news

Spoke to my Dad last night, he is coming back from a vacation in Spain he took with my brother and his wife. They had a great time. Upon his return he went to visit Mom at the home where she lives now in Montreal. She entered this facility in January after the Alzheimer had progressed to the point where my father could no longer take care of her at home. When she first arrived at the facility she was given a test to measure her intellectual capacities and see how far the disease had progressed. They (social workers) retested her again a few days ago and her capacities have really diminished. She can still tell what objects are but she cannot tell time or read a newspaper. She can't watch the news but likes to watch programs with animals and flowers.

The result of the test shows that the disease continues to progress and has greatly diminished her capacities, conclusion the help my father got to pay part of the medication prescribed to her monthly is now cancelled, according to Quebec Government Health Department guidelines after a certain point, assistance is terminated because it is judged to be no longer required or of no value. So he is on his own to cover all costs. Just a few weeks ago the Minister of Health of Quebec admitted at a press conference that his government had no strategy and no policy on how to deal with the growing numbers of people suffering from Alzheimer in Quebec. The government already knows that 10 years from now about 5% of the population over the age of 60 will suffer from Alzheimer and most of them will be women.

Every government makes a calculation of what we are worth as individual citizens, remember a few years ago the CIA had made a study of what human beings were worth in terms of parts, tissue, organs, etc... I can't remember the figure exactly but it came down to something like $49.72 cents US. Not a lot, this is the approach of governments, hard nose and pragmatic, you have to govern so you give what you think you should give to keep most of the people happy, most of the time.

So social workers make a decision based on what they are told they have to do and the citizen pays the price. It will make a big difference for my father but he is determined to keep up with the medication my Mom needs because he knows what will happen if it is stopped.
My Mom would decline very rapidly and her life expectancy would be reduced. The social workers did not say anything of course but the message is clear, the State has decided that you are of diminished value to society, based on a series of calculations and policy decisions on what the State is willing to do for you, despite the fact you pay all your life into the tax system. What is more strange in all this is that if my parents lived in Ontario, the province next door to Quebec this would not happen, there would be no cut and more assistance.

Unfortunately this is just one other example of how Quebec short changed its citizens. Always has, it is part of the fabric of governance in Quebec. What is also interesting and is not widely known, is the fact that the political class in Quebec and the Police has given itself privileges, like special medical care and priority access to the medical system not available to the general population, I suppose some people are more equal than others in La belle Province.

The whole thing makes me sad and angry for the inadequate or lack of clear policies to assist an aging population. You can just imagine what happens to those who cannot afford to pay outside the system or who have to make due with what the system offers. It's pretty horrible and I am surprised how thoughtless our politicians can be or should I say calculating because I am sure the day the numbers of cases of Alzheimer become unmanageable in Quebec that day some bright light will present a plan to save us all.

Greed and vengeance

Today Bernard Madoff got 150 yrs in jail. The people he ripped off applauded, they got their revenge but I could not help think of Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) who in is wonderful little book The Prince, dedicated to Lorenzo the Magnificent, Medicis wrote that if you killed a man's father he would forgive you in time, however if you stole his inheritance he would pursue you forever.

I don't think Justice was served, Madoff was punished as a warning to others but those who invested in his scheme were motivated by greed and they to were punished. A lesson for all.

Dining out in Rome

I love going to the restaurant in Rome. The good restaurants are family owned and have been run by the family on the premises for decades. The owner is always present and he keeps an eye on the room, will come and talk to the regular customers or to new comers. The other family members either cook, wash dishes and serve food, they may also hire someone to wait on tables usually someone they have known for years. The decor is eclectic, very personal to the family who owns the place, you will see family photos.






Someone won a trophy for sportsmanship or the owner support a soccer club or some famous person came or several of them for that matter and they get their picture taken with the owner and his wife. Many restaurants have pictures of late Popes, John XXIII is popular, Jean-Paul II also, a few have the current Pope though mostly in the Borgo which is the neighborhood next to the Vatican and frequented by the Officials of the Holy See. The tables and chairs are comfortable but simple, dishes are good restaurant quality white china and the table cloth is a checkered pattern. You will find some good olive oil also a white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar bottle on your table. The bread is a whole grain with thick crust bread, sort of country style bread which is used to mop up your plate or the flat crusty thin wafer type bread eaten with a bit of olive oil. No butter and no ashtrays, no fake flowers on the table or other items not related to the experience of eating. A bottle of mineral water is the first thing brought with the wine list, you will not find beer on the menu, this is reserved for the home or for the Cafe.

The menu will reflect the Paese (village) the owner comes from, the Abbruzzo, Tuscany, Puglia, Sardinia or Sicilia. Per example Sardinian restaurants will offer fish and seafood, Tuscany, steaks and grilled meats, Abruzzo will be a mix of meat and other dishes typical of that mountain region. Pasta is always on the menu in central and southern Italy as a first course and the sauce will reflect if the restaurants specialize in fish or meat, in Northern Italy pasta is not part of the habits of the region mostly because of the proximity with Austria and the Balkans. Though pizza is a southern food creation in Italy it is not always on the menu, pizza is a fast food to be eaten on the go, so it is not restaurant fare. There is also no kids menu, they eat like the adults.

Today we are going out for dinner with a good friend of ours who has been living in Rome for 25 yrs. He knows quite a few very good restaurants and we have discovered with him some very nice places.
Here are some restaurants I really like in Rome, some are very elegant and some are more family neighborhood like in decor and atmosphere.

The first one, Ristorante Vecchia Rome www.ristoranteviecchiarome.com on Piazza Campitelli is a truly beautiful place, very elegant and in the old centre of Rome, owned by the Palladino family since 1870.

La Limonaia at Villa Torlonia on Via Spallanzani 1, is located in the old orangerie of this princely estate, it was once between 1923-43, the home of dictator Benito Mussolini. It offers a menu of pasta, salads and pizzas in the beautiful gardens of the estate. It is next door to our home. They have a play area for small children.

Da Franco ar vicoletto is a fish place, excellent food, on Via Dei Falisci 1a. They do not take reservations but it is always packed, very simple decor, family owned and operated for decades by Franco and his wife. Extremely good value and their seafood lasagna is so good.

Ristorante la Scala on Viale Parioli 79 is located in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Rome, Parioli, excellent food in an elegant restaurant. A restaurant where French and Italian cuisine marry.

I limoncini on Via del Giuba 12, is family owned and is open for dinner even in August when everything else is closed. A menu of Roman cuisine, with a mixture of fish and pasta dishes. Offering of lobster and oysters and veal and chicken dishes.

Ristorante Stella Maris, is a Sardinian restaurant offering specialty of the island which is seafood on Viale Regina Margherita 225 at the corner with Via Nomentana. Mauro and Giorgio run the place with other relatives. They served at the end of the meal a digestif of ice cold Myrtle liquor and home made jam cookies.

A new addition is Hell's Kitchen which offers a break from Italian cuisine, gay owned it has a beautiful steak house decor with exposed brick and a decidedly American accent. on Via Alessandria 150. It has excellent Tex-Mex food, great nachos and make a very good Mojito cocktail. Open only for dinner. See www.hellsgrill.it

If you happen to be in the Roman Forum area and wish to avoid all the tourist traps of cheaply made pizzas and other horrors served any which way for terrible prices go to Trattoria Valentino on Via Cavour 293. An old fashion Roman style cuisine restaurant owned by Vincenzo and Luciano, good food and honest prices.

Remember in Rome and in Italy in general dinner is never before 8:30 pm unless you want to eat lunch left-overs reheated.

Vatican Garden stroll

Yesterday we went to the Vatican garden for a private visit. The Vatican gardens are on the hill behind St-Peter's Basilica. The front of the hill facing the Tiber river was flattened in 400 AD to make way for the first basilica built by Emperor Constantine. You enter the garden area by the main gate of the Vatican Museum on Viale Vaticano. The gardens are divided in two parts, one is in the English style (wooded area) and the other is in the Italian style with ornamental piazzas and sculpted bushes and topiary and decorated with ancient statues. Our guide pointed out that the statues and other antique fragments are not museum quality and this is why they are use in this fashion in the garden. You also find a heliport in the garden for the Pope's helicopter which takes him to his summer palace at Castel Gandolfo a 40 minute ride East of Rome near the Villa of Emperor Hadrian. He use to take the train, a train station was built in 1931 by the Fascist Government for the Pope and it links with the Italian railway system.
The elegant beaux arts style train station is today used as a duty free shop for all the diplomats who are accredited to the Holy See. Freight trains come in on the Papal railway bringing luxury goods all duty free. The is also a large radio antenna and station for Radio Vatican broadcasting to the world in several languages and a large palace for the seat of the government of the Vatican which is headed by Cardinal T. Bertone who is Governor of the Vatican and Secretary of State (foreign Minister), the de-facto no.2 of the Papal State. At the back of the garden there is an old tower which rises high above the hill. Pope John XXIII had the tower converted into an apartment for himself in 1960. Pope Benedict XVI uses it today, this is where his older brother lives with 5 cats.
Yes the Pope is a cat person can't be such a bad guy. The guide pointed out that the tower which has a fortress look is in fact very luxurious and has a spectacular view of Rome. We walked throughout the garden and it is a trek because it is all up-hill. Beautiful and serene, with rare trees and plants and numerous fountains and water cascade, 35 gardeners work none stop tending to this garden. There is also 55 green parrots nesting in the garden and you see them flying around.

It is a surreal place, unlike any royal garden I have ever seen. I use the word ''royal'' because the Pope is a Sovereign Pontiff, Per example the Pope does not walk in the garden but is driven around in a black Mercedes Benz limousine license plate SCV 1. How do I know this, well our guide at the beginning of the tour told us that if during our visit we should see this car approach, we should stand back and look meek and mild in the presence of the shadow of God on Earth, or words to that effect.

There is also in the garden a Papal Academy of Science which is housed in a building copied from the ruins of the Palace of Emperor Nero. Lots of gods and goddesses frolicking around and mosaics of birds, fish and flowers. The underlined message is that science is OK as long as it has the blessing of the Universal Holy Roman Catholic Church.

In our little group, there was what I call Taliban Catholics, people who are only interested in things where the Pope has been or has touched. Per example the heliport, it is just a helicopter pad with a statue of the Polish Virgin of Czestochowa. Or the Piazza redone for John Paul II with the original Altar from Lourdes.

On the whole I was not terribly impressed by the gardens, though beautiful. The most interesting point for me was to see the back of St-Peter's and the Vatican government buildings, you realize that the Holy See is much more than a church or a religion. There was also a dose of propaganda in the visit itself, pretty heavy stuff. If you are not Catholic is comes off somewhat offensive.

At the end of the tour someone asked the guide about St-Peter's Cathedral, this fellow was not Catholic, she quickly corrected him pointing out that St-Peter is NOT a Cathedral but merely a parish church for all Roman Catholics though a big one. It cannot be a Cathedral because it is not in Rome but in the Vatican State, the Cathedral of Rome is St-John Lateran where the Pope is the Bishop.

Atomic Hour

North Korea this strange little country supported without fail since the conflict of 1950-53 by China is once again threatening atomic war. In a recent pronouncement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Capital of North Korea, said the dark clouds of total atomic war are gathering and how the current USA Administration is frantically trying to cause an atomic war with its evil ally South Korea. I really cannot see Obama trying to throw himself into total atomic war. The phrase total atomic war would, if it happened, would spell the end of the world for all of us and this should happen over such an insignificant country as North Korea? In the last few years the Six Party Talks held in Beijing have yielded little to no results.
What is disturbing is the troubles of the leadership in North Korea, for the last few years a very serious famine in the country has created real hardship, thousands have died, the economy is dead, North Korea produces nothing and depends on China for everything and on South Korea and other governments like the USA for financing of its daily activities in the hope that it will not produce atomic weapons, it has. The only way it can hold on to power is to use whatever meagre resources it has left to pay off the army and the police. Once that runs out, then the leadership is in real trouble and the Kim family dynasty could easily be eliminated by a disgruntled army.
So the solution is to create a crisis and the excuse is the enemy is at the gate. You keep the army busy and distracted, you create as much commotion as possible within the government and you can assure your survival.

At this time North Korea's Kim family is preparing for the succession, it is more complicated this time than in the 1970's, Kim Jong Jun, is a young man and his father Kim Jong Il the current ruler is said to be sick. Others may have an eye on the throne, this is why a diversion is so important now. This is why we are at risk. I am sure China's leadership are dismayed at what is going on and now appear powerless to do anything. They could send in the Chinese army to diffuse the crisis by removing Kim Jong Il, but I wonder if that is really possible. As for Russia though they do not have any significant population in the border area, they too know the consequence of even only one missile going astray and hitting Japan, South Korea or Hawaii. The response from the USA would be automatic, in fact the protocol was written in the late 1950's and the President would have little to no choice in the matter.

Again all the pronouncements in North Korea are most probably just for domestic consumption and bears no real danger for the outside world. Let's hope so. Oh, yes in the real world Michael Jackson died, now that is serious news.

I dedicate this song to Will.

This song from 1932 was first sung by Vittorio de Sica for an Italian film entitled ''Gli uomini che mascalzoni''. It became one of those legendary Italian song and is still a classic today.
I am flying back to Rome tomorrow morning and in the last 6 months I have been away twice, once in April and now. Each time after a few days I really do miss Rome and our lives there. Though it can be a maddening city sometimes, Rome remains a city of style.

Here for you Will.

Come sei bella più bella stasera Mariù
Splende un sorriso di stella negli occhi tuoi blu
Anche se avverso il destino domani sarà,
Oggi ti sono vicino perchè sospirar, non pensar.

Parlami d'amore Mariù
Tutta la mia vita sei tu
Gli occhi tuoi belli brillano
Fiamme di sogno scintillano.

Dimmi che illusione non è
Dimmi che sei tutta per me
Qui sul tuo cuor non soffro più
Parlami d'amore Mariù.

So che una bella e maliarda sirena sei tu
so che si perde chi guarda quegli occhi tuoi blu
ma che mi importa se il mondo si burla di me
meglio nel gorgo profondo ma sempre con te,
sì con te.

Parlami d'amore Mariù
Tutta la mia vita sei tu
Gli occhi tuoi belli brillano
Fiamme di sogno scintillano.

Dimmi che illusione non è
Dimmi che sei tutta per me
Qui sul tuo cuor non soffro più
Parlami d'amore Mariù.

Election time Albania

I am in Tirana, Albania for a few days, returning to Rome on Thursday. I arrived in Tirana during what is the last week of the general election campaign to elect a new Parliament. To think that before 1991 Albania was a hard-line North Korea style dictatorship, closed off to the rest of the world, impossible to get in and impossible to get out, it is today a completely different place. On my first night here I decided to take a stroll down the only main avenue of the Capital. In front of the now empty and abandoned pyramid mausoleum of the late dictator Enver Hoxha was an open air Jazz concert sponsored by one political party, good music and a festive atmosphere. Further down the road in front of the Ministry of Defence another concert, Albanian Hip Hop music, again the crowd was happy and jumping up and down to the music doing sort of a wave like movement. Who could imagine such a thing on this Roman Pine bordered avenue built by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and named after him, which saw parades by Italian Fascist troops in the 1930's and then mass communist rallies for 50 years, that one day you would have such a happy display of free and open elections. Each night concerts, tonight acid rock, last night new age music, all to attract voters and supporters. The Socialist Mayor of Tirana who belongs to the old guard communist pre 1991, has done a good job of cleaning up the city, planting trees everywhere, etc.... the 2 main squares at either end of the renamed main avenue now called Deshmoret e kombit, need to be totally rebuilt. The Scanderberg Square where the giant statue of the dictator once stood is now without giant statue and looks empty. The other Square called University centre where the great speeches of the late dictator where once rapturously applauded now has a broken down giant fountain and a forlorn tiny statue of Mother Teresa who was Albanian. Also running for a seat in Parliament is the grandson of King Zog of Albania, HRH Prince Leka. His grandfather's Palace is today the home of the President of the Republic.

Tirana is very green, lots of trees everywhere and the Dajti mountains looming on two sides of the city. The current government is largely expected to win again a new mandate on 28 June. The big topics of discussions here are accession to the European Union, visa free regime with the rest of Europe and pension reform for school teachers. Albania just joined NATO, 2 months ago.

Of course I made a comment about how people wear T-shirts, capri pants and flip-flops as if it was a national costume, today I noticed how women wear the most impossible shoes, they look so uncomfortable, high heels, platforms shoes with lots of rhinestones, I wonder who makes such shoes. One lady was wearing these very thick platform shoes with high heels, in what looked like pea green alligator skin, her capri pants where also the same pea green alligator skin fabric matching the shoes with a fluffy chenille like black top and too much make-up, this is considered high fashion here. Yes I am in the Balkans.