Comments on: Soccer wars

By: shystee

shystee — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 17:11:29 +0000

That soccer hooligan map is awesome. Good to see Umbria is still lefty. Updates on the election: Electronic Voting Fraud, Italian Style.

By: Grand Moff Texan

Grand Moff Texan — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:29:23 +0000

Sorry, not a staffer, it was Congressman Jim McDermott.
.

By: Grand Moff Texan

Grand Moff Texan — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:20:37 +0000

the stench of desperation from him and his supporters reeks so strongly as to be nearly tangible

A couple of weeks ago I was told by a congressional staffer about his being used as a prop, along with other staffers, in a faux “joint session of Congress,” where Berlusconi spoke without a translator and the largely uncomprehending “audience” responded to prompts to applaud and stand and applaud.

It was filmed.

The next day, on Berlusconi-owned TV stations, the “joint session” was shown with “reporters” gushing over the record number of standing ovations, the most ever for a foreign dignitary at a “joint session of Congress.”
.

By: Sind wir noch brauchbar? » The sort of reason, if you’re a twat, to yearn for higher office

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 09:10:00 +0000

[...] Don’t bend over when Silvio Berlusconi is around (hoax?) [VIA] [...]

By: Alexander Wolfe

Alexander Wolfe — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 03:37:39 +0000

That’s very interesting. Would anyone argue that the same dynamic exists for supporters of American sports? Certainly it doesn’t exist among American soccer fans, though they do very in intelligence from an average low (Columbus Crew fans) to an average high (FC Dallas fans.)

By: Vance Maverick

Vance Maverick — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 01:02:01 +0000

“squadre a rischio secondo la polizia” = “teams at risk according to the police”.

By: Randy Paul

Randy Paul — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 00:43:26 +0000

Well I guess my days as an Inter supporter are through . . .

By: ogmb

ogmb — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 21:51:41 +0000

Not sure if this is a hoax, but it seems like Silvio has devised a strategy to improve his image with the public. [SFW, but barely so.]

By: DC

DC — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 20:47:51 +0000

That Silvio quote is remarkably like Tricky’s self-pitying “you won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” press conference. Must sense defeat.

By: P O'Neill

P O'Neill — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 20:06:51 +0000

Anyone know if it’s an actual fact that divisions within fans of a given team tend to be more severe in continental Europe than in Britain? That’s certainly the impression one gets in coverage of trouble at matches e.g. in France, where the PSG toughs in the stands seem to spend most of their time fighting each other.

By: Backword Dave

Backword Dave — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 19:44:34 +0000

Good grief: according his Wikipedia entry, Berlusconi “is the founder and principal shareholder of Fininvest, the second largest Italian corporation (after Fiat), which deals in media and financial business and, most notably, comprises three national TV channels. Together these account for nearly half the Italian TV market.”

“[S]ome good soul in the media world, out of pity … ” Forsooth!

By: dmm

dmm — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 19:20:07 +0000

Intersting that Berlusconi’s AC Milan has a far-left supporters group but no far-right group. All of Milan’s far right groups seem to prefer Inter.

Also, what does “squadre a rischio secondo la polizia” mean?