Newsweek, last week, carried a quite astonishing piece on Silvio Berlusconi’s first 100 days in office. The glowing tribute stopped short of suggesting that Trenitalia now runs on time, but only just (coincidentally, despite the fact that it was a major election issue, Alitalia crops up nowhere in the piece). Astonishing because it may well […]
It’s the elephant in the corner really, isn’t it? Last week’s announcement of the Booker prize longlist has been one of the main talking points for literary minded souls, and not just in the Commonwealth and Ireland. Delays in the launch of this blog meant that it was hardly worthwhile posting on the longlist – […]
IFC.com publishes a list of titles of recent books that, according to list compiler Maud Newton, would make great movies. Amongst the interesting choices* is The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas – a book which I feel inclined to agree would make a good film, but not, perhaps, for the same reasons. Newton correctly laments what […]
Glamourising torture didn’t start with Fox TV’s 24. It’s an international, or at least anglo-saxon sport with a proud pedigree. “What I cannot understand is why, in America, the last middle-class country, you still cannot beat this loss of faith in the individual. I’ve had this argument out. I was reviewing for a London newspaper, and […]
Maurizio Gasparri, former communications minister and currently senate leader for the Pdl party, didn’t mince his words – for once. Referring to the high-profile decision by German Athlete, Imke Duplitzer, to boycott the opening ceremony – though not the games themselves – Gasparri said today: “The gesturee of the German athlete Imke Duplitzer, who has […]
In 1985, while Pakistani dictator General Zia-ul-Haq was still in power, the BBC drama department commissioned dramatist Tariq Ali to write a three part drama on the circumstances behind Zia’s coup in 1977. The resulting three part series, The Leopard and the Fox dramatised the conflict between elected prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Zia […]
The American official responded tersely to his interviewer regarding opposition to the ‘star wars’ missile defence scheme in the Czech Republic: “Democracy isn’t about popular decisions. That’s why we have elected officials, who take decisions on complicated matters that may be unpopular”. This week, in an extraordinary lesson on Democracy – one best delivered to […]
A welcome on board to Three Monkeys’ newest blogger – Brendan Coffey – whose Between Boston and Berlin blog is now online. One of Coffey’s first pieces is a thumbs up for the new Christopher Nolan Batman Film – The Dark Knight. The film, though, has a radically different context here in Italy, under the […]
Berlusconi has repeatedly stated his aim to ‘modernise’ Italian democracy, bringing it closer to the American presidential system. In the best tradition of recent American politics then, it was almost inevitable that oral sex would make an appearance.
The Asinelli and Garisenda towers (Torre degli Asinelli & Torre delle Garisenda), marking the heart of medieval Bologna, are just two of a number of towers remaining from the middle ages dotted around the city. They’re certianly the most impressive – standing at in Piazza Ravegnana, at the intersection of the roads that lead to […]
