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It turns out that blatant racists aren't the only interesting appointments to Silvio Berlusconi's new cabinet. Last month, Berlusconi publicly mocked spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for hiring too many women, saying, “Zapatero has formed a government that is too pink, something that we cannot do in Italy because there is a prevalence of men in politics and it isn’t easy to find women who are qualified.”

Well it turns out that Berlusconi did manage to find a few, including his new equal opportunities minister Mara Carfagna, a former Miss Italy runner-up and topless model turned parliamentarian.  The story is actually even more ridiculous since the two have a history. Berlusconi once told Carfagna at a banquet that he would marry her if he was single and reminded her of the medieval law letting estate lords deflower virgins on their wedding night. This, in turn, provoked a public letter-writing war between Berlusconi and his wife that played out in the pages of Italy's newspapers. Berlusconi has previously remarked that right-wing female politicians are more beautiful and the fact that his new environment minister was once named "Miss Parliament" is also probably not a coincidence.

The Berlusconi show is back in town, folks.

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Newly minted London Mayor Boris Johnson's first brilliant policy decision? Banning the consumption of alcohol on London's Tube system. Trouble is, just about everyone besides Boris seems to understand that getting between an Englishman and his beloved pint is a pretty bad idea. A spokesman for the Tube employees' union said transport staff will have no way to enforce such a ban, nor much interest in risking their personal safety to do so:

Perhaps the mayor will come out with his underpants on over his trousers like Superman one Saturday to show us how it should be done, and maybe tell a crowd of Liverpool supporters that they can’t drink on the train.”

After Boris The Blonde made the announcement, British Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy rushed to assure passengers that the ban would only apply to London proper and those traveling longer distances wouldn't be subject to the measure. “We have no plans to introduce these measures on the national network," he said.

Johnson has himself been known to enjoy a pint -- occasionally more than one. He gave up booze in the final weeks of his mayoral campaign in what appeared to be a strategy to avoid embarrassing gaffes (others suggested it was a sign that he has a drinking problem). Of course, consuming large volumes of alcohol have never precluded British politicians from being good leaders. Winston Churchill was a notorious drinker, and 19th century prime minister William Pitt, the Younger was known to take down two or three bottles of port a day. If he enjoys his job, Boris might do better by heeding their example.

Peter Wehner, formerly the head of the White House office of strategery, blogs for Commentary on his recent trip to a conference in Europe:

I came away from the gathering (portions of which I missed) with several broad impressions. One was that multilateralism has become virtually an end in itself. What matters to many Europeans and liberal-leaning Americans is the process rather than the results. What almost never gets discussed is what happens when one's desire for multilateralism collides with achieving a worthy end (for example, trying to stop genocide in Darfur or prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb). The child-like faith in multilateralism as the solution to all that ails the world would be touchingly innocent if it weren't so terribly dangerous.

Do Europeans really have a "child-like faith in multilateralism"? Discuss.

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British comedian Eddie Izzard made a stop in Washington last week, and I got a chance to see his show at, ironically, the Daughters of the American Revolution's Constitution Hall. (Ironic because Izzard is famous for doing shows in drag.)

Having seen Dress to Kill, his HBO special, I was psyched to hear some quality jokes about the European Union. Izzard is a big fan of EU integration, and he often weaves pro-EU commentary into his act. As he puts it in Dress to Kill, the EU is "the cutting edge of politics in an extraordinarily boring way." Or in 2006 for the Guardian, "The EU is like a huge rock festival: everyone has colour-coded passes and there are no wars." He even told Newsweek recently that he eventually wants to go into European politics on a platform of "logical governance." In his view, the stakes could not be higher:

We've got to make it work in Europe. People are very worried about sovereignty and the loss of sovereignty. I think the stakes are if we don't make the European Union work, then the world is screwed. End of story.

Instead of EU wisecracks, though, Izzard treated us to a long and extremely funny disquisition on Wikipedia, prehistory, and religion. In his encore, he did work in a quick plug for the European Space Agency, but that was about it.

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A crane swings over the skeleton of the former Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik) on April 24, 2008 in Berlin, Germany. The Palace of the Republic is the former parliament building of the former East Germany, and is to be completely disassembled by the end of the year. Many Berliners are against the move, citing the historical importance of the building.

I loved the film Good Bye Lenin! as much as the next guy, but sometimes you just have to move on. I mean, we are talking about a significant eyesore here, and one that's in a prime riverfront spot:

JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images

JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images

I am not making this up. Some people from the Greek island of Lesbos are suing to prevent a gay rights group from using the word "lesbian":

The man spearheading the case, publisher Dimitris Lambrou, claims that international dominance of the word in its sexual context violates the human rights of the islanders, and disgraces them around the world.

He says it causes daily problems to the social life of Lesbos's inhabitants.

After its surprisingly strong showing in Italian parliamentary elections last week, the quasi-separatist, anti-immigrant Northern League Party is likely to take over several key posts in Silvio Berlusconi's cabinet including the interior, reforms, and agriculture ministries. The League's control of the Interior Ministry puts Italy's immigration policy is in the hands of a party whose leaders have suggested that the navy fire on rafts carrying illegal immigrants.

Italy's new deputy prime minister is likely to be Roberto Calderoli, a guy who proudly wears T-shirts emblazoned with the Danish Mohammed cartoons, promoted a "pig day" protest in a Muslim neighborhood, and, after the Italian team's World Cup victory, dismissed their French opponents as "negroes, communists and Muslims."

Berlusconi, who mocked his Spanish counterpart for appointing too many women to top posts, may want to watch his words considering the classy fellows in his own cabinet.

More Europeans now consider China a bigger threat to global stability than they do the United States, according to a Harris/FT poll out this week.

Granted, the poll was taken over the past few weeks, not the best time for the Chinese given how Tibetan protests and redirected torch relays have dominated the headlines. But there are still quite a few significant jumps in anti-China sentiment compared to last year.

Percent naming China the greatest threat to global stability:

Last year, all four ranked the United States a bigger threat. And within the United States, 31 percent of Americans listed China as the No.1 threat this year, more than Iran or North Korea. 

Germany's environment minister, Sigmar Gabriel, issued a statement today with some strong criticism for George W. Bush's big climate change speech. But the harshest words were actually in the title of his press release:

Gabriel criticises Bush's Neanderthal speech. Losership, not Leadership".

With a title like that, why even bother with a statement?

(Hat tip: The Lede)

Language purists in France are fuming. The country's entry in the Eurovision music contest has English lyrics! (OK, two lines are in French.) Of the 43 countries participating, more than half -- 25 -- submitted songs in English. It sounds like there's a new linga franca.

If you have three minutes of your life to spare, check out France's entry, "Divine," by Sébastien Tellier, here.

VLADIMIR RODIONOV/AFP/Getty Images

Vladimir Putin took another step toward consolidating his post-presidency powers Tuesday by accepting the position of chairman of the United Russia Party, the loyal faction that has supported the president throughout his term. The only thing is, he's not actually joining the party. At Putin's request, United Russia has tweaked the rules so that Putin can be chairman without actually being a member.

President-elect Dmitry Medvedev also refused party membership, which makes sense. It wouldn't look very good for Russia's president to be outranked in the party by his own prime minister. But Putin's legal maneuvering is more unexpected and more significant. By maintaining his political independence, Putin may be signalling that he has no intention of ceding his central position in Russian politics.

As chairman Putin now effectively controls the State Duma, where United Russia holds an overwhelming majority. This could give him the power to approve new legislation, change the Russian constitution, or initiate impeachment proceedings against Medvedev. United Russia's overwhelming power is already drawing comparisons to the old Soviet Communist Party. Together with last week's announcement that the prime minister (who, incidentally, is also Putin) will control the appointment of regional envoys, there seems to be a major restructuring of power away from the Kremlin to the Russian "White House," where Putin will be taking up residence next month.

But by remaining somewhat removed from the party, Putin can still appear above the  fray of the Duma and maintain his highly personalized political "brand." He is also free to criticize the party as he did yesterday, saying, "It should be debureaucratized and cleansed of strange people pursuing only selfish goals." (This might thin the ranks quite a bit.)

The big unknown is what Medvedev thinks about all of this. It's now clear that Vladimir Vladimirovich has no intention of fading away. The new president will need all his wits about him if he plans to be more than a figurehead. Something for Russia's yogi-in-chief to meditate on.

Spain swore in its new defense minister, Carme Chacon, this past Monday. Not only is she the first woman to hold the post, she's also seven months pregnant:

JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images

Kinda puts Donald Rumsfeld's complaints about standing all day in context, doesn't it?

(Hat tip: Passport reader Eric Jon Magnuson)

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Within the fragile coalition that has brought Silvio Berlusconi back to power, the big winner appears to be the Lega Nord, a separatist party that advocates federalism or even complete independence for Northern Italy (or Padania, as they call it.) The Lega won about 8.3 percent of the vote out of a total of 47 percent for Berlusconi's center-right coalition.

There's already speculation that the Lega will use its new influence to push for tougher immigration laws. The Lega has become known for its extreme anti-immigrant sentiment in recent years due to neighborhood patrols aimed at intimidating immigrant communities, racist campaign posters, and the inflammatory rhetoric of party leader Umberto Bossi, who once said that the Italian navy should open fire on boats carrying illegal immigrants. The party has already used its influence over Berlusconi to nix an idea he had hinted at during the campaign for giving immigrants the right to vote.

The Lega's position in Italy's governing coalition means that it will probably have to soften its Padanian separatist stance, but the party might still push to give regional governments more autonomy and budgetary control. That will be a tough pill for Berlusconi to swallow, but with all the challenges he's facing, he'll need all the help he can get. After all, a defection by the Lega brought down another Berlusconi government in 1994. He's not likely to cross them this time.

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The European Union just took what it hopes will be a crucial step toward escaping its dependence on Russian natural gas.

EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told the Financial Times that Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov (left) promised last week to supply the EU with 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year in addition to what it is already supplying to Russia and China. The EU has been pushing hard for a deal like this ever since the death of Turkmenistan's former leader, the lunatic isolationist Saparmurat Niyazov.

The only problem is, no one is exactly sure how they're going to get the gas to Europe:

There were three short-term options, Mrs Ferrero-Waldner said. One would be to close a 60km gap between Azeri and Turkmen offshore installations with a mini-pipeline. Another would be to build an onshore link to Kazakhstan, to connect with a route to Azerbaijan. The third would be to compress the gas into liquid form and take it by tanker across the sea.

The hope is that Turkmen gas fields can eventually supply the proposed Nabucco pipeline across Turkey. Unfortunately, the first leg of the pipeline won't be operational until at least 2013. (China, on the other hand, will have its own Turkmen pipeline up and running by next year.)

According to Eurasianet, the Russian response has been muted, with analysts pointing out that given Europe's 500 bcm yearly gas needs, 10 bcm is small potatoes:

For example, the Rosbalt news agency quoted Alexander Shtok, a Moscow economic analyst, as asserting that EU officials had sought a greater commitment from Berdymukhamedov. Thus, the EU mission to Ashgabat was "unsuccessful," Shtok contended. Other experts, citing Turkmenistan’s tangled involvement in the Russian-sponsored Prikaspiisky pipeline, say that Berdymukhamedov can be quick to agree on a deal, but is capable of stalling when it comes to implementation.

Ferrero-Waldner acknowledged that the commitment was not a "vast quantity" but described it as a "very important first step." Given that most of Turkmenistan's reserves have not been developed, and those that have been are under contract until 2028, a lot more big steps are going to be needed if Europe plans to break its Russian gas habit.

Though, if it doesn't work out, there's always Iran.

It can be tough to get out of the shadow of a famous sibling, and that's especially true if you're an airplane enthusiast and your brother is the world's most famous terrorist. Luxury goods entrepreneur and aviator Yeslam bin Ladin, half-brother of Osama, just can't see why anyone would find it odd that he's launching a line of specialty watches for pilots.

To be fair to Bin Ladin (he spells his last name differently), he has publicly denounced terrorism and hasn't had any links with his notorious younger brother for decades. It's also worth remembering that they are only two out of 54 siblings, but I still have a hard time believing that Yeslam didn't anticipate the aviation theme being an issue. Ironically, their father Mohammed died in a plane crash.

The watches sell for up to $9,472. If you're feeling flush, you can also buy "Yeslam" brand perfume and handbags from his store in Geneva, Switzerland. In the future, Bin Ladin may want to avoid adding some other items to his line, such as digital timers or vests.

GERARD CERLES/AFP/Getty Images

EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has a great new blog, and he's wasted no time in taking on a controversial issue. Biofuels have taken a lot of hits lately, but Piebalgs says the relationship between them and food prices is overblown:

Biofuels, have become a scapegoat for recent commodity price increases that have other causes – poor harvests worldwide and growing food demand generated by increased standards of living in China and India. In Europe, we use less than 2 percent of our cereals production for biofuels, so they do not contribute significantly to higher food prices in the European context. Even if we reach our 10% biofuels target by 2020, the price impact will be small. Our modeling suggests that it will cause a 8 to 10% increase in rape seed prices and 3 to 6% increase in cereal prices. Increase in the price of the latest has very small influence on the cost of bread. It makes up around 4 per cent of the consumer price of a loaf.

Even if price food price distortions are minor, I'm still not convinced the biofuels are worth the trouble given that it's not entirely clear whether they really do anything to reduce greenhouse emissions once land clearance is taken into account. Still, Piebalgs' blog should be great opportunity to hear from an informed voice in the debate.

reuters.com

Harry's Bar, the famous Venice restaurant where writer Ernest Hemingway used to hang out and sip martinis, is now offering a discount to "poor" American tourists who must contend with a weakened dollar, one that has resulted in horror stories about $40 ice creams and $10 bottles of water. A sign at Harry's reads:

Harry's Bar of Venice in an effort to make the American victims of subprime loans happier, has decided to give them a special 20% discount on all the items of the menu during the short term of their recovery.

Harry's owner, Arrigo Cipriani, says the number of American customers has fallen between 5 and 10 percent since January. His concern highlights similar worries that European tourism operators have about the weakened dollar.

But how will Harry's tell who's American? Cipriani told Reuters:

We will judge by the accent and if we make a mistake, we will give a 20 percent discount to the English as well.

Now may be a good time to learn to fake an American accent!

PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images

It was a predictably disastrous day for the Olympic torch procession in Paris. The flame was extinguished a total of four times to protect it from protesters and mayor Bertrand Delanoe cancelled a welcoming ceremony at City Hall after Green Party members hung a Tibetan flag over the building's facade.

As the confrontations and cancellations continue along the flame's route, one wonders how long the the International Olympic Committee will allow this humiliation to continue. China, meanwhile, continues to insist that the torch will pass through Tibet in June.

The details of the 2006 “Liquid bomb” plot have finally been spilled. The Guardian reports that yesterday the prosecution in the trial of eight men charged with hatching the plot, revealed a diary belonging to one of the alledeged conspirators. Inside police found specific details of the explosive cocktail.

The plan was to create an explosive mixture of hydrogen peroxide, Tang and some other easily-obtainable chemicals. The mixture was to be detonated with the power supply from a disposable camera. The aim was  probably to produce an explosive called HMTD, which has been used in previous suicide attacks and was the most likely explosive used in the 7/7 London bombings. Tang, a powdered citrus drink, would have both disguised the liquid explosive, as well as provided chemicals needed for the explosion.

Bruce Schneier’s blog is hosting a compelling debate on the likelihood that the bombers could have assembled these bombs in-flight, and how much damage they would have done. So far the consensus judgment seems dubious.
 

JIM WATSON

While NATO allies publicly debate their role in Afghanistan, attendees say a secret memo is circulating around the conference that plans for the alliance's exit from the conflict. Der Spiegel reports that Germany played a major role in drafting the "master plan" for the eventual removal of 47,000 NATO troops.

The document is actually less dramatic than it seems. In the short term it "calls for soldiers to gradually focus their attention more on training Afghan police forces and to hand over responsibility for actual conflict situations 'as soon as external circumstances and Afghan capabilities allow.'"

Wasn't equipping Afghan forces to eventually handle their own security always NATO's plan in Afghanistan? How is this a major change in policy? Der Spiegel hedges that the benchmarks layed out the memo might keep a NATO presence in Afghanistan until 2015, so it's possible that the document is just a fantasy meant to assuage the skeptical German public.

While the paper avoids a specific date for withdrawal, Germany Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung is optimistic about its implementation:

According to everything I've seen and to everything that other countries have added," Jung said of the paper, "I am very hopeful that it can be achieved in the forseeable future."

Mission accomplished?