If we read newspapers or listen the news it seems that the actual ucrainian situazion is due to the ideological contrast between pro westerners and pro Russians

The fact people would be ruled one or other way is not the matter of the problem.

The true reason, that to one superficial look do not shine id money. Dollars, euros, rubles that they smell of oil.

You can ask whay if Ucraina consumes 280.000 barrels of oil every day while it produces only 86.480, less than one third of that produced fron Azerbaijan.

The true problemi s not the production itself but royalties paid to flow oil into pipeline.

Russia has a huge net of them, reaching Black Sea, Nord Sea and Europe. It need money to improve its catastrophic economy and it want the oil pass trough its pipelines one of wich pass through Ucraina. Russia need to maintain its economical and political supremacy over the region. It feel menaced from western presence in Central Asia.

Western country are interested in dealling directly with Ucraina and oil producer countries to avoid the Russian port of Novorossiyrsk in the Balck Sea and consequently the Dardanelli strait often jammed from tankers.

And then one and other side cover the real nature of the problem firing hearts but it is only money matter.

For better or for worse Arafat has been a beloved leader for Palestinians. Now is dying. Nobody knows the nature of his illness. French medical staff sent Arafat’s blood sample to USA for analysis. It seems that its liver is seriously damaged by poison. But who poisoned him? After the controversy triggered from Ashua, Arafat’s wife, who said the Palestinian leadership wants to bury it still alive rises spontaneously a question: who is interested in Arafat’s died? For sure Israelis but new Palestinian leadership too. Arafat is castled on his own position and a dialog with Israel in impossible. Is the Palestinian younger leadership wanting space for mediation and avoid useless killing of Palestinian youth? The time will say it!

If i were american i would not have voted for Bush. But he has won the elections and then i make him my congratulations.
I  hope he can find the solution to the Iraqui war and vanquish terrorism.

Good luck mr. President

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's illness will probably pull him away from power. This fact can lead at two hypothesis. If we accept the idea that Arafat would have lost, more than one time, the opportunity for giving to its people a state we have to hope that this illness can lead to a new leader able to gain trustfulness allowing him to seat, respected, to a negotiation table. It depends from the ability of Palestinians to be united and to discover and sustain politically the right man. But if this hypothesis would be erroneous, Arafat’s illness threatens to usher in a greater period of instability, perhaps even bitter divisions, within the Palestinian camp. Instability would lead to agitations that will give justification to Israeli repression. Then I think we have, humanly, to augur healt to Arafat and a new leader to Palestinians.

Tunisina president Zine El Abidine Ben Alì has ben reelected with 94,48% of the votes for a furth five years mandate. I don’t know if Mr. President is a good president or not! Only Tunisian people knows it and I respect their will. But we were used to see such “bulgarian” results only in the undemocratic countries of the former soviet empire.

This fact can insinuate the doubt that there is no real democracy even if we can agree that President Zine El Abidine Ben Alì rule brought stability to the country.

Then, congratulations Mr. President and good luck to Tunisian people!

The Islamic Army, that has killed the Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni in 26 august, renews its menaces to Italy. They enjoin to Italian people and government to withdraw the army and businnes firms from Iraq. “every soldier, investor, civil employee or enterprise owner will face the same Baldonis fate. No difference between them, same fate of him”. The body of the journalist was never returned to his family.

Here in Italy is taking shape a bill in parliament to impose a super tax over the so called SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) because, the proposer argues, they pollute air and are dangerous in case of accidents with normal cars. Then pollution as source of money. Italian government don’t care about citizens healt but only to cash money. It sounds haw: “Do you want to pollute? You also make it, is sufficient you pay”. Would it not be better to say “this car pollute and it is dangerous then it can’t circulate in this country”? Car industries would produce immediately motors less polluting and the problem would be solved.

What meant to own a car running 300 km hour if on the highway the speed limit is 130 km hour? Prestige cars can be recognized for a good design and luxurious interior not only for speed.

The worst is that green parties ready approved of the proposal. Guilty accomplice of pollution.

Today I was searching something into my ordered chaos. Pulling a drawer with more force than the necessary it has fallen on the floor seeding its content all around. It was the drawer I’m used to call “antiquities drawer”. There were old documents. My first assumption letter, my old work booklet, the military dismissal, some newspaper cuttings, some photos and my reports of the primary school. Reposts made with grey recycled paper with names and marks written with black ink with a pen nib. The photos when I attended the first and second elementary school. How many faded memories. The three boys named Mario, it was an usual name during those times, Antonio called “little spot” because of the ink spots always present on the pages of its notebooks. All around our old teacher with black aprons and blue ribbons.

Then my eye has been put down on the shaded background. There was a wide billboard hung at a wooden pole like a land map. At first I did not remember what it was but only a few seconds later I well remembered the billboard who showed the shape of gun shells, antipersonnel mines and shrapnels. I remember very well a little red hand bomb. At the eyes of a chid as I was it seemed more a tomato or a red apple instead of a dangerous thing. “If you find them, don’t touch” were written on top! I was born on 1947 only two years after WWII and there were many war surplus.

It returned to my mind a boy, only a little older than I was. He lost the ring finger and the mean of the left hand playing with a bullet of a machine-gun. When he raised its hand seemed to made “corna” a famous Italian gesture and we laughed a lot.

I have not been able not to think to all boys, all around the world, who can meet them on their play roads.

Also for this I would want that it is possible to settle controversies with mediation instead with war. But I think it will remain only a hope.

Moskow endorsed the Kyoto Protocol on Thursday making international implementation, of one of the most far-reaching and controversial environmental initiatives, a near certainty. "The fate of the Kyoto Protocol depends on Russia. If we ... rejected ratification, we would be the ones to blame," Deputy Foreign Minister Yury Fedotov said. China also issued rigorous norms about pollution prevention. Although USA are homeland of democracy, freedom, and Human Right Chart they continue their industrial program, without any worry about pollution, and continue to produce motors of 3, 4 , 5.000 cc covering only few miles with one litre of fuel. And moreover they refuse to sign the Kyoto Protocol. The western country does not have to sell obsolete technology to the third world because pollution is, like widely demonstrated, a global problem. Every country have to do something before that it is too much late. Nature is not our property it belongs to our sons and they have the right to receive it from us without industrial and nuclear pollution.