|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By Ned Sublette
$18.45
By Shalom Auslander
$21
|
|
|
|
|
What do “Meatball,” “Marbles,” “Lumpy” and “Jello” have in common? They’re all nicknames for alleged members of the Mafia who were busted by the FBI in a mass crackdown this week that led to the arrest of more than 120 purported Mob operatives.
|
Flickr / BruceTurner (CC-BY)
|
Italian authorities arrested 300 alleged Mafia members Tuesday in a nationwide crackdown involving 10 police officers for every suspect. The ’Ndrangheta Mafia may not be as famous as the Cosa Nostra, but it is estimated to do about $56 billion a year in illegal business.
|
Wikimedia Commons / Agência Brasil
|
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is cracking down on organized crime in his homeland, or so he said Thursday, creatively linking that issue with immigration and criticizing media depictions of the Mafia and other crime conglomerates for hurting Italy’s image.
|
AP / Adriana Sapone
|
Tensions over immigration in a small Italian town have erupted in violent attacks on African farmworkers, leading police to remove 300 migrants from the community and send them to holding centers—accompanied by cheers from the townsfolk.
|
|
And now, some news from the right side of the aisle: Presidential hopeful Ron Paul chatted with conservative talk show host Steve Gill about his recent fundraising success, domestic and foreign policy issues, and 9/11 and its aftermath, blasting the neocons for using the Sept. 11 attacks to advance their agenda: “If the mafia attacks someone in this country, we don’t bomb Italy,” Paul said.
|
|
More than 300 of Italy’s life-sentence prisoners have signed a letter asking the Italian president to reinstate the death penalty and change their sentences. Italy is one of the world’s leading opponents of execution and even allows prisoners serving life sentences conditional release after years of good behavior. But the inmates who signed the letter seem to feel that life behind bars is not worth living.
|
|
The southern Iraqi city of Basra, once a pro-American oasis, has now changed its tune as mafia-style warlords terrorize the population. It’s a reality check for the world in the wake of the euphoria that greeted Zarqawi’s death.
|
View the most popular tags overall?
|
|
Does Anything Change in Los Angeles With Election of New Mayor?
Newsletter 
Like Us
Follow Us
Get Our Feed
