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Mafia godfather's daughter ties knot in Corleone
When Don Corleone's daughter got married in the film "The Godfather," the guests kissed his hand and he dispensed favours because no Sicilian Mafia boss could refuse a request on his daughter's wedding day.
But when the real thing took place in Corleone, the Sicilian hill town made famous by the movie, the Mafia's former "boss of bosses" Salvatore 'Toto' Riina could only read about it in newspapers Thursday from inside prison.
Lucia Riina, his 28-year-old daughter, was married on Wednesday and, in the absence of her father, given away by her brother, Giuseppe.
These wise guys weren't called "wise" for nuttin'.....they would probably be able to make an offer to countries to settle their differences, an offer that they can't refuse...
its a fact tho, the Mafia..the Italian Mafia always gave the people what they wanted. The government made it illegal for them to do certain things, like loans, gambling, etc...but what did the government do? They made it LEGAL for only the government to gamble and control high interest loans. Off Track Betting, consumer loans with almost 25% interest, etc, etc....
Their downfall? Drugs..the big bosses told the younger generation of Mafiosos to stay outta the drug trade and they didn't listen.
I mean, when you compete with the Government, they listen!
see here..
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/c/a/20...
That was about the time the government raised the anti in cracking (pun intended) down on the guys....
Bring em back, they will make peace in the world with an offer no one can refuse!
When Don Corleone's daughter got married in the film "The Godfather," the guests kissed his hand and he dispensed favours because no S... more -
Immune systems (Financial Times - Editorial comment)
"We have been here before, and it is no better second time around. Silvio Berlusconi’s success this week in getting the Italian parliament’s approval for legislation protecting Italy’s top four elected officials from prosecution while in office makes the heart sink – just as it did when he pursued the same route the last time he was in power.
It says much about the prime minister’s priorities that having won the election fewer than 100 days ago, he devoted such effort to the swift passage of this law. As before, Mr Berlusconi’s focus is not on Italy but on himself. ..."
Link all'articolo: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/19fb86d2-58e6-11dd-a093-00007... "We have been here before, and it is no better second time around. Silvio Berlusconi’s success this week in getting the Italian parlia... more -
Italy - Immunity Bill Gets Final Approval
The Senate approved a bill that effectively grants Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution during his term, the ANSA news agency reported. The law grants immunity to Italy’s four most powerful elected officials, the prime minister, the president and the speakers of the two chambers of Parliament, while they are in office. The lower chamber had already approved it. The most immediate beneficiary is Mr. Berlusconi, who had been awaiting trial, accused of paying his British lawyer, David Mills, $600,000 to give favorable testimony in two trials. The Senate approved a bill that effectively grants Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution during his term, the ANS... more
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Appeals court reverses ruling that a woman in tight jeans cannot be raped
It is nearly a decade since Italy’s top appeals court caused a furore by ruling that a woman wearing tight jeans cannot by definition be raped or sexually molested because the removal of the garment requires her“collaboration and consent”.
Yesterday the judges of the Court of Cassation reversed the ruling, with Italian feminists welcoming the belated change of heart to a chorus of “and about time too”.
The ruling came after the conviction by a court in Padua in May 2005 of a 37-year-old man who was accused of sexually molesting his partner’s 16-year-old daughter from a previous relationship by “inserting his hands inside the front of her jeans”. The sentence was upheld by the regional appeals court in Venice in October.
The man, identified only by the initials RP under Italian privacy laws, appealed to the Court of Cassation, citing its landmark 1999 ruling and claiming that he could not have committed the alleged acts against the will of the girl because her jeans were too tight. However the court upheld the one-year jail sentence given to the man for sexual assault, ruling that “jeans cannot be compared to any type of chastity belt”.
The defendant had claimed that because the jeans were so tight the girl had unbuttoned them to allow him to fondle her and in doing so had consented to his sexual advances. The girl complained to her father and her boyfriend, who went to the police.
The 1999 ruling overturned the conviction of a 45-year-old driving instructor from Potenza who was accused of raping an 18-year-old client. The view of the appeal court judges that the victim must have collaborated because her jeans were too tight caused uproar among Italian feminists. Women deputies — led by Alessandra Mussolini, the far-right politician and granddaughter of the Italian Fascist dictator, and Stefania Prestigiacomo, now the Environment Minister in the centre-right Government of Silvio Berlusconi — wore jeans to parliament as a protest.
Yesterday Ms Mussolini said that she was pleased with the latest verdict but said she regretted that it had “taken until 2008 for the Court of Cassation to acknowledge an obvious fact — that women’s clothing has nothing to do with the violence to which they are forced to submit on a daily basis”.
Maria Gabriella Moscatelli, who runs Telefona Rosa, a helpline for women seeking legal advice, emo- tional support or refuge from domestic violence, said: “Finally we have justice, with a sentence which respects the rights of all women. It shows that when civil society, politicians and pressure groups mobilise themselves the law has no choice but to be on their side.”
The Court of Cassation, which is staffed mainly by elderly male appeal judges, has issued several controversial judgments on sexual and social mores in the past decade. It has, however, been increasingly aware of women’s rights, issuing rulings on previously accepted acts of sexual harrassment such as bottom pinching.
In March the Cassation judges went so far as to rule that a mistress may lie under oath without committing perjury to protect her honour, clearing a 48-year-old woman from Porto Ercole who had been convicted by a lower court of giving false testimony to police. In February the court ruled that men who touched their genitals in public were committing a criminal offence. Under an age-old custom Italian men sometimes grasp their crotches as a protection against bad luck and the evil eye, for example if a funeral procession passes by.
The judges, however, upheld a lower court sentencing of a 42-year-old workman from Como for indecent behaviour after he had “ostentatiously touched his genitals through his clothing”. They ordered the man to pay a fine of €200 (£159) and €1,000 in costs, rejecting the defence by his lawyer that he was only “adjusting his overalls”.
It is nearly a decade since Italy’s top appeals court caused a furore by ruling that a woman wearing tight jeans cannot by definition ... more -
Food incompatible with history or with our race?
The Northern League (Lega Nord), the xenophobic Italian party which advocates secession from the south -and part of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative coalition- proposed to restrict from Lombardy’s historic centers the businesses that are “incompatible with the historical context” -such as Chinese restaurants, kebabs, or any other commercial activity that could clash with their historic districts.
The question would be: are they trying to protect the uniqueness of its heritage intact, or is simply denying the possibility of opportunity to ‘outsiders’? The League is famous for its anti-immigrant -and clearly racist- speeches, interviews, banners and proposals.
For example, one mayor wants to ban illegal immigrants from getting married, another to ban them from being eligible for school scholarships, another to limit Italian citizenship to foreigners with a perfect knowledge of Italian and of the Constitution, and how to forget the recipe for racial harmony proposed by the councillor of the city that me -an outsider- love and consider my second home: if an immigrant commits a crime against an Italian, ten immigrants should be punished for it.
The Northern League (Lega Nord), the xenophobic Italian party which advocates secession from the south -and part of Prime Minister Sil... more -
Berlusconi wins immunity from prosecution
"The Italian parliament approved a law on Tuesday giving Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution, a victory for the conservative billionaire who has long complained of being hounded by 'biased' prosecutors.
Despite protests from the weakened centre-left opposition, the senate gave final approval for legislation halting criminal trials against Italy's top four elected officials, including Berlusconi, while they are in office.
Berlusconi, elected to a third term as premier in April with a strong parliamentary majority, says politically motivated prosecutors have been out to get him since he entered politics 14 years ago.
Critics said the measure was custom-designed to rid the 71-year-old media mogul of legal headaches."
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A little recap of Berlusconi's "legal headaches":
- 2,500 hearings
- 587 visits by the police
- 174 million euros in legal fees.
"The Italian parliament approved a law on Tuesday giving Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution, a victory for the... more -
Canto Della Terra/Song of the Earth
Andrea Bocelli uplifts my soul when I am feeling weary of this world and its despair. His voice makes me believe there is hope. This song particularly (along with Sogno) uplifts my spirit and is not only a song of love, but a song to celebrate our Earth. Perhaps a positive vibe will go a bit of the way to truly changing this world. I hope so, because to be honest I have been losing hope in people of late. I hope this song uplifts you as it does me.
And just as a sidenote: We need the mighty sun to save our planet and ourselves.
Translation of the song:
Yes I know
My love, that you and I
Are together briefly
For just a few moments
In silence
As we look out of our windows
And listen
To the sky
And to a world
That's awakening
And the night is already far away
Already, far away
Look at this world
Spinning with us
Even in the dark
Look at this world
Spinning for us
Giving us hope and some
Sun, sun sun
My love, you are you my love
I hear your voice,
And I listen to the sea.
It sounds just like your breathing
And all the love you want to give me
This love
That is there, hidden
Hidden among the waves
All the waves in the world
Just like a boat that....
Look at this world
Spinning with us
Even in the dark
Look at this world
Spinning for us
Giving us hope,
And some sun, sun, sun,
Some sun, sun, sun.
Look at this world
Spinning with us
Giving us some sun,
Mighty sun
Mighty sun
Mighty sun Andrea Bocelli uplifts my soul when I am feeling weary of this world and its despair. His voice makes me believe there is hope. This s... more -
Deer causes chaos in Italy
A wild deer fleeing summer storms brought chaos to an Italian city centre when it ran amok.
The 24-stone deer jumped over tables at local cafes, overturned potted plants and destroyed various stands selling produce from local shops before it was cornered in the city of Bolzano.
Numerous policemen and hunters as well as the city's fire brigade spent several hours trying to catch the deer without success.
Eventually the animal was trapped in a car park where it was shot after smashing a shop window.
Two people required treatment when they suffered cuts and bruises after being butted.
A wild deer fleeing summer storms brought chaos to an Italian city centre when it ran amok. ... more -
People sunbathe as young girls' bodies are removed from the sea
There has been widespread outrage in Italy, after photographs emerged of sunbathers sunbathing on a beach just meters from the bodies of two drowned schoolgirls.
Four girls had earlier been seen struggling with fierce waves: Two were pulled to safety, but rescuers were too late for the other two, and their bodies were covered in beach towels (pictured) to await collection by police.
Several sunbathers carried on as if nothing were happening as their bodies were laid out, covered, and later taken away. There has been widespread outrage in Italy, after photographs emerged of sunbathers sunbathing on a beach just meters from the bodies ... more -
A letter from Naples
From Beppe Grillo's blog. I don't know why but the link doesn't work.
"Father Alex Zanotelli, who is, in my opinion, a splinter of the heart of Christ, wrote and sent me this letter from Naples. The emergency business is the future of the Campania Region, a life insurance for rotten politics. The emergency justifies the means and the final objective is always money.
My dear ones,
I write this letter to you, with my body racked with anger, from the very depths of Naples, namely the Sanità District, at the peak of this sweltering summer. The anger that I feel is all consuming because nowadays it appears that the Lies have become the absolute Truth. My lament is so well expressed by a Jewish believer in Psalm 12:
“Everyone lies to his neighbour:
their flattering lips speak with deception,
all hiding that which lies in their scheming hearts.
They slither like reptiles,
and the most vile emerge,
dregs to the very end.”
When, after Korogocho, I chose to come and live in Naples, I could never have guessed that I would end up fighting the very same battles. I came from the Nairobi rubbish dump, situated next to the Korogocho squatter camp, to find the battle being waged by Naples against the rubbish dumps and the incinerators. I firmly believe that Naples is but the tip of the iceberg, a problem that is about to smother us all. In fact, if everyone on this planet, more than six billion human beings in all, were to live like us rich people (11% of the world’s population consumes 88% of all the planet’s resources!) we would need the equivalent of another four such planets’ worth of resources, plus another four such planets’ worth of rubbish dumps on which to dispose of our refuse. The poor people of Korogocho, who live virtually on top of the rubbish dumps, taught me a valuable lesson on how to recycle everything, how to re-utilise everything, how to repair everything, how to re-sell everything and, above all, how to live in a restrained manner.
It was a great lesson that still today helps enable me to read the current situation as regards the refuse situation in Naples and Campania, a region that, over the past twenty years, has literally become a national dumping ground for all sorts of toxic waste. As a matter of fact, certain members of the Camorra, in conjunction with certain secret Masonic lodges and local politicians, had already decided that they would dump toxic waste in Campania, back in 1989 in the “La Taverna” restaurant in “Villaricca”. The reason being this decision was that it was already becoming increasingly difficult to dump our refuse in Somalia. Thousands of articulated trucks arrived from all over Italy, loaded to the hilt with toxic waste, which was then buried by the Camorra in the Triangle of death (Acerra-Nola- Marigliano), in the “Terre dei fuochi” area (North of Naples) and in the countryside of the Casertano area. This toxic waste is now “bombarding” the newborns in particular with dioxins, nanoparticles that cause tumours, birth defects and leukaemia.
The documentary programme entitled Biutiful Cauntri explains exactly what I am talking about.
To this disaster, we must also add the new disaster that is the Country’s politics, which has now become subject to the whims of the economic-financial potentates. As a matter of fact, since 1994, no less than 10 different Special Commissioners, appointed by the succession of different national governments, have overseen this Region’s waste management system... From Beppe Grillo's blog. I don't know why but the link doesn't work. ... more -
Gypsy girls' corpses on beach fail to put off sunbathers
Questions about the attitude of Italians to their Roma minority were again being asked yesterday after photographs were published of sunbathers continuing as normal with a day at the beach despite the bodies of two Gypsy girls who had drowned being laid out on the sand nearby.
The incident took place outside Naples, where a Roma encampment was burned to the ground this year after its inhabitants had been evacuated for their own safety. Accounts given by Italian media varied, but according to the news agency Ansa, the victims - aged 14 and 16 - and two other young Gypsies had been begging from daytrippers on the beach at Torregaveta, west of Naples, on Saturday. Other reports indicated they were selling trinkets. The area is easily reached from the city by a railway line that ends near the shore.
At about 1pm, the four girls decided to go into the water even though none of them, it seems, knew how to swim. They soon got into difficulties because of strong currents in the area and were hit by an unusually big wave. Two of the girls were rescued by life-savers from a nearby private beach. But rescuers were unable to reach the two oldest until they were already dead. Their corpses were dragged ashore and laid out on the sand under beach towels.
"But the knot of curious onlookers that formed around the girls' bodies dissolved as [swiftly] as it had formed," the newspaper Corriere della Sera reported. "Few left the beach or abandoned their sunbathing. When the police from the mortuary arrived an hour later with coffins, the two girls were carried away on the shoulders [of the officers] between bathers stretched out in the sun." La Repubblica also expressed astonishment at the behaviour of those present. "While the lifeless bodies of the girls were still on the sand, there were those who carried on sunbathing or having lunch just a few metres away," it reported.
The civil liberties group EveryOne said it was unconvinced by reports of the incident at Torregaveta and asked whether there might be something more sinister behind it. A statement from the group said: "Two young Roma would never have left their scant merchandise for 'a refreshing dip' in the waves. Two Gypsy girls would never have gone bathing in full view of everyone because of the modesty that is one of their distinguishing characteristics."
(Excerpts / John Hooper, Guardian) Questions about the attitude of Italians to their Roma minority were again being asked yesterday after photographs were published of s... more -
Marijuana is a sacrament - court victory for Rastas - Burnley Express
TOP judges in Italy have acknowledged the rights of marijuana-smoking Rastafarians.
A high court ruling has stated that since their religion considers marijuana a sacrament, its followers should be given special treatment when it comes to possession - and how much makes a drug trafficker.
Media reports have highlighted the case of a reggae musician sentenced to 16 months in prison by a court in Perugia after he was found with enough of the drug to roll 70 cigarettes. But the appeal court annulled his sentence, saying the amount seemed appropriate for personal use considering the big amounts Rastafarians smoke.
"He was convicted because of the amount ... for trafficking, but it was for his own personal use," said his lawyer.
Rastafari, a religion that emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s, considers Ethiopia its spiritual home and its former emperor, Haile Selassie, as divine. TOP judges in Italy have acknowledged the rights of marijuana-smoking Rastafarians. ... more -
Climbers 'safe' on 23,000-foot Himalayan peak
Italy-based organizers say two countrymen whose fellow climber perished on a Himalayan peak are believed to be heading to their base camp.
The organizers said Sunday the survivors used their satellite phone to say they are safe on Pakistan's Nanga Parbat at roughly 23,000 feet (7,000 meters).
Last week, one of Italy's most famous climbers, Karl Unterkircher, died after falling into a ravine on the peak, one of the world's deadliest.
Agostino da Polenza, from the expedition's organization, told Sky TG24 TV the survivors have a tent, water and food.
He said they were expected to use "their own two feet" to reach base camp, likely on Monday.
A rescue party had been sent from Italy to Pakistan. Italy-based organizers say two countrymen whose fellow climber perished on a Himalayan peak are believed to be heading to their base c... more -
Tourist Beats Daughter Into Coma
A French tourist has beaten his four-year-old daughter's head against the stone base of a Rome monument so hard the child is now in a coma.
And when passers-by finally managed to snatch the child away, the man tried to bash his own head against the stone.
The pavement in the Piazza Venezia at the heart of the city is still stained with blood after the violent attack late last night.
Paediatric hospital Bambino Gesu said the child, named Luna, was already in a coma with severe head injuries when she was admitted shortly before midnight.
"Her condition is stable but very critical," spokesman Daniela Perrotta told reporters.
The father, who has been named as 37-year-old Julien Monnet, was behaving strangely moments before the attack, according to a Canadian tourist who grappled to try and stop him.
Traffic officer Anna Esposito told Italian broadcasters: "He was holding the child in an unhealthy way. The child was crying and screaming.
"He was holding the girl by her arm and then started striking her (head) against the stone," Ms Esposito said.
The Canadian grabbed the child while she struggled to hold the man and called for reinforcements.
"He was like a furious beast," she said.
Police have since said that Monnet's backpack contained medicine indicating he was receiving treatment for psychiatric problems.
Monnet is believed to live with the child's mother near Paris - she is thought to have been on holiday in Turkey at the time of the attack and had no idea they had travelled to Rome.
Police say Monnet appeared to be in a state of shock when arrested, before being taken to Rome's Coeli jail on suspicion of causing grave injury.
A French tourist has beaten his four-year-old daughter's head against the stone base of a Rome monument so hard the child is now in a ... more -
Rosario Dawson bikini pictures from Ischia, Italy
Rosario Dawson looks stunning in her black bikini on Friday while vacationing with boyfriend Mathieu Schreyer in Ischia. I’ve been waiting for this set of pictures for a long, long time now. I've always had a bit of a crush on Rosario Dawson. Love her or hate her, you can't deny she fills out her bikini quite nicely. Rosario Dawson looks stunning in her black bikini on Friday while vacationing with boyfriend Mathieu Schreyer in Ischia. I’ve been wa... more
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Synchronized Motorcycle Show
Italian motorcycle show from the '50s. I love it!
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Naples trash trauma: here come the 'Angels of Garbage'
"Few would deny that living side-by-side with stinking, oozing piles of garbage for months on end makes life more difficult. Even in the normally chaotic southern Italian city of Naples, garbage-induced temper tantrums have periodically resulted in trash piles being set on fire -- and the firemen who respond to the call are then pelted with detritus.
Help is on the way. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi not only pledged on Tuesday that the problem would be solved within two weeks, he also is sending a thousand volunteers to Naples (the 'Angels of Garbage') to teach the city about the importance of separating recyclables out of their garbage. Among those volunteers will be dozens of psychologists from an organization specially trained for missions in disaster areas.
It is, however, the deployment of psychologists -- particularly from so far away (Northern Italy) -- that has raised the most eyebrows. Southerners have long been sensitive of northern Italians lecturing them about lifestyle and efficiency."
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I shall point out the rubbish crisis in Naples was not caused exclusively by the citizens' reluctance to recycling. That is one among many factors.
I find incredible that some people still need to be lectured about recycling, though. Let's hope the 'angels' will sort something out...
"Few would deny that living side-by-side with stinking, oozing piles of garbage for months on end makes life more difficult. Even in t... more -
'NASCAR on speed': Chariot racing might return to Rome's Circus Maximus
Ben-Hur Redux? An Italian entrepreneur is hoping to bring back ancient Roman chariot racing -- and modern Roman pride.
It's a situation that keeps Franco Calo up at night. Across Europe and the world, chariot racing, perhaps the most Roman of all sporting events, is enjoying a renaissance of sorts. Events are held in cities from Bulgaria to Germany to France. There is even a hippodrome in Brazil. But in Calo's native Rome? So far, the 27th generation Roman points out ruefully, there is nothing. That, though, is something Calo is setting about to change. He is pushing for the Italian capital to reclaim chariot racing and establish an event of its own.
"Rome is the only large Italian city without a unique historical manifestation, such as Siena's Palio horse races or Venice's Regata Storica," Calo told SPIEGEL ONLINE. He is slightly more pointed on his Web site Vadis al Maximo: Do Romans, he asks his readers, really want "to come in third behind the Gauls (the French) and the Huns (the Germans), when it comes to Romanness?" It is time, he says, for chariot racing to come home to Rome -- and more specifically to the Circus Maximus, the site of Rome's earliest and largest circus and host to innumerable chariot races through the ages.
"I spent five years in Los Angeles," Calo says. "In America, I had the chance to witness the phenomenon of the great spectacle."
Most challenging of all, however, is getting permission from the city to stage the event in the first place. But Calo will also have to obtain permission from cultural heritage officials, who have been presented with an impact assessment and are currently reviewing the proposal.
Jeremy Hartnett, a professor at Rome's Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies and an expert on ancient Roman urban society, for his part, is skeptical that they will be cooperative. "I can't imagine they'd let him do this," Hartnett told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "One thing we know for sure about Roman chariot racing is that it was extremely dangerous. It was like NASCAR on speed."
(Excerpts / Josh Ward, Spiegel)
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What do you think about Calo's proposal? Should he be allowed to reintrocuce the dangerous sport to its ancient home and would you be interested in watching a chariot race? Ben-Hur Redux? An Italian entrepreneur is hoping to bring back ancient Roman chariot racing -- and modern Roman pride. ... more -
Italy to fingerprint all to avoid discrimination
"Italy may demand all its citizens be fingerprinted, a move aimed at defusing widespread criticism of government plans to force Roma people and their children to provide fingerprints as a way of tackling criminality."
http://current.com/items/89104379_eu_parliament_warns_i...
A parliamentary committee agreed on Wednesday that from 2010 all identity cards, which Italians already have to carry, should include the fingerprints of the bearer. The measure still has to pass through parliament."
How would you react if your country were to take fingerprints? Do you think it is a necessary measure to improve security or a way to have more control over citizens? "Italy may demand all its citizens be fingerprinted, a move aimed at defusing widespread criticism of government plans to force Roma p... more -
Italy grapples with polygamy
A boom in the illegal marriages is a byproduct of voluminous immigration by Muslims. Authorities largely ignore the unions, leaving the women in a murky world with no recourse when things go wrong.
A few miles from the Vatican, Najat Hadi kept house with her husband, his other wife and their assorted children, an unhappy home with a hateful woman 10 years her junior and a cruel spouse who left her with a jagged scar peeking from her collar.
Finally, she says, her Egyptian-born husband, who worked in Rome making pizzas, beat her so badly that she left him. But he kept her children.
Thousands of polygamous marriages like Hadi's have sprung up throughout Italy as a byproduct of a fast-paced and voluminous immigration by Muslims to this Roman Catholic country.
Despite the obvious culture clash, Italian authorities largely turn a blind eye, leaving women in a murky semi-clandestine world with few rights and no recourse when things go especially badly, as they did in Hadi's case.
"It is absurd that in a civilized country like Italy, so little is acknowledged about this," said Souad Sbai, a Moroccan-born Italian lawmaker who has emerged as a one-woman champion of female Muslim immigrants here.
Italy is one of several European nations faced with the issue of polygamy. In Britain and Spain, where large Muslim communities have also settled, some officials favor recognizing polygamous marriage as a way to ensure the wives' access to pensions, medical care and other state benefits.
A boom in the illegal marriages is a byproduct of voluminous immigration by Muslims. Authorities largely ignore the unions, leaving th... more
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