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"Buon Giorno!" Welcome to the newsletter that has to ask, "Whose brilliant idea was it to exhume Padre Pio and why?" Only In Italy! Regarding young people not flying the nest it is not only an Italian problem. Most of them have too cozy a life style, all their creature comforts and not to mention all their money to spend on themselves. Why give up this? How can they live without their Nike shoes, expensive sunglasses, etc.? And poor darlings work so hard they need their little breaks. Don't get me wrong life isn't easy today but then it never has been. Even in the good old days when we had to go out to work to try and help our families. This is written by someone who was an only child, went to boarding school, lived independently at the age of twenty. Half my weekly wage went to pay rent, after I had to pay for food/transport/telephone/electricity/and other sundries. When I got married interest rates were 28% in Italy. We had a bed, table, 4 chairs, four cups, forks, knives, 2 pairs of sheets, a second hand washing machine, fridge (we waited four months to buy). We saved (little) and built up as we could afford it. A pizza was a special outing. We were happy with little, once it was ours. It was not important to live in the right area. We were independent. Where did we go wrong in not passing on these values to our children? Anonymous Thanks for the forthcoming letter, Anon. You're absolutely correct in your argument. Today's carefree generation should understand that our wise Italian elders knew what real deprivation was and what it meant to make sacrifices to help support the family. They were priceless values that should have been passed on from generation to generation. By the way, would you be kind enough to supply us with the name of the store where you purchased your furniture, second hand washing machine and strictly essential tableware? It would help today's young Italian graduates earning an average salary of 600-800 Euros ($900-1200) a month. Enjoy the issue, keep writing and Grazie! Tanti Saluti,
Authorities have confiscated 14 fake Ferrari Modena 360s, seven sold and seven under construction, in an operation reaching from Palermo to Milan, said Guido Geremia, head of the Palermo unit that led the investigation. Investigators do not know how many of the cars have been sold in the past but Geremia said the buyers knew the cars were fakes and were clearly seeking to impress unknowing neighbors with the sleek-bodied speed machines. "That is the only reason," he said. Eight people are under investigation, authorities said. The ring used mostly Pontiacs as their base, but also Mercedes and Toyotas, building a copy of a Ferrari body over the original car's engine. "It was done very well. They were very skilled," Geremia said. The financial police, who lead Italy's fight against the counterfeiters who cash in on the country's reputation for quality in everything from handbags to prosciutto, launched the Ferrari investigation six months ago. Geremia said they were helped by Internet sites where the cars were offered up for sale. The 360 Modena went out of production in 2004, and was priced at the time at $215,000, said Ferrari spokeswoman Mariella Mengozzi. The current suggested retail price by Italy's consumer auto magazine for a 2004 model is around $150,000. Mengozzi said it is not the first time the Ferrari brand has been copied and that the automaker, which is owned by the Fiat Group, monitors Web sites for evidence of fakes. "Ferrari is a product that maintains its value over time and of course we try to protect our clients who buy the real thing," Mengozzi said. "Ferrari Modena?" "No...Ferrari Pontiaca." These Sicilian Ferraris were built so well they would have made Enzo Ferrari take off those sunglasses glued to his face. The famous symbol of the Ferrari race team is a black prancing stallion on a yellow shield, usually with the letters S F (for Scuderia Ferrari), with three stripes of green, white and red (the Italian national colors) at the top. The symbol on the Palermo Pontiac Ferrari is a tired brown mule with stomach problems on a yellow shield with the letters V F (for Vaffanculo). "Guido Geremia, head of the Palermo unit that led the investigation, said the buyers knew the cars were fakes and were clearly seeking to impress unknowing neighbors with the sleek-bodied speed machines." Obviously, Guido must be a miserably married man for one drives a phony Ferrari to impress unknowing phony women. Besides, the name Guido alone tells me you're driving a Ferrari that gets excellent gas mileage. Phony Ferrari
London - February 29, 2008 - A popular language college in London is controlled by the leader of an Italian neo-fascist party who has links to the British National party, news agencies have learned. CL English Language, a college in west London that teaches hundreds of foreign students each year, is controlled by Roberto Fiore, leader of Forza Nuova, an extreme right-wing party. Fiore, who once said he was happy to be described as a neo-fascist and who is an old friend and mentor of Nick Griffin, leader of the BNP, was appointed as a director of the college more than two years ago and became sole director in August last year. Many of the students, who pay up to 30 pounds an hour for tuition, are Italian, while others are from Africa, the far east and eastern Europe. None of those interviewed outside the college last week were aware of Fiore's involvement. Staff at the college have said there are usually more than 100 students there at any one time. Despite its size, however, its latest accounts show that it recorded a profit of just 2,214 pounds during 2006, and 1,821 pounds the year before. Fiore arrived in Britain in October 1980 as a 21-year-old fugitive from the Italian police, who wanted to question him about the Bologna train station bombing two months earlier in which 85 people were killed and more than 200 injured. He was reputed to be a member of the extreme right-wing organization the "Armed Revolutionary Nuclei", several of whose members were subsequently convicted of mass murder. After being arrested by Scotland Yard officers the following year, Fiore was brought before Bow Street court, but the authorities in Rome failed to secure his extradition. In Rome, meanwhile, he was cleared of involvement in the bombing, but was convicted of subversive association and jailed for nine years, reduced to five-and-a-half on appeal. The jail term was eventually "timed out" under Italy's statute of limitation laws, and Fiore was able to return to his homeland in April 1999. He had already founded Forza Nuova, an anti-immigration party committed to revoking laws that ban the recreation of the fascist party. A year after his return he was quoted as saying: "If you call me a neo-fascist I won't kick up a fuss." "Repeat: The book is on the totalitarian table." That's some school. You have a neofascist fighting for an authoritarian political ideology and foreign students fighting the English language!Roberto has been a busy little Italian bee since his teens. As a leader of "Terza Posizione", Roberto became a wanted man in Italy after the 1980 bombing of the Bologna train station. This status was increased in 1985 when a Rome court declared that "Terza Posizione" was simply a cover movement for the "Armed Revolutionary Nuclei", the terror group blamed on the attack and linked with the "Propaganda Due-Organisation". As a result of constantly playing terror group musical chairs, Roberto became dizzy, expatriated to the United Kingdom and went into hiding...along with the money of the movement. Roberto controls "CL English Language"; a college in west London that teaches hundreds of immigrants and foreigners. Roberto: "If you call me a neo-fascist I won't kick up a fuss."
Rome - February 28, 2008 - One in three Italian women are prepared to get down on one knee and pop the question if a marriage proposal from their partners is not forthcoming, a new Internet survey revealed on Thursday. Online community Badoo.com sampled the opinions of 1,500 Italian women for the survey. Around 44% of singles said they planned to get married at some point, with 33% insisting they would be prepared to do the asking themselves emulating Hollywood stars such as Renee Zellweger and Halle Berry. Of those not afraid to take the initiative, 29% said they would like to propose by posting a video on the Internet so that friends could watch and comment on their performance. A further 16% would prefer to propose on live television, while 10% would opt for a large advertising billboard on the streets. Some 22% said they would ask for an "I do" on a special occasion, such as Valentine's Day or a birthday, while 16% said they would make their move in more private surroundings like the top of a mountain. "Hey cornuto! Mi sposi o no?!" The compelling reason why these unfortunate Italian women are forced to propose is because most Italian men take advantage of long-term relationships to avoid matrimonial responsibility. The motto: "Nobody buys the cow when they can milk it for free." The cow is understandably disappointed to be abandoned by a man who paces himself like a slug with whom she has been "engaged" for six, seven or nineteen years. The 20th century introduced the comical use of the "fedina" (from the term "fede di matrimonio" for a wedding band). This is a ring similar to a wedding band but thinner and less expensive that young, clueless unmarried lovers exchange to indicate an "engagement." In reality, these are not formal engagements but just extended romances. Engagements in Italy today which often span five to ten years result from irritating customs and circumstances. Nowadays, when non-marital sex is commonplace, it gives more assurance to a couple's relationship to say that they are "engaged," even if they are not. It should be painfully remembered that most Italians live with their parents until marriage, unless there's a compelling reason (such as a job in a distant city) for moving out. The parents of the so-called happy couple exchange flowers and get to know each other. It is quite possible that they already know each other on a phony and superficial level. Usually, but not always, a date is set for the wedding, though in some cases this is two or three years away.
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