tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35520052011-04-21T15:03:52.911-07:00Random reactions and columns from Italy DailyThomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comBlogger391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-1126949470499702792005-09-17T02:26:00.000-07:002005-09-17T02:31:10.506-07:00

I'm getting a few legacy visitors here--I've transferred my blogging activities to my Random Reactions weblog. I've recently been posting about the power and the peril of Google--check out posts here, here, here, and here. Check 'em out.

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-1057880658510193932003-07-10T16:44:00.000-07:002003-07-10T16:44:18.360-07:00

Letter to the times Sir, I had the pleasure of hearing Niall Ferguson, author of Empire, talk about his book at the time of its release last winter. One of the refreshing aspects of his talk and his book was his ability to examine British imperial politics without the presumption or assumption of imperial guilt. How disappointing then, to find his review of Samantha Power's book, A Problem

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-954043962003-06-07T04:13:00.000-07:002003-06-07T04:13:48.800-07:00

Null Party Line If we do not adopt a closed adherence to a party platform, certain things begin to make sense that are otherwise obscured. I believe that Iraq had (and apparently still has) enough weapons of mass destruction to pose a threat to the region (codespeak for Israel). This belief allows me to filter some of the nonsense coming from the BBC and the Guardian about the run-up to the

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-915737122003-03-28T15:29:00.000-08:002003-05-11T07:17:27.000-07:00

Seven Days in May Copyright 2003 Thomas W. Fuller Comments? thomaswfuller@yahoo.com Sunday, May 11, 2003 The Bush Administration today announced that Professor Glenn Reynolds, known on the Internet as the Instapundit, would replace Barbara Bodine as administrative head in Iraq. The surprising move was seen as an effort to counter perceptions that Iraqi reconstruction is sputtering, if not

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-888469962003-02-10T04:43:00.000-08:002003-03-09T03:49:17.000-08:00

What The German Said Copyright 2003 Thomas W. Fuller This is a synthesis of several conversations with Europeans about the upcoming war in Iraq. “Well, so we oppose this adventure, this war. But why? Our reasons are not the same as the reasons of our leaders, who seek to appease us and further their ambitions. We have started wars like this. We have created a demon that demands destruction

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-888189572003-02-09T15:42:00.000-08:002003-02-09T15:42:08.710-08:00

The Immigration Solution Thomas Fuller As an American recently arrived in London (from Italy, where immigration is a contentious issue), I hope I am qualified to comment on Bob Rowthorn’s recent essay. As an immigrant, I am naturally interested in the subject. As an American, I have seen the effects of large scale immigration in my native country. Perhaps most importantly, the current

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-888183122003-02-09T15:25:00.000-08:002003-02-09T15:25:47.160-08:00

In Defense Of Mr. Blair We Americans, accustomed to the rambling incoherence of President Bush and the studied simplicity of former President Reagan (and the silky, sneaky seduction of ex-president Clinton’s speech) are a little amazed at Tony Blair. Someone who speaks in complete sentences. Wow. He even thinks on his feet and speaks extemporaneously. Dude! There are other reasons to be

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-883473452003-01-31T13:47:00.000-08:002003-05-11T07:16:37.000-07:00

Animal Pharm—The Importance of Intellectual Property Rights for the 21st Century Thomas W. Fuller In light of the malnutrition and outright starvation facing much of the developing world, I believe it is time that we demand that McDonald’s supply free food to the hungry. It is unconscionable that so many face death and disease for want of the basic commodities that McDonald’s sells at such a

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-835973952002-10-27T08:57:00.000-08:002002-10-27T09:21:18.000-08:00

Open Letter To Instapundit For the eleven of you who read this weblog, Instapundit (run by Glenn Reynolds and found at www.instapundit.com) is probably the premier weblog in existence. It links to news stories and provides pungent commentary, usually on target and always more concise than my editorials. Recently, weblogs have been asking if leftist patriots exist and, if we do, what we really

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-825895702002-10-06T03:41:00.000-07:002002-10-06T03:41:44.070-07:00

Enough Thomas W. Fuller Two years ago I wrote a series of editorial columns for Italy Daily describing Italy’s coming demographic crisis. In the series, I compared Italy’s situation in the first decade of the new millennium to Japan’s in the 1990’s, saying that an aging population and a stalled economy would leave the country at risk in the same way Japan appears at risk. Now, similar

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-816246482002-09-15T01:21:00.000-07:002002-10-06T05:14:47.000-07:00

My John Galt Moment It was actually more of a Hank Rearden minute, and it happened in Turin last November. Turin, home of Primo Levi and the Shroud of Turin, was also host to a small debate between myself and a Jordanian business owner who happened to be passing through the city. The press was there, in the form of two bored reporters and three journalism students. And the debate was

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-774567822002-06-07T03:07:00.000-07:002002-06-07T03:07:09.580-07:00

It's The Technology (2) Thomas W. Fuller I would not recognize the world my grandparents grew up in—Midwestern America in the late 1800s, no running water or electricity, going to church on horseback. And, although they read Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, I doubt if as teenagers they would have recognized the world we live in now. But children in Italy would find it impossible to recognize the

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-774567562002-06-07T03:05:00.000-07:002002-10-27T09:00:45.000-08:00

It's The Technology Thomas W. Fuller Technology is not the major difference between the West, the East and 'Islam.' (Quick--someone think up a better term for those countries.) However, the ability, the flexibility, to adopt new tools and incorporate them into the mainstream culture probably is. This has probably been true since one tribe figured out how to tame fire while their neighbors

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-774567462002-06-07T03:04:00.000-07:002002-06-07T03:04:31.873-07:00

Is It Technology? Thomas W. Fuller In recent days, this space has been somewhat over-occupied by a discussion of Prime Minister Berlusconi's public assertions about the superiority of "western" civilization (sorry, Japan—guess you didn't make the final cut) and Islam. This is an argument with long antecedents, but one that has only seemed relevant to modern readers since September 11th. This

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-774567312002-06-07T03:03:00.000-07:002002-06-07T03:03:41.560-07:00

Shrouded Turin Thomas W. Fuller Turin is home to the linen sheet reputed to have wrapped the body of the crucified Christ. You can't actually see it, normally. It is kept under wraps, displayed only rarely. Yeah, this is a metaphor. When 400 police raided Turin's Porta Palazzo looking for "drug dealers" and people without proper documents, the outside world got a rare glimpse of the hidden

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773254282002-06-04T03:04:00.000-07:002002-06-04T03:04:29.430-07:00

Why Telecom Italia Must Die Thomas W. Fuller Well—die is a little strong. Maybe I would settle for serious injury, or at least being sent to bed without dinner. Telecom Italia offered me ADSL always on, high speed connection to the Internet for 100,000 lire a month—less than $50. Since I use the Internet a lot and have been paying considerably more for the privilege (about $125 a month for

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773253992002-06-04T03:01:00.000-07:002002-06-04T03:01:53.193-07:00

Customer Relations and the New Economy Thomas W. Fuller On July 10, I wrote an editorial detailing some of the frustrations I have experienced with the ADSL service offered by Telecom Italia. Judging by the number of responses to my piece, it was by far the most provocative commentary I have published in this space. All of the responses echoed the frustration I expressed, and I'd like to thank

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773253852002-06-04T03:00:00.000-07:002002-06-04T03:00:33.270-07:00

e-Pensions Thomas W. Fuller Okay, let's solve Italy's pension crisis in one 600 word column (gulp). Beginning in 2002, all Italians should be able to open an individual account in a private pension fund fully backed by the Italian government. The fund will guarantee returns of inflation plus 3 percent, and individuals can withdraw these funds starting at age 62. Contributions will be tax

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773055152002-06-03T15:40:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:40:30.023-07:00

Construction Demographics Italians above the age of 50 have spent their adult lives being good savers, although earlier bouts with hyperinflation managed to erode their savings dramatically. But not even this stopped the Italians—they found real estate a convenient place to invest their savings. Eighty percent (80%) of Italians own their homes, and many of them own more than one. By

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773053722002-06-03T15:36:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:36:29.100-07:00

Educating For The New Millenium Thomas W. Fuller The biggest obstacle standing between Italy and the New Economy is the Italian educational system. This sounds very strange, because Italians on the surface seem much better educated than American or even English people. The dichotomy could perhaps be best expressed as, "Italians have culture, Americans have skills." I can and have written

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773052552002-06-03T15:33:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:33:33.020-07:00

Newly Divided I know a software programmer working here in Turin for a multi-national firm headquartered in the United States. She writes comfortably in Java and C++, although most of her clients are struggling with legacy Cobol applications. Although she probably wouldn't believe it, she would fit right in in Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley, Austin, Boston or Finland. She grew up in the south

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773051962002-06-03T15:32:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:32:12.970-07:00

Last Hope Or Best Hope? Thomas Fuller Reading Giovanni Sartori’s editorial comment of January 2nd produced a strong sense of déjà vu, not least because I am also re-reading Small Is Beautiful, E.F. Schumacher’s call for economic and environmental moderation. Sartori’s description of the environmental load that current and future populations will put on the planet’s resources echoes Schumacher’s

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773051572002-06-03T15:30:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:30:46.656-07:00

Dinosaurs, Or Just Villains? Thomas W. Fuller Italy and the rest of Europe will have to accept that they are more or less off the American agenda for the foreseeable future. President George W. Bush, intent on restoring the health of large American corporations, will let nothing interfere with the mission that got him elected—not the environment, not the Balkans, not mad cow disease—and

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773051182002-06-03T15:29:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:29:47.983-07:00

Open Season Thomas W. Fuller I’ll do my best Claude Rains here—“I’m shocked—shocked—to learn that Italian insurance companies raised rates as soon as the Italian government lifted price controls.” When the state regulates one half of a market relationship, disaster is inevitable. Italy requires drivers to have car insurance. If you have enough money for a car and fuel, but not enough for

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773050762002-06-03T15:28:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:28:52.420-07:00

It’s Not A Game Thomas W. Fuller Two quick questions: First, How competitive is Italy? According to the International Institute for Management Development, a Swiss business school, Italy is 32nd out of 49 developed countries, with a score of 49 out of 100. It is behind Spain (number 23 on this list, with a score of 60), Chile (24th, scoring 59.84), and France (25th with a score of 59.56).

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773050312002-06-03T15:27:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:27:18.686-07:00

If European countries such as Germany, France and Italy want to look at one possible model for their near future, they need to look at Japan. The land of the Rising Sun is a decade further along in the problems of demographics than European countries. Japan did relatively little to prepare for an aging population and increasing numbers of retired people. They were relatively rich (savings per

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773050062002-06-03T15:26:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:26:38.530-07:00

A Modest Proposal Thomas W. Fuller Open Letter To Mario Monti, Commissioner, EU Competition Policy Dear Mr. Monti, I'm sure all of us living here in Italy are grateful to you for your saving us from behemoths ranging from MCI Worldcom and Sprint to Time Warner and EMI, who all threatened to join forces in ways that might hamper competition in Europe. Good work. Now, about Telecom Italia.

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773049792002-06-03T15:25:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:25:52.340-07:00

Curtains Thomas W. Fuller Americans, who are tragically wrong on the issue of capital punishment, get constant reminders of the magnitude of their mistake when the world points out the company America keeps. Among the few remaining practitioners of this semi-barbaric practice are democratic stalwarts such as China, North Korea, Iraq, ad nauseum. Now Italy can judge itself by the company it

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773049132002-06-03T15:23:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:23:58.793-07:00

E-conomics For Italians Thomas W. Fuller One reason that Italian companies have not moved onto the Internet as fast as Italian citizens is that the Internet normally acts to lower prices, and Italian companies don't really want to do that. As pointed out in a recent edition of the Economist, the "euro area is supposedly a single market with a single currency—yet it is still a long way from

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773048302002-06-03T15:21:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:23:09.000-07:00

The Opposite of Enron Thomas W. Fuller If you do not have a map handy, Grosseto is a smallish city in the south of Tuscany, about two hours north of Rome. Beaches, trees, sun. And my clients, John and Carolina Lockwood, a couple running a Web site (TuscanDream.com--free plug for their business renting villas in Tuscany!) that, get this, actually provides real services to customers in exchange

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773048082002-06-03T15:20:00.000-07:002002-06-03T15:20:35.760-07:00

Captive Clients Yearning To Be Free Thomas W. Fuller It took a long time for agriculture to become the dominant cultural factor in human lives—about 5,000 years, if I remember my anthropology textbooks. But then, even though 95% of the human race became dependent on this radical new technology, there were isolated pockets of people practicing the hunter-gatherer lifestyle even in modern times,

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773017382002-06-03T13:56:00.000-07:002002-06-03T13:56:36.990-07:00

No Respect Thomas W. Fuller I am really rooting for Italy to win the World Cup. I also rooted heavily for Luna Rossa a couple years ago, and for Ferrari now. Not because I'm a football cum sailing and racing aficionado, nor to curry favor with my Italian hosts. I'm just getting a little tired of Italians telling me how far behind America they are, and I was hoping that a sports victory might

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773014422002-06-03T13:49:00.000-07:002002-06-03T13:49:04.406-07:00

Soylent Green Is People! Thomas W. Fuller On Wednesday, January 16, 2002, this space hosted an editorial by Geminello Alvi which argued that Italy is too crowded. I beg to differ. Alvi, who writes for Corriere Della Sera (which is part owner of this paper), faithfully reported the conclusions of the Living Planet Report, written by the World Wildlife Foundation and other green organizations

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773013682002-06-03T13:47:00.000-07:002002-06-03T13:47:03.216-07:00

Italy Is The Poster Child For Globalization, Both Good And Bad Thomas W. Fuller Ask any person from any part of the world what they want, and you will get many different answers. But life is first on the list, even if it isn’t mentioned. It’s just too obvious, and exceptions such as suicide or heroic sacrifice are rare enough to always make the news. Globalization extends life, usually

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773013102002-06-03T13:45:00.000-07:002002-06-03T13:45:30.560-07:00

A Nation At Risk Thomas W. Fuller The three previous articles in this series have painted a picture of an Italy that is improving in some areas, but not as fast as other countries. Examples of this include Internet access, GDP growth, and unemployment. In other areas, Italy is improving in respect to its history, such as numbers of women working, life expectancy and other health care issues.

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773012712002-06-03T13:44:00.001-07:002002-06-03T13:44:33.106-07:00

Italy In Europe Thomas W. Fuller Third in a Series Okay, let's pretend that you are the prime minister of Italy, and that for some strange reason you hired me as an analyst to tell you how things are really going in this country. I already told you about Italy as it stands today and how Italy compares to Italy past. Today I am going to tell you how Italy compares to the 48 other countries in

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773012572002-06-03T13:44:00.000-07:002002-06-03T13:44:01.560-07:00

Italy Now and Then Second In a Series Thomas W. Fuller Perfect knowledge of history would allow us to compare the present to the past and to make confident statements about some future events. However, perfect knowledge of even the recent past is impossible, and less possible in Italy than in many other countries. (Sorry, ISTAT, but I have to call 'em the way I see 'em.) For example, in

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-773011932002-06-03T13:42:00.000-07:002002-06-03T13:42:00.166-07:00

Italy As It Stands First of Three Columns Thomas W. Fuller There are three dimensions to analysis. The first dimension is seeing clearly what is around you. This is the most important element. It requires no formal education or training, just clear vision and common sense. The other two dimensions, historical perspective and comparison with other objects of similar scope and magnitude, have

Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15321496258892668854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552005.post-772563642002-06-02T11:31:00.000-07:002002-06-02T11:32:55.000-07:00

This column was published in Italy Daily on Sept. 16, 2001. (Italy Daily is a four-page insert published by the International Herald Tribune and Corriere Della Sera). An Analysis Of The Macro-Economic Implications Of Tuesday's Terrorist Attacks Tuesday's terrorist bombings have freed a lot of people to do things they know they should have been doing for a long time, but had not done for a

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