Evidently Berlusconi believes in the power of positive thinking

He's advising those left homeless in the earthquake to think of it as a big adventure:

Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is reported to have said the 17,000 people made homeless by Monday's earthquake should think of themselves as being on a "camping weekend".

The website of the German television news channel N-TV said he had made the quip while being interviewed by one of its reporters on a visit to one of the emergency camps set up to take those who lost their homes in the disaster. But a video clip from the interview featured on the site did not contain the remark, which is bound to prompt intense controversy.

Berlusconi said they "lacked nothing. They have medicaments. They have hot food. They have shelter for the night," according to the video soundtrack.

His remarks, which seem to have been intended to reassure the public, scarcely correspond to the experiences of the homeless. Between Monday and Tuesday they had to endure a night of driving rain and hail in which the temperature fell to 4C (39F).

From the Guardian. Charming.

Berlusconi's curious reversal

One of the curious things that happened yesterday was Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's announcement:

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said political leaders are discussing the idea of closing the world's financial markets while they ``rewrite the rules of international finance.''

``The idea of suspending the markets for the time it takes to rewrite the rules is being discussed,'' Berlusconi said today after a Cabinet meeting in Naples, Italy. A solution to the financial crisis ``can't just be for one country, or even just for Europe, but global.''

But within minutes, he retracted it:

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reversed his comments that leaders are discussing closing the world's financial markets while they ``rewrite the rules of international finance.''

``I heard it on the radio,'' Berlusconi said about an hour after his initial comments his spokesman confirmed. ``The hypothesis wasn't put forward by any leader, including myself.''

An hour earlier, during a press conference in Naples following a Cabinet meeting, Berlusconi said, ``The idea of suspending the markets for the time it takes to rewrite the rules is being discussed.''

So WTF is going on? Did he actually hear it on the radio, or did he hear it from other world leaders who didn't expect him to open his big mouth?

I don't know, but Bad American as well as Canadian Silver Bug are of the opinion that it might be a good idea to stock up on supplies and cash this weekend.

On the other hand, maybe Berlusconi was just speculating wildly, or offering an opinion as to what he thinks should be done, and nothing will be done about it. We'll know soon enough I guess...

Italian army sent on to the streets

I thought their prime minister's name was Berlusconi, not Mussolini:

The Italian government has deployed 3,000 soldiers in cities across the country as part of a plan to fight street crime.

In the capital Rome, about 400 soldiers were stationed at underground stations and at an immigrant centre on Monday.

"This morning we have deployed about 350-400 soldiers of the Italian army at institutional sites and sensitive sites," Lieutenant Colonel Claudio Caruso said.

The Italian opposition and police unions have criticised the use of troops, accusing the government of seeking to "militarise" city centres and using the measure to mask budget cuts in the security forces.

One opposition MP expressed fears that the move at the height of the tourist season could alarm visitors to the city.

But Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, said no soldier would patrol in the historic centre where most tourists are concentrated.

Roberto Maroni, the interior minister, told reporters in Rome last week that he wanted to "give the public a better perception of security".

From here. Between this and the mass fingerprinting of the Roma, fascism seems to be on the resurgance in that country.

Italy starts mass fingerprinting of Roma

It seems incredible that something like this would happen in modern Europe, but it's happening. I suppose the brown triangles are the next thing in line...

Fingerprint the lot of them: the idea had the satisfying smack of firm government. Now the Italian government was doing something tough; something long overdue.

The Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni, a leader of the rabble-rousing Northern League – close allies of Silvio Berlusconi on the government benches – has explained his next step in his assault on the "emergenza di sicurezza", the "security emergency": fingerprinting all Gypsies.

It was the only way, he told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday, for Italy to guarantee "to those who have the right to remain here, the possibility of living in decent conditions." For this purpose the Roma – those with Italian nationality and those without, EU citizens and those from outside the Community – will all have their fingerprints taken. And the rule will even apply to Gypsy children – for reasons that to many of Mr Maroni's supporters must have sounded obvious: "to avoid phenomena," as he put it, "such as begging". The new measures, he said, were indispensable "in order to expel those who do not have the right to stay in Italy".

From the Independent. The Globe also covered the story here; while less comprehensive, this story is instructive for the comments left by some readers, which have to be seen to be believed. It's interesting that the comments weren't removed; somehow I doubt that similar comments about other Holocaust victims would have been tolerated.