The Tart and the Dolce Vita, or Slate makes fun of the Italians

In Dispatches, Joe Klein describes Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's new global leadership role: party planner to the power elite. "At the G8 summit in Genoa last year," Klein writes, "Berlusconi wanted the entrance to the palace where the meeting was to be held lined with lemon trees. But there was a problem. The meeting was in June; lemons bloom in winter. Berlusconi's gardener delivered the bad news and was told by the prime minister, 'I think I have a solution.' Lemons were sewn onto the trees. The question is whether Berlusconi pays the same amount of attention to actually running his country."

And there is also a bridge to sell
China Paper Bites on Onion Gag (Culture 7:00 a.m. PDT), Wired News

According to China's most popular newspaper, the U.S. Congress is
threatening to move out of Washington unless it gets a new building.
Too bad the Beijing Evening News fell for a spoof from the Onion.
See May 31 item on this page.

Best description of the teams involved in the upcoming British-Argentinian soccer match

Tomorrow though it's "Les Rosbifs" (the roast-beefs, as the French call the English) against "Die Gauchos"
(as the Germans call the Argentinians).

A simple twist of fate?
today's papers
Commence the Offense
By Eriq Gardner, Posted Sunday, June 2, 2002, at 2:44 AM PT, Slate magazine
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The LAT also includes another story -- this one inside -- on Afghanistan, detailing the country's love affair with the five-year-old American film, "Titanic." Seen inside the country: a 132-pound cake in the shape of the doomed ship, men who wear the hair in the style of Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic shampoo, Titanic perfumes, Titanic vests, Titanic belts, Titanic shoes, Titanic mosaics...All this and an estimated half of the population has yet to see the film. A man by the name of Siddiq Barmak gives the LAT the holy grail of quotes: "I think there is a lot in common with the fate of Afghanistan and the Titanic. We're looking for a way to rescue ourselves," he said.

Congress Threatens to leave D.C. unless new Capitol is Built

WASHINGTON, DC—Calling the current U.S. Capitol "inadequate and obsolete," Congress will relocate to Charlotte or Memphis if its demands for a new, state-of-the-art facility are not met, leaders announced Monday.

"Don't get us wrong: We love the drafty old building," Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) said. "But the hard reality is, it's no longer suitable for a world-class legislative branch. The sight lines are bad, there aren't enough concession stands or bathrooms, and the parking is miserable. It hurts to say, but the capitol's time has come and gone."

BUSH'S GENERAL EDUCATION
Do you have blacks in Brazil?

It is said, that, before September 11, George W. Bush thought the Taliban were a Bavarian brass band. Now, thanks to his comprehensive knowledge, the most powerful man in the world has got into hot water again.

.... During a conversation between the two presidents, George W. Bush, 55, (USA) and Fernando Henrique Cardoso, 71, (Brazil), Bush bewildered his colleague with the question "Do you have blacks, too?"

Rice, 47, noticing how astonished the Brazilian was, saved the day by telling Bush "Mr. President, Brazil probably has more blacks than the USA. Some say it's the Country with the most blacks outside Africa."

Originally published in Der Spiegel

Why can't we all get along?
The LAT takes a front-page look at the most recent sniping between the CIA and FBI, "the Capital's oldest back-fence feud." Those Washington standbys--finger-pointing and personal motives--threaten to scuttle reform efforts already underway. "What we've seen in the past two weeks is changing everything," the LAT quotes a Bush administration official. "There will be more changes. It has made it apparent that we need to go deeper."
today's papers
Remembrances of Wars Past, Future
By Hans Nichols Posted Sunday, May 26, 2002, at 6:05 AM PT

Bushism of the Day
By Jacob Weisberg, Updated Thursday, May 23, 2002, at 1:32 PM PT

"This is a nation that loves our freedom, loves our country."—Washington, D.C, May 17, 2002

Someone needs a weatherman to know which way the wind blows
New York Times QUOTE OF THE DAY
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"I think as a result of 9/11 particularly, he sees the value of coalitions and friends. He saw the value of having people on his side."
-COLIN L. POWELL, secretary of state, on what President Bush has learned about the value of diplomacy.