Margui Speaks Up

By Clara Schulze Italian TV news failed to adequately report on the latest scandal surrounding Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi – namely, the alleged attempt by a real estate manager to bribe the premier using women instead of money. The newspaper “La Repubblica”, which has instead extensively covered the story, also pointed out that 4 Italians out of 5 do not read newspapers, but rely entirely on TV news. This may be a common international trend, but in Italy it is a reason for worry since 85% of major Italian TV news are owned by Silvio Berlusconi himself. It is part of Italian culture to take an anti-scandalistic perspective on happenings, especially if they are unrelated to political performance. Still, it is true that the non-existence of a decent political opposition in Italy has helped the deterioration of political accountability and transparency and this has been reflected in the quality of information available to citizens. The character that media communication has tak

I took some white bread and went say my goodbyes to all the grey ducks of the lake Serpentine But someone had fed them, so they'd went away thus turning that party into'a lonely stay The heat was just fading, the day almost gone the day was reflexing the mirroring sun In such pond of light was my mind then all stuck beginning to think to my old yellow duck That love which was crossing the Channel and Alps had now become weaker and come to a halt The bread that once fed all his shuddering soul now seems to this duck distasteful and cold The passion of senses will fade with the time I sit now lonely at the Serpentine The threats and the whispers now, man, come in vain The party is over, it's now time for pain Apollon and Venus had paid for this play rewarding us both with sucj wonderful days The drama is now over, the curtains now close The Serpentine rocks me, the sky smiles, all rose.

Drunkenness . Withdrawal of awareness. Lowering barriers. Yesterday night, a Friday night of course, in a warm Northern city full of ghosts, I wandered on buses and buses together with a drunk man. We were heading home. His colleague had tried to put hands on my hips, unsuccessfully - I had seen flows of coppery spirit flow in their throats - they smelled of strawberry as there was red bull in them. Strawberry and liquorice: Jaegermeister . He was already a bit high, but in control - he lost awareness in 11 minutes by drinking extremely fast and taking others' drinks. I guess that you compensate the tolerance of alcohol with the heightened ability to swallow fast - so you can get drunk anyway. I could not swallow a pint of water in 15 seconds, as he did with beer, shots and spirits. The volume of the music was high, he tried to get two pints of beer after the bar closed. He pissed on the street, graciously, while I was throwing away one of them. His irides were a bit