Author Archives: Charles Lambert

Mud, to be worn with pride

Last Friday, Dino Boffo, the editor of the Catholic newspaper, Avvenire, decided to resign after having been attacked and accused of hypocrisy by one of Berlusconi’s house rags (Il Giornale, owned by his brother). The Vatican accused Il Giornale of … Continue reading

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Balconies

One of the best things about power is that the rest of us can watch people fall from it. Ceausescu, for example. Who can forget the two-bit tyrant’s face as the crowd beneath his balcony told him, in worm-turning chorus, … Continue reading

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Ignorance

You can buy this fridge magnet from Mormons Exposed. And that’s not all. They also do a great calendar. You must have wondered what those Mormon boys look like with those cute little suits stripped off them. Well, here’s your … Continue reading

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Go to jail. Or not.

As a sop to the thirsty for blood electorate of the Northern League, who seem to regard anyone born south of Florence as, in the words of their noble leader Umberto Bossi, bingo bongo, the Italian government recently voted in … Continue reading

Posted in berlusconi, italy, politics, racism | 3 Comments

Favourite things

One of my favourite artists (and, I admit it, a very good friend) Paola Casalino will be showing some of her work at Taunton Public Library, Taunton, Somerset, from the 1st to the 12th of September. The show’s entitled My … Continue reading

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Shut yo’ mouth, Part Two

Silvio Berlusconi has just taken the extraordinary step of suing Repubblica on the grounds that the ten questions the newspaper has been asking him (click to embiggen above or see here) since the Papi-and-Noemi shit hit the fan last February … Continue reading

Posted in berlusconi, freedom of speech, politics, vatican | 4 Comments

Shut yo’ mouth

Earlier this year Freedom House placed Italy 73rd in its liberty of the press league table, classifying the country as ‘partly free’, a status it shares with Turkey, Burkina Faso and Haiti. This is hardly surprising, given that 80% of … Continue reading

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Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover

A fascinating interview with a great cover designer, and more, on Caustic Cover Critic, one of my favourite blogs: informative, thorughly well-researched and frequently side-splittingly funny. In this case, it’s the former. The artist’s name’s Roxanna Bikadoroff and this wonderful … Continue reading

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Oh my Lord!

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Thinking about death and contrast in Waltham

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