Italian courts have just ruled that masturbation in public is legal – unless it’s done in the presence of minors.
The Supreme Court of Cassation (Italian: La Corte Suprema di Cassazione) in Italy has ruled that getting yourself off in public is not illegal unless it’s done in front of minors.
The case came about because a 69-year-old man was caught red handed in Catania pulling his pork on the University of Catania campus and he was convicted in May 2015.
Originally he was sentenced to 3 months in prison and fined €3,200.
However in light of a law change last year, which makes public masturbation a crime only if a minor witnesses it, the court overturned his sentence.
According to CNN “Judges ruled that public masturbation out of the presence of minors is no longer deemed criminal conduct due to a change in the law last year, which decriminalized the act.”
A Polish priest has been sacked by the Vatican after coming out as gay.
Monsignor Krzystof Charamsa,43, a priest who has worked in the Vatican’s doctrinal arm since 2003 has been fired by Vatican officials after coming out as gay and as having a partner. He announced his sexuality in an interview with the Italian paper Corriere della Sera.
Charamsa held a press conference with his Spanish partner to announce his partnership and sexuality. The Vatican have said that its decision to remove Charamsa was nothing to do with his coming out, but that giving an interview and planning a news conference was “grave and irresponsible”.
“It’s time for the Church to open its eyes about gay Catholics and to understand that the solution it proposes to them – total abstinence from a life of love – is inhuman.”
The news of the sacking comes after the news of an alleged meeting between Kim Davis, the Rowan County clerk who spent time in jail recently after refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and the Pope during his recent visit to the United States.The Vatican said that the only “audience” the Pope had was with a small group, which included a gay couple.
In a statement about Charamsa’s announcement, the Vatican said,
“Msgr. Charamsa will certainly be unable to continue to carry out his previous work in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical universities, while the other aspects of his situation shall remain the competence of his diocesan Ordinary [local bishop].”
Krzystof Charamsa, dedicated his coming out to all gay priests, saying,
“I dedicate my coming out to all gay priests. I wish them happiness even if I know that most of them will not have the courage to make the gesture I have made today.”
Live on ‘Italia’s Got Talent’ TV show the members of Les Farfadais, a troupe of acrobatic dancers, had just performed a routine when one of the dancers then got down on one knee and proposed to his boyfriend said after he said “yes” the couple kissed on stage.
The stunned judges and the studio audience went wild and cheered for the couple in what the show’s producers claim was totally unrehearsed and unexpected.
Italy, of course, does not have marriage equality but has been making modest moves toward it in recent months.
In February, Italy’s highest appeals court ruled that same-sex marriage is not a constitutional right but that gay couples are entitled to certain rights and protections.
Rome’s Mayor married 16 gay couples last October in defiance of Italy’s laws. Rome has also created a register of civil unions for same-sex couples and Bologna came out in favour of recognising same-sex unions in September.
P.S. The newly affianced men had incidentally been performing to ‘the power of love’.
Ask anyone to name a hot Italian hatchback and they’ll probably say Lancia Delta Integrale. The Tipo Sedicivalvole shares much with the legendary Lancia. Not the turbo and 4 wheel drive sadly but much of the platform and a normally aspirated version of the 2.0 twin cam. But what does Sedicivalvole mean? Only the most important thing in late eighties/early nineties hot hatch badging; sixteen valves.
The Tipo had been around since late 1988 and was a big step on from its predecessor the Strada/Ritmo, even if it did share the same basic platform (as did the Delta). The boxy styling gave exceptional room inside, it was 70% galvanised to stop the rust bunnies and even won European car of the year in 1989. Sadly what the car was lacking was a proper Golf GTI rival. Fiat produced a lukewarm 110bhp 1.8 litre 8 valve from 1989 and a warmer 1.8 16v with 138bhp from 1991, unfortunately the Tipo was a bit tubby.
Although we don’t think of 1180 kilos (2601 lbs) as heavy for a modern car, back in the early 90s it was positively obese for a smallish hatch. Fiat had no choice but to drop in the 2.0 litre 16 valve lump from Lancia, upping power to 148bhp and reducing 0-60 to 8.4 seconds. As with all the best Italian engines, it looked pretty damn good too. Thanks to a slippery drag co-efficient of 0.31 top speed was 128mph, more than the Golf 16v. Handling was improved with 15″ alloy wheels and uprated suspension, braking was dealt with by all round discs that were vented up front.
To distinguish it from the cooking models, the Sedicivalvole got more aggressive bumpers with a red pin stripe, side skirts, a more open grille and body coloured mirrors. Inside you avoided the questionable digital dash of some models, gaining a smattering of analogue dials instead along with a leather Momo steering wheel and the option of Recaro seats. According to the wonderfully 90’s dealer information video, there was a strong eco push too, the car receiving a 3 way catalytic converter that allowed it to comply with the 1983 American clean air act. Wow.
So it was roomy, pretty well equipped, didn’t rust and was reasonably fast. So why has it been forgotten? For a start it looked a bit too much like the smaller Uno, for seconds the Italians still had a bit of a reputation when it came to reliability and for thirds it just wasn’t exciting enough. Still, if you do fancy one they can be found cheaply. The last one I saw was only £1450. I am strangely drawn to owning one however I fear it could only end one way, expensively.
Barilla, one of the world’s largest pasta makers is facing a boycott today after its Chairman, Guido Barilla, said it would never use a gay couple in any of its adverts.
The company which was founded in 1827 and reportedly made €3.9b in revenues in 2010 has come under fire today after its chairman Guido Barilla, gave an interview to La Zanzara Radio24.
He was answering a question regarding the lack of gay families in the company’s advertising. He suggested that gay couples would never been used saying,
‘ Our family is a traditional family,’ he added that he,
‘wouldn’t do an ad with a homosexual family not because I disrespect gays – they have their right to do whatever they want without disturbing others – but because I don’t think like them and I think that the family we try to address is anyway a classic family’.
Barilla then went on to suggest that if gay people didn’t like the company’s value, they could ‘eat another brand’.
The BBC are reporting that the gay rights group Equality Italia have called Barilla’s comments ‘offensive provocation’ adding,
‘We accept the invitation from the Barilla owner to not eat his pasta’.
To read the full translation click here
Aurelio Mancuso of Equality Italia urged for a boycott of the company’s pasta, sauces and other snacks.
On Thursday the company’s press department released a statement called: ‘Guido Barilla’s Clarification on gays’.
The statement reads,
‘With reference to remarks made yesterday to an Italian radio program, I apologize if my words have generated controversy or misunderstanding, or if they hurt someone’s sensitivity’.
‘Boycott Barilla’ became a trending topic around the world yesterday as thousands of users took to Twitter to complain about Barilla’s comments.
One Twitter user wrote @RonGunzburger wrote,
‘Count me in for the #boycottbarilla! Lots of pasta brands out there. I don’t need to buy from an anti-gay bigot.’
None of the UK’s big four supermarket’s stock Barilla’s pasta.
Italian designing duo, Dolce and Gabbana have been sentenced to 20 months in prison after being found guilty for tax evasion by an Italian court.
CREDIT: maxoidos / BigStock
Openly gay designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been sentenced to 20 months jail time after being found guilty of tax evasion in Italy.
The duo has not commented on their sentences, which have been suspended pending an appeal.
According to the BBC an investigation by the Italian authorities began around six years ago as part of a crack down by the government on tax avoidance.
The judge at their hearing, which took place on today (19th June), ruled that the designers moved their world famous brand to a Luxembourg-based holding company Gado – which is an anagram of their two surnames.
The judge said they had done this to avoid declaring taxes on royalties of around 1 billion euros £822m.
The pair had already been cleared of the charges at a previous trial in April 2011. However, Italy’s highest court has the power to overturn previous rulings and ordered the case to be retried.
Whilst the cardinals are all gathered to deliberate and appoint the next Pope, you could ponder what they all do in the evenings for entertainment?
Well one Vatican department it seems has been sharing a Rome palazzo with one of Italy’s top gay saunas, the EMC (Europa Multiclub). This may just be a coincidence and I’m sure the Vatican didn’t realise they were spending £17.5m on 20 apartments for the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples in the same building as a gay sauna.
The sauna hosts many features such as whirlpools, Finnish saunas, Turkish baths and massages. Just what you need after a hard day’s work.
How many days did it take to elect the last pope? Just saying.
If you’re in Rome and looking for a place to relax then do check out www.europamulticlub.com
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