...da Michael Moore...about Bart Stupak too...

How the People in My District Got Stupak to Change His Mind -- and Thus Saved the Health Care Bill ...a letter from Michael Moore

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Friends,

Well, our full court press on my congressman, Bart Stupak worked! Hundreds of my neighbors here in his Michigan district spent the weekend organizing thousands of voters to get busy and save the health care bill. We called Stupak's congressional office non-stop and we got thousands of people up here to flood his email box.

And then a rare thing happened: An elected representative did what the people told him to do. It was nothing short of amazing.

Stupak, and his seven "right to life" Democrats who had said they would vote against the bill, reversed themselves after what Stupak said Sunday afternoon was a week of his staff having "really taken a pounding." Hey, all we did here in northern Michigan was let him know that we would be unceremoniously tossing him out of Congress in this August's Democratic primary. One of our group announced she would oppose him in the Dem primary. That seemed to register with him.

All of this made Stupak look pretty worn down at his press conference yesterday, pleading with people like us to stop calling his house and waking his wife "at two or three in the morning." Hey! That's not us. We never call during Carson Daly!

Obama needed 216 votes in the House last night -- and he barely got them (219 was the final number). Had Stupak not done a 180 in the last 24 hours, the health care bill would have gone down in flames. Thank you, to all of you here in northern Michigan who did what had to be done. You and you alone saved this bill in the final moments.

Stupak stood on the floor of the House last night and, in a surreal moment, spoke against the "Stupak Amendment"! Once he got through his medieval meanderings about where babies come from, he gave one helluva speech.

And, that's when Republican congressman Randy Neugebauer of Texas shouted out: "Baby killer!" Wow. I guess the fertilized egg police felt betrayed by Bart.

Those of us here in Michigan will now decide what to do about our misguided congressman. We're a forgiving lot, but maybe not this time. We shall see.

Bart, I'm glad you discovered you didn't have a uterus. And, like the scarecrow, I'm glad you found a bit of your brain.

A good night it was -- important little steps were taken to bring our country into the civilized world.

Now, we have some real work to do if we really want to say we have universal health care. The sharks who run the insurance companies have every intention of turning this lemon into some very profitable lemonade.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. Someday, the Hyde Amendment is going to have to go. No Democratic president should ever agree to anything that discriminates against women.

...da Michael Moore...about the Health Care Law...

The Great Thing About the Health Care Law That Has Passed? It Will Save Republican Lives, Too (An Open Letter to Republicans from Michael Moore)

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

To My Fellow Citizens, the Republicans:

Thanks to last night's vote, that child of yours who has had asthma since birth will now be covered after suffering for her first nine years as an American child with a pre-existing condition.

Thanks to last night's vote, that 23-year-old of yours who will be hit one day by a drunk driver and spend six months recovering in the hospital will now not go bankrupt because you will be able to keep him on your insurance policy.

Thanks to last night's vote, after your cancer returns for the third time -- racking up another $200,000 in costs to keep you alive -- your insurance company will have to commit a criminal act if they even think of dropping you from their rolls.

Yes, my Republican friends, even though you have opposed this health care bill, we've made sure it is going to cover you, too, in your time of need. I know you're upset right now. I know you probably think that if you did get wiped out by an illness, or thrown out of your home because of a medical bankruptcy, that you would somehow pull yourself up by your bootstraps and survive. I know that's a comforting story to tell yourself, and if John Wayne were still alive I'm sure he could make that into a movie for you.

But the reality is that these health insurance companies have only one mission: To take as much money from you as they can -- and then work like demons to deny you whatever coverage and help they can should you get sick.

So, when you find yourself suddenly broadsided by a life-threatening illness someday, perhaps you'll thank those pinko-socialist, Canadian-loving Democrats and independents for what they did Sunday evening.

If it's any consolation, the thieves who run the health insurance companies will still get to deny coverage to adults with pre-existing conditions for the next four years. They'll also get to cap an individual's annual health care reimbursements for the next four years. And if they break the pre-existing ban that was passed last night, they'll only be fined $100 a day! And, the best part? The law will require all citizens who aren't poor or old to write a check to a private insurance company. It's truly a banner day for these corporations.

So don't feel too bad. We're a long way from universal health care. Over 15 million Americans will still be uncovered -- and that means about 15,000 will still lose their lives each year because they won't be able to afford to see a doctor or get an operation. But another 30,000 will live. I hope that's ok with you.

If you don't mind, we're now going to get busy trying to improve upon this bill so that all Americans are covered and so the grubby health insurance companies will be put out of business -- because when it comes to helping the sick, no one should ever be allowed to ask the question, "How much money can we save by making this poor bastard suffer?"

Please, my Republican friends, if you can, take a quiet moment away from your AM radio and cable news network this morning and be happy for your country. We're doing better. And we're doing it for you, too.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. I'll have more to say on this tonight, live on CNN, at 9pm ET. I'll be talking with Larry King about the health care bill and where we go from here, considering we still don't have universal health care.

P.P.S. In case you missed these photos in yesterday's NY Times Sunday Magazine... That's the results of seven years of madness. The Iraq War began its 8th year this weekend. How can we remove more of those responsible for this tragedy in November?

...bentornata Primavera!...

...da Michael Moore...about Bart Stupak...

My Congressman, Bart Stupak, Has Neither a Uterus Nor a Brain ...a letter from Michael Moore

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Friends,

I live in Michigan, in one of the 31 counties represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by none other than Mr. Bart Stupak, a Democrat. You've probably never heard of him. He's a pretty quiet guy, a former Michigan State Police trooper who boldly decided to run some 18 years ago as a Democrat in a rural part of Michigan that votes almost exclusively for Republicans (yes, I know -- what am I doing here? I'll save that story for a future letter).

His voting record is pretty conservative for a Democrat, but he's had a few shining moments. In the wake of the Columbine shootings, he voted for some gun control, a not-too-popular position to take here in northern Michigan. The NRA came after him with all they had in 2000.

But the good people of this area knew Bart's story and understood: He's been touched personally by gun violence. In a terrible tragedy, his teenage son, depressed and confused from the medication he'd been prescribed, killed himself with the family's .38 revolver. Despite the NRA's best efforts, Bart was returned to Congress by an overwhelming margin.

Yet, here we are, just days before a weak, simple-minded, but now ultimately necessary health care bill has a chance of making it through Congress -- and Bart Stupak is threatening to derail it because he wants to make sure that no woman WHO BUYS HER OWN INSURANCE with HER OWN MONEY is able to have a medically-insured abortion. We're not talkin' about federally-funded abortions -- those were stupidly outlawed long ago. Bart Stupak doesn't like that the Democrats' bill doesn't prohibit private insurance programs, set up for those whose employers don't provide it, from providing abortion coverage if they get any federal funding -- even to an individual woman paying without any government help. That's it.

A group representing most of America's 59,000 Catholic nuns has written to Congress and said that Obama's health care plan should be passed. Stupak, instead, has chosen to diss the nuns. Last night he went on TV and dug his heels in -- he said he intended to stop this health care bill and he didn't care what anyone had to say.

Now, it would be easy for some to just pass this attitude off on his Catholicism -- he believes what he believes and you have to respect him for that, even if you don't agree with him. But it's not that simple. It turns out that Stupak has been living in a subsidized room in the "C Street House," run by the infamous right-wing Christian cult "The Family." It was in this former convent that GOP Rep. Chip Pickering (according to his former wife) carried on the affair that ended his marriage. It's where South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford sought refuge as his marriage fell apart thanks to HIS affair. And then there's C Street roommate Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who cheated on his wife with the wife of one of his top staffers. (The Justice Department is currently investigating whether Ensign committed a felony while paying off his aide to keep him quiet.)

C Street is where power, money, sex and religion meet. So am I led to believe that Bart Stupak lives in a brothel and belongs to a cult? He says he was just renting a room there. But that just doesn't ring true. Something stinks to the high heavens here, and Stupak sees no irony in taking his holier-than-thou position while living in a house that should be dubbed "Hypocrites' Hideaway."

If Stupak were truly pro-life then he'd vote for this bill. Right now, a mother in the U.S. has a TEN times greater chance of dying in childbirth than a mother does in Ireland. If you really wanted to reduce abortions, you'd have to ask yourself this question: Why does godless France, where abortion is nearly free (it's covered by their universal health insurance), have 20% fewer abortions per capita than we do? What's even more amazing about that statistic is that you can't even get an abortion in America in 87% of our counties because there isn't one single doctor in those counties who will perform one! 87%!! The Right has scared them all to death -- literally -- out of performing an otherwise legal, safe procedure. So, you can say women have "choice" in this country, but the reality is the "choice" doesn't exist in the majority of the nation. "Right to Life" has essentially won this battle. (My personal position: I don't get to have a position -- I don't have a uterus. If a Senate that was 90% female told me I couldn't have a vasectomy or made it a crime to leave the toilet seat up, I guess I might object.)

What is "life"? An egg is life, a sperm is life. Those sperm aren't running on a battery pack. They are living creatures, as is a fertilized egg. But they're not "human beings." A human being is something that can exist outside the womb of a mother. If you think a fertilized egg is a human being, then I respectfully ask you to go down to the DMV today and have them change your birthday on your driver's license to 9 months older than what you've been telling everybody.

So back to my question. Why do we have an abortion rate 20% higher than France's (and more than twice as high as Germany's), especially considering most doctors here won't perform them? The answer is ANY country that has universal health care, where contraception is free, where child care is free or inexpensive, where there is less poverty because people don't become bankrupt over medical bills -- those societies are simply going to have fewer unplanned and unwanted pregnancies.

And there the mask gets pulled off the Bart Stupaks and the "Christians." If the statistics show that countries with government-provided universal health care and nearly-free abortions are, in fact, the countries with the fewest abortions, then why on earth wouldn't the Right be the first in line to support universal health care?!!

Because it isn't about "universal health care." It's about controlling women, period. It's about sticking your nose in other people's business. It's about pushing your religious beliefs on everyone else because voices in your head tell you your Jesus is The One -- even though YOUR Jesus never said one single solitary word in any of the four gospels of the Bible about abortion or fertilized eggs being human. You've just gone and made it up about "life beginning at conception." Jesus NEVER said that. The little voice in your head said that, the same little voice that wants your grubby paws on women's uteruses. You need help. Please get some help and leave the rest of us alone, Mr. Stupak and friends.

After all, isn't it enough that women can't get an abortion in any of the 31 Michigan counties you represent in Congress? There is not one single abortion provider here in the north of the state, according to Planned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan. Hey, Bart -- you've already won! Women's rights have been stamped out in your entire Congressional district! Woo hoo!

So why don't you leave the rest of the country alone, step out of the way, and let them have the minimal health coverage this bill will give them? You wouldn't really crush the sick and infirm because of your own personal agenda, would you? What would Jesus do?

In the meantime, Bart, my neighbors and I are going to make sure a real Democrat runs against you in August's primary here. One of our religious beliefs in these parts is to never impose our religious beliefs on others.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

...da Michael Moore...St. Patrick Day lament...

The Green They Steal, The Greed They Wear ...a St. Patrick's Day lament by Michael Moore

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Friends,

It was amazing. Every story on the front page of Tuesday's New York Times told the story of the Age of Greed during which a system known as capitalism is slowly, but surely, killing us:

Insurance company greed: "Millions Spent to Sway Democrats on Health Care"

War profiteers: "Contractors Tied to Effort to Track and Kill Militants"

There's no profit in repairing our infrastructure: "Repair Costs Daunting as Water Lines Crumble"

China, the bank: "China Uses Rules on Global Trade to Its Advantage"

You mean NAFTA didn't improve life in Mexico: "Two Drug Slayings in Mexico Rock US Consulate"

What happens when Big Food profits from hurting kids: "Forget Goofing Around: Recess Has New Boss"

There's now a daily parade of news like this -- well, not really "news," more like the media division of large corporations shoving your face into the dirt that is your life. You already know the schools are a disaster and the war is a boon for the Halliburtons and a bust for you. You don't need a newspaper to tell you the roads and electrical lines and the local sewage plant is in miserable disrepair.

And by now you've figured out that you don't really have any say in this, that what we call the "democratic process" is mostly a sham, pretty words that get repeated in the hopes we will all still fall for it. But the fix is in and we don't fall for it anymore. Admit it: Wall Street owns "our" Congress lock, stock and big barrel o' campaign cash. You want a say in this? Well, I don't see you on the Forbes 400, so shut the f@*& up and go fetch me another bottle of bubbly.

Within days, the House of Representatives will vote to pass the Senate health care "reform" bill. This bill is a joke. It has NOTHING to do with "health care reform." It has EVERYTHING to do with lining the pockets of the health insurance industry. It forces, by law, every American who isn't old or destitute to buy health insurance if their boss doesn't provide it. What company wouldn't love the government forcing the public to buy that company's product?! Imagine a bill that ordered every citizen to buy the extended warranty on all their appliances? Imagine a law that made it illegal not to own an iPhone? Or how 'bout I get a law passed that makes it compulsory for every American to go see my next movie? Woo-hoo! Who wouldn't love a sweet set-up like this windfall?

Well, the insurance companies -- get this -- don't like the Democrats' bill! That alone should be reason enough to vote for it.

Now, you would think these thieves would love this bill -- but they are actually fighting it. Why? Because it doesn't give them ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the what they want. It only gives them... 90%! YOU SEE, pure greed demands all or nothing.

The insurance industry hates this bill because it puts a few minor restrictions on them. Six months after its passage they won't be able to deny children coverage if they have a pre-existing condition. How awful! Government interference! SOCIALISM!

But, hey, they'll still be able to deny these children's parents coverage until 2014! So if a parent gets sick and dies in the next four years, I'm sure someone will step in and raise these already-insured orphans.

And how big will the fines be if the insurance companies do deny someone coverage for having a pre-existing condition? Are you sitting down? A hundred dollars a day! That's it! So if you're the insurance company, and Judy is a customer of yours, and Judy needs an operation that will cost $100,000, what do you do? You take the fine! Let's say Judy lives another year after you've sentenced her to death, your $100-a-day fine will only cost you $36,500! That's a savings of $63,500! And trust me, my friends, that's EXACTLY what's going to happen.

There are some good things in this bill. Parents will be able to keep their children on their policy until the kids turn 26. A few things like that. So, yes, pass that.

But don't insult me and 300 million Americans by calling this "health care reform." At least you've stopped calling it "universal health care." We will not have universal health care or anything close to it. I wish the president and the Democratic leadership would just stand up and say, "We're sorry, America. We didn't get the job done you sent us here to do. We're weak and scared and unable to communicate the simplest of messages to the American people. Therefore, our bill will guarantee that 12 million of you will still have NO health insurance. And that's because we have decided to leave the greedy, private insurance industry in charge of our system. Forgive us for this and for continuing to allow profit to be the determining factor as to whether a patient gets the help she or he needs."

Please, Democrats -- just say that -- then pass this poor excuse of a bill. Pass it because, if President Obama takes a fall on this one, I don't know if he'll be able to get back up. And then NOTHING will get done. We can't have that. (And thank you Dennis Kucinich for hanging in there right up to the end and being the only one out of the 435 members to speak the awful truth.)

On the front page of yesterday's New York Times, the dateline was, sadly, once again, "Flint, Michigan." The story was about how doctors are no longer accepting Medicaid patients. Which means tens of thousands of poor can no longer go to the doctor. Last year, the State of Michigan also prohibited doctors from accepting Medicaid patients who had anything wrong with their vision, their hearing, their feet or their teeth. In a 16-county area northwest of Flint, there will soon be not one single hospital that will allow you to give birth there if you're on Medicaid. The official unemployment rate in Flint is 27% (unofficially, closer to 40%).

This is an American tragedy. And, as I've warned you for years, this tsunami is heading your way -- if it's not there already.

I've just turned on my new iPhone and it informs me that it has "apps" it would like to suggest I buy. One is called "Scanner." It will allow me to listen in on police scanners anywhere across the country. I buy the app. I see that the Flint police scanner is part of this. I turn it on out of curiosity. And this is what I hear, at one in the morning: A woman is being beaten by her husband... A home invasion is taking place ("16-year-old black male, wearing a white skull cap")... A child has been missing since noon today... Another woman is being beaten by her boyfriend... A diabetic, obese man is having trouble breathing and needs to be rushed to the hospital (there will be three more of these obese diabetics in the hours to come; the entire town is ill)... One more woman calling, screaming for help, "officers urged to use caution..."

...And on and on and on. This is what I have listened to before going to bed. I am filled with despair and helplessness as I hear my former neighbors crying out for help. I hate it. I have to turn it off. I start to cry. Thank you, iPhone. Thank you, Democrats. I'll sleep better knowing that you're looking out for all of us.

Bastards.

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. I'll continue my jihad today on Dylan Ratigan (MSNBC, 4pm ET) and, for the first time together in the same studio since our, um, 2007 debate, I'll join Wolf Blitzer live in his CNN Studio (5-8pm, ET). I'll also be on live for the entire 11am hour this morning on the wonderful Diane Rehm Show on NPR. You can listen live online here.

The rest of the day I'll spend wandering the halls of Congress with my shillelagh and shamrocks, doing my best impersonation of St. Patrick as I try to drive the snakes out of Capitol Hill. Wish me luck...

...una lettera da Piero...

...da Michael Moore...un po' di pubblicità...

Sell! Buy! Rebel! 'Capitalism: A Love Story' Is Out Today on DVD (...and what is up with Wal-Mart?)!

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Friends,

DVD-Day for "Capitalism: A Love Story" has finally arrived for all you good folks who just couldn't figure out how to fit in a trip to the movie theater between your three part-time jobs -- or simply weren't able to afford the $10 for the small popcorn at your local rip-off cine-mall when my film was released last fall.

What's with you people?! I make these movies for you to see on a big screen, in the dark, with 200 strangers who want to hoot and holler along with you. Those of you who did see it -- thank you!! You helped to make it the 8th-largest grossing documentary of all time (and, as of Sunday morning, "Capitalism" had sold more tickets than Best Picture winner, "The Hurt Locker").

But for those of you who didn't get to the theater, what's your excuse? Didn't want to sit through 20 minutes of TV ads up on the screen before the movie started? Don't like sitting next to people who have 6 important cell calls to make during the film? Feet get stuck to the floor after two hours of people spilling their 164 oz. sodas, thus preventing you from getting up when the film's over? Jeez, what babies!

Well, starting today, you can now OWN your very own DVD (or Blu-ray) copy of my latest action/romance/horror film, "Capitalism: A Love Story" -- and watch it in the comfort of your soon-to-be-foreclosed home! Get it cheap at Amazon, rent or stream it fast at Netflix, or go down to the local Wal-Mart that put your locally-owned mom & pop video store outta business and pick it up for pennies on the dollar. See! Something for everyone!

The fact that Wal-Mart is carrying this movie -- a movie that specifically exposes Wal-Mart's past practice of taking out secret "dead peasant" life insurance policies on its employees and naming itself as the lone beneficiary should the employee meet an "untimely" early death -- well, my friends, need you any further proof that Corporate America is so secure in its position as the ruler of our country, so sure of its infallible power that, yes, they can even sell a movie that attacks them because it poses absolutely no threat to them?

A sane person would think that Wal-Mart would never carry "Capitalism: A Love Story" because it's simply not in their best interests to inform their customers of their shady past. After all, many Wal-Mart stores wouldn't carry "Bowling for Columbine" back in 2003. That was *Kmart* I went after (for selling the ammo to the Columbine killers)! But I guess that was too Mart-y close for Wal-Mart -- so no DVDs were allowed of that film on the shelves of some of the world's biggest retail chain's stores (the movie studio estimated that cost them $2.5 million in sales).

But seven years later, it's a new day in America. The corporate coup is complete. Corporations like Wal-Mart now call all the shots, write all the laws, pay off almost all the congressmen and essentially (along with the other Fortune 500 companies and Wall Street) rule the nation. They've helped to eliminate consumer choice and the free market while convincing you they are all for "free enterprise" and the "U.S.A."

More importantly, they've snuffed out any criticism or opposition. They've even co-opted liberals, like the people who made the wonderful documentary, "Food, Inc." The last half-hour of this movie includes -- I kid you not -- an homage to Wal-Mart as the filmmakers swoon over this kinder, gentler company that has decided to -- bless them! -- put an organic food counter in their stores! Thank you, Wal-Mart! Kumbaya! (And hey, granolaheads, don't forget to flash a smile on the way out of the store at the "greeter" who can't afford to see a doctor.)

Yes, Wal-Mart, by selling "Capitalism," is saying to me: "Go ahead Mike and expose us all you want! Hahahhaha! We're so convinced that the public has either been dumbed down or made numb enough to not give a lick about whatever it is you're saying about us and capitalism. We can sell a million of these and it won't make a damn bit of difference about our ability to rule the world. So knock yourself out, big guy! Hehehehehehe. Go ahead and put your little movie on our shelves. It will never start a revolution."

Or so they think.

But what if they're wrong?

What if they and their brethren -- the banks, the insurance companies, the hedge fund sociopaths -- are too confident we won't fight to get our country back? They think that because they, the richest 1%, now own more financial wealth than 95% of all Americans COMBINED, that they can get away with anything. Perhaps they're right. Perhaps they're not.

I did ask someone at the studio why Wal-Mart was so willing to carry this movie.

"They're no dummies," he told me. "They know who shops in their stores -- working people, blue collar, the people hit hardest by the economy. They know your movie will resonate with them and that only means one thing -- ka-ching, ka-ching at the cash register!"

Happy now? Good. I thought I'd cheer you up on my big day!

Listen, let me cut right to it: I am passionate about this movie. It is not only my most personal film, it is the most vital and necessary film I've made in my 20 years as a filmmaker. Period. I told my crew at the start of this movie, "Let's make this film so brutally honest that NO ONE with any money will ever want to write us a check to make another movie!" And so we set off to make the most dangerous documentary we could.

As gloomy as our situation in the world looks these days, I refuse to give up. If there's even the slightest chance that we can turn this around, then I want to help, I want to be part of the fight along with you.

And I want you to see this movie. Not next week (by then, the health insurance companies will have won). Not next month (by then, the banks will have scuttled any new regulations). I need you to watch it right now and I need you to get as many of your friends and family to watch it as soon as possible -- and then I want you to do something.

That "something" can be found in the 80 new minutes of material and DVD extras I've put on this home video. It's 80 minutes of bold ideas and things we can do to get our country back. No one has seen these extras -- and today will be the first time they're available on the home video of this movie.

Well, that's the pitch. I get nothing $-wise from the sale of these DVDs. I just want you to see this movie because, if you haven't, I think you will not only be "entertained" for 2 hours, you'll be ready to rock-n-roll your way down to the local Citibank and create the nonviolent ruckus they need to see. THIS IS OUR COUNTRY -- not theirs. They have plundered and pillaged long enough. Homes in this country receive foreclosure filings every eight seconds! This must be stopped.

Let my movie be the tool you use to rise up and become the citizens I know you want to be. If not now, when?

Thank you for all your support over all these years. You must know by now that I honestly couldn't make these movies without you.

My absolute gratitude and best wishes for you and yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. To order "Capitalism: A Love Story" from Amazon, click here. You can also add "Capitalism" to your Netflix and Blockbuster queues.

P.P.S. To see just how secure Wal-Mart feels in its place as King of the World, I'll take a spin around to some Wal-Marts this weekend and see if the DVD has been pulled off the shelves. I'll let you know!

...da Michael Moore...20 "film" degni di nota...

Let's Watch the Oscars Together -- Right Now! ...from Michael Moore

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Friends,

The best movie I saw this year won't be winning any awards tonight at the Oscars. It wasn't even nominated for anything. In fact, it wasn't even shown in the United States. Yet, I'm confident that, if you had had a chance to see it, you would likely agree with me that this is a brilliant film, a rare gem.

It's called "Troubled Water" (not to be confused with last year's superb Katrina doc, "Trouble the Water"). "Troubled Water" is from Norway and it is a work of art and great storytelling from the opening frame to its final fade to black. It tells the story of a young man who is paroled after spending time in prison and gets a job as a church organist. He claims to be innocent in the drowning of a child, but the boy's mother won't let it go.

When the film was over, I sat there amazed and wondering, "Why can't I see movies like this all the time?" What is wrong with filmmaking, with Hollywood? Why are most films just the same old tired assembly line stuff -- sequels, remakes, old TV shows turned into movies, predictable plots and storylines... "If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the movie."

But "Troubled Water" was not like that -- and therefore its distribution to the theaters of America was, in essence, doomed.

That's not to say we don't make great movies anymore. I loved "Avatar," "District 9," "Inglourious Basterds," "Up in the Air," and "Up" among many others.

Some critics have hailed "The Hurt Locker" because the film "doesn't take sides" in the Iraq War -- like that's an admirable thing! I wonder if there were critics during the Civil War that hailed plays or books for being "balanced" about slavery, or if there were those who praised films during World War II for "not taking sides?" I keep reading that the reason Iraq War films haven't done well at the box office is because they've been partisan (meaning anti-war).

The truth is "The Hurt Locker" is very political. It says the war is stupid and senseless and insane. It makes us consider why we have an army where people actually volunteer to do this. That's why the right wing has attacked the movie. They're not stupid -- they know what Kathryn Bigelow is up to. No one leaves this movie thinking, "Whoopee! Let's keep these wars going another 7 years!"

James Cameron has been targeted by the crazy right, too. Because -- and Fox and Rush have this one correct, too -- "Avatar" is, in fact, an allegory for America -- a land stolen from an indigenous people who were slaughtered, a nation that not only allows corporations to call the shots but let's them privatize our wars (wars in distant places with the objective of controlling a dwindling energy resource), and a people who seem hell-bent on destroying the environment.

Cameron is a brave and bold filmmaker, a college drop-out who became a truck driver and then one day just decided he was going to make movies. "Avatar" is an idea he's had in his head since he was a teenager -- and somewhere, somehow, his dreams and creativity weren't snuffed out by the machine. Thank God.

There is so much more I want to say about the state of movies these days, but you've got better things to do on this beautiful Sunday. I love this art form, and tonight is the night to celebrate it!

In fact, the Oscars are about to start. I'll try to "tweet" along with you during the show.

Finally, let me leave you with a list of 20 great movies I saw in 2009 that received little or no recognition or distribution in the U.S. They deserve to be acknowledged on this important night, and I hope you can find them somewhere, someday (a number are already on DVD). They represent the hope I have for the movies being the inspiring force I've always believed in.

Be well. And -- no extra salt or butter on the popcorn!

Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com
Twitter.com/MMFlint

P.S. Here's my list of 20 "best pictures" I saw in 2009:

1. "Troubled Water" (see above)
2. "Everlasting Moments" - A wife in the early 20th century wins a camera and it changes her life (from Sweden).
3. "Captain Abu Raed" - This first feature from Jordan tells the story of an airport janitor who the neighborhood kids believe is a pilot.
4. "Che" - A brilliant, unexpected mega-film about Che Guevara by Steven Soderbergh.
5. "Dead Snow" - The scariest film I've seen in a while about zombie Nazis abandoned after World War II in desolate Norway.
6. "The Great Buck Howard" - A tender look at the life of an illusionist, based on the life of The Amazing Kreskin starring John Malkovich.
7. "In the Loop" - A rare hilarious satire, this one about the collusion between the Brits and the Americans and their illegal war pursuits.
8. "My One and Only" - Who woulda thought that a biopic based on one year in the life of George Hamilton when he was a teenager would turn out to be one of the year's most engaging films.
9. "Whatever Works" - This was a VERY good Woody Allen film starring the great Larry David and it was completely overlooked.
10. "Big Fan" - A funny, dark film about an obsessive fan of the New York Giants with a great performance by the comedian Patton Oswalt.
11. "Eden Is West" - The legendary Costa-Gavras' latest gem, ignored like his last brilliant film 4 years ago, "The Axe".
12. "Entre Nos" - An mother and child are left to fend for themselves in New York City in this powerful drama.
13. "The Girlfriend Experience" - Steven Soderbergh's second genius film of the year, this one set in the the post-Wall Street Crash era, a call girl services the men who brought the country down.
14. "Humpday" - Two straight guys dare each other to enter a gay porn contest -- but will they go through with it?
15. "Lemon Tree" - A Palestinian woman has her lemon trees cut down by the Israeli army, but she decides that's the final straw.
16. "Mary and Max" - An Australian girl and and elderly Jewish man in New York become pen pals in this very moving animated film.
17. "O'Horten" - Another Norwegian winner, this one about the final trip made by a retiring train conductor.
18. "Salt of This Sea" - A Palestinian-American returns to her family's home in the West Bank, only to find herself caught up in the struggles between the two cultures.
19. "Sugar" - A Dominican baseball player gets his one chance to come to America and make it in the big leagues.
20. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" - A smart, adult animated film from Wes Anderson that at least got two nominations from the Academy.

da evgenij.zamjatin sui pericoli del Nucleare

Lun 8/3/10, Evgenij Zamjatin ha scritto:


Da: Evgenij Zamjatin
Oggetto: mi piacerebbe che...
A: redazione@libero-news.eu, gabibbo@mediaset.it, larepubblica@repubblica.it, segreteria@ilfattoquotidiano.it, cnog@pec.cnog.it, mail@cittadinanzattiva.it
Data: Lunedì 8 marzo 2010, 11:15

alle prossime tribune elettorali venissero fatte le seguenti domande... tutte in parte.. anche modificate... basta che mantengano il senso delle originali...


Domande ad un Responsabile.



4 semplici domande sulle responsabilità conseguenti l’installazione di nuove centrali nucleari:



1) Quale differenza esiste tra le centrali di ultima generazione e quelle di generazione precedente



2) Perché si dovrebbero installare le centrali di ultima generazione?



3) Perché sono state installate le centrali precedenti?



4) Siete disposti ad assumervi le responsabilità di risarcimento danni, civili e penali nel caso si verifichino i seguenti fatti?:

- generazione di nube radioattiva (Sellafield 1957): da 20 anni all’ergastolo

- esposizione di una persona alle radiazioni (Kyshtym 1957): da 10 anni all’ergastolo

- contaminazione di terreno(Kyshtym 1957): da 10 anni all’ergastolo

- rilascio gas radioattivi nell’atmosfera (Three mile Island 1969): da 10 anni all’ergastolo

- morte di una qualsiasi persona (Tokaimura 1999): ergastolo

- emissioni radioattive (Tricastin 2008): da 10 anni a 30 anni

- perdite di piccole quantità di materiale radioattivo (Pierrelatte 2008): da 2 a 10 anni

- incidenti di livello 1 (La Hauge 2008): da 1 a 5 anni

- presenza di livello eccessivo di inquinamento delle acque(Romans sur Isere 2008): da 2 anni all’ergastolo

- perdita di acqua pesante (Chalk River 2009): da 2 anni all’ergastolo

- Ritardo nella comunicazione dell’avvenimento di incidenti (Chalk River 2009): da 1 a 20 anni

- Omissione della comunicazione di incidenti: ergastolo

- Inquinamento da scorie radioattive (Busko, Ramsko, Jablanicko 2009): da 2 anni all’ergastolo

- Disseminazione di rifiuti radioattivi (France 3 2009): ergastolo

- Permanenza in attività di un impianto durante una riparazione (Chalk River 2009): da 2 anni all’ergastolo

- Smarrimento di contenitori contenente materiale radioattivo (Sellafield 2009): da 10 anni all’ergastolo

- Generazione di isotopi sconosciuti (Three Miles Island 2009): da 5 anni all’ergastolo

- Chernobyl: ergastolo o esecuzione capitale

...an open letter from Michael Moore to President Obama...

President Obama: Replace Rahm with Me ...an open letter from Michael Moore

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Dear President Obama,

I understand you may be looking to replace Rahm Emanuel as your chief of staff.

I would like to humbly offer myself, yours truly, as his replacement.

I will come to D.C. and clean up the mess that's been created around you. I will work for $1 a year. I will help the Dems on Capitol Hill find their spines and I will teach them how to nonviolently beat the Republicans to a pulp.

And I will help you get done what the American people sent you there to do. I don't need much, just a cot in the White House basement will do.

Now, don't get too giddy with excitement over my offer, because you and I are going to be up at 5 in the morning, 7 days a week and I am going to get you pumped up for battle every single day (see photo). Each morning you and I will do 100 jumping jacks and you will repeat after me:

"THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ELECTED ME, NOT THE REPUBLICANS, TO RUN THE COUNTRY! I AM IN CHARGE! I WILL ORDER ALL OBSTRUCTIONISTS OUTTA MY WAY! IF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DON'T LIKE WHAT I'M DOING THEY CAN THROW MY ASS OUT IN 2012. IN THE MEANTIME, I CALL THE SHOTS ON THEIR BEHALF! NOW, CONGRESS, DROP AND GIVE ME 50!!"

Then we will put on our jogging sweats and run up to Capitol Hill. We will take names, kick butts, and then take some more names. If we have to give a few noogies or half-nelson's, then so be it. In our pockets we will have a piece of paper to show the pansy Dems just how much they won by in 2008 -- and the poll results that show the majority of Americans oppose the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and want the bankers punished. Like drill sergeants, we will get right up in their faces and ask them, "WHAT PART OF THE PUBLIC MANDATE DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND, SOLDIER?!! DROP AND GIVE ME 50!"

I know this is the job Rahm Emanuel was supposed to be doing.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have always admired Rahm Emanuel (if you don't count his getting NAFTA pushed through Congress in the '90s which destroyed towns like Flint, Michigan. I know, picky-picky.). He is what we needed for a long time -- a no-apologies, take-no-prisoners fighting machine. Someone who is not afraid to get his hands dirty and pound the right wing into submission. Far from being the foul-mouthed bully he has been portrayed as, Rahm is the one who BEAT UP the bullies to protect us from them.

That's certainly what he did in 2006. After six long, miserable years of the middle-class getting slaughtered and the poor being flushed down the toilet, Rahm Emanuel took on the job of returning Congress to the Democrats. No one believed it could be done.

But he did it. Big time. He put the fear of God into the party of Rush and Newt. They had never been so scared. More importantly, though, he instilled a sense of hope in the Democrats that they could actually score the mother of all hat tricks in 2008 -- and with you, an African American no less, in the pole position!

It worked. The Darkness ended. The vast majority of nation wept with joy on the night of the election (those who weren't weeping went out and bought a record number of guns and ammo). Unlike the last president, you didn't "win" by 537 votes in Florida (although Gore won the popular vote by a half-million), you beat McCain nationally by 9,522,083 votes! The House Democrats got a walloping 79-vote margin. The Senate Dems would caucus with a supermajority of 60 votes unheard of in over 30 years. The wars would now end. America would have universal health care. Wall Street and the banks would, at the very least, be reined in. Hardworking citizens would not be thrown out of their homes. It was supposed to be the dawning of a new age.

But the Republicans were not going to go quietly into the night. You see, instead of having just one Rahm Emanuel, they are ALL Rahm Emanuels. That's why they usually win. Unlike most Democrats, they are relentless and unstoppable. When they believe in something (which is usually themselves and the K Street job they hope to be rewarded with someday), they'll fight for it till the death. They are loyal to a fault to each other (they were never able to denounce Bush, even though they knew he was destroying the party). They dig their heels in deep no matter what. If you exiled them to a lone chunk of melting polar ice cap, they would keep insisting that it was just a normal "January thaw," even as the frigid Arctic waters rose above their God-fearing necks ("See what I mean -- this water is COLD! What 'global *warming*'?! Adam and Eve rode dinos...aagghh!!... gulp gulp gulp").

We thought we were all done with this craziness, but we were mistaken. Like a beast that you just can't cage, the Republicans convinced not only the media, but YOU and your fellow Dems, that 59 votes was a *minority*! Precious time was lost trying to reach a "consensus" and trying to be "bipartisan."

Well, you and the Democrats have been in charge now for over a year and not one banking regulation has been reinstated. We don't have universal health care. The war in Afghanistan has escalated. And tens of thousands of Americans continue to lose their jobs and be thrown out of their homes. For most of us, it's just simply no longer good enough that Bush is gone. Woo hoo. Bush is gone. Yippee. That hasn't created one new friggin' job.

You're such a good guy, Mr. President. You came to Washington with your hand extended to the Republicans and they just chopped it off. You wanted to be respectful and they decided that they were going to say "no" to everything you suggested. Yet, you kept on saying you still believed in bipartisanship.

Well, if you really want bipartisanship, just go ahead and let the Republicans win in November. Then you'll get all the bipartisanship you want.

Let me be clear about one thing: The Democrats on Election Day 2010 are going to get an ass-whoopin' of biblical proportions if things don't change right now. And after the new Republican majority takes over, they, along with a few conservative Democrats in Congress, will get to bipartisanly impeach you for being a socialist and a citizen of Kenya. How nice to see both sides of the aisle working together again!

And the brief window we had to fix this country will be gone.

Gone.

Gone, baby, gone.

I don't know what your team has been up to, but they haven't served you well. And Rahm, poor Rahm, has turned into a fighter -- not of Republicans, but of the left. He called those of us who want universal health care "f***ing retarded." Look, I don't know if Rahm is the problem or if it's Gibbs or Axelrod or any of the other great people we owe a debt of thanks to for getting you elected. All I know is that whatever is fueling your White House it's now running on fumes. Time to shake things up! Time to bring me in to get you pumped up every morning! Go Barack! Yay Obama! Fight, Team, Fight!

I'm packed and ready to come to D.C. tomorrow. If it helps, you won't really be losing Rahm entirely because I'll be bringing his brother with me -- my agent, Ari Emanuel. Man, you should see HIM negotiate a deal! Have you ever wanted to see Mitch McConnell walking around Capitol Hill carrying his own head in his hands after it's just been handed to him by the infamous Ari? Oh, baby, it won't be pretty -- but boy will it be sweet!

What say you, Barack? Me and you against the world! Yes we can! It'll be fun -- and we may just get something done. Whaddaya got to lose? Hope?

Retardedly yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. Just to give you an idea of the new style I'll be bringing with me, when a cornhole like Sen. Ben Nelson tries to hold you up next time, this is what I will tell him in order to get his vote: "You've got exactly 30 seconds to rescind your demand or I will personally make sure that Nebraska doesn't get one more federal dollar for the rest of Obama's term. And then I will let everyone in your state know that you wear Sooner panties, backwards. NOW DROP AND GIVE ME 50!"

...da Libero news...cittadini di serie A e cittadini- noi- di serie B!

Popolo viola in piazza No al decreto-truffa



ROMA - "Quando il gioco si fa duro i duri iniziano a giocare". E' la frase esposta su alcuni striscioni sul palco in piazza Navona a Roma, dove si è svolta la manifestazione del Popolo viola con centinaia di partecipanti, in difesa della Costituzione e contro il dl 'salva-liste' ribattezzato dai manifestanti 'decreto-truffa'. L'iniziativa ha assunto un carattere interattivo, con oltre 1.300 internauti che hanno seguito l'evento connessi in diretta streaming, scrivendo su Facebook i loro commenti poi letti sul palco.

"Dimissioni", ha gridato a gran voce la folle, rivolgendosi al premier Berlusconi. Sul palco, dove è stata allestita una sorta di lapide-altarino con la scritta 'Qui giace lo Stato di diritto', i fiori e un candelotto rigorosamente viola si sono alternati vari giuristi per spiegare "l'incostituzionalità del decreto".

Tra la folla le bandiere di Idv, Pd e Rifondazione prevalgono su quelle viola. C'é anche chi sventola il Tricolore con un drappo nero che stringe la bandiera in segno di "lutto della Repubblica".

Iniziative analoghe sono state organizzate a Napoli, in piazza del Plebiscito; a Firenze, in piazza della Repubblica; a Ferrara, in piazza Castello; a Campobasso, davanti alla Prefettura; ad Arezzo, piazza Guido Monaco; Sassari, piazza Italia; Reggio Calabria, piazza Italia; Bari, davanti alla Prefettura; Messina, piazza Unità d'Italia; Pistoia, piazza della Repubblica; Pescara, piazza Salotto. A fianco del Popolo Viola a Roma si sono schierati anche i Verdi che giudicano "gravissimo" quanto accaduto in queste ore con un governo che per decreto ha deciso di "legalizzare l'illegalità".

Il Popolo viola sarà anche alla grande manifestazione delle opposizioni organizzata per sabato prossimo a Roma.

MONS. MOGAVERO (CEI): SCORRETTO CAMBIARE LE REGOLE DEL GIOCO - "Cambiare le regole del gioco mentre il gioco è già in atto è altamente scorretto, perchè si legittima ogni intervento arbitrario con la motivazione che ragioni più o meno intrinseche o pertinenti mettono un gioco un valore". E' quanto sottolinea Monsignor Domenico Mogavero, vescovo di Mazara del Vallo, e presidente per gli Affari Giuridici della Cei, in un intervento su Radio Vaticana sul rapporto tra voto elettorale e democrazia. ATTEGGIAMENTO ARROGANTE MAGGIORANZA - Un "brutto precedente", frutto di "un atteggiamento arrogante della maggioranza". Così mons. Domenico Mogavero commenta all'ANSA il varo del decreto salva-liste. "Cambiare le regole in corso d'opera è un fatto giuridicamente grave - ribadisce il vescovo raggiunto telefonicamente a Damasco -. Si tratta poi di capire se questo era effettivamente un decreto di interpretazione di norme precedenti, che si potrebbe accogliere solo con grande sforzo, o di una modifica delle regole esistenti, il che farebbe concludere che si è agito in maniera gravemente scorretta". Mons.Mogavero sostiene comunque che la maggioranza "ha preteso di aggiustare tutto senza riconoscere le proprie responsabilità ". "Si sarebbe dovuto dire - prosegue - che ci sono state delle leggerezze, delle inadempienze, ma che si è poi agito in modo da non far pagarne le spese all'elettorato". Secondo il vescovo, "doveva esserci un'assunzione di responsabilità per poi poter cercare una via d'uscita. Il torto - aggiunge - l'hanno fatto coloro che non hanno ottemperato alle regole. Si sarebbe dovuto dire questo, pur cercando poi di non privare gli elettori di un loro diritto".

Non si placano, dunque, le polemiche dopo la firma di Napolitano al cosiddetto decreto 'salva liste' varato dal governo. Non sono bastati all'opposizione i chiarimenti di ieri del Capo dello Stato secondo il quale il decreto era l'unico strumento percorribile in quanto "non era sostenibile che potessero non partecipare nella più grande regione italiana il candidato presidente e la lista del maggior partito politico di governo, per gli errori nella presentazione della lista".
E mentre l'Idv con Di Pietro insiste sull'impeachment, il Pd ha convocato una manifestazione nazionale di protesta per il 13 marzo a Roma e per bocca del suo segretario, ha avvertito la maggioranza: "faremo una mobilitazione anche nelle sedi giurisdizionali, i Tar sono ancora aperti, faremo una mobilitazione mi auguro fino alla Corte Costituzionale".
Nel pomeriggio a Roma, intanto, annunciata una nuova manifestazione del popolo viola contro il decreto legge 'salva liste'.

RIAMMESSA LISTA FORMIGONI, DOMANI SI DECIDE PER IL PDL LAZIO - Ieri, il Tar della Lombardia ha accordato la sospensiva, riammettendo la lista del governatore uscente, Roberto Formigoni, che era stata esclusa per presunte irregolarità. Bisognerà invece attendere domani per conoscere il pronunciamento dei giudici amministrati sul ricorso contro l'esclusione della lista del Pdl nel Lazio.

FORMIGONI: MOVIOLA HA SMENTITO ARBITRO - All'indomani della pronuncia del Tar che ha riammesso nella competizione per le Regionali la lista 'Per la Lombardia' di Roberto Formigoni, il governatore lombardo usa una metafora calcistica per spiegare quanto avvenuto e esprimere la sua soddisfazione. "Sono sempre stato in corsa - ha spiegato a un incontro di Federfarma Lombardia -. Hanno cercato di espellerci, anzi l'arbitro aveva già alzato il cartellino rosso ma la moviola ha stabilito, inderogabilmente, che il fallo lo aveva commesso l'avversario". A giudizio di Formigoni, "gli avvenimenti di questi giorni sono stati dolorosi ma - ha aggiunto - sono soddisfatto soprattutto di una cosa: la correttezza dei nostri comportamenti dal primo giorno all'ultimo. Il Tar ha riconosciuto il nostro diritto originario - ha proseguito - e le firme sono state raccolte tutte nel pieno rispetto della legge". Il presidente della Lombardia, riferendosi al decreto legge interpretativo controfirmato dal presidente della Repubblica Giorgio Napolitano, ha poi sottolineato che "siamo in gara senza aiutini ma non saremo vittoriosi senza un aiutone da parte degli elettori" alle elezioni. Non preoccupato di un eventuale calo di preferenze a causa del caos liste - "sono convinto di no, abbiamo tre settimane di campagna elettorale per spiegare quello che è successo e andare a crescere" - Formigoni non mostra nemmeno preoccupazione per eventuali ricorsi verso la pronuncia del Tar anche se, conclude, "in Italia c'é sempre qualcosa che può succedere ma speriamo non ci siano levate di ingegno".

PENATI,DOPO DECRETO SALVA-PDL NON ESCLUDO RICORSO - Filippo Penati, candidato del centrosinistra alla presidenza della Regione Lombardia, sta valutando con i propri legali l'ipotesi di impugnare davanti al Consiglio di Stato l'ordinanza del Tar che ieri ha riammesso lo sfidante Roberto Formigoni alla competizione elettorale. "Dopo il decreto salva Formigoni - ha affermato Penati, a margine di un convegno sulla sicurezza nel lavoro - che ha sancito che la politica può godere dei privilegi mentre il rispetto delle regole è doveroso solo per i cittadini comuni, non escludo di fare ricorso". Secondo Penati, infatti, il pronunciamento del Tar, pur recependo le indicazioni del decreto interpretativo varato venerdì sera dal governo, non ha cassato la tesi dell' insufficienza del numero di firme necessarie alla candidatura di Formigoni. "Il Tar ha raccolto le indicazioni di carattere procedurale contenute nel decreto - ha spiegato Penati - senza intervenire sul numero delle firme e quindi non smentendo il fatto che mancasse un numero considerevole di firme a sostegno della candidatura di Formigoni".

BONINO, MIO RITIRO? CI STO PENSANDO - "Io ci sto veramente pensando se valga la pena di giocare con i bari". Lo ha ribadito la candidata del centrosnistra alla presidenza della regione Lazio Emma Bonino rispondendo ad un giornalista che le chiedeva se in caso di ammissione della lista del Pdl a Roma fosse pronta a ritirarsi. "In tutta Italia se si arriva a tali atti di arroganza stiamo attenti. Io dico dell'angoscia vera che mi attanaglia di fondo - ha proseguito - so bene che mi si dirà é il male minore, che così fan tutti, che è sempre stato, ma io mi chiedo se a volte non sia il momento in cui uno dice: con i bari io non gioco, non lo so!". Intervenendo a Sora e poi a Cassino (Frosinone) ad incontri con i cittadini, Bonino ha ribadito di avere l'impressione che "chi ha avuto il coraggio di fare questo Dl non so cosa possa riservarci". A proposito di un suo eventuale ritiro dalla competizione elettorale la candidata ha aggiunto che "non è una decisione che prendo da sola, abbiamo convocato una grande assemblea martedì però - ha detto - vorrei che tutti i cittadini si ponesse questo problema. Io mi aspetto di tutto, certamente prima delle elezioni mi pare difficile che il Dl venga convertito, resta quindi aperta come arma successiva ed è bene saperlo, le trappole bisogna conoscerle prima". Bonino ha anche ricordato che lei "ha senso di responsabilità e della realtà ma bisogna prevenire e prevedere possibili trappole".

DI PIETRO, CHI MI ATTACCA E' PAVIDO E IPOCRITA, VIOLATA LA COSTITUZIONE - Dopo aver ipotizzato l'impeachment del capo dello Stato, oggi Antonio Di Pietro replica a chi lo critica su questo punto: "Ho letto i giornali - afferma - e ho assistito all'ipocrisia e alla pavidità tipiche di una certa cultura di questo Paese". "Tutti - aggiunge - hanno detto che questo provvedimento (il decreto salva-liste, ndr) è assurdo, abnorme, costituzionalmente senza senso, e ha ridotto la credibilità della funzione governativa e di quella di controllo". Secondo il presidente dell' Italia dei Valori, si tratta di un provvedimento "oltre che dannoso, inutile, perché non c'era bisogno di un decreto per riammettere le liste Polverini e Formigoni. Si doveva avere l' umiltà e l'accortezza di aspettare l'esito del lavoro dei giudici, cioé di rispettare le regole". "Insisto nel sostenere che il comportamento del Capo dello Stato nell'avallare questo decreto golpista è stato inutile e dannoso", dice ancora Antonio Di Pietro, durante un'iniziativa elettorale a Lodi. "Inutile - aggiunge - perché questo decreto non serviva e non serve a risolvere la situazione che già era stata risolta dai giudici, tanto è vero che la lista Polverini e la lista Formigoni sono state riammesse senza bisogno del decreto". "E allora la violazione alla Costituzione - incalza il leader dell'IdV - è servita solo per riammettere le liste del Pdl nella circoscrizione provinciale di Roma. Quante altre liste non sono state ammesse nelle circoscrizioni italiane negli ultimi 50 anni? Ritengo che, per ottenere un piccolo vantaggio scorretto, oggi si è fatto un decreto che viola le leggi, viola il rispetto fondamentale di un gioco democratico e, in questa situazione, anche il Capo dello Stato ha avallato un atto di cui non c'era bisogno". "Quel che fa più male oggi - ha aggiunto Di Pietro - è constatare come il cosiddetto mondo intellettuale si sia riempito di ipocrisia sostenendo che il Capo dello Stato non avrebbe potuto fare diversamente. Certo che avrebbe potuto fare diversamente. Avrebbe potuto evitare questo sfregio alla legalità e questo strappo alla Costituzione per ottenere un non risultato, giacché quello che chiedevano i diretti interessati l'avevano già ottenuto attraverso le sentenze della magistratura".

ART.21, IN PIAZZA PER LA COSTITUZIONE - "Saremo tutti in piazza il giorno 13 per contrastare il tentativo di oscurare la Costituzione, la legalità, la libertà dell'informazione": è l'impegno di Articolo 21, nelle parole del presidente Federico Orlando e del portavoce Giuseppe Giulietti. "Chiediamo a tutte le associazioni del settore di partecipare - sottolineano i vertici di Articolo 21 in una nota - denunciando quanto sta accadendo e utilizzando ogni spazio disponibile, dai siti ai media sino ai palcoscenici. Al buio e al silenzio di questi giorni vanno contrapposte luce e parole". "Siamo sicuri che l'appello del Pd saré accolto da chiunque abbia a cuore lo stato di diritto e la Costituzione. Articolo 21 - conclude la nota - da subito inizierà a raccogliere e a promuovere le adesioni dei singoli, dei movimenti e di tutte le associazioni che si occupano della libertà, della cultura e dell'informazione".

POLVERINI: RICORSO CONSULTA? VOGLIONO ESPELLERCI - "Mi meraviglia che la battaglia non sia sui temi elettorali ma semplicemente sulla volontà di provare a vincere espellendo una forza politica, la più importante della città di Roma", afferma la candidata del centrodestra alla regione Lazio, Renata Polverini in merito all'ipotesi di sollevare davanti alla Corte Costituzionale un conflitto di competenza contro il dl salvaliste.

Appunti per una meditazione sul senso della vita (4)

...Mi accorgo, scorrendo i precedenti appunti, di non aver veramente risposto alla domanda principale:
Qual'è il mio senso della vita? O, meglio ancora, che significato do io alla vita?
A queste domande nel momento duro che sto vivendo vien facile rispondere: La mia vita ha un senso in quanto aiuto, proteggo mia moglie nella sua battaglia, dandole tutto il mio appoggio, materiale e morale, per vincere l'implacabile nemico che ci sovrasta.
Attenzione però: ciò non deve annullare il cosiddetto mio IO- occorre continuare, per quanto è possibile, la propria vita "normale", i propri interessi, le proprie abitudini, il proprio comportamento, verso se stessi e verso gli altri: onestà, riservatezza, un pizzico di curiosità per il nuovo, la propria Fede in Dio ed altre peculiarità che contribuiscono a delineare ciò che sono diventato, con il passare del tempo...

...da Libero news...tanto per cambiare...un po' di m....!!

Isola, quest’anno fa cac...

Notizia del 4 marzo 2010 - 11:00

Una mega dissenteria ha stremato i naufraghi, già acciaccati dopo il volo dall'elicottero in 2 metri d’acqua. Busi minaccia il golpe (Siamo in una latrina), la Lecciso è in fermo immagine da giorni, il culturista biascica come Ozzy Osbourne. Esce Simone


di Sara Gambèro

Tra parolacce (di Busi), oscenità (di Busi), logorrea (di Busi) e minacce di abbandonare il gioco (Busi, se non si cambia spiaggia, Luca Ward se non può curare come si deve il suo colpo della strega, la Lecciso, se non le fanno spalmare l’olio sui capelli) la Rai sta seriamente meditando di spostare l’Isola dei Famosi della Ventura dalla prima serata a mezzanotte e dintorni, facendo un cambio strategico con Marzullo. Qui si rischia la censura ogni tre secondi, era più sobria e pacata l’edizione con Ceccherini, che è tutto dire. (E ieri sera, non paghi del carico da novanta di Busi, il comico toscano è apparso in collegamento, con tanto di rivisitazione della canzone di Pupo e Filiberto, dedicata a quella "gran topolona" di Simona)



A parte la scurrilità dello scrittore («Siamo sormontati da una cattedrale di diarrea») che almeno fa colore, mica come "quei quattro gatti morti lì dietro", ci si sono messi pure vomito e dissenteria a edulcorare il tutto. Una bella intossicazione alimentare, della serie: "Pure i naufraghi mangiano e vomitano fagioli" e via, il quadretto ameno è stato completato.

Tre ricoverati in ospedale : Aldo, Federico e Claudia Galanti, che ormai da pantera dell’Uruguay si è trasformata nel bradipo della Malesia (non parla più, si copre con tutoni e sembra la cugina ingenua di Arisa). Il dottore dell’Isola, che va e viene a qualunque ora del giorno e della notte, maledice il giorno in cui ha accettato l’incarico, rinunciando a un rave party a Guatemala City

La Ventura, che da quando è caduta la scorsa settimana, non fa che ripetere in loop "L’importante non è cadere, ma rialzarsi", un po' ride, un po' piange, un po' si incazza. Ovviamente con Busi. Che sarà pure scurrile e un tantino pesante con i compagni, ma almeno fa colore. Perché se fosse per Loredana Lecciso, in fermo immagine da una settimana, Luca Ward, che se chiudi gli occhi ti sembra di vedere Hugh Grant, Antonio Banderas e Russell Crowe messi insieme (che voce, ragazzi) ma ha lo sguardo di un condannato nel braccio della morte, la Galante di cui sopra, c’è più vita e movimento in un documentario sull’Antartide.

E chissà che non ci regalino qualche sopresa i non famosi. Forti del successo Carlo Capponi dello scorso anno, gli autori hanno pensato che o si faceva la corte dei miracoli, o niente. E allora via all’ingegnere di Pinerolo Luca, mix tra Gianduia Vettorello e Macario, la rifattona pugliese Tracy iscritta alle liste del "Pissidi", il culturista romano Davide in perizoma leopardato che, senza proteine da una settimama, biascica come Ozzy Osbourne dopo anni di crack

Per ora è uscito Simone Rugiati, chef spocchioso di belle speranze. Che si è incazzato non tanto per l’uscita, quanto perché Nina Senicar, la "tempra dei Balcani" (copyright Ventura) ci aveva fatto un pensierino. Per la prossima settimana sono attesi i "figli di...": Guenda Goria, primogenita della Ruta, Roberto Facchini, figlio adottivo di Renato Zero, Dodi Battaglia e Manuela Boldi. Che chiedeva se poteva portare la piastra e se c’era l’aria condizionata sull’Isola. Cominciamo bene.

Le perle di Busi (da leggere solo se maggiorenni e dopo ingerito un gastroriparatore)

«Io ho dato alla Milo della Claretta Petacci, lei mi ha dato del rotto in c*. E siamo diventati inseprabili, "culo e camicia"».

«Ventura, voglio sapere com’è il suo décolletté: se davanti, dietro, bilaterale o che spacca la ciorla in due».

«Cara Ventura, fra noi due "pendenti" da qualche parte si rizzerà»

«Se mi avessero detto che era una latrina poteva anche starmi bene, io ci ho passato la gioventù a battere nelle latrine, ma se mi spacciano l'Isola per quel paradiso che non è, allora mi incazzo»

«Se vado avanti così, a forza di culate (riferendosi alla traversate in barca) rischio di tornare a casa da sodomita»

...da Libero news...il dramma del Cile...

Cile, si scava ancora. Dramma dispersi


E' di 723 morti il bilancio, ancora provvisorio, delle vittime del terremoto di sabato notte in Cile, ma si continua a scavare sotto le macerie e prosegue anche la ricerca dei dispersi. Per la popolazione la situazione e' sempre piu' difficile, in molte zone manca ancora l'elettricita' e comincia a scarseggiare il cibo. Il governo cileno ieri ha chiesto all'Onu l'intervento della comunita' internazionale, anche se nella notte ha dovuto stoppare un team di medici giapponesi perche' la situazione nel Paese e' ancora ''instabile'' e non e' ancora possibile accettare soccorsi internazionali. Oggi e' attesa a Santiago il segretario di Stato americano, Hillary Clinton. La visita era gia' stata fissata per salutare la presidente uscente Michelle Bachelet e dare il benvenuto al nuovo capo dello Stato, Sebastian Pinero, ma ora l'agenda sara' certamente dedicata al coordinamento dei contributi post-emergenza. Domani inoltre sara' parzialmente riaperto l'aeroporto di Santiago che aveva subito dei danni nel sisma e potrebbero quindi arrivare i primi aiuti. Per arginare i saccheggi da parte dei sopravvissuti, oltre a Concepcion, citta' vicina all'epicentro della prima devastante scossa, altre tre citta' sono state sottoposte nella notte a coprifuoco: si tratta di Talca, Cauquenes e Constitution, tutte nella regione del Maule. Secondo una prima stima del governo, il terremoto costera' al Cile 30 miliardi di dollari di danni.


UNA TRENTINA DI SCOSSE DI ASSESTAMENTO - Sono una trentina le scosse di assestamento registrate in Cile nell'area interessata dal forte sisma di 8,8 gradi Richter che ha colpito il paese sudamericano sabato scorso provocando almeno 723 morti. E' quanto si ricava dai dati pubblicati sul sito Internet dell'Istituto americano di geofisica (Usgs), un centro specializzato nel monitoraggio dei fenomeni tellurici su scala mondiale. Le scosse hanno interessato una vasta area a sud della capitale Santiago e nessuna è andata oltre i 5,8 gradi della scala Richter. Nelle giornate precedenti, la soglia della magnitudo 6 era stata superata più volte. L'ultima scossa, di 4,9 gradi Richter, è stata avvertita alle 20:26 locali di ieri (le 00:26 italiane) nella regione di Maule, una delle più colpite dal sisma. L'epicentro è stato localizzato a 50 chilometri a nord della città di Talca e a 200 chilometri a sud-ovest di Santiago.

IMPOSTO COPRIFUOCO A 3 CITTA' COLPITE - Tre nuove città della zona centrale del Cile, colpite dal terremoto e dallo tsunami di sabato scorso, sono da ieri sera sottoposte a coprifuoco notturno, per prevenire saccheggi e disordini. Lo ha annunciato il comando militare. Il generale Bosco Pesse, comandante della brigata della regione del Maule, ha reso noto che le città di Talca, Cauquenes e Constitucion, nel raggio di un centinaio di chilometri nel Maule, sono sottoposte a coprifuoco dalla mezzanotte alle 6 ora locale (dalle 4 alle 10 in Italia). A Concepcion, la più grande delle città colpite dal sisma, il coprifuoco notturno è già stato imposto domenica sera.

RITROVATO ITALIANO DISPERSO, STA BENE - Si era temuto per lui. Ma Federico Albertini, giovane insegnante di Ascoli Piceno, da tre anni a Concepcion, sta "bene" e al momento del terremoto "era fuori città", tra le più colpite dal sisma. Nell'ascolano si tira un sospiro di sollievo dopo l'angoscia delle prime ore dopo la tragedia, quando di lui si erano perse le tracce. La notizia del 'contatto' con Albertini rimbalza nel pomeriggio italiano dall'altra parte dell'Oceano. Ed è proprio l'ambasciata italiana a dare la notizia, dopo che aveva lanciato un appello - a cui lui stesso ha risposto - a farsi vivo. A spiegare i motivi per cui non era stato rintracciato arrivano le parole della famiglia, in Italia, che spiega come Federico stesse cambiando casa e non avesse al momento un indirizzo preciso in cui essere rintracciato. I diplomatici italiani in Cile - dall'ambasciata a Santiago al consolato di Concepcion, tornato operativo già ieri - hanno battuto infatti a tappeto tutti gli indirizzi degli italiani residenti. E stanno continuando a fare le verifiche - in stretto coordinamento con l'Unità di Crisi della Farnesina - su ogni segnalazione. Su ogni connazionale cioé indicato poter essere nel paese al momento del terremoto. Verifiche che proseguono e che finora non hanno registrato connazionali coinvolti. Sta bene anche l'arcivescovo italiano di Concepcion, mons. Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, originario di Campiglia dei Berici nel vicentino, del quale non si riusciva ad avere notizie. "Siamo stati contattati da una suora salesiana di Punta Arenas che ha parlato al telefono con mio zio, confermandoci che sta bene", ha riferito oggi all'ANSA uno dei nipoti che lo cercavano dall'Italia. La notte del terremoto "ero a San Fabian de Alico, nell'entroterra cileno", vicino all'epicentro del sisma, racconta intanto Andrea Fagioli, un ragazzo italiano che solo oggi, a più di 48 ore dal sisma, è riuscito a rientrare a Santiago, dove abita, e a rendersi conto di quanto sia stata distruttiva la scossa di sabato notte. "Molte zone del Paese sono completamente isolate, molta gente che sta vicinissima all'epicentro, come lo ero io, non ha idea delle proporzioni di quello che è successo", spiega in una mail.

...Disgregazione sociale...

...Avrei voluto salutare il mese che inizia oggi con una poesia, ma alcune manifestazioni di improntitudine e di ignoranza, neppure degne di essere riportate, mi hanno fatto cambiare idea.
Questi fatti sono avvenuti nel mio condominio, un microcosmo in cui si ripetono situazioni già viste in paese, nella mia città di origine e via via in ogni angolo di questa disgraziata nazione.
La gente è chiusa nel suo particolare, non prende posizione per paura di discussioni, o peggio di ritorsioni, e così finisce con il lasciare campo libero al primo cretino di passaggio ed alle sue idee da decerebrato.
Per quanto mi riguarda credo che mi adeguerò all'andazzo generale, cercando di risolvere in primis i miei problemi, e che problemi!, personali, fregandomene, scusate l'espressione, di questo mondo per me destinato alla rovina!