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So, What Attracted You To Billionaire Signor Berlusconi?
Michela Brambilla shows some of the form that has led Silvio Berlusconi to tip her as the new face of Italy's centre-right.
La Rossa, as she's beginning to be known throughout Italy, is a fascinating character. A striking redhead (hence the nickname) from a family of steel magnates, she is a former beauty queen with a philosophy degree, and a professional career as a businesswoman and journalist. She's a mother, president of an animal rights association and a media player in her own right, founding a Freedom TV channel and a newsheet given away free with Berlusconi's Il Giornale. The kind of complex, rounded character that Mr Berlusconi reckons is ideal to take on the increasingly crusty left-leaning coalition that's currently running the country.
Dateline: London
A London-based newspaper editor and regular commentator on BBC News shows has said that if Iranian missiles hit Israel, he would dance with delight in Trafalgar Square.
Abd Al-Bari Atwan, editor of Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, made the remarks in a television interview on Lebanese TV in June. In selected quotes from the interview, published in the Jerusalem Post, spoke of how Iran might retaliate against strikes.
Fines For Baggy Trousers
Several US towns appear to be seriously considering laws to ban the wearing of trousers which reveal the wearer's undergarments.
First on the "Twinned with Kabul" list is Delcambre, Louisiana (pop 2,321) where since June 11, "saggy pants" have been against the law. Anyone wearing their trousers low enough to expose their underwear can face a $500 fine or six months behind bars.
Hollande's Girl Wins €15,000
A French gossip magazine has been ordered to pay €15,000 damages to the lover of France's Socialist Party leader François Hollande.
A court ruled that the images Closer published of M. Hollande frolicking on a Moroccan beach with journalist Valérie Trierweiler were a breach of her privacy. Mme Trierweiler hit the headlines in June when Hollande's long-term partner Ségolène Royal booted him out of their family home for his affair with the reporter.
Much of political and media Paris was already buzzing with gossip of Hollande's affair, but France's strict privacy laws, and the much-vaunted belief that the public neither cares nor ought to know about the love lives of its politicians, kept the story from the papers.
Fannying Around
Regular EURSOC readers will be aware that we have little time for the pronouncements of entertainers on human rights and political issues. So, we're not surprised that French actress Fanny Ardant let it be known that she admirered Italian Red Brigade terrorist Renato Curcio for "not becoming a businessman" and staying true to his beliefs.
Ardant described him as a "hero" and said that the Red Brigade's campaign was "Very moving and passionate."
Her remarks have been met with outrage - and a lawsuit - in Italy.
Doing It For The Kids
A new register of every child in England excludes the offspring of "prominent celebrities
Next year sees the launch of ContactPoint, a database containing the address, school details and medical records of England's under-18s. It will give details of their carers, any health professionals they might have visited and, according to a report in the Times earlier this wek, could indicate if the child has undergone a "formal assessment" on whether or not he "needs extra help."
Up to 330,000 vetted users will be allowed to access the database.
Turkey Elects Islamist President
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who is described as an "ex-Islamist", has been elected President by a parliamentary vote.
The vote comes hours after Turkey's powerful army Chief of Staff warned he had been watching "centres of evil who systematically try to corrode the secular nature of the Turkish Republic".
Gul's plan to run for the Presidency in April this year triggered a mini-crisis which caused his ruling AK Party (which has Islamist roots) to call an early election. The AK won with a much larger majority, which observers have put down to the party's stewardship of the economy rather than any widespread support for the religious beliefs of its members.
Bog Snorkelling
Who needs bungee jumping? If you fancy a real extreme sporting experience, why not try swimming through sixty yards of chilly, muddy water in a Welsh peat bog?
Every August Bank Holiday, dozens of swimmers meet at the Waen Rhydd peat bog, near Llanwrtyd Wells for the annual bog snorkelling championships.
Sarkozy: A Nuclear Iran Unacceptable
France's president takes hard line on Iran; reaches out and faces "racist" criticism on Africa
France's very active President Nicolas Sarkozy is marking the traditional rentée with a series of foreign policy initiatives.
First, the issue of a nuclear-armed Iran. France is one of the EU "Big Three" (also Britain, Germany) who have tried to negotiate Tehran off the nuclear weapons warpath. The EU3 made offers of civilian nuclear assistance and economic assistance in return from solid guarantees Iran would halt the dodgier aspects of its nuclear programme and open the rest to UN scrutiny. Many believe this approach failed: Indeed, Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac, seemed to say at one stage that a nuclear Iran was inevitable, but that the Mullahs who run the country should be made aware that they would never be able to use their weapons without facing total destruction.
Sarkozy's line broke from Chirac's fatalism. Stressing that an Iran bomb was "unacceptable", he said that "without doubt" the Iranian crisis was "the most pressing for the world order," which could only have two "alternative catastrophes: An Iran bomb or the bombardment of Iran."
Quote Of The Day
In praise of bourgeois values:
"The British elites persuaded themselves that their great crime was to impose bourgeois values on everyone. In fact, it is the undermining of those values that is destroying the lives of the poor."
- Janet Daley in the Telegraph.
Chase That Cheese!
By popular request, following our report on the Russian craze for whitewater rafting on sex dolls, here is a traditionally British pastime.
Cheese rolling is said to date back hundreds of years in the Gloucester region. This footage is from the 2007 Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling which took place in May: Hundreds of competitors throw themselves down a steep hill in pursuit of an 8lb Double Gloucester cheese. The first to cross the line wins the cheese. It's a wonder that Health and Safety hasn't tried to ban this...
The Bubble Baba Challenge
And you thought the Brits were mad with their cheese-rolling, bog-snorkelling and Morris dancing... here's footage of Russia's Bubble Baba Challenge, a white-water rafting event where contestants surf a choppy river on blow-up sex dolls.
Greek Fire
Govt official claims fires are "concerted assault"
More than sixty people are feared dead in forest fires which have been sweeping Greece since Friday. 170 fires, on over 40 fronts, are reportedly being fought.
Latest reports claim that the capital, Athens, is swathed in acrid smoke from the fires in the surrounding country, while ancient sites such as Olympia are being threatened by the disaster.
Something For The Weekend
Two EURSOC-approved columns in the Telegraph for the Bank Holiday weekend. First, Dan Hannan on the EU's totalitarian belief that its "ruling dogma - ever-closer union - to be too important to be subjected to the ballot box."
"Many Euro-federalists cling to a version of what Engels called "false consciousness": the belief that the people cannot be trusted to see their true interests. As Tony Blair put it: 'The British people are sensible enough to know that, even if they have a certain prejudice about Europe, they don't expect their government necessarily to share it or act upon it.'"
Deservedly harsh stuff from Jeff Randall, too, who writes that the goverment is treating Britons with utter contempt:
"The upshot is that the United Kingdom's authority as a sovereign nation has been greatly eroded, our democratic traditions trashed, and the make-up of our society put through the mangle of enforced multiculturalism - all without anything so vulgar as a plebiscite. Like geese being prepared for the production of foie gras, we are having stuffed down our throats that which we do not wish to swallow: the rough corn of Labour's determination to make its changes irreversible. If we dare to complain, we're told that it's good for us."
Both worth reading.
Sarkozy's Hundred Days
Don't live by celebrity; you could die by celebrity
The new French President celebrated his first 100 days in power this week. It's been so far, so good for Nicolas Sarkozy, but his prolonged love-hate relationship with the media has caused a few ruffled feathers along the way.
First, there was the small matter of one of the President's 'love handles' being airbrushed from a photograph in Paris Match magazine. Rival newspaper L'Express printed a photo published in Paris Match showing the President rowing on a lake with his son; it published what it described as the "original" version of the image, which shows that the 52 year old President has an unsightly bulge spilling over the top of his shorts.
All Roads Lead To Rome
Here's Italy's PM Romano Prodi on plans to restore the Via Francigena, the ancient pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome:
"The pathways of our ancestors are a great heritage. It really makes me angry that we do not have pilgrims walking towards Rome any longer.
"To rebuild the great pilgrims' path we do not need great investments, but heart. I am pressing everyone to make it happen."
Anything For A Quiet Life
Increasing numbers of Europeans are seeking respite from city noise in rural peace. But one French village is warning newcomers to stop whinging about the "natural" noises of the countryside.
The World Health Organisation says that stress from noise could be killing people: Perhaps one in every fifty heart attack deaths could be caused by excessive noise, it reports.
Texas Executes 400th Prisoner
Here's one from the "haven't they got anything better to do?" files. As the US state was gearing up to execute Johnny Ray Conner (32), the European Union's Portugese Presidency issued a statement expressing its "great regret" and calling on the US to halt executions.
Conner was executed as planned, becoming the 400th prisoner to die in the state since capital punishment was reintroduced.
Bloody Students
Police were called in to investigate a local carnival in Cornwall following complaints from six visiting students that one group of performers was offensive to Muslims.
The Rights Issue
Well, it took them a few days, but the British press has finally scented the truth about the Learco Chindamo case. In reality, there is little that the nation's press, people or politicians can do about cases which fall under European legislation; and that the government's haste to keep the hearing findings from the public reflect a desire to cover that uncomfortable truth, as calls for a referendum on the EU treaty grow louder.
For those outside the UK, the case centres on a 26 year old immigrant from Italy, Learco Chindamo. Twelve years ago, Chindamo led a gang of murderous thugs who stabbed to death Philip Lawrence, a London headmaster. Their victim had intervened when they were threatening one of the headmaster's pupils. Chindamo was sentenced to life; he is likely to be released next year.
Mr Lawrence's widow expected - and, it appears, had been given assurances that this would be the case - that Chindamo would be deported after his release. Chindamo's lawyers argued successfully that, deporting him to a country where he had not lived for 20 years and where he has no family would deprive him of the right to family life, which is protected by the Human Rights Act. The media and most of the public have rightly taken Mrs Lawrence's side; spokesmen for Britain's human rights industry have argued that while the feelings of the victim and the revulsion of the public are taken into account in sentencing, they do not form the basis of a justice system which is based on the rehabilitation of offenders.
Romney's Iowa Straw Poll Victory
EURSOC's US correspondent Chris Timmers catches up on the latest news from the US Presidential Election.
Imagine a football match between two top teams to be played in a stadium seating 50,000 fans. Now only 1,000 tickets will be sold, the top players (like a Beckham) won't play, and the outcome of the contest will not determine placement in the Premier League, or any other league for that matter. How much interest would you have in such a game? Probably not much.
Well, that is sort of what happened in the Iowa Republican straw poll.
Latest China Scare: Kids Clothes
Following tainted toothpaste, lead-painted toys and possibly poisonous dogfood, a new scare has hit Chinese exports: Children's clothing which contain dangerous levels of formaldehyde.
Weird Media
EURSOC can't find any context for this poll on CNN.com. We're all for sci-fi residences, though, and recommend as future poll questions:
Would you rather have a jetpack or teleport system?
Would you rather have a laser gun or a lightsabre?
Do you think robots will take over the world?
Paedophile Scandal Rocks France
Sarkozy plans chemical castration for paedophiles
A shocking paedophile scandal has dominated the headlines in France as the holiday season winds down and the government prepares to address a new round of economic reforms.
The scandal centres on the case of Francis Evrard, a 61 year old convicted paedophile who was released early July. Within weeks, he had kidnapped and abused a five year old boy in a garage in the northern town of Roubaix. Police found Evrard with the boy (named as "Enis" in the press) shortly afterwards, and discovered the paedophile had a stash of the drug Viagra on him. Questioned about this, he claimed that the prison doctor had given him the drug; Officers scoffed at the possibility, until it became clear that the doctor had indeed prescribed Viagra for the serial offender just before his release.
London's Third World Subsidy
Details are finally emerging of the deal Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez struck with London's Mayor Ken Livingstone on providing subsidised fuel for Londoners. According to a report in today's Guardian, low-income Londoners will get half-price bus travel thanks to a 20 percent discount on fuel provided to London transport by Mr Chavez.
In return, London will provide Venezuela with its "expertise" on town planning, tourism, public transport and environmental protection. As anyone who has ever experienced London's town planning, tourism, public transport and environmental protection will testify, this is a fairly shitty deal for Venezuelans.
Nazis In The News
More than sixty years since the end of the Second World War, and Germany's Nazis are still making the headlines. This week sees two bizarre auctions of Nazi memorabilia, while in Australia, a former refugee now in his seventies recalls his life as a "Nazi mascot."
Pilgrims Progress
Here's a European cross-border initiative we can all get behind. The Italian government has set aside €7million to restore the Via Francigena, one of Europe's oldest pilgrims' routes, running between London and Rome.
The route, first mapped in 990 but almost certainly used for many years before this date, runs from Canterbury (the route from London to this town was made famous in Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales') and crosses the English Channel before running south east down through France. The French section of the Via passes through Arras, Laon and Reims then Champagne country. Pigrims from larger cities like Paris joined the route along feeder paths along the way. It continues through towns which are sleepy now, but which at the peak of the pilgrimage would have been thriving centres where pilgrims could find food and lodging (and doubtless be ripped-off by souvenir salesmen).
Another "Casualty" Of BBC Political Correctness
The BBC's editorial executive has over-ruled a script for a drama series which included a suicide attack by Muslim extremists.
Long-running hospital drama series Casualty begins a new season in the Autumn. Its opening episodes were to be based on the aftermath of a bomb attack by Islamist terrorists on a crowded bus station. However, insiders say that the story was blocked by the Beeb's top committee, which is anxious to halt "stereotypes of young British Muslims."
Brussels Parade Update
The EU Referendum Blog is pointing to this, so we ought to too. The Mayor of Brussels has banned an anti-Sharia law parade from taking place on September 11 because he fears it will offend Muslim sensibilities. However, a parade by a group claiming George Bush was involved in the September 11 terror attacks has been given the go-ahead.
Fat Argie Cheat Admits "I Cheated"
Former football star Diego Maradona did his bit to improve relations between London and Buenos Aires this weekend by once again admitting that he cheated to score a crucial goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter final.
