Berlusconi cracks a rape joke

The_Minister

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28842837/

ROME - Premier Silvio Berlusconi sparked outrage Sunday for suggesting that Italy's women were so beautiful they needed military escorts to avoid being raped.

Berlusconi made the comments in response to questions about his proposal to deploy 300,000 soldiers in the streets to fight crime. A series of violent attacks, including a rape in Rome on New Year's Eve and another outside the capital this week, have put pressure on the government to crack down on crime.

But Berlusconi said that, even in a militarized state, crimes like rape can happen. "You can't consider deploying a force that would be sufficient to prevent the risk," the ANSA and Apcom news agencies quoted him as saying. "We would have to have so many soldiers because our women are so beautiful."

'Profoundly offensive'
Opposition lawmakers denounced the comments.

Giovanna Melandri of the opposition Democratic Party said Berlusconi's comments were "profoundly offensive," saying the pain of rape could never be joked about in such a way.

Berlusconi, in an effort to explain himself, said he was complimenting Italian women "because there are only about 100,000 people in law enforcement, while there are millions of beautiful women."

He stressed that rape was a serious and "disgraceful" crime. But he added that people should never forget a sense of "levity and good humor" whenever his comments are concerned.

Berlusconi, a billionaire media-mogul-turned politician, has a history of gaffes. He courted controversy when he compared a German politician to a Nazi camp guard and when he said, shortly after 9/11, that Western civilization was superior to Islam.

I get what he was saying, and he's right, you can never prevent all rape, no matter how many guards you have, but talk about putting your foot in it.

He must have known that the media would just use this comment to .......


...criticise him.

chin_grin

The_Minister wrote: »

you can never prevent all rape, no matter how many guards you have

Just how strong and/or cunning are you?

PrivateEye

Berlusconi once said "communists used to eat children"

He is a few fries off a happy meal, but rich enough to get away with it.

Dudess

People who think rape is always due to physical attraction are actually slow.

population

The man is a buffoon

Biggins

Its Berlusconi - 'nuff said!

brianthebard

Berlusconi is such a dick.

Dudess

I think he's boorish and buffoonish but I don't think there's any malice. He's just an eejit.

K-9

Berlusconi does things like this now and again. No such thing as bad publicity!

Bottle_of_Smoke

Who exactly is supposed to find this offensive - ugly women who've never been raped?

Good to see there's some leaders who aren't watching their words for fear of the PC brigade

ejmaztec

Seanies32 wrote: »

Berlusconi does things like this now and again. No such thing as bad publicity!

Does he ever get any good publicity?

We must be the same as the Italians for electing twats, except ours are more harmful. Buffoon v Biffoon?

K-9

From Wiki, he seems prone to the ould controversy, some classics though, the Finland one especially!

In February 2002, at a European Union summit of foreign ministers, Berlusconi, who was present since the replacement of his previous foreign minister, Renato Ruggiero, had not yet been appointed, made a vulgar gesture (the "corna") behind the head of the Spanish foreign minister, Josep Piqué, intimating he was a cuckold during an official photo shoot. This is a common joke among Italian children, but many felt it was utterly out of place in an international meeting. He later explained that he "was just kidding", and was trying to create a relaxed atmosphere, that this sort of meeting was meant to "create friendship, cordiality, fondness and kind relationships" between the participants, and that he wanted to amuse a small group of Boy Scout bystanders.


On 2 July 2003, one day after taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, he was heavily criticised by the German SPD Member of the European Parliament Martin Schulz because of his domestic policy and his alleged links to the Mafia. Berlusconi responded: "Mr Schulz, I know a movie producer in Italy who is making a movie about Nazi concentration camps. I suggest you play the role of a Kapo. You are perfect for the part!". Responding to the shoutings that then came from the Socialist MEP backbenchers, Berlusconi insisted that he was only joking, but soon after accused Martin Schulz and others leftish MEPs to be "bad-willing tourists of democracy". His comparisons with the Nazis caused a brief cooling of Italy's relationship with Germany.


I][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed"]citation needed[/URL][/I
In 2003, during an interview with Nicholas Farrell and Boris Johnson, then editor of The Spectator magazine, Berlusconi claimed that Mussolini "had been a benign dictator who did not murder opponents but sent them "on holiday"".


[70]
In mid-May 2005, while opening the European Food Safety Authority in Parma (preferred over a Finnish location, after Berlusconi made an assertion of Finns "not knowing what prosciutto is"), Berlusconi claimed that he had to "dust off my playboy skills" with the Finnish president, Tarja Halonen, to convince her to locate the EFSA in Parma. This caused criticism from both Italy and Finland, with the Italian ambassador in Finland being summoned by the Finnish foreign minister.[71] A minister of his cabinet later 'explained' the comment by saying that "anyone who had seen a picture of Halonen must have been aware that he had been joking".


Before that, speaking to a group of Wall Street traders, he listed a series of reasons to invest in Italy. The first of them was that "we have the most beautiful secretaries in the world". This resulted in uproar in Italy, where, for a day, female deputies in Parliament took part in a cross-party protest. Over the prosciutto comment, the Finnish pizza chain Kotipizza later came back with a new variety of pizza called Pizza Berlusconi, using smoked reindeer as the topping. The pizza won first prize in America's Plate International pizza contest in March 2008.[72][73]


In March 2006, Berlusconi defended accusations he made that the "Communists used to eat children", by responding with claims that "... read the Black Book of Communism and you will discover that in the communist China of Mao, they did not eat children, but had them boiled to fertilise the fields". He later admitted, "It was questionable irony ... because this joke is questionable. But I did not know how to restrain myself." His political opponent, Romano Prodi, told the press, "The damage caused to Italy by an insult to 1.3 billion people is by all means a considerable one", and that Berlusconi's comments were "unthinkable". [74] Berlusconi replied by gifting 1000 copies of the Black Book of Communism during one of his election rallies.I][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed"]citation needed[/URL][/I


On 4 April 2006, less than a week before the upcoming political elections in Italy, during a speech given at the National Chamber for Trade, Berlusconi stated that he holds "too high esteem of the Italians' intelligence to think that there are so many coglioni (literally "testicles", a vulgar term often used about people considered stupid) around voting against their interest". He later apologized for the "rude but effective language". [75]


At an awards dinner in January 2007, Berlusconi was quoted as saying, "If I wasn't already married, I would marry you right away," and "With you, I'd go anywhere" to Mara Carfagna, a representative of Forza Italia and former showgirl. These flirtatious comments prompted his wife Veronica to demand an apology in a front-page letter to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, one of Berlusconi's rival publications. In a statement released through his political party, he begged for forgiveness and stated that he would "always protect [Veronica's] dignity."

[76] Mara Carfagna is now serving under him as minister for Equal Opportunities.

[77]
In the run up to the 2008 Italian general election, Berlusconi claimed that right-wing female politicians were better looking than their left-wing counterparts. His remarks provoked an angry reaction from Italian centre-left parties, which accused him of being sexist. Berlusconi was quoted as saying that when he looked round parliament, he found that female politicians from the right were "more beautiful" and that "The left has no taste, even when it comes to women".[78]


During a televised encounter with voters on 10 April 2008 a young woman asked to Silvio Berlusconi what the younger generation should do about the lack of secure jobs. He promptly suggested that she try to marry "the son of Berlusconi... with the smile that you have, you could try."[79]


Since the 2008 general election, Berlusconi has already begun to court controversy on the European level. He has publicly criticized the current composition of the Council of Ministers of the Spanish Government as being too 'pink' by virtue of the fact that it has (once the President of the Council, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is counted) an equal number of men and women. He also stated that he doubted that such a composition would be possible in Italy given the "prevalence of men" in Italian politics. [80]


At a joint press-conference at Villa La Certosa (17 April 2008) in Sardinia with the Russian president Vladimir Putin, a Russian journalist, Natalia Melikova, put a question to Putin, asking him if he intended divorcing his wife and marrying Alina Kabaeva, an Olympic gold medalist and an MP in Russia. When his guest showed annoyance, Berlusconi intervened with a gesture toward the journalist that imitated a gunman shooting [81]. The journalist was reportedly reduced to tears. Putin denied rumours that he was to marry Kabaeva. A spokesman for Berlusconi tried to play down the shooting gesture. He said: "It was just a gesture, a playful gesture, in fact it was appreciated giving the technical time needed for a long and tedious Russian translation." Afterwards, Melikova said: "I saw Berlusconi's gesture and I know he has a reputation as being a joker. I hope there are no consequences." Vittorio Feltri, founder and editor of the right-wing newspaper Libero, argued that, giving the records in transparency that Russia scores, Berlusconi actually 'saved' Melikova's life by playing that gesture.I][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed"]citation needed[/URL][/I


On 6 November 2008, two days after Barack Obama was elected the first African-American US President, Berlusconi commented on Obama's "suntan": [82] "I will try to help relations between Russia and the United States where a new generation has come to power. I don't see problems for Medvedev to establish good relations with Obama because he is young, handsome and even tanned, therefore I think that a good cooperation can be developed"[83], he said.

brianthebard

Dudess wrote: »

I think he's boorish and buffoonish but I don't think there's any malice. He's just an eejit.

I think he's a racist/xenophobe and totally corrupt.

tororosso

Berlusconi's quite a humorous character..He's clearly put his foot in it but he's at least got a personality unlike most politicians and says stuff that isnt PC despite the obvious backlash he will get. Remember when he said he liked Obama's "suntan"?!:D:rolleyes: LOL

Genghiz Cohen

Seanies32 wrote: »

From Wiki, he seems prone to the ould controversy, some classics though, the Finland one especially!

In February 2002, at a
...
operation can be developed"[83], he said.

That's a Teal Deer, if you get my meaning.

As Dudess pointed out, beauty != rape victim, but I don't see what was offensive in his comment.

phenomenon

Berlusconi will now take over from Bush as the centre of political satire. Judging from his past gaffes, I'm sure he'll live up to expectations

keane2097

Lovable rogue imo.

Dudess

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Who exactly is supposed to find this offensive - ugly women who've never been raped?

No, just anyone who'd see it as overly simplistic and ignorant. I personally don't find it particularly offensive.

Good to see there's some leaders who aren't watching their words for fear of the PC brigade

You don't have to be super-tactless to sock it to the PC brigade.

Latchy

Johnathan Ross on his radio show made a similar gag about '' having sex with elderly women'' ...cue many complaints to the bbc .Like talk about digging your own grave.

I think he's boorish and buffoonish but I don't think there's any malice. He's just an eejit.

K-9

Ach, better not go into the political and soccer controversies.

Makes Bertie look whiter than white.

Nobody talks about John McCain`s rape slurs,He said

Why dont they just sit back and enjoy it?

thats worse in my opinion...:rolleyes:

The_Minister

:mad:Who screwed with the tags

i71jskz5xu42pb

PrivateEye wrote: »

Berlusconi once said "communists used to eat children"

Well they do, but only if they are really hungry.

javaboy

The_Minister wrote: »

:mad:Who screwed with the tags

Em... you did. They go in alphabetically so if for example you put in "snyper,sues,fore,infringement" it will come out as "fore","infringement","snyper","sues"

K-9

Snyper?

Obama better not start cracking jokes.

Dudess

Deleted User wrote: »

Nobody talks about John McCain`s rape slurs,He said

thats worse in my opinion...:rolleyes:

On the "controversial opinions" thread here, some genius said "What the fuk is so traumatising about rape? It's just someone having sex with you, don't make such a big deal of it"...

javaboy

Danica Agreeable Tanner wrote: »

Well they do, but only if they are really hungry.

Anyone who has seen Hannibal Rising will know that that's true. They will also know that it's a terrible terrible film.

dsmythy

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=KkDp-6t-keA

It's a fake but it wouldn't surprise me if he did it for real sometime.

Latchy

javaboy wrote: »

Anyone who has seen Hannibal Rising will know that that's true. They will also know that it's a terrible terrible film.

I'm still traumatised by that film with Jodi Foster .....the one she's raped in .

Poor guy . :cool:

Dudess

brianthebard wrote: »

I think he's a racist/xenophobe and totally corrupt.

Corrupt definitely. Racist/xenophobe - yes, he's clamped down on immigration, but does that actually make him a racist/xenophobe or just concerned about Italy being unable to provide for everyone who's there? Its economy is in pretty bad shape (although no thanks to his carry-on...)

keane2097

Nominate for Worst Post of the Year.

EDIT: Damn they removed it...