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Thank you, Robert. That was the text that I was trying to find, as I remeber reading it some time ago. Ram, I totally agree with your opinion on Grillo. ON the other hand, I believe that he does not have a "solid" amount of voters. what he got, was the "protest" vote. I would add that many of those voters think that a second election was coming. .

Penny, I would say that most people with a bit of common sense will agree in that the ½ûÂþÌìÌà government needs an urgent reform. There is information on Facebook from an ½ûÂþÌìÌà blogspot (Ecco Cosa Vedo) that gives some interesting figures: USA, 308 million people, Senators: 100 (1 in every 3 million people), MPs: 400 (1 in every 700,000 people), Ministers: 17 Italy, 60 million people, Senators: 315 (1 in every 190K people), MPs: 630 (1 in every 96K people), Ministers: 23 Now, the figures speak for themselves. Now, I do not think that Grillo will fix that. He may rant, insult, scream, but he is unable to conduct a serious reform in the present circumstances. Having only 28% of the vote - and most of it of a rather "emotional" nature, will not allow anyone, not even the most experienced and able politician to carry out a thorough reform of a rotten system. Furthermore, Grillo will only be a nuissance.

Robert, I totally agree with you and I must also confess that I started looking at Grillo with interest; however, as it was the case with you, I soon found out that he was not the person I imagined. Also, I am very concerned about his future plans. Populists are very dangerous and he really seems to be out of control. Granted, 28% of the votes is not a majority; however, many dangerous movements started with low percentages. Italy and quite a few other countries are experiencing a severe crisis. I do hope that this is not going to lead us into dangerous paths.

Thanks Alan for raising the topic and Charlie for the answer. We normally go to Italy from Spain through France with our dog. Never had any problems. Lately, we were thinking about going through Switzerland in order to visit some other areas further north. I have been reluctant to do it as our dog is 17 years of age (although in perfect health) and I do not want to have any problems with her. You have given me some peace of mind.

Penny, unfortunately, the national press is not always a guarantee that you are going to get all the relevant information. As for Bersani not talking about the trade unions and Grillo's attitude against them may be a result of his attempts not to steer up things too much in case he can get a last minute deal with M5S. Grillo has systematically attacked the unions, here is just an example from his own blog Something that worries me about this article is that he mentions a recent case in Argentina. Now, most of us know that Argentina has a corrupt government and a populist one based on the cult of Perón and his Mussolini-style government. Very worrying, indeed! Add to this Grillo's anti-semitism and we get a dangerous cocktail. I found the article from the Economist that I read the other day and I think that it provides food for thought: Send in the clowns!

Should you decide to follow Anne's advice - which is very wise as getting rid of brambles is "mission impossible" - you can always make jam and jelly with the blackberries... If you can't beat them....

Penny, I have read several articles that mention Grillo's plans to abolish trade unions. The Economist has also indicated it. I am not terribly fond of trade unions, or at least I think that they have lost part of their past relevance; however, I do believe that they have a role to play and their abolition will not be wise. Thank you for those links, some interesting points in them, although concern about Grillo wil be difficult to fade away.

Ram, I absolutely agree with you, but then... I never trusted Grillo, or Berlusconi. I was glad to see that The Economist recently published an article entitled "Send in the Clowns", I could not say it better. The tragedy is that they have been given a large slice of the ½ûÂþÌìÌà vote between the two and they are going to use that to their advantage. Very sad times for Italy!

I bought the HUAWEI MIFI modem last October from my local TIM dealer and I purchase SIM cards from them whenever I am around. It works very well. We take it with us wherever we go.

Brambles are a pain and not only because of their thorns. The problem is that you can cut them back and then pul out the stumps and roots... and you are never sure whether you have managed to eliminate the entire root system. then, they quicly regrow and you start all over again. I always wonder why we insist on growing ornamentals instead of weeds. they certainly do much better. There is special machinery that excavate and rotate the soil, but again, some roots may remain.  Then, there are weed killers, such as Glyphosate (Glifosato in ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ) with all their dangers, but they will be effective in controlling a specific area. The most "natural" way to control brambles would be to get a few goats. They love brambles and they will pull out even the roots; however, they will also pull outany other plants and bushes. They are not "selective". And I agree with the others, in machinery, you always get what you paid for. And don't forget to burn the brambles you have trimmed or pulled out. Otherwise, you are simply propagating them.