Cold Fusion in Italy

Italian physicist and inventor Andrea Rossi has conducted a public demonstration of his "cold fusion" machine, the E-Cat, at the University of Bologna, showing that a small amount of input energy drives an unexplained reaction between atoms of hydrogen and nickel that leads to a large outpouring of energy, more than 10 times what was put in.
The first seemingly successful cold fusion experiment was reported two decades ago, but the process has forever been met with heavy skepticism. It's a seemingly impossible process in which two types of atoms, typically a light element and a heavier metal, seem to fuse together, releasing pure heat that can be converted into electricity. The process is an attractive energy solution for two reasons: Unlike in nuclear fission, the reaction doesn't give off dangerous radiation. Unlike the fusion processes that take place in the sun, cold fusion doesn't require extremely high temperatures.

But the experimentalists who have seemingly demonstrated cold fusion over the years have been unable to explain the underlying mechanism that drives the miraculous reaction they claim to observe, and so the scientific community has largely turned its back on this line of research...

Italian cold fusion machine passes another test
Natalie Wolchover
11/3/2011
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45153076/ns/technology_and_science-science

10 Lost Cities Of The World

These ancient wonders are well worth a visit, even in troubled times.
Morgan Brennan
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-39274939

1. Petra, Jordan
Country: Jordan
Civilization: the Nabataeans
Inhabited: sixth century B.C.
This rose-colored city carved from cliffs garnered fame in the West thanks to the 1980s blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

2. Chichen Itza, Mexico
Country: Mexico
Civilization: the Mayans
Inhabited: 600 to 1000 A.D.
Site of one of Mesoamerica's largest ball courts, this royal city is located near a massive underground cenote, or sinkhole, where the bodies of human sacrifices were dropped.

3. Derinkuyu Underground City, Turkey
Country: Turkey
Civilization: possibly the Phrygians
Inhabited: Approximately eighth century B.C.to 10th century A.D.
This underground network has more than 10 floors and room for up to 50,000 people, plus livestock. It is rumored to have been a hideout for early Christians escaping Roman persecution.

4. Machu Picchu, Peru
Country: Peru
Civilization: the Incas
Inhabited: 15th and 16th centuries A.D.
Conquistadors carrying small pox wiped out the inhabitants of this royal mountaintop fortress, but the Lost City of the Incas was never actually discovered by the Spanish--in fact, it wasn't discovered until 1911.

5. Angkor, Cambodia
Country: Cambodia
Civilization: the Khmer Empire
Inhabited: ninth century to 15th century A.D.
More than a thousand temples, including Angkor Wat, populate this long-time Khmer capital. It declined after a successful attack by invaders from what is now Thailand.

6. Pre-Roman Carthage, Tunisia
Country: Tunisia
Civilization: the Phoenicians
Inhabited: 650 to 146 B.C.
Carthage was home to the Roman Empire's arch-nemesis, Hannibal. It was burned and the earth salted during the final Punic War.

7. Pompeii, Italy
Country: Italy
Civilization: the Roman Empire
Inhabited: seventh/sixth century B.C. to 79 A.D.
Pompeii was a cultural center and vacation destination for Roman high society until it was destroyed in 79 A.D. by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Left behind are naturally ash-encased mummies.

8. Memphis, Egypt
Country: Egypt
Civilization: the Ancient Egyptians
Inhabited: third millennium B.C. to seventh century A.D.
Located at the mouth of the Nile delta, Memphis thrived for centures as a center of trade, commerce, religion and royalty. Foreign invasions, including one by Alexander the Great, let to its demise.

9. Teotihuacan, Mexico
Country: Mexico
Civilization: possibly the Totonac people
Inhabited: 100 B.C. to 250 A.D.
This city, the founders of which remain a mystery, is home to some of the largest pyramids in pre-Columbian America. It inspired several major empires, those of the Zapotec and Mayans.

10. Mosque City of Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Country: Bangladesh
Civilization: Khan Jahan Ali
Inhabited: 15th century A.D.
The city formerly known as Khalifatabad was founded by a Turkish general. It boasts more than 50 Islamic monuments and the Sixty Pillar Mosque, constructed with 60 pillars and 80 domes.

Aflockalypse Now

Probably the strangest story of the new year is the pattern of mass deaths around the world of birds, fish and other creatures. It is so perplexing, CNN's Anderson Cooper brought on his show noted scientist Kirk Cameron to answer questions about this wacky fad. The cases are so bizarre, Gawker.com has as a headline for it's report on the subject: "Is This the End of the World?"

Here are some of the examples:

"Up to 5,000 birds fell from the sky New Year's Eve in Beebe, Arkansas"

"500 birds found dead in southern Louisiana in seemingly separate incident"

Falling birds likely died from massive trauma
January 4, 2011
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/01/03/arkansas.falling.birds/index.html

"As officials worked to figure out the cause of death of some 5,000 blackbirds that fell from the Arkansas sky this weekend, some 100 miles away another disaster was unfolding: The discovery of 100,000 dead drum fish in the Arkansas River..."

100,000 dead fish join thousands of dead birds in Arkansas
Monday, January 3rd, 2011
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/2000-dead-birds-fall-sky-arkansas

Hundreds More Dead Birds Fall From Sky In Kentucky
1/5/11
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/05/hundreds-more-dead-birds-_n_804952.html

Dead Birds Found In Sweden
1/5/11
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/05/dead-birds-sweden_n_804600.html

"Thousands of dead fish were floating in Volusia County Tuesday. They were all in Spruce Creek in Port Orange. The fish kill is unusual because it is warm, according to people who live along the creek.

It's been a week since there were freezing temperatures, but there are fish lining the banks. Some said it's the worst kill they've ever seen; thousands of fish lined the twists and turns of Spruce Creek."

Thousands Of Fish Dead In Spruce Creek
January 4, 2011
http://www.wftv.com/news/26367953/detail.html

"To add more to the mystery, a report came out today that around 1,500 endangered and protected ‘Sooty Shearwater’ (Puffinus griseus) birds have been found dead in the coast of Chile."

Arkansas & Chile: Dead Birds & Fish
Javier Ortega
January 4, 2011
http://www.ghosttheory.com/2011/01/04/arkansas-chile-dead-birds-fish

"Countless turtle doves were found scattered in the streets, in flower beds and hanging tragically from trees 'like Christmas balls' in the town of Faenza. Many of the birds that fell dead from the sky were discovered with a mysterious blue stain in their beaks."

Birds Dying In Italy: Thousands Of Turtle Doves Fall Dead From Sky
Travis Walter Donovan
1-6-11
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/06/birds-dying-in-italy-thou_n_805541.html

"The Thanet shoreline is littered with the crabs, along with dead starfish, lobsters, sponges and anemones."

40,000 crabs join slew of animal-death mysteries
Jenni Dunning
Jan 6, 2011
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/916503--40-000-crabs-join-slew-of-animal-death-mysteries


2 million fish found dead in Maryland
January 7, 2011
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/01/06/maryland.fish.kill

Major, Bizarre Fish Die-Off Along Lakefront
January 11, 2011
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/01/11/major-bizarre-fish-die-off-along-lakefront

The more popular explanations for these mass deaths on the Internet have been the testing of biological weapons and/or HAARP technologies. One Website, WhatDoesItMean.com, linked the mystery death of John P. Wheeler III, an aide to Reagan and both Bushes, to the mass animal deaths. While the mainstream media focused in its obits on his fundraising for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the site noted his "military career included writing one of the most important manuals on the effectiveness of biological and chemical weapons." Wheeler certainly fits the profile of an honest whistleblower, and this may explain why he was found dead in a Delaware landfill in a style more fitting of a Mafia squealer than a Washington insider.

Top US Official Murdered After Arkansas Weapons Test Causes Mass Death
Sorcha Faal
January 4, 2011
http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1435.htm

The inside scoop on making gelato

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-gelato-20100923,0,4080366.story

The inside scoop on making gelato
Italy's Carpigiani Gelato University teaches its students, who hail from all over the globe, how to craft the creamy dessert from simple, fresh ingredients in a few steps.
Sheri Jennings, Special to the Los Angeles Times
September 23, 2010

Reporting from Bologna, Italy -- — Leave it to Italy --- a country where food and tradition go hand in hand — to be home to the first university dedicated to the art of making gelato. In fact, the Carpigiani Gelato University, located outside Bologna, is doing its all to ensure that the future of ice cream's closest relative, gelato, will continue to be that of a fresh product made from all-natural ingredients for local consumption.

Carpigiani, which has sold gelato-making equipment since 1945, started teaching the classes in 2003. Its courses have attracted students from more than 100 countries, many of whom returned home to open their own Italian-style gelateria. Carpigiani graduates hail from the expected places such as Italy, the United Kingdom, France and the United States, but also the unexpected, such as Sudan, India, Iraq and Iran. Enrollment from Asia and South America is booming, while the Middle East —Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Dubai — provides a steady flow of pupils.

Classes are held at the sanitary-looking white Carpigiani headquarters along Via Emilia, an industrial byway constructed by the ancient Romans. One recent crop of students — 41 in all — resembled a United Nations conference. Japanese, Brazilian, Indian, German, American, Polish, Nigerian, Mexican, Belgian, Turkish and Tanzanian students were focused on the impassioned words of program developer Luciano Ferrari and gelato maker Alessandro Racca, who teach the art and science behind their trade.

The instructors start by explaining the difference between gelato and ice cream. Gelato has less fat than ice cream (3% to 9% to ice cream's 10% to 16%), contains less air (gelato has 35% to 40% air, ice cream as much as 90%) and is served at a higher temperature. As a consequence, "the intensity of the flavor of gelato hits your palate faster than the flavor intensity of ice cream," Ferrari says.

Racca simplifies: "Ice cream is very hard and not too creamy. Gelato is creamy and not hard."

Though most ice creams require hardening after freezing, gelato can be eaten when first squeezed out of the grate of the mantecatore — the freezing machine used for commercial gelato making.

"The best gelato is the one that comes directly out of the machine, so gelato is always eaten fresh," Racca says.

The finished product is visibly different from ice cream. "Gelato has a matte surface," Ferrari says. "You don't want it to be shiny, as this would reflect on an amount of water that still needs to be frozen. Overall it looks dry. … A good structure is one that holds the peak like a meringue. Texture-wise, it has got to look smooth, like a silk fabric."

Those who have traveled to Italy are familiar with the numerous gelaterie that tempt passersby with curvaceous mounds of multicolored gelati. Normally, gelato, which is chemical-free, is produced and replenished throughout the day. Since it is made with fresh ingredients, it can't really sit around in the freezer. To be at its best, gelato should be eaten at least within two days of being made.

Gelato "is a balance between water and other ingredients like sugars, fats, milk solids and fruit," Racca says. "The aim of Italian gelato is that it is low fat, low sugar and low calorie. It is possible to make strawberry gelato with only strawberries, sugar and water — no more."

In fact, such a gelato was created during the class. Though sherbet and sorbet can have a grainy texture and tart taste, the gelato alla fragola was so creamy you'd swear it contained milk — but it didn't, just as it didn't leave a sugary aftertaste on the tongue. Similarly, a milk-based strawberry gelato, or fior di fragola, had the same strawberry burst but an even creamier back flavor.

A balanced cream-based gelato begins with a base. The simplest is a white base, which essentially is made of sugar and cream. Cocoa or egg yolks can be added, depending on the recipe. Commercial gelatos usually use a stabilizer such as guar gum, which ensures that fats stick together in sub-zero temperatures. That's not necessary for homemade gelatos.

Another difference between homemade and commercial gelatos is the type of sugar added. At home, granulated sugar works just fine, but at the gelateria, they'll use a mixture of granulated sugar, dextrose and sucrose, a combination that gives less sweetness to the gelato and keeps it softer and easier to spread.

Once the base is mixed, it can be heated to 185 degrees, which Racca refers to as "pasteurization" — for sanitation and to improve the flavor. Then it is chilled in a standard refrigerator for three hours to two days. Racca refers to the time after pasteurization and before freezing as the "aging process," which serves to enhance flavor.

When enough time has passed, you simply combine the base with the flavor, such as strawberries, mix again with a blender and then freeze. For home preparation, Racca recommends keeping the freezing simple. Hand-whipping the mix in an aluminum bowl set over a mix of salt and ice produces satisfying results. Once the gelato starts to get creamy, you can put it in your freezer to finish it. Ideally, gelato should be kept at 5 degrees.

How do you know if you have a "good" gelato? You don't "chew" it. It's softer than ice cream, but not so soft that it melts. Ferrari calls it an in-between state.

Once you've mastered the gelato basics, you can get creative. Ferrari mentioned a cardamom-coffee mixture he tasted in India and a trout sorbet served in Japan (intended as a palate cleanser between courses).

Even in Italy, there are some unusual flavors. A client from the Piedmont region asked for a line of gelatos based on cheese. Among the possibilities, a blue-cheese-honey-caramelized-walnut gelato, which even Ferrara found bizarre. "But it was surprisingly good," he says.

food@latimes.com

Vatican bank chief investigated over money laundering claims

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/21/vatican-bank-chief-investigated-laundering

Vatican bank chief investigated over money laundering claims
In unprecedented move, judge freezes €23m held in account at financial institution with close church links
John Hooper in Rome
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 21 September 2010

The head of the Vatican bank has formally been placed under investigation in an inquiry into a suspected violation of Italy's money-laundering laws, judicial sources said today.

At the same time, a judge in Rome ordered a freeze on €23m (£19.5m) held in an account opened by the Vatican bank, the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), at another financial institution in the Italian capital. It was thought to be the first time such action had been authorised against the IOR in Italy.

Since last September, the Bank of Italy has classified the Vatican bank as a non-EU institution whose dealings with other banks are thus subject to especially close scrutiny.

The sources said that last Wednesday, on the eve of Pope Benedict's departure for Britain, a unit of the Italian revenue guard alerted prosecutors to an anomaly in an account owned by the IOR at the Rome branch of Credito Artigiano, which has close historic ties to the Catholic church.

Of the €28m deposited, €23m was destined for transfer to JP Morgan in Frankfurt and another €3m to another Italian bank. But in neither case, it is alleged, had the Vatican's bankers supplied details of the individual or corporation for whom they were acting, as required by a 2007 legislative decree.

The sources said the president of the IOR, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, and another senior executive were under investigation. It was not immediately clear whether there was any connection between this inquiry and another in which the Vatican bank has been named, which concerns suspect property dealings.

The Vatican has a long history of withholding co-operation from Italian investigators seeking access to its bank's books. The IOR was involved in a major scandal in 1982 arising from the fraudulent bankruptcy of Banco Ambrosiano, then Italy's largest private bank.

Italy vs. the Mafia: Beheading the 'Ndrangheta

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2003598,00.html

Italy vs. the Mafia: Beheading the 'Ndrangheta
By Stephan Faris / Rome
Tuesday, Jul. 13, 2010

The wiretap evidence included scenes straight out of The Godfather. After months of clandestine recording, Italian police launched a predawn raid Tuesday, July 13, snatching up more than 300 alleged members of the powerful 'Ndrangheta criminal organization, including top bosses, businessmen and corrupt civil servants. Among those netted was Domenico Oppedisano, an 80-year-old man with a field worker's tan. Investigators say evidence from wiretaps shows that he was confirmed as the syndicate's top boss during a 2008 wedding of the children of two of the organization's leaders.

In another cinematic moment caught on tape by Italian police, 22 men in suit jackets raise their glasses in a toast to the new leader of the region around Milan. The location: a center dedicated to the memory of two anti-Mafia judges assassinated in the 1990s. It was clearly meant as an insult to the dead. "This drove us even more," says Ilda Bocassini, a Milanese prosecutor and one of the heads of the investigation. "To keep going, keep moving towards the top."

The raids, which involved more than 3,000 law-enforcement agents, also seized millions of dollars in property. Described by Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni as a "blow to the heart" of the 'Ndrangheta, the arrests highlight the reach of one of the world's most powerful criminal organizations. Little-known outside of Italy, the criminal syndicate is considered the most dangerous in the country, teaming up with Colombian cocaine producers to control a large share of the European cocaine trade and its annual turnover of $55 billion, equivalent to roughly 3% of the Italian economy. According to the Interior Ministry, the charges against those arrested include arms and drug trafficking, murder, extortion, loan-sharking and criminal association.

Italian authorities say their investigation uncovered a change in the structure of the group, which has evolved from a collection of intermarried families to a top-down hierarchical organization in which power has been increasingly centralized even as its geographic reach and influence have spread. Oppedisano's capture, which was greeted with applause in the Italian Senate, took place in the group's traditional stronghold in Calabria, the region that makes up the toe of Italy's boot. But most of the arrests were carried out in the rich industrial area around Milan, where investigators say the group has concentrated most of its economic activity. Those apprehended included businessmen and employees in the government's health care system, including its head of operations for the city of Pavia. "The most worrying thing is their ability to infiltrate themselves in such a wide variety of settings," says Giuseppe Pignatone, a prosecutor from Reggio Calabria and one of the lead investigators.

The prosecutors point out that the case hinged on wiretaps, a hot political topic as Italy's Parliament considers putting strict limits on interceptions. Though the controversial law makes exceptions for cases involving terrorism and organized crime, prosecutors worry that its tougher standards of evidence and tight time limits could nonetheless make investigations of the kind that bore fruit on Tuesday harder to carry out. "The 'Ndrangheta almost only spreads through the growth of the natural family," says Francesco Forgione, the former head of Italy's antimafia commission, a fact that he says makes the group's tightly bound members difficult to flip. "You'd have to turn in your brother-in-law, your son, your nephew," he says. "It just wouldn't happen."

Italian scientist reproduces Shroud of Turin

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091005/sc_nm/us_italy_shroud

Italian scientist reproduces Shroud of Turin
By Philip Pullella
Mon Oct 5, 2009

ROME (Reuters) – An Italian scientist says he has reproduced the Shroud of Turin, a feat that he says proves definitively that the linen some Christians revere as Jesus Christ's burial cloth is a medieval fake.

The shroud, measuring 14 feet, 4 inches by 3 feet, 7 inches bears the image, eerily reversed like a photographic negative, of a crucified man some believers say is Christ.

"We have shown that is possible to reproduce something which has the same characteristics as the Shroud," Luigi Garlaschelli, who is due to illustrate the results at a conference on the para-normal this weekend in northern Italy, said on Monday.

A professor of organic chemistry at the University of Pavia, Garlaschelli made available to Reuters the paper he will deliver and the accompanying comparative photographs.

The Shroud of Turin shows the back and front of a bearded man with long hair, his arms crossed on his chest, while the entire cloth is marked by what appears to be rivulets of blood from wounds in the wrists, feet and side.

Carbon dating tests by laboratories in Oxford, Zurich and Tucson, Arizona in 1988 caused a sensation by dating it from between 1260 and 1390. Sceptics said it was a hoax, possibly made to attract the profitable medieval pilgrimage business.

But scientists have thus far been at a loss to explain how the image was left on the cloth.

Garlaschelli reproduced the full-sized shroud using materials and techniques that were available in the middle ages.

They placed a linen sheet flat over a volunteer and then rubbed it with a pigment containing traces of acid. A mask was used for the face.

PIGMENT, BLOODSTAINS AND SCORCHES

The pigment was then artificially aged by heating the cloth in an oven and washing it, a process which removed it from the surface but left a fuzzy, half-tone image similar to that on the Shroud. He believes the pigment on the original Shroud faded naturally over the centuries.

They then added blood stains, burn holes, scorches and water stains to achieve the final effect.

The Catholic Church does not claim the Shroud is authentic nor that it is a matter of faith, but says it should be a powerful reminder of Christ's passion.

One of Christianity's most disputed relics, it is locked away at Turin Cathedral in Italy and rarely exhibited. It was last on display in 2000 and is due to be shown again next year.

Garlaschelli expects people to contest his findings.

"If they don't want to believe carbon dating done by some of the world's best laboratories they certainly won't believe me," he said.

The accuracy of the 1988 tests was challenged by some hard-core believers who said restorations of the Shroud in past centuries had contaminated the results.

The history of the Shroud is long and controversial.

After surfacing in the Middle East and France, it was brought by Italy's former royal family, the Savoys, to their seat in Turin in 1578. In 1983 ex-King Umberto II bequeathed it to the late Pope John Paul.

The Shroud narrowly escaped destruction in 1997 when a fire ravaged the Guarini Chapel of the Turin cathedral where it is held. The cloth was saved by a fireman who risked his life.

Garlaschelli received funding for his work by an Italian association of atheists and agnostics but said it had no effect on his results.

"Money has no odor," he said. "This was done scientifically. If the Church wants to fund me in the future, here I am."

The world's happiest cities

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/tastefulliving/the-worlds-happiest-cities-508202/

The world's happiest cities
by Forbes.com
Wed Sep 2, 2009

Ever since Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared in the 1933 film Flying Down to Rio, the world has been fascinated with Rio de Janeiro. Popular perception of the city is infused with images of starry-eyed youngsters dancing into the dusk, backed by imposing mountains and dark sea.

That view has propelled Rio to the top of our list of the world's happiest cities. Famous for its annual Carnaval festival (starting Feb. 13 next year), the second-largest metropolis in South America finished first among 50 cities in a recent survey conducted by Simon Anholt, an author and policy adviser.

"Brazil is associated with all these qualities of good humor and good living and Carnaval," says Anholt. "Carnaval is very important--it's the classic image that people have of Rio, and it's an image of happiness."

Next on the list is the top city from Down Under: Sydney, Australia. Known for balmy weather, friendly locals and an iconic opera house, Sydney fared well in Anholt's survey because of its association with a popular brand--Australia.

"It's where everybody would like to go," he says. "Everybody thinks they know Australia because they've seen Crocodile Dundee. There's this image of this nation of people who basically sit around having barbecues."

Rounding out the top five are third-ranked Barcelona, Spain, which Anholt calls "the classic Mediterranean city"; fourth-ranked Amsterdam, Netherlands, because Anholt's young respondents "know you can smoke dope in the bars"; and Melbourne, Australia, which makes the list simply because it's in Australia.

"People know it's in Australia, and that it's full of Australians," says Anholt. "Therefore, it must be fun."

Behind the Numbers

The data Anholt provided for our list is part of his Nation Brands Index, which he developed in 2005. The latest incarnation, the 2009 Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index, was released in June. The data was compiled from online interviews with 10,000 respondents in 20 countries.

Happiness is difficult to quantify, and Anholt acknowledges that his data is less an indicator of where local populations are happiest than a reflection of respondents' thinking about where they could imagine themselves happy.

"This is a survey of perception, not a survey of reality," he says. "People write me all the time and say 'that's not true.' It probably isn't true, but it's what people think. The gap between perception and reality is what interests city governments."

The French historian Fernand Braudel wrote that "Happiness, whether in business or private life, leaves very little trace in history." But a perception of happiness leaves a strong trace on the balance sheets of cities that depend on conventions, tourism and an influx of talent.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Anholt notes that the results of his survey reflect the longstanding reputation of Mediterranean and Latin American cities as non-stop party locales.

"It's pretty much the expected bunch," says Anholt. "Though I'm a little surprised about Spain outdoing Italy. It's interesting that the Spanish are perceived as being happier than the Italians--I find the Spanish rather gloomy."

Still, Barcelona--Spain's highest-ranked city--has plenty of supporters.

"The beauty of the city and its environs, along with affordable housing and business opportunities, is the fantastic lifestyle," says Michelle Finkelstein, a vice president at travel agency Our Personal Guest. "There's not the stress of getting a child into the best preschool--the public ones are good and close by. And they have the top soccer team and some of the best weather in Europe."

Other places in the world that lack the metropolitan flair of the cities on this list are often identified with the notion of happiness. "Anyone lucky enough to visit the magical Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan would know that there is no competition: There can be no happier place," says Patricia Schultz, author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. "This small Buddhist nation of incredibly stunning beauty follows a unique guiding philosophy of GNH--Gross National Happiness. You can see it in their open faces--they smile from the heart. Barcelona has nothing on them."

Global rivalries notwithstanding, Anholt notes that his findings more or less support historical trends, with one notable exception.

"The cities on this list would probably be the same if I'd been running this survey in 1890, aside from Sydney and Melbourne," he says. "Australia is kind of a branding miracle."

Not bad for a former penal colony.

Top 5 World's Happiest Cities
1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2. Sydney, Australia
3. Barcelona, Spain
4. Amsterdam, Netherlands
5. Melbourne, Australia

Why Berlusconi is the World's Coolest Leader

The Konformist koverage kontinue's...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/5760120/Silvio-Berlusconi-picks-former-topless-model-Mara-Carfagna-as-G8-escort.html

Silvio Berlusconi picks former topless model Mara Carfagna as G8 escort
Faced with the thorny problem of having no "First Lady" to look after the G8 leaders' spouses on their three day trip to Italy, Silvio Berlusconi has come up with a solution in keeping with his reputation.
By Nick Squires in Rome
06 Jul 2009

The Italian prime minister has asked a former topless model turned government minister to stand in for his estranged wife.

The 72-year-old premier has chosen Mara Carfagna – now Italy's equal opportunities minister – to take care of the likes of Michelle Obama and Sarah Brown.

Miss Carfagna, 33, is an ex-glamour girl whose sultry looks and portfolio of lingerie calendars earned her the title of the world's sexiest government minister from men's magazine Maxim.

The one-time Miss Italy contestant will be supported in the role by another attractive young member of the cabinet, education minister Maria Stella Gelmini.

Mr Berlusconi is said to have chosen Miss Carfagna and Miss Gelmini to reward them for being "staunch champions" as he has battled allegations that he slept with a high-class call-girl at his mansion in Rome last November. Together they will guide the G8 wives around Rome and the mountain town of L'Aquila 65 miles away, where the summit is being held from Wednesday to Friday.

But the appointment of the pair has reportedly sparked a "cold war" with two of Mr Berlusconi's other favourites, youth minister Giorgia Meloni and environment minister Stefania Prestigiacomo.

Miss Meloni has been forced to deny she felt snubbed, saying she had other G8 duties to attend to: "I can't see what all the fuss is about."

There had been intense speculation over how Mr Berlusconi would solve the problem of no longer having a First Lady of his own when it came to hosting the G8.

Veronica Lario, a former actress who first caught his eye when she appeared on stage topless, announced in early May that she wanted a divorce.

She condemned as "shameless rubbish" a plan by his People of Freedom party to promote showgirls and starlets as Italy's candidates in the European elections.

She also accused him of "frequenting minors" after he dropped in on a Naples disco to attend the 18th birthday party of Noemi Letizia, a blonde lingerie model, and gave her a gold and diamond necklace worth more than £5,000.

Mr Berlusconi's private life has become even more turbulent since then. He was accused of misusing government aircraft to fly guests to private parties at his luxury villa in Sardinia.

A Spanish newspaper also published photographs of women wearing only bikini thongs taking outdoor showers and lounging in the sun by the villa's swimming pools.

Then came the allegation that women were paid to attend his parties and that one of them, Patrizia D'Addario, 42, spent the night with him at his residence in Rome, Palazzo Grazioli.

The G8 spouses will tomorrow [wed] have an audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, and then be taken on a tour of the devastation caused by the massive earthquake which hit L'Aquila on April 6, killing nearly 300 people and leaving thousands homeless.

They will also visit museums in Rome and have a meeting with UN food agencies based in the capital on the role of women in fighting hunger.

The choice of chaperone is likely to quicken the pulse of the only man in the group, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's husband, Joachim Sauer.

Rumours have swirled around the nature of Mr Berlusconi's relationship with Miss Carfagna since he joked to the one-time showgirl at an awards dinner two years ago: "If I was not already married, I would run off with you immediately."

His furious wife, Veronica Lario, 52, complained publicly and he was forced to issue an apology. But that did not stop him from promoting Miss Carfagna to the cabinet as soon as he got the chance.

When a female comedian joked last year that she was only made an MP because she gave sexual favours to Mr Berlusconi, she announced she would sue for one million euros (£790,000).

Is the party over for Silvio Berlusconi?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/5599641/Is-the-party-over-for-Silvio-Berlusconi.html

Is the party over for Silvio Berlusconi?
As sex scandals escalate around him, the Italian prime minister is looking increasingly vulnerable, says Nick Squires.
By Nick Squires22 Jun 2009

For years, millions of hot-blooded Italian men have secretly wished they could gatecrash one of the parties hosted by their ebullient prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, featuring scantily-clad starlets and models, and endless bottles of expensive wine.

But now the bacchanalian gatherings are coming back to haunt Mr Berlusconi. The billionaire businessman, 72, is trying desperately to fend off allegations that an acquaintance paid call girls, wannabe actresses and models to attend the parties. Uncharacteristically, the scandal seems to be getting to him. He is tired, flustered – and worried, because it is threatening to overshadow his hosting of the G8 summit in L'Aquila next month. A national joke is turning into an international humiliation.

Attention is focused on a party that the prime minister held at his Rome palazzo on the evening of November 4 last year – the night of the US presidential election. A couple of days ago, one of the young women who attended the event, former Miss Italy contestant Barbara Montereale, 23, dropped a bombshell by claiming that Mr Berlusconi went to bed with another of the women in attendance, Patrizia D'Addario, 42, who was allegedly promised 2,000 euros (£1,700), and who herself claimed that when she saw the gathered women, she thought: "But this is a harem."

Then, yesterday a third young woman came forward, claiming to have details of the candlelit soirée. Lucia Rossini alleged that her invitation to Mr Berlusconi's palazzo, near Rome's Piazza Venezia, came from a businessman and acquaintance of the prime minister, Giampaolo Tarantini, 35, whom she claimed she knew from her home town of Bari. "Why don't you come with me to a party in Rome?" Mr Tarantini allegedly had asked her at the end of October last year. The three women were supposedly paid to fly to the capital and put up at the exclusive Hotel de Russie.

It is claimed they were driven to Mr Berlusconi's home, Palazzo Grazioli, in a car with tinted windows, arriving there around 11pm. They were greeted by Mr Berlusconi, who is said to have told Miss D'Addario: "I'm happy to see you again." She claimed he was wearing a large amount of orange make-up.

Over the next two or three hours, he reportedly entertained them with bawdy jokes, songs – the former cruise-ship crooner is well known for his love of belting out traditional Neapolitan ballads such as O Sole Mio – and video footage of a meeting with President George W Bush at the White House, which Miss D'Addario described as painfully dull.

At one point Mr Berlusconi excused himself from his glamorous guests – he had to go off and make a statement on Obama's historic victory. "He told me to wait around because he wanted to have breakfast with me," Miss D'Addario claimed. At the end of the evening the three women were allegedly given presents – pendants and brooches in the shape of butterflies and tortoises. Miss Rossini and Miss Montereale, who was pictured in Italian newspapers in a low-cut top showing off the jewellery and claiming that the pieces were designed by the prime minister himself, said goodnight and were taken back to their hotel. But Miss D'Addario stayed behind.

Miss Rossini claimed she was too discreet to ask why. "The things that I imagined had happened, I kept to myself," she said coyly. But her companion, Miss Montereale, had no such inhibitions, claiming that there was a sexual encounter between the call girl and the prime minister.

Miss D'Addario, a single mother who claims she once worked as an assistant to the American television magician David Copperfield, allegedly described what happened that night to prosecutors in Bari. As happens so often in Italy, the details were leaked to the press.

"Go and wait for me in the big bed," the prime minister allegedly said, telling her he was going to take a shower. While he was away she claims to have used her mobile phone to film herself in the room, which contained a framed photograph of Mr Berlusconi's wife, Veronica Lario. This was six months before she accused him of "consorting with minors" and said she wanted a divorce.

The scandal, which now threatens to engulf Italy's centre-Right government, erupted last week following a corruption investigation in the southern port of Bari which had nothing to do with Il Cavaliere, as Italians call Mr Berlusconi.

In the course of wire-tapping Mr Tarantini and his brother over allegations that they had engaged in corruption in winning contracts for supplying equipment to hospitals, Italy's Guardia di Finanza, or Fraud Squad, allegedly overheard them talking about recruiting young women for the prime minister's parties. As a result, chief prosecutor Giuseppe Scelsi launched an investigation into Giampaolo Tarantini for allegedly abetting prostitution. He has denied the accusation, saying any money the women received was reimbursement for "expenses" such as travel and hotel bills. The government has been under siege ever since.

Mr Berlusconi appears to think he can ride out the scandal, despite the daily revelations of alleged sleaze, and has angrily described the stories that have dominated the Italian press this week as "rubbish". Yesterday, asked what his response was to the latest allegations, he told journalists: "I'll hang tough."

Mr Berlusconi has said that the allegations are part of a Left-wing plot to discredit him. But there is also speculation that they have surfaced to torpedo his suspected ambitions to alter the constitution so he can become president.

The prime minister, who is not under investigation himself, has told his closest supporters to draw a veil of silence over the affair, and not talk to the press. But stonewalling will fail to stem the growing clamour of criticism against him, not only from his political opponents, who have said he should explain his conduct or resign, but also from conservative newspaper editors and the Catholic Church.

The unfolding scandal has revealed intriguing insights into how Mr Berlusconi weaves the spider's web of gorgeous young women that surround him. Attractive girls flock to Mr Berlusconi's court in the hope of launching careers on the variety television programmes that Italians are so fond of, or as presenters, weather girls or even politicians. Berlusconi's party touted a former Miss Italy entrant, Barbara Matera, and a busty Big Brother contestant as candidates for the recent European elections.

Several women, including the 18-year-old underwear model Noemi Letizia whose birthday party he attended, have said they refer affectionately to Mr Berlusconi as "Papi", or Daddy.

It is not yet clear to what extent the scandals are denting Mr Berlusconi's popularity. Many Italians – particularly men – are unfazed by the shenanigans. "What do you expect him to do when all these gorgeous girls are throwing themselves at him?" said a well-dressed businessman enjoying a cappuccino in the Piazza Navona yesterday.

But observers say the affair is taking its toll on the elderly politician. "He is flustered, because he hasn't been able to control the narrative that has been pushed against him," said James Walston, a professor at the American University in Rome. Senior ministers have rallied round, but some of his own party members worry that Mr Berlusconi may finally have pushed the tolerance of Italians too far.

The big test, of course, will come early next month, when the world's most powerful leaders, including the US President and Gordon Brown, will gather at the G8 summit in L'Aquila. With more unseemly revelations about the prime minister's private life expected to emerge, it is an event that the squeaky-clean American President, and even the beleaguered Mr Brown, are probably dreading.

Silvio Berlusconi keeps smiling

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/22/silvio-berlusconi-italy-sex-scandal

Silvio Berlusconi keeps smiling as sex scandal gets deeper by the day
Prime minister attempts to carry on as normal despite further revelations
Tom Kington in Rome
The Guardian, Tuesday 23 June 2009

If Silvio Berlusconi fears four years of being a lame duck prime minister as a result of the sex scandal engulfing him, he was not showing it at the weekend as he went on a walkabout in Milan, kissing babies, discussing which AC Milan players he might sell and sketching out his political agenda to a crowd of admirers.

"He was talking about what plans he has for 2010; he clearly intends to ignore everything, waiting for it to blow over," said Raffaele De Mucci, a professor of political science at Luiss University in Rome.

Tom Kington: 'There is distinct unease among many of his allies' Link to this audio It is unlikely that it will blow over by the time the world's leaders arrive in Italy next month for the G8 conference. Magistrates in the southern city of Bari are pushing on with an investigation into a possible prostitution racket and are getting ready to question 30 women, some of whom are suspected to have been paid by a local businessman to attend five parties held by Berlusconi, La Repubblica reported yesterday.

One of the guests already questioned – model Barbara Montereale – has alleged that a paid escort, Patrizia D'Addario, slept with the prime minister on 4 November. Yesterday, Montereale released photographs she alleges she took as souvenirs in Berlusconi's bathroom and described the large number of eastern European women she says she met during a visit to his villa in Sardinia.

"They seemed at home, were on familiar terms with the prime minister and all called him Papi," she told La Repubblica, adding that she saw the girls dressed as Father Christmas in a video shown of an earlier party. "They were a bit jealous of each other and in competition to see who could get closer [to Berlusconi]."

Berlusconi's troubles with the opposite sex have advanced since May, when he fought against accusations of consorting with minors after attending the 18th birthday party of Noemi Letizia, an aspiring model who called the 72-year-old "Papi" during private conversations on the phone.

That was enough to push Berlusconi's wife to ask for a divorce. The Bari inquiry could go further and rattle the foundations of the Italian government, said De Mucci. "The fewer votes Berlusconi got in the EU elections, the noisy protests at his recent rallies, all showed a drop in his support because of the scandal," he said.

"Now his allies are disoriented, the electorate's faith in the governing class will be further weakened and he risks losing the political capital he built up with his handling of the Abruzzo earthquake and the Naples rubbish crisis."

De Mucci added that he was not surprised by Berlusconi's recent denouncements of the number of Chinese living in Prato, near Florence, and the number of Africans he saw in Milan.

"The shakier his authority, the more he will lean on the Northern League for support," he said, referring to the anti-immigrant party with which Berlusconi's Freedom People party is allied. "But I doubt he is on his way out. His own party would not continue to exist without him. They would have to reinvent itself and I don't see them doing that."

For the Italian opposition, the question is how vulnerable Berlusconi is to the girls to whom he has thrown open his doors open. Unsatisfied with being named a candidate in local elections for a party in Bari allied to Berlusconi, D'Addario revealed all to the Italian press, reportedly telling Montereale: "This is our moment; I will make him pay and we will become famous like Noemi."

Luigi Zanda, of the opposition Democratic party, said: "Berlusconi has said nothing about how blackmailable he is and the government is ignoring the question."

Judging by his baby kissing at the weekend, Berlusconi feels the scandal will wither. Sandro Bondi, his culture minister, went on the counterattack yesterday, saying that La Repubblica, the left-leaning newspaper that has kept the prime minister under pressure, was "the largest threat to our democracy".

In Rome, the result of the scandal appeared to be an equal stiffening of resolve among the Italians who love Berlusconi and those who loathe him.

"He's got skeletons in his cupboard, but scandals don't count here and he will stay put for his whole five years," said tobacconist Roberta Canini bitterly.

"What scandal?" retorted retired civil servant Eliza Baciocchi at a corner bar on the busy Corso Francia. "Berlusconi is a gentleman when it comes to the ladies and only magistrates and the left see fit to pry into his private life."

Carlo Maschi, a legal assistant, said Berlusconi should be forgiven for his behaviour because he was a businessman, not a politician. "Look at how he kept Angela Merkel waiting when he was on his cellphone. He is made like that and that is fine by me," he said.

It was left to a young women to challenge Berlusconi in Milan. "Ask him about the prostitutes," she yelled at the crowd surrounding the prime minister, before she was hustled away by police.

Why Silvio Berlusconi is the world's coolest leader

Why Silvio Berlusconi is the world's coolest leader...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/5610944/Wives-of-G8-leaders-urged-to-boycott-summit-over-sexist-Berlusconi.html

Wives of G8 leaders urged to boycott summit over 'sexist' Berlusconi
The wives of world leaders who are due to attend the G8 summit in Italy next month have been urged to boycott the event in protest over Silvio Berlusconi's "offensive" attitude to women.
By Nick Squires in Rome
23 Jun 2009

Photo: Lucia Rossini and Barbara Montereale (rt) taking photographs of each other in what they claimed was a bathroom at Silvo Berlusconi's private residence in Rome in 2008

Three Italian female academics are calling on Gordon Brown's wife, Sarah, President Obama's wife, Michele and other leaders' spouses not to attend the gathering in L'Aquila, which will be hosted by the Italian prime minister.

The academics have written an open "Appeal to the First Ladies" and said they were appalled, "as citizens of Italy and Europe", by the attitude displayed towards women by Mr Berlusconi, 72, who is engulfed in scandal over his private life.

They were "profoundly indignant" over his treatment of women "both in public and in private," they said.

In the past two months he has been accused of "consorting with minors" by his wife, Veronica Lario, of having an inappropriate relationship with an 18-year-old underwear model and of sleeping with a high-class call-girl during a private party at his residence in Rome in November.

A businessman acquaintance of the prime minister is being investigated by police and prosecutors in Bari, southern Italy, on suspicion of "abetting prostitution" by allegedly supplying escorts to parties thrown by Mr Berlusconi at his mansion in Rome and his villa in Sardinia.

Mr Berlusconi denies the claims.

The academics accused the prime minister of sexism over plans drawn up by his party, People of Freedom, to promote actresses, a former Big Brother contestant and a Miss Italy model as candidates for the European Parliament elections earlier this month. The proposal was later shelved after Mr Berlusconi's wife called it "shamelessly trashy".

The letter was drawn up by Anne Maass, associate professor of social psychology at Padua University, Chiara Volpato, lecturer in social psychology at Bicocca University, Milan and Angelica Mucchi Faina, lecturer in social psychology at Perugia University.

Christopher Columbus was actually a Scotsman

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/4959361/Christopher-Columbus-was-actually-a-Scotsman-called-Pedro-Scotto-historian-says.html

Christopher Columbus was actually a Scotsman called Pedro Scotto, historian says
The 15th century explorer who opened up the American continents to Europe was actually called Pedro Scotto - not Christopher Columbus - and his family originally hailed from Scotland, a Spanish historian has claimed.
08 Mar 2009

Alfonso Ensenat de Villalonga has disputed conventionally-accepted narratives on the explorer's origins - that he was the son of a weaver in Genoa, Italy, or that he was from Catalonia or Galicia in Spain.

In fact, he was from Genoa, but he was "the son of shopkeepers not weavers and he was baptised Pedro not Christopher," Mr Villalonga told Spain's ABC newspaper on Sunday.

And his family name was Scotto, and was not Italian but of Scottish origin.

"He had light-coloured eyes and freckles. He also had blond hair even though it quickly turned white. That's how his contemporaries described him. Nothing like the traditional images (of him), which are totally invented," the historian said.

Mr Villalonga cited a chronicle of Catholic kings written by Lucio Marineo Siculo, who referred in his writings to "Pedro Columbus", not Christopher.

The historian has also claimed that the navigator once worked for a pirate called Vincenzo Columbus, and adopted that family name in order not to "expose" his relations.

Mr Villalonga said his research involved combing the archives in the Genoa region along with those in the Spanish history academy and national library.

Berlusconi Reclaims Power in Italy

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gXQv8MgdVWEOKeUsWyQm0Gcv-xcAD901QF301

Berlusconi Reclaims Power in Italy
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO
4-14-8

ROME (AP) — Conservative leader Silvio Berlusconi reclaimed power in key U.S. ally Italy on Monday after clinching decisive victories in both houses of parliament.

The 71-year-old media mogul was congratulated by his main rival, former Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni, who conceded defeat even though the vote counting was still under way.

"The election result is clear even if we wait for the final data," said Veltroni. "It says that the right will govern this country."

Berlusconi, who was in his villa near Milan, made no immediate statement, just waving as he passed in his Mercedes.

In the Senate — a race that had been expected to be close — Berlusconi was projected to win 163 seats compared to 141 for Veltroni. The body has 315 seats.

In the lower house, Berlusconi's conservative bloc was leading with 46 percent of the vote to 39 percent for Veltroni's backers.

In Italy's bicameral system, premiers must have control of both houses to govern.

The victory for Berlusconi is testament to his political longevity — and sees him return to power after two years of center-left rule by Premier Romano Prodi left Italy with a stagnating economy.

This was Berlusconi's fifth consecutive attempt at the premiership — and third win — since 1994, when he stepped into politics from his media empire. He has fended off challenges to his leadership by his conservative allies, survived conflict of interests accusations and criminal trials.

"I think it was a vote against the performance of the Prodi government in the last two years," said Franco Pavoncello, a political science professor at Rome's John Cabot University. "Berlusconi won because he has a strong coalition and because people feel that on the other side, the government is going to take them nowhere."

A sense of malaise hung over the elections as Italians cast ballots Sunday and Monday.

Many Italians are pessimistic that the ruling class — dominated for years by the same key figures — can offer much chance of change. They complain about the poor state of the economy and the fact that their purchasing power has decreased.

Signs of decline abound, from piles of trash in Naples, to a buffalo mozzarella heath scare that has hurt exports and hit one of the country's culinary treasures, to the faltering sale of the state airline Alitalia.

A movement led by comedian-turned-moralizer Beppe Grillo had invited Italians to boycott the vote.

However, turnout was only 4 points behind the last national vote in 2006 — 80 percent compared with 84 percent, according to data from the Interior Ministry.

In his comeback, Berlusconi has been helped by a strong showing by the Northern League, a key ally, which has won about 6 percent of the vote, according to projections.

Berlusconi has no easy task.

A laundry list of problems await him, from cleaning the streets of Naples, which he has indicated is his top priority, to improving an economy that has underperformed the rest of the euro zone for years.

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the Italian economy, the world's seventh largest, will grow 0.3 percent this year, compared with a 1.4 percent average growth for the 15-country euro area.

Berlusconi will also need to make economic reforms, such as streamlining the decision-making progress and cutting the costs associated with politics. Changes in the election law are also on the agenda.

Troubles in Brzezinski’s paradise?

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2910.shtml

Troubles in Brzezinski’s paradise?
By Umberto Pascali
Online Journal Guest Writer
Feb 4, 2008

“France's defence minister, Herve Morin, did not budge when Gates asked Paris for more troops.”[Feb. 1, Guardian Unlimited]

“[German defence minister Franz Josef] Jung responded in an equally strong manner, refusing to send the 3,200 troops to the south of Afghanistan that Gates requested to replace US troops” [Feb. 1, Guardian Unlimited]

Europeans refuse to join the new war deployment in Afghanistan that is the first step toward a planned global Operation Barbarossa against Russia.

To jump start such a countdown to war was the raison d’être for the frantic efforts by Zbigniew Brzezinski to impose his hand-picked candidate, Barack Obama, as the next US president. If the final assault against Russia is to have a realistic chance to succeed, the economic, military, propagandistic resources of Europe (especially France, Germany, Italy and Spain) must be put under Anglo-American control and totally integrated with the Anglo American war machine. Figurehead Obama is supposed to supply the ideological rhetoric and hysteria that could get the US public and the Europeans (plus large areas of the Third World), who are both sickened and disgusted by the wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan, on the train of total war

What it is to be expected now is a period of increasing pressures on Europe to give up, whether they manage to save of their sovereignty and integrate in the war machine. The situation resembles, mutatis mutandis, the period of the violent debate over the question of the euro missiles. At that time, Europe gave up. Now, however, the situation could be different. The Anglo-Americans do not have the influence and power they once could boast. Russia is led by realistic and skilled persons who know their surrender or defeat would mean Russia's partition and final looting. Russia and China are tied in an alliance based on the common understanding of the existential danger they face. And also, the Europeans could have learned something from the past 20 years.

If the economic and military potential of Europe is not available for the new global Operation Barbarossa, Brzezinski’s plan will fail. Brzezinski's attempt to again use the “Muslim card” (using Muslims populations and terrorists groups as cannon fodder for an upheaval directed against both Russia and China) or to use India will not be enough. Imminent events will make clear whether the Europeans will let themselves be intimidated and propagandistically stampeded into a war. It would not be surprising if new scandals, tiny veiled blackmails, “terrorist” provocations, artificially created internal clashes, and other “dirty tricks” will take over the front page of the media.

A series of events will constitute a litmus test for the chance of success of the Brzezinski plan:

The NATO meeting in Vilnius on February 7-8,

The concomitant detonation of the Kosovo Crisis,

The reactions to the pressures (that will continue) on the European governments,

The status of the Presidential campaign in the US. Will anybody point the spotlight at Brzezinski and his plan?

Later on, the April Summit of Nato in Bucharest.

The Manifesto calling for preemptive nuclear war was presented during the first half of January to both the Pentagon in Washington and to NATO's secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. As was reported recently by the media, five former NATO military leaders signed the unprecedented document: General John Shalikashvili, the former chairman of the US joint Chiefs of Staff and NATO's ex-supreme commander in Europe; General Klaus Naumann, Germany's former top soldier and ex-chairman of NATO's military committee; General Henk van den Breemen, a former Dutch chief of staff; Admiral Jacques Lanxade, a former French chief of staff; and Lord Inge, field marshal and ex-chief of the general staff and the defence staff in the UK.

Notes:

Germany Rejects U.S. Request for More Afghan Troops, Feb. 1, Bloomberg

US 'sternly requests' more German troops for Afghanistan, Feb. 1, Guardian Unlimited

Intel Agencies Know 9/11 An Inside Job

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/december2007/120407_common_knowledge.htm

Ex-Italian President: Intel Agencies Know 9/11 An Inside Job
Man who set up Operation Gladio tells Italy's largest newspaper attacks were run by CIA, Mossad Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Former Italian President and the man who revealed the existence of Operation Gladio Francesco Cossiga has gone public on 9/11, telling Italy's most respected newspaper that the attacks were run by the CIA and Mossad and that this was common knowledge amongst global intelligence agencies.

Cossiga was elected President of the Italian Senate in July 1983 before winning a landslide 1985 election to become President of the country in 1985.

Cossiga gained respect from opposition parties as one of a rare breed - an honest politician - and led the country for seven years until April 1992.

Cossiga's tendency to be outspoken upset the Italian political establishment and he was forced to resign after revealing the existence of, and his part in setting up, Operation Gladio - a rogue intelligence network under NATO auspices that carried out bombings across Europe in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Gladio's specialty was to carry out what they coined "false flag operations," terror attacks that were blamed on their domestic and geopolitical opposition.

Cossiga's revelations contributed to an Italian parliamentary investigation of Gladio in 2000, during which evidence was unearthed that the attacks were being overseen by the U.S. intelligence apparatus.

In March 2001, Gladio agent Vincenzo Vinciguerra stated, in sworn testimony, "You had to attack civilians, the people, women, children, innocent people, unknown people far removed from any political game. The reason was quite simple: to force ... the public to turn to the state to ask for greater security."

Cossiga's new revelations appeared last week in Italy's oldest and most widely read newspaper, Corriere della Sera. Below appears a rough translation.

"[Bin Laden supposedly confessed] to the Qaeda September [attack] to the two towers in New York [claiming to be] the author of the attack of the 11, while all the [intelligence services] of America and Europe ... now know well that the disastrous attack has been planned and realized from the CIA American and the Mossad with the aid of the Zionist world in order to put under accusation the Arabic Countries and in order to induce the western powers to take part ... in Iraq [and] Afghanistan."

Cossiga first expressed his doubts about 9/11 in 2001, and is quoted in Webster Tarpley's book as stating that "The mastermind of the attack must have been a “sophisticated mind, provided with ample means not only to recruit fanatic kamikazes, but also highly specialized personnel. I add one thing: it could not be accomplished without infiltrations in the radar and flight security personnel.”

Coming from a widely respected former head of state, Cossiga's assertion that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job and that this is common knowledge amongst global intelligence agencies is highly unlikely to be mentioned by any establishment media outlets, because like the hundreds of other sober ex-government, military, air force professionals, allied to hundreds more professors and intellectuals - he can't be sidelined as a crackpot conspiracy theorist.

Learn more about Operation Gladio and false flag terrorism by watching Alex Jones' Terror Storm in high quality.

Leonardo's "Last Supper" Goes HiDef Online

Leonardo's "Last Supper" Goes HiDef Online
MILAN, Italy, Oct. 27, 2007

(AP) Can't get to Milan to see Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece "The Last Supper?"

As of Saturday, all you need is an Internet connection. Officials put online an image of the "Last Supper" at 16 billion pixels - 1,600 times stronger than the images taken with the typical 10 million pixel digital camera.

The high resolution will allow experts to examine details of the 15th century wall painting that they otherwise could not - including traces of drawings Leonardo put down before painting.

The high-resolution allows viewers to look at details as though they were inches from the art work, in contrast to regular photographs, which become grainy as you zoom in, said curator Alberto Artioli.

"You can see how Leonardo made the cups transparent, something you can't ordinarily see," said Artioli. "You can also note the state of degradation the painting is in."

Besides allowing experts and art-lovers to study the masterpiece from home, Artioli said the project provides an historical document of how the painting appears in 2007, which will be valuable to future generations of art historians.

The work, in Milan's Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, was restored in a painstaking effort that wrapped up in 1999 - a project aimed at reversing half a millennium of damage to the famed artwork. Leonard painted the "Last Supper" dry, so the painting did not cleave to the surface in the fresco style, meaning it is more delicate and subject to wear.

"Over the years it has been subjected to bombardments; it was used as a stall by Napoleon," Artioli said. The restoration removed 500 years of dirt while also removing previous restoration works that masked Leonardo's own work.

Even those who get to Milan have a hard time gaining admission to see the "Last Supper." Visits have been made more difficult by measures to protect it. Twenty-five visitors are admitted every 15 minutes to see the painting for a total of about 320,000 visitors a year. Visitors must pass through a filtration system to help reduce the work's exposure to dust and pollutants.

"The demand is three of four times higher, but we can't accommodate it because of efforts to preserve the painting," Artioli said.

On the Web: http://www.haltadefinizione.com/

By Associated Press Writer Colleen Barry