Prodi-Berlusconi: 6-0 in transparency August 29, 2008
Posted by dorigo in humor, news, politics.Tags: berlusconi, prodi
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Silvio Berlusconi, the italian premier, has never made a mystery of his feelings towards judges who have investigated his businesses in the last twenty years. Judges have been called Communists, have been accused of being moved by personal interests and hatred toward him and his political movement, a fumus persecutionis has been claimed in several circumstances. I understand these reactions, although I do not approve their tone or their content. I however find obscene and disgusting, and also really damaging to my poor country, the fact that he has always tried to legiferate, from the position of power he acquired as a Prime Minister in 1994 and then in 2001-2006, to create escape routes from the judiciary actions he had been subjected to. And now, after May 2008 elections have given him more power than he ever had, he is on to cleaning the slate.
One source of worry for Berlusconi which has emerged more recently is the publication on newspapers of parts of phone conversations he had with other politicians, important managers, and even TV showgirls with which he probably had sexual encounters. This infuriated him, and caused his promise that he would by force of a new law deny judges of the possibility of taping phone conversations. Today, after a few phone calls made by his arch-enemy Romano Prodi were made public by his own magazine Panorama, Berlusconi tried to use the fact to accelerate the political convergence to a law restricting the use of phone taping in crime investigations. He thus issued a note where he expressed his sympathy with Prodi for the incident and his support of Prodi’s privacy, going on to claim that a law is direly needed to stop these invasions on people’s privacy.
The matter is not perceived as a real urgency by italians. The majority of them is not against the practice of taping phone calls. And in truth, italians have other emergencies, very different from those perceived by Berlusconi. But through a continuous use of his huge mediatic power, Berlusconi is trying to steer the public opinion in support of his attempts at limiting the investigative possibilities of judges.
Romano Prodi (right) has answered in the best possible way to Berlusconi’s demonstration of sympathy: Prodi rebutted Berlusconi’s offer of a handshake, as he said he has nothing against the publication of the phone calls, and he is against any change of the current law. In truth, the published conversations prove nothing about alleged illicit deals of Prodi. He is now out of the political arena, and he is not going to return to it. Prodi is the only man who could beat Berlusconi at political elections in Italy, and he did it twice. Thank you for that, Romano, and thank you for your demonstration of style today.
On female italian ministers and their oral skills July 8, 2008
Posted by dorigo in humor, news, politics.Tags: berlusconi, gossip, guzzanti, sex
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…I know, I know. This is a family friendly blog, and I do not usually indulge in trivialities. The only reason I plunge into such a topic tonight is because the main italian newspapers are dealing with the exact same topic. And who am I, to blow against the wind ? I am no minister 😉 …
It also happens that some parts of audio taping of phone conversations between Berlusconi and some individuals who were being investigated have made it to national press.
It further happens that Berlusconi is not happy about being found with the hands deep in the honey pot, and he promptly had his lackeys design a law to prevent judges from ordering wire taping of phone conversations when investigating crimes punishable with less than 10 years of imprisonment.
It finally happens that many disagree with the proposed new law, which would prevent the discovery of important crimes. A manifestation took place today to complain against this and other proposed laws by the newly installed government. Sabina Guzzanti, a satyrist who can’t hold her tongue, had this to say about the whole story:
“A me non me ne frega niente della vita sessuale di Berlusconi ma tu non puoi mettere alle Pari opportunità una che sta lì perché t’ha succhiato l’uccello, non la puoi mettere da nessuna parte ma in particolare non la puoi mettere alle Pari opportunità perché è uno sfregio”.
(“I couldn’t care less about the sexual life of Berlusconi but you cannot place as equal opportunities minister a woman who’s there because she sucked your c**k, you cannot put her anywhere, but in particular you cannot give her the equal opportunities chair because it is an insult.”)
As amused as I obviously am about the whole thing, I think Sabina overstepped the mark in not one, but three different directions. I love her as an actress and a comedian, but I totally disagree with her means, her target, and her goals.
The means: a woman insulting another woman using the alleged sexual favors she provided is disgusting to me, especially if those favors were coerced in some way.
The target: If Mara gave head to her boss she is the victim, not the offender. Attacking Berlusconi through this story is in fact attacking Carfagna herself, guilty of being unfit for the mandate she received: and who knows whether she is unfit ? She might end up doing much better than many other ministers who arrived where they are not because of what they sucked, but because of what they licked.
The goal: this is a cheap way to entertain her audience. She used to fly way, way higher than that. I am really sorry to have to witness such a lack of style.
The only justification i can accept to excuse Guzzanti is that indeed, our current government is not just a merry company of dwarfs and dancers: it is doing a lot of damage to our country. The law proposed by Berlusconi’s lackey Alfano to stop investigations against the four highest charges of the country (among which, guess, Berlusconi himself, who is very worried by the judgement of a corruption case whose trial is set for September, the Mills affair) outrages every person with a gram of grey matter in the skull. And the fact that italians do not care much about this umpteenth walking over the principles upon which our constitution is based, being much more concerned with the loss of purchase power of their salaries, is a further reason for being infuriated.
The say of the week June 7, 2008
Posted by dorigo in games, humor, politics.Tags: america, berlusconi, patriotism
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“L’America ? Io amo l’America… Io sono schierato con l’America, anche prima di sapere da che parte sta…”
Silvio Berlusconi, interviewed by A.Stanley for The New York Times.
(“America ? I love America…. I stand by America, even before knowing where it stands…”)
What to say ? The best example of patriotism I’ve seen in a while… Only, not so much patriotic for an italian after all. Maybe the guy is so impressed by Obama’s ascent that he has started caressing dreams of the White House ? Next thing we know, he might produce a US birth certificate!
…Just kidding folks, sleep tight: the above sentence is his, but he said it ten years ago!
Gabriella Giammanco May 15, 2008
Posted by dorigo in humor, internet, news, politics.Tags: berlusconi, carlucci, forza italia
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The words in the title are a hot search topic in google. What is amusing is that today almost 400 readers (and there’s 6 hours to go as I write this) were directed to a post I wrote a while ago on Berlusconi’s party, which contained the word “Gabriella” in the text (it was actually on. Carlucci, an ex- TV girl notable for her physical appearance, who recently become famous for a funny diatriba with Glashow, Iliopoulos, and other star theorists) and the word “Giammanco” in the comments thread (it is the last name of Andrea, a fellow blogger who often writes here). Google isn’t that smart after all, or maybe we should blame the users.
In any case, I thought I would write something about Gabriella Giammanco, to greet visitors who come here to know about the newly elected italian congresswoman. Young and pretty, she rose to the honors of the press because Silvio Berlusconi, the new italian premier, wrote a romantic message to her (see picture, right), encouraging her to leave the congress sessions in case she had a romantic encounter. She allegedly replied she would accept romantic invitations from him only. Some enterprising reporter intercepted the messages, and the story boomed.
I realize I have no interest whatsoever in commenting this silly gossip, but I find it annoying that readers come to my blog and leave disappointed because they do not find what they are looking for. I feel I am a bad guest, so to speak… But really, dear reader, your interest in Gabriella Giammanco is a vacuous occupation. Please click on the “Physics made Easy” link above, or one of the entertaining blogs in my blogroll column, and you will end up learning something today!
A Quantum Diaries Survivor 