Our third day in Rome was a tour de force of quintessential Roman sites and Roman food. To put it simply in Roman terms, everything was perfecto from the start to the end when we made it back to our hotel at 11pm.
Category: International
The concepts of traffic lanes and right of way remain as incomprehensible in Italy as the Atkins diet. As this picture taken yesterday attests, Italians continue to treat signs as entirely discretionary matters when it comes to driving or parking. In this picture, a street was virtually shutdown due to traffic when the driver in the silver car (an impeccably dressed businessman) simply parked in the middle of street and walked away. That’s it. Close enough for Rome, arrivederci! He just walked away and never looked back.
We have just returned from our second day in Rome with our heading spinning with sights both macabre and magnificent. The day brought us to catacombs of the Capuchin order and cardinals offering mass in St. Peters. Those sights were supplemented by exquisite gelato and intoxicating Vin Santo. We are stuffed and satiated in our lovely hotel room at the Villa Pinciana on a cool and crisp Roman evening.
We are in our second day in Rome and having a ball. After a morning of church and crypt visits, we are about to join an arranged tour of the Vatican. However, one unnerving sign outside of the hotel stood out.
Continue reading “Roman Question Of The Day: What Does This Street Sign Warn Could Happen To You?”
One of the chief objections to nuclear power is the catastrophic implications of nuclear accidents or leaks. No better examples of that danger can be found in the aftermath of the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters. Reports out this week show precisely how lasting such damage can be.
We have been discussing the trillions of dollars spent on Iraq and Afghanistan while we cut environmental, scientific, and educational programs on the state and federal levels. Now, we are only a couple of weeks into the newest war against Islamic State but we have already spent an estimated $1.1 billion. Of course, President Obama has stated that he does not require any congressional approval for the war, which has been described by his Administration as having an indefinite duration. In the meantime, our latest war has been a bonanza for weapons manufacturers, including a $251 million deal to buy more Tomahawks from Raytheon Co after we unloaded on the Islamic State.
Continue reading “Campaign Against Islamic State Now Tops $1 Billion”
We arrived this morning (October 8th) on an all-night flight at 9:00 am in Rome. Unfortunately despite two glasses of wine and an Advil PM, my record of never sleeping on planes remained unchanged. However, Leslie and I resolved to stay the course and not take a nap after checking into our hotel, Villa Pinciana. We set out immediately in what proved a great day of walking all over Rome. I have included some of the pictures from my iPhone from today.
I am happily ensconced this morning at that beautiful Villa Pinciana not far from the Roman steps in Roma, Italy. Besides the beauty of this location and this hotel, one other thing is likely to stand out for American travelers not just at this but virtually all hotels in this country: free wifi. As many of you know, I have long complained about the practice of high-end hotels charging ridiculous fees for wifi while cheaper hotels (and countless coffee shops, restaurants, and other establishments) offer it for free.(Here and here and here) It is an open gouging of business travelers but these hotels which are charging hundreds of a night only to demand that guests pay them for something free on the street. Now there is a small victory against the corporate greed of high-end hotels. Marriott has agreed to pay a $600,000 fine after the Federal Communications Commission found the company blocked consumer Wi-Fi networks last year during an event at a hotel and conference center in Nashville. Of course, nothing changes in Marriott ripping off guests for wifi generally, but they stand to do the electronic version of poisoning wells to force travelers to drink at their well.
The Islamic group Boko Haram has a new outrage to its credit. According to Reverend Gideon Obasogie, the director of Catholic Social Communication of Maiduguri Diocese in Borno State, the group has burned down over 180 churches in the West African country. It appears that the group views Islam as allowing for no other form of faith.
Continue reading “Nigerian Islamic Militants Reportedly Torch Over 180 Churches”
Today, Leslie and I leave for a 10-day trip to Italy and Sicily. I will be attempting to post daily travel blogs, but there will be fewer postings during this trip. We will start with three days in Rome followed by six days in Sicily and then one final day in Rome. I will be visiting the village of both of my grandparents Josephine and Dominick Piazza (I am half Irish and half Sicilian). The village of Cianciana is located about two hours from Palermo. We will also be staying at Syracuse and Catania in Sicily. Not since the likes of Hannibal and Garibaldi has a force in the field attempted such an ambitious campaign.
Continue reading “All Roads Lead To Rome: The Turleys Invade The Italian Peninsula”
Germany has long shown far greater foresight than the United States in the investment into science, infrastructure, and alternative energy — investments that are now giving the country huge returns as a leading economic system. With a decision of Lower Saxony, the German have now shown precisely how serious they are about keeping the country as one of the most educated in the world: they have eliminated all college and university tuition. The Germans view education as not just a right, but an essential component for continued growth.
Continue reading “Germany Abolishes Tuition For University Students”
I have often praised Germany for its forward-leaning laws on the environment and other areas. However, Germany is following France in a move that I consider perfectly absurd: a ban on after-hours work emails. I will confess to attaining some Chicago school economic bias against certain forms of tax and regulatory policy. However, this is one area where the market should be left to its devices, literally.
Continue reading “Nein Nachrichten: Germany Reportedly Considering Ban On Work Emails After 6 pm”
Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
In one example of the difficulties in rousing the Iraq military to fully commit to engaging the Islamic State within Iraq, a Kurdish news source reports that soldiers are taking to bribery to escape their military responsibilities and returning home to avoid combat.
In some cases the bribes are so prevalent that up to half of military detachment soldiers are reported to have been released, making the army’s war efforts difficult and especially magnified in confronting terrorists waging war against their nation. Fear of war and the atrocities of their enemy is the primary motivating factor.
Continue reading “Reports Of Iraqi Soldiers Bribing Officers To Release Them From Military Duty”
Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Deutsche Welle reports a frightening and disturbing practice within Pakistan where newborn children are murdered due to the stigma of illegitimacy.
Warning: This article contains explicit information.
Adultery is often punished by vigilantism where family exact revenge against couples, often murderously. The children and mothers more often are targeted.
Nurse Razia Zulfikar of a maternity hospital in Gujranwala, Pakistan states that hundreds of children are killed simply by reason of the status of having unwed parents; a social taboo of society. The law provides a potential capital criminal offense stemming from pre-marital intercourse.
Continue reading “Hundreds Of Cases Reported In Pakistan Of Infanticide Due To Illegitimacy”
While the outgoing Afghan President continues to denounce the United States and praise China and Iran, the Obama Administration has been pressuring Afghanis to allow it to keep roughly 10,000 troops in the country with the obvious commitment to spend billions and billions more on the war. The agreement has now bee signed. This is being heralded as a long-awaited success for the Administration – a curious achievement for those who want us out of the country and money spent on badly needed domestic programs of education, science, and infrastructure.