Berlusconi speaks to Gadhafi by phone

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Berlusconi speaks to Gadhafi by phone
February 22, 2011

ROME—Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has spoken by telephone with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi amid a bloody crackdown by Libyan forces on anti-government protesters.

A one-sentence statement from Berlusconi's office late Tuesday said the phone call took place in the afternoon. It gave no details.

Berlusconi has called Gadhafi his "friend" and has entertained the Libyan leader several times in Rome.

The two countries share close political and business ties and in 2008 signed a "friendship treaty" that among other things, called for Italy to pay Libya $5 billion in compensation for its 30-year colonial occupation. In exchange, Libya agreed to control its borders to stem the tide of illegal immigrants headed for Italy.



Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2011/02/22/berlusconi_speaks_to_gadhafi_by_phone/

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http://zeldalily.com.nyud.net:8090/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/silvio-berlusconi-insults-another-female.jpg http://www.turicampo.it.nyud.net:8090/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/berlusconi-sfiga.jpg

[Joanne98]

1. LOL

[ck4829]

2. Awww, tyrant BFFs

[Renew Deal]

3. Lovely

[tanyev]

4. "So, Silvio, you got any nice girls you can hook me up with?"

[Tx4obama]

5. Need to round up and put all the dictators on a tiny island somewhere

Ben Ali, Mubarak, Gaddafi, Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, Berlusconi, etc.

[rosesaylavee]

6. This reads like an Andy Borowitz story...

It's getting harder and harder to be a comic in this day and age.

[Warpy]

7. Let's hope he's offered Gadhafi a villa

and plenty of protection for a luxurious retirement on the Italian taxpayers' backs, anything to lure him out of Libya.

It would last only as long as Berlusconi is in power, but Gadhafi doesn't need to know that part.

[EFerrari]

8. That was my thought when the Venuzuela rumor came up.

Offer him anything even if you give him Arpege.

[MichiganVote]

9. Lover boy prolly wants the Q's "bodyguards"

[Gregorian]

11. My thoughts too. Bring yo ho's Daffy.

[jakeXT]

10. It's quite interesting who is targeted at the moment

Italy and Libya have been close and even saved Gadhafi's life

In October 2008, Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgham revealed that Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi had warned Gaddafi two days before the attack that an American raid was coming. Italy had refused American use of its airspace for the strike. Giulio Andreotti, Italy's foreign minister at the time, and Margherita Boniver, foreign affairs chief of Craxi's Socialist Party, both confirmed Shalgham's statement.<28>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Libya

Eni signs Memorandum of Understanding for a social project in Libya
TAGS: libya memorandum of understanding sustainability community relations

Eni will significantly invest in the project, which aims to build a thousand of houses as well as related infrastructures and a shipping port, together with industrial facilities such as a water desalination plant

Tripoli , 19 December 2010 – In the presence of Libya’s Prime Minister al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmudi and Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni, Eni and the Libyan Government today signed a MoU for the realization of a social project in the El Agheila area, located in the Gulf of Sirte some 280 km west of Bengazi, Libya.
Eni will significantly invest in the project, which aims to build a thousand of houses as well as related infrastructures and a shipping port, together with industrial facilities such as a water desalination plant. Eni will be part of the steering committee along with Libyan Government, which will lead the works.
Eni has been active in Libya since 1959 and today is the largest foreign player in terms of hydrocarbon production, averaging this year 550,000 boe/d (Eni equity: 270,000). With this project, Eni confirms its commitment to corporate social responsibility, thus contributing to the sustainable development of Libya. In 2006, Eni also signed a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Gaddafi Development Foundation and Libya’s state company National Oil Corporation (NOC) for the implementation of an important and innovative programme of social projects in the country envisaging a series of initiatives aimed at professionally developing young Libyan graduates, building hospital facilities, preserving and rehabilitating archaeological sites, revamping school buildings and carrying out pilot interventions in the environmental and industrial sectors.

http://www.eni.com/en_IT/media/press-releases/2010/12/2010-12-19-libya.shtml

Enrico Mattei (April 29, 1906 - October 27, 1962) was an Italian public administrator. After World War II he was given the task of dismantling the Italian Petroleum Agency Agip, a state enterprise established by the Fascist regime. Instead Mattei enlarged and reorganized it into the National Fuel Trust Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI). Under his direction ENI negotiated important oil concessions in the Middle East as well as a significant trade agreement with the Soviet Union which helped break the oligopoly of the 'Seven Sisters' that dominated the mid 20th century oil industry. He also introduced the principle whereby the country that owned exploited oil reserves received 75% of the profits.<1>

..
Death

On October 27, 1962 on a flight from Catania (Sicily) to the Milan Linate Airport, Mattei's jetplane, a Morane-Saulnier MS-760 "Paris", crashed in the surroundings of the small village of Bascapè in Lombardy, in the course of a storm.<1><8> All three men on board were killed:
..
During his controversial tenure of ENI, Mattei had made many enemies. The US National Security Council described him as an irritation and an obstacle in a classified report from 1958. The French could not forgive him for doing business with the pro-independence movement in Algeria. Responsibility for his death has been attributed to the CIA, to the French extreme-nationalist group, the OAS, to the Sicilian Mafia.<3>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrico_Mattei

[maddezmom]

12. Libya: Berlusconi calls Gaddafi to deny Italy armed anti-govt protesters

Rome, 23 Feb. (AKI) Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday telephoned Libya's leader Muammer Gaddafi to deny a claim he made earlier in a televised speech that anti-government demonstrators had been armed with rockets supplied by Italy.

According to a statement issued by Berlusconi's office, the call was made following a televised afternoon address by the embattled Gaddafi, in which he said he would never resign and that protesters, whom he branded "terrorists" would be executed.


In a 20 minute phone call with Gaddafi, Berlusconi urged the Libyan leader to avoid civil war and bring a peaceful end to the conflict, newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Wednesday.


Berlusconi "flatly denied" that Italy had supplied rockets or any weapons to Gaddafi opponents, a charge Gaddafi also levelled at the United States in a defiant speech aired on state TV Tuesday.

more:http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Politics/Libya-Berlusconi-calls-Gaddafi-to-deny-Italy-armed-anti-govt-protesters_311717343933.html

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

13. Italy and Libya have had very strong ties ever since Lybia

was an Italian colony in WWII. Many Italian companies have strong business interests in Libya and have invested heavily in Libyan infrastructure in exchange for natural gas pipelines etc. and other considerations.

It's commonly known among Italians that Bettino Craxi intervened and warned Gadhafi before the U.S. strike, but if I remember correctly there was a plane shot down above Italian air space that was blamed on Libya when in fact many believe it was a CIA operation gone bad... again, I don't remember all details, but if I remember correctly that incident was a reason why Craxi was intent on protecting Gadhafi then, so there's a shared mistrust of the U.S there which, rightfully or wrongly, goes back a few decades.

As to Berlusconi and Gadhafi's 'friendship' apparently Mr. Gadhafi was the one who taught Berlusconi about the now infamous Bunga Bunga parties, where lots of young women prance around naked and perform sexual acts and/or massages on the few men. Apparently, Berlusconi and his sycophants use the Bunga Bunga parties to select which girls will remain for the night. In turn, the chosen girls get compensated via cash, apartments, cars, etc., all the way up to gigs on TV shows as veline (scantily clad showgirls) or even spots in parliament.

Currently the Italian government has commented scarcely about the situation in Libya, except to say that it should not fire on its own people. Italy is however getting its citizens out. The Milan stock market has been shaken badly since so many Italian companies have huge financial interests in Libya. Of course, Italy is already experiencing a heavy influx of Libyan refugees (just as Malta is).

I would like to see my own government react a bit more strongly and openly reprimand Gadhafi for his abuses on the demonstrators, but with Berlusconi and his ilk in power I think that won't happen any time soon.