ITALY AT WORK

,~I\.:I\A_.l.3ms.q@THOSE WERE (NOT) THEDAYS!Post-Revolutionary War Americawas definitely not a high moral point inour Out’history according to AmericanHeritage magazine.Historian JackLarkin studied New England vital sta­statisticsfrom1780 l780onward and found thatapproximately 30% of the marriageswere consumated eonsurnated before the weddingnight. This may have been the afteref­aftereffectof the colonial custom ofbundling,when courting included cuddling underthecoversasan an accepted aceeptedway ofdealingwith New England winters.Sexualmorality didn't stan start ·sweeping NewEngland until the 1840's and perhapsonly with the advent of central heating.ETHNIC UPDATES•- Hispanics compose 8% of the U.S.population but hold only 1% of electedoffices in the land, including 111 1 seats inthe House of Representatives (none inthe Senate).With the Hispanic population grow­growingfive times faster than the generalpopulation, HBO, Cinemax, Cinemax. and likelyother cable stations will be offeringmore Spanish language programmingin 1989.•- Since 1949, I949, West Germany hascompensated Jews around the worldand the State of Israel with $43 billionfor the Holocaust. Now, for the firsttime, East Gennany Germany has agreed to con­contribute$100 SIOO million.•- A recent study of 444 executiveswho graduated from three MBA pro­programshas found that Jews are earningan average of $28,500 more than theirChristian counterparts. This is inmark:ed marked contrast to the discriminatorypattemJewssufferedinthe suffered the 1950's. Thestudy smdy credited betterundergraduateschools and a preference for liberal artsas the key advantages.•' On the heels ofa a $20,000 per capitasettlement with Japanese-Americanswho were unjustly deprived of libertyWorld Notes[Wepresent this section 10 toinfonn inform our readersofcvmtsand events and tn:nds trendsthatmay that be of interest with regard lO to ethnic opinions opinion: orcultnnl cultural values.) values]and property during World War ll, II. theUnited States S rates Government is negotiatingwith native American Indians toward anadjustmentof their land claims. As nowstructured. structured, Washington State's PuyallupIndians will give up their claim to Ta­Tacoma,Washington, for 900 acres of land,a multi-million dollar trust fund, a $61million fishery, and $20,000 cashtoevery tribal adult.•' Despite being insulted in sassy Trav­TravelerMagazine as a people who "neverbathe”, .., the French still advertise in theperiodical.The biggest mobster:Brezhnev and his Italian & It American"counterparts"MOB TALK•- Racketeers N. Bunker ("Bunk"*) (“Bunk”)Hunt and W. Herbert ("Herb"*) (“I-lerb"") Hunt ofthe notorious Hunt Family have flled filed forbankruptcy banlcruptcy underChapter 11. l. The Huntswere convicted for trying to comer corner thesilver market in 1979-80. I979-80. The cost to theAmerican consumerof of the Hunts' Htmts' crimi­criminalact is not known. Their scam pushedthe price of silver at that time to $52 perounce (from $5) . • ~ Ow Otarntanickers, nwniclrers, Ed.•- The Italian government govemment has namedtough Roman prosecutor DomenicoSicaas high commissioner in the war on theMafia. The nine-month-old war, whichhas seen 338 mafiosi jailed in Palermo,has appeared to suffer from inertia.Signor Sica, vetecan veteran of the Aldo Morocase and the attempted assassination ofPope John Paul ll, II, is being hailed as a"supennan" “supennan” by Italian newspapers andwill hopefully renew the offensive.•- Late Soviet leader LeonidBrezhnev is being depicted asa a "mafia" “mafia”Godfather in the U.S.S.R. A postercontaininga silhoueue silhouette of the burley ex­ex-conleaderwithItalian and American "mafi­“mafiosi"beneath him hit Moscow streetsthis past summer.Brezhnev is beingaccused ofaiding and abetting a hostofofnefarious deeds including bribery, bnbery,nepotism, and protectionism.Brezhnev's Brezhnev‘s son-in-law and a Conner fonnerInterior Minister stand accused of ac­accepting$1 million in bribes during thelate 1970's and 80's. At the scale andlevel of current organized crime inRussia, maybe the Soviets ought toinvent their own Russian word forMa­Mafflll.CHRIST'S CHRIST’S SHROUD?It's official oflicial. The Roman CatholicChw-ch Church has announced that the famousShroudofTurinof Twin is a fake. Thought to bethe burial cloth of the founder ofChris­Christianity,the 14' shroud thatbears theim­imprintof a bearded, crucified cmcified figure has ,been the subject of much scientific in­inquiry.The Church, keeper of theShroud, has never made any claimsabout the cloth except that it came totight light in14th Century when it wasowned by a French knight. As part pan of ,the Vatican'squestfort.ruth, truth, threelabo­laboratorieswere retained to carbon-dateposrage postage stamp-size pieces of the cloth.Independently, the labsdetennined determined thatthe Shroud is only 800 years old, plus orminus 200 years. It is possible that theamazing Shroud may have been one ofcountless forgeries hawked dqring during theMiddle Agesas m authentic itemS' itemsbelong- belong­ping to or associated with Jesus Christ.~;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;TheItalic Way 6 Fa" 19886Fall 1988