The Thief with a Tantalizing Take

With the United States facing a recession, a lot of professionals are having difficulty earning a living, and perhaps are moving to Europe to practice their trade. In Italy, where a lot of bizarre social, cultural, and legal practices occur with nonchalant regularity, a hypnotist is on the loose tantalizing stores and shops by getting his shopping done without paying. In some cases, he withdraws money from bank counters without issuing a withdrawal document nor a card, and calmly walks away with the money.

Hypnosis is a trance-like state that resembles sleep but is induced by a person whose suggestions are accepted by the subject. In most of these hypnosis situations, the subject is almost always a woman. Is it because women are more susceptible to the suggestions of men? Does the process work better on women? Is there a ready receptacle in a woman's brain wave that openly welcomes suggestions from men?

The incidents in Italy involve a bank clerk who gave out nearly 800 euros to a man who quietly took the money and walked out. The cashier doesn't even recall the incident. But the CCTV camera caught a footage and showed her apparently hypnotized by the thief, believed to be of Indian or North African descent. The hypnotist also mesmerized supermarket check-out staff to hand over the money from their cash registers. The only thing they recall is the thief leaning over and saying "Look into my eyes".

So if you happen to be in Europe, don't talk to strange men with funny accents nor look into their eyes. Think of a boyfriend or lover who cheated on you or who hurt you, and have not had the chance to get even with him. Use that memory to counter any suggestion the beady eyes might make and angle your right foot with the steel tipped toes aimed in the center of his crotch. And as he says "Look into my eyes" with all the alluring temptations of whatever sleazy suggestion, give him a donkey's kick right where he would fold up and groan. That would shake out some, if not most, of his hypnotic skills. Then you calmly walk away.

Haaarrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!

Naples' Noxious Nemesis

THEN: Welcome to Naples!!! Naples is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. It has a great bay with nice views of Capri and the Ischia Islands!

NOW: Welcome to Naples!!! Naples is one of the most obnoxious cities in Italy. It has great mountains of colorful garbage with one of the most amazing collections of large flies, maggots and worms! It has trash lined streets with methane gas that lights up the city with fires in the evenings!

After eight different commissioners, and 10 years of continuous declarations of a State of Emergency amounting to $2.5 billion every year, the garbage crisis of Naples remains...well... on the streets. It has come to a point where it is now an added tourist attraction (distraction?) because of the "mountains" it has created that has become the habitat of rare giant flies, fierce maggots, and worms. That is known as "creepy" garbage.

The President has instructed all those responsible to solve the problem. The Prime Minister has issued a directive to the Mayor to create solutions. The Mayor issued a call to citizens to "Respect the Law". But the garbage continues to pile up daily. All this talk is ah,... well,... garbage!

Incinerators began are left unfinished due to inadequate funds flow, while others were stopped because of criminal investigations alleging involvement of the local mafia in the projects. The collectors have stopped picking up since all dumps are full, and the citizens are up in arms against the government, opposing the reopening of old dumps or the opening of new ones. Pitch battles with police in the streets are common, with protesters throwing anything they can get their hands on at the authorities... including garbage.

The military has been called in to scrape the garbage from the streets, but no sooner than clearing it for a couple of hours, the trash returns on the very spot they were earlier in practically the same volume. This is perhaps....fresh garbage.

The citizens protests are understandable. Dumps were closed in the past with promises of converting the site into tourist facilities such as golf courses, recreation centers, among others. Neapolitans began investing in the land, buying up small pieces, building their homes, waiting for the promised conversion. It never came. Instead, they are threatened with reopening the dump where their houses are. All the previous promises made were just... ah... well... trash talk!

What used to be part of a daily exercise going up and down two flights of stairs to throw the garbage has ceased because they only have to throw it out the window, since the garbage mound has reached the second floor balcony. What was once a balcony for site seeing now sees the dump site!

Naples was one of the most romantic places in Europe. Now, if you consider one of several mounds of 3,700 tons of garbage a romantic spot, the noxious odors as the perfume of romance, worms slowly creeping up in your feet as playing footsies, and kissing with the possibility of swallowing flies in the process thrilling, then you're welcome to the city that always stinks.

Haaarrrwwwwwk...Twoooooph..Ting!