Trump fires the people investigating him. In Sicily, with the complicity of politicians, the mafia kills them. RIP Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards who were blown up with him 25 years ago today. Read "Excellent Cadavers" by Alexander Stille.
Sicily
and Vermont
Spotlight on Taormina
May 22, 2017
Taormina’s geographical position in the Mediterranean and Sicily’s crucial role in Italy’s approach to migrants is particularly symbolic as the refugee crisis will be one of the topics on this year’s G7 agenda. And indeed, its natural and archeological beauties make it the perfect scene to promote Italy’s image abroad.
Awesome wedding video by the Dinolfo Bros in Gangi, Sicily
May 22, 2017
I am subscribed to the Dinolfo Brothers feed. They are amazing video makers. They work out of Gangi, and I believe it is old Gangi in this wedding clip but I could be wrong. What a town. What talent these guys have. Talent, humor, appreciation of beauty. Dang! Are there USA photographers who make wedding movies like this? Read More
Mafioso shot down while riding his bike in Palermo
May 22, 2017
From The Guardian:
A mafia boss has been gunned down while riding his bicycle in Sicily, in what appeared to have been the sort of mob killing that has become rarer in recent years as dangerous figures have been locked up.
Giuseppe Dainotti, 67, was shot in the head as he cycled along a street in Palermo, almost 25 years to the day since anti-Mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone was killed in a bomb blast on a motorway on the Italian island.
Photographs of Monday’s crime scene evoked decades of violence in the Sicilian capital, showing Dainotti’s body covered by a sheet, only his shoes on show, and the white bicycle he was riding lying where it fell. Read More
A mafia boss has been gunned down while riding his bicycle in Sicily, in what appeared to have been the sort of mob killing that has become rarer in recent years as dangerous figures have been locked up.
Giuseppe Dainotti, 67, was shot in the head as he cycled along a street in Palermo, almost 25 years to the day since anti-Mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone was killed in a bomb blast on a motorway on the Italian island.
Photographs of Monday’s crime scene evoked decades of violence in the Sicilian capital, showing Dainotti’s body covered by a sheet, only his shoes on show, and the white bicycle he was riding lying where it fell. Read More
512 rescued migrants and 7 cadavers arrived trapani this morning
May 15, 2017
The boat docked shortly after 7:30 this morning at the port of Trapani, Sicily. The Italian Coast Guard ship "Diciotti" carried 512 immigrants rescued in the last few days on the Mediterranean Sea. Also aboard were seven cadavers of people who had drowned before rescuers could reach them.
Rescue NGO MOAS responds to questions about funding
May 14, 2017
Rescuers have been accused by some Sicilian authorities of taking money from traffickers to fund their efforts. Here is part of the response from MOAS:
"When questioned about why all our disembarkations are carried out in Italy, and not say, Malta or Tunisia, our representatives explained that MOAS is not the decision-maker in this Read More
"When questioned about why all our disembarkations are carried out in Italy, and not say, Malta or Tunisia, our representatives explained that MOAS is not the decision-maker in this Read More
245 migrants feared dead in Mediterranean
May 9, 2017
United Nations officials said on Tuesday that 245 migrants were feared dead in two shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea. The death toll represents a major increase to an already grim tally this year.
More than 1,300 people are now estimated to have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in 2017, most while attempting to Read More
More than 1,300 people are now estimated to have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in 2017, most while attempting to Read More
Laid-off security guard decides to protect Pretoria fountain for free
May 8, 2017
From La Repubblica 8 May 2017:
Luigi Duro, a 44-year-old security guard who was laid off from his job, decided to protect the splendid white, flowing "Fountain of Shame" in Piazza Pretoria as an act of civil service and to keep his feeling of having a purpose in life. He started his vigil yesterday morning.
He made himself a little badge with his name on it so he can look more authoritative, he said. "I decided to spend my time working for the common good," he said. " I decided to put my twenty-some years of experience in security to some good, without making any profit from it." Read More
Luigi Duro, a 44-year-old security guard who was laid off from his job, decided to protect the splendid white, flowing "Fountain of Shame" in Piazza Pretoria as an act of civil service and to keep his feeling of having a purpose in life. He started his vigil yesterday morning.
He made himself a little badge with his name on it so he can look more authoritative, he said. "I decided to spend my time working for the common good," he said. " I decided to put my twenty-some years of experience in security to some good, without making any profit from it." Read More
MOAS ship Phoenix docks at Catania with hundreds of migrants and dead boy
May 6, 2017
From La Repubblica 6 May 2017
CATANIA, Sicily -- The rescue ship Phoenix belonging to the non-governmental organization MOAS docked at this port this morning bearing 394 rescued migrants and one dead 10-year-old boy who was allegedly murdered by his trafficker. MOAS co-founder Regina Catrambone, who was also aboard, said the boy was pistol- whipped to death by a trafficker when the boy refused to give the trafficker his baseball cap. NGOs rescuing migrants at sea have been accused by certain Catania officials of accepting money from traffickers to pick up shipwrecked migrants and plague Europe with them. Catambrone and the other NGOs say they run their operations with donations from supporters. Read More
CATANIA, Sicily -- The rescue ship Phoenix belonging to the non-governmental organization MOAS docked at this port this morning bearing 394 rescued migrants and one dead 10-year-old boy who was allegedly murdered by his trafficker. MOAS co-founder Regina Catrambone, who was also aboard, said the boy was pistol- whipped to death by a trafficker when the boy refused to give the trafficker his baseball cap. NGOs rescuing migrants at sea have been accused by certain Catania officials of accepting money from traffickers to pick up shipwrecked migrants and plague Europe with them. Catambrone and the other NGOs say they run their operations with donations from supporters. Read More
Rescue ship Prudence returns with five bodies
May 5, 2017
From La Repubblica Palermo online, 5 May 2019:
CATANIA -- The Doctors Without Borders research and rescue ship Prudence docked at Catania at 7 this morning with the bodies of six dead immigrants who had drowned in the Mediterranean. Five women and one man who had left Libya aboard improvised small boats along with hundreds of people fleeing famine and poverty in Africa. For the volunteers of Doctors Without Borders it was difficult to identify them: the six had been dead in the water for days before being picked up by volunteers. Read More
CATANIA -- The Doctors Without Borders research and rescue ship Prudence docked at Catania at 7 this morning with the bodies of six dead immigrants who had drowned in the Mediterranean. Five women and one man who had left Libya aboard improvised small boats along with hundreds of people fleeing famine and poverty in Africa. For the volunteers of Doctors Without Borders it was difficult to identify them: the six had been dead in the water for days before being picked up by volunteers. Read More