in locum suum. Omnes enim, qui acceperint gladium, gladio peribunt” (“Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword”). Hence the famous proverb “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword

Bolzano

          Italian souvenirs by Mirino

My very first visit to Italy was from the North, travelling down from Munich to Bolzano. It was during the winter many years ago and I was with a girl friend. It was to be my initiation to skiing. She, a Bavarian, had helped me to buy second hand skis. Long, dark red 'Atomic' ones. Too long, too heavy and too fast for a total beginner who thought skiing

Italian life under Fascism

The only place where I’d really appreciate coming across something called (or similar to) Fascism is.. in a history book held in the Rare Books & Special Collections section of a library. Well, this online exhibition—maintained by the Fry Collection, which is based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA—of books, posters and other printed material relating to Mussolini’s regime from 1922 to

Italian souvenirs

Rob made a recent suggestion that surprised me because I was musing about the exactly same thing. Recollections of visits to Italy, starting with an introduction, to kick off, of course.
The one that will begin this modest series, to be written in chronological order, could have taken place in any location where there was reasonable amount of snow and a good slope, but it was my first visit to

What permits a democracy to survive? The Italian case

There are many ways to look at the main political issues—such as for instance the freedom of the press, which is very timely, both here in Italy and in the U.S.—as much as there are many ways to look at the social, economic and cultural ones, but only a few of them are compatible with democracy. Apart from the obvious need, for a democracy, of the dialectic confrontation between two or more

Against the great march of mental destruction

In the last few weeks I happened to quote a couple of thoughts of G.K. Chesterton, who is perhaps one of the most unjustly neglected writers of the 20th century—although his “common sense for the world’s uncommon nonsense” seems “more timely than ever here in the 21st century,” as the American Chesterton Society fairly puts it. In fact, it would be hard to deny that he was a prophet of the

Swords will be drawn

“ Truths turn into dogmas the instant that they are disputed. Thus every man who utters a doubt defines a religion. And the scepticism of our time does not really destroy the beliefs, rather it creates them; gives them their limits and their plain and defiant shape.

We who are Liberals once held Liberalism lightly as a truism. Now it has been disputed, and we hold it fiercely as a faith. We who

The Health Care Battle - Free Choice or Submission to the State?

~ “LETTERS FROM AMERICA” - by The Metaphysical Peregrine ~Obama and Congress are making yet another push to force Americans onto Nationalized Health Care. This past week the Senate passed the Baucus bill. All Democrats and one Republican voted for it. The Republican, Olympia Snowe, is a RINO (Republican In Name Only) that votes most of the time with the Democrats. From that and the House bill,

Political Correctness Run Amuck in American Football

~ “LETTERS FROM AMERICA” - by The Metaphysical Peregrine ~

It’s frequently said that baseball is America’s pastime. That may have been true once, but the sport we truly have a passion for is football. One would like to be able to have a seat on weekends to watch, and during the week discuss the strategies and people of the teams, and get away from politics and political correctness. This week,

Rainbow alphabet doggerel (Y,Z)

Y is for Yesterday

'Another year gone,'
The old yak yawned
As he combed his shaggy hair

He was not as young
As he used to be,
But he still had his hairy flair

He still had his horns
And enough teeth left
To chew the yellow hay

And as long as a yak
Has his memories,
He's as young as yesterday.

____




____

Z is for Zebra,

The zany, zoophobic zebra
Played a zither with great zeal.
He wore

Tony Blair for president!

I haven’t ever been an euro-enthusiast, and this not because of any prejudice against the thing-in-itself, but rather because of the ways and means of bringing about European political integration. Yet, among doubts and uncertainties, there is one thing I am certain about: Tony Blair is the perfect candidate for the role of president of the European Council as set in the Lisbon Treaty (the EU

The new tyranny

Among its main contributors, L'Osservatore Romano, the newspaper of the Holy See, has a famous convert. He is the Spanish and former non-believer writer Juan Manuel de Prada, whose latest book collects the combative articles that he has been writing in recent years in defense of Catholicism and against the subtle and pervasive deception—the “progressive Matrix,” in Prada’s own words—which is at

But that was not Obama's fault

“Let’s face it: this prize is premature to the point of ridiculousness” (Joe Klein, Time Magazine). Well, perhaps there would be little or nothing to add to this synthetic definition of the Nobel Committee’s decision to award President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet, I feel like saying more, and this for the simple reason that it seems to me that it would be unfair to be too negative towards

Italy’s top court rejects Prime minister’s immunity

Some weeks ago, a State legal service memorandum stated that if the Constitutional Court would throw out the so-called Lodo Alfano, namely, the law passed a few weeks after Berlusconi took power last year to block legal action against the four highest offices of State, then “there would be damage to elective functions, which could not be exercised with due dedication, and resignation from office

Obama's paradox

It was Nathaniel Hawthorne who said that grand schemes have perverse effects: “We miss the good we sought, and do the good we little cared for.” And it is thanks to the current President of the United States, according to Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review, that the theory proves true. In fact, even though for Obama, proving that the US is a center-right country presumably isn’t a “good”

Power and Grace

“Power and Grace – The Patron Saints of Europe” (October 8 through January 10, 2010, at Rome’s Palazzo Venezia), as Italian Foreign minister Franco Frattini pointed out at the exhibition preview, offers an opportunity to “re-advance the theme of the Old Continent’s Christian roots,” which is made all the more topical by “the persistence of the Union’s crisis of identity.”Promoted by the Italian

Rainbow alphabet doggerel (W,X)

W is for Wish

"I grant you three wishes,"
The wizard declared,
"Think wisely and note
That a wish can't be shared."

"I wish for peace for all people,
Their happiness and good health,
Then three more wishes,
Just for myself."

___



X is for Xenophobe

Alex was an xenophobe
Who never went abroad.
He was born in Sutton Coal Field
And so was his wife Maud.

Alex had an xylophone
A Xmas gift from

No time for the Dalai Lama

Who remembers how, on the last January 17th, the Dalai Lama greeted the outgoing President of the U.S., George W Bush? He chose these words: “I love President George W Bush.” Leaving the audience stunned—he was delivering the Madhavrao Scindia Memorial Lecture in New Delhi—the Tibetan spiritual leader recalled how he and the then US President instantly struck a chord in their first meeting. Of

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

Just don’t forget what day this is: October 4, St. Francis of Assisi Feast Day..From Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972), by Franco Zeffirelli:

“How Would You Introduce Jesus?”

I watched this video today—thanks to my FaceBook friends Kim and Alan—and loved it. It’s absolutely amazing. This is Steve Harvey, a secular comedian, actor and entertainer, addressing a secular audience on the subject of “How Would You Introduce Jesus Christ to a Room Full of People?” As someone noted, “it’s hard to imagine that this is a comedian and not a preacher, and this is an audience