The monarchy has been restored in Italy.

Clearly unhappy that, although he has direct and indirect control over most of his country's media, the world press keeps reporting his sexual peccadilloes and his legal imbroglios, Silvio Berlusconi has directed his tourism minister to launch a campaign to revive Italy's image.

How very Louis XIV. L'État, c'est moi! - à la Berlusconi.

An emergency taskforce is to be established within a month to monitor airwaves and news-stands the world over for coverage of Italy and bombard foreign newsrooms with good news about the country.

The plan was announced by the tourism minister, Michela Vittoria Brambilla, who said a crack team of young journalists and communications experts would be assembled to stamp out bad news.

"Their first job will be to monitor all the foreign press, including dailies, periodicals and TV in every latitude, from Japan to Peru," she told Corriere della Sera today. The second task will be to "bombard those newsrooms with truthful and positive news", and reveal to the world "a generous, truthful and audacious Italy – the Italy of entrepreneurs, art, cultural events and our products".

Berlusconi attacked the foreign press yesterdayfor criticising himself and Italy, days after the country's constitutional court stripped him of legal immunity, a ruling which means he again faces prosecution for fraud and bribing British tax adviser David Mills.

... Berlusconi, who owns Italy's largest private television network and has indirect influence over the state RAI network, has said he will now make radio and TV appearances to explain to Italians why his upcoming trials are "farcical".

Yesterday the international press reported yet another Berlusconi freudian slip. He complained bitterly that:

... he has paid millions of euros to consultants and judges during his court appearances.

He also claims he is:

...“absolutely the most persecuted by the judiciary in all of the history of the entire world”. He had been forced to endure 106 trials and investigations ...

Which makes us wonder how the investigations in the construction companies which used sub-standard building materials and techniques in L'Aquila are proceeding. Unbelievable though it may seem, there are far, far worse prime ministers than Stevie Harpoon.

The photo of Silvio was found at this blogsite.

Update on the L'Aquila earthquakes.

It has been over two weeks now since L'Aquila and the surrounding areas in central Italy were struck by earthquakes. As expected, prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is lukewarm to the idea that an inquiry should be conducted to investigate shoddy construction practices and to hold those guilty of such deliberate actions accountable for the death of hundreds, due to the collapse of buildings.

Senior Italian officials on Sunday backed an enquiry into whether illegal construction worsened the toll from this month's earthquake, despite criticism from Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Prosecutors are examining whether sub-standard building work was responsible for the collapse of many modern buildings in the central Abruzzo region, where the April 6 quake killed at least 294 people. ... President Giorgio Napolitano, one of Italy's most trusted politicians, said on Saturday a disregard for building regulations had worsened the damage. ... Berlusconi, Italy's second-richest man, started his own fortune in the construction sector.

In other news, Pope Benedict XVI has not yet visited L'Aquila which is located about 100 kms from Rome.

Bonus! The Red Cross is providing marshmellows.

There are far, far, far worse things in the world than having Stephen Harper as a prime minister.

Such as ....?

The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi ... said the 17,000 people made homeless by Monday's earthquake should think of themselves as being on a "camping weekend". ... The quake, which devastated the city of L'Aquila and surrounding towns and villages, has now claimed 260 lives.

Berlusconi told the reporter for the N-TV channel that the homeless quake victims "lacked nothing". "They have medicaments. They have hot food. They have shelter for the night," he said. "Of course, their current lodgings are a bit temporary. But they should see it like a weekend of camping." ...

His remarks – which seem to have been intended to reassure the public – scarcely correspond to the experiences of the homeless. Between Monday and Tuesday, they had to endure a night of driving rain and hail during which temperatures fell to 4C ...

Meanwhile, the Vatican reports that the Pope will visit the disaster area after Easter Sunday or when the ground in L'Aquila stops shaking.

Update: The Italian press is reporting that questions are being raised about the materials and techniques used to build a recently constructed residential complex which collapsed, trapping and injuring dozens of people. A firefighter observed that it wasn't the earthquake that killed people but the buildings.

Could the earthquake in Italy be a providential sign?

Though I'm really shocked and appalled that God the Father would cause all those people to die just to get Benedict XVI's attention and to let him know that the Catholic Church is MASSIVELY wrong by not supporting women who, by virtue of their familial role and responsibilities, are most likely to ensure continuity and perseverance of religious faith in Africa.

Most fundamentalist Christians view their God as cruel and vengeful but isn't there another way to let the Pope know that his position on condoms should be revised? Hopefully those members of the Catholic Church that God punished for blind allegiance to ecclesiastical ideology, as well as those who are collateral damage, will experience illumination, healing and divine consolation.

By the way, this post was inspired by the pithy response that the habitually verbose Blob Blogging Wingnut posted at her site on March 24:

Unreported in the MSM: children of abortion chain owner died in MT plane crash...just feet from Tomb of the Unborn Just has that ironic feel about it. But what the news sources fail to mention is... the [cemetery] contains... the Tomb of the Unborn... erected as a dedication to all babies who have died because of abortion.What else is the mainstream news not telling you? The family who died in the crash near the location of the abortion victim's memorial, is the family of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp, owner of the largest for-profit abortion chain in the nation....It strikes me as a providential sign.Though I'm really sad the abortion chain owner lost his kids. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I genuinely hope he and his wife experience healing and divine consolation.

Now we wait for the shrieeeking to start, because when progressives try to make sense of rightwingnuttery and attempt to verify if there is any logic to their pontifications by applying them to similar events, fundamentalists become quite wrathful.