
This week Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced his
plans to outlaw graffiti. The Prime Minister hopes to take well-precedented steps toward forbidding citizens to write on public buildings without permission. The
new law would make defacing historical monuments punishable by €30,000 ($38, 871), as well as 40 days in prison.

The second Monday in October historically has been celebrated as Columbus Day in the US. But not every place in the country, or the rest of the world, marks Columbus's arrival to the new world the same way due to unsettled feelings about celebrating a historical figure attributed with the suffering of native people.
In South Dakota, the
day is called Native American Day. In cities like Boston, New York, and San Francisco, the Italian-American community
celebrates their native son with an Italian heritage parade.

When Spike Lee adapted the novel Miracle at St. Anna, he intended to celebrate the memory of African-American soldiers trapped in an Italian village during World War II. He also ended up offending a whole different set of veterans.