Berlusconi’s Back. Europe Shrugs.

Billionaire octagenarian, former football team owner, Bunga-Bunga Party host, one-time cruise ship crooner and disgraced 3-time former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, forced out of the Italian Senate over his 2013 tax-fraud conviction, has started serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Madonna Mia!

More:

“Forget the tax fraud and sex scandals. Italy’s Berlusconi is back.” Kevin Sullivan, Washington Post

_____________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-tl4

Image (“Pasha Berlusconi and His Harem, after François Gabriel Lepaulle”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

The Sacrifices of Donald Trump

More:

“Khizr Khan responds to the latest from Trump: ‘Typical of a person without a soul,” Stephanie McCrummen, Washington Post

“Trump criticized my silence. He knows nothing about true sacrifice.” Ghazala Khan, Washington Post

“The world saw a grieving mother. Donald Trump saw a Muslim.”
Amana Fontanella-Khan, The Guardian

“Trump Faces Withering Bipartisan Backlash For Attacking Khan Family,” Lisa Lerer and Jonathan Lemire, TPM

“Backlash Grows Over Trump’s Comments on Dead Muslim Soldier’s Parents,” Ben Brody, Bloomberg

“Donald Trump’s Confrontation With Muslim Soldier’s Parents Emerges as Unexpected Flash Point,” Alexander Burns, Maggie Haberman and Ashley Parker, New York Times

“‘Have You No Sense of Decency, Mr. Trump?’” Zachary Karabell, Politico

“The Khan fight highlights a huge GOP problem: No one knows how low Trump can go,” Greg Sargent, Washington Post

Related:

“After Khan speech, pocket Constitution becomes best-seller,” Corinne Segal and Daniel Moritz-Rabson, PBS Newshour

_____________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-ohP

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Silvio Berlusconi Returns to Private Life

The Italian Senate expelled billionaire septuagenarian, football team owner, Bunga-Bunga Party host, one-time cruise ship crooner and disgraced 3-time former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from membership last week so he could spend more time with his attorneys and under-aged females. The proximate cause: Mr. Berlusconi’s recent tax fraud conviction. For the first time in two decades, the Italian Government is Berlusconi-free.

Private Citizen Berlusconi has problems. There are new charges that he and his lawyers paid off trial witnesses to his notorious “bunga bunga” sex parties. The 77-year- old’s 28-year-old showgirl girlfriend has appealed to that great champion of morally challenged billionaires, Pope Francis, to clear Silvio’s name.

Update:

“Berlusconi, The Perils of Not Knowing When to Say Goodbye,” Marcello Sorgi, La Stampa via Worldcrunch

_____________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-hTW

Image (“Berlusconi Seraglio, after Fernand Cormon”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Pope Francis Attacks ‘Idolatry of Money’

“Pope Francis called for renewal of the Roman Catholic Church and attacked unfettered capitalism as ‘a new tyranny’, urging global leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality in the first major work he has authored alone as pontiff.

The 84-page document, known as an apostolic exhortation, amounted to an official platform for his papacy, building on views he has aired in sermons and remarks since he became the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years in March.

In it, Francis went further than previous comments criticizing the global economic system, attacking the ‘idolatry of money’ and beseeching politicians to guarantee all citizens ‘dignified work, education and healthcare’.

He also called on rich people to share their wealth. ‘Just as the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say “thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills,’ Francis wrote in the document issued on Tuesday.”

— “Pope Francis ‘Evangelii Gaudium’ Calls For Renewal Of Roman Catholic Church, Attacks ‘Idolatry Of Money.'” Naomi O’Leary, Reuters via Huffington Post [link added]

Organic Foodies: Naturally Selfish?

“Does organic food turn people into jerks?” asks Diane Mapes at MSNBC. “Study Suggests that Eating Organic Foods Contributes to Moral Depravity,” elaborates Doug Barry at Jezebel.

The study in question:

“Wholesome Foods and Wholesome Morals? Organic Foods Reduce Prosocial Behavior and Harshen Moral Judgments,” Kendall J. Eskine, Social Psychological and Personality Science (abstract)

The moral? “Stop organics, become a better person,” says Tom Jacobs at Pacific Standard.

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-dbL

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine