Italian Wikipedia forced to shut down

It has barely registered in the UK media, perhaps because wary journalists have assumed it is a hoax, but it’s actually true: Wikipedia looks set to shut down in Italy in the face of new legislation.

Silvio Berlusconi - not bad for 75

My attention was drawn to this story by the groups and messages springing up on Facebook such as Salviamo Wikipedia (Let’s save Wikipedia), and being a cynical chap I initially dismissed them as the usual nonsense. But there is something about a ridiculous news story emanating in Italy that begs further investigation, because regardless of how preposterous it seems at the outset, if it involves Silvio Berlusconi, there is probably a mass of evidence to support it. And this story, of course, involves Mr Berlusconi. A brief search of respectable media sources within and outside of Italy confirmed that Wikipedia had already shut itself down in Italy in protest at legislation making its way through the Italian parliament.

Since this blog is only available on the internet, I suppose that my dear readers are familiar with the premise of Wikipedia. Briefly, then, for the uninitiated, it is an online encyclopaedia which can be edited by anyone with access to the internet. This makes it a very agile and up-to-date work of reference, but prone to occasional lapses in quality and reliability. It embodies the Information Age we inhabit, to the extent that anything can ‘embody’ such an intangible age, and it is probably the number one hidden source which underpins most undergraduate essays.

As such, it is a bastion of free speech, and I would argue that a government’s attitude to free speech is perhaps best demonstrated by its attitude towards Wikipedia, available as it is in over 250 languages, including Klingon, Ancient Norse and even Welsh. This makes it particularly worrying that it is under threat in a G8 country and founder-member of the European Union. What’s worse is that the new law threatening Wikipedia seems to have come about as a direct consequence of Prime Minister Berlusconi’s embarrassment when phone taps were published proving, if further proof were needed, that he is a despicable cad.

I have already referred to preposterous news stories concerning Mr Berlusconi, and this seems like an appropriate moment to furnish you with some examples, for the phone conversations were in fact recorded as part of investigations into Berlusconi’s so-called ‘bunga bunga’ parties. Not heard of bunga bunga parties? It’s all rather tawdry, but to give you a flavour, let me mention that the investigations focussed primarily on the provision of many, many prostitutes to these sophisticated soirées. But this is Berlusconi we’re talking about, so naturally the serious and concrete allegations were somewhat overshadowed by other outrageous remarks reportedly made by the septuagenarian lothario. He is held to have called German Chancellor Angela Merkel a culona inchiavabile (unfuckable lard-arse) and Italy itself a paese di merda (piece of shit country) that he would like to leave.

"Ruby Heartbreak" apparently too young for Silvio - who knew?

Yes, this is the same Silvio Berlusconi who is alleged to have sent officials to Morocco to falsify the birth certificate of an under-age prostitute to make her appear ‘old enough’ for the seventy-five year old Casanova legitimately to take an interest in. Such drastic measures presumably became necessary when the Prime Minister’s immunity from prosecution was overturned by what he describes as extreme left-wing magistrates out to get him.

The totally unfair and libellous reporting of police recordings of his private conversations in the Italian press (or at least that fringe of the Italian press not owned by the Prime Minister) is one reason why the new law is being pushed through. Wikipedia will be affected because the ‘phone tapping’ law would require reports to be withdrawn from the internet within 48 hours of any complaint from the private individual concerned, with no right of appeal. Wikipedia would naturally have a hard time complying with such legislation, and has withdrawn its Italian language site temporarily in protest. Like many laws promulgated by Berlusconi, it is not hard to see who would benefit the most from the introduction of this new one. But the law is not for the protection of the powerful and wealthy; that’s what power and wealth are for!

Let me leave you with one final Berlusconi news titbit. At the risk of appearing to believe things which are printed in the Daily Mail, I will repeat the latest reports. Because I have verified it; it’s true, and it’s in the Italian media too! Just google Forza Gnocca and you will see: Silvio’s latest ‘joke’ is that he will rename his political party, previously known as Forza Italia, which roughly translated means ‘Go Italy, go!’  His ‘humorous’ suggestion, roughly translated, means “Go pussy, go!”