Monthly Archives: May 2007

Moral relativism

Posted on May 16, 2007 by Charles Lambert

The Secretary of the CEI (Italian Bishops’ Council) has just announced — from a pulpit, no less — that abortion, euthanasia and moral relativism are the enemies of Christianity. He went on to explain that what he actually means by … Continue reading →

Posted in church, homophobia, marriage, moral relativism | 3 Comments

Thoughts on Family Day

Posted on May 15, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Last Saturday, over a million people (I’m quoting the organisers’ possibly over-generous estimate) gathered in Piazza San Giovanni, Rome, to assist the Vatican hierarchy in its dirty war against civil union legislation and, indirectly, the centre-left government. On the same … Continue reading →

Posted in church, civil union, family day, human rights, ratzinger, vatican | 1 Comment

A strange few days

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Charles Lambert

A strange few days, with the kind of strangeness that might have the germ of a story, though it’s too soon to tell. It started on Wednesday morning. I was going to Rome to teach for four hours. This involves … Continue reading →

Posted in pets | 1 Comment

Family Day: countdown

Posted on May 9, 2007 by Charles Lambert

A few years ago, holier-than-thou British programmes like Eurotrash revelled in the excesses of Italian television. Remember the strip-tease housewives? The super-camp fortune tellers? The surgically enhanced tits and bums of showgirls and B-list actresses newsreaders and members of parliament? … Continue reading →

Posted in church, civil union, DICO, homophobia, language | 1 Comment

High art and low jinks

Posted on May 7, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Just a few words about the Beckmann opening last Thursday at the Casa di Goethe. To be honest, I barely saw the opening itself, merely its buffet and bar in the rather lovely courtyard within the palazzo,complete with luxuriant large-leafed … Continue reading →

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Multitasking ad infinitum

Posted on May 7, 2007 by Charles Lambert

As though he didn’t have enough on his hands…(Spotted by Jane on Ridley Road. Nice one, Jane.)

Posted in religion, trouvé | Leave a comment

The Crack: comments

Posted on May 5, 2007 by Charles Lambert

One of the best things about posting a story on East of the Web is that readers can leave their comments. Appreciative ones are delightful, reasoned criticism is welcome (though not always enjoyed), unreasoned criticism (as in ‘this story sucks’) … Continue reading →

Posted in writing | 3 Comments

Consistency

Posted on May 4, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Remember when Dick Cheney and Henry Kissinger wanted Iran to have its own nuclear power stations? So what’s changed? Oh right. That’s a picture of the Shah! (The poster was issued by Boston Edison in the 1970s. I found it … Continue reading →

Posted in politics, war | 2 Comments

Happy 50th birthday…

Posted on May 4, 2007 by Charles Lambert

…to Helvetica, one of the loveliest typefaces ever invented. I wanted to use it for this post but, alas, it’s not available. So I’ll use Arial instead, as it’s pretty much the same. (I still think Trebuchet looks better on … Continue reading →

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Terrorism? For the love of God…

Posted on May 3, 2007 by Charles Lambert

The boundaries of what constitutes terrorism are daily being redefined in Italy. I’ve already spoken below about the way in which rough-and-ready political comment is considered a threat if the person to whom it’s addressed wears a long black frock … Continue reading →

Posted in church, human rights, ratzinger | Leave a comment