Since last week’s historic election of Barack Obama’s as the next U.S. president, a number of high-profile Europeans have been sticking their feet in their mouths while commenting on the situation (Well, some were being outright racist). For example, a leading Austrian television journalist said - on camera - that he “wouldn’t want the Western world to be directed by a black man.” The Italian Prime Minister tried to joke about it, by describing Obama as “young, handsome and even suntanned.” The National Democratic Party of Germany ran the headline, “Africa Conquers the White House,” on their website. And these aren’t even the extremists. Read more…
Well, at least he’s got his hair…
An Italian prosecutor demanded a five-year jail sentence on Monday for conservative former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is accused of bribing a judge.
Berlusconi, Italy’s richest man and owner of its largest private broadcaster, Mediaset, is accused of using judicial bribes to prevent the sale of foods group SME to a rival businessman in the 1980s.
“The episode shows Berlusconi’s full involvement,” wrote general prosecutor Piero De Petris in his summation to the appeals court in Milan.
Berlusconi was cleared of the bribery charges by a lower court in December 2004 and, before stepping down from office last year, passed a law that would have made it impossible for prosecutors to appeal the case.
But Italy’s highest court ruled that law unconstitutional and earlier this year gave prosecutors a green light to appeal.
The head of the center-right political opposition has called the accusations against him “completely unfounded” and says he is confident of being cleared.
Berlusconi has faced several court cases over the last two decades but any convictions have been overturned at appeal, lapsed under the statute of limitations or are under appeal.
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