Free Republic

The BBC has been hit by accusations of anti-Semitism by Jewish groups following the airing of its new crime drama McMafia. McMafia explores the world of organised crime and follows the story of Alex Goodman, played by actor James Norton, the English-raised son of Russian exiles with a mafia history. But since the first two episodes were aired this week, it has been hit by complaints, with viewers saying it contained 'gratuitous slurs' and 'lazy stereotyping' against the Jewish community.

All or nothing at all -- three-quarters of a country never appealed to him, nor did the idea of a political entity called Northern Ireland that was created in 1920, comprising the six northeastern counties of Ireland in the province of Ulster. Gerry Adams is still adamant about the need for a united Ireland. As a political entity, the Republic of Ireland, first called the Irish Free State, was created in 1922. On November 18, 2017 the 69-year-old Adams, president since 1983 of Sinn Fein, the left-wing political party, announced that it was time for a change and that he...

Japanese video game company Nintendo has angered hundreds of fans on social media by revealing its synonymous character Mario is officially no longer a plumber. In a recently updated Mario profile, the company's website said "Mario was once a plumber … but that was a long time ago." "All around sporty, whether it's tennis or baseball, soccer or car racing, he does everything cool. As a matter of fact, he also seems to have worked as a plumber a long time ago," the website said. Although the games rarely feature Mario utilising his plumbing skills, the sudden announcement of his...

<p>The owner of the Olive Garden is making a cheesy acquisition. And investors love it.</p> <p>Darden Restaurants announced late Monday that it was buying Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, a casual dining chain with 165 restaurants in 28 states, for $780 million cash. The company also announced earnings and sales that topped forecasts.</p>

A STUNNING Italian actress who offered to perform a sex act on everyone who voted ‘No’ in the country’s referendum appears to be following through on her promise. Paola Saulino, 27, who lives and works in Los Angeles, promised voters who rejected the change a ‘present’ after the poll. Now she has posted dates for a tour of Italian cities throughout January and told her fans: “I am a woman of my word.” She added: “Those who say NO to the referendum will be waiting in delight for my ‘Pompa Tour’ in January for what I promised to those who...

Comedian Dom Irrera shares a short primer with you (under 2 minutes) on how he learned to speak "Italian" along with certain mannerisms while growing up in South Philly as a child. Includes handy Italian-vowel "greetings" that were a must on the stoops and streets of Philly, Brooklyn, Newark, NJ, etc. Back in the day, these valuable techniques in mastering "Italian" could apply in nearly every city on the east coast. (bit is old, but funny from a Rodney Dangerfield Young Comedian's special on HBO years back)

<p>Last week, the Navy released the results of a lengthy investigation it had completed, concerning the conduct of one officer and nine enlisted sailors after they willingly surrendered their two Riverine Patrol Craft to the Iranians and were subsequently detained for 15 hours in the Persian Gulf last January.</p>

One of my favorite television chefs is Nick Stellino. He has a wonderful, warm presence and engaging presentation - the sort of person who, when you watch him on television, makes you feel as if you've known him forever; and he manages to pack a LOT of information into a very short video without becoming boring or didactic. This recipe is from what I believe was his first book 'Cucina Amore', in which each recipe is accompanied by family memories of his youth in Sicily. I wanted to try the recipe this week and didn't have time; but I will...

A Wisconsin teenager was photographed crying in his mugshot after being busted for an alleged sexual assault at a party where he drunkenly threatened to cut a woman if she didn't have sex with him while exposing himself. A Plymouth man called the cops accusing Anthony J. Zingale, 19, of trying to sexually assault his wife at a party they were hosting in their home. The woman told officers that she was using the restroom in her home when the teenager walked in holding a knife while exposing himself from the waist down, the Sheboygan Press reported. She said that...

A local man is free on bond after his arrest Friday on charges he pulled out a chainsaw and shouted racial slurs during a road rage incident in Farmington on May 6. Michael Salafia, 30, of 64 Whitewood Drive, allegedly got out of his car with a chainsaw while at a red light and approached another driver, Farmington police said. As Salafia was advancing on the other driver, who was a black male, Salafia started the chainsaw and began yelling racial slurs, reports said. The other pulled out a gun, which he was carrying legally, police said, to stop Salafia...

It’s 3 p.m. on Arthur Avenue in The Bronx, and Filomena Magavero settles in for a late lunch inside the venerable Mario’s, a favorite Italian restaurant on this strip of Old World butcher shops, fish stores and bakeries. She sips a gin martini (“Is there any other kind?” Magavero gamely asks), and orders filet of flounder oreganata. “Fish is my mainstay,” says the diminutive and neatly coiffed Magavero, eyes sparkling. “Plus, I grew up eating legumes, and I still like my lentils and chickpeas.” As for the martini? “I have one whenever I eat out — which is about five...

Lindsay Hasz and her husband were recently enjoying a rare evening without kids when they decided to dine at Issaquah's Montalcino Ristorante Italiano. Hasz ordered the frutti di mare, a traditional Italian medley of seafood and shellfish. Then she bit into something unexpected. "It was quite jarring," she said. "In fact, I thought I almost broke my tooth it was so hard." Inside the meat of a clam on her dish she found what looked like a pearl. "I thought maybe it was an earring from an employee in the kitchen and it fell into my dish," Hasz said. She...

Sicily may be part of Italy, but so much of its history, culture, and cuisine are entirely unique from the rest of the country. Treat yourself with a visit to Sicily and your taste buds will be thanking you for the Mediterranean-Adriatic flavor combination found nowhere else in the world. Arancine Translating literally to 'little orange,' arancine are a culinary win all around. They're none too complicated, simply rice balls coated in breadcrumbs and fried, sometimes with a little butter or bolognese thrown into the mix. Heat one of these babies up and bada bing bada boom, you've got yourself...

An Italian minister says a second autopsy on the body of an Italian found slain in Egypt reveals that the doctoral student suffered "inhuman, animal-like" violence. Official results, still partial, are being relayed to Rome prosecutors who are investigating Giulio Regeni's death as a murder. Italian media, reporting on the autopsy completed Saturday night after the body arrived in Rome, say coroners have concluded that Regeni's neck was twisted or struck, breaking a vertebra and leaving him unable to breathe.

Economists find bikers, motorcyclists and pedestrians are most at risk. (Inside Science) -- When gasoline prices fall or the economy grows, people may have more money to spend, but there can be an unexpected downside. Traffic fatalities often increase because additional drivers take to the roads. Now, economists have established that another seemingly auspicious occurrence has a dark side: nice weather. That's the surprising finding from a pair of economists, who investigated how climate change may affect traffic accident rates in the United States over the next century. In their analysis, the researchers predict that as the planet warms, there...

The blast happened days after Egypt leading prosecutor Hisham Barakat was killed in a car bomb. A huge explosion occurred in front of the Italian consulate in central Cairo on Saturday, wounding two policemen, state news agency MENA said. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear but one security official said it was a car bomb. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. MENA cited a senior security source as saying preliminary investigations indicated that attackers had placed a bomb underneath a car near the consulate and remotely detonated it. MENA earlier cited a security source as saying...

Dr. Warren Weinstein, an American aid worker held hostage by al Qaeda, was accidentally killed in a U.S. counter-terrorism operation, as was an Italian hostage, Giovanni Lo Porto, and another American who was an al Qaeda leader, the White House announced on Thursday. Officials also announced that a separate operation killed Adam Gadahn, another American who became a prominent al Qaeda member. The White House said it was unaware the four were present at the sites. President Obama was set to make a statement after 10 a.m. ET. "The operation targeted an al-Qa'ida-associated compound, where we had no reason to...

One Saturday last month, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at Ognissanti (All Saints’) Church in one of Rome’s working-class neighborhoods.

Italy’s coastguard announced Friday that it would allow its 11,000 members to carry weapons, following threats from Islamic militants in Libya, and recent confrontation with traffickers. Up till now, the Italian coastguard has operated on a different status from the ordinary military or even that of police officers, who have the right to carry firearms. Now the coastguard will be on a similar footing. This represents a noteworthy acceleration of events and a heightened understanding of the gravity of the situation. Just two weeks ago, the general commander of the coast guard himself, Admiral Felicio Angrisano, had said that there...

In March 1949, Joe DiMaggio posed in Yankee Stadium, smiling, with another famous Italian-American of his era — each in his professional uniform — but their friendship would not endure. On the evening of Nov. 5, 1954, the Yankee Clipper and Frank Sinatra hastily got up from dinner with friends at the Villa Capri in Hollywood and drove to a little apartment house at Kilkea Drive and Waring Avenue. DiMaggio was being divorced by Marilyn Monroe, his wife of less than a year. A private investigator, Barney Ruditsky, had called to report that she was there with another man. When...