Monthly Archives: June 2009

Homeless Chic: Europe’s Punkabbestia Subculture

Posted on June 30, 2009 by

I used to think that the punkabbestia — dubiously dubbed “gutter punk” in English — were an Italian phenomenon. Strolling across Ponte Sisto, one of Rome’s most attractive old bridges, I would lament their occupation of the bridge (occupation is … Continue reading →

Posted in Identity, Italy, Europe, World | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Have They Really Found St. Paul?

Posted on June 29, 2009 by

Pope Benedict XVI thinks so. Back in 2006, MSNBC published a piece about the excavation of St. Paul’s tomb beneath the homonymous basilica in Rome: Vatican archaeologists have unearthed a sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of the Apostle Paul, … Continue reading →

Posted in Italy, Pope and the Vatican, Religious Faith | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Religious Hypocrisy 2.0

Posted on June 29, 2009 by

Here is a disturbingly humorous story from yesterday’s TGCOM, a nightly news program in Italy. A Catholic priest was stopped for drunk driving, his license revoked because his blood-alcohol level was 0.3% higher than legally allowed. His defense? “I celebrated … Continue reading →

Posted in Italy, Religious Hypocrisy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Israel Excluded From the “Mediterranean Games”

Posted on June 28, 2009 by

This weekend Italy is hosting the so-called “Mediterranean Games” in Pescara. These games have been going on since 1951, and since that year Israel has never been allowed to join them. Sounds like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, excluded from all … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Israel and the Middle East, Italy, Miscellaneous | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Curioser and…Just Plain Idiotic

Posted on June 25, 2009 by

Take a few weeks off from the world to get married and have a decent honeymoon, and when you get back the world will be a stranger place than you left it.  The guy to the center left is Danny … Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Europe, Miscellaneous | Tagged , | Leave a comment

I’m Just Plugging Myself Here

Posted on June 3, 2009 by

Quick book plug (don’t worry, I don’t get a dime if you buy the damn thing): In the last election, Fiamma Nirenstein, an Italian journalist who lives part time in Jerusalem, became one of two Jewish candidates elected to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookmarks, Europe, Israel and the Middle East, Italy | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Comment-Thread Conservatives and Liberals

Posted on June 3, 2009 by

Ron Rosenbaum gets it right again: “Perpetually agitated, permanently enraged” commenters: that rings a bell. (And I’m sure you comment- thread conservatives, at least the cowardly anonymity abusers, will prove us right again). I like the phrase “comment thread conservatives”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Freethought, Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment