Berlusconi: seven years in prison and barred from public office for life.

MILAN (AP) — A Milan court has convicted former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi of paying for sex with an under-age prostitute during infamous "bunga bunga" parties at his villa and then using his influence to try to cover it up.

Berlusconi, 76, was sentenced to seven years in prison and barred from public office for life. The ban on holding office could mean the end of Berlusconi's two-decade political career. However, there are two more levels of appeal before the sentence would become final. Berlusconi will not have to serve any jail time unless the sentence is confirmed on appeal.

Berlusconi holds no official post in the current Italian government, but remains influential in the uneasy cross-party coalition that emerged after inconclusive February elections. Both he and the Moroccan woman at the center of the scandal have denied ever having sex.
"I already know they want to get me out of the way", says Berlusconi. His mood is said to be black and he is braced for the worst... (Di Caro, Corriere della Sera)

Bend it Like Beckham

In Bend it Like Beckham (UK 2002), an independent-minded young woman discovers the joys of football, much to her family's chagrin. Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is an 18-year-old growing up in West London, where her family has taken every effort to stay in touch with its Indian heritage. Jess' father and mother (Anupam Kher and Shaheen Khan) are after their daughter to go to law school, learn to cook a traditional Indian dinner, and settle down with a nice Indian boy -- the latter of which is high on the agenda of her older sister Pinky (Archie Panjabi), who is soon to wed her longtime beau Teetu (Kulvinder Ghir). However, her family is unaware that Jess has a secret passion -- football (or soccer, as it's known in North America). While Jess' enthusiasm for football star David Beckham is obvious, given the fact his photos cover the walls of her room, her parents don't know that in her spare time she likes to play a friendly game in the park with some of the boys in the neighborhood. One day, while Jess and her pals kick the ball around, she meets Jules (Keira Knightley), who is quite impressed with Jess' skills. Jules plays with a local semi-pro women's football team, the Hounslow Harriers, and she thinks Jess has what it takes to make the team. Jess knows that her parents would never approve of their daughter playing football, so she doesn't tell them, and starts spinning an increasingly complex series of lies as she tries to keep up a double life as a student and a footballer. Jess soon discovers a number of her new friends have their own problems to overcome; Jules dreams of playing pro ball in America, but has to deal with her stubborn and disapproving mother (Juliet Stevenson), while Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), Hounslow's Irish coach, still struggles with the disappointment of a career as a professional athlete which was dashed by a knee injury. Bend It Like Beckham was a significant box-office success in Great Britain and Europe, but didn't reach American theaters until nearly a year after it debuted in the U.K. (Mark Deming, Rovi).

Here’s the script and the study guide from Film Education.

For an analysis of the film (adopting a postcolonial approach) and underlying the limitations of an understanding of “culture” as homogenous and static, you can read Chacko, M.A (2010) Bend It Like Beckham: Dribbling the Self Through a Cross-Cultural Space, in “Multicultural Perspectives”, 12(2): 81–86.

Bronx

Fighting the Image of the ‘Burning’ Borough - NYTimes.com
“The Bronx has been trying to remove the scorch marks from its name since the 1970s, when arson fires, rampant crime and poverty pushed residents out in droves; made the borough a national symbol of urban decay; and saddled it with the apocalyptic phrase, “the Bronx is burning.”

Kids These Days

Kids These Days - T Magazine

“...In other words, it's the young people who have nothing to lose, with no mortgage and, frankly, with nothing to do on a Friday night except work, who are the ones often willing to take the biggest risks. Sure, they are talented. But it's their persistence and zeal, the desire to stay up until 6 a.m. chugging Red Bull, that is the difference between being a salaried employee and an entrepreneur“.

Happy Land: Australia

Australia is the world's happiest industrialized nation. These are the results of the latest (28 May) survey by OECD Better Life Index.

“Australia has remained largely immune from the global financial crisis, with its economy growing on average 3.5% over the last 20 years to 2012, according to the CIA Factbook. The economy of the natural resource-rich nation has been buoyed by strong demand from Asia and China, while its robust financial sector has helped combat the global downturn. Such growth is in stark contrast to recessions which have gripped Europe and the U.S. since the financial crisis exploded in 2007” (Irene Chapple CNN).

The index is based on 11 criteria: Housing, Income, Jobs, Community, Education, Environment, Civic engagement, Health, Life Satisfaction, Safety, Work-Life Balance.

Down by Law

Down by Law (1986) written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni.

“Set in a seedy New Orleans summer, Down By Law details the meeting of three unlikely convicts and their just as unlikely escape. Zack (Tom Waits) is an out-of-work DJ who is accused of murder when a body is found in the trunk of a stolen car he was hired to drive across town. Jack (John Lurie) is a pimp set up for a fall by a competitor. These two sullen souls are locked in a cell with Roberto (Roberto Benigni), a cheerful Italian immigrant who happens to have killed a man. The chemistry between the members of this loosely bound "team" is fascinating: Zack and Jack are forever laughing at Roberto, yet they rely on his energy and good will to escape their dire situation. The three mismatched miscreants eventually bust out of jail and head into the Louisiana bayous. Tired and hungry, they separate to search for food: Waits goes one way, Lurie another, and the frightened Benigni decides to risk stepping into a ramshackle diner. Somehow or other, he winds up in the arms of gorgeous Italian girl Nicoletta Braschi -- and is even able to provide new clothes and escape routes for his astonished comrades!” (John Voorhees, Rovi). “To Jack and Zack, Roberto is not only from another country, but another planet. His English is, at best, random. He's read all of the great American writers (''in Italian translation, of course''), including ''Bob'' Frost. He regards his murder charge only as something of a temporary delay, like bad weather at the airport” (Vincent Canby, NYT).You can watch the full movie here.

Human Resources and Capital Development in Education Abroad

May 9-11, 2013, Syracuse University and Gonzaga University Florence programs will co-host: "Human Resources and Capital Development in Education Abroad," Attendance is free and open to the public. A workshop will take place on Thursday. The workshop will provide a review of the Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad, focusing on Standard 7: Organizational and Program Resources. The Standards provide a means to assess all areas of education abroad programming and offer guidance in how to ensure quality in areas such as academic programming, student conduct, resources and personnel, and policies and procedures. This workshop will provide the latest data collected by the Forum’s 2013 Institutional and Program Resources Survey. Using this data and case studies, participants will examine current institutional practices in managing resources.  This offering is intended for those responsible for developing, managing, assessing, improving, or supporting education abroad programs. Participants are expected to have familiarity with either hosting or sending students on education abroad programs. Professionals who may benefit from attending include resident directors and on-site staff, education abroad coordinators and directors, education abroad advisors, and faculty who lead programs.

Facilitator: Brian Whalen, President and CEO, The Forum on Education Abroad

Location: This workshop is being held at Syracuse University Florence in Villa Rossa, Room 13.

You can register for this workshop directly through the Forum’s website at: http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1204791

E’ possibile un nuovo Rinascimento?

L’International Studies Institute Florence, sede ufficiale di un consorzio di università americane e australiane accreditate presso il MIUR, organizza nei giorni 7, 8 e 9 maggio 2013 un simposio internazionale sul mecenatismo e le arti performative oggi: Patronage and New Models for the Performing Arts in the Third Millennium. Ecco il link al programma: http://renaissancethenandnow.org/wp/

Ricordando il modello di mecenatismo che rese possibile la straordinaria produzione artistica fiorentina – oggi patrimonio dell’umanità – il simposio traccia una linea di riflessione sulla necessità e sulla possibilità di un nuovo Rinascimento nelle Arti Performative all’inizio del terzo millennio. La tavola rotonda si pone l’obiettivo di delineare lo status del mecenatismo oggi (fondazioni, enti pubblici, privati) e i possibili scenari futuri della produzione culturale.

What made the Italian Renaissance possible? Was it just a general rediscovering of classical antiquity or were there a project and a ‘structure’ that gave talents the means they needed? As many scholars have shown, this fascinating time period was triggered by both financial and cognitive capitalism. Patrons invested in the arts and genius to promote both themselves and their cities. Is this form of patronage possible today? Can we start a new ‘Renaissance’ of the performing arts? These are some of the questions our roundtable aims to assess.