Below: an excerpt of the UK MP’s expenses you can freely scrutinize online. I wish stuff like that would be happening in Italy too (as the overspending situation is quite more dramatic..)
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From the latest post on Beppe Grillo’s blog:

We are living through an unequalable historical phase. The worst of the Italian State. Berlusconi is the worst President of the Council of the last 150 years. Napolitano is the worst President of the Republic (a true “outsider” that makes one miss even Giovanni Leone who was kicked out). The PDminusL is the worst Opposition since the start of the existence of Parliament with Bersani as major-domo to D’Alema, the most intelligent and f**ked politician but also f**king, of the Republic. I want to be optimistic. We are at the bottom of the well and we can stop digging. We have got to the other side. I feel like an Italian towards the end of the second world war under the bombs. He knows it cannot go on for long. That the sky will once more be pale blue and that he will be able to go out into the street, happy as a child, and kiss the first stranger. My optimism is reasoned. The State has gone bust, a billion a day in Public Debt Is insuperable even for “Tremorti”. Millions of people have lost their job. The fund for those who are laid off is close to collapse. Parliament does not exist. It has been expropriated by Constitutional delinquents. The Church is in command. The camorra is in command. The ‘ndrangheta is in command. The citizen counts for nothing. Everything is lost and above all honour. Italian and clown are synonyms throughout the world. “Italian fucking clown”. The Council of Ministers is a continual replay of “Oggi le comiche” {Today the comics}. Any prostitute, any idiot could become Minister in Italy. This regime, like fascism in its time, can no longer be saved by anyone. It has shattered together with the dishonesty and the indifference of many Italians in the last few years. It’s like, after a tragedy, you pick yourself up out of necessity, that’s how it will happen in the near future. The Five Star Movement has no connections with the past, with none of the rotten names of corruption that govern us. The Movement is starting from zero, from the bottom, this is its strength. The Movement will present itself for the regional elections in Emilia Romagna, Campania, Veneto and Piedmont, with Davide Bono heading the list. Many 5 Star Lists are in preparation for the local elections. The Statute is nearly ready as is online registration. On 5 December I am supporting “No B-day”. I will not be on the stage and I will not speak as that has been requested by the organisers. “For us he is a politician and thus will not speak” is the decision of the promoting committee. We are living through social and institutional ruin that no one would have believed possible, starting with me. We are still in the basement, from the TV stations arrive voices of a present that is already past, of people like Schifani, Gasparri, Dell’Utri, Casini. So present and yet already far off. They will never give up (but is it in their interests?). Neither will we.

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By the way, Beppe Grillo is doing a gig in London on Wednesday, 27 January 2010. Sounds interesting?

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An interesting study recently issued by the Freedom House (a non profit organization inspired by the ideals of democracy and freedom) positions Italy and another couple of unlucky countries at the bottom of the ladder. Well, kind of – we could say half-way up the ladder – but still quite alarmingly.

New Study: Global Press Freedom Declines in Every Region for First Time Israel, Italy and Hong Kong Lose Free. I report just a couple of passages…

StatusWestern Europe: The region continues to boast the world’s highest level of press freedom. However, Italy slipped back into the Partly Free category with free speech limited by courts and libel laws, increased intimidation of journalists by organized crime and far-right groups, and concerns over the concentration of media ownership. Greece also suffered a significant decline.

Fragile Freedoms: Declines in Israel, Italy and Taiwan illustrate that established democracies with traditionally open media are not immune to restricting media freedom. Over the last five years, a number of emerging democracies have also suffered considerable declines in press freedom including: Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Thailand, the Philippines and Senegal.

The other related thing that came up to my mind, and that people outside Italy (but not only) often ignore, is that the italian government a few years back attempted to PUT A BRAKE ON THE INTERNET REVOLUTION, BY WANTING TO CHARGE BLOGGERS. I know it sounds amazingly incredible, especially because it’s coming from a country which is part of the G8 (supposedly, the bunch of guys who’re ‘leading’ – whatever that means). This piece of news was covered by the times online some time ago – here’s an excerpt:

Recently, Italian lawmakers once again took aim at modern life, introducing an incredibly broad law that would effectively require all bloggers, and even users of social networks, to register with the state. Even a harmless blog about a favourite football squad or a teenager grousing about life’s unfairness would be subject to government oversight, and even taxation – even if it’s not a commercial website.

Outside Italy, the legislation has generated sniggers from hardly sympathetic industry observers. Boingboing cleverly reports Italy is proposing a “Ministry of Blogging.” Out-law.com plays it straighter, calling the measure an “anti-blogger” law.

Pass it on! Knowledge is power

Anyways – the most recent one is the supreme selection of candidates the italian parties are sending to Bruxelles for the EU parliament. Travaglio docet:

If you’re not lucky enough to understand italian, there’s a nice article by The Times about it, titled ‘The beauty of democracy as Silvio Berlusconi picks model MEP candidates‘:

Silvio Berlusconi has an eye for pretty girls with a background in showbusiness and has brought some of them into parliament and even his Cabinet to brighten up politics.

Even by his standards, though, Mr Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, has chosen a striking roster of candidates to give his party a new face for the European Parliament elections in June, including a Big Brother star and a Miss Italy contestant.

None has any known political experience although Angela Sozio, 36, a flame-haired former contestant of Grande Fratello, the Italian version of Big Brother, made the headlines two years ago when the paparazzi photographed her and other showgirls strolling hand-in-hand with Mr Berlusconi, 72, at Villa Certosa, his villa in Sardinia.

The photographs, which appeared in the mass circulation magazine Oggi under the headline “Berlusconi’s Harem”, showed some of the women sitting on the Prime Minister’s knee. He insisted that he was being hospitable in showing the women round his seaside estate while his wife, the former actress Veronica Lario, was at her villa near Milan […….continues….]

It’s on tomorrow in all the major italian squares, and various world ones. If I were there, I would definitely join them! (wanna become a friend of Grillo? take a look at this)