Doomsday is coming, time to build our future

Doomsday seems to be closing in. The cream of financial analysts, investors and management consultants all agree that the financial crisis is deep and inevitable, and will have effects for many years to come - irrespective of what happens to Greece now, and [insert your favourite next here] later.

Time to despair, flee, hide? No.

In 1942, Mario Capecchi was a four-and-a-half year old orphan, left to fend for himself on the streets of northern Italy during World War II, living in various orphanages and roving through towns with groups of other homeless children, and almost died of malnutrition and typhus. By any means, he was in a much worse situation than any reader of this blog.

In 2007, shortly before his 70th birthday, Mario Capecchi won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

It's time to build our future.

(For those who'd like to know more about the remarkable life of this amazing man, here is an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica, and here is his first interview after being awarded the Nobel Prize with the editor-in-chief of nobelprize.org)

Festa della Liberazione

E' un giorno importante, checchè se ne dica sui media di questi ultimi tempi. Makkox ci ricorda perchè, grazie.

Will social media change history? (Part III) Yes, it has already

One and a half years ago, I posted this about Iran, concluding that "whether or not this is enough to topple a government remains to be seen, but social media is surely making history and contributing to democracy."

These days, social media - together with email and SMS - is powering leaderless revolutions across North Africa and the Middle East.

Q.E.D.

PS Euan Semple draws an interesting parallel between desire for change in countries and in organisations.

Be inspired

I always try to remember to myself what Thomas Alva Edison famously once said...

«Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration»

...or a slight variation I learnt just after the dot com bubble of the early 2000s

«A vision without execution is simply a hallucination»

Last Sunday two things made me realise that this may be true, but only a part of the story, and probably not even the most important one.

I watched the movie Invictus, and saw a great example of how inspiration can motivate people to address seemingly unsurmountable challenges, and succeed.



I discovered Dan Pink's session at TED 2009 (thanks to Mauro), and learnt that motivation is by far the most important driver of performance.



Quite evidently perspiration is nothing without inspiration, and execution is nothing without a vision. A fundamental caveat to the quotes mentioned earlier, and too often forgotten.

La semplice realtà

Il Sindaco di Milano Letizia Moratti ha proposto di intitolare una via a Bettino Craxi. Sono subito scoppiate le polemiche, e c'è stata una mezza marcia indietro, in attesa delle parole del Presidente della Repubblica, che ha poi detto "Su Craxi è giunta l'ora di un giudizio non acritico ma sereno".

Non acriticamente, e serenamente, cito spinoza.it:

«L'Italia deve molto a Craxi. Ma anche lui non scherza»

Will social media change history? (Part II) Yes, undoubtedly

The debate on the future of traditional media is ongoing, most recently with Steve Ballmer arguing that the crisis is structural.

On the other hand, the debate on the relevance of new media is over. Social media is definitively centerstage, having become the primary source for news from Iran.

Iranians are taking to the streets armed with their mobile phones. Hundreds of videos have been posted on YouTube from the Teheran area in the last month, defying violence and censorship.



Iranian bloggers and tweeters post around the clock, risking their lives, feeding volunteers worldwide who aggregate news and repost them in real time (like Ezekiel on FriendFeed).



Support from abroad also flows through social media, despite the Iranian government's crackdown, with a group on Facebook attracting over 160.000 supporters in 10 days...



...and Joan Baez posting 'We shall overcome' with lyrics in Farsi from her kitchen straight on YouTube.



Whether or not this is enough to topple a government remains to be seen, but social media is surely making history and contributing to democracy.

And will continue to do so as long as the Net remains free and neutral.

PS Yes, we have seen some hint at this in Italy as well.

Will social media change history?

(from imb)

An interesting side effect of social media, on historians' view the past.

«There is a cliche that many people often share about history, and how it is written by the victors. The conquerors across the world, for the most part, are the ones who transcribed the history for others to read.
[...]
The history today will be different. With technology and social media, we have the effortless ability to capture our individual truth and experience in minute detail and save it on shared servers for the world to access hundreds or thousands of years from now. Ironically, this fact may make the study of history that much more complicated, as historians in the future will have many versions of truth to study and contrast.»

Note to self: remember to read this again in 2059 and post the answer.

Yes, we can (Tiananmen Square 20th anniversary Special Edition) - At least try, it's still worth it

Today, twenty years ago, the Chinese government declared martial law in an attempt to stop the pro-democracy demonstrations that had attracted hundreds of thousands of people throughout China for over one month.

During the night of 3-4 June 1989, the army made its final assault on Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds and arresting thousands and effectively ending any hope for progress.

The following day (5 June), this happened on the Avenue of Eternal Peace, Beijing.



'Tank Man' was probably executed after being taken from the tank by secret police. A fool, or a hero?

IMHO, a great man who has has given hope and inspiration to millions around the world.

Act remembering what Edmund Burke - allegedly - said («All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing»)...

...then rate your achievements according to Leo Burnett's metrics («If you reach for the stars, you might not quite get one, but you won’t end up with a handful of mud, either.»)

The evolution of media over the last two centuries (and a bold attempt at forecasting the next 10 years)

(First seen on Quinta's weblog)

Baekdal.com has a simple yet insightful interpretation of the role of media in history, challenges advertisers and PR professionals to look at the future...

«Ask yourself. Are you still trying to get journalists to write about your products? Are you still making websites? Is your social networking strategy to ‘get a Facebook Page'?»

...and attempts a forecast through 2020.

«In this article, we are going to take a little tour through the history of information - or more specifically where to focus efforts if you want get in touch with other people. It is really exciting time, because we are currently in the middle of the most drastic change since the invention of the newspaper.»

To put the current state of Italian media, you should probably have a look at 2002.

Yes, we can (Part VIII) - If we bear this in mind

That includes each and every one of us, and has to include our politicians, our parents, our teachers, our bosses.



Dedicated to those who will be 30 in 2050, probably in a world that for the first time since centuries will not be led by the Western Hemisphere?

Good luck to us.

Yes, we can (Part V) - If more and more people were to think like this (and act accordingly)

(from .mau., himself quoting from letturalenta, in Italian)

Smemorati

Prima furono individuati, catalogati, schedati. Poi la propaganda di regime cominciò a dipingerli come causa di tutti i mali, esseri spregevoli, cancro da rimuovere. Poi furono privati dei beni, del lavoro, dei diritti civili. Poi usarono il ricavato delle espropriazioni per finanziare un meccanismo burocratico finalizzato ad espellerli una volta per tutte.

Gli ebrei furono trattati così dai nazisti e dai fascisti, molti anni fa.

Mai più!

Mai più? Come vengono trattati oggi — oggi, dico — come vengono trattati i rom, i sinti, gli immigrati? Quanti di noi sono rabbrividiti ascoltando un ministro della repubblica italiana dire che gli immigrati regolari devono pagare un tributo per finanziare l’espulsione degli irregolari? Chi di noi ha avuto paura — per sé stesso, dico, per i propri figli — quando quello stesso ministro chiamava “censimento” la schedatura di migliaia di rom e di sinti?

In quegli anni lontani, quando a partire dal 1933 gli ebrei furono ridotti in miseria e chiusi nei ghetti, i bravi cittadini applaudirono. Poi, il 27 gennaio 1945, fu loro mostrato l’orrore dei campi di sterminio. I bravi cittadini dissero: noi non lo sapevamo, noi siamo innocenti.

Cala il tramonto sull’ennesima giornata della memoria, sull’ennesimo coro di mai più! intonato da bravi cittadini che per il resto dell’anno applaudono chi si accanisce sulla miseria degli ultimi. I bravi cittadini che per tutto l’anno equiparano immigrati e “zingari” a un cancro da estirpare.

E gli ebrei?

Che senso ha commemorare sei milioni di ebrei morti per poi vomitare quotidianamente veleno su quelli vivi? Quanto sono smemorati quelli che versano una lacrimuccia annuale sulla Shoah e dedicano il resto dell’anno a bruciare bandiere israeliane, imbrattare sinagoghe e cimiteri ebraici, accostare il Maghen David alla svastica, negare a Israele il diritto di esistere come stato ebraico?

Anche oggi, come già un anno fa, il presidente Giorgio Napolitano ha ricordato che l’antisionismo è una nuova forma di antisemitismo e che occorre vigilare perché questo virus non faccia presa sulla società italiana. Qualcuno si ricorderà delle sue parole da qui al prossimo 27 gennaio?

Chi avesse ancora dei dubbi sull’identità fra antisionismo e antisemitismo potrà trarre giovamento dalla lettura di questa notizia che ho appreso dal blog di Deborah Lipstadt, la studiosa che ha segnato l’inizio della fine per il negazionista David Irving.

La notizia, in breve, è che uno dei maggiori negazionisti della Shoah ha deciso di cambiare mestiere, consapevole del fatto che il negazionismo ha perso la sua battaglia contro gli storici autentici. E che mestiere ha deciso di intraprendere questo negazionista frustrato dall’insuccesso? Semplice: farà l’antisionista. E, come commenta la Lipstadt, è tristemente facile prevedere che la sua nuova carriera sarà più gratificante.

Congratulazioni, per il messaggio e per la prosa.

E' difficile spiegarlo cosi' bene, ma non e' cosi' complicato comportarsi di conseguenza. Suvvia!

Yes, we can (Part III) - If all newly elected Presidents worldwide were to pronounce these words (and then keep their word)

Full text of President Barack Obama's inaugural speech (from pic2009.org).

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].“

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

IMHO this man will either be remembered on Mount Rushmore, or will be one of the greatest delusions in the history. Let's hope for the best, and look forward to it.

Is it too much to ask of Italian PMs to say something even vaguely similar in humbleness, ambition and determination?!

Wazzup!? Obama!

Back in 2000, Budweiser produced a great ad showing five friends "watching the game, having a bud..." - cult for anyone living in London or New York at the time.



Eight years later, the same five guys are back - and brilliant! Life hasn't been good, "lost my home, looking for a job...", but now there's hope for change.

Frua: that was so Brechin Place!

Life is Beautiful - a masterpiece

After posting the earlier video from "La Tigre e la Neve", I remembered this great moment of movie history.

IMHO a unique combination of irresistible laughter, unspeakable sadness and political passion in 5 minutes of video.

For every filmmaker to learn from, and everyone else to enjoy.

Stop the Clash of Civilizations

Sometimes I wonder: what's the point of posting something that has been already seen by over 2 million people on YouTube and commented over 40.000 times?

In this case, the video speaks for itself - a brilliant message against intolerance and prejudice, that in just over 2.30 minutes demolishes many preconceptions many people have, in both the Western world and Arab/Muslim countries.

PS Winner of the 2007 YouTube Award for the Politics category

W la Brigata Ebraica

I don't understand how people who supposedly support the moral values of the "Resistenza", and march alongside those who fought for democracy and freedom, can be even remotely hostile to the Jewish Brigade.

Like partisans, they literally risked their lives for freedom - but for a country that wasn't theirs. Like soldiers they fought an enemy nation - but would be sent straight to Auschwitz if caught. True heroes who deserve utmost respect.