and i think this is the main point really, from one of the articles



"Trade unionists and socialists in the UK would do well to watch events in Italy. Last Saturday's
demonstration shows what can be done by a trade union movement with a leadership prepared to take
on the government and lead its members in a fight. And this is a fight for workers across Europe: to
defend our rights against the neoliberal agenda of the EU. Its first demonstration has more than
matched the mobilisations around the French strikes of 1995. This is a model for a European workers’
movement."

YO Lucy good point ...
Italian politix are very interesting at the moment.
While the Corporate mafia controls the UK from behind the scenes, the traditional Mafia is right up front in italy.
Berlusconi being a fully paid up member of both the Mafia and the P2. Organized crime and big busines are one in the same.
The Italian oil giant ENI, includes ENICHEM, AGIP, SAIPEM, AMBIENTE SpA, ENIPOWER. ENI have polluted the Venice Lagoon.
Were recently aquitted of the murders of 200 workers in the chemical plants at Margera (venice). These people have polluted half of Italy. While on page 18 of yesterdays Corriere della sera there is an article about massive quantities of Uranium / Arsenic found in the venice lagoon.
On page 14 of the same paper ex ENI directors on trial for massive corruption, bank accounts in Bahamas ect ect.
These heavy metals come from Pirates, used to make sulphuric acid, the plant at Scarlino nr Grossetto has polluted that part of an area of tuscany called the Maremma.
Further up the road Nr Siena they have polluted the valley of the river Merse. ENI is also facing charges, which their vast army of lawyers will have thrown out, for disasters
at Mantova, over 150 dead and and Bari where there are 100's more dead and dieing: Point is that these multi national /mafia''s can get away with their crimes here.
Just as berlusconi has done in each case brought against
him. His lawyers just play for time the same as they do with the other mafia bosses.
As the fact that Berlusconi is a crook is common knowledge
on the european mainland, in Holland and Spain and France
newspapers ridicule him. How comes then Phoney tony is so
into cuddling up too a known gangster.
Perhaps it's because he likes the way that corporates can
get away with murder in Italy. Not that they don''t in the UK, but at least there is still some control on them.

Italy has suffered from oppresive regimes since the war.
The DC ran the country for 40 years, basically because the americans didn't want the Italian communists to take power
as they had a majority. Needles to say the (DC) Democratic Christians, were also an oppresive regime. They were certainly not democratic and well in with the mafia.

As most of the public monies which should go into the local communities usually end up in some fat cats pockets, Italians have had to do build their own community centers oor squat them. The squatters movement (Centro Sociale (CS)are light years in front of the UK. Radio stations like Radio Onda Rossa have been going for like 30 years. Some of the (CS)
have become legendary venues Leon Cavallo in Milan and forte Prenistino in Rome are just two that come to mind.

I think that the UK activist movement could learn a lot from
the Italian (CS) movement and other similar groups
The ferocity of the Italian police in genova shocked a lot of foreign activists, but the Italians have had to put up with that kind of violence from time. Genova just happened to get a bit of exposure other wise it was just more of the same.
Dozens of Italian activists have been killed by the cops in one way or another.
Yesterday there was a massive demo in rome supporting the Palestinians, it was hard to see many were there probably about 25.000. The T (RAI 1) was carefull not to show wide shots of the demo, just close ups of ten or twelve people.
Italian state TV is the pits and under complete political control. Not to mention the private channels owned by Mr B
Despite the terrible situation with a Mafia despot running the country Italian Activism is alive and well.

Also be interesting to map italian companies in UK.
ENICHEM have a few plants around the country southampton for instance.