Silvio Berlusconi: the man of 2,500 court hearings

This article is taken from the Daily Telegraph (26/10/2012), the bold is mine, no need to add anything else, I'm sure the pattern is pretty easy to spot.

The Italian media mogul himself claims to have spent more than 200 million euros on lawyers to defend him.

In 2009 he declared he was "absolutely the most persecuted man by the judiciary in all the history of the entire world".

Mr Berlusconi is currently on trial in a court in Milan on charges of abuse of office and paying for sex with an alleged under-age prostitute, a Moroccan-born erotic dancer nicknamed 'Ruby the Heart Stealer'. He is alleged to have tried to hush up the affair by having her released from police custody in Milan after she was arrested on suspicion of stealing from a female acquaintance. Mr Berlusconi denies the charges.

But he has never been definitively convicted of any crime.

He has either defeated the charges on appeal – under Italian law he is entitled to two levels of appeal – or the cases have timed out under Italy’s statute of limitations.

Here are some of the most significant allegations of the past 22 years.

In 1990 Mr Berlusconi was declared guilty of false testimony over his membership of "Progaganda 2", a right-wing Masonic lodge which was described as a "state within a state" and counted among its members prominent industrialists, politicians, military leaders and journalists.
However, an amnesty passed the previous year meant that a court did not pass sentence on Mr Berlusconi.

In 1994, shortly after he was elected as prime minister for the first time, he was accused of bribing a member of the financial police. He was sentenced in 1997 to 33 months in prison but was acquitted on appeal in 2000 because the time limit for the offence expired.

In 1995 Mr Berlusconi was accused of having bought the football player Gianluigi Lentini for his AC Milan club with money from a slush fund. The signing for £13m in 1992 made Lentini the world's most expensive player at the time and the subsequent allegations attracted worldwide attention. However, in 2002 Mr Berlusconi pushed a law through parliament which partially decriminalised false accounting, and ensured that he would not stand trial for the accusations.

Again in 1995 Mr Berlusconi was accused of false accounting in his purchase of the Medusa cinema company, and he was later sentenced to 16 months in prison in 1997. However, he was acquitted on appeal in 2000. That judgment was upheld by the Italian supreme court in 2001.

Also in 1995 the Italian premier was accused of illegally financing the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) through an offshore company. He was sentenced to two years and four months in jail for paying 21 billion lire (about 10 million euros, or £8.3 million) to Bettino Craxi, his mentor and a former prime minister, via an offshore bank account code-named "All Iberian". But the case was later dropped because the limitation period expired.

In 1998 Mr Berlusconi was accused of bribing a judge during his holding company Fininvest's buy-out of the Mondadori publishing house. A prima facie case was issued, but the magistrate decided to drop the charges. The state attorney appealed against that decision. At the appeal level the case timed out under the statute of limitations.

Again in 1998, Mr Berlusconi was accused of bribing judges to block the buy-out of the food industry conglomerate SME by the Italian industrialist Carlo De Benedetti in 1985. The supreme court acquitted Mr Berlusconi in 2007.

In March 2006, Milan prosecutors asked a judge to order David Mills, a British lawyer and the estranged husband of former cabinet minister Tessa Jowell, and Mr Berlusconi to stand trial on corruption charges. Mills was sentenced in February 2009 to four years and six months in prison for accepting a £400,000 bribe from Mr Berlusconi to give false evidence on his behalf in corruption trials in 1997 and 1998.
The sentence was overturned a year later. Mr Berlusconi was jointly accused when the trial began but his government passed a law last year giving the prime minister and other top Italian officials immunity from prosecution.

In July 2008, Mr Berlusconi and others were acquitted by a Spanish court after being indicted for charges of tax fraud and violation of antitrust laws regarding the private TV network Telecinco.

 

Italians are 'choosy'

Elsa Fornero, the Italian Minister for Work and Pensions under the Monti Government, said during a press conference this week, that young people shouldn't be too choosy when looking for a job, especially if it's the first one.

I must say that I broadly agree with her and, writing in English for a non-Italian audience, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it. However, to say that in Italy it's probably only a bit less unpopular than admitting to like the gnamgnam style (which I hate BTW).

Although it is very true that most young people cannot find any job at the moment, let alone the DREAM job, it is also true that in Italy it's not unusual for "young" people to complete a 3-year undergraduate course in 10 years, while getting no work experience and being supported by their parents.

Facebook and Twitter are exploding with claims that she is out of touch and has no idea of what the situation is, propelled by headlines in every single media outlet where a small sentence has been taken out of context to generate headlines and create the choosygate.

Ms Fornero must have one of the most difficult jobs at the moment, being minister for Work and Pensions in a country when there's no work and no much money for pensions, to me she's doing quite a good job. The current Government is actually trying to build opportunities for young people, something that to be honest the Berlusconi Government also did very well, but only if you were young, female and willing to sleep with him with absolutely no CV (in that case you might even be made Minister of Education, Environment or Equal Opportunities).

Elsa Fornero

The shadow of Berlusconi

I have been extremely quiet on my blog recently for various reasons.

The main reason is that this blog started out of the frustration caused by the politics in Italy and especially by Berlusconi, and as he has been removed from power, in a way I had less to write about.

However, with a bit more time in my hands these days I have been wanting to start writing again, and today's news of his court appearance gave me the final push. It is sadly clear that this man has no intention to go away, and he is still fooling most of the population. Italians have a very short memory and are still fooled by his media power. Watch one day of Italian TV, and you'll see pensioners claiming that it's better to "be like him, than be a faggot", housewives justifying that "he needs a little release because he works so hard" and so on.

He still manages to bring out very strong feelings from the population, you either hate him or love him, but I'm afraid those who love him might be the majority.

With an opposition still in shambles, and his party that cannot survive without him, I can only pray that Monti stays where he is for as long as possible. Supporting somebody that has not been democratically elected goes against every principle I believe in, but when I look at what's happening in Greece I can't help but thinking that without him, Italy would be exactly in the same situation.

Sardinia in the (sad) news, again

Other than Rihanna's holiday pics, Sardinia has been making the news for all the wrong reasons recently. This time a group of miners barricading themselves underground to save their jobs made headlines. Sad, sad, sad:

 

Sardinian miner in siege slashes wrist

A dispute over the closure of Italy’s only coal mine escalated dramatically on Wednesday when a miner slashed his wrist at a press conference held underground.

 

Colleagues said they were prepared to resort to “extreme measures” to safeguard their jobs, as the occupation of the 1,230 feet, mine, entered a fourth day.

More than 100 miners, including several women, are taking turns to occupy the Carbosulcis coal mine in Sardinia and have seized nearly 700kg of explosives and more than 1,200 detonators.

At a press conference in the area of the mine that is being occupied, union spokesman Stefano Meletti, 48, suddenly slashed one of his wrists and yelled: “Is this what we have to do?”

His act of self-harm took not only journalists by surprise but also his colleagues.

The father-of-two was rushed to the mine’s infirmary and from there to a hospital in the town of Carbonia.  His colleagues said they were “desperate” to prevent the closure of the facility and that they were willing to take “extreme measures” to keep it open.

“We’re ready for anything,” said Giancarlo Sau, a representative of Italy’s largest trade union, CGIL, pointing at the storage area where the explosives and detonators are being kept.
They want the government in Rome to give the mine a new lease of life by converting it into a carbon capture site in which carbon dioxide could be stored.
Among the protesters are six women who work in the mine, mostly as engineers and safety inspectors.
“If we don’t put up a fight, it will be the end of the mine,” Giuliana Porcu, 45, a health and safety official, told Corriere della Sera.
Valentina Zurru, 45, who has spent 20 years working at the facility in south-western Sardinia, said: “The mine is my life. If they close it, I’d have nothing to do but work on a little patch of land that my family owns.
“But I don’t want to think of it. I’m convinced that we will be able to save our jobs.”
The stand-off will come to a head at a meeting in Rome on Friday, when the government of Mario Monti, the prime minister, will hold talks with union leaders and Sardinian officials over the carbon capture project.
The confrontation at the mine is just one of several industrial disputes that the Monti administration is having to deal with, as austerity-hit Italians fight to keep their jobs.
Threats to close a huge aluminium plant run by mining giant Alcoa in Sardinia have prompted protests.
In Taranto, in the southern region of Puglia, Europe’s biggest steelworks is threatened with closure after years of controversy over its pollution of the local area.
The Ilva plant employs, directly and indirectly, around 20,000 people in an area already struggling with high unemployment.

 

Source Telegraph UK (Nick Squires)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9506382/Sardinian-miner-in-siege-slashes-wrist.html

OP-ED Sardinia: Militarization, Contamination and Cancer in Paradise

The reason why I started this blog was to was to report in English news that often where not reported outside of Italy.

I found this extremely well written article about Sardinia, where I come from. Everything is well documented, but somehow has so far failed to make it to the news. In Sardinia we are well aware of the situation but the Italian and American Governments have always kept it under wrap.

This is a very sad story that needs to be told, but let's remember that it only affects a small part of the island, therefore it's still very safe to live, or go on holiday to the vast part of Sardinia:

BY HELEN JACCARD, WARISACRIME.ORG

Need to test some new weapons?  Bomb paradise!The sound of bombs, missiles, and other explosions; massive attacks from the sea onto the beach; an epidemic of cancers and birth defects; soil, air, food and water contaminated with heavy metals, jet fuel and other poisons; and national and company secrets that prevent the residents from learning the truth:  Is this a modern war zone?  No – Sardinia is the victim of weapons manufacturers, polluting military activities and a political system that cares about power and money over the health of people and the environment.

Sardinia and it’s PeopleSardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea – a paradise with diverse wildlife and beautiful beaches.  Alice Scanu, a Sardinian environmental engineer and activist said, “We are peaceful people, poor ones maybe, but very welcoming. That's how I'd like Sardinians to be remembered, not as people involved in wars and power games.”  In the rural areas are shepherds and farmers who make magnificent wine, honey, and cheese.

Military Use of SardiniaFor over 50 years Sardinia has been used by militaries and arms manufacturers to:

·       test new bullets, bombs, missiles and drones
·       train soldiers and pilots
·       practice war scenarios
·       explode, burn and bury old weapons and dangerous chemicals
·       launch bombing sorties

Seventy percent of Italian military bases are located here, and Italian, NATO, and U.S. bases occupy about 1/3 of the area of the island’s land and sea. During military practice drills, the area closed to navigation and fishing increases to about 7200 square miles, almost 2 times the island surface.

Quirra, Teulada and Capo Frasca testing and firing rangesThe worst of the pollution, cancer, and birth deformities is in the firing ranges.  In these huge areas in Southern Sardinia, militaries and weapons manufacturers:

·       test-fire artillery rockets, drones, and laser-guided precision bombs, including at least one depleted uranium weapon and missiles that release asbestos and white phosphorus
·       test the effects of explosions and fires on armor and pipelines
·       dispose of tons of old weapons and chemicals, by explosion or burial  
·       perform air and naval “exercises”, holding mock attacks of the coast

Contamination:

·       large quantities of buried waste containing cadmium, lead, antimony, and napalm
·       high levels of lead on several beaches and in the water
·       explosions of waste and weapons from past wars affecting areas up to 2000 square meters each that no longer support vegetation – each explosion produces as much pollution as an incinerator of municipal solid waste during one year - exposing communities, shepherds, base personnel and animals to toxic dust containing thorium, lead, cerium and cadmium
·       Thorium, a radioactive and highly carcinogenic heavy metal used in military targeting systems has been found in Sardinian honey, milk, and other areas of the food chain.
·       Pieces of bombs, missiles, and bullets are lying on the ground and in the sea.
·       Unexploded ordnance lies in and around the restricted areas, including both land and sea.

Health effects:

·       Birth Defects: Between 1988 and 2002 fourteen children were born with severe malformations in Escalaplano, a small village of 2400 people bordering the Quirra base.
·        Malformed animals: two-headed lambs, calves with deformed legs, a pig with one huge grotesque eye – problems not normally seen here.  A tissue sample from a malformed lamb was found to contain depleted uranium.
·       Cancer:  In a village with 150 inhabitants, 12 people died from leukemia in 2002, with 63 in the past decade. In the previous decade (1990 – 2000), there had been no cases of leukemia or lymphoma among this same population. 65% of workers on seven of twelve farms located near the Quirra base are suffering from serious cancer.  Rates of lymphoma, thyroid cancerand autoimmune diseases are also unexpectedly high.

John Madeddu worked in the Capo Frasca base from 1968 to 1987.  He has diffuse large cell lymphoma.  He remembers an area where a large number of bullets accumulated in a clearing.  When it rained it created a marsh and the

water seeped into the ground.  The artesian wells provide water for both the base and the nearby farms.  This kind of contamination has continued to build over the years with no clean-up effort undertaken.  Animal deformities are common near the bases.  Cattle still graze here and even if directly hit and killed by weapons containing heavy metals these animals are being butchered and eaten.

Francesco Piras died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 27 in 2007 after serving for 10 months at Capo Teulada.  At the hospital, doctors asked him if he had been in contact with radioactive materials. Dr. Antonietta Gatti, Experimental Physicist at the University of Bologna, took biopsies of Francesco’s tissues and discovered high quantities of nanoparticles of industrial heavy metals.

A shepherd analyzed the situation with clear, shocking realism: "I have leukemia, I have only a few months or years of life, I accepted it. Nobody cares about us, and we just do not count for anything.  They are powerful; it is better for them if there are fewer of us.”

The sheep are still grazing on contaminated land and the local people sell sheep cheese and grapes for a living.

Investigation and Prosecution:

On May 12, 2011, State Prosecutor Domenico Fiordalisi opened a court case to stop all military use of the Quirra base. Hundreds of shepherds and farmers demonstrated against the case because they might lose use of their land.  They do not want a handout for unemployment; they just want their land to be uncontaminated and available.

The nuclear physicist Evandro Lodi Rizzini of Brescia University and CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) found elevated levels of radioactive thorium 232 and cerium (proving that the thorium was man-made) in the tissues of 15 of 18 bodies of Quirra-area shepherds who died of cancer between 1995 and 2000.

On March 24, 2012 Fiordalisi indicted twenty people on charges of "willful omission of precautions against injury and aggravated disasters or because they falsely certified the absence of pollution with the aim to "hide the environmental disaster.”  The documents from Fiordalisi’s investigation have now been turned over to a tribunal for prosecution.

Decimomannu, the largest NATO air base contaminating the water supplyDecimomannu in Southwest Sardinia has the largest NATO air base in the world, used since 1954 as collaboration between Italy, Germany, Canada, the United States and NATO. From here they support transport aircraft of the Military Airlift Command from the United States to the Middle East and Africa.  A total of 4 F-18s, along with a single Boeing 707 refueling aircraft was deployed to Decimomannu Air Base on the island of Sardinia for operations over Libya.

The military base of Decimomannu has been contaminating the environment with jet fuel and other poisons. Jet fuel contains xylene, benzene and lead, highly dangerous and carcinogenic substances.  Mayor Louis Porceddu in February 2011 prohibited the use of the local wells.  The authorities deny responsibility and expertise. An alleged reclamation has already cost 900,000 Euros, although no problem has been solved.  Monica Pisano of the Decimomannu Civic Committee “Su Sentidu” said, “It is absolutely ineffective, since it is useless to reclaim the territory if the spill continues!”

La Maddalena / Santo Stefano islandsLa Maddalena is an archipelago located 2 km Northeast of Sardinia.  The population of 17,000 swells to 75,000 during the summer, when the tourists come to enjoy the campgrounds, beautiful beaches and lovely hiking trails.

From 1972 to 2008 a U.S. / NATO base on Santo Stefano Island served as the home port for nuclear submarines.  In 2003 the nuclear powered submarine U.S.S. Hartford struck a rock and damaged its rudders, sonar and electronics. However, residents suspect that even greater damage was done.

Massimo Zucchetti, Professor at the Department of Energy at the Torino Polytechnic and his team analyzed algae in the archipelago.  The presence of radioactive alpha particles and plutonium traces were found, sometimes in high concentrations.  This contamination is due to either a continuous loss of pollutant from the submarine base, or to environmental releases that took place during the USS Hartford accident.On January 20, 2004, the “schwäbische Zeitung”newspaper reported that there was an alarming high amount of radioactivity in the waternear La Maddalena Island.

Cause of CancersDr. Antonietta Gatti, Experimental Physicist at the University of Bologna, found nano-particles of iron, lead, tungsten, and copper in the tissues of citizens and sheep. She said, “Rain leads to the contamination of the soil. Through air pollution, other areas that are not involved in the testing are contaminated as well… The sea is polluted. Local governments do not warn people when there are testing activities; they do testing even at night.”

Fernando Codenesu, Professor at the Department of Energy at the Torino Polytechnic, explained that Sardinia has rocks that are very fragile and contain heavy metals.  An explosion breaks the rocks into micro and nano-particles containing these heavy metals.  These in turn are blown in the wind, contaminate the groundwater; people and animals breathe them into their bodies.

Health Effects of Depleted Uranium and ThoriumWhat are effects of depleted uranium and thorium - elements that emit alpha particles on the body?

Dr. Rizzini said, “One micro-gram, that is, one millionth of a gram is sufficient to kill a person.   It causes a rise in atomic disintegrations; with a production of 2000 alpha rays a day, nuclear radiation is most damaging.”

The organizations International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons and Mother Earth have good information about depleted uranium.

Demands of the people

·       Transparency and truth – reveal what chemicals and metals have been used.
·       Close all of the bases and radar facilities – completely de-militarize the island.
·       Clean and decontaminate the bases and land, aquifers and sea around them.
·       Provide health care to all people affected by military activity on the island
·       Provide financial assistance and clean land and sea to farmers and fishers

Political Action

Cagliari – Monthly Rally with Cancer Victims and their Families There is a monthly rally against the bases on the 15th of each month in Cagliari.  It is organized by victims of cancer and their families and those opposed to military use of Sardinia.

Committee of Parents of Fallen Soldiers in Times of PeaceParents of deceased children (who had done their military service in Sardinia and in the Balkans) founded the organization “Comitato Genitori Vittime uranio impoverito” (Committee of Parents of Fallen soldiers in times of peace).  Giancarlo Piras (father of Francesco) says,   “Here in Sardinia, we are confronted with war victims but in a peaceful area. We like to call this area the zone for preparing new wars”.  He points out that existing law is that the government needs to know what kind of weapons/materials have been tested in the bases. The reality is that none of the armies give information about the tests and hide under the umbrella of ‘military secrecy’. 

Protests Prevent New Radar InstallationsThere are about 15 radar stations on the island, on the top of the mountains surrounding the bases.   Many fear that the electromagnetic radiation emitted by them is dangerous and want their use stopped.

People are now demonstrating against construction of several more radar sites.  Local officials and the Italian Party Partito Democratico have now spoken against some of the proposed radar sites as well.    As a result, plans for four of them have been abandoned.

Fishermen Bring Naval Exercises to a HaltSince the 1990s fishermen have been pushed out of their profession by NATO naval exercises and have become activists for their right to use the sea.  There were acts of civil disobedience at the port, the base entrances, and at sea.  Stubbornly, daily, when the wind allowed it, the fishermen challenged the restrictions and the bombs, directing up to 42 boats into the heart of the war game area and threw their fishing nets in a prohibited sea saturated by war ships.    Fortunately, it only takes one civilian boat to stop a naval exercise.

Their demands are simple: the right to safe work, to have the stolen sea back, and to have a clean sea and environment.

2005 was the last year of protest.  The fishermen are now paid to stay out of the water and many have abandoned their profession.

Italian Democratic Party (Partito Democratico) calls for closure or conversion of basesIn an encouraging new development in March 2012, Senator Gian Piero Scanu called for closing the bases in Capo Frasca and Capo Teulada, and for changing the Quirra base back to its previous designation as a technical-scientific research center.  This letter was signed by over 100 Senators of many political parties.

Media coverageThe Sardinian newspapers have published articles about the deformities and high rates of cancer, so everyone on the island is aware of this problem.  L’Union Sardo has been particularly good about publishing articles regarding the cancer, birth defects, contamination, and military use of Sardinia.

What can you do?

·       Spread the word about Sardinia.  More information is available here where the original 7500-word research document is stored. Also here as a PDF.
·       Contact your congressional representatives and demand the closure of the Sardinia NATO bases.
·       Carry signs or flyers at demonstrations demanding that NATO stop bombing Sardinia.
·       Contact Helen Jaccard at Helen.Jaccard@gmail.com to discuss ideas.

Remembering Falcone

Twenty years ago a great man was killed, together with his wife and bodyguards, because he was trying to change Italy for the better. Let's not forget Giovanni Falcone.

Rossella Urru

Rossella Urru, a 29 years old Italian volunteer, was kidnapped by a commando on the night between 22 and 23 October in Southeast Algeria. In those lands devastated by war and misery, Rossella took care of food supplies for the Sahrawi refugee camp overflowing with Rabuni's women and children.

We don't have many news about Rossella, and unfortunately she's not big news either.

http://www.rossellaurru.it/