Communists boiled babies: Berlusconi

[ColinH]

Communists boiled babies: Berlusconi
From correspondents in Naples
27mar06
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/st...55E1702,00.html (http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18616282%255E1702,00.html)

ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, fighting for re-election against a centre-left coalition which includes the hard left, said today communists have a history of boiling babies.

"I have been accused many times of saying communists eat babies," he told a rally of his Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party.

"Go and read the black book on communism and you'll find that under Mao's China they didn't eat babies but they boiled them to fertilise the fields.

"They say we look to the past too much, but they forget that in the opposition there are three parties who proudly call themselves communists."

Mr Berlusconi has often been accused of being obsessed with the "communist threat" in Italy, a country where during the Cold War the communist party was bigger than anywhere else in western Europe.

In the run-up to winning the 2001 election, Berlusconi said: "I can organise a conference in which I will prove communists have really eaten babies and done even worse things."

With the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, most of the Italian Communist Party transformed itself into the Democrats of the Left, now Italy's main opposition party.

But smaller breakaway communist parties still exist.

The biggest, Communist Refoundation, is likely to poll 6-7 per cent of the vote at the April 9-10 election, opinion polls indicate. Another party, Italian Communists, may get up to three per cent.

Polls put the centre-left bloc, led by former European Commission President Romano Prodi, 4-5 percentage points ahead of Mr Berlusconi's centre-right.

[Tekun]

I love the comedy of this guy... :lol:

First he claimed that Mussolini had been the greatest Italian in history...I guess fascism is his thing
Then made incredible statement that Mussolini had never killed anyone
In addition, he's got several neofascist groups within his political alliance


Berlusconi is a fascist, and as that, he obviously despises communists
I'd be afraid if I lived in Italy, fascism is making its comeback

[Mesijs]

Berlusconi is an authoritarian idiot. Besides, I don't think that any Italian communist will ever eat babies in the future...

But it could have happened, I don't know. There was starvation, so people can do strange things then. However, I guess it wasn't a party order... So the link between communism and eating babies is a bit strange at least...

[321zero]

A big pot instead of ovens then. You know I think I'm looking forward to the next European civil war.

[bcbm]

I'm confused... is he implying there is some other use for babies or something? :blink:

[violencia.Proletariat]

What do you expect to come out of an open allie to fascists mouth? It's a completely insane allegation from a book which is mostly MADE UP!

[Amusing Scrotum]

Originally posted by Berlusconi
....and you'll find that under Mao's China they didn't eat babies but they boiled them to fertilise the fields.

Picture this scene in your mind:

It's 1959 and two young Communist Party members are striding happily through rural China when they happen to stumble upon an abandoned infant....

Comrade X: what a lovely looking baby, he'd be lovely on toast with a fried egg.

Comrade Y: NO COMRADE!....remember the orders from our dear chairman Mao, if we find a baby we have been instructed by Party HQ to put them in a pot and boil them!

For it is only through this method of proletarian planning can we realise the goals of the Great Leap Forward!

Cut to fade.

http://www.websitegoodies.com/smilies/gfx/happy0195.gif http://www.websitegoodies.com/smilies/gfx/happy0064.gif http://www.websitegoodies.com/smilies/gfx/happy0195.gif

[Honggweilo]

Berlesconni and his fascist coalition have a history of making biased, stupid and even laughable remarks against his opponents in italy and all over Europe.

I can remember a scene from the film kundun where a Chinese militairy official was condeming the situation pre-socialist China because they had to eat babies :P. Maybe Mini-Mussolinni interpreted it wrong :P

[Enragé]

Originally posted by [email protected] 28 2006, 02:25 AM
What do you expect to come out of an open allie to fascists mouth? It's a completely insane allegation from a book which is mostly MADE UP!
yea i came across that book in the local library, it was so obviously made up i couldnt stop laughing

[*PRC*Kensei]

however has nothing to do with communists... das kapitaal wasnt a cooking book.

[Kaze]

boiling babies is so old... :rolleyes:

he should have said boiling bunnies, because everyone knows people care about animals a hell of a lot more than they do human beings.

[Atlas Swallowed]

Gee, could not come up with anything better than that? What a great polotician and leader :lol:

[Mesijs]

Originally posted by NewKindOfSoldier+Mar 28 2006, 11:42 AM--> (NewKindOfSoldier @ Mar 28 2006, 11:42 AM)
[email protected] 28 2006, 02:25 AM
What do you expect to come out of an open allie to fascists mouth? It's a completely insane allegation from a book which is mostly MADE UP!
yea i came across that book in the local library, it was so obviously made up i couldnt stop laughing [/b]
How do you know it was made up. I didn't read anything of the book, but I'm just interested...?

[piet11111]

wait its a commedy book ?
i got to read it one day perhaps good for a few laughs.

[RedStarOverChina]

Originally posted by Armchair Socialism+Mar 28 2006, 02:39 AM--> (Armchair Socialism @ Mar 28 2006, 02:39 AM)
Berlusconi
....and you'll find that under Mao's China they didn't eat babies but they boiled them to fertilise the fields.

Picture this scene in your mind:

It's 1959 and two young Communist Party members are striding happily through rural China when they happen to stumble upon an abandoned infant....

Comrade X: what a lovely looking baby, he'd be lovely on toast with a fried egg.

Comrade Y: NO COMRADE!....remember the orders from our dear chairman Mao, if we find a baby we have been instructed by Party HQ to put them in a pot and boil them!

For it is only through this method of proletarian planning can we realise the goals of the Great Leap Forward!

Cut to fade.

http://www.websitegoodies.com/smilies/gfx/happy0195.gif http://www.websitegoodies.com/smilies/gfx/happy0064.gif http://www.websitegoodies.com/smilies/gfx/happy0195.gif [/b]
This is just plain stupid.

Why would you post something as mindless as this? Are you saying Maoists eat babies? Are you bored out of your mind?

My grandfather, being a senior party member almost starved himself to death because he refused to buy cabbages in the "free markets"...it's against his ideology.

Instead he picked up bitter celery leaves that fell out of a carriage and ate them to survive. His rank was equivalent to a mayor of a big city...That was the spirit back then.

I'm not a Maoist but it pisses me off when people make random attacks like this belittle the character of the revolutionaries back then.

People back then were genuine revolutionaries who deserve respect.

Why does Armchair Socialism want to demean past revolutionaries like what Berlesconni is doing to communists in general? It racism the cause of Armchair Socialism's disdain towards those revolutionaries? I don't know. I hope it isn't.

[Dreckt]

Berloscuini also said that poor people should get a job to get them out of poverty, just like he himself did when he was young... :rolleyes:

[Red Heretic]

Originally posted by [email protected] 28 2006, 05:53 PM
How do you know it was made up. I didn't read anything of the book, but I'm just interested...?
The Black Book of Communism is a cold war style protrayl of communists as rapist, wife beating, baby eating, atheists. It's quite hilarious, but it's authors were serious(ly stupid).

About 5-10% of the criticisms of socialist countries in the book are true, and we should learn from those. However, the vast majority of the book is blatant lies that contradict thousands of eyes witness accounts, and book written by people who lived the Soviet Union and China.

Chairman Mao said "I hold that it is bad as far as we are concerned if a person, a political party, an army or a school is not attacked by the enemy, for in that case it would definitely mean that we have sunk to the level of the enemy. It is good if we are attacked by the enemy, since it proves that we have drawn a clear line of demarcation between the enemy and ourselves. It is still better if the enemy attacks us wildly and paints us as utterly black and without a single virtue; it demonstrates that we have not only drawn a clear line of demarcation between the enemy and ourselves but achieved a great deal in our work."

If you would like an honest, realistic, eye-witness account of socialism in China, I highly recommend you read Red Star Over China by Edgar Snow, which is a eye witness account of an American living in China.

[Enragé]

Originally posted by Mesijs+Mar 28 2006, 05:53 PM--> (Mesijs @ Mar 28 2006, 05:53 PM)
Originally posted by [email protected] 28 2006, 11:42 AM

[email protected] 28 2006, 02:25 AM
What do you expect to come out of an open allie to fascists mouth? It's a completely insane allegation from a book which is mostly MADE UP!
yea i came across that book in the local library, it was so obviously made up i couldnt stop laughing
How do you know it was made up. I didn't read anything of the book, but I'm just interested...? [/b]
because it was so overly anti-communist, and it used the language which suited that. I actually only read like a part of one page, but it was so rediculous. They said Pol Pot was a commie etc.

[Don't Change Your Name]

Politicians can't think or actually present any good arguments to defend their positions...


because it was so overly anti-communist, and it used the language which suited that. I actually only read like a part of one page, but it was so rediculous. They said Pol Pot was a commie etc.

...and neither can "leninist anarchist" teenagers...

[The Living Red]

[QUOTE]Why does Armchair Socialism want to demean past revolutionaries like what Berlesconni is doing to communists in general? It racism the cause of Armchair Socialism's disdain towards those revolutionaries? I don't know. I hope it isn't.

<_< I believe Armchair Socialism was being ironic, RedStarOverChina... personally I rather enjoyed the little play :D

But yeah, FUCK BERLESCONI&#33;

[Don't Change Your Name]

Originally posted by [email protected] 28 2006, 05:08 PM
This is just plain stupid.

Why would you post something as mindless as this? Are you saying Maoists eat babies? Are you bored out of your mind?

My grandfather, being a senior party member almost starved himself to death because he refused to buy cabbages in the "free markets"...it&#39;s against his ideology.

Instead he picked up bitter celery leaves that fell out of a carriage and ate them to survive. His rank was equivalent to a mayor of a big city...That was the spirit back then.

I&#39;m not a Maoist but it pisses me off when people make random attacks like this belittle the character of the revolutionaries back then.

People back then were genuine revolutionaries who deserve respect.

Why does Armchair Socialism want to demean past revolutionaries like what Berlesconni is doing to communists in general? It racism the cause of Armchair Socialism&#39;s disdain towards those revolutionaries? I don&#39;t know. I hope it isn&#39;t.
:lol:

1) He never said they&#39;d "eat babies" back then
2) He wasn&#39;t being very serious
3) The fact that you related this to racism makes me worry about your mental health


If politically correct leftists didn&#39;t exist, it would&#39;ve been necessary for the establishment to invent them.

[Mesijs]

Originally posted by Red Heretic+Mar 28 2006, 08:32 PM--> (Red Heretic @ Mar 28 2006, 08:32 PM)
[email protected] 28 2006, 05:53 PM
How do you know it was made up. I didn&#39;t read anything of the book, but I&#39;m just interested...?
The Black Book of Communism is a cold war style protrayl of communists as rapist, wife beating, baby eating, atheists. It&#39;s quite hilarious, but it&#39;s authors were serious(ly stupid).

About 5-10% of the criticisms of socialist countries in the book are true, and we should learn from those. However, the vast majority of the book is blatant lies that contradict thousands of eyes witness accounts, and book written by people who lived the Soviet Union and China.

Chairman Mao said "I hold that it is bad as far as we are concerned if a person, a political party, an army or a school is not attacked by the enemy, for in that case it would definitely mean that we have sunk to the level of the enemy. It is good if we are attacked by the enemy, since it proves that we have drawn a clear line of demarcation between the enemy and ourselves. It is still better if the enemy attacks us wildly and paints us as utterly black and without a single virtue; it demonstrates that we have not only drawn a clear line of demarcation between the enemy and ourselves but achieved a great deal in our work."

If you would like an honest, realistic, eye-witness account of socialism in China, I highly recommend you read Red Star Over China by Edgar Snow, which is a eye witness account of an American living in China. [/b]
But you still don&#39;t say why it is a lie. Look, I&#39;m open for any arguments, but you only say it&#39;s a lie, and not why it is.

And I&#39;ve watched for that book at amazon.com. The comments say that it is 1) Maoist propaganda and 2) written even before the &#39;49 Revolution, therefore not giving a picture about the atrocities committed afterwards.

@ NewKindOfSoldier: well, if the worst mistake of the book is saying that Pol Pot is a communist, there isn&#39;t a lot of mistakes.

If you guys would give examples from the book and the debunk it with reliable sources, I could know the truth...

[Janus]

Go and read the black book on communism and you&#39;ll find that under Mao&#39;s China they didn&#39;t eat babies but they boiled them to fertilise the fields.
:lol: :lol: :lol: I can&#39;t believe that there are some people there who would actually believe this shit. So what is his "Modest Proposal"? :lol:

I don&#39;t know about Italians, but the Chinese uses manure to fertilize the fields.

[Comrade Marcel]

Red Heretic: Another good American author who went to China is William Hinton. He just died in 2004. When I first got into Marxism, I was on the road to Trotskyism (that&#39;s what&#39;s popular in my city) but I met a RAIL womyn who did a study course on the Cultural Revolution. The book we read was called "Turning Point" by Hinton. There is many other great books by him.

Mesijs: The Black Book of Communism is full of unsubstantiated accounts, some outright lies, capitalist manipulation and mathmatical errors.

to say it&#39;s Maoist propaganda is a complete lie. It was written by French bourgeois scholars and collaborators. One of the authors also supported La Pen (Fascist french leader) and the book is full of Christianite lingo. The book was written in the late 90&#39;s, not before 1949&#33; As for the part about Pol-Pot, it blaims all the deaths on Khmer Rouge when actually most of the deaths were attributed to U&#036; bombings, war, then starvatiuons as a result. The actually number of executions carried out by Khmer rouge is the smallest cause of death on the list.

See:http://www.etext.org/Politics/MIM/agitation/blackbook/index.html

Especially read the "review of the black book"

[Cheung Mo]

The fact that over 45% of Italians support this lunatic and his fascist allies makes me wonder if Italy is ready for democracy.

Italians share the honour of world&#39;s dumbest voters with Americans (self-explanator), Hong Kongers (35% of them routinely vote for parties that explicitly oppose universal suffrage, civil libertarianism, and the creation of a welfare state), Taiwanese (still voting for the KMT..rofl...Are they mentally ill or something?), and Russians.

[mo7amEd]

OFF TOPIC:

If someone watches soccer, then support Livorno.

It&#39;s a soccer team in Italy that plays in Serie A and is communist. The whole city is communist and its striker is not allowed to play in the national team because he is a "leftist sympathizer".

[redsoldier32]

the italian government is still pretty faschist, they support bush and all his wars

[Cheung Mo]

I&#39;ve been reading a fair bit about Italian politics lately, and it disappoints me that the immigration of the Gagliano and the Ianno families to Canada did nothing to ameliorate the prevalent culture of corruption.

[Red Heretic]

Originally posted by Mesijs+Mar 28 2006, 10:16 PM--> (Mesijs @ Mar 28 2006, 10:16 PM)
Originally posted by Red [email protected] 28 2006, 08:32 PM

[email protected] 28 2006, 05:53 PM
How do you know it was made up. I didn&#39;t read anything of the book, but I&#39;m just interested...?
The Black Book of Communism is a cold war style protrayl of communists as rapist, wife beating, baby eating, atheists. It&#39;s quite hilarious, but it&#39;s authors were serious(ly stupid).

About 5-10% of the criticisms of socialist countries in the book are true, and we should learn from those. However, the vast majority of the book is blatant lies that contradict thousands of eyes witness accounts, and book written by people who lived the Soviet Union and China.

Chairman Mao said "I hold that it is bad as far as we are concerned if a person, a political party, an army or a school is not attacked by the enemy, for in that case it would definitely mean that we have sunk to the level of the enemy. It is good if we are attacked by the enemy, since it proves that we have drawn a clear line of demarcation between the enemy and ourselves. It is still better if the enemy attacks us wildly and paints us as utterly black and without a single virtue; it demonstrates that we have not only drawn a clear line of demarcation between the enemy and ourselves but achieved a great deal in our work."

If you would like an honest, realistic, eye-witness account of socialism in China, I highly recommend you read Red Star Over China by Edgar Snow, which is a eye witness account of an American living in China.
But you still don&#39;t say why it is a lie. Look, I&#39;m open for any arguments, but you only say it&#39;s a lie, and not why it is.

And I&#39;ve watched for that book at amazon.com. The comments say that it is 1) Maoist propaganda and 2) written even before the &#39;49 Revolution, therefore not giving a picture about the atrocities committed afterwards.

@ NewKindOfSoldier: well, if the worst mistake of the book is saying that Pol Pot is a communist, there isn&#39;t a lot of mistakes.

If you guys would give examples from the book and the debunk it with reliable sources, I could know the truth... [/b]
I&#39;m not going to sit here and quote and refute every single point made inside that "Black Book of Communism" in a fucking internet forum thread. I can tell you that the vast majority of it has been refuted if you&#39;ll do some research.

If there&#39;s a specific point you&#39;re wondering about, then tell me that particular point, and I would be more than happy to respond to it.

As for the book I referred to, Red Star Over China, there are many others written by Edgar Snow written after the revolution. Search his name on Amazon.com.
Anna Louies Strong (sp?) also wrote a lot of great eye witness accounts on what she sawthat happened during and before the revolution. She wrote one in 1968 I believe.

[Comrade Marcel]

Originally posted by Cheung [email protected] 28 2006, 11:38 PM
The fact that over 45% of Italians support this lunatic and his fascist allies makes me wonder if Italy is ready for democracy.

Italians share the honour of world&#39;s dumbest voters with Americans (self-explanator), Hong Kongers (35% of them routinely vote for parties that explicitly oppose universal suffrage, civil libertarianism, and the creation of a welfare state), Taiwanese (still voting for the KMT..rofl...Are they mentally ill or something?), and Russians.
Actually, my friend spent 8 months in China in 2004, and what we hear here (if we hear about it at all) about Taiwan is very distorted.

Apparently, they suspended elections there for sometime, there is a lot of contraversy around the elections all the time and there was huge demonstrations and protests because of it. Also, there is a big movement that wants to reunificate with China.

One thing that he did that was funny - since you mentioned Ianno - was that he got students in China to write letters to Olivia Chow, regarding the gentrification of Toronto&#39;s Chinatown. They were forcing street vendors off the corners around Dundas/Spadina. In the letters they called her a "wanna be white she-devil" and "capitalist pig-dog" and stuff like that. :lol: He also did a protest outside Canada&#39;s Embassy with some students to protest treatment of First Nations. :D

[Amusing Scrotum]

Originally posted by RedStarOverChina+--> (RedStarOverChina)This is just plain stupid.[/b]

Well, I was hoping that members would find it humorous....but I suppose "stupid" is a step in the right direction with regards my comedic skills.


Originally posted by The Living [email protected]
I believe Armchair Socialism was being ironic, RedStarOverChina... personally I rather enjoyed the little play

Always nice to have fans&#33; :D

Incidentally, Armchair Socialism Theatre Production Inc. has recently put on another comedic masterpiece....

http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php...st&p=1292042810 (http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php?showtopic=47936&view=findpost&p=1292042810)

Hope you enjoy&#33; :)


El Infiltr(A)do
The fact that you related this to racism makes me worry about your mental health

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Perhaps he could link the post and PM it to one of our more infamous members....I&#39;m sure that particular member would love to have that post as "evidence" of my sinister nature&#33; :lol:

[Cheung Mo]

At least Olivia Chow isn&#39;t shipping Falun Gong members to death camps...

[bolshevik butcher]

There&#39;s nothing more fun than lowest comon demoiator political insults from facists&#33; Yes, i guess he&#39;s jsut rousing the right with some classic anti-communist, mcarthyist nonscense.

[Atlas Swallowed]

Originally posted by [email protected] 28 2006, 08:08 PM
This is just plain stupid.

Why would you post something as mindless as this? Are you saying Maoists eat babies? Are you bored out of your mind?


It was obviously humor( I found it amusing). Do not see how you could have taken it seriously. Breathe in, breathe out feel the oxygen flowing to your brain :blink:

[STI]

At least Olivia Chow isn&#39;t shipping Falun Gong members to death camps...

Too bad :(

[Honggweilo]

Originally posted by [email protected] 30 2006, 12:01 PM

At least Olivia Chow isn&#39;t shipping Falun Gong members to death camps...

Too bad :(
Why do you need deathcamps when they starve their own members :rolleyes:

[Qen]

Silvio Berlusconi, and the previous primie minister has always tried to stop communism, because communism is a threat to the Cosa Nostra.
The previous primie minister, wich name i can&#39;t recall, was involved within the Cosa Nostra. And I also highly think that Berlusconi is.

[Enragé]

"@ NewKindOfSoldier: well, if the worst mistake of the book is saying that Pol Pot is a communist, there isn&#39;t a lot of mistakes.

If you guys would give examples from the book and the debunk it with reliable sources, I could know the truth... "

If you call pol pot a communist you&#39;re either

a) insane
b) capitalist propagandist
c) one of the followers of pol pot
d) brainwashed

or a combination of the above

well which one are you?

[Cheung Mo]

Originally posted by [email protected] 30 2006, 12:01 PM

At least Olivia Chow isn&#39;t shipping Falun Gong members to death camps...

Too bad :(
I don&#39;t approve of their beliefs or their practices, but I certainly don&#39;t think they deserve to be slaughtered Holocaust-style.

I don&#39;t even think that of Islamists, fascists, Stalinists, and fundamentalist Christians and I consider them far worse than the Falin Gong.

[Mesijs]

Originally posted by [email protected] 30 2006, 06:14 PM
"@ NewKindOfSoldier: well, if the worst mistake of the book is saying that Pol Pot is a communist, there isn&#39;t a lot of mistakes.

If you guys would give examples from the book and the debunk it with reliable sources, I could know the truth... "

If you call pol pot a communist you&#39;re either

a) insane
b) capitalist propagandist
c) one of the followers of pol pot
d) brainwashed

or a combination of the above

well which one are you?
Very funny. Did I call Pol Pot communist? No, I didn&#39;t. So learn to read please.

Maybe he called himself communist. Like all these so-called communists who weren&#39;t communist but propagandous mass-murderers.

And I was talking about REAL mistakes. For example, when you would say that Lenin raped little children while saying that the free market was great.

[Enragé]

how about boiling babies

thats what the thread is about remember

but ofcourse you&#39;ll believe that.

[CLOCKWORK ORANGE]

Originally posted by [email protected] 29 2006, 12:22 AM
OFF TOPIC:

If someone watches soccer, then support Livorno.

It&#39;s a soccer team in Italy that plays in Serie A and is communist. The whole city is communist and its striker is not allowed to play in the national team because he is a "leftist sympathizer".
Lazio are 1 point above Livorno :(

[Eleutherios]

Even if some individual communists did boil babies, that says nothing about communism. I could just as easily point to the My Lai massacre and say it proves capitalists like to kill innocent women and children.

[Enragé]

Originally posted by [email protected] 31 2006, 03:50 AM
Even if some individual communists did boil babies, that says nothing about communism. I could just as easily point to the My Lai massacre and say it proves capitalists like to kill innocent women and children.
ah well but they do actually like to do that ;) :lol:

[Cheung Mo]

Totalitarians and warmongers from all sides of the political spectrum take pleasure in the pain, suffering, and torture of innocent women and children.

[wet blanket]

Well, despite the obvious bias in the black book of communism, I certainly wouldn&#39;t dismiss the idea that such a thing went on during Mao&#39;s rule. The Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution are among the most disgusting abuses of authoritarian state power in history.
Although coming from an italian fascist, this criticism means very little.

[mo7amEd]

Originally posted by CLOCKWORK ORANGE+Mar 30 2006, 10:15 PM--> (CLOCKWORK ORANGE @ Mar 30 2006, 10:15 PM)
[email protected] 29 2006, 12:22 AM
OFF TOPIC:

If someone watches soccer, then support Livorno.

It&#39;s a soccer team in Italy that plays in Serie A and is communist. The whole city is communist and its striker is not allowed to play in the national team because he is a "leftist sympathizer".
Lazio are 1 point above Livorno :( [/b]
Not anymore... Now the facists are two points ahead&#33; Livorno lost yesterday against chievo, and it seems like they&#39;ve crashed since their manager Donadoni was fired. This really saddens me, because I had really high hoped about them.

[Mesijs]

Originally posted by wet [email protected] 31 2006, 05:06 PM
Well, despite the obvious bias in the black book of communism, I certainly wouldn&#39;t dismiss the idea that such a thing went on during Mao&#39;s rule. The Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution are among the most disgusting abuses of authoritarian state power in history.
Although coming from an italian fascist, this criticism means very little.
I totally agree. Except that &#39;authoritarion&#39; should be &#39;totalitarian&#39;.

[Janus]

Berlusconi must&#39;ve either read a different book or he just pulled it out of his derriere because the Black Book of Communism doesn&#39;t go as far as stating that babies were boiled during the Great Leap Forwards. It makes no absolute sense whatsoever. There are much better ways to produce fertilizer like using feces.

Anyways, it seems that this crazy politician is about to participate on a televised debate with his opponent.


Originally posted by BBC News
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is set to go face-to-face with challenger Romano Prodi in a final pre-election TV debate.
The latest opinion polls put Mr Berlusconi&#39;s centre-right coalition up to five points behind his centre-left rival before surveys were suspended.

Some correspondents say Mr Prodi had the edge in the last TV debate but neither landed a knock-out punch.

Mr Berlusconi has been prime minister since 2001.

Tax question

The BBC&#39;s Christian Fraser in Rome says Mr Berlusconi spent the weekend rehearsing for Monday&#39;s debate at his holiday home on the island of Sardinia.

He was criticised by his centre-right colleagues for a surprisingly lacklustre performance in the first TV debate two weeks ago.

Our correspondent says the prime minister will hope to capitalise on what has been a difficult few days for Mr Prodi, as confusion over the opposition&#39;s tax plans played into the hands of the centre-right coalition.

Mr Berlusconi has been warning voters throughout that his challenger is preparing to raise taxes across the board.

Italy&#39;s business leaders, as well as the leading newspapers, are backing Mr Prodi.

In the face of that kind of support, our correspondent says, Mr Berlusconi will need a highly polished performance.

Elections are due to be held on 9-10 April.

[Cheung Mo]

Here are the most recent polls that I know of:

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/...em/itemID/11358 (http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/11358)

All show l&#39;Unione (left-liberals, left-leaning Christian democrats, and reformist socialists ranging in professed ideology from social democracy to Eurocommunism) comfortably ahead of La Casa (liberal-conservatives, right-leaning Christian democrats, Blairites pretending to be socialists, religious conservatives, fascists, xenophobic Northern autonomists, and miscellaneous far-right parties that pretend to be against fascism).