Heart of Gold

Posted on March 28, 2019 by babbityjean

The request for applicants read in part: “The person chosen must be responsible, reliable, honest, and will never feel alone in the company of cats.  And must have a heart of gold.”  God’s Little People Cat Rescue was looking for a person to care for about 55 cats for six months in Syros, a Greek Island in the Cyclades.  Almost 40,000 resumes were received from 83 different countries.

The association’s manager announced the choice: “We are 100 percent confident of our choice and we feel delighted and honored to introduce you to Jeffyne Telson, founder and president of ResQcats in Santa Barbara, California.  She has successfully run her own cat rescue since 1997 and is a force to be reckoned with for the rescue, care, and adoption of stray and abandoned cats and kittens.  Over the last 21 years she has rescued and found homes for almost 3,000 kittens and cats. I know she will bring a world of experience to our Greek rescue and I think the feeling is mutual when I say that I think we look forward to learning a lot from each other.”

Having personally met her, I know that Jeffyne (pronounced like Stephanie with a “J”) is a warm and dedicated force in the animal rescue world of Santa Barbara.  Ordinarily, she uses the winter months to get rejuvenated at her home in Oregon, but this year she will go to Greece, and then return to Santa Barbara in the spring in time for kitten season.  She anticipates that part of her work in Greece will be easier than in Santa Barbara: “Taking care of 55 cats in an outside sanctuary [in Siros] is very different from taking care of 60 cats in an indoor shelter [Santa Barbara]” that have enclosures that need cleaning.  Furthermore, God’s Little People cats are adults rather than kittens and fewer of them are pregnant.

Spaying and neutering is “the core of any rescue” Jeffyne explains.  Because kittens can get pregnant at only 6 months of age, it is easy for stray cat populations to escalate out of control.  The Greek rescue chose Jeffyne in part due to her skills in treating cats with various conditions and her skills in medicating, administering fluids, and recognizing when a cat must be seen by a veterinarian.

In addition to a stipend, all expenses will be paid for Jeffyne’s six months on the island.  She will have food and garden lodging with a view of the sea. Besides caring for the cats on the Greek island, Jeffyne will try to expand the sanctuary to new locations, help with fundraising, and probably hardest of all, try to change people’s view of cats.  The local cultural attitude to cats is uncaring at best.  Too often they are treated like vermin.  But “if we treat animals well,” says Jeffyne, “we will start to treat people well too.”

Congratulations, Jeffyne!

Congratulations, Siros!

 

Posted in Abitudini, Animali, California, Differenze culturali, English, Foto, La Gente, Medicina, Santa Barbara | 1 Comment

La mia opinione

Posted on March 21, 2019 by babbityjean

Quando sento la parola “Rico”, penso di due cose: Prima, il film americano del 1931 chiamato Piccolo Cesare (Little Caesar) interpretato da Edward G. Robinson nei panni di Cesare “Rico” Baldello, un delinquente da quattro soldi che sale ai più alti ranghi del crimine organizzato solo alla fine per morire in una grondaia.  La sua famosa ultima battuta è “Madre di misericordia, è questa la fine di Rico”?

Secondo, penso alla legge RICO del 1970 che fu approvata a seguito delle audizioni di Valachi al Congresso negli anni ’60.  Il mafioso Joseph Valachi infranse il codice del silenzio, chiamato omertà, per palare dei crimini di Cosa Nostra. La Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, meglio conosciuto come RICO, tra altre cose, consente ai capi della mafia di essere processati per i crimini che hanno ordinato ad altri di fare o li hanno aiutati a fare.  Chiuse una scappatoia che permetteva ad una persona che aveva ordinato a qualcun altro di uccidere, per esempio, di essere esentato dal processo perché non ha commesso personalmente il crimine.

Combattere la mafia è sempre stata una sfida difficile in Italia e anche negli Stati Uniti. Le famiglie mafiose sono state coinvolte in molti crimini per lunghi periodi di tempo…il tutto a beneficio dei loro leader.  Ma questi padrini erano difficili da perseguire perché raramente commettevano i crimini se stessi.  Parlavano in codice e i loro tenenti sapevano realizzare i loro desideri.

Quello che abbiamo imparato di recente dalla testimonianza di Michael “il risolutore” Cohen è che il presidente Trump è, in sostanza, un don mafioso. L’Organizzazione Trump sembra essere molto simile a un’impresa di racket con tutte le decisioni prese in cima.  Le presunte corruzioni includono la frode bancaria, la frode fiscale, l’ostruzione alla giustizia, lo spergiuro, e l’elenco potrebbe continuare.  E, come ha detto il signor Cohen, “il signor Trump non mi ha detto direttamente di mentire al Congresso.  Non è il modo in cui funziona.  Non dà ordini.  Parla in codice.  E capisco quel codice”.  Inoltre, il signor Cohen ha affermato, “Il lavoro di tutti nell’Organizzazione Trump è quello di proteggere il signor Trump.  Ogni giorno molti di noi sapevamo che stavamo andando a lavorare e stavamo per mentire per lui su qualcosa. É diventata la norma”.

Ironia della sorte, Trump chiama Cohen un “ratto”.  Nel gergo del crimine, questo significa che qualcuno ha fatto la spia, ha trasformato le prove dello Stato, è diventato penitente.  Infatti, significa il contrario.  Secondo me, Cohen ha detto la verità…almeno questa volta.

Anche, ironicamente, i procuratori federali nel Southern District of New York stanno indagando su Trump e sull’Organizzazione Trump.  È proprio questo corpo negli anni ’80 che ha agito contro i padroni delle cinque famiglie della città—Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, e Lucchese.  E ora Trumpo. E infine un altro colmo: il capo del Southern District of New York negli anni ’80 era nientemeno che Rudy Giuliani. Sicuramente, come un avvocato, deve aver perso la sua bussola morale poiché ora è un politico per il presidente, almeno in TV, e sospetto che lui mente, mente, mente.

Forse, un giorno sentiremo le parole: “Madre di misericordia, è questa la fine del Donald”?

Posted in Abitudini, Film, Italiano, Italoamericani, Mafia, New York, Politica, Storia | 1 Comment

My opinion

Posted on March 21, 2019 by babbityjean

When I hear the word “Rico,” I think of two things:  First, the 1931 crime film Little Caesar starring Edward G. Robinson as Caesar “Rico” Bandello, a small-time hoodlum who ascends to the highest ranks of organized crime only in the end to die in a gutter.  His famous last line is “Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?”

Second, I think of the 1970 federal RICO Act that was passed as a result of the Valachi hearings in Congress in the 1960s.  The mobster Joseph Valachi broke the code of silence, called omertà, to talk about the crimes of Cosa Nostra.  The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO, provides, among other things, that mafia bosses can be tried for crimes that they ordered others to do or assisted them in doing. It closed a loophole that allowed a person who instructed someone else to commit murder, for example, to be exempt from trial because he did not personally commit the crime.

Fighting the mafia has always been a difficult challenge.  Mafia families have been involved in many, many crimes over long periods of time all for the benefit of their leaders.  But these godfathers were difficult to smoke out because they rarely committed the crimes themselves.  They spoke in code and their “wise guys” knew how to implement their wishes.

What we have learned recently from the testimony of Michael “the fixer” Cohen is that President Trump is, in essence, a mafia don.  The Trump Organization sounds a lot like a racketeering enterprise with all of the decisions made at the very top.  Alleged corruptions include bank fraud, tax fraud, obstruction of justice, perjury, and the list goes on.  And, as Mr. Cohen said, “Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. That’s not how he operates.  He doesn’t give orders.  He speaks in code.  And I understand that code.”  Further, Mr. Cohen claimed, “Everybody’s job at the Trump Organization is to protect Mr. Trump.  Every day most of us knew we were coming to work and we were going to lie for him about something.  That became the norm.”

Ironically, Trump calls Cohen a “rat.”  In crime lingo, this means that someone snitched—turned state’s evidence—became a penitent.  It does not mean he lied.  In fact, it means the opposite.

Also ironically, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are investigating Trump and the Trump Organization.  It is precisely this body that hit its stride in the 1980s against the bosses of the city’s five families—Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese.  And now Trumpo.  And finally one more irony:  the head of the Southern District of New York in the ‘80s was none other than lawyer Rudy Giuliani.  He most certainly must have lost his moral compass as he now serves as the president’s mouthpiece, at least on TV, and I suspect that he too lies, lies, lies for Trump.

May we someday hear the words, “Mother of mercy, is this the end of the Donald?”

Posted in Abitudini, English, Film, Italoamericani, Mafia, New York, Politica, Storia | 4 Comments