Joan Bakewell wrote of Richard Holloway, the former Anglican Archbishop of Edinburgh, in the New Statesman, that “[he] has always been a radical living in the real world, ready to come to terms with its hectic demands and constraints”. The Anglican Archbishop of South East Asia, Moses Tay, described his 1999 book Godless Morality as […]
Since Fallujah – the hidden massacre [Fallujah – la strage nascosta] was broadcast by RAI News 24, part of the Italian State Broadcaster, in early November of this year much has come to light about the second battle for Fallujah (initially named Operation Phantom Fury, later changed to Operation al-Fajr). In particular, after various denials […]
Patient V.Z., a 66 year old housewife suffered a stroke which compromised her ability to recognise and name people, animals, and objects, Internazionale reported, quoting a study from Cortex magazine. The woman was able to recognise the face of the Pope (John Paul II), but couldn’t work out who he was. When shown a photo […]
Translation is never easy. There are so many words and expressions in any given language that reflect something peculiar to its culture, that finding an equivalent in a different tongue becomes nigh on impossibile. Sometimes, though, one finds an expression whose sense is obvious, but which must be modified for local norms. Translating an article […]
Last week, armed terrorists have shot and killed the vice president of the Calabrian regional authority, Francesco Fortuno while he voted in the left-wing primary elections (16/10/05). Strangely, you might think, terror obsessed prime minister Silvio Berlusconi remained conspicuously absent from the list of politicians expressing condolences and solidarity with Fortugno’s widow. The terrorists in […]
Imagine, if you will, a variety show with a hefty dose of political and social commentary, satire and rock bands, all hosted by an ageing singer/actor who is as close to being a national institution as one gets, unless you happen to be Sophia Loren or the Pope. Hardly innovative programming, but yet the new […]
Poles accepted Harold Pinter’s Nobel prize with good grace, despite the high hopes they had for local boy Ryszard Kapuściński. Old interviews with Pinter and newer ones with his translator were run in the papers and parallels were drawn between him and another local boy, playwright Sławomir Mrożek. Both men have lent their names to […]
The Days of Abandonment, or I giorni dell’abbandono, while being the title of a captivating, strange and disconcerting novel by Elena Ferrante (soon to be reviewed in Three Moneys Online), is also an apt description for The View from Bologna of late. It’s not that things have been uneventful in this part of the world. […]
In August of 1990, Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti confirmed that a secret army, called Gladio, had existed in Italy throughout the Cold War period. His revelations were shocking, not simply because they admitted to something that had long been denied (including by Andreotti himself when speaking to a judicial enquiry in 1974 in his […]
Many happy returns to Silvio Berlusconi, celebrating his birthday. Well wishers (or spin-doctors?) on the Forza Italia official site posted gloriously over the top messages of congratulation: “Don’t give up President, you’re the only idol left in this disgusting world. Save us from Prodi and Bertinotti [left-wing opponents] – Many Happy Returns!”. Such devotion (let’s […]
