All Quotes

"History—nor even current events—is made with “ifs.” But it is legitimate to speculate on what might have happened if the Red Brigades, instead of obeying the lust for destruction and death—the very lust that led a militant to dream of the advent of a Pol Pot-style regime, with a massive and salvific bloodbath—had freed Moro: that Moro who had showered his party friends with accusations and recriminations, who had renounced the Christian Democrats, who would have reemerged from the catacomb-like seclusion of Via Montalcini brimming with resentment and eager for cold, calculated revenge. For the Christian Democrats, his presence would have been disruptive, if not devastating. The martyr who had escaped death could have become—as his wife and children would eventually become—the worst enemy of the Christian Democratic Nomenklatura. Forget Cossiga (the Cossiga of 1991, to be clear)."

"The die is cast. And it is cast not only for Moro, to whom we extend our deepest and most respectful sympathy. It is also cast for a “Belle Époque” style of politics, which Moro’s destruction—whether physical or moral—brings to a close. History is regaining its tragic character, and it compels those who make it—or aspire to, or delude themselves into thinking they make it—to conform to the script. We are entering one of those “Iron Ages” in which power is paid for, or can be paid for with iron. No one is obliged to take this risk. Those who do so should know that today it was Moro’s turn; tomorrow it may be theirs. Only if it realizes this and accepts it will the political class find the strength to close the Moro case. And it is time for it to do so."

"The end of Aldo Moro leaves us appalled; the fanaticism of those who killed him slowly, robbing him of hope before taking his life, fills us with horror. We still hope that the arrogance of these criminals will one day be punished. What matters now is that the country, precisely to pay tribute to Moro and in his memory, learn the bitter lesson this tragedy entails. Democracy must not—indeed, cannot—be weak. Freedom, which makes it superior to any other regime but also more vulnerable, must not be compromised by leniency toward enemies, short-sightedness, or carelessness."

"The Italian state has passed this difficult test with honor, but the judiciary and law enforcement agencies have revealed, in their actions, a disheartening inefficiency that allowed the Red Brigades to operate with mocking arrogance. The blame lies not so much with the police as with those who, out of demagoguery, to please the left, or to gain easy popularity, sought to dismantle the secret services, remove the most dutiful officials, and turn prisons into dormitories with daily leave. The subversives of democracy and the opponents of the law were able to preach and wreak havoc unhindered. We hope not to see them now hypocritically joining in mourning for a crime for which they are, ideologically if not materially, jointly responsible. Theirs were not merely words. A young man blown to pieces by a bomb on the Trapani-Palermo railway—the incident occurred yesterday—belonged to Democrazia Proletaria. The bandits who raided a department store in Bologna came from the Student Movement. It is pointless for these groups to now feign consternation and astonishment at the savage acts of the Red Brigades. Terrorism is their own creation."

"Upon the announcement of Aldo Moro’s death, the unions sprang into action, organizing demonstrations and calling for a general strike. We are certain of their profound condemnation and their sincere participation in the national mourning. We believe, however, that workers and their representatives would make a more constructive contribution to the fight against terrorists by keeping a close eye on factory extremists, who are all too often protected and defended. Likewise, the “committed” students, if they truly wish to distance themselves from the Red Brigades, must expel from their ranks the delusional agitators and bombers who hide Molotov cocktails and weapons in the basements of the faculties. Those who turned a blind eye to the “escalation” of violence in recent years should keep their eyes closed today so as not to shed crocodile tears."

"We believed that the assassination of Aldo Moro, as it was carried out, was the height of infamy. We had to change our minds. At the protest rally held in Piazza Duomo in Milan immediately after the macabre discovery in Via Caetani in Rome, a group of ultras shouted: “Moro, fascist!” We prefer the fangs of wild beasts to the drool of jackals."

"I believe that the best tribute one can pay to Moro is to put the episode that marked his end behind us—an episode from which, let’s be honest, his image emerges far from favorable. When I hear that, in addition to the known ones, there are other letters from Moro, I pray to God that they are never found. I already know what they contain, and I prefer not to read them."

"The Moro Case must be a subject of reflection at all times because it serves as a benchmark for our democracy and a constant warning not to lower our guard against all the dangers that might call it into question."

"Io scrivo a voi, uomini delle Brigate Rosse: restituite alla libertà, alla sua famiglia, alla vita civile, l'onorevole Aldo Moro [...] Io non ho alcun mandato nei suoi confronti, né sono legato da alcun interesse privato verso di lui. Ma lo amo come membro della grande famiglia umana, come amico di studi, e a titolo tutto particolare, come fratello di fede e come figlio della Chiesa di Cristo. [...] vi prego in ginocchio, liberate l'onorevole Moro, semplicemente, senza condizioni, non tanto per motivo della mia umile e affettuosa intercessione, ma in virtù della sua dignità di comune fratello in umanità."

"We have been faithful allies of the U.S. and the Atlantic World, but we have also had the courage to express opinions, perspectives, and concerns: after all, Moro was an example. The lessons we learn from the past help us understand how to handle situations today. We have always discussed the relationship between Moro and the PCI’s entry into the government. And the major clash is the Mediterranean, a geopolitical issue that erupts and involves the conflict, for example, between Moro and Kissinger."

"One can evade the Italian police—the Italian police as they are trained, organized, and directed—but not the laws of probability. And according to statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior regarding police operations conducted during the period from Moro’s kidnapping to the discovery of his body, the Red Brigades did indeed evade the laws of probability. Which is plausible, but cannot be true and real."

"I don’t want to attack Andreotti, for heaven’s sake, but how can we forget that he handed the state over to P2 by appointing Grassini, Santovito, and Pelosi as heads of the secret services in 1978? All of them from P2. The three who later conducted the investigation into the Moro murder."

"Younger people identify with the Red Brigades; they are admired. The neurotics are both astonished and admiring. For the psychotics, it is a little more complex, as it is for the paranoids. But the neurotic’s astonishment and admiration are directed at someone who had the courage to do what he had long fantasised about. He took the leap."

"It is no coincidence that the actions of the Red Brigades are directed not so much at right-wingers, but at progressives. Their objective is very clear: to bring about a confrontation as quickly as possible, eliminating that reformist buffer which, to some extent, guarantees the survival of this type of society."

"These Red Brigades have a curious effect on me, like a fairy tale for silly or sleepy children; and when the magistrates, Carabinieri officers, and prefects start telling it again, I feel a wave of tenderness, because the tale is old, ramshackle, childish, but it’s told with such good faith that you really don’t know how to contradict it."

"I am astonished and totally disagree with the words written (in *Il Fatto* on March 26) by a distinguished magistrate such as Gian Carlo Caselli. He writes: “There is insufficient evidence to say that the Red Brigades were directed from abroad.” I am stunned. There is a mountain of evidence to support this, starting with the hideout on Via Gradoli (owned by the Ministry of the Interior) and ending with the revelations of Pieczenick and Giannino Galloni. To continue with the evidence of dozens of cover-ups originating from various sectors of the state, from Italian and foreign intelligence services, from the statements of Aldo Moro himself before he was captured and killed, from Lago della Duchessa, from the stolen documents, from the deeply tainted biographies of the so-called “servants of the state,” all members of P2, to the testimonies dropped regarding who and how many fired on Via Fani, who was present on Via Fani, how many were there to cover and ensure that everything unfolded as it “was supposed to unfold,” and that they were not members of the Red Brigades."

"Tommy Kominik — Nico, one of Arno's goons"

"Maksud Agadjani — Yussi, Howard's employee"

"Andrea Linsky — Joani, Howard's employee"

"Roman Persits — Roman, the bench jeweler at Howard's shop"

"Arthur Borukhov — Elan, Howard's employee"

"Ronald Greenberg — Rodney Bronstein, a pawnbroker"

"Marshall Greenberg — Steve Bronstein, a pawnbroker"

"I know. I know. Jews and colon cancer. What is that? I thought we were the chosen people."

"I made a crazy risk. You gamble and it's about to pay off."

"[weeping] Everything I do is not goin' right! Everything I do is not goin' right! I don't know what to do, I really don't."

"[holding the black opal] This fuckin' thing makes me feel like I can fly."

"Arno: Howard, you did this to yourself."

"Our confirmation bias then leads us to seek our further information to confirm those existing views, or to reject information that challenges them."

"Our views are constantly being shaped by through the negotiation between our own identity, our group loyalty, and our relationship to wider society."

"Without salience or social cues climate change sits outside the analytic frame that we apply to make sense of the world around us."

"A Berlusconi ci voglio bene, fino a oggi. È una persona onesta, scrivetelo.[1]"

"Per me Berlusconi era proprio come un parente. La fiducia che aveva in me era pari a quella che io avevo in lui e nella sua famiglia."

"Berlusconi ha assunto Mangano, gliel'ho presentato io, è verissimo, tra tante persone che c'erano in concorso per quella posizione, e ai quali Berlusconi ha addirittura affidato la casa, e il signor Mangano accompagnava anche i figli di Berlusconi a scuola. Non vedo niente di strano nel fatto che io abbia frequentato in questa maniera il signor Mangano, e lo frequenterei ancora adesso."

"Il fattore Vittorio Mangano, condannato in primo grado all'ergastolo, è morto per causa mia. Mangano era ammalato di cancro quando è entrato in carcere ed è stato ripetutamente invitato a fare dichiarazioni contro di me e il presidente Berlusconi. Se lo avesse fatto, lo avrebbero scarcerato con lauti premi e si sarebbe salvato. È un eroe, a modo suo."

"Le prove dei rapporti tra Stato e Mafia? Purtroppo Mangano."

"Per quanto riguarda Mangano, che non era uno stalliere, era il fattore che avemmo ad Arcore con tutta la sua famiglia, madre, moglie e due figli che lui accompagnava all'asilo tutte le mattine insieme ai miei bambini, era una persona che con noi si è comportata benissimo. Poi ha avuto delle disavventure nella vita che lo hanno messo un po' in mano ad una organizzazione criminale. Lui eroicamente, sono d'accordo con Dell'Utri, pur essendo così malato non inventò mai nessuna cosa contro di me e lo lasciarono andare il giorno prima della sua morte. Stava morendo in carcere, ben quindi dice Dell'Utri nel considerare eroico un comportamento di questo genere."

"Though there are exceptions in all species, many useful border plants — s, s, members of the , s — have foliage that is at best undistinguished, at worst down right ragged. Careful placing of foliage plants will disguise these shortcomings very well. They bring an outstanding variety of form to mixed plantings: fat rounded leaves of , feathery plumes of , stiff sword shapes of and ."

"For an extrovert April scheme of brilliant yellow and red, intolerable to a melancholy poet such as Eliot, combine a good clear-coloured such as x superba "Crimson and Gold" with groups of s and single early s."

"Be tomorrow. Today."

"The road to the future can often be found in the missteps of the past."

"Unapologetic uniqueness: conformity is where tomorrow's greatness goes to die."

"As far as western Europe is concerned, the 's story began in Turkey, from where in the sixteenth century, European travellers brought back news of the brilliant and until then unknown lils rouges, so prized by the Turks. In fact there were not lilies at all but tulips. In April 1559, the Zürich physician and botanist saw the tulip flowering for the first time in the splendid garden made by Johannes Heinrich Herwart of , . He described its gleaming red petals and its sensuous scent in a book published two years later, the first known report of the flower growing in western Europe. The tulip, wrote Gesner, had 'sprung from a seed which had come from or as others say from '. From that flower and from its wild cousins, gathered over the next 300 years from the steppes of Siberia, from Afghanistan, Chitral, and the , from Isfahan, the Crimea and the , came the s which have been grown in gardens ever since. More than 5,500 different tulips are listed in the International Register published regularly since 1929 by the in the Netherlands."

"All of my gardening coats have been my husband's cast-offs. He is sufficiently bigger than me for the coats to be roomy and snug. They all have the same faint smell of wet dog which I find strangely comforting and they are all well endowed with pockets. Why do tailors think that men need more pockets than women? Surely it should be the other way round."

"The book opens like a , with the author trekking after native guides along a snake-infested trail through a in the wilds of . Then — after a plant-gathering side trip with an apothecary in 1629 into the wilds of Kent — we find her riding "with horsemen through the of ". Clearly, it is a member of the band of intrepid English woman explorers who will be leading us through the taxonomical wilderness."

"Berlusca mi ha chiesto questa cortesia... per questo è stata l'urgenza..."

"Lo dicono tutti che frequentavo Berlusconi... Più che io era mio cugino che lo frequentavaLo dicono tutti che frequentavo Berlusconi... Più che io era mio cugino che lo frequentava."

"[Al camorrista Umberto Adinolfi, il compagno d’ora d’aria in prigione] Noi eravamo a testimoniare nel processo di Dell’Utri nel 2009. Perché si preoccupava. Dice: se questo parla a me mi arrestano subito. Umbè, ha fatto tutte cose così. Ora a me non mi interessa più niente."

"Nel dicembre 1993, mentre ero latitante, incontrai Berlusconi a Milano. Berlusconi sapeva come mi chiamavo. E sapeva che ero latitante da dieci anni. Alla riunione ha partecipato anche mio cugino Salvo e con Berlusconi c'erano persone che non conoscevo. Dovevamo discutere dell'ingresso di alcuni soci nelle società immobiliari di Berlusconi."

"[Parlando al procuratore aggiunto Giuseppe Lombardo] Negli anni '70 mio nonno aveva messo i soldi nell’edilizia al nord. Il contatto è col signor Berlusconi, glielo dico subito."