By Nancy Spannaus March 18, 2020—American journalist Andrew Spannaus updated his report on the fight against the coronavirus in Italy yesterday. His conclusion: The country is “on the brink” of seeing its hospital system overwhelmed. (His full report can be found on Consortium News) Given that Italy is a G-7 […]
(Note: While this report is not up-to-date, it includes certain basic information that should be useful as the spread of the coronavirus in Italy (and elsewhere) proceeds. The town where Andrew lives is now in the “red zone.”) By Nancy Spannaus March 5, 2020—The nation of Italy represents the major […]
A Reflection on the Occasion of Columbus Day By Nancy Spannaus Oct. 14, 2019—The image of Christopher Columbus braving the dangerous, unknown seas until discovering land in the islands off America has long inspired patriots of the United States. From the earliest days of our republic, his name has been […]
By Andrew Spannaus Nov. 8, 2018–The Italian government of Giuseppe Conte, whose EU-critical policies are driven by the leaders of the two coalition partners, and Deputy Prime Ministers, Luigi Di Maio of the Five Star Movement (M5S) and Matteo Salvini of the League, has decided to openly challenge EU budget […]
October 20, 2018—On October 16, a huge step forward was taken for the African continent, with the signing of an agreement between Italy and the Lake Chad Basin Commission to fund a feasibility study of the Transaqua water project. Francesco La Camera, director general of the Italian Environment ministry, and […]
Oct. 18, 2018—To the chagrin of the international financial institutions, the FDR tradition is showing itself to be alive and well in Italy. Most upsetting to the powers-that-be has been the Italian government’s determination to break the EU’s budget austerity rules, in the interest of fulfilling some of its promises […]
June 7, 2018– “We have a growing awareness and the evaluation, included in the [coalition] contract, that we must distinguish, that it is timely to distinguish between banks issuing credit and above all are community-linked, and the more speculation-prone investment banks,” declared newly confirmed Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in his […]
by Angela Vullo March 27, 2020–Those of us who are baby boomers, might remember the famous sketch by Jack Benny from the 1960s. A mugger stops the comedian in the street and says, “Your money or your life”. After several seconds, when Benny does not respond, the mugger says, “Well?” […]
By Nancy Spannaus March 18, 2020—American journalist Andrew Spannaus updated his report on the fight against the coronavirus in Italy yesterday. His conclusion: The country is “on the brink” of seeing its hospital system overwhelmed. (His full report can be found on Consortium News) Given that Italy is a G-7 […]
Facing the Virus: Italian and U.S. Healthcare Compared
(The following article is reprinted from Consortium News. It was published on March 23. Previous articles on this subject can be found on this site, including an interview with Andrew Spannaus done early in the month.) By Andrew Spannaus During the March 15 Democratic presidential debate between Joe Biden and Bernie […]