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  1. biff–50/50 though that is better than the near certainty that I wouldn’t a few days ago. A trip to LA was canceled yesterday or I would have been on a plane tonight. Will have to play it by ear. This project I am working on for FUSE is two hours long and I have two weeks to finish (and just started editing–crazy!)

  2. To continue our discussion on things Italian, I offer this bit of news from Italy. Some of Berlusconi’s quotes are noteworthy….

    Italy Passes Immigration Bill; President Warns of Xenophobia

    By Steve Scherer
    May 14 (Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s allies in parliament passed a bill making it easier to deport illegal immigrants and requiring public employees to report anyone in the country without a permit.
    After three confidence votes yesterday to approve
    amendments, the Chamber of Deputies passed the legislation
    today. The bill now goes to the Senate for final passage before becoming law.
    Berlusconi and his Northern League coalition allies are
    taking a hard line on illegal immigration before June 6 and 7 European Parliament elections. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, a League member, started turning back boats full of illegal immigrants off of Sicily back to Libya last week. On May 10, Berlusconi defended the move, saying he didn’t want a “multiethnic” Italy.
    President Giorgio Napolitano today said that “public
    rhetoric that doesn’t hesitate to be intolerant or xenophobic” is aggravating the risk of social tensions in Italy, according to a speech delivered in Rome.
    The bill proposes making it a crime, punishable by a fine, to be an illegal immigrant. This will allow public officials to flag clandestine foreigners to the police. Anyone who rents rooms or homes to illegal immigrants could face jail time. Neighborhood-watch or vigilante groups will be allowed to be formed, and illegal immigrants won’t be able to get children born in Italy legalized.
    There are more than 4.1 million foreigners living in Italy, with almost 20 percent residing illegally, according to a report in October by the national statistics institute. Italy has a population of about 60 million.

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