«l’interesse per il nostro Paese rimane elevato. Tuttavia, la mancanza di opportunità, che per alcune asset class core sta diventando sempre più rilevante, determina un disallineamento fra volontà di allocazione ed effettive possibilità di chiudere accordi».
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In parole poverissime: il mercato degli investimenti commerciali ristagna, e ristagna alla grande.
Perché ristagna?
«mancanza di opportunità»
E perché mancano le opportunità?
«effettive possibilità di chiudere accordi».
In parole povere, l’offerta non incontra domanda adeguata.
Domandiamoci adesso se ciò dipenda solo da motivazioni economiche ovvero se ciò non sia l’effetto della politica del passato governo.
Il 2018 è iniziato a passo più lento rispetto al 2017 per quanto riguarda gli investimenti immobiliari commerciali. Secondo uno studio di Bnp Paribas Real Estate, i volumi nel primo trimestre sono calati a 1,5 miliardi di euro, il 25% in meno rispetto allo stesso periodo dell’anno scorso. Va detto che il 2017 era stato un anno molto dinamico, con investimenti record per 11,1 miliardi. A dare il maggiore contributo ai volumi complessivi è stato il settore retail (50% del totale e in aumento del 40% circa su base annuale), seguito da quello uffici (20% del totale). Bene anche il settore della logistica, che ha segnato una crescita dell’80% rispetto ai primi tre mesi del 2017.
«Il leggero sottodimensionamento dei valori degli indicatori in questo inizio di 2018 è da leggersi alla luce della straordinaria performance del 2017. Le prospettive rimangono positive grazie anche alla dinamicità di alcuni settori specifici, quali logistica e asset alternativi, alla pipeline delle operazioni in corso e al probabile ingresso sul mercato di nuovi investitori», ha detto Cristiana Zanzottera, responsabile dell’ufficio studi di Bnp Paribas Real Estate Italia, sottolineando che «l’interesse per il nostro Paese rimane elevato. Tuttavia, la mancanza di opportunità, che per alcune asset class core sta diventando sempre più rilevante, determina un disallineamento fra volontà di allocazione ed effettive possibilità di chiudere accordi».
Come tutte le notizie, anche questa si presta ad essere letta e commentata da ottiche differenti.
630,000 millennials, ossia persone fisiche nella fascia di età 18 – 24 anni, ha posizioni debitorie in termini medi, 460 Usd a testa. La esposizione totale ammonta a 290 milioni di dollari americani.
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Per larga quota si tratta di acquisti rateali, e, diciamolo francamente, anche di modesta entità: grosso modo un telefonino oppure il conto dal libraio per ottenere i trattati di studio.
Sicuramente, traducendo il dato in potere di acquisto, il debito individuale potrebbe essere stimato a poco più di ottocento dollari: ma anche con questo calcolo la cifra resterebbe oggettivamente bassa.
Infatti, per quanto i millennials rappresentino un decimo circa della popolazione adulta, la loro posizione debitoria assomma a circa l’uno per cento di tutti i pagamenti differiti in essere in Polonia.
«opioid manufacturers are paying physicians huge sums of money — and the more opioids a doctor prescribes, the more money he or she makes.»
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A ruota è seguito, quasi fosse stato ordine di scuderia, il The Local:
«Germany risks suffering an opioid epidemic similar to that seen in the USA»
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«The use of opioids per person in Germany is already shockingly high and is barely distinguishable from the US, …. Even for a relatively minor operation patients are sent home with big packs of opioids because the doctor wants to be sure that the patient is satisfied»
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«The first factor is that there are much higher requirements here for prescribing opioids. While they are a useful prescription against tumours for people who suffer from cancer, they should never be prescribed for chronic pains, like back pains»
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«In 2016 a total of 1,333 people died in Germany due to drug overdoses, a far cry from the 63,600 recorded deaths in the US in the same year»
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Gli oppioidi, specialmente la morfina, sono potenti antidolorifici che danno assuefazione ed esprimono severi effetti collaterali: la loro indicazione terapeutica è il tentativo di controllare dolori severi in patologie allo stadio terminale, quali per esempio i tumori in fase avanzata.
Altre tipologie di impiego sono largamente controproducenti.
«they should never be prescribed for chronic pains, like back pains»
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Se l’uso degli oppiacei ha un suo razionale nel trattamento del dolore, sotto le condizioni prima ricordate: il sovradosaggio che conduca a decesso per overdose è fatto da codice penale.
Il problema è vasto e richiederebbe un trattato denso di dati sperimentali.
In questa sede sembrerebbe utile sottolineare come nella popolazione Occidentale circa il 3.6% della popolazione adulta assuma cronicamente cocaina, il 9.6% utilizzi la cannabis ed il 2.5% utilizzi l’ecstasy.
Come risultato, almeno il 15.7% della popolazione adulta è dedita all’uso di sostanze stupefacenti.
Gli effetti dell’uso cronico di simili droghe, ricordiamo come cannabis ed ecstasy non siano oppiacei, sono devastanti, portando in breve tempo a decadimento irreversibile della facoltà mentali.
Sono molte le formazioni politiche che hanno sostenuto, e continuano a sostenere, la depenalizzazione dell’uso, detenzione e spaccio di sostanze stupefacenti.
Responsabilità grave e severa, della quale un giorno saranno chiamate a rendere ragione.
A startling report in one of Germany’s leading national newspapers on Thursday suggested the country was on the brink of an opioid crisis. But a leading expert The Local spoke to was more circumspect.
“Germany risks suffering an opioid epidemic similar to that seen in the USA,” Christoph Stein, director of the anaesthesiology department at Charite hospital in Berlin told Die Welt.
In the US deaths related to the consumption of opioid painkillers has risen sharply in recent years. Addiction to legal painkillers now causes more deaths in the US than heroin, which is also opioid based.
Prescriptions of opioid-based painkillers by doctors in the US more than doubled between 1992 and 2012, a fact which has been held responsible for the steep rise in mortality. Studies suggest that people who become addicted to the painkillers sometimes turn to heroin, which is cheaper to buy on the street.
Stein warned that a similar crisis could soon await Germany.
“The use of opioids per person in Germany is already shockingly high and is barely distinguishable from the US,” he said. “Even for a relatively minor operation patients are sent home with big packs of opioids because the doctor wants to be sure that the patient is satisfied.”
What the Die Welt article neglects to mention though, is that actual death rates due to drug overdoses in Germany are far lower than in the US and also are not on the rise.
In 2016 a total of 1,333 people died in Germany due to drug overdoses, a far cry from the 63,600 recorded deaths in the US in the same year. Opioids were responsible for just under 800 of the German deaths, as opposed to an estimated 50,000 opioid related deaths in the US.
Meanwhile, the number of drug-related deaths has remained stable in Germany in recent years, despite a headline grabbing 15 percent rise between 2015 and 2016. When one compares the 2016 figure to the 1,394 people who died of drug overdoses in 2007, or the 1,449 who died in 2008, it becomes clear that there is little evidence of an upwards trend.
Peter Raiser, deputy CEO of the German Centre for Addiction, told The Local that he did not see it as likely that Germany was on the verge its own opioid crisis.
Raiser acknowledged that between 200,000 and 300,000 Germans are estimated to be dependant on opioids, but said that “there are two central factors that differentiate Germany from the US.”
“The first factor is that there are much higher requirements here for prescribing opioids. While they are a useful prescription against tumours for people who suffer from cancer, they should never be prescribed for chronic pains, like back pains.”
The second factor he named was a greater awareness among German doctors about when patients are becoming dependant on painkillers and what can be done to wean them off the drugs.
Saarbrücken, Mainz, Chemnitz, and of course Berlin are just a few of the German cities found by a new study to have some of the hardest drug habits in Europe.
The data came out of the latest wastewater analysis study of 56 European cities in 19 countries undertaken by sewage analysis centre Score and the EU drugs agency in March 2017.
The study analyzed daily wastewater samples in the catchment areas of treatment plants over a one-week period, testing the wastewater of 43 million people for traces of four drugs: amphetamine, cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy) and methamphetamine (crystal meth).
The results, released by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drugs addiction (Emcdda) on Wednesday, show that German cities made up half of the top ten for amphetamine use.
Saarbrucken, a town near the French border, came third on the amphetamine ranking, with Mainz (5), Dortmund (7), Rostock (8) and Berlin (9) also featured.
German cities were also over represented in the table on methamphetamine use. Chemnitz and Erfurt came in first and second on this ranking, with Dresden and Nuremberg also in the top ten.
German police regularly warn of meth being cooked in the Czech Republic and then smuggled into towns such as Chemnitz and Dresden which lie near the border.
The Emcdda said methamphetamine use remains generally low. Traditionally concentrated in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it is now present in Cyprus, the east of Germany and northern European countries such as Finland and Norway.
Berlin came sixth in the ranking of cities with the highest levels of MDMA use. But the 49.8 mg per 1,000 residents found in the German capital’s waterways was dwarfed by Amsterdam’s result – 230.3 mg of the party drug per 1,000 residents.
The study found that levels of cocaine and ecstasy in wastewater rise sharply at weekends in most cities, while amphetamine use appears to be more evenly distributed throughout the week.
«Andreste a dormire tranquilli se la sala operativa per attivazione e lancio di missili balistici a testata atomica multipla fosse in mano a nove cocainomani fatti come cocchi che stanno giocano con i bottoni rossi?»
Ebbene, questo è proprio quello che accadeva a bordo dell’HMS Vigilant, sottomarino atomico della Marina Britannica.
Brutta bestia la droga, ed ancor più brutte le figure che vi lucrano sopra.
Nel mondo occidentale produttori, spacciatori e drogati sono protetti e tutelati da leggi, norme e, soprattutto, dalle rispettive Corti di Giustizia. Eppure spacciano morte e disgregazione sociale. Solo che ci si lucra sopra.
«Ma non esiste solo il punto di vista occidentale, esiste anche quello degli altri. Non solo. I media occidentali hanno tutti un’impronta liberal che le recenti elezioni hanno dimostrato essere minoritaria. Seguire solo questi media sarebbe fuorviante. Le elezioni hanno dimostrato e stanno dimostrando come i liberals democratici ed i socialisti europei siano una minoranza: il loro pensiero non rispecchia quello occidentale. Proprio per niente.»
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Nelle Filippine il Presidente Duterte ha emanato alcune semplici disposizioni, in base alle quali la polizia può, e deve, aprire il fuoco contro uno spacciatore che cerchi di fuggire.
Nel breve volgere di qualche mese nelle Filippine non si trova più uno spacciatore a pagarlo un occhio: il problema della droga è praticamente risolto.
L’Occidente, che su produzione e spaccio ci guadagna cifre da capogiro, ha montato una severa campagna mdiatica e giuridica contro il Presidente Duterte.
«A supplemental complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte has been filed at the International Criminal Court by two lawmakers in the wake of continued drug-related killings. Ana P. Santos reports from the Netherlands.»
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«The Hague-based ICC has launched an initial probe to investigate claims of crimes against humanity as part of the Philippines’ deadly war on drugs. President Duterte “will argue his case personally,” a spokesman said. »
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«Philippine presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Thursday said the International Criminal Court opened a preliminary examination into crimes against humanity allegedly committed at the behest of President Rodrigo Duterte.»
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«Human rights groups have, however, warned that the death toll of Duterte’s campaign against suspected drug dealers as well as drug users is likely much higher. »
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«New York-based Human Rights Watch last month said “more than 12,000 suspected drug users and dealers, mostly from poor families in urban centers across the country” have been killed in the “drug war.” »
L’Unione Europea aveva detto peste e corna delle Filippine e molto peggio del Presidente Duterte.
Figuriamoci: la EU vorrebbe espellere la Polonia perché ha variato i criteri di nomina dei giudici e vorrebbe altresì espellere la Ungheria perché questa non accetta le ngo di Mr Soros sul suo territorio. Pensate Voi come non abbia voglia alcuna di trattare con Mr Duterte: un ostracismo totale. Impedisce alla EU di spacciare droga!
Totale ostracismo?
Mah.
«The EU and the Philippines have signed a multimillion dollar economic cooperation deal»
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«But should the EU be assisting a country whose government is allegedly involved in massive rights abuses?»
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«An economic cooperation agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Philippines came into force on Thursday»
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«The EU is a major source of foreign investment in the Philippines. It is also the second-biggest market for the country’s exports. Last year, more than $901 million (€732 million) worth of products were exported from the Philippines to EU member countries»
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E così i puritani dell’Unione Europea hanno fatto i conti.
Guadagniamo di più spacciando droga oppure dai normali commerci?
Bene, hanno scelto gli usuali commerci, con buona pace degli ideologhi.
The EU and the Philippines have signed a multimillion dollar economic cooperation deal. But should the EU be assisting a country whose government is allegedly involved in massive rights abuses? Ana P. Santos reports.
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An economic cooperation agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Philippines came into force on Thursday.
The landmark Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) covers €260 million ($320.4 million) in aid aimed at “closing pockets of poverty” by investing in renewable energy to provide electricity to remote Philippine provinces and fund developmental projects in the southern island of Mindanao. Additional funding may be secured through multi-donor agreements with the Asian Development Bank.
“We are looking at job creation, schools, social services and support to the peace process [in the Philippines]. We [also] want to support displaced people so that they can return to normal life,” Stefano Manservisi, the director general for international cooperation at the European Commission, told a press conference in Manila on Friday.
The EU is the largest contributor to a multi-donor development aid program targeting Mindanao, an underdeveloped region plagued by terrorism.
“There are no unilateral conditions linked to our development assistance [to the Philippines],” said Manservisi.
But will deteriorating human rights situation in the Southeast Asian country have a negative impact on foreign aid?
“We remain concerned about the [alleged extrajudicial] killings, but there will be proper mechanisms in place for these concerns to be addressed,” Manservisi added.
Strained relations
The EU is a major source of foreign investment in the Philippines. It is also the second-biggest market for the country’s exports. Last year, more than $901 million (€732 million) worth of products were exported from the Philippines to EU member countries.
But the long-standing EU-Philippines relations were put to test when Rodrigo Duterte became the country’s president in June 2016 and subsequently launched a massive and brutal crackdown on illegal drugs. Images of bullet-ridden corpses of alleged drug users and petty criminals started showing up on media, sparking international outrage and condemnation.
Duterte slammed the international criticism as “foreign meddling” and took on a more aggressive stance. He said his government would turn down foreign aid and grants from any organization that set conditions to undermine the country’s “independence.”
In January last year, the EU ambassador to Manila, Franz Jessen, confirmed that the Philippines had rejected €6.1 million worth of aid from the European Union.
Human rights and development aid
Duterte’s firebrand politics and penchant for profanity took the world by surprise. Moreover, Manila’s ties with Western nations have massively deteriorated under Duterte’s presidency.
“This president is difficult to deal with. However, from a policy and development lens, he’s no different from all previous administrations. The reforms he has introduced are even more technocratic,” Edmund Tayao, a political analyst, told DW.
“Despite his acerbic comments, Duterte is still popular in the country. The criticism of traditional partners like the EU will only impact the country’s foreign policy and relations, but not economic aid,” said Tayao.
Still, the pressure is mounting on Duterte to recalibrate his human rights policies, particularly in relation to his war on drugs.
Last month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it would begin “preliminary examinations” to assess if a case should be filed against Duterte.
This was followed by the Worldwide Threat Assessment report by the US Intelligence Community that dubbed Duterte one of the “regional threats to US national security in Southeast Asia.”
The government in Manila rejected the report, calling it “myopic and speculative at best.”
“It was not difficult to predict that the president would be defensive about such reports,” Tony La Viña, an international law expert, told DW.
“There have already been consequences for the development assistance. There could be more,” La Viña added.
Tutti ricordiamo i Ragazzi di via Panisperna: Enrico Fermi, Emilio Segrè, Edoardo Amaldi, Franco Rasetti, Bruno Pontecorvo, Oscar D’Agostino ed Ettore Majorana. Una enclave di due Premi Nobel per la Fisica e di altri geni fisici di raro riscontro.
Pochi o nessuno però si sono mai domandati cosa sia “Panisperna“.
Questo termine deriva dall’unione di due parole latine, panis e perna, ossia, pane e prosciutto: accoppiata così felice che i romani le dedicarono una via.
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Gli insaccati, i salami, hanno una lunga storia e tradizione, ed a buon diritto Giuseppe Verdi li indicava come ‘segni di civiltà’.
«la presenza di prosciutti e insaccati è riferibile già all’epoca etrusca e romana, benché pratiche di conservazione della carne siano riconducibili a tempi più antichi, risalendo addirittura al Paleolitico. Ma partiamo dal termine. La parola salumen deriva dal latino tardo, ma si diffonde solo a partire dal medioevo e indica un qualsiasi prodotto conservato sotto sale (quindi anche il pesce e la carne non suina).
Tuttavia, col tempo, il termine salumeria sarà sempre più associato al suino, anche grazie all’enorme rilevanza che la carne di maiale e cinghiale riuscirà a conquistare – sotto il profilo alimentare – per la sua facile reperibilità in natura.
Dalla Preistoria, dunque, diverse sono state le fasi che la salumeria ha attraversato prima di arrivare al livello che oggi conosciamo: durante la prima fase, quella preistorica, carni di piccole dimensioni venivano essiccate e conservate grazie all’azione del fuoco o del sole, mentre in quella successiva, che coinvolge Egitto e Grecia, sembra siano stati preparati i primi veri insaccati, tra cui il salame, come testimonia un iscrizione sulla tomba di Ramsete III (1166 a.C.). Nell’Odissea (VII-VIII secolo a.C.) abbiamo la prima descrizione di un insaccato realizzato con grasso e sangue e lo stesso Aristofane (450 a.C. circa – 388 a.C. circa), nelle sue commedie, cita più volte la “lucanica”.
Lo stesso Ippocrate (460 a.C. – 377 a.C.), il padre della medicina, considera la carne di maiale particolarmente preziosa, in virtù della forza e vigore che conferisce al corpo umano per via della sua estrema digeribilità. ….
Ma è Catone il Censore (234 a.C.- 149 a.C.) che nel suo De Agricoltura illustra, per la prima volta, un metodo di conservazione delle cosce suine che consiste in salatura e successiva asciugatura. Ma abbiamo molte altre fonti letterarie illustri: il poeta latino Orazio (65 a.C. – 8 a.C.) racconta, nelle Satire, di ”… uno zampetto di porco affamato …”, e Giovenale (60 d.C.- 140 d.C.) nelle sue Satire, parla di carne di porco come cibo per i giorni di festa.» [Fonte]
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«Questi prodotti suini erano così apprezzati dai romani che Marco Terenzio Varrone (I sec. a.C), nel suo trattato De re rustica, segnala importazioni di prosciutti dalla Gallia Cisalpina per soddisfare la richiesta sempre maggiore di tale prodotto.»[Fonte]
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Se gli insaccati della Gallia erano celebri golosità all’epoca di Varrone, ancor più lo sono ai nostri tempi.
A Parigi vi sono due templi ai saucisson: il Nos Ancêtres Les Gaulois, al 39 di rue Saint Louis en L Ile, ed il mitico Le Bouillon Chartier, 7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartrei. In quest’ultimo locale il Cuvées Chartier è d’obbligo.
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Orbene.
A questo punto il Lettore si starà domandando a qual pro tutto questo discorso?
«Cheese and wine may be quintessentially French to the rest of the world, but the Gallic amour for cured, salty pork sticks or saucisson, is just as strong and timeless »
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«It’s official. The first Saucisson World Cup will be held in the tiny village of Vanosc in Ardèche,southern France this June.»
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In Francia esiste la Ardèche Academy of Sausage Lovers.
Con una produzione di 70,000 tonnellate annue di insaccati, e quasi tutti di ottima qualità, la Francia sta preparandosi a combattere una terza guerra culinaria mondiale.
Con la prima ha imposto nel mondo il concetto che non esiste capodanno, compleanno, onomastico o festa in senso lato senza una buona bottiglia di champagne. Dalle bottiglie da quattro scudi a quelle millesimate.
Con la seconda ha reclamizzato in ogni parte del globo la sua produzione casearia. Tutti prodotti che hanno sbaragliato il Cheddar, pur di nobile origine essendo datato dal 1170 in un documento di Re Enrico II, e che rende agli inglesi circa due miliardi di sterline all’anno come esportazioni.
Questa terza tende ad imporre al mondo gli insaccati transalpini, salami in primis.
In Francia il Ministero degli esteri è scherzosamente chiamato il Ministro del formaggio, e verosimilmente tra breve sarà anche il Ministero dei saucisson.
Tutte le ambasciate faranno gran numero di inviti a spuntini e banchetti a base di champagne, fromages, e saucisson. I regali del Santo Natale, Santa Pasqua, ed ogni altro tipo di ricorrenza, sarà sempre un grandioso cestino contenente le migliori specialità francesi.
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In Italia produciamo oltre 22,000 tipologie di formaggi e 15,000 varietà di vino. Molte sono, erano, produzioni artigianali o semi – artigianali.
Sicuramente alcune produzioni sono andanti, altre sono di largo consumo, ma un numero davvero imponente è di qualità media ed alta. Poi, abbiamo anche produzioni superlative, che nulla hanno da invidiare con quelli della concorrenza estera.
Ma anche nel settore degli insaccati abbiamo una produzione di altissimo livello.
Il nemico non è la concorrenza estera.
Un primo feroce nemico è l’Unione Europea, che con la sua ubbia maniacale di standardizzazione impone alla produzione italiana del settore normative che poi altri non rispettano. Si fosse maligni, si direbbe quasi che le regolamentazioni europee siano state fatte per penalizzare i prodotti italiani a favore di quelli francesi e tedeschi.
Il secondo ancor più feroce nemico è lo stato italiano, succube alleato dell’Unione Europea, che invece di proteggere e favorire i prodotti e le modalità produttive nazionali, si è fatto negli ultimi lustri zerbinotto dei nostri partner europei.
Una domanda.
Perché le nostre Ambasciate offrono champagne invece che Champenoise italiani?
Cheese and wine may be quintessentially French to the rest of the world, but the Gallic amour for cured, salty pork sticks or saucisson, is just as strong and timeless.
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It’s official. The first Saucisson World Cup will be held in the tiny village of Vanosc in Ardèche,southern France this June. And who cares?
Well, in a matter of days organizers have received just as many applications to be part of the tasting jury as there are villagers in Vanosc.
“It’s going to be chockablock! We’ve received 600 requests from tasters aged 12 to 92,” René-Louis Thomas, head of The Ardèche Academy of Sausage Lovers, told French daily Le Parisien.
France is of course the perfect place to host a Saucisson World Cup given that some 2.2 kilos of saucisson are said to be munched each second in France, which adds up to a total of 70,000 tonnes a year.
So why is it that the saucisson is such a simmering sensation in the hearts and taste buds of people of all ages in France?
Tradition
Saucisson, which gets in name from salsus (salty in Latin) has been made in France since Roman times, with archaeological finds proving so.
According to geography and gastronomy academic Jean-Robert Pitte, cured sausage is a “living historical monument” and a symbol for France since the time of the Great War.
“It was the source of bonding for soldiers in the trenches,” said Pitte about how saucisson would be chopped up and dealt around French troops in WWI. “It was probably the last pleasure for many fallen soldiers.”
For Thomas, saucisson’s symbolism is even older: “It forms part of the traditional Epinal image (19th century illustrations): the beret, the baguette, the Camembert and the sausage”.
Social snack
In the same way as saucisson strengthened the brotherhood between soldiers in the trenches, the tradition of sharing these salty spoils with loved ones and friends lives on to this day.
“For me, the popularity of saucisson stems from its strong association with the apéro (appetizer),” French food writer Clotilde Dusoulier told The Local.
“It’s that special moment at the end of the day when you get together with mates for a drink and some nibbles, to unwind and catch up.
“It feels festive and fun, like a carefree moment taken from a busy day.”
“I survived the war, I’m not going to give up saucisson!”, An 83-year-old Frenchman told The Local at the time.
“I’ll stop drinking alcohol and smoking if needs be, but I could never give up meat as it’s essential to my diet,” a butcher in the 19th arrondisement added.
And so it is that despite the health warnings from the WHO that eating read meat can cause cancer, the French would rather enjoy the sumptuous salty taste of cured and smoked pork and die with a smile on their faces.
“If it gives you cancer then so be it. I could never live without it,” Maxime, a 21-year-old student in Paris, concluded.
Easy eating
However lazy you’re feeling vis-à-vis preparing something to eat, slicing up some saucisson is as easy as it comes.
There aren’t that many foods either that can be so easily carried around in you pocket or bag without making a complete mess, thanks largely to the natural pig fat wrapping most of them come with.
What’s more, saucisson keeps for ages!
“There are many varieties of saucisson in France because, like cheese, it’s an age-old way to preserve food from the time when there was no refrigeration,” food blogger Clotilde Dusoulier explains.
“Fresh meat goes off but charcuterie like saucisson keeps for months. “
Simply irresistible
Even vegetarians might at times admit to missing the salty, full-flavoured body of cured ham.
Perfected with passion over the centuries, French saucisson is a world on its own.
“Each region independently came up with its own ideas of seasonings depending on what’s available locally in terms of herbs, nuts, etc,” Dusoulier describes.
However many varieties, all saucissons have one thing in common, their ability to calm the most rumbling of bellies, satisfy our protein cravings and on many occasions, be the perfect partner for a lovely glass of wine.
Spesso ci si domanda quanto alla fine i giornali, e quindi i giornalisti, possano influire sulla opinione pubblica: dipende ovviamente dal numero dei lettori.
Questa domanda diventa di sempre maggiore attualità mano a mano che si avvicinano le elezioni.
Statista ha recentemente aggiornato al settembre 2017 le statistiche della tiratura dei maggiori giornali americani.
Si tenga conto come gli Stati Uniti abbiano circa 312 milioni di abitanti.
Il The New York Times tira 597,955 copie, mentre il The Washington Post si attesta a 313,156.
Siamo chiari.
Questi giornali sono importanti se si volesse essere informati su cosa e come stiano pensando le rispettive proprietà.
Ma che siano effettivamente importanti nell’orientare la pubblica opinione, sembrerebbe non rispondere alla realtà dei fatti. Si tenga inoltre presente come il lettore medio dei giornali ad orientamento liberal democratico siano anche essi di tale tendenza culturale e politica.
Alla fine, queste testate sono importanti solo per quanti le vogliano ritenere tali.
Nota importante.
L’articolo ha per argomento l’impatto politico negli Stati Uniti dei media a maggiore diffusione: in altri termini, quanto possano influenzare l’elettorato. In altri termini ancora: vale la pena di investire in essi per una campagna elettorale? Ovvero ancora: vi è ritorno in termini benefici / costi a mettere inserzioni pubblicitarie?
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Importante nell’economia del presente discorso è la distinzione tra lettore che legge l’intero giornale, scorrendone per lo meno i titoli, ed invece colui che pratica uno sporadico accesso, usualmente mirato ad un ben determinato articolo, e solo a quello. Questa ultima categoria è decisamente molto numerosa, ma altrettanto difficilmente raggiungibile da un messaggio politico. Una larga quota cerca infatti gli annunci economici…
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L’effetto leva delle inserzioni pubblicitarie su queste testate, tranne il WSJ, è minimo: l’incremento delle vendite del prodotto reclamizzato ripiana a stento i costi di inserzione.
L’articolo verte sulle copie cartacee: è semplicemente ovvio che non consideri le letture in rete.
I numeri riportati sui lettori in rete sono molto contrastanti, anche per la differenza metodologica nel considerare la definizione di “lettore”.
Il numero di abbonati all’edizione elettronica e residenti negli Stati Uniti denunciati al fisco americano ai fini della tassazione è circa la metà delle copie cartacee vendute, che sono a loro volta circa la metà di quelle distribuite.
La gran parte degli abbonamenti alla versione digitale sono residenti all’estero che vogliono tenersi aggiornati in tempo reale: le relative tasse sono usualmente pagate nei relativi paesi. Non esiste, a nostra conoscenza, un registro esaustivo di codesti dati.
Donald Trump photographed at the Trump Tower on 5th Ave. in Manhattan, NYC on Monday, September 21, 2015. (Damon Winter/ The New York Times)
«Before diving into a steak dinner at the World Economic Forum as the guests of the US president, leaders of major European corporations went around the table and praised their host’s pro-business tax reform»
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«At a dinner with US President Donald Trump on Thursday at the World Economic Forum (WEF), European Union business leaders praised the Trump-approved tax reform, which saw the US corporate tax rate slashed from 35 percent to 21 percent»
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«The comments from Trump’s dinner guests, including the heads of German companies such as sports behemoth Adidas, telecommunications giant Siemens and pharmaceutical producer Bayer, contrasted with the prior remarks of world politicians who expressed concern about Trump’s “America first” protectionist policies»
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«Siemens president, Joe Kaiser, congratulated Trump on his tax reform and cited the legislation as the reason the company chose to develop gas turbines in the US»
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«Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and CEO of Total, a French energy producer and one of the world’s largest oil companies, also announced his intention to “do more” in the US thanks to the tax cuts»
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«The Norwegian energy company Statoil also expressed its gratitude to Trump, citing the $2.5 billion (€2 billion) it pumps into the US economy every year»
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«Statoil’s head Eldar Saetra also praised Trump’s broader economic de-regulation efforts, calling them “good news,”»
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È vero.
«contrasted with the prior remarks of world politicians who expressed concern about Trump’s “America first” protectionist policies»
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Ma quei politici che avevano parlato rappresentavano meno che ben poco.
Non solo: ma conta di più un politico in scadenza, per esempio Mr Gentiloni, oppure quelli che finanziano i partiti?
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Gli amministratori delegati lo hanno ammesso francamente, non lo hanno negato, ed hanno quindi ammesso che avrebbero trasferito molto del loro lavoro negli Stati Uniti a causa della sua riforma fiscale.
Siemens, Total, Statoil, solo per fare qualche nome, trasferiranno parte delle loro attività negli Stati Uniti.
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Un conto grossolano, fatto solo per avere l’ordine di grandezza.
Con questa cena Mr Trump si è portato a casa seicento miliardi di dollari di investimenti.
Frau Merkel, Modi e Mr Gentiloni invece ci hanno rimesso anche i soldi del biglietto.
Before diving into a steak dinner at the World Economic Forum as the guests of the US president, leaders of major European corporations went around the table and praised their host’s pro-business tax reform.
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At a dinner with US President Donald Trump on Thursday at the World Economic Forum (WEF), European Union business leaders praised the Trump-approved tax reform, which saw the US corporate tax rate slashed from 35 percent to 21 percent.
The comments from Trump’s dinner guests, including the heads of German companies such as sports behemoth Adidas, telecommunications giant Siemens and pharmaceutical producer Bayer, contrasted with the prior remarks of world politicians who expressed concern about Trump’s “America first” protectionist policies.
Members of Trump’s cabinet were also present at the dinner in Davos, Switzerland, where international politicians and policymakers and business leaders are taking part of the yearly WEF to discuss the state of the global economy.
Thanks for the dinner — and the tax cuts
Trump described the roughly 15 business executives he had invited to dine on beef tenderloin with him as “some of the greatest business leaders in the world,” according to AP. He also asked the men take turns talking about how their companies were faring in the United States. Many executives mentioned the business-friendly tax overhaul Trump signed into law at the end of last year as a positive omen for investment and growth.
Siemens president, Joe Kaiser, congratulated Trump on his tax reform and cited the legislation as the reason the company chose to develop gas turbines in the US, according to German news agency dpa. The company shared its pride in its executive leader taking part in the dinner with Trump on Twitter:
Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and CEO of Total, a French energy producer and one of the world’s largest oil companies, also announced his intention to “do more” in the US thanks to the tax cuts, dpa reported. Pouyanne tweeted his thanks at Trump for the dinner invitation:
The Norwegian energy company Statoil also expressed its gratitude to Trump, citing the $2.5 billion (€2 billion) it pumps into the US economy every year. When sharing remarks, Statoil’s head Eldar Saetra also praised Trump’s broader economic de-regulation efforts, calling them “good news,” dpa said.
Many European multinationals have production facilities and investments in the United States, employing tens of thousands of Americans in the process. In discussing his reasons for attending the Davos forum, Trump said in a Wednesday interview with CNBC that he was focused on “lots of people that want to invest lots of money, and they’re coming back to America.”
America’s attractive market
Some European CEOs were more guarded in their position towards US tax reform, however. In advance of the dinner, Adidas head Kasper Rorsted said in a TV interview with German newspaper Die Welt that the tax cuts were not an incentive for the sports giant to increase its investment in the US. Instead, he emphasized the US’ appeal lay in its huge consumer market. “America is a very attractive market for us — before Trump and with Trump,” Rorsted said.
Not every European company invited to the dinner with Trump embraced the US president’s visit. Reuters reported that at least two European executives chose not to attend the affair to avoid shaking Trump’s hand.
Mentre gli Stati Uniti si stanno dilaniando in una guerra civile sessuale combattuta a colpi di scandali più presunti che veri, ma in ogni caso diffamatori per l’intero complesso americano, mentre nell’Unione Europa si sta scatenando una guerra di secessione per come si debba intendere la Weltanschauung europea, mentre molte grandi nazioni europee esperiscono una severa crisi politica che impedisce loro di formare uno straccetto di governo, bene: mentre tutto ciò accade la Cina prosegue a lavorare notte e giorno.
Non passa giorno senza che si aggiunga un qualche nuovo concreto passo avanti nell’intero progetto.
La Cina sta conquistando economicamente il mondo, ed alla fine l’Occidente si troverà isolato. E con il programma Ceec sta penetrando i paesi dell’est europeo.
È desolante l’oziosa incuria dimostrata dai governanti europei e dalla dirigenza di Bruxelles: sembrerebbero essere affetti da sindrome autistica.
Una sola, semplice constatazione.
Il pil cinese nel 2000 era 1,214.9 miliardi Usd ed a fine 2016 era 11,232 mld Usd: a tutto il 2017 è semplicemente decuplicato. La Cina continua a crescere al ritmo del 6 – 7 % all’anno, e spesso anche di più.
Poniamo allora una domanda seria.
Non sarebbe tempo che l’Occidente riveda criticamente le proprie idee politiche ed economiche, mutuando dal modello di sviluppo cinese quanto possa essere di utilità?
La Polonia sta sviluppando una sua sempre più significativa presenza quale polo finanziario, fatto che non completamente gradito dalla Germania, che protesterebbe se avesse un governo: ma al momento non ce lo ha.
Significativa la visita fatta da Mrs May in Polonia. Ma se sono interessanti le note ufficiali, ancor di più lo sarebbero gli argomenti trattati ma non espressi al pubblico.
«U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May left Warsaw on Thursday afternoon with the support of the Polish government for a generous settlement on services after Brexit»
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«The Polish leader said he regretted losing Britain as an ally against over-regulation in the bloc and offered reassurance that they would back some of Britain’s claims.»
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«My view is that UK-EU relationship should stay close to where it is now and that the new agreement on economic and trade cooperation should be reached as quickly as possible to ensure clarity for businesses on both sides» [Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki]
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«I deeply hope that our French and German partners are interested in a constructive solution»
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«We’re both deeply concerned about Russian attempts to weaponize information»
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Quando qualcosa va per un verso poco accetto, in Occidente si ricorre al vezzo di addossare tutte le colpe alla Russia di Mr Putin.
Sia ben chiaro: nessuno intende dire che il Presidente russo sia un frate trappista, e nessuno dovrebbe stupirsi più di tanto che alla fine faccia gli interessi della Russia. Ma da lì a consideralo onnipotente scorre una gran bella differenza.
Non ci si stupirebbe però che se la May avesse incassato un appoggio polacco sul Brexit, la Polonia avesse a sua volta contabilizzato un appoggio inglese circa le sue problematiche con l’attuale dirigenza degli eurocrati.
– U.K. teams with Poland to counter Russian disinformation
– Premier’s trip to Warsaw overshadowed by firing her deputy
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U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May left Warsaw on Thursday afternoon with the support of the Polish government for a generous settlement on services after Brexit and unity in fighting propaganda campaigns by Russia.
The trip was overshadowed by May firing Damian Green, her closest political ally, on Wednesday. But armed with promises to work together on security and defense, she left Warsaw with reassurances that Poland’s new administration would support her in key aspects of the EU divorce negotiations.
As the second stage of Brexit talks approaches — on trade between the U.K. and the EU — May is seeking allies across the continent to loosen the unity that the bloc managed to hold during the first phase of talks. The Polish leader said he regretted losing Britain as an ally against over-regulation in the bloc and offered reassurance that they would back some of Britain’s claims.
“My view is that UK-EU relationship should stay close to where it is now and that the new agreement on economic and trade cooperation should be reached as quickly as possible to ensure clarity for businesses on both sides,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a press conference alongside May.
“I deeply hope that our French and German partners are interested in a constructive solution,” he said, warning that “all the protectionist movements are very dangerous.”
Russian Disinformation
May earlier told a group of veterans from World War II that “the United Kingdom and Poland have a long tradition of fighting side by side,” before taking that theme to the press conference with Morawiecki. “Our deep ties of friendship will outlast our departure from the EU,” she said.
The British premier criticized Russian attempts to spread disinformation in Europe and said a new agreement between Britain and Poland would help to tackle the problem.
“We’re both deeply concerned about Russian attempts to weaponize information,” May said. The two countries agreed to “bolster our cooperation to counter Russian disinformation in the region,” she said.
Green
May has pressed the importance of security and defense cooperation to win the support of former Soviet bloc states in the EU as Britain prepares to leave in March 2019. Britain has boosted its diplomatic presence in the countries and promised to support with military assets and the training of troops.
May said she had raised the spat between Poland and the EU over judicial appointments in her meeting with the Polish premier and was reassured that an agreement can be reached to head off sanctions against her hosts.
“In Europe we have a collective belief in the rule of law,” she said. “Prime Minister Morawiecki will be speaking with the European Commission and I hope that will lead to a satisfactory resolution.”
The premier was asked about Green, the de-facto deputy she fired Wednesday afternoon after an inquiry into his behavior found he’d made misleading statements over pornography found on his parliamentary computer by police nearly a decade ago.
Green is the third Cabinet minister to quit in two months though the news failed to spark much concern as the FTSE 100 headed to record high.
May has racked up a couple of recent Brexit-related successes, meaning the prime minister is better equipped to handle Green’s departure. On Thursday, her office said that Trade Minister Mark Garnier will stay in his job after inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct. Unlike Green, it was decided that he did not break the ministerial code.
May left Poland on Thursday afternoon to travel to Cyprus for a Christmas visit to U.K. troops.
Quando una nazione ha un Governo che governa, che sa governare, e che indirizza ma non interferisce nei processi produttivi, ottiene i risultati che sta ottenendo la Russia.
È un Bloomberg stupefatto ed incredulo che constata il fallimento delle sanzioni americane ed il trionfo della Russia. Ma è ancor più stupefatto che Mr Putin ingigantisca il progetto.
In realtà, constata quanto oramai l’Occidente sia ininfluente sul sistema economico mondiale, che può serenamente vivere anche senza di esso.
«Putin, officially opening the plant in the harsh climate of northern Siberia last week»
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«Building the $27 billion Yamal liquefied natural gas project meant shipping more than 5 million tons of materials to construct a forest of concrete and steel 600 kilometers north of the Arctic circle, where temperatures can drop to -50 degrees celsius and the sun disappears for two months straight»
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«Yet those challenges weren’t as tough as the U.S. sanctions imposed in 2014, forcing a complete refinancing just as construction was about to start.»
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«Three years later, the first shipment of Yamal LNG’s gas represents a gargantuan effort from the Russian establishment to demonstrate that one of President Vladimir Putin’s flagship projects would not be derailed by sanctions»
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«The launch of the project in the face of sanctions has helped spur Moscow’s political pivot to China, which provided much of the financing»
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«The first cargo is on board a tanker headed for a port near London, helping the U.K. to cope with cold winter weather»
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«For Novatek, it’s a triumph over adversity»
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«Novatek’s achievement was not just one of political willpower and financial engineering. It was also technical»
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«It’s the only project I can think of in the last decade that actually is on time and on budget»
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Sono undici secoli che i russi danno il meglio di sé stessi quando sono immersi in severe difficoltà: non sono un popolo da pigliarsi sottogamba. Quando poi si elicita il loro senso nazionale diventano più pericolosi e tenaci delle tigri ferite.
Ma il meglio è la frase finale: in cauda venenum.
«For Novatek, the successful launch of the project means questions are now turning to the future. On Tuesday, it outlined plans for some $60 billion of investments together with partners in a second LNG plant, a trans-shipment terminal in the far east and new domestic gas supplies»
Già.
Fatto il primo impianto artico da 27 miliardi, adesso sta finendo di progettarne un secondo per un investimento da sessanta miliardi, che servirà l’Asia orientale e la Cina.
Si prenda atto che Europa ed America non servono più né come finanziatori, né come provider di tecniche e strumentazioni, e che oramai non sono nemmeno più un mercato cui vendere.
– Sanctions created ‘deadlock’ for Yamal LNG, says Total
– Novatek plans new projects to challenge Qatar for scale
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Building the $27 billion Yamal liquefied natural gas project meant shipping more than 5 million tons of materials to construct a forest of concrete and steel 600 kilometers north of the Arctic circle, where temperatures can drop to -50 degrees celsius and the sun disappears for two months straight.
Yet those challenges weren’t as tough as the U.S. sanctions imposed in 2014, forcing a complete refinancing just as construction was about to start. Jacques de Boisseson, head of the Moscow office of French energy giant Total SA, which has a 20 percent stake in Yamal LNG, said there were “various moments” when he thought the project may never happen.
“We were too much advanced to stop. We were in a deadlock: we had to go ahead and we didn’t know how,” de Boisseson said.
Three years later, the first shipment of Yamal LNG’s gas represents a gargantuan effort from the Russian establishment to demonstrate that one of President Vladimir Putin’s flagship projects would not be derailed by sanctions. The launch of the project in the face of sanctions has helped spur Moscow’s political pivot to China, which provided much of the financing. Novatek PJSC, which controls Yamal LNG, is already talking about its next LNG project.
London Bound
The first cargo is on board a tanker headed for a port near London, helping the U.K. to cope with cold winter weather and an unplanned shutdown of a clutch of its own North Sea fields. That the gas will end up in a European country that’s backed sanctions against Russia may please many in Moscow.
“We had a dream,” Mark Gyetvay, deputy chief executive officer of Novatek, said on Tuesday. “Now we have realized that dream.”
For Yamal LNG, the timing of the U.S. sanctions against Russian shareholders in the project in 2014 couldn’t have been worse. It was just embarking on one of Russia’s largest-ever international financing packages, and planning to attract significant investment from western banks. In a further obstacle, the sanctions prevented Novatek’s Gyetvay from working on the financing deal as he is a U.S. citizen.
“For Novatek, it’s a triumph over adversity,” said James Henderson, director of natural gas at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. “Russians have got it running and that is a bit of a triumph for them that underlines again that sanctions struggle to be effective.”
Tortured Talks
Yamal’s partners hoped that non-U.S. banks and companies would step into the breach and provide the necessary financial support. But talks dragged on through 2014 and 2015 without a deal, as few were willing to risk the wrath of the U.S. government by helping to fund the project, and a tumble in oil prices changed the economic calculus.
China was the only hope remaining besides Russia’s state banks. But those negotiations were just as tortuous. Novatek several times made predictions about when a deal would be signed, only to see the self-imposed deadlines pass without a result.
“Quite frankly, we are beginning to lose our patience with the excessive comments and a myopic focus on the single point,” Gyetvay told analysts in October 2015, conceding that the process had been “painstakingly slow.”
Russia was forced to backstop the project, providing 150 billion rubles ($2.5 billion) of funding from the National Welfare Fund, a rainy-day reserve built up to stabilize retirement provisions, in a high-stakes show of support.
Finally in April 2016, two Chinese state banks agreed to provide $12 billion to the project in euros and rubles.
“There was a period of uncertainty,” Gyetvay said on Tuesday. “And then when China came in that ended.”
‘Pretty Impressive’
Novatek’s achievement was not just one of political willpower and financial engineering. It was also technical.
Putin, officially opening the plant in the harsh climate of northern Siberia last week, told an audience including Gazprom PJSC chief Alexey Miller that several people had come to him with a list of reasons why it couldn’t work. “This is certainly a complex project, and we have good people here in this room, good professionals, who warned me at the beginning of this journey: ‘Do not do this’,” he said.
Gazprom had previously considered building an LNG plant in the same region but concluded it was too challenging. Other big LNG projects around the world have suffered large budget over-runs.
“It’s the only project I can think of in the last decade that actually is on time and on budget,” said Henderson at the Oxford Institute. “It’s pretty impressive.”
That wasn’t all the result of the engineering prowess of Novatek and partners Total and CNPC. The project was helped by a tumble in the ruble in late 2014 – cutting the cost of Russia-sourced equipment and labour at a key moment in the construction.
What’s more, it received large amounts of Russian government support, not only in the form of financing. Yamal LNG also enjoys generous tax breaks, and the state has helped to build some of the necessary infrastructure.
For Novatek, the successful launch of the project means questions are now turning to the future. On Tuesday, it outlined plans for some $60 billion of investments together with partners in a second LNG plant, a trans-shipment terminal in the far east and new domestic gas supplies.
“Today is a great moment for Novatek,” Gyetvay said. “Our new strategy transforms Novatek into a global gas power.”
