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Italy visit

77zach

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Feb 5, 2007
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Marion County, FL
On a very opulent Italian vacation not paid for by myself. I can say it is a far superior culture to America in some ways. The attention paid to food quality and dress is markedly superior. The language is obviously more mellifluous.

How death isn't commonplace on the roads gives road libertarians in the US all the proof they need they are correct about speed limits and certain other things. I've been driving for 15 years and I wouldn't be able to handle the urban driving here without being eased into it. The taxi rides feel like a Rollercoaster.

Most shocking is the lack of the police state feel at the airport. The "customs" guy didn't even look at my passport. The people were friendly and the facility was extremely clean. The contrast to the slave training airports in our "Homeland" is depressing.

The police here are mixed between unarmed and armed ( beretta, of course) and wear white or blue and don't have shaved heads or flat tops. Drivers do stuff in front of them that would get the MRAPS dispatched in our "Homeland" and they don't care.

The tap water in Rome is surprisingly good.

Most things are smaller, doors, bathrooms, cars, portions, etc than in the "Homeland".

From talking to an Italian, gun ownership here is not that common and [lawful] carry is nonexistent. However, ownership does exist and some places have it as part of their culture. Despite what I had read online you can own pretty much anything if it isn't full auto, and that is because of EU bs. Think California or New Jersey style hoop jumping.

Came across a latte crudo ( raw milk) vending machine. Such would earn a swat team visit in Der Homeland.

Just came across two soldiers in fatigues guarding some gov building. They were carrying ARX-100's.

High unemployment here. The locals seem to not like the immigrants.

More to follow.
 
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Ken56

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Joined
Oct 29, 2010
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368
Location
Dandridge, TN
Having been to Rome myself it struck me all the graffiti on the walls of ALL the buildings as high as one could reach. The parking of the little Smart cars was something to behold too, didn't seem to be rhyme or reason to it, just any spot that you could remotely squeeze in........and nobody gets tickets. The culture surely is vastly different than here in the US of A. I can agree that the driving is a hair raising experience. We were told that if we wanted to cross the street (walking) to find a nun and cross with her...... cars will stop as if Moses is parting the sea. LOL they truly did too. Italy is a beautiful country, Enjoy it to its fullest while you are there. Especially the food.
 

77zach

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Feb 5, 2007
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Marion County, FL
All aspects of firearm ownership are regulated, from purchase (Nulla Osta All'acquisto), and number, to carry and ammunition purchase.

Autorizzazione all'acquisto di armi e munizioni
http://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/305/

There seems to be a large difference between the "law" and what people actually do here, at least from talking to Italians and observing their attitudes.
 

77zach

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Feb 5, 2007
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Marion County, FL
Having been to Rome myself it struck me all the graffiti on the walls of ALL the buildings as high as one could reach. The parking of the little Smart cars was something to behold too, didn't seem to be rhyme or reason to it, just any spot that you could remotely squeeze in........and nobody gets tickets. The culture surely is vastly different than here in the US of A. I can agree that the driving is a hair raising experience. We were told that if we wanted to cross the street (walking) to find a nun and cross with her...... cars will stop as if Moses is parting the sea. LOL they truly did too. Italy is a beautiful country, Enjoy it to its fullest while you are there. Especially the food.

I cannot figure out in Rome what counts as a street and what is for pedestrians only or both. Very chaotic and mysterious.
 

77zach

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Marion County, FL
I'm not making this up: the most heavily guarded and fortified building in Rome that I've seen is our "Homeland's" embassy. multiple layers of gates with guards with rifles. The Italian "white house" had far less visible security. The Italian cab driver confirmed how ridiculous everyone thought it was. Our embassy is lavish, I can't even estimate the enormous cost.

Slave labor can get stuff done, for sure. The architectural ability of the ancient Greek and Italian people blows my mind. As someone who has a hard time drawing a cube, the designers may as well be another species of lifeform, absolute genius. I wish they hadn't "christianized" some of the older sites. For example, the temple of Romulus in the Forum of Rome (the original settlement and ancient economic center) had been mostly done over with Christian stuff much later. Same thing with the Pantheon.

There are dress codes in some of the sites in Vatican City, funny considering there is nudity in all the artwork. The catholic religion kind of makes me a little sick. The nuns in foreign countries live in huts sometimes, and the Vatican is the most lavish place I've ever seen. The amount of money in this place I can't even guess. Opulent doesn't even begin to describe it.

There is a peddler of "selfie sticks" every 20 yards around the major tourist attractions. Usually of Indian ancestry. Lots of Indians here.
 
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solus

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
9,315
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here nc
they say the country has 75% of the world's objets d'art but only a paltry 25% have been properly catalogued.

the problem the 'state' cannot afford (read refuses to pay) restoration of some of the centuries old buildings, facilities, statues, etc., so interested parties have appealed to individuals to provide philanthropic projects. one, the cleaning of the coliseum is supposedly costing one individual $150M and is being done by hand using toothbrushes and gaggles of pure distilled water. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fijian_scion/14590196196 showing the difference between clean and centuries of scum.

enjoy the trip and hope you get to venice...smells but lovely...

ipse
 

FBrinson

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2013
Messages
298
Location
Henrico, VA
I'm not making this up: the most heavily guarded and fortified building in Rome that I've seen is our "Homeland's" embassy. multiple layers of gates with guards with rifles. The Italian "white house" had far less visible security. The Italian cab driver confirmed how ridiculous everyone thought it was. Our embassy is lavish, I can't even estimate the enormous cost.

Slave labor can get stuff done, for sure. The architectural ability of the ancient Greek and Italian people blows my mind. As someone who has a hard time drawing a cube, the designers may as well be another species of lifeform, absolute genius. I wish they hadn't "christianized" some of the older sites. For example, the temple of Romulus in the Forum of Rome (the original settlement and ancient economic center) had been mostly done over with Christian stuff much later. Same thing with the Pantheon.

There are dress codes in some of the sites in Vatican City, funny considering there is nudity in all the artwork. The catholic religion kind of makes me a little sick. The nuns in foreign countries live in huts sometimes, and the Vatican is the most lavish place I've ever seen. The amount of money in this place I can't even guess. Opulent doesn't even begin to describe it.

There is a peddler of "selfie sticks" every 20 yards around the major tourist attractions. Usually of Indian ancestry. Lots of Indians here.

Whats with all the scare quotes? Have fun while you're there. We all "miss you".
 

sudden valley gunner

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Joined
Dec 13, 2008
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16,674
Location
Whatcom County
I'd love to visit Italy and Spain. The Pit and the Pendulum for some reason inspired that desire.

Have fun!

Yep we may have more "gun rights" other countries seem to have a lot more freedom in the sense they simply ignore laws as a culture they don't like.
 

325rto

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
93
Location
Fayetteville, NC
Back in the 80's, i was stationed in Vicenza for 18 months. I visited Florence, Venice and several other towns several times. We spent a good amount of time training in the mountains, that's where I learned how to ski. We also spent a lot of time flying off to other countries for training. It was a great experience. Enjoy.
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
Driving in Italian cities has pretty much been governed by meglio mai che tardi and/or si vive una volta sola. Thankfully there always seem to be a herd of nuns heading across the street in the general direction you want to go. If you use the same group to cross more than two streets be sure to offer them money for the poor.

Back in the day the buses running overnight between cities - especially the ones using mountain roads - used to claim right of way around the hairpins by cutting off their lights. First one to cut the headlights had the right of way. Nothing like sitting on the edge of a roadway that drops several thousand feet via almost endless hairpin curves, about 20 feet from beginning of the curve, waiting to see if your driver had left enough room for the oncoming bus to complete the swing through the curve.

stay safe.
 

77zach

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Feb 5, 2007
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2,913
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Marion County, FL
Dinner starts at about 10:00 pm and lasts for hours. It's not that you can't find food as good in the US, but it is much easier to find here.

So the US embassy in Rome I guess we got for free, although upkeep must be pretty steep. It's some princess 's palace that we kind of helped ourselves to at the end of ww2.

Had my 15 year old brother order a beer to see if they would say anything, no one cared. And the sky didn't even fall. Waiters here are salaried as part of the socialism, we're not exactly sure when and how much to tip. Credit cards are accepted most everywhere in the cities.
 
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Ken56

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2010
Messages
368
Location
Dandridge, TN
Last I knew the tipping guidelines were tip NO MORE than 10% and between 5% to 10% was acceptable. There its just a token thank you. If you haven't learned the words Bonjourno and grazzi, hello and thank you, then you need to. It goes a long way. Upon entering shops its customary to greet the owner/clerk by saying hello and a thank you in any language is always nice. Have you had the pleasure of needing to go into a bank yet? They are locked and guarded and the one I went into had lockers in the vestibule and I had to empty my pockets and use a locker before I could get in. Only 2-3 people in there at one time is all that is allowed. Quite interesting.
 

Citizen

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Joined
Nov 15, 2006
Messages
18,269
Location
Fairfax Co., VA
SNIP High unemployment here. The locals seem to not like the immigrants.

Don't get too impressed. Remember, their "great" culture was stolen on the backs first of the victims of the Roman Late Republic and the Roman Empire. Then again during the age of Medici's.

Back in 2009-11, Italy was one of the five PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain). The criminal governments had racked up so much interlocking debt to and from one another, if any one went down, the rest would quickly follow. I don't know that its all that much better today. I haven't heard much about them in economic blogs, but neither did I hear of any miraculous return to principles of low taxes, property rights, and productivity. In fact, it was just last year or the year before that a secession movement got some traction in Venice.
 

sudden valley gunner

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Dec 13, 2008
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16,674
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Whatcom County
Many European countries are steeped in protectionism. The result is the protection of a few guilds and industries and trades at the cost of the rest of society. US is eager to be like that too for some insane reason.
 

Grapeshot

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May 21, 2006
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35,317
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Valhalla
--snipped--

Back in 2009-11, Italy was one of the five PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain). The criminal governments had racked up so much interlocking debt to and from one another, if any one went down, the rest would quickly follow. I don't know that its all that much better today. I haven't heard much about them in economic blogs, but neither did I hear of any miraculous return to principles of low taxes, property rights, and productivity. In fact, it was just last year or the year before that a secession movement got some traction in Venice.
It’s Not the Economy......
"Every debate about Greece’s financial crisis deteriorates rapidly into a discussion of deadlines..........If you’ve tried to keep up with these stories, you may become lost in economic jargon. Greece, which can no longer borrow money on capital markets, is now wholly dependent on international and European financial institutions. To ensure that they are not throwing good money after bad, these institutions have placed restrictions on Greek government spending. Greece, in turn, has sought to dodge these restrictions and negate agreements, exploiting the rules in mind-boggling ways, borrowing from one account to pay back another. It takes a special head for numbers to follow the saga."
http://www.greekcrisis.net/

Italy on the other hand would seem to be doing a bit better, I would surmise it is a happier place to be.
http://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblica...dex.html?com.dotmarketing.htmlpage.language=1
 

Citizen

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18,269
Location
Fairfax Co., VA
Misleading Media

Italy is still afloat financially.

Greece, not so much:
"ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greece's five-year financial crisis took its most dramatic turn to date Sunday, with the prime minister announcing Greek banks would remain shut indefinitely and restrictions would be imposed on cash withdrawals."
http://www.nbc12.com/story/29425576/greece-imposes-capital-controls-banks-to-remain-shut


I heard repeated reports on ABC news radio that the Greek government has closed banks and limited ATM withdrawals to prevent bank runs.

Ha! Anybody who's been paying attention to this subject area knows the bank runs already started weeks ago. Billions of Euros have been flowing out Greek banks for a few weeks now as depositors pulled their money out. Two to four billion Euros a week if I recall, for maybe the last three or four weeks.

The Greek government is playing a game of "Quick! Close the barn doors now that all the horses have bolted." One mainstream media commenter did say something that made more than usual level of sense for the mainstream media. He characterized the Greek government as playing a bluffing game with European lenders (central banks?), who called the bluff, forcing the Greek government into a corner.

We shall see.

Today, the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) issued a statement criticizing the tactics of central banks in keeping interest rates artificially low (while printing zillions of dollars out of thin air). Basically, the BIS warned that since the Crash of '08, the central banks of the world had used up all the arrows in their quivers propping up their economies, meaning if/when things start domino-crashing again, there are no tactics left for the central banks. Now, to get the full import of this, you have to understand what a central bank is, and what the BIS is.

A central bank (short story) is basically a giant bank that controls the banking system in its area. Think, Federal Reserve and the Bank of England. Well, the BIS is the central bank of the central banks, in a manner of speaking. Its based in Switzerland. Bern, I think. So, when the central bank of the central banks issues a criticism of the system, you know something is up. It as though Eisenhower openly criticized all of his generals, and warned they couldn't effectively hold off the next German counter-offensive.
 
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sudden valley gunner

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Messages
16,674
Location
Whatcom County
I heard repeated reports on ABC news radio that the Greek government has closed banks and limited ATM withdrawals to prevent bank runs.

Ha! Anybody who's been paying attention to this subject area knows the bank runs already started weeks ago. Billions of Euros have been flowing out Greek banks for a few weeks now as depositors pulled their money out. Two to four billion Euros a week if I recall, for maybe the last three or four weeks.

The Greek government is playing a game of "Quick! Close the barn doors now that all the horses have bolted." One mainstream media commenter did say something that made more than usual level of sense for the mainstream media. He characterized the Greek government as playing a bluffing game with European lenders (central banks?), who called the bluff, forcing the Greek government into a corner.

We shall see.

Today, the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) issued a statement criticizing the tactics of central banks in keeping interest rates artificially low (while printing zillions of dollars out of thin air). Basically, the BIS warned that since the Crash of '08, the central banks of the world had used up all the arrows in their quivers propping up their economies, meaning if/when things start domino-crashing again, there are no tactics left for the central banks. Now, to get the full import of this, you have to understand what a central bank is, and what the BIS is.

A central bank (short story) is basically a giant bank that controls the banking system in its area. Think, Federal Reserve and the Bank of England. Well, the BIS is the central bank of the central banks, in a manner of speaking. Its based in Switzerland. Bern, I think. So, when the central bank of the central banks issues a criticism of the system, you know something is up. It as though Eisenhower openly criticized all of his generals, and warned they couldn't effectively hold off the next German counter-offensive.

Don't worry fiat banker Jimmy Stewart will save the day!
 
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