Free Republic

A leading Italian neo-fascist with a nine-year conviction for conspiracy after the bombing of Bologna train station in 1980 has taken a seat in the European Parliament. Roberto Fiore, 49, came to Britain in the wake of the bombing, which left 85 people dead and over 200 wounded. The attack was carried out by the Nucleus of Armed Revolutionaries, a far-Right terrorist group. Although Mr Fiore, a member of the Third Position cell, was not directly involved in the execution of the bombing, he was convicted for conspiring to carry out an armed attack. He lived in the UK for...

A former Italian president says his country had allowed Palestinian terror groups to roam free in exchange for not attacking Italian targets. Francesco Cossiga's admission confirmed claims of such a deal revealed last week in an interview in the Corriere della Sera newspaper with Bassam Abu Sharif, the former chief of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. In a letter published Aug. 15 in Corriere della Sera, Cossiga described a "secret 'non-belligerence pact' between the Italian state and Palestinian resistance organizations, including terrorist groups" such as the PFLP. The deal, he said, had been devised by Prime Minister...

Former Italian President Returns Honorary Degree To Columbia, Citing Its Cottoning of "Old-Fashioned Racialist" Of course this story isn't appearing on the American (or even world) newswires. Our man in Poland, who wants to be known by his nickname "Hot," sends this translation of a Polish wire story, which I've cleaned up slightly. The former president writes to " old-fashioned racialists" Rome,Italy - september In protest against the invitation of the president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at Columbia University, former Italian president Francesco Cossiga gave back the title of the doctor Honoris Causa of this University. Senator Cossiga...