Priests Filmed at Gay Clubs Having Sex by Silvio Berlusconi Panorama Magazine

Obviously, these guys want to be defrocked. Gay Catholic priests were filmed by an undercover reporter using hidden cameras in gay clubs actually having sex. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi owns a magazine, if you can believe that - Panorama, which in a two week investigation, filmed three priests at gay nightspots.

Catholic Priests at Vatican

Panorama has released a statement saying the videos will be released. On priest named "Carlo" actually "put on his cassock to have sex with the reporter's gay accomplice, adding all of which was filmed by the hidden camera:"

The article describes how the reporter was assisted by a gay 'accomplice' as they 'gate-crashed the wild nights of a number of priests in Rome who live a surprising double-life.' 

In it's preview, Panorama added: 'By day they are regular priests, complete with dog collar, but, at night it's off with the cassock as they take their place as perfectly integrated members of the Italian capital's gay scene.'

Panorama described its investigation as 'deeply disturbing' as it detailed how three priests - two Italians and a Frenchman - happily took part in gay events and had casual sex.

Neither the Italian Bishops Conference or the Vatican has issued a statement.

TWA Flt 847 Hijacker Dead: Mohammad Ali Hamadeh Dies by US Drone

I read today that Mohammad Ali Hamadeh was blown right into the arms of 72 virgins today, or whatever, by a U.S. drone attack in Pakistan. After being secretly released from a German prison in 2005 for the hijacking of TWA Flt. 847, he went directly to Lebanon and joined with Hizbollah, then to Pakistan's North Waziristan to fight with Islamic Jihad. Ten days before the hijacking, hubby and I flew from Rome to the U.S. on TWA Flt. 847. Islamic jihad was in full jihadi mode 25 years ago.

Hooded man believed to be Mohammad Ali Hamadeh

In 1985 hubby and I enjoyed our last evening in Rome. We had gelati at a sidewalk restaurant in front of a beautiful hotel. The small tables were screened off from the traffic and the gelati was superb. We had ice cream there every night for about a week. We walked back to our hotel by the American Embassy, I think it was the Excelsior, and chatted about how everything was so very beautiful in that historic city.

The next day we boarded TWA Flight 847 and arrived safely back home. 

Ten days later, we watched in horror the same flight number on a tarmac somewhere. The flight from Athens should have traveled to Rome. Instead it was hijacked by Mohammad Ali Hamadeh and second man. After Athens, the flight went to Beirut, then Algiers, back to Beirut, then Algiers and finally Beirut again. Eventually twelve additional terrorists boarded the plane.

A U.S. Navy diver, Robert Stethem, only 24 years-old, was beaten, tortured, shot dead and thrown to the tarmac while the press cameras clicked away, getting it all live. Another U.S. Military man was beaten and tortured, but lived. I believe hostages were held on the plane for about two weeks before it was finally all over.

The hijackers demanded the release of 766 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Both of the hijackers identified themselves as members of Hizbollah.

See folks, it never, never ends. This was June 1985.

In September 1985, a bomb destroyed a British Airways office located just off the Via Veneto...and our sidewalk gelati spot received a hand grenade, injuring 38 people. My memory is that 9 people died, but this report says there were no deaths. Eleven of the injured enjoying their Italian ice cream were Americans. A "Palestinian youth" confessed to the British Airways bombing, and another Palestinian was charged with the sidewalk bombing.

The heavily guarded U.S. Embassy is less than one block from both targets.

A Muslim terrorist organization, the Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims, claimed responsibility for the cafe bombing a week ago in an anonymous telephone call in Beirut. The group threatened more attacks.

 Discover The Networks on the Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims, says it is a spin-off of the PLO, and is also known as the Abu Nidal Organization and Black September, the perpetrator of the Munich Olympic games massacre in 1972.

On December 27, 1985, the same group that blew up the British Airways office and the sidewalk cafe, walked into the Rome airport to Israel's El Al Airline's desk, opened fire, killed 16 and wounded 80.

Petty Officer Robert Stethem

Petty Officer Robert Stethem was laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery. The Navy launched the USS Stethem in his honor. Today The Robert D. Stethem Memorial Park park is home to 10 ball fields. The U.S. Navy Seabees named the Port Hueneme Naval Construction Training Center Headquarters Building in his honor.

Twenty-five years ago, did you think of these widely-reports events, as Islamic jihad? I didn't.

Beppe Bigazzi Cat Casserole: Beppe Bigazzi Eats Cats: Celebrity Chef Stews Cats

Beppe Bigazzi is a top celebrity chef in Italy...or was. He has been suspended from his television show for recommending stewing cats for dinner, after soaking them in spring water for three days. Bigazzi said "casserole of cat" was a famous dish in his home region of Valdamo in Tuscany.

Beppe Bigazzi

The live show went to a commercial break, and a young woman on the show with him, cat owner, Elisa Isoardi, and the show's producer tried to convince him to apologize. He refused.

I’ve eaten it myself and it’s a lot better than many other animals,” he told viewers. “Better than chicken, rabbit or pigeon.” He said that for optimum flavour the meat should be “soaked in spring water for three days” before being stewed.

Bigazzi is now being investigated for "criminal offences" and "incitement to mistreat animals." Punishment can be as much as 18 months in jail.

He also recommended a "cat soup" recipe and then said he expected to hear from  "racist" environmentalists.

He is the author of Cooking with Common Sense, and considered a "star" celebrity chef on Ready Steady Cook in Italy:

He is noted for his exuberant style and previously caused uproar by boiling lobsters live on the show. Yesterday he said that he had only been joking about the recipe, and he had been misunderstood.

He added: “Mind you, I wasn’t joking all that much. In the 1930s and 1940s, when I was a boy, people certainly did eat cat.

Venice, Italy has long been known as "magnagati" or "cat eaters," going back to the hardships of Medieval times. Cat is still considered a delicacy in South East Asia.

 A very sweet reader, oriana, took the time to find the video with English sub-titles. Thank you oriana!





Beppe Bigazzi - Cat Casserole English Sub-titles (video) Others talking about Beppe Bigazzi: Oriana at Tuscanycious

Mussolini Speeches iTune Hit in Italy: Mussolini Huge Hit on iTune App

An average of 1,000 daily iTune downloads of Benito Mussolini's speeches are the second most popular application for Italy's Apple iTune website.

The popularity of the application, called iMussolini, caused outrage among some Italians in the week that the country commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day – the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet forces....

It was downloaded more than a video game based on the blockbuster science fiction film Avatar. The most downloaded item was a wallpaper application.

The creator of the app says maybe next time "I'll do one on Gandhi."

Rosarno Italy Muslim Migrant Uprising

I recently reported on an uprising in Rosarno, Italy in Calabria. The town has many problems including unemployment. The area is crime, gang and perhaps Mafia-ridden. Early reports were mixed as to the cause of the two days that saw residents threatened, businesses closed and cars trashed or burned, and African migrants shot at with pellet guns. There more to the story than I originally reported, however, and that is a Muslim connection to the riots.

Today I was researching a story about a Russian airliner hijacked by Chechen Muslims, and ended up at BareNakedIslam and their post titled Italy knows how to deal with its Muslim Problem, along with some excellent links to other stories on...Italy's Muslim problem.

I also found the following video of the Rosarno riots. The video pretty much blames the residents of Rosarno, and says attacks are racially motivated. Residents say the migrants have brought violence, and even rape to the town. The Italian government has issued a statement saying :

"In all these years illegal immigration has been tolerated without doing anything effective, an immigration that on the one hand has fed crime and on the other has led to situations of extreme squalor such as that at Rosarno."

Read my original post for background on the Rosarno riots here.




Rosarno, Italy Riots (video)

Rosarno Italy Race Riots or Mafia or Fed-up with Foreign Migrants?

Have your heard about "race riots" in the town of Rosarno, Italy? But is this about race riots or the mafia or immigration? Immigrant homes have been bulldozed, and buses loaded with rioters sent on their way somewhere. Residents of the town are staying inside. Cars have been torched, at least one pushed into a wall with a mother and her children inside. Schools and businesses are closed. Here are a few reports to compare and contrast.

Woman stands her ground in Rosarno, Italy

This from the UK's MailOnline with this headline: Miigrant riot in Italy leaves 37 injured after series of beatings by white youths.

Violence broke out in southern Italy yesterday as hundreds of migrant workers, most of them Africans, went on a rampage in retaliation to two of their number being shot and three more beaten with iron bars by white youths.


Authorities reporting at least 37 were wounded in the ensuing clashes, including 18 police officers and five migrants, as the violence reached its second day in the coastal town of Rosarno in Calabria. 


The riots in the region were sparked off when when two migrants were wounded by pellet fire two days ago, starting the cycle of violence, said a top police official, Renato Cortese, in the regional capital.

A report from the Telegraph, published one day later than the MailOnline article says "nearly 70 people, including 30 immigrants, 19 police and 17 Italians were injured. "...two Africans from Togo and Nigeria were shot at with air rifles by locals.

On Thursday, hundreds of immigrants, most of them from sub-Saharan Africa, staged an angry demonstration against the shooting, setting fire to cars and rubbish bins, smashing shop windows and throwing rocks at police.

They carried placards which read "We are not animals" and "Italians are racist".

In a report filed from Rome, ChinaView says an "extraordinary summit was held today in an attempt to dientify Mafia connections in the "outbreak of racial riots" in Rosarno.

An inquiry is under way to identify possible Mafia responsibilities in the riots and exploitation of immigrant work in Rosarno. At least one clan-linked man was among those arrested for the attacks. 

According to the police, the Mafia may have taken advantage of the riots in order to distort attention from a recent failed bomb explosion at the prosecutor's office. 

The situation in Rosarno is now under control. More than 1,000 immigrants, mainly farm laborers from sub-Saharan Africa, either fled the area or were transferred to migrant centers during the weekend. Their dwellings have been bulldozed by the authorities. 

The government aims to move immigrants out of other high-crime areas near Naples and in Sicily. 

The Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said on Monday that all illegal refugees will be expelled from the country. In his view Rosarno's riots were the product of Italy's far too lenient immigration policy.

 Here is the view of Gates of Vienna:

Race riots have intensified in the town of Rosarno, Italy, where locals have attacked and even shot some of the illegal African immigrants in the area. The government blames the events on the excessive “tolerance” of recent years, but the Italian left sees evidence of Mafia control, poverty, intolerance, and racism.

Surprising that there is a government anywhere in the world today who believes excessive "tolerance" may breed problems, as Gates of Vienna mentioned, but the Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni said:

"In all these years illegal immigration has been tolerated without doing anything effective, an immigration that on the one hand has fed crime and on the other has led to situations of extreme squalor such as that at Rosarno."

Rosarno, located in Calabria near the top of the western edge of the toe of the boot of Italy, is the base of Ndrangheta, an international crime syndicate. Rosarno is a citrus-growing area, middle-class, and is experiencing its own economic crisis. This insight from The New York Times:

Both the official and underground economies increasingly rely on immigrants, while Italy remains torn between acceptance and xenophobia.

So, it is reasonable to assume that when mixing economic strife with a town with many foreign migrants - where there are no jobs for the locals - remember those "white youths," - no jobs for them, tensions are taunt. But this is Italy, so we have to add the Mafia to the mix.

Feds Ground Helicopter in Dallas Bound for Iran

Federal agents say they have grounded a helicopters in Arlington, Texas, just outside Dallas, bound for Iran.

According to this report, Italian aircraft brokers were shipping the craft from North Texas to Iran "in violation of U.S. trade sanctions."

The fate of the $8 million chopper, sitting in a Bell hangar in Arlington, is in limbo while federal agents untangle an international web of circumstances that has already resulted in two other U.S.-manufactured helicopters entering Iran.

Agents believe that the aircraft are being used for civilian purposes – to ferry offshore oil workers around – but at least one of them is equipped with sensitive night vision and autopilot capabilities, which are subject to strict U.S. controls.

Both helicopters were bought from a Mexican company and made pit stops in North Texas before heading to Italy, then Iran, documents show.

But investigators have found no evidence that any Americans had a hand in the final leg of the helicopters' trip, so no criminal charges have been filed. 

Tiber Aviation, an Italian company, purchased three Bell 412 helicopters from Helivan, a Mexican company for $22 million. Foreign countries operating inside the U.S. are not bound by U.S. law and use the loopholes available to them - even though Italy also honors the U.N. ban against arms sales to Iran. The U.S. has banned trade with Iran since 1995:

"We don't want technology to go to Iran regardless of whether it will be used militarily or by civilian businesses," said Kenneth Wainstein, the Justice Department's former assistant attorney general for national security in Washington. Wainstein initiated a crackdown on export violations in 2007.

"We don't want American businesses engaged in trade with a regime whose policies are antithetical to our national interests," he said.

Read the entire story here. Thanks to Planet Iran.

Italy Earthquake: Rome Italy Quakes, Shakes

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the town of L'Aquila, the quake's epicenter, at 9:32 p.m EST time (3.35 a.m. in L'Aquila) on April 5th. L'Aquila is located in the Abruzzo region. The Italian Civil Protection Agency said they had received reports of collapsed buildings. Officials expect casualities. Reuters reports that people are injured, some trapped under rubble. L'Aquila is located about 60 miles (95Km) northeast of Rome. Earlier on Sunday, a 4.6 magnitude earthquake shook northern Italy, about 35 miles southeast of Bologna. The L'Aquila quake was felt in Rome. Residents report being awakened from the rumble, "furniture rattled, lights swayed and car alarms went off." No damage estimates are available at this time.

Doing The Right Thing.

by Findalis I do hope that President Obama is learning a bit about true diplomacy. His decision to first attend the Durban II conference in Geneva was the wrong one. It sent the message to the world that the United states does not support its friends and allies. For whatever reason, his decision to now boycott the Durban II conference is being seen as one of leadership and courage, taken that he has been trying to make amends with the Muslim world. In this case, he may have lost some clout with the Muslim world, but as gain a lot of respect with Europeans.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Thursday that Italy will not attend the Durban II conference scheduled for April in Geneva because of “aggressive and anti-Semitic statements” in resolutions being prepared for the summit on racism. Israel, Canada and the United States already have said they will not attend. Foreign Minister Frattini also announced a postponement of a trip to Iran due to anti-Israeli and anti-American remarks by Iranian leaders. Like the U.S., Frattini said that the decision to boycott Durban II could be reconsidered if the draft resolutions against Israel are changed. Several pre-conference motions have singled out Israel for alleged racism and have accepted Palestinian Authority recommendations supporting its claim that Arab descendants of former Israeli Arabs have the right to immigrate and live in Israel. The committee preparing resolutions for Durban II also rejected a suggestion for condemnation of anyone denying the Holocaust. Israel has called on all European Union countries to follow Canada and the U.S. and boycott the conference, a follow-up to the first conference held in Durban, South Africa in 2001. The U.S. walked out of the parley because of harsh anti-Israel resolutions that compared Zionism with racism. Holland has also put the Durban II planners on notice that it also will join the boycott if the resolutions are not modified.

Italy has now stated that they will not attend. They are in very good company. Three nations are boycotting the Durban II conference. Italy is joining the ranks of Canada, Israel and the United States. Holland will be joining their ranks soon. Now will France, Germany and Great Britain join in the boycott? Will they have the moral courage to do the right thing? Or will they give in to the pressure from their Muslim communities, and join in the anti-Semitic rhetoric that this conference has become? I hope that they will join the groundswell and boycott the Durban II conference.

Italian MPs Show Solidarity in Sderot

Cross posted by Findalis from Monkey in the Middle By Anav Silverman - Sderot Media Center In a unique show of solidarity, a delegation of 70 Italians, including 24 members of the Italian Parliament visited Sderot this past Monday, December 8. The Italian delegation brought with them a copy of a letter, written by members of the Italian Parliament, addressed to Gilad Schalit, the IDF solider captured two years ago who remains in the hands of Hamas in Gaza.

Photo: Hamutal Ben Shitrit

In a press conference facilitated by Sderot Media Center, the Italian delegation, which included members from various Italian political parties, presented the letter to a representative of the Schalit family, Medi Cohen. Rossana Boldi, President of the Committee on European Affairs, and acting as representative of the group, stated that the letter had been signed by many important members of the Italian Parliament in the hopes of getting the International Red Cross in Rome to hand the letter to Gilad Schalit. Boldi cited during the press conference that the International Red Cross had not paid one visit to Gilad Schalit since his capture, and continues to ignore the plight of Sderot residents living under Palestinian rocket fire. "Israel has a right to exist in security," said Boldi, "and Gilad Schlit has every right to return home." Medi Cohen, speaking on behalf of the Schalit family, responded by stating that a week previously she and other Gilad Schalit supporters protested in front of the Shikma Prison in Ashkelon, which houses Hamas terrorists. "You could see Palestinian mothers freely entering the prison to visit their imprisoned sons. These Hamas terrorists are treated fairly and according to international law--they receive free medical treatment and proper care from Israeli authorities," said Cohen. "Gilad on the other hand, has been denied everything. Hamas prevents any form of communication with Gilad from the outside word. Gilad has not been allowed to even speak with his family for two years," said Cohen bitterly. David Bouskilla, Sderot's recently elected mayor was also present at the press conference and warmly welcomed the Italian delegation to Sderot. "The city of Sderot has strong ties with the Italian community," Bouskilla stated. When Bouskilla was mayor of Sderot eight years ago, he oversaw the building of the only rocket-protected theater in the entire Negev which was funded partly by the Italian Keren Hayesod.

Photo: Hamutal Ben Shitrit

Mayor Bouskilla also added that Sderot residents have been standing alone in the face of continuing Palestinian rockets. "Our children and families are forced to sit and accept this situation, as rockets continue to hit our homes, properties, playgrounds and schools," said Bouskilla. "It is more important than ever to have the support of the international community, especially from a country like Italy" he told the Italian delegation. Indeed, it was both encouraging and inspiring to see the concern exhibited by the Italian government officials for Sderot civilians in light of the 200 or more Qassam rockets that have been fired against Sderot and the Negev since early November. During the brief stop at the Sderot police station, where hundreds of Qassam rockets are stored away, the Italian delegation expressed their shock at the way life in Sderot has dramatically altered due to the terror generated by Palestinian rocket fire. "It is disturbing to think how Israeli children must live in this kind of reality," said one Italian official. In the scheme of world affairs, Sderot children at least have a few friends back in the Italian Parliament. From Monkey in the Middle: It is nice to see that the Children of Sderot have a few friends in the world since they have none in the Olmert government. No matter how they plea and cry, Olmert will not even try to stop the rocket attacks that have been occurring daily for the past 8 years. View at YouTube But you can help. Write your Representatives in Congress demanding that the US do something to force the end to these attacks. Write your Senator. And you can give a small donation to the Sderot Media Center. You can give a child of Sderot a little Christmas/Hanukkah gift. It would be a nice gesture in support.

ACLU Sues Over "Terrorism Suspect" Transfers

H/T to blog @ MoreWhat.com

The WashingtonPost.com reports that a Boeing Company subsidiary has flown "terrorism suspects," accompanied by CIA agents, to "secret overseas locations."

The ACLU is suing a Boeing subsidiary on behalf of three "terrorism suspects," no lawsuit against Boeing or the U.S. government, and the subsidiary is unnamed.

From The WashingtonPost.com:

The cases involve the alleged mistreatment of Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian citizen, in July 2002 and January 2004; ElkassimBritel, an Italian citizen, in May 2002; and Ahmed Agiza, an Egyptian citizen, in December 2001,...

The ACLU says the suspects were apprehended under the U.S. government's "extraordinary rendition program...."

There's plenty of information published about these three men. Sifting through it will likely not yield much, as it all depends on who you believe.

The ACLU has had at least one previous failure at attempting to successfully sue due to the Extraordinary Rendition Program - this on behalf of Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen born in Kuwait to Lebanese parents. El-Masri is reported to have relocated to Germany in 1985 and became a German citizen through marriage to a German woman, whom he divorced quickly and then married a Lebanese woman. If Wikipedia's reporting of the marriage and quick divorce, resulting in German citizenship, is correct, the ACLU ignored the first marriage, and reported only his marriage to a Lebanese woman - citizenship and two marriages within the period of one year. From the ACLU:

He became a German citizen in 1995, married in 1996 and has six young children.

It is believed that Khaled El-Masri's name may have been confused with Khalid al-Masri...or is it Khaled al-Masri? Indeed, international reporting on El-Masri's case seems to refer to El-Masri as al-Masri and then there's Khalid al-Masri referred to as Khaled Al-Masri. To further the conundrum, an online search for Khalid al-Masri links to GlobalSecurity.org profiling Khalid al-Masri as a recruiter for the al-Qaeda Hamburg cell based in Germany and led by Mohamed Atta - 9/11 hijacker of American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to crash into the World Trade Towers.

The question is, who isn't confused?

Some accounts of El-Masri's detention credit a German Intelligence Agent with secretly passing an El-Masri file to the U.S - however, these reports also seem to refer to the wrongly detained Khaled El-Masri as Khalid al-Masri. Then WorldPoliticsReview, in February 2007, reports Kahled Al-Masri Accused of Assault.... showing a photo of the person it seems is Khaled El-Masri, at least according to the ACLU. The article says:

...the headline had acquired a certain unintended irony as reports emerged that Masri himself had beaten up a social worker in his hometown of Neu-Ulm, leaving the man hospitalized for three days. The assault occurred on Monday, Jan. 29. According to a Feb. 2 report in the Südwest Presse newspaper, citing the local Neu-Ulm prosecutor's office: "Masri is supposed to have pulled the man by the hair and thrown him against a wall. Then he threw a table at him, punched him in the face and stomped on him."

This failed lawsuit... the ACLU's "landmark" lawsuit, was filed against George Tenet, former CIA Director, as well as the owners of a company providing private jet service to the CIA.

In May 2006 a U.S. Federal District Judge T. S. Ellis dismissed the ACLU lawsuit on El-Masri's behalf. The judge's decision was complicated by the fact that the U.S. seemingly acknowledged that El-Masri was mistakenly detained, but held that national security would be jeopardized by court proceedings.

In March 2007, The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the 2006 dismissal. The ACLU is reported to be considering an appeal.

Back to the current lawsuit against a Boeing subsidiary and the concept of the Extraordinary Rendition Program:

A Google search brings up two ACLU links referring to the Extraordinary Rendition Program. The second link includes this teaser:

...Learn More About CIA Kidnapping..."

These are dire times. To say that life isn't fair, is I know, inadequate. But, then...life isn't fair. Perhaps it's inadequate to suggest asking the families of terrorism victims about things fair and unfair. Freedom isn't as simple as an ACLU lawsuit.

Trackposted to Perri Nelson's Website, 4 Time Dad?, The Pet Haven Blog, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Pursuing Holiness, Rightlinx, third world county, Right Celebrity, Woman Honor Thyself, stikNstein... has no mercy, The Uncooperative Blogger, Pirate's Cove, The Right Nation, Nuke's news and views, Dumb Ox Daily News, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, The Random Yak, DeMediacratic Nation, Adam's Blog, MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, The Bullwinkle Blog, Cao's Blog, , Jo's Cafe, Allie Is Wired, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Gone Hollywood, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Technorati Tags: ACLU, Stop the ACLU, Boeing Co., Boeing Subsidiary, Khaled El-Masri, Terrorism, War on Terror, Binyam Mohamed, Elkassim Britel, Ahmed Agiza, WashingtonPost.com