Category Archives: immigration

Provoking the Unprovocative: Reactions to Norway

As Italy goes into total shutdown for August, I have so much work at the day job that it’s literally made me sick for the past three weeks, but spending more than four hours on the phone with lawyers every … Continue reading

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Enoch Powell

Apropos of the histrionic tone towards immigration that Italy’s runoff elections took recently, it’s interesting to take a look at how the issue was approached in Britain 43 years ago by Enoch Powell, the conservative firebrand best remembered for his … Continue reading

Posted in BBC, Bossi, decline of empire, immigration, italy, lega nord, the italian right, the right in europe | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Osama, Mladic, Berlusconi: rough winds do shake

May ended up being a very bad month for the intolerant: first Osama bin Laden, then Ratko Mladic, and now Silvio Berlusconi, whose coalition was dealt a serious blow in run-off mayoral elections all over Italy this past week. Of … Continue reading

Posted in electoral crisis, gypsies, human rights, humor, il cav, immigration, italy, lega nord, roma, the italian left, the italian right | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Duomo & Sarpi: stories behind images

In an effort to provide a little context for Magdi’s provocative posters, some reading from the archives in order to illuminate exactly what happened: The praying at piazza Duomo was connected to protests against the Gaza War and happened on … Continue reading

Posted in Bossi, Chinatown, Chinese, eu, freedom, human rights, il cav, immigration, italy, lega nord, maroni, roma, the italian right, the right in europe, Via Sarpi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Magdi Allam’s Politics of Fear

Some readers have criticized my use of the word “nutjob” to describe Magdi Allam. That is admittedly an imprecise description of a journalist-turned-demagogue whose views are nativist at best and racist at worst. Like Oriana Fallaci before him, Allam has … Continue reading

Posted in Bossi, Chinese, gypsies, human rights, il cav, immigration, italy, lega nord, roma, the italian left, the italian right, the right in europe, Via Sarpi | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life among the Lowly

Journalist-cum-politican Magdi Cristiano Allam loves Italy, he tells us. The Egyptian-born Italian, who made a publicized conversion to Catholicism, seems quick to absorb Italian values — if rampant, no-holds-barred race baiting is an Italian value.  Going far beyond provocative and … Continue reading

Posted in Bossi, Chinatown, Chinese, fini, gypsies, human rights, il cav, immigration, italy, lega nord, maroni, roma, the italian right, the right in europe, Via Sarpi | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Italy and Refugees

As Italy struggles to accept massive flows of refugees from the Arab Spring, one hopes that the G7 country has learned something in last 20 years.  As Berlusconi’s channel report that the refugees are complaining about the quality of food … Continue reading

Posted in decline of empire, human rights, il cav, immigration, international development, international justice, italy, lega nord, libya, maroni, the italian left, the italian right | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

In Need of a Beer Summit

My impression is that, despite every news media outlet on earth coming out and saying that that Italy really had nothing to celebrate, most non-leghisti Italians actually did feel like celebrating, and Turin’s packed squares, riverbank, and streets were a … Continue reading

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Human Rights Watch Condemns Italy

Human Rights Watch released a report on the state of racism and xenophobia in Italy yesterday.  The results are not cheerful reading. I wrote about this two years ago for the American, and it’s not heartening to see that things … Continue reading

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Friday AM Roundup

What’s great about Friday morning?  Having the Economist placed at your feet.  And even though this is a blog, sometimes it takes having the paper placed in your hands to do a good scan. Premesso’s not-quite week in review, drawn … Continue reading

Posted in art, Balkans, Bossi, electoral crisis, eu, film, il cav, immigration, italy, lega nord, macedonia, obama, the italian left, the italian right, the right in europe, veneto | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment