BUNGA BUNGA - SILVIO WANTS BLUE VELVET

Milan, 28 Oct. (AKI) - Italy's flamboyant prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday dismissed as “media trash" allegations of sexual antics with various women including a 17-year-old Moroccan girl called Ruby at his Milan villa during what he called “Bunga Bunga” nights.

Berlusconi replied to a question about the news reports during a news conference on the ongoing garbage crisis in the southern Italian city of Naples (which he said would be over in three days).

“I have a big heart and I try to help people in need,” Berlusconi said in comments broadcast live by Italy's Sky TG24.

“But I’m here to talk about real trash, and I’ll leave the media trash to all of you.”

Italian newspapers Il Fatto Quotidiano and La Repubblica have carried stories in the last two days based on claims by Ruby, an aspiring showgirl, who said she visited 74-year-old Berlusconi’s villa in Arcore near Milan three times when she was 17.

Ruby, now an adult, claimed she and other women, who included escorts and several cabinet ministers, were at Berlusconi's villa when the "Bunga Bunga" sex game was played. Berlusconi allegedly said Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi had taught him the game.

She claims he showered her with gifts of Rolex watches and Bulgari, Damiani and Dolce&Gabbana jewellery and clothes as well as over 150,000 euros in cash. He said he would buy her a beauty parlour and told Ruby to say she was the niece of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the newspaper reports cited her as saying.

Ruby was part of a circle of aspiring models and actresses who were allegedly introduced to Berlusconi by a prominent show business agent, Lele Mora, and by prominent TV host Emilio Fede. Fede is 79.

The undocumented Moroccan teenager was picked up several times by police, suspected of theft and burglary. But each time, she was allegedly released after police received a call from the Italian cabinet offfice saying she was Mubarak's niece.

Magistrates cautioned that the Moroccan woman's claims might be with foundation and could be part of a plot to blackmail the premier or an attempt to launch herself into the media spotlight.

Prosecutors are reported to be probing Mora, Fede and Berlusconi's former dental hygienist, Nicole Minetti, for abetting prostitution.

Minetti was elected aged 25 as a councillor for the northern Lombardy region surrounding Milan.

Berlusconi’s lawyers Niccolo Ghedini and Piero Longo said in a statement on Wednesday that the allegations reportedly made by Ruby were "unfounded".

Berlusconi was previously linked to teenage Naples lingerie model Noemi Letizia, whose 18th birthday party he attended in 2008 and whom he gave a 6,000 euro gold and pearl pendant.

She said she called him 'Papi' meaning 'Daddy' in English.

Escort Patrizia D'Addario alleges she had sex with Berlusconi at his residence in Rome in November 2009. She released tapes of their encounter to media. Berlusconi has said he is "no saint" but has never paid a woman for sex or had "improper" relations.

Mario Adorf vs Henry Silva - from MANHUNT (La Mala Ordina, 1972) - FERNANDO DI LEO

Fernando Di Leo (January 11, 1932 - December 1, 2003) was an Italian film director and script writer born in San Ferdinando di Puglia. During his career from 1964 to 1985, Di Leo directed 20 films and was involved in the writing process in 43. His films influenced many popular contemporary directors, such as Quentin Tarantino and John Woo.

Di Leo started his career mostly writing scripts for spaghetti westerns. He worked on the script for Per un pugno di dollari (A Fistful of Dollars, 1964) and later as assistant director and assistant to Sergio Leone in Per qualche dollaro in più (For a Few Dollars More, 1965). Later, he wrote scripts for such westerns as Navajo Joe (1966) and Johnny Yuma (1967). Di Leo is now best remembered for his poliziotteschi films, especially the Milieu Trilogy, which he both wrote and directed. The trilogy contains Milano calibro 9 (1972), La mala ordina (Manhunt, 1972) and Il boss (The Boss, 1973)

F - FOOTWEAR GLOSSARY

FLAT HEEL
Shoes with a very low heel or no heel (Flats)

FRINGE TAB

SEXY SILVIO - THE BEST BERLUSCONI'S ADVANCES (subtitled)

By Nick Squires in Rome
Published: 8:30AM BST 13 Sep 2009

Mr Berlusconi was elected as prime minister for the third time last year and, unless his parliamentary support crumbles, could continue in office until the next election in 2013.

"Silvio Berlusconi's decline may have begun, as his enemies and some allies speculate. But it is yet to be seen where or when it will happen and, above all, it is not clear who would benefit," wrote Massimo Franco, a columnist for the Corriere della Sera broadsheet.

What is certain is that Mr Berlusconi's braggadocio has failed to quell the clamour over the alleged sex scandals. In the latest escalation, it was claimed last week that over a five month period last year he hosted 30 young women at 18 dinner parties at his mansion in the centre of Rome, with some of them paid 1,000 euros allegedly to have sex with him.

The women, who included lingerie models, reality television contestants and young actresses, were recruited by Giampaolo Tarantini, a 35-year-old businessman from the southern port of Bari who is an acquaintance of Mr Berlusconi.

The lavish dinners, where the women were served champagne and given gifts of jewellery, were held during the period when Mr Berlusconi was involved in an attempt to rescue the national airline, Alitalia, from imminent bankruptcy.

Some of the women were eastern European and South American, raising awkward questions for Mr Berlusconi about whether his trysts could expose him to blackmail by a foreign power.

Prosecutors have gathered so much evidence, much of it leaked last week to the press, that the case is likely to go to trial, with Mr Tarantini, 35, accused of procuring prostitutes.

Mr Berlusconi himself is not under investigation and has denied ever paying for sex, with his lawyer famously insisting that the ageing Lothario would only have been the "end user" of any such services.

The Bari case has already revealed evidence that a professional escort, Patrizia D'Addario, 42, was paid 1,000 euros by Mr Tarantini to sleep with Mr Berlusconi at his residence in Rome in November.

She taped explicit conversations between them on her mobile phone and went public when the prime minister failed to keep his promise that he would propel her into politics and help her with a business enterprise.

Mr Berusconi is said to be contemplating legal action against her and claimed on Friday that she could face 18 years in prison for what he described as "four crimes" she had committed - though he did not elaborate.

As the besuited powerbrokers of Mr Berlusconi's party debate his future over conspiratorial meals in Rome's clubs and restaurants,

Mr Berlusconi faces a difficult few months ahead. Italy is deep in recession and the country's employers' federation warned last week that Italians should expect a further 780,000 job losses by next year.

In October the Constitutional Court is expected to rule on the legality of a controversial law pushed through last year, giving Mr Berlusconi immunity from prosecution while in office. If the court strikes down the so-called Alfano law, his immunity will be revoked. "It is his obsessive fear," said Marc Lazar, a political scientist.

In the same month, the British lawyer David Mills will launch an appeal against his conviction in May for accepting a £430,000 bribe, allegedly from Mr Berlusconi, in exchange for giving false evidence at two corruption trials in the 1990s.

But if his wife has abandoned him, at least some of Mr Berlusconi's family are still prepared to rally to his side. On Friday, his eldest daughter from his first marriage, Marina, came publicly to his defence. She said her father had been subject to a "lynching" by relentless newspaper reports that were nothing more than "inflammatory slander".

"There have been real attempts to stab him in the back, but happily he has good reflexes," said Miss Berlusconi, who is president of Fininvest, the holding company that controls her father's media empire, Mediaset.

"I know perfectly how precious freedom of the press is... but all freedom has a limit, which is respect of freedom of others. Journalists are free, Berlusconi is also. He is free to have a private life."

E - FOOTWEAR GLOSSARY

ELASTIC

ELASTICIZED LEATHER

Elasticized leather consisting essentially of a woven material comprising warp threads and weft threads, said woven material being impregnated with a solution of polyurethane and then immersed in a bath containing a solvent and a non-solvent for said polyurethane whereby said polyurethane coagulates to form a layer of a coagulated polyurethane coating on at least one of two sides of said material, said weft threads in said woven material being formed of segmented polyurethane fibers which have been coated with polyamide fibers which are then covered with a fiber selected from the group consisting of cellulose fibers and mixtures of cellulose and polyester fibers. 

EYELET
A small hole for a lace or cord to be passed through or for a hook to be inserted into.

VINCENZO DE LUCA versus EVERYONE

The mayor Vincenzo De Luca defines as "exceptional" the mozzarella made in Campania.

But take a look on where buffaloes graze near Salerno, in the landfill of Sardone. These images have been taken on 21st January 2008, some days before mayor De Luca's interview.

The landfill of Sardone, at 5 Km from Salerno, has been for years one of the biggest sonorous scandals of the Campania politics.

Mayor: You have to support us to help economic activities.

But let's say aloud that we have absolutely excellent products, in Caserta, in many areas of Sele plains, and here, in our province, in Vallo di Diano... We have an exceptional "mozzarella". So, please, don't create a psychosis, because we risk having a really huge economic crisis

Int: But the images create that psychosis, the garbage is visible...

Mayor: We must do something, because the commissioner has been appointed for twenty days, and no landfill has been opened yet, and every day we accumulate 7,200 more tons of waste

Int: Today the commissioner has gone near Benevento trying to convince people, this is not a simple issue...

Mayor: Let's be clear: if a landfill is under law, it must be opened also by tanks.

D - FOOTWEAR GLOSSARY

DECORATION

DERBY

A Derby or Gibson (also called a Blücher in America) is a style of shoe characterized by shoelace eyelet tabs that are sown on top of the vamp, a construction method that is also sometimes referred to as "open lacing". Oxfords, in contrast, are characterized by shoelace eyelet tabs that are stitched underneath the vamp.

DERBY ANKLE BOOTS

DOUBLE STITCHING

BERLUSCONI GIVES THE MIDDLE FINGER

Michaela Biancofiore Celebrates Birthday With Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi proved he was on the mend after his attack by inviting a glamorous young Italian MP to a birthday celebration.

He has barely left hospital for injuries sustained in an assault in Milan last month. But the Italian prime minister, who bears scars to his face from the Dec 13 attack, was photographed beaming as he sat next to Michaela Biancofiore, a member of his People of Freedom party.

He invited her to his villa at Arcore outside Milan, where he is recuperating after a man with a history of mental illness smashed a souvenir of the city's Gothic cathedral into his face, leaving him with a fractured nose, two broken teeth and cuts to his lip.

The pair celebrated Miss Biancofiore's 39th birthday with a cake on which a cartoon crafted from icing depicted the young MP with out-sized breasts and a low-cut blouse and the prime minister with his arms around her, sticking his middle finger up in the air.

The caricature was a reference to a rally which Mr Berlusconi attended with the young MP in Bolzano, northern Italy, in 2005, in which he told jokes to supporters and raised his finger in apparent defiance of his political enemies.

"When he saw the cake, he laughed a lot, but it stretched the stitches on his face and that made him recall the attack," said Miss Biancofiore, who is a senior member of the prime minister's governing coalition in the northern region of Trentino Alto Adige.

She said that while she was afraid that the encounter might be subject to "gossip and slander", nothing improper had happened between her and the prime minister and that they were not alone during the birthday celebrations at his residence, Villa San Martino.

Mr Berlusconi had been "generous and kind as usual", she told the newspaper Corriere della Sera, adding she had ordered the cake herself.

Mr Berlusconi, 73, is being divorced by his wife of 20 years, Veronica Lario, 53, after a string of episodes involving starlets and showgirls.

He underwent a medical check-up at the weekend, with doctors saying he was making a satisfactory recovery.

His personal doctor, Alberto Zangrillo, said the billionaire premier had respected medical advice not to engage in any public activity, including cabinet meetings, for two weeks after the attack.

He is expected to return to public engagements at the end of this week.

C - FOOTWEAR GLOSSARY

CALF

CALIFORNIA-LAST
Shoes that are constructed without an insole board are known as slip-last or slip-lasted shoes. Alternatively, they are also known as California-last shoes. In this kind of shoe construction, usually found in athletic shoes, the upper of the shoe is slipped into the last and then pulled over and stitched or glued to the center of the midsole. This results in a lightweight and flexible shoe with less stability and ideal for those with rigid feet looking for more motion and traction. The absence of a stiffening board in the insole of the slip-last shoe makes this shoe perfect for runners and athletes.

CANVAS 

Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions where sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched. It is also used in such fashion objects as handbags and shoes.

CHROME TANNAGE

Tanning is the process to preserve the skin before dying. Chrome Tannage simply means to use chrome-salt as a tannin. It creates a soft leather that easily absorbs most dyes. It is one of the most common ways to for tanning leather today.

CORDOVAN 

An equine leather.

COUNTER 

The rear-most part of the shoe, at the back of the heel above the sole. It is rigid and provides support.

COURT SHOE

Court shoes (British English) or pumps (American English) are shoes with usually no fastening and a low cut front. However, some have ankle straps. They are usually worn by women now, but are still traditional menswear in some formal situations, when they are sometimes called opera slippers or patent pumps.

COVERED HEEL 

B - FOOTWEAR GLOSSARY

BABY CALF

BACK STRAP

Strap across the back of a garment at the waist usually fitted with a buckle, or other method of adjustable fastening, and used to adjust the fit of the garment, within limits, to the wearer's require-ments.

BALLERINA

Inspired by ballet slippers, ballerina flats have become a staple in women's footwear. Having a flat heel, closed toe, and a slipper-style construction, ballerina flats are typically low-cut, meaning they show a lot of the top of the foot. Made from a wide variety of materials, ballerina flats can be dressy or casual, and are sometimes called "skimmers" or "ballet flats."

BIG TOE
The first largest innermost toe.   

BOOTS
A boot is a type of footwear. It mainly covers the foot and the ankle and extends up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece.

BOX CALF
Black calfskin leather, tanned with chromium salts, having a pattern of fine creases formed by boarding.

BUCKLE 

A clasp for fastening two ends, as of straps or a belt, in which a device attached to one of the ends is fitted or coupled to the other.

BUCKLE STRAP 

Leather or metal ornamental stripe on the moccasin.

A - FOOTWEAR GLOSSARY

AGLET
Metal or plastic sheath over the end of a shoelace or ribbon.

ANILINE TANNING

Aniline-tanning means natural tanning, by using colour application that allows the leathers to keep their natural appearance, giving the touch of nobility.  The use of such leather requires enormous experience (i.e., individual cutting, pair by pair).  Naturally tanned leathers may be of slightly different color as the hides do not always react identically when tanning.  Even more, there may be small color differences within the same hide.

ANKLE BOOTS
Short boots. A boot that extends up to the ankle but not much beyond.

 












  
ANKLET
A sock that reaches just above the ankle.

 
 
ANTIQUE - ANTIQUED

ARCH OF THE FOOT

The arches of the foot are formed by the tarsal and metatarsal bones and, strengthened by ligamentstendons, allow the foot to support the weight of the body in the erect posture with the least weight.

BERLUSCONI BLASPHEMES DURING HE TELLS A JOKE

(AGI) Rome - Avvenire: "All we needed was the unacceptable blasphemy in the President's joke". In an editorial by the newspaper's Editor, Marco Tarquinio, Avvenire is taking a stance against Silvio Berlusconi's "unacceptable bad language", recalling another quote also broadcast over the internet on "Jewish stereotypes" that has worn thin. Avvenire's Editor has resorted to strong language. "Every single member of the official bodies, every single minister and the head of government in particular is honour-bound to show dignity and respect for their positions, the feelings of their people and for He whose name should not be taken in vain".