All Quotes

"It is no coincidence that the lawyer defending Zappadu is a member of the European Parliament from Antonio Di Pietro's Italia dei Valori party. He wears two hats—lawyer and parliamentarian—that should not be confused. I mean: if the victim is the Prime Minister and the defendant is being defended by a member of an opposition party... well... it’s as if I were to bring a civil action in any trial against, say, D’Alema, Fassino, or Prodi."

"Even if this girl’s allegations were true—and they are not—the Prime Minister would, according to the reconstruction, be the end user and therefore never criminally liable."

"The Lega aspires to a fragmented, quasi-feudal world of city-states, and yearns for a sort of autarky: with a “yes” to polenta and a “no” to pineapple, as if this were a problem of the future..."

"The law is the same for everyone, but its application is not necessarily so."

"Ciancimino’s statements regarding Milano Due are completely devoid of any factual basis or logic, and can be refuted with documentation at any time. All financial flows related to Milano 2—a real estate project that even today is considered one of the finest achievements in our country—are more than transparent and have repeatedly been subject to thorough audits and verifications. [...] All findings have demonstrated the entirely lawful origin of all the money used.[7]"

"Santoro is a great professional; I appreciate him; he’s someone who does his job very well. He may well be biased, but he does so clearly. He doesn’t deceive the viewer. Interviewer: Did you enjoy going there, Ghedini? Ghedini: It was an exhausting battle, but a good one. I preferred it to so many self-righteous shows."

"Santoro gets on my nerves because he’s fighting a friend of mine. But I appreciate his professionalism. He’s biased, but in an open way. Interviewer: Do you prefer Vespa or Santoro? Ghedini: I have more fun on Santoro’s show."

"I don’t like going there (to AnnoZero) to play that role, and I don’t like that ring where they call you on just because they want to tear you apart. I go—it's my duty—but I feel the breath of hatred, and in some way I feed it too, of course.[10]"

"[About a wiretap of Giuseppe Graviano] No one has shown us this conversation. If it existed, we would have to listen to it to verify Graviano’s actual words. In any case, he knew he was being recorded and might have misled them. I am not aware of any meeting between Berlusconi and Graviano or anyone directly or indirectly linked to him. Much less with a well-known cousin of him."

"[About Giuseppe Graviano’s statements] After 26 uninterrupted years of imprisonment, Mr. Graviano suddenly makes statements clearly aimed at obtaining procedural or prison benefits by inventing meetings, figures, and episodes that are implausible and untrue. One can, among other things, perfectly understand the deep animosity toward President Berlusconi for all the laws enacted by his governments specifically against the Mafia. Obviously, all appropriate legal actions will be taken before the judicial authorities."

"The situation is laughable: President Berlusconi, who works around the clock, is a man of great wealth, charm, and zest for life... He certainly doesn’t need anyone to bring him women."

"To think that Berlusconi needs to pay a girl 2,000 euros just to go out with him seems a bit much to me. I think he could have plenty of them, for free."

"Berlusconi has great respect for women and no inclination to pay a woman to have a relationship with him."

"This time we took action purely as a matter of principle. A newspaper—namely *L'Unità*—cannot write that a person is impotent or a pig without expecting the accused person to take offense and react."

"Berlusconi is ready to go to court to explain that not only is he not a big pig, but he isn’t impotent either."

"You see, not everything is the result of political cunning. There are also moves dictated by pride and a sense of honor. And why on earth [...] shouldn’t Berlusconi be able to explain to twenty million Italians—his loyal voters—that he is perfectly capable?"

"Tony Montana : Say 'Hello!' to my little friend!"

"Fanny Brice : "Hello, Gorgeous!""

"Peter Clemenza : Hello, Carlo.... [Followed by act of garrotting]"

"Dorothy Boyd : You had me at 'Hello!'"

"Arthur King : Hello!"

"Monty Python & The Holy Grail (1975 British film)"

"I told Gilda from the start that I ain't the marrying sort. And do you know what? She don't mind. She's a stand-by and she knows it. And any bird that knows its place in this world can be quite content."

"When a married woman gets too hot on, it's time to cool off."

"It don't do to get dependent on nobody in this life."

"You've got to live for yourself in this world, not for others."

"Do you know, I'm beginning to think she was beautiful. After all, it ain't through the eyes that you feel beauty, it's how the heart hungers for something that makes it beautiful."

"If a bird ain't got you one way, she's got you another."

"You know what? When I look back on my little life and the birds I've known, and think of all the things they've done for me and the little I've done for them, you'd think I've had the best of it along the line. But what have I got out of it? I've got a bob or two, some decent clothes, a car, I've got me health back and I ain't attached. But I ain't got me peace of mind - and if you ain't got that, you ain't got nothing. I dunno. It seems to me if they ain't got you one way they've got you another. So what's the answer? That's what I keep asking myself - what's it all about? Know what I mean?"

"Don’t ask yourself why this misfortune has befallen you specifically, or you’ll go mad. Get it into your head that it’s a total loss."

"Is every man an Alfie? Ask any girl."

"What's it all about... Alfie."

"Michael Caine - Alfie Elkins"

"Shelley Winters - Ruby"

"The part of the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the statute of limitations is different. The Court of Appeals’ ruling stated, “Before 1980, there were ties to the Mafia; after that, there were not.” The Supreme Court’s ruling—which is the final instance, and which no one wants to examine—states that, regarding the period prior to 1980, there are two alternative truths: the possibility that he (Giulio Andreotti) either had ties to the Mafia or did not. There is a situation of doubt, but it makes no sense to go back and determine which of the two alternative truths applies, because the statute of limitations has expired. So it remains a matter of doubt. Quite different from the appellate ruling."

"Angelino is intelligent, has depth and culture, but these qualities must translate into the ability to say no even to Berlusconi."

"Filippo Carobbio’s defense strategy is clear: to downplay his crime as a mere transgression, thereby avoiding a dangerous criminal conspiracy charge. This is why Carobbio accuses Conte; this is why he tries to downplay his own role in the soccer betting scandal. For the Disciplinary Commission, Carobbio is a witness of absolute credibility; Carobbio is divine, one and triune—a mythologization that struck me but is by no means accidental, because the judges used the famous “ping-pong” cross-examination technique on him."

"Plea bargaining is becoming like honey for false turncoats. To get a reduced sentence. They rejected it for Conte, and for a man like him, it’s better that way. Better a century-long ban."

"The watchword is disparity. [..] We must aim to have much more than men if we truly want to make up for what we’ve lacked so far. Centuries of discrimination, abuse, unfavorable laws. I consider it compensation for everything we’ve been through."

"The first thing I tell my new clients is: “It happened to you; it's a misfortune. Just think of it as if you'd been diagnosed with cancer.” I wasn't just wondering if Andreotti would be acquitted. I was wondering if he'd have time to read all the documents, if he'd even make it alive to the Court of Cassation."

"In the courtroom, you often have to improvise. The better prepared you are, the better you are at improvising."

"Make a list of herbs you want to grow. Begin with the s and greys, as these will make the framework of the garden and be most apparent in the winter. These plants include , , , , , and ."

"Chrysanthemum parthenium aureum, the golden feverfew — now known as aureum, is the golden variety of the old physic herb grown widely an antidote to fever and headache. it is native to Europe and reliably hardy."

"s are undoubtedly among the garden aristocrats and every garden should have one, somewhow, but not on an east-facing exposure. They are and their oval shiny leaves are a joy at all times of the year, but they come into full glory when covered in flowers. The sheer number of varieties and is bewildering. For years I only admired them from afar, put off from growing them, by my very limey soil and by the successful growers who made me fell too ignorant to own them"

"Rosemary Verey, who has died aged 82, was the doyenne of the gardening world. A pioneer gardener, designer and writer, she made "good" gardening popular, and by her example — both in the aesthetic and practical horticulture so admired at her home at , , and through her serious, but highly readable, books - she also made it achievable by a whole new generation. ... Verey's work as a designer established her particular style throughout Britain and in north America, with the Prince of Wales, Sir Elton John and among her clients. In the United States, she designed for many private individuals, as well as creating a large plan for a new (still to be implemented) at the ."

"Long before it was a fancy , was famous for its . Designed by the hallowed Rosemary Verey, its vistas of purple , avenues of trees, walls and emerald lawns still cause gardeners to gasp with pleasure."

"I never held any major positions in the PSI, but I had the honor of being a friend of Craxi."

"I’ll miss politics, but it’s no tragedy. I’m going back to my studies, to medieval philosophy."

"I will miss certain moments. I, who had been in the PSI until the public prosecutor’s office dissolved it in ’92, remember well the months spent at the Ministry of Justice: together with Minister Biondi, we were the protagonists of the failed—though noble—attempt to bring the justice system back on track."

"Once the [PSI] party was dissolved, some became Muslims, some Jews, some Catholics. But we have always remained socialists."