[Rome, December 5. Image via Getty.]

Demonstrators holds a cage with a portrait of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi during a 'No Berlusconi day' protest on December 5, 2009 in Rome. Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the centre of Rome against Berlusconi after an Internet call for a 'No Berlusconi Day.' AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO (Photo credit should read VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)

[Minsk, November 30. Image via Getty]

A mother carries a baby carriage as Italian and Belarus flags wave in central Minsk on November 30, 2009. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi arrived in Belarus on Monday, making the first visit by a Western leader in 15 years to the country once dubbed 'Europe's last dictatorship.' AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV (Photo credit should read VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images)

The Times of London has published a series of excerpts from the book (scheduled for release tomorrow), some of which are pretty hilarious. For example, on the Prime Minister's choice of sleepwear:

He was dressed all in white and I took him for a ghost. White silk pyjamas and a white silk dressing gown.

And, describing his behavior at a party with twenty women, where he was the only "man with copulation rights:'

He caressed them all. The Prime Minister needs cuddles.

More serious, however, are her claims that she was attacked after releasing tape recordings of her encounters with Berlusconi. D'Addario says another car tried to ram hers on the road near her hometown, and that she received frightening phone calls, including one threatening to rape her daughter. She says that she also suffered an attempted rape, and that an assailant punched her mother in the face.

But according to John Hooper of the Guardian, one of the book's biggest revelations is that lesbians attended Berlusconi's bacchanals. Hooper writes,

D'Addario claims to have visited Berlusconi's private residence in Rome twice last year. On the first occasion, she said, the other guests at the dinner included two lesbians. They "must be at home," D'Addario writes. "They kiss and stroke one another and address the prime minister in a very familiar way."

This has political significance. Many conservative Italians ready to forgive, if not endorse, heterosexual promiscuity will be disconcerted by a claim that their leader's private life extends to lesbianism.

Given that women were allegedly paid to attend Berlusconi's parties, it's possible that these so-called lesbians were in fact performing for Berlusconi's benefit. And Hooper's claim that "Patrizia D'Addario adds a lesbian dimension to the allegations surrounding Italy's billionaire leader" is rather oddly worded. Still, if his analysis of conservative Italian mores is correct, it's more than a little depressing — apparently Italians can tolerate Berlusconi's corruption and his bizarre public statements (he repeatedly referred to the Obamas as "tanned"), but two girls kissing is a bridge too far.

Call Girl In Silvio Berlusconi Sex Scandal Claims Series Of Attacks And Threats [Guardian]
In Bed With Silvio Berlusconi: 'The Room Was Dark. He Likes The Dark' [TimesOnline]

"I am not one of the women at your disposal, Prime Minister." Women's groups, feminist organizations, and even Facebook groups are urging Berlusconi to apologize. •  Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed to meet with Britain's most senior representative in the country, Andrew Heyn, for the first time since 2003. British foreign secretary David Miliband says of the meeting: "The fact that the Burmese authorities have allowed this meeting gives us some hope that the authorities might finally be ready to start a genuine dialogue which can lead to political reconciliation." • A recent study shows that cognitive behavior therapy may be the fastest way to help bulimia patients. After only a few months of the talk therapy, 37% of ED patients showed an improvement. • Senior Catholic Bishops sent a letter to congress saying that they will oppose healthcare reform unless changes are made on the abortion coverage. They also ask that Congress make quality healthcare affordable to everyone, especially those living near the poverty level. • Amanda Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, says she is hopeful about the outcome of her daughter's trial. Knox has been imprisoned in Italy for the last two years for the murder of her roommate, but Mellas says she is innocent, and the court needs to overcome "a year's worth of bad press and lies." • A 40-year-old Bavarian woman who fell into a coma in her 13th week of pregnancy delivered a healthy baby a year and a half ago. The hospital director said, "We wanted to keep the spectacular case secret for as long as possible to demonstrate that we're not experimenting on people and that the child is still healthy." • President Obama says that after he was woken up by a telephone call telling him he'd won the Nobel Peace Prize "Malia walked in and said, 'Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo's birthday.' And then Sasha added, `Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up.' So it's - it's good to have kids to keep things in perspective." • President Obama will donate the $1.4 million cash award that comes with the Nobel Peace Prize to charity, but hasn't decided which organizations he'll give it to. • The International Olympic Committee is unhappy with three unnamed countries for failing to support the participation of female athletes in the games. IOC president Jacques Rogge said the countries all pose "religious, cultural and political difficulties for women" to compete in sports. "We are engaged now in high-reaching discussions with these countries to try and persuade them to be a little more liberal or positive about women's sport." • Journalism groups and media law experts are defending TMZ founder Harvey Levin. The groups say the L.A. County sheriff's investigators violated the law when the obtained a search warrant for Levin's record to find out who gave him details on Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic tirade during his 2006 drunk driving arrest. • German researchers have found an account of Joseph Goebbels post-war trial that reveals in more detail how his six children were killed. Dr. Helmut Kunz, who helped with the killings, said, ''Towards the end of April, Magda [Goebbel's wife] came up to me and said, 'I need your help in the killing of the children.' I refused her, saying that was not my responsibility... But Magda Goebbels insisted and shortly afterwards declared to me that it was no longer a request for help but a direct order from Hitler.'' He escaped from the bunker but was tracked down and told by Magda that he had to return or, ''you will be a dead man." • The first Norman Mailer Writers Colony Gala will honor novelist Toni Morrison for lifetime achievement and the late David Halberstam for distinguished journalism on October 20. • A woman from New Mexico has sued Delta Airlines for throwing her off the plane when she refused to cover herself while breastfeeding her baby. The lawsuit was brought in Vermont, which has some of the strongest breastfeeding laws. • 12-year-old Jennifer Valdivia caught the ball from Ryan Howard's 200th home run. A representative from the Philadelphia Phillies asked her for the ball back because they wanted to give it to Howard. When Valdivia's mother found out Jennifer had given up the ball she contacted a lawyer who sued on her behalf and made Howard return it. • Serena Williams says on her nude ESPN magazine cover photo, "ESPN had a 'Body Issue' and they told me I had a great body and they wanted me to be on the cover so I was super flattered. But I wanted to do it really classy and not trampy. I thought it was a really tasteful picture... I love it." •

• A Texas judge has ruled that a same-sex couple should be able to get a divorce in Texas, even though the state does not recognize gay marriage. Although it is too early to tell what this will mean for human rights in Texas, the couple is "ecstatic" at the news. •  Allergan Inc., makers of Botox, have filed a lawsuit against federal health officials, which alleges that the government violated their free-speech rights by barring them from distributing information about the antiwrinkle injections. •  Grab your babies, because Today is the Synchronized Worldwide Breastfeed. The event started in the Philippines, with breastfeeding advocate Elvira Henares-Esguerra. •  Lauren Book, a survivor of sexual abuse, once lobbied for stricter laws governing paroled sex offenders. However, she recently realized that the laws she worked so hard to have passed may have backfired, leaving hundreds of sex offenders in such deplorable living conditions that they might just get "desperate" enough to offend again. •  French PM Francois Fillon said today that he is considering enforced chemical castration for sex offenders. France currently allows the use of chemical castration, but only with the consent of the prisoner. •  Patriza D'Addario went on Italian television to tell her side of the whole Silvio Berlusconi sex scandal story. She says Berlusconi knew she was an escort when he slept with her, and that his Rome residence "seemed like a harem." • 

• Marc Jacobs is rumored to have signed on to appear on Kept, Logo's gay version of The Real Housewives. An open casting call will be held soon in New York to find other "high-powered (openly gay) playboys." [N.Y. Daily News]

• The Italian fashion world wasn't pleased with foreign reviews of Milan fashion shows linking the prevalence of short and sexy dresses to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's recent sex scandals. Reviews in the Financial Times and International Herald Tribune used terms such as "Blame it on Berlusconi" and "Viva la Bimbo." "I don't think Berlusconi influences us," said Donatella Versace. "I didn't see anything vulgar on the catwalks in the last few days." [Reuters]
• British women working in engineering, science, technology and construction are calling for clothing manufacturers to make better and safer clothing for women. Jan Peters, president of the Women's Engineering Society explains: "We need the makers of safety wear – work boots, high visibility jackets, protective gloves and the like - to cater for our needs. We don't necessarily want fashion – although we want to look smart and professional – we just want clothes that fit!" [Science Daily]
• Yesterday, Michelle Obama fave Maria Pinto unveiled the looks she created for the delegates lobbying for Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid this week in Copenhagen. At least these outfits are less ridiculous than Ralph Lauren's 2008 U.S. Olympic ensemble. [WWD]
• The new issue of GQ has an article on Christian Audigier that dubs him the "Emperor du Fromage" and contains many musings on the unfortunate popularity of his Ed Hardy and Von Dutch brands such as, "He almost never wears the clothes he designs, which leads some people to wonder whether he actually likes them." [Racked]
• Jil Sander's minimalist collection for Uniqlo will go on sale when its Paris flagship store opens on Thursday. The 100 women's items and 40 men's pieces won't include the designer's name but will bear a white label reading "+J". [WWD]
• Scientists are developing new hi-tech textiles including fabrics that spray on, respond to temperature changes, and release hormones to attract the opposite sex. [The Telegraph]
• The Obama commercial boom may be over. You can still find Obama merchandise - like tees - in D.C. tourist areas, but there's less demand across the country now that he's started actually leading rather than just talking about it. [AP]
• Miuccia Prada likes to have "intellectuals" at her shows and in her clothes. A staffer explains, "She only dresses people who interest her." Warning: Don't click the link unless you're prepared to see Paul Krugman's face Photoshopped on a runway model. [N.Y. Magazine]
• Shares of Liz Claiborne Inc. and Jones Apparel Group Inc. fell yesterday, after a Goldman Sachs analyst said their stock is fairly valued and downgraded the companies to "neutral." [Crains New York]
• Designer Nanette Lepore and other fashion advocates met at the office of California Representative Diane Watson to discuss their support for the creation of a Fashion Caucas in Congress. They say the government needs to be more involved in securing intellectual property rights for designers, creating enterprise zones to promote local talent, and preserving New York's garment district. [N.Y. Magazine]
• Anna Dello Russo wore Peter Dundas' green and white cut-out sequined long sleeve mini dress "better than a model ever could," according to Fashionista. [Fashionista]
• The European Commission is considering extending duties and tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese shoes to protect Italian and Spanish footwear manufacturers. Most retailers and EU member states oppose the measure. [Times of London]
• Sources say contrary to earlier report, Tommy Hilfiger is not planning to work with Sarah Ferguson. [WWD]
• Tommy Hilfiger's daughter Ally is going to work on her aunt's Ginny H line, fueling speculation that she's being groomed to take over her dad's brand. When asked if she may some day replace him she said vaguely, "It's such a big company that it's not only one person that can run the company. There are just so many people. I don't know how much control I'd have or help I would be." [Stylist]

A newly revised biography, Veronica's Way, details the relationship between Berlusconi and Veronica Lario from its beginning in 1980 to its current unhappy end. Lario says that when her husband attended the birthday party of an 18-year-old (and bought her an $8,500 birthday gift), he told her he was at a conference. She tells biographer Maria Latella,

It was the umpteenth lie. Better to finally respect myself, better to divorce. [...] I cannot condemn myself to be his wetnurse and I cannot stop him from making himself ridiculous before the world.

But according to Daniel Flynn of Reuters, neither the 18-year-old nor Berlusconi's alleged party with a high-priced call girl have soured Italy on him. Flynn writes, "While the 'sexgate' scandal has excited the foreign press, opinion polls show many Italians consider it a private matter and it has done little to dent Berlusconi's high popularity, despite the worst economic downturn since World War II." In a Times editorial, Italian professor Chiara Volpato has a different take. She says,

Many outside Italy seem to assume that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gets away with his sexist behavior because Italian men condone it and the women at least tolerate it. But this is no longer true. Today there are two Italys: one Italy has soaked up Mr. Berlusconi's ideology either out of self-interest or an inability to resist his enormous powers of persuasion; the other is fighting back.

After a discussion of Italy's gender gap (example: fewer than half of Italian women have jobs, but Italian men still have 80 minutes more free time per day), Volpato describes the ways Italian women are fighting back against sexism in general and Berlusconi specifically. She mentions a documentary about female objectification called Il Corpo delle Donne, a recent first ladies' boycott of the G8 summit in Italy, and Berlusconi's dropping approval ratings among women. Still, she says, Italians must do more to combat Berlusconi and the anti-woman culture he represents. She writes,

An important step is to make dissent known, a difficult task considering that true free speech is largely limited to only a few independent newspapers and, importantly, the Internet. We need to start working on a systematic documentation of incidents of discrimination against women.

Michael Wolff's recent Vanity Fair article illustrates why this may, indeed, be very difficult — through his TV empire, Berlusconi has made both himself and the object vacation of women key facets of Italian pop culture. Wolff writes that Berlusconi's rise to control Italy's three private TV networks (as prime minister, he now controls the three public TV networks as well) can be traced to his replacement of "heavyset" male talking heads with "big-bosomed girls" called veline. These veline are now at the center of Italian culture — varying soccer stars and dictating fashion trends — and of political life as well. Berlusconi has appointed many of them to government positions, and one former velina, now Italy's equal-opportunity minister even hosted the very G8 summit the first ladies boycotted.

It sounds a little like packing Parliament with Playboy bunnies — but there's a reason Italian women haven't yet risen up against Berlusconi's velinocracy. The veline are popular. According to Volpato, becoming one of them is now the most popular career goal among Italian teenage girls. Volpato chalks this up to the fact that in Italy, "young women and girls are consistently taught that their bodies, rather than their abilities and their knowledge, are the key to success."

But maybe Veronica Lario can change that. In her biography, she says, "I think that I have no choice but to separate...He would tell me another lie and this time I could not stand it," and "I've reached the end of the road. Ten years ago I was not ready but now I can say: I am leaving this man." Lario herself is a former velina, who took up with Berlusconi when she was 23 and he was 43 and married. Perhaps her very public rage at him will provide an antidote to his advice to a female student — to get ahead, marry a rich man. Veronica's Way could serve as a lesson that neither being a velina nor marrying up necessarily brings an Italian woman happiness — and as an impetus for other women to demand more real power.

Italian Women Rise Up [NYT]
Berlusconi Wife: He Is Ridiculous Before The World [Reuters]
All Broads Lead To Rome [Vanity Fair]

Earlier: Wine, Women, & Santa Costumes Have Italian Leader In Loads Of Trouble

• Orobator was sentenced to life in prison for smuggling heroin and returned to Britain to serve her sentence of life in prison in Britain a few weeks ago. She was originally facing a firing squad but was spared after she mysteriously became pregnant while in an all-women's prison. Her child is due next month. • Almost 4,000 women in England were forced to give birth outside of maternity wards last year. The number of women who gave birth in other hospital wards, hallways, waiting rooms, or in hospital parking lots increased by about 500 since 2007 and Conservatives are blaming hospital overcrowding and overextended midwives. • The Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations will sue Judge J. William Callahan, for forcing Raneen Albaghdady to remove her head scarf in June, saying "no hats in the courtroom." A lawyer for the council says, "This judge targeted a Muslim woman's religious attire, but he could just as easily have demanded the removal of a Sikh turban, a Jewish yarmulke or a Catholic nun's habit." Callahan's spokesman says he would have left her keep the scarf on if she had told him it had religious significance to her. • Sad irony? A 16-year-old blind and deaf dog belonging to Robin Starr, the CEO of the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, died after he was left in a hot car for four hours. Starr's husband put the "Louie" in the car as she was getting ready because she often took him to work, but he forgot to tell Starr. By the time she realized Louie was in the car it was too late and he died of kidney failure. • NCSU's Women's Center and other campus advocacy groups were not able to stop a showing of the film based on Tucker Max's book I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell or an appearance by Max taking place tonight on the campus. The groups say the film contains sexist and racist phrases and promotes rape culture. Though they couldn't shut down the event they'll be protesting, "everything about Tucker Max and what he stands for." • Canadian researchers say visiting grandparents may prevent toddlers from forming negative stereotypes about old people. "We've been able to show really early on that kids, when they're just starting to talk, have established beliefs about older people," said one researcher. "We're seeing what we could call ageism by about age three." • Florida's appeals court will review the state's ban on adoptions by homosexuals. In 2008 a Miami-Dade County judge ruled that a law banning Martin Gill and his partner from adopting two young boys is unconstitutional, but state attorneys say the judge was legislating from the bench and the decision should be make by lawmakers. • A Sydney, Australia couple is being sued by Roseville College for $20,000 in unpaid tuition, but the parents say they shouldn't have to pay because the school failed to stop bullying which led one of their four daughters hurting herself. The parents say teachers were aware that their daughter was being harassed in 7th and 8th grade but did nothing and the girl's adviser told her to "simply ignore the bullies." After more bullying, the girl cut herself several times with a razor. • Ronald Douglas McGowan of Southern California will stand trial for the rapes of four women, including one who prosecutors say bit off part of his tongue in self-defense during an attack in her apartment. He was arrested in the emergency room where he went for treatment. His tongue couldn't' be reattached. • Researchers have found that Runaway Intervention Program, a program in which nurses help sexually exploited runaway girls reconnect to family, school, and healthcare effectively reduces trauma. "Remarkably, by six and 12 months into the program, the girls had improved so much that in most areas they were indistinguishable from girls in school who had never been abused," said a researcher. • In a revised edition of her biography, Veronica Lario says she wants a divorce from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has been involved in several sex scandals, because "I cannot condemn myself to be his wetnurse and I cannot stop him from making himself ridiculous before the world." •

* The doctor who tried to save the life of Neda Agha Soltan claims to have identified her killer. • Audio tapes of Silvio Berlusconi talking to escort Patrizia D'Addario have hit the Internet. In one conversation, Berlusconi tells D'Addario to wait for him in "Putin's bed." • A new book claims the Bush twins tried to lose their Secret Service detail whenever possible, and that Secret Service agents had to take a drunk Henry Hager (now Jenna's husband) to the hospital in 2005. • A witness in evangelist Tony Alamo's sex-crimes trial may have set the prosecution back by misidentifying Alamo and contradicting her own sister, allegedly one of his victims. • Researchers have found that birth control pills are less effective in obese women not because the hormones concentrate in fat tissue, but because they take longer to reach the necessary levels in the blood. • A doctor who has advised UNICEF and the World Health Organization says breast-feeding doesn't actually protect babies from disease, but that women who breast-feed tend to have healthier lifestyles. • Young British men are more likely to commit violent acts if they live with their parents, perhaps because they "have fewer responsibilities and more disposable income to spend on alcohol." • But drinking can be good for you — if it makes you pass out in a yoga position. • A House spending bill passed Thursday allows the use of local funds to pay for abortions in DC. • And Randall Terry of Operation Rescue, totally failing to learn anything from George Tiller's death, says that if the new health-care reform bill includes coverage for abortion, "history will hold those in power responsible for the violent convulsions that follow." •

• Oy (Oi?): An Australian tabloid is claiming that Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are "in turmoil" because Kristen is pregnant with the sparkle vamp's spawn.

The story is illustrated with a ridiculous "bump watch" close-up of Kristen's rather flat tummy trying to breathe in some super tight leather pants. Oh, hey: While we're on the subject, remember this? [ONTD]

• Will Breaking Dawn, the fourth Twilight film, have a different director? Says New Moon's Ashley Greene: "[Eclipse director] David [Slade] and [New Moon director] Chris [Weitz] will both be busy in postproduction, and Catherine [Hardwicke] will be doing Hamlet." [E!]
• Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson is sick of shooting his film in New York and dying to get back home. A source says he is "so over everything" and overwhelmed by fans: "He's embarrassed by the way girls throw themselves at him. The girls here are stalking him. He stayed in two different hotels over the course of four days just to try to escape the fans who were following him. He's afraid that if he gives a hand, they'll take the whole arm. He's being advised by security not to encourage the crowd, so he doesn't even look up anymore." [Gatecrasher]
• You know that Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning will make out in The Runaways, right? [NY Daily News]
• A tiny, "economically depressed" Indian reservation in Washington state — home of the Quileute Nation — has become inundated with Twilight fans. The tribe opened its Wednesday night drum circle to all visitors, but has "mixed feelings" about the attention. [NY Post]
• Did Chris Brown and Amber Rose hook up at Diddy's white party on July 4? "They were holding hands and making out in the shadows," a witness claims. Kanye West was "devastated" when Chris Brown harmed Rihanna, whom Kanye thinks of as a sister. What will he think of his on/off ladyfriend making out with Chris Brown? WILL HE WRITE A RANT?!?! [NY Daily News]
• Weeks after allegedly trashing a hotel room in L.A., Courtney Love is being accused of leaving a NYC hotel room "littered with needles and used feminine hygiene products." [The Sun]
• Daniel Radcliffe says the idea of him dating Emma Watson is "really incestuous," but admits this of his Harry Potter costars: "There was a period when we were the only boys and girls any of us knew. And so, you know, we were all unbelievably horny from about the third film to probably about the end of the fifth; then it all settled down." Hmm. Sounds like someone was fantasizing about someone! [Mirror]
• Though details are sketchy, it looks like Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and Aretha Franklin will be attending and performing at the Michael Jackson memorial. [MSNBC Scoop]
• 1.6 million people wanted tickets for Michael Jackson's memorial, but only 11,000 tickets are available. A producer says: "It will be a celebration of Michael's life (but) we're not approaching it as a TV show… In the future, there may be a tribute to Michael Jackson. This is really a memorial service. It's not going to have all the bells and whistles. We want to keep it low-key." [AFP]
• "I want to stress to those people who are coming, or are thinking about coming, to the city for this special event that you might want to consider watching this from the comfort of your home," says Councilwoman Jan Perry, L.A.'s acting mayor (Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is out of the country). [CNN]
• There are already Michael Jackson memorial tickets on eBay. [CBS News]
• Lawyers will be in court today, arguing over who will control Michael Jackson's estate. [TMZ]
• The doctor who was with Michael Jackson the day he died clams he did not administer Demerol or OxyContin to Jackson that day. What about Propofol? No comment on that. [TMZ]
• Fans have created a shrine to Michael Jackson in Moscow, Russia. [CNN]
• A 1984 Andy Warhol portrait of Michael Jackson is up for auction, if you have like $10 million. [NY Daily News]
• This piece by Michael Jackson biographer Ian Halperin alleges that Michael was a drug addict who had recorded 200 "secret" songs before he died, had been depressed for a long time and had recently begun a relationship with a male artist, but was afraid of being revealed as gay. [Daily Mail]
• This paper is running video of Michael Jackson defending himself about child abuse allegations. He looks incredulous and annoyed. [News Of The World]
• According to this report, Michael Jackson may be buried in concrete to prevent fans from digging up his grave. [UPI]
• Will Michael Jackson be cremated, and his ashes scattered at Neverland? [NY Post]
• The bodyguard who called 911 to save Michael Jackson's life is named Alberto Alvarez, and he was apparently so loyal he didn't tell his neighbors whom he worked for. "He would disappear for days at a time. I guessed he was in security because of his size," one neighbor says. [Mirror]
• Paul McCartney is "devastated" that he doesn't have rights to Beatles songs he wrote with John Lennon, which may be part of Michael Jackson's estate. [Daily Express]
• In an interview with Silvio Berlusconi, Bob Geldof forced the Italian Prime Minister to apologize for failing to meet commitments to fighting poverty. "How can you lead the G8? Where is your credibility?" Geldof asked. [Times of London]
• Look for Michael Phelps to appear with that guy Jared in new Subway sandwich commercials starting today. The theme? "Be yourself." [AdWeek]
• Jon and Kate Gosselin spent the 4th of July together (with the kids). they had agreed weeks ago to set aside their differences for the holiday. [People]
• Alanis Morissette's guest stint on Weeds begins tonight. The singer says: "Weeds was my solace and respite in the back of the bus on tour. I was in the middle of detoxing at the time, and it was my replacement addiction for food." [USA Today]
• Gerard Butler partied in Montauk, NY over the weekend, at a "model-strewn" bash thrown by photographer Ben Watts (brother of Naomi). Did Gerard have fun? "He was there with about a million girls," a source says. [Page Six]
• Free your mind! En Vogue marked their 20th anniversary with a reunion show at the Essence Music Festival. [AP]
• Lock, stock and two smoking barrels of turnips: Guy Ritchie is trying to make his country estate, Ashcombe House, more eco-friendly and self-sufficient by adding greenhouses and vegetable gardens. [Mirror]
• Josh Duhamel and Fergie got a stripper pole as a wedding gift, but Josh says: "I've played on the pole more than she has." Pardon? "If you know my wife, she's a perfectionist and won't get on it until she's good, so she wants to take a class first. So the pole is really just decorative at this point." [Page Six]
• "German director Wim Wenders has stopped production on the planned 3D dance film Pina following the death of the film's subject — the legendary choreographer Pina Bausch." [Reuters]
• Blind items! "Which self-important, philandering writer who was dumped recently by his long-suffering wife is complaining that his jerky behavior is no longer covered on Page Six, moaning, 'You start getting used to it. And then you pick up the paper and you're not there and you think, 'Well, what am I, chopped liver?'" "Which unnaturally thin celebrity chef credits her bony frame to good eating habits, but really is addicted to laxatives?" [Page Six]
• Blind item! "Which actor may have transformed himself from the drinker he once was, but still travels with his sponsor to avoid a slipup?" [Gatecrasher]
• "Q: What did you think about the Letterman/Palin controversy? (He made a truly tasteless joke about a baseball player and her 14-year-old daughter.)
  A: I thought the joke was hilarious and not only brought her back into the spotlight but gave her sympathy.
  Q: So, Letterman shouldn't have said it.
  A: Of course he should have said it! Oh, for God's sakes. We're comedians. Americans are so ridiculously uptight. Enough!" — Joan Rivers. [Houston Chronicle]
• "I look at Chris Martin who says he has never taken drugs in his life and I think he is an idiot. Doing drugs is the most beautiful thing about being in a rockband. Up until 1998 I must have spent £1 million on drugs then I stopped because it is bad for your health, brain, life and for people around you." — Noel Gallagher. [Daily Mail]
• "I was sort of smarting from Russell Crowe coming over here and playing Robin Hood and all these foreigners coming over here and stealing our great heroes - I felt I was striking a blow back by being a Brit playing a foreigner. I'd love to play Robin Hood but I'd particularly like to play all those parts Johnny Depp plays that are English people like The Earl of Rochester." — Dominic West. [Mirror]
• "It is bizarre, certainly in Hollywood, when you hit 23 [and] people start to ask you, 'How does it feel to get older?' It is absolutely surreal because, as a woman, when you hit your 30s it's just the beginning of owning yourself and being in your own body." — Carla Gugino. [Page Six]
• "I've always loved Chanel's style, but I was more interested in her character than the fashion. Her life is so rich, and her personality so unusual, that the story of her life is far greater than simply being a story of fashion. And I wanted to discover what lay behind the façade…" — Audrey Tautou, who plays Coco Chanel in Coco Avant Chanel. [Telegraph]
• "I've always been an elusive person. Maybe because it's the only way to keep yourself sacred. If you blow yourself out on too many movies and magazine covers, you just get chewed up and spat out. Okay, you might get to know me, but you can only come so far. The public is conditioned to think it's entitled to know everything about Brad and Angelina and whoever else, but that's not so. They're not entitled." — Robin Wright Penn. [Times Of London]
• "It's obvious I'm not dressing for men. I don't want to be sexy, I'm, like, covered in tattoos. I have piercings. I'm just grungy and weird and not what is socially accepted as being beautiful, and I think that's cool. [My heroes were mostly big in the '90s.] The women who were championing things that were different. I loved Winona Ryder in her Beetlejuice and Heathers era, and even when I saw Angelina Jolie on the red carpet, like, years before the Hollywood makeover and everyone was so weirded out because she had long, weird nails and a long, weird dress on. And that's what I think is amazing. Anti-beauty. I don't want to dress for men, I think it's almost like a feminist thing." — Peaches Geldof. [Times of London]

Berlusconi's wife Veronica Lario filed for divorce in April, accusing him of "frequenting underage females." One of the females he allegedly frequented was 18-year-old Noemi Letizia — he gave her a diamond necklace at her birthday party. Now he is also accused of allowing a local businessman to pay for women to attend lavish parties at Berlusconi's country estate. One guest at these parties was Patrizia D'Addario, who said she was paid thousands of dollars to attend, and who, fishily, Berlusconi's party backed as a candidate in local elections. D'Addario's friend Barbara Montereale says D'Addario is a prostitute who was paid to sleep with Berlusconi. Montereale says she also attended another party of Berlusconi's, in which several young Eastern European women dressed up as Santa Claus.

In response to these allegations, and to separate concerns that he habitually helped unqualified women establish political careers, three female social scientists have asked the first ladies of the G8 nations to boycott an upcoming summit in Italy. They write, "We are profoundly indignant, as women employed in the world of universities and culture, at the way in which the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi treats women both in public and in private." They also say his "sexist speeches [...] systematically undermine the female presence on the social and institutional scene" and his behavior "gravely undermines the dignity of women on a moral, civil and cultural level."

Sarah Vine, writing for the Times of London, takes a slightly different view. She uses Berlusconi's scandals as opportunity to examine what she views as Italy's quiet feminism. She argues that rather than applauding Berlusconi, many Italians think of him as a fool (though others see Lario as the fool), and some suspect he is impotent. She also says that while men may appear to be favored in Italian society, women actually have a lot of power:

Unlike Britain, which traditionally was a genuinely patriarchal society, Italy has always been far more comfortable with the idea of the strong female. Not necessarily in public, of course - but in private, boy, does she exist. In small family firms it will often be the mothers and daughters who take the big decisions while the sons drive the fast cars and swagger around in sharp suits. [...]

Think of these women, if you will, as lionesses: fiercely protective, eminently capable, terrifying when provoked but, for some ancient reason, quite happy to let their feckless males lie around in the sun all day long, flicking their tails at the occasional passing antelope and generally looking magnificent.

The women-wielding-private-power argument has been made in other circumstances, though, and private power never seems quite as much fun as it's cracked up to be. Don't Italian women want to be the lion from time to time?

Whatever the case, Vine writes that Berlusconi is in trouble because, "there is one thing that Italians cannot abide. Already all the Italian newspapers are talking about it, and it will become increasingly inescapable as the G8 summit in L'Aquila approaches next month: humiliation in the foreign media." Time's Jeff Israely is more measured in his predictions. He writes, "in Italy, the only thing more difficult than trying to imagine how [Berlusconi] can avoid disappearing, is imagining what public life would be without him."

Berlusconi's Italy Shows A Strange Type Of Feminism [TimesOnline]
Silvio Berlusconi's Parties: Italian Prosecutors To Question 30 Women [Telegraph]
Academic Women Fight Back Against 'Sexist' Silvio Berlusconi [Times Online]
Berlusconi In Crisis After Allegation He Slept With 'Escort' [Time]
Veronica Lario, Accidental Feminist [Salon]

• Iran has consented to review the 8 year prison sentence, but judiciary officials deny that Saberi is on hunger strike. • Yesterday hundreds gathered in Philadelphia to march for gay rights. It is reportedly the first national rally for equality held outside Washington, DC. •  Ugh: Swiss authorities are investigating the appearance of a condom in a 7-year-old's Happy Meal. • New research has found that men with mental health problems are at an increased risk of passing their issues on to their sons. • A British mother was nearly killed while birthing her abnormally large son. Her child weighed 13 pounds, 10 ounces, which is almost double the average birth weight. • A recent study has found that the brothers of women who are fertile late in life tend to live longer, but their wives (sisters-in-law to the older mothers) do not. • Researchers have found that African-American women face a much greater risk of dying from breast cancer than white women, regardless of socio-economic status, the age at which they are diagnosed, the type of cancer, or type of treatment. • This fascinating report compares the leisure habits of different countries. Findings include: men in Italy have 80 minutes more of down time per day than women, and the French spend more time sleeping and eating than any other country included in the study. Fuckers. • Doctors have found new ways to identify autism in infants, which they hope will lead to better treatment of the disorder. • A new study from the Children's Hospital in Boston indicates that kids who watch adult-targeted TV are more likely to be sexually active at a younger age than those who stick to Saturday morning cartoons. • A woman in Dubai has been convicted of accidentally killing her fetus in a traffic accident and has been ordered to pay blood money to compensate for the (possibly) resulting stillbirth. • The Sleepy Eye Police Department is investigating the theft of Snoopy's nose. • Bear trapping is big business in China, where bears are held captive in order to collect their valuable bile. The bears are often held in cages no bigger than their own bodies. •  Following the case of the 8-year-old girl who was married to a man 40 years her senior, Saudi Arabia has begun to consider banning marriage for girls under the age of 18. • A 17-year-old girl who dialed 911 when her father had a seizure was berated by the cop who answered the call because she began swearing. Click here to hear the full tape. • Silvio Berlusconi has demanded an apology from his wife, Veronica Lario, for her recent comments about their possible divorce. •

The couple have been married for 19 years, but Berlusconi's tendency to flirt with younger women has finally convinced Lario to leave: "I was forced to take this step," Lario says. Berlusconi has already issued a response: "It's a personal issue that pains me, that is in the private sphere, and which seems necessary not to speak about." Good luck with that, Silvio. [AP] [Guardian]

Earlier: Italian Prime Minister's Long-Suffering Wife Issues Smackdown

While no one is shocked by reports of caddish buffoonery from Silvio Berlusconi, the Fellini-esque media-magnate-turned-self-described-world's-most-popular-leader, his latest reported antics have - once again - elicited a dramatic response from the long-suffering Verionica Lario. The signora was, apparently, angered by reports that her husband's list of potential parliamentarians consisted of a Big Brother housemate, a ballerina, a former Miss Italy contestant, and a couple of other young beauties conspicuously lacking in political experience. Lario - who has said in the past that public shaming is the only way to get the PM's attention - dashed off a furious missive to the news agencies, stating,

"What's happening today behind a front of bodily curves and female beauty is grave...Someone wrote that all this is to sustain the enjoyment of the Emperor. I agree with this - what has emerged is shameful trash, all in the name of power. I want to make it clear that I and my children are victims and not accomplices in this situation. We must endure it and it causes us pain.

She was also not pleased to learn of his attendance at the 18th birthday party of a "friend's daughter" best known for posing nearly-nude. Quoth the tart-tongued Lario, "This surprised me, because he never attended the 18th birthday parties of his children, even if he was invited."

This is not the first such incident: Two years ago, Lario alerted the media after Berlusconi named TV presented Mara Carfagna a government minister with the words, "Take a look at her! I'd marry her if I weren't married already." The first letter called her husband's behavior an insult to "my dignity as a woman", explaining that she was standing up for herself because "the example of a woman capable of defending her dignity ... takes on significant importance." She received a public apology.

While some feel Lario should pipe down, especially given her own history with Berlusconi (after he saw her performing in The Magnificent Cuckold (!) she was his mistress for years before he left his first wife) and a rumored affair with the mayor of Venice, others defend her passionately. Says MP Souad Sbai, according to the Guardian, "Veronica is a woman in love. I would have done the same thing, or even gone further, locking up the prime minister in a room and throwing away the key."

For those who don't understand why she's still with him, why his popularity is higher than ever, how this jibes with her stated interest in the dignity of the PM's station, how this is for real in our sanitized and PR'd world, or why the story has captured the imagination of the Italian people, well, you may need a lesson in Italian cliches, a set of values Berlusconi has enthusiastically embraced, to the chagrin of those interested in challenging stereotypes. Says one writer, simply, to the Times, "People identify with it."

While one can only sympathize with any long-suffering wife married to an evident lecher, we do begin to wonder, if she is interested in setting a good example for female dignity, why she is still with him, and that's not the kind of speculative argument I usually welcome, because it's none of our business. But the difference is, she's inviting it. It would be one thing if she decided to turn a blind eye, or stand stoic, or play; but she chooses to confront it - sort of - a weird, but not wholly apposite counterpoint to the quietly supportive wives of shamed politicians we're used to seeing over here. A more vocal martyrdom, but a martyrdom still! She and her children may indeed be "victims" - and Berlusconi is, no question, the villain of the piece - but they're really starting to look evenly matched in utter impunity.

Premier's Roving Eye Enrages Wife, But Not His Public [NY Times]
Being Mrs Berlusconi [Guardian]
Trouble At Home For Italy's Berlusconi [AP]
Berlusconi Says He Is World's Most Popular Lleader [Reuters]

• New research suggests that it may not only be unnecessary to remove ovaries during a hysterectomy, but it could also be dangerous. Doctors found that women who have their ovaries removed face higher risk of death than those who keep their ovaries. • According to the Onion Hillary Clinton has joined the esteemed ranks of celebrity perfumers. Her new fragrance has been described as "steely, bracing, and curt, with notes of patent leather, sandalwood, and wool serge." • Nicole Marty, 25, was arrested after she crashed her car into a utility pole. Inside the car was her nine-year-old daughter. Click here to see her charming (and kind of classic) mug shot. • A new study has found that the longer women breastfeed, the less likely they are to develop heart attacks or strokes. • In efforts to address the shortage of women in science, scientists have launched the She Is An Astronomer project (SIAA). • Somali women living in Baidoa, Somalia's third largest city, have been instructed to cover up, or face jail time. The order was issued by Al-Shabaab, the radical Islamist militia that controls the city. • Scientists have discovered a key difference between human birthing and Neanderthal birthing: in Neanderthal childbirth, babies did not need to twist their heads to fit easily through the birth canal, unlike modern human babies. • Want to see a nude painting of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi? Well, here you go. • Apparently, what type of movie you watch may affect your decision making. Fear - from watching a scary film - leads people to go along with the group, while lust encourages them to strike out alone, according to U.S. researchers. •  The great debate over sexting rages on, as lawyers struggle to decide whether or not to charge teens with possession of child pornography over the controversial images. • Ophelia's Voice has launched a new letter writing project that asks both girls and women to send in letters about their hopes for the future and their reflections on the past. • Sick of twee movies starring Micheal Cera? Then you might just hate this trailer for Paper Heart a new mockumentary starring comedian Charlyne Yi about the true meaning of love. • Daniel Andreas San Diego has become the first animal rights activist to make the FBI's "Most Wanted Terrorists" list. •  Graffiti tagger Danielle Bremner (aka "Utah") has been sentenced to six months in prison for tagging trains in New York. • A (no shit) study found that breakdancing is a high risk activity. • Tragic: another 11-year-old boy has committed suicide because of homophobic bullying. Jaheem Herrera hanged himself after being relentlessly taunted by boys at school. • Police fear that Melissa Huckaby may have abducted a 7-year-old girl last January, who went missing after being spotted with Huckaby in a park. The girl was later returned to her family, but they found that she had been drugged. •