Italian PM Berlusconi Punched In Face At Rally

[EagerBeaver]

Check this out, it looks like he took a haymaker right to the face, although I read one report that said that it was an object in the fist rather than the fist that hit him (maybe brass knuckles)?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/12/13/berlusconi.milan/index.html

Some commentary from the usual retired security experts (Eastender)? Seems to me like the bodyguards or the Italian Secret Service should have seen this coming and intercepted. Sort of reminds me of the incident in which shoes were thrown at George Bush in Iraq - very slow reaction by security.

 

[daydreamer41]

Check this out, it looks like he took a haymaker right to the face, although I read one report that said that it was an object in the fist rather than the fist that hit him (maybe brass knuckles)?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/12/13/berlusconi.milan/index.html

Some commentary from the usual retired security experts (Eastender)? Seems to me like the bodyguards or the Italian Secret Service should have seen this coming and intercepted. Sort of reminds me of the incident in which shoes were thrown at George Bush in Iraq - very slow reaction by security.

Looking at the video, his bodyguards had their back to the crowd and were watching him. It seemed like he was saying something to the bodyguards and the guy attacked.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Looking at the video, his bodyguards had their back to the crowd and were watching him.

That's what makes no sense.......how do you guard someone with your back to the crowd? By the ways it is not being reported that Berlusconi was smacked with a small metal replica of a Milan cathedral, which was sort of an interesting substitute for brass knuckles.

 

[eastender]

Old is New

EB and others,

Basic rules were overlooked. ANY object can be a weapon. Brass knuckles are obvious. A religious replica creates a false sense of security.

Security at time is so concerned and vigilant about the unexpected, suicide bomber, latest technology adapted for an assasination attempt etc. Something new and not textbook. The traditional caveman punch in the face option is overlooked with surprising results - evidenced by the incident.

Facing inward. Security designed to protect by tackling and covering the the object of security. If facing outward precious time is lost locating the object when turning. The outward looking security(crowd would not have been recognized) and if handled properly should never be recognized on videos etc except by the people in charge.

Bottom line - perfection does not exist, never did, never will.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Berlusconi Being Held For Observation

Eastender-

Some other interesting things about this attack. One is that although the reported attacker is "mentally ill", I heard reports and speculation that the mafia (which Berlusconi apparently cracked down on) may be behind it. The mafia has a long history of using operatives who either feign mental illness or have a documented history of mental illness that predisposes them towards violence. The classic example of this is Vinny "The Chin" Gigante, whose feigned mental illness is discussed extensively by Sammy "The Bull" Gravano in his book about his life in the mob.

I also heard this morning that Berlusconi is being kept in the hospital for observation. This suggests a fairly serious injury or, perhaps, a suspicion that the replica may have been dipped in poison. This was the mechanism of assassinating a famous Russian exile dissident in London in the 1960s. The unknown assassin pricked the dissident's leg with a sharpened umbrella tip which had been laced or loaded with poison, and the dissident was dead within 48 or 72 hours thereafter. It was a different poison than what was used to kill Litvinenko (possibly arsenic but I cannot recall - it was a slow acting poison that is generally favored by Russian assassins).

There may be a concern that the replica was a hypodermic needle in disguise. However, the Italian mob almost never uses such methods.

 

[Techman]

EB, the poison you're thinking of is ricin which is made from castor beans. It's probably the easiest to make of any biological agents. There's no real antidote and it requires a very small amount for a lethal dose and no need for a hypodermic needle to administer it. The case you're thinking of was the assasination of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov in 1978. He was stabbed in the leg by an umbrella that inserted a small capsule of ricin in his leg and he died 4 days later.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Berlusconi Still In Hospital With Broken Nose, Broken Teeth

Techman, you are correct. The KGB coordinated the assassination of Markov, but he was a Bulgarian.

Here is an update on Berlusconi, who is still hospitalized and taking antibiotics and pain meds for his broken nose and broken teeth:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/12/14/berlusconi.milan/index.html

 

[eastender]

Old is New II

Eastender-

Some other interesting things about this attack. One is that although the reported attacker is "mentally ill", I heard reports and speculation that the mafia (which Berlusconi apparently cracked down on) may be behind it. The mafia has a long history of using operatives who either feign mental illness or have a documented history of mental illness that predisposes them towards violence. The classic example of this is Vinny "The Chin" Gigante, whose feigned mental illness is discussed extensively by Sammy "The Bull" Gravano in his book about his life in the mob.

I also heard this morning that Berlusconi is being kept in the hospital for observation. This suggests a fairly serious injury or, perhaps, a suspicion that the replica may have been dipped in poison. This was the mechanism of assassinating a famous Russian exile dissident in London in the 1960s. The unknown assassin pricked the dissident's leg with a sharpened umbrella tip which had been laced or loaded with poison, and the dissident was dead within 48 or 72 hours thereafter. It was a different poison than what was used to kill Litvinenko (possibly arsenic but I cannot recall - it was a slow acting poison that is generally favored by Russian assassins).

There may be a concern that the replica was a hypodermic needle in disguise. However, the Italian mob almost never uses such methods.

Like I said old is new. The old style KGB /Soviet techniques are brought into play and the old method of protraying dissenters as being mentally ill.

Interesting to see how the final version will read.