The cover photo of issue 277 foreshadows the dossier inside on anticlericalism. The photo shows a dog-collared one peering through binoculars; is he trying to catch a glimpse of the Pope, or eavesdropping on our moral matters? In the dossier, Cosimo Scarinzi discusses a controversial appointment by Letizia Moratti, Italian (or Vatican?) Minister of Education, Mario Coglitore reports on the conference of the Italian Anti-Concordat League, held in Treviso in October 2001, followed by the text of the speech delivered at the conference by Chiara Gazzola of the Association for Apostasy.
Returning to matters all too earthly, namely the War on Afghanistan, Maria Matteo discusses the nature of war, and rejects it categorically by saying "not in my name": "Under the rubble of the Twin Towers lie thousands of men, women and children, as they do under the ruins of the mud houses of Kabul". Again discussing the war of the USA against Afghanistan, Carlo Oliva reminds us that one of the functions of war is to reinforce consensus, while Antonio Cardella looks at the various countries' different reasons for lining up in support of the war.
As an antidote to the concealment/distortion of war-torn Afghanistan, Massimo Ortalli recounts his travels there in 1974.
And curiously, the war on Afghanistan also had an effect on the Frankfurt Book Fair, as Guido Lagomarsino reports.
In "Smoke signals", Carlo E. Menga looks at the appropriation of "Murphy's Law" for advertising purposes.
In "Fatti e Misfatti" Dino Taddei reports on the Autonomous Municipality of San Manuel in Chiapas, while Paolo Finzi remembers Gino Agnese, who recently passed away.
In his social notebook, Felice Accame looks at the construction of the atom bomb as a subject of theatre.
This month Massimo Annibale Rossi takes us to Chubut in Argentina, relating the story of the Tehuelches of the Prane Community, and their century-long fight for land and dignity, before moving on to Chapare in Bolivia, and the struggle of the campesinos against the "eradications" and the consequent destruction of livelihoods.
Following the publication of the CD+booklet "ed avevamo gli occhi troppo belli", still available through the magazine, this issue includes two articles on Fabrizio De' André, one by Romano Giuffrida and the other by Mariano Brustio.
In "Libertarian review", Piero Brunello discusses the book from which an extract appeared in last month's issue, "Una Guerra Empia" by John K. Cooley, the story of Bin Laden and the CIA. Also reviewed are "Parole non consumate" by Chiara Zamboni (Monica Cerutti Giorgi) and Enrico Ferri's "La città degli unici" (Marco Cossutta), while the Banda ApARTe auto-review their Fest(A)val 2001 in Bologna.
The "Ritratti in Piedi" series continues with Massimo Ortalli's discussion of Pisan anarchists Jessa Fontana and Augusto Castrucci, followed by an extract from Athos Bigongiali's book "Una città proletaria" and a piece by Augusto Castrucci himself.
If you have ever wondered about the origin of the circled "A", Amadeo Bertolo of the Centro Studi Libertari provides all the answers; there is also a list of artists who participated in the Mail-Art international exhibition of postal art on the theme of the circled "A".
An article by Rinaldo Boggiani argues in favour of popular juries and against professional judges. Finally, an extensive listing of the multitude of music and books available by mail-order from Musica per A, and "Dopo Genova", a short poem by Arturo Schwarz.