Category Archives: italy

Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me

Posted on February 6, 2009 by Charles Lambert

I started writing this post over a week ago. This is what I said. Italy took one more large step towards an effectively fascist regime the day before yesterday with the approval by the senate of a bundle of legislative … Continue reading →

Posted in englaro, fascism, italy, racism | Leave a comment

Boys will be boys

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Charles Lambert

If you look in an English-Italian dictionary for a translation of the word ragazzo, you’ll find ‘boy’, followed by ‘boyfriend’, ‘young man’. Italians of all ages frequently use the word to address a group of friends, the irony more evident … Continue reading →

Posted in berlusconi, italy, journalism | Leave a comment

Money

Posted on December 6, 2008 by Charles Lambert

Well, it’s good to be reminded once again who really runs Italy. When it emerged that the Treasury was planning to reduce the amount of funding provided by the Italian state to catholic schools, it took no more than a … Continue reading →

Posted in education, italy, money, ratzinger, vatican | Leave a comment

Ditching the bitch

Posted on November 3, 2008 by Charles Lambert

This time PD senator Paola “Mrs Doubtfire” Binetti (see two posts down) really does seem to have gone too far. Following her comment that homosexuals couldn’t control their paedophilic instincts and were therefore disqualified from becoming priests, members of her … Continue reading →

Posted in binetti, homophobia, italy, politics, vatican | 4 Comments

An expert speaks

Posted on November 1, 2008 by Charles Lambert

I’ve had occasion in the past to talk about Paola Binetti, Democratic Party (PD) senator here in Italy, and the prime mover in blocking civil union legislation during Prodi’s ill-fated government. Well, after a period of relative silence, during which … Continue reading →

Posted in binetti, homophobia, italy, politics, vatican | 2 Comments

Forces of order

Posted on October 30, 2008 by Charles Lambert

If you’re wondering what this Cossiga petition business is about (see widget and earlier post), let me fill you in with a few details. Cossiga is an ex-president of Italy who served within the government as home secretary during the … Continue reading →

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Breaking wind: Cossiga talks through arsehole

Posted on October 29, 2008 by Charles Lambert

APPELLO AL PRESIDENTE NAPOLITANO PER FARE CHIAREZZA SULLE RECENTI DICHIARAZIONI DEL SEN. COSSIGA  I’ll give you some more information about this when I get a chance later today, but if you speak Italian and/or live in Italy, and already know … Continue reading →

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Tengo famiglia (2)

Posted on October 3, 2008 by Charles Lambert

I had occasion to write about nepotism in Rome’s first and largest university, La Sapienza, almost a year ago, when investigations were being conducted into the university’s dean, Renato Guarini, and some confusion about a nine-million-euro tender for an underground … Continue reading →

Posted in corruption, italy, nepotism, rome, university | Leave a comment

Gagging order

Posted on September 29, 2008 by Charles Lambert

If you’d like to know more about the absurd case of satirist Sabina Guzzanti being prosecuted for “contempt of the pope” and, more generally, the state of freedom of speech in an increasingly myopic Italy, there’s a very useful article … Continue reading →

Posted in freedom of speech, italy, ratzinger, sabina guzzanti | Leave a comment

Evidence

Posted on September 13, 2008 by Charles Lambert

A couple of nights ago, while reporting in its usual brown-nosing way on Ratzinger’s visit to France, Italy’s TG2, the state-run evening news programme, talked about the ‘appearance’ of the Madonna at Lourdes. Except that, the way it was said, … Continue reading →

Posted in italy, journalism, pope, religion, revealed truth | Leave a comment