OS at Midweek 9 November

Other and better minds than OS are covering the comic opera of Europe in breathless detail. In summation, though, the consensus is: They're screwed. We're screwed, maybe, as well.

It reminds of OS of those ensemble scenes in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, where everyone simultaneously sings to the audience while the orchestra grinds away, each proclaiming his/her own side of the story; but not one of the characters will actually bother to tell one another the truth of who they are and what they're attempting to accomplish.

Chaos ensues, comic chaos in Mozart's opera, something less amusing in real life today.

It isn't like this obvious sort of unraveling wasn't something unexpected. After all, if government debt is 120% of GDP (Italy referenced here), and yields climb above 7%, well then, you're screwed. The students can riot in the streets, the unions can strike, the religious fanatics can preach, the politicians can speechify forever. The math is the math is the math--it is inexorable.

They're screwed.

Enough about that. We now get to witness the proverbial other shoe drop in our generation, and wonder what will arise to take hold of the situation. And how much of the bill we here on Main Street will foot for the great welfare state experiment of post-1945 Europe.

Closer to home, this has been one of those weeks, one in which OS notices that it has become increasingly laborious to get simple stuff of life done. The firms he has encountered this week, in different industries, all seem to suffer from 'too much work/too few employees' syndrome, or 'internal conflicts of interest' syndrome, or 'failure to think ahead' syndrome, or 'failure to think pragmatically' syndrome.

It's been frustrating. Yesterday afternoon, OS just had to take a break and go for a walk, to calm down. He called a couple of friends who helped restore perspective. It's good to have friends.

Today, he's back in harness, pulling his load into the stiff headwind of the culture of the United States.

No great insights to lend, no news to report, no scandals to incite. OS is simply tired.

One bright spot however, comes from BBC Radio 3 this week. The Choral Evensong from Ely Cathedral was glorious this morning. The broadcast repeats Sunday afternoon, and then in podcast for a week after that. 

In Case You Ever Wonder Where Italian Composers Get Their Inspiration For Opera Plots: Berlusconi And His Under-Aged Tart

What's Italian for: 'You just can't make this stuff up!'?

JUST when it looks as if things cannot get worse for Silvio Berlusconi, they do.

Earlier today Italy’s beleaguered prime minister learnt that prosecutors in Milan had formally made him a suspect in an investigation into alleged juvenile prostitution. Although the age of consent in Italy is 14, it is an offence to pay for sex with a prostitute aged under 18. According to a statement from Milan’s chief prosecutor, Mr Berlusconi is thought to have done just that. He is also suspected of abusing his position, a crime under Italian law.

The prime minister has not been charged, let alone indicted, and his lawyers have said that the accusations against him are "absurd and groundless". But whatever its outcome, this latest inquiry will be difficult for him to shrug off.

This would really be funny, if the country he's supposed to be running weren't held together with baling wire and chewing gum.

Or, perhaps, people like him in jobs like that create countries held together with baling wire and chewing gum...