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03 Oct 2011 17:25

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World: Amanda Knox acquitted of murder by Italian court

  • Amanda Knox acquitted: The climactic trial of the moment came to a conclusion today, as an Italian court acquitted Amanda Knox of murder. The judge did uphold a slander conviction over Knox’s claim that a bar owner committed the crime, but that sentence is already covered by her time served; she’s been imprisoned since 2007. It’s reported that some members of the jury, as well as some journalists in the room were moved to tears by Knox’s declarations of innocence, which sounds like a pretty bad time to a be a prosecutor. Knox is now free to head back home to her native Seattle, where a large contingent of supporters are expected to greet her. (Photo by Pier Paolo Cito/AP) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Oct 2011 10:48

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World: Amanda Knox trial: Knox’s emotional final plea for freedom

  • I’ve lost a friend in the worst, most brutal, most inexplicable way possible. I’m paying with my life for things that I didn’t do.
  • Amanda Knox • Speaking during her murder trial on the death of Meredith Kercher, who she spoke of endearingly during her speech this morning. This was Knox’s last chance to prove her innocence before a decision is made at the retrial of the century. Knox’s words were compelling and even brought tears to the eyes of some of the journalists in the courtroom. Example: “She had her bedroom next to mine, she was killed in our own apartment. If I had been there that night, I would be dead,” she said. “But I was not there.” The trial has been a bit of a three-ring circus, but this final act could prove more high-flying than anything else. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Oct 2011 11:27

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World: Amanda Knox trial: A farce no matter what happens Monday

  • Where does the victim fall into this whole mess? With a verdict in the Amanda Knox trial coming on Monday, we’d like to express our frustration with this case. The entire case — on both sides — seems more obsessed with creating attention for itself, rather than finding any true sense of justice for the victim, Meredith Kercher. With prosecutors seemingly obsessed with ratcheting up the heat on Knox (they asked that she and suspect Raffaele Sollecito receive life sentences, despite the fact their sentences were far less than that the first time around), rather than focused on the facts of the case, it’s likely justice has not been served. Even Knox’s own family has had to put up a giant PR campaign around her, which almost feels like necessity given the insane press coverage around the case. The media coverage feels particularly weird and invasive. The result? Whatever happens Monday will not be justice — it’ll be a bastardization of the word. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Sep 2011 00:19

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World: There’s something world leaders don’t say every day

  • Berlusconi’s back: In a move that probably won’t help German-Italian relations, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was caught on tape referring to German Chancellor Angela Merkel as an “unf@#kable lard-ass.” These are harsh words from the lothario Berlusconi; while he’s admitted to being “a bit mischievous” with his sexual exploits, he’s also insisted that he treats women with the utmost respect. Hopefully this won’t spark an international crisis (Reuters photo). source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Aug 2011 10:47

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World: Delayed reaction of the day: Silvio Berlusconi’s plea to the Libyan rebels

  • Now, you might not know this, but there’s a bit of a civil war going on at the moment in Libya. The rebels are fairly close to victory — so close they can smell it. So, right on cue, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a former colonial leader of Libya who was once an ally to Gaddafi and a reluctant partner in the NATO campaign in Libya, has urged the rebels “to abstain from any violence.” Now … look. We can see that there is obvious danger of things escalating, and the rebels do need to be careful to approach the situation carefully. But seriously, this is the wrong time for this comment if he’s going to make it. This is, like, a war, man. Things like this happen. But to tell the rebels to drop their weapons now, at a key time in the country’s history where they’re about to win, seems just a little bit tone-deaf to the current situation. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 May 2011 16:48

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World: Defecting Libyan Generals: We’re keeping our troops

  • eight Libyan Generals defected to Italy today, according to the Italian Foreign Ministry
  • 100+ Libyan soldiers accompanied their generals, who met with Italian intelligence agents in Tunisia source
  • » This comes the same day that South African President Jacob Zuma is meeting with Gaddafi to try and negotiate a cease-fire between him and rebels. Will these defections spur a change of heart in Gaddafi, convincing him to finally relinquish power and allow his crumbling regime to die? Probably not, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed just in case.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Apr 2011 10:39

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World: Hundreds of Libyan refugees feared killed after ship capsizes

  • 200+ migrants, mostly sub-Saharan Africans, were on a ship headed from Libya to Italy
  • 50+ people were rescued off the Italian island of Lampedusa after the ship capsized on Wednesday
  • 150+ people are still missing; “We fear they could be even more than that,” said one official source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

16 Mar 2011 15:28

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Politics: Silvio Berlusconi admits to being “mischievous,” nothing more

  • 13 times (allegedly) that Berlusconi had sex with a 17-year-old source
  • » He denies this, obviously. As does the girl he’s alleged to have slept with, Karima el Mahroug (better known publicly by her pseudonym, Ruby The Heart Stealer). The Italian Prime Minister mocked the accusations against him, claiming that the charge, which cites 33 total women he was alleged to have slept with, is silly because he’s too old. “I’m 75, and even if I’m a bit mischievous, 33 girls in two months is too much even for someone who is 30.” It says something about Berlusconi’s personality that he’s still coyly describing himself as “mischievous,” even as he faces this major legal threat. He’s basically ceding that yeah, he might sleep around every now and then, but not THAT much. Wouldn’t you generally want to avoid in any way alluding to such a thing?
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Feb 2011 20:51

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World: Italy: Mass exodus from Libya could be “Biblical” in proportion

  • 6.5 million the number of people who live in Libya; about a third are immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa who could migrate easily
  • 300,000 the number of refugees Italy thinks may hit their shores after the Gaddafi regime is toppled – and that’s on the low end, by the way source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Feb 2011 09:21

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World: Libyan death toll: Top Italian official gives fairly high estimate

  • 1,000+ likely dead, says an Italian official source
  • » A bit above prior estimates: Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini offered the estimate to a Catholic organization in Rome, saying that while numbers in cases like these are hard to nail down, “we believe that the estimates of about 1,000 are credible.” Later, when speaking to Parliament, he didn’t mention a number but said “the tragic number will be a bloodbath.” Italy and Libya have significant diplomatic and economic relations.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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