Italian Trash Emergency: Mafia Role & Naples Protests

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the ongoing trash crisis in Naples, Italy, and the involvement of organized crime in waste management. Participants explore the implications of mafia control over waste disposal and its environmental impact, as well as the broader context of organized crime's influence on various industries.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants note that the mafia's involvement in waste management is a longstanding issue, suggesting it is a common practice in organized crime across various regions.
  • Others argue that the mafia's control over waste disposal gives them significant leverage, potentially crippling cities by disrupting trash collection and disposal processes.
  • A participant mentions that the mafia's influence extends beyond waste management to other industries such as construction materials, including cement and excavation.
  • There are references to personal anecdotes involving individuals connected to organized crime, highlighting the pervasive nature of these connections in various sectors.
  • Several posts diverge into unrelated topics, including music discussions, which detracts from the main focus on the trash crisis and organized crime.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the mafia's role in waste management, with some agreeing on its significance while others introduce personal anecdotes that may not directly relate to the central issue. The discussion does not reach a consensus on the extent or implications of mafia involvement.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes anecdotal evidence and personal experiences that may not fully capture the complexities of the mafia's influence on waste management and its environmental consequences. There are also shifts in topic that may obscure the main arguments presented.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in organized crime, environmental issues, and urban management may find the discussion relevant, particularly in understanding the socio-economic dynamics in Naples and similar contexts.

wolram
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http://uk.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=73907&videoChannel=75

Jan. 7 - Violence has flared in the Italian city of Naples between police and protesters over the city's mounting trash crisis.

The Italian government is holding an emergency meeting to try and resolve a crisis over rubbish in Naples which has almost brought the city to a standstill. But efforts to solve the trash emergency, which has dogged the region for 14 years, has been complicated by organised crime, heavily involved in the lucrative waste disposal industry. Mafia-controlled waste disposal -- by burial or burning -- has poisoned the environment so badly that cancer rates in parts of Campania are well above the national average.

I knew the mob were into most things but rubbish!
 
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wolram said:
http://uk.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=73907&videoChannel=75
I knew the mob were into most things but rubbish!


Meadow Soprano: Are you in the Mafia?
...
Tony Soprano: I'm in the waste management business. Everybody immediately assumes you're mobbed up. It's a stereotype. And it's offensive. And you're the last person I would want to perpetuate it... There is no Mafia


As far as I know the mob has been into "waste management" from day one, and that is true in Italy as well as everywhere else there is organized crime.
 
wolram said:
I knew the mob were into most things but rubbish!
Oh, yes! And not just in Italy. It has to be hauled away, or it can cripple a city, giving tremendous leverage to the people who have the capability to shut down the collection/disposal process.
 
Trash and cement, two mainstays of the Mafia.
 
Evo said:
Trash and cement, two mainstays of the Mafia.
Don't forget excavation, sand, gravel, and asphalt paving. I had an Italian girl-friend from Long Island for a time whose family was VERY big in these.
 
I liked their debut album, and their follow-up was even better. It was the third album that sounded more like a typical "sophomore slump," with one outstanding song, a few ok, and the rest just filler. But when they started using violins in their back-up music (in the fourth album) I knew they were finished. Sure enough, internal bickering, musical differences broke the band up. It didn't help that the singer "Mac" acted like a disinterested dead fish in all their videos (all but the one used for "URGH," that was fantastic!). Wierdly, they regrouped for another album after 20 years apart, but it's just this side of pathetic.

Excuse me, I think I was actually talking about Echo and the Bunnymen.
 
Chi Meson said:
Excuse me, I think I was actually talking about Echo and the Bunnymen.
Are you sure that you're not thinking of Crunchy Frog? Their county/blues repertoire was derived from their aversion to rock after losing a series of drummers to accidents/overdoses, etc. Eventually, they hired a drummer whose day-job is mail-carrier, and he's still alive. I fear for him, though, because the lead guitarist is heavily into Marshall amps, and I have been supplying him with vintage tubes to fine-tune his tone. If he wanders back into heavy rock, the drummer is toast.
 
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A guy i worked for in Italy was said to own a brothel and a vinyard on top of half a dozen factories, he all ways paid in cash, nice guy but every one seemed nervous around him, i
liked him even when he won a bet about who was going to win the F1 race, of couse he backed MS.
 
Chi Meson said:
I liked their debut album, and their follow-up was even better. It was the third album that sounded more like a typical "sophomore slump," with one outstanding song, a few ok, and the rest just filler.
Here's Rubbish himself doing the classic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVfLlni3CRI"
 
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