Bruni, who lived in Rome, recommends it because it became his favorite haunt in his neighborhood. Similarly, when I lived in Milan, my favorite was a place called Trattoria Masuelli. No menu — you asked the owner what was good that night and that’s what you chose.

There are lots of places like Oliva Nera, but there are also lots and lots of places with so-so food. And they are patronized by Italians, not just tourists. That’s what I was trying to say.

My suggestion was meant to be lightly ironic. Still, I think it would be a glaring sign of the craven, mediocre depths of the country if McCain wins in November. I’d certainly have a pit in my stomach about remaining in the US, but I’d probably retain my innocent faith that we’d get it right eventually.

Funny thing is that I’ve lived all over the world (Europe, Asia, South America, and Antarctica) and I’ve never meet anyone who’d want to give-up their citizenship because of an election result. Are you really sure that publishing this stance was a good thing? You look rather foolish….

I just wanted to add that some reactions out of Germany’s left-wing and hence “p.c.” (or should I say, “right”-minded…) camp just go to prove Yonis Ayeh’s point about the racism you find among many on the left in Germany. One example is a comment by Katja Nicodemus in DIE ZEIT (No. 25, of June 12, 2008, p. 47), a weekly by and large exemplary of decent journalism, but with some bad apples.

Ms. Nicodemus, all indignation and noble foe of racism, is virtually ablaze with anti-(white)American hatred in her defense of this unjustifiable and inexcusable headline. Not only does she ignore black people’s reactions to that headline - which, in any event, should be the main concern here - , but she distorts U.S. reactions, focusing exclusively on accusations of Nazism etc., and ultimately placing the blame at the doorstep of “America’s racism,” which the taz supposedly exposed.

This way of twisting the facts to one’s liking is typical of the people Yonis Ayeh obviously had in mind, who only utilize people of African descent in the pursuit of their agenda(s) and are as deeply steeped in colonialist, paternalistic, and other racist attitudes as any die-hard right-wing bigot. All the while they are so caught up in their posture of moral and ideological self-righteousness - after all, they alone among wo/men possess “the truth,” and, of course, the way to the light - that you cannot even get them to refrain from using the German equivalent of “coloreds” for blacks: THEY don’t feel it’s offensive, so black folks shouldn’t either, got it? (And if the latter don’t like it, tough on them.) And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Racism is a cancer, and cancer is a disease we are still far from able to overcome. It is both sad and criminal that so many people in key positions, e.g. journalists, not only carry and spread this disease, but are actually stubbornly proud that they do so. On the bright side, and for whatever it’s worth, a number of (white) readers of the taz as well as other people around the country rejected the whole “satire and irony” spin on this abominable headline, and quite some are sorry and ashamed for this disparagement of black people, as am I.

One of the gentle ironies of environmental awareness is that seemingly “green” places — the countryside, exurbia — are highly non-green. Dense places like Manhattan use energy far more efficiently.

http://davidderrick.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/loving-your-city/

Pity it doesn’t carry over to their web site, though.