The Program is a 1993 film starring James Caan, Halle Berry, Omar Epps, Craig Sheffer, Kristy Swanson, and Joey Lauren Adams. The film was directed by David S. Ward who has directed and written other Hollywood films such as the Major League series.

The film touches on the season of the fictional college football team, the ESU Timberwolves as they deal with the pressure to make a bowl game, drug and alcohol abuse, and overall college life. It follows the trials of Coach Sam Winters (Caan), the Heisman Trophy candidate Joe Kane (Sheffer), the freshman running back Darnell Jefferson (Epps), their girlfriends (Berry & Swanson), and other team members.

The film was released by Touchstone Pictures in September 1993. The movie went on to gross over twenty million dollars at the box office. The film was shot on location at several American universities, including: Boston College, Duke University, the University of Michigan, the University of Iowa, and the University of South Carolina. The film includes a cameo appearance from Miami University and Michigan coaching legend Bo Schembechler.

Synopsis[link]

The ESU Timberwolves are entering a season with high expectations after two disappointing seasons. The film begins with a loss to end the prior season, along with the school president putting pressure on Sam Winters (Caan) to win this coming season or face a possible firing. Sophomore quarterback Joe Kane (Sheffer) spends the Christmas bowl season with his alcoholic father and brother, while junior NFL prospect Alvin Mack (Duane Davis) gives his mother a present to go with the new house she will soon have when he turns pro. The film then follows the recruiting of Darnell Jefferson (Epps), a highly rated running back, and his eventual commitment to ESU. During the recruiting phase, Jefferson is given a tour of the campus by Autumn (Berre), a beautiful young student, and the two bond immediately, sharing a kiss before they part ways.

The film then cuts to the following fall, as football season is about to get underway. Jefferson is brought to a bar by Kane where he is introduced to Mack, backup QB Bobby Collins (Jon Pennell), who is dating Winters' daughter Louanne (Adams), and senior Steve Lattimer (Andrew Bryniarski), who has played on the punt return team for the first three years of his college career but has somewhat mysteriously gained 35 pounds since last fall with the goal of starting in his senior year.

Fall camp commences, with Jefferson fumbling during practice and subsequently forced to carry a football with him at all times. Winters warns that if any other player brings the football back to him, "you'll wish you were never born." Jefferson later reunites with Autumn, but discovers that she is dating the starting tailback Ray Griffen (J. Leon Pridgen II) (his main competition) and that when they last met the two were temporarily broken up because he had cheated on her with a white girl. Later on, Jefferson takes his entrance exams and worries about the test, going to Mack and Lattimer for advice. Lattimer tells him not to worry as it took him four times to pass the test, and he reveals that Mack is given copies of the test before he takes them and that, despite maintaining a high-enough GPA to be academically eligible at the university, Mack is functionally illiterate. Mack reassures Jefferson that the school will keep him eligible if he's talented enough to play, and that all he needs to know how to do is sign an NFL contract. Jefferson is neither surprised nor worried when he finds out that he failed the test, and when recommended that he find a tuitor he chooses Autumn, who reluctantly agrees.

Sports Illustrated runs a cover story on Kane and declares him a Heisman Trophy candidate, but he has trouble with the pressure put upon him by the school and its campaign prepared for him, and drinks to deal with his stress. He meets a tennis player, Camille, (Swanson) and as their first date they go on a thrilling and scary motorcycle ride. They then develop a relationship.

Mack is now a senior, simply waiting for the upcoming NFL Draft in March, and his indifference to academics is shown clearly in a tutoring session where he couldn't care less about learning the material, but his strong ability to read offenses and football strategy during film study shows his commitment to football. Meanwhile, the offensive coordinator is worried that Lattimer is taking performance-enhancing drugs due to his increased size and ability and occasional displays of 'roid rage. Coach Winters tells him that the amount of weight that Lattimer gained is far from impossible with steady work in the gym throughout the entire off-season, and that if he is taking steroids that the NCAA will catch him during a drug test. Later on, though, when he learns that he has been named a starting defensive end, Lattimer walks into the parking lot and shatters car windows with his head while screaming "STARTING DEFENSE!! PLACE AT THE TABLE!!" This is witnessed by several people, including both the offensivee and defensive coordinators, who agree not to tell Winters about the behavior, but decide to warn Lattimer that the NCAA will be drug-testing before the start of the season.

Before the start of the season, the Heisman campaign for Kane picks up speed and the players' individual motivations for playing football is revealed. Kane enjoys playing because while he is on the field it allows him to be distracted from the stressors of his life, such as his alcoholic father and the increased publicity surrounding him. Jefferson is using football as a way to escape the ghetto. Mack enjoys the on-field battle and physicality of the sport. Lattimer simply displays a genuine love for the game. Before the start of the season, Lattimer is able to substitute clean urine for his own during the NCAA drug tests. The team then gets off to a good start with a convincing run of victories in the first half of the season.

Meanwhile, Griffen is struggling to gain yards as the team's tailback, and Jefferson is making the most of his playing time as a backup and punt returner. Jefferson is also disturbed when he begins receiving illegal monetary donations by wealthy alumni as his playing time and performance increases, though Mack tells him to take the money. Simultaneously, Jefferson and Autumn grow closer and begin a relationship, though Autumn is too ashamed to admit that she is dating him, described by Griffen as "just another gang banger with speed," to her well-read father, another former ESU football player. She eventually resumes her relationship with Griffen, who is planning on attending medical school after he graduates.

The film progresses to show the problems of a "big-time" football program. Winters' daughter is expelled for taking a test for Collins, who is subsequently kicked off the team and also expelled. Kane and ESU then lose a close game to Michigan, which pitted him against another Heisman candidate in Michigan's quarterback, calling into question his ability to win the trophy.

Lattimer then assaults a girl unwilling to "hook up" with him, but her father is a large football booster and gets her to drop the charges. Winters finally accepts that Lattimer is juicing and wants to suspend him for the season, but he is warned by his defensive coordinator that suspending him for doping when he had never failed a drug test would leave the school wide open for a lawsuit for jeopardizing his draft status. Lattimer is then suspended for three games after he admits the drug use to Winters, with the team running a cover story of a pulled hamstring to keep the doping under wraps. Lattimer then ceases taking steroids, with Winters telling him that the team will drug test him and that he will not be allowed in the stall alone when he urinates for the tests. Mack criticizes him, but Lattimer defends himself by saying "Not everyone has your ability Alvin, you do what you have to do to play."

After the loss to Michigan, Kane gets drunk in a bar and assaults another patron who accused him of smiling at his girlfriend, forcing the other man to be hospitalized. He flees the bar in another player's truck that he borrowed without permission and is pulled over for drunk driving and charged with a DWI. Coach Winters negotiates a plea arrangement with the district attorney wherein all charges will be dropped if Kane successfully completes a 28-day program, although this will cause him to miss four games and more or less ends his Heisman candidacy.

In addition, the team needs to win three more games in the next five weeks to win the conference championship and secure a major bowl game. But without a capable quarterback this does not seem possible. School officials then pressure Winters into letting Collins back on the team to start in Kane's place. Winters reluctantly agrees, and goes so far as to vouch for Collins' character in front of the disciplinary committee despite the fact that his daughter was also expelled for cheating along with Collins and has no chance to gain re-admittance into the school. Collins is readmitted and the team goes 2-1 in the first three games with him under center, with strong defense and a relentless ground attack leading to their success.

Lattimer passes his drug test after sitting out for three weeks and returns for the second-to-last game of the season against Iowa and the fourth start of the season for Collins at quarterback. The game is close most of the way, but Mack suffers a career-ending injury late in the fourth quarter and Lattimer is run over at the goal line by Iowa's running back for the game's winning score.

Kane then completes his 28-day program and attempts to reconcile with Camille, whom he refused to speak to while in rehab. He also reaches out to his father, who has never seen him play before, and gives him a plane ticket to Florida for the team's final game of the season. Meanwhile, Lattimer resumes taking steroids and has an associate remove the tainted urine from his bladder and replace it with clean urine in a painful and dangerous procedure so that he can pass his next drug test.

ESU has a final game against Georgia Tech. This game will win the Eastern Athletic Conference (EAC) and secure a major bowl game. Before the start of the game Jefferson is named the team's starting tailback and Griffen is moved to fullback. GT leads the game 10-0 at the half. Kane was benched for Collins but asked to start in the 2nd half. As he takes the field at the start of the second half, Kane looks into the stands for his father and realizes he is not there, but accepts that he will never see him play. Kane struggles to regain his rhythm in the third quarter, but the game remains close, thanks in part to a goal-line tackle made by Lattimer to save the game. After making the tackle Winters looks into Lattimer's eyes on the sideline and notices that they are bloodshot and distorted and realizes that he has somehow managed to continue taking steroids without failing a drug test. Lattimer looks to the ground in disappointment, although Winters seems to understand his decision to take the drugs and pats him on the helmet. Kane rallies the team to victory in the fourth quarter and secures a major bowl game, saving Winters' job, with both coach and quarterback realizing that Kane will likely make another, more-promising run at the Heisman in his senior season.

Lattimer sits on the bench and cries instead of celebrating with the team, as he realizes he will not be able to play in the NFL without performance-enhancing drugs. After the game Autumn introduces Jefferson to her father as her boyfriend. The film ends with Kane reuniting with Camille offering her another six pack ride (this time it's Sprite instead of beer), and the coaches leaving on a recruiting trip to look for next season's freshmen, particularly a replacement for Lattimer.

Season Schedule and Results

• Mississippi State @ ESU - 20-28 (Win)
• Michigan @ ESU - 20-14 (Loss)(score is a best guess based on Kane's 2 TD performance and Kane throwing an INT at the end of the game, instead of ESU attempting a field goal)
• ESU @ Boston College - 14-10 (Win)
• Texas @ ESU - 13-0 (Loss)
• ESU @ North Carolina - 14-13 (Win)
• ESU @ Iowa - 10-14 (Loss)
• Georgia Tech @ ESU - 10-13 (Win)-->

Production[link]

Principal photography took place in and around Columbia, South Carolina, with the University of South Carolina doubling as ESU and Williams-Brice Stadium serving the as Timberswolves' home arena. A significant amount of filming took place on the campus of Duke University.

Last names of the crew members were used on the back of jerseys for the extras who stood in as football players.

Bo Schembechler makes a cameo appearance as a color commentator in the film.

Characters[link]

List of major characters in The Program

• Coach Sam Winters : James Caan
• Autumn Haley : Halle Berry
• Darnell Jefferson : Omar Epps
• Joe Kane : Craig Sheffer
• Camille Shafer : Kristy Swanson
• Bud Kaminski : Abraham Benrubi
• Steve Lattimer : Andrew Bryniarski
• Alvin Mack : Duane Davis
• Ray Griffen : J. Leon Pridgen II
• Bobby Collins : Jon Pennell
• Louanne Winters : Joey Lauren Adams
• Reporter #3 : Rhoda Griffis

Reception[link]

The Program received largely negative reviews. James Berardinelli said "prepare to be inundated by a load of feeble, unimaginative material that's almost impossible to take seriously." Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+ in what was a largely negative review. Norman Chad referred to the film as "one big cliche."

The film was not without its fans, however. Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review with three stars out of four, putting particular emphasis on the amount of time spent on the relative ease in passing an NCAA drug test, saying "[a]nd the movie seems expert on how a lineman could pump himself full of steroids and still pass the NCAA drug tests." Janet Maslin gave the film a somewhat favorable review and particularly praised the performance of Andrew Bryniarski, saying "[w]hen high on steroids, he turns into a competition-crazed monster, but the film manages to make him likable anyhow."

Despite the mostly negative reviews, the doping subplot was met with universal acclaim, with most critics hailing the performance of Bryniarski as the steroid-riddled behemoth defensive end Steve Lattimer.

The film bombed at the box office, failing to recover its budget.

Controversy[link]

The film originally included a scene in which Kane reads aloud comically "It says here that I'm good under pressure," while holding a Sports Illustrated college football preview issue with him on the front cover. He then lies down the middle of a road on the yellow line as cars barely pass him at highway speeds. Several team members who are at first trying to stop Kane decide that it is a test of their bravery and team unity and join him. Influenced by the film, several teenagers imitated this scene and were either killed or suffered injuries. This resulted in the scene being removed from the film after its release.^[1] A brief clip of the scene in question showing team members lying in the street had already been aired repeatedly in the television commercials for the film and therefore captured on VCRs. Later versions of the trailer had the offending clip removed.

The only known home video release with this scene intact is the Hong Kong laserdisc published by Taishan International. This version of the film is three minutes longer than the theatrical cut and clocks in at a 115-minute run time.

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Program at the Internet Movie Database

Beppe Grillo
Leader of the Five Star Movement
Incumbent
Assumed office October 4, 2009
Personal details
Born	(1948-07-21) 21 July 1948 (age 63) Genoa, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Political party	Five Star Movement
Relations	Married
Children	6
Occupation	Comedian, Activist, Politician
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Website	http://www.beppegrillo.it/

Giuseppe Piero Grillo, better known as Beppe Grillo (born 21 July 1948), is an Italian activist, blogger, comedian and actor. He has been involved in politics since 2009 as leader of the Five Star Movement.

Biography[link]

Grillo was born in Genoa, Liguria.

After receiving his degree as an accountant, Grillo became a comedian by chance, improvising a monologue in an audition. Two weeks later he was discovered and launched by Italian TV presenter Pippo Baudo. He subsequently participated in the variety show Secondo Voi for two years (1977–78). Later, in 1979, he participated in Luna Park by Enzo Trapani, and Fantastico.

In the 1980s his success rose further, thanks to shows like Te la do io l'America (1982, 4 episodes) and Te lo do io il Brasile (1984, six episodes). In these shows, he narrated his experiences of his visits to the United States and Brazil, with anecdotes and witticisms about the culture, lifestyle and beauty of these places.

As a result, his popularity grew more and more, and he became the protagonist of another show developed especially for him, called Grillometro (Grillometer). In 1986, he was the star of prize-winning advertisements for a brand of yogurt.

Soon after this, his performances began to be characterized by an increasing level of political satire, often expressed in such a direct way that he quickly offended a lot of Italian politicians. In 1987 during the Saturday night TV show Fantastico 7, he attacked the Italian Socialist Party and its leader Bettino Craxi, then Italy's Prime Minister, on the occasion of his visit in the People's Republic of China. Grillo said:

If the Chinese are all socialists, whom do they steal from?

The joke hinted at the totalitarianism of the PRC, but even more to the widespread corruption for which the Italian Socialist Party was known. As a consequence, Grillo was effectively and silently banished from publicly owned television; yet, he was vindicated a few years later when the Italian Socialist Party had to be disbanded in a welter of corruption scandals known as Tangentopoli, uncovered by the Mani pulite investigation. Craxi himself died in Tunisia, unable to return to Italy where he would have been jailed for several convictions.

Consequently, from the beginning of the 1990s his appearances on television became rare: according to many people, the reason for this is a silent ostracism by politicians offended by his revelations about their hidden financial activities, frauds and false claims. When one of his shows was finally allowed to be broadcast by RAI, in 1993, it obtained a record share of 16 million viewers. He was later banned definitively from Italian television.

He currently performs in theatres in Italy and abroad, often with outstanding success.^[1] Grillo's themes include energy usage, political and corporate corruption, finance, freedom of speech, child labour, globalization, and technology. Recently Grillo started to encourage the use of Wikipedia as the future of knowledge sharing, and generally he is a strong proponent of internet freedom.^[2]

Political activism[link]

Beppe Grillo in Bologna speaking at V-Day.

Grillo has spearheaded several national and international political campaigns. On Sept. 8, 2007, he organized a "V-Day Celebration" in Italy; the "V" stood for vendetta, vengeance, and vaffanculo ("fuck off"). During the rally, Grillo projected the names of two dozen Italian politicians who had been convicted of crimes ranging from corruption and tax evasion to abetting a murder. More than 2 million Italians participated in this rally.^[3] Grillo also used this rally to urge Italians to sign a petition calling for the introduction of a Bill of Popular Initiative to remove members of the Italian Parliament who have criminal convictions of any kind from their office.^[4] According to Internet scholars, V–day was the first case in Italian history of a political demonstration developed and promoted via word–of–mouth mobilization on the blogosphere and the social web.^[5]

This was followed by the second V-Day on 25 April 2008, in Turin, S.Carlo square. This V-Day was dedicated to the Italian press and its government financial support; Grillo heavily criticized the Italian press for the lack of freedom; Umberto Veronesi (about his support for incinerators); NATO bases in Italy, the politicians (Silvio Berlusconi had recently been re-elected) and Retequattro, still holding on to TV frequencies already assigned to Europa 7 [2].

Beppe Grillo in Turin during electoral campaign.

On 1 September 2005, thanks to contributions from readers of his blog, Grillo bought a full page advertisement in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in which he called for the resignation of the Bank of Italy's (then) governor Antonio Fazio over the Antonveneta banking scandal. In October 2005, Time chose him as one of the "European Heroes 2005" for his constant battle against corruption and financial scandals.^[6]

On 22 November 2005 Grillo also bought a page in the International Herald Tribune, again claiming that members of the Italian Parliament ought not to represent citizens if they have ever been convicted in a court of law, even in the first degree of the three available in the Italian system.^[7] His blog now contains a regularly updated list of members of the Italian Parliament who have been convicted in all three degrees, in what he calls "operation Clean Parliament".^[8] Grillo claimed, in 2007, that data suggested that even Scampia, the most dangerous suburb of Naples and one of the areas with the highest crime rate in Europe, actually had a lower crime rate than the Italian parliament's membership.^[9]

On 26 July 2007 Grillo was permitted to speak to the members of the European Parliament in Brussels, where he drew attention to the dangerous, negative state of current Italian politics.^[10]

In August 2008, Grillo was the subject of a report on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC-TV) international affairs program "Foreign Correspondent". Titled "The Clown Prince" the report profiled Grillo's life, political activism, V Day campaign, and use of the internet as a political tool.^[11]

In 2010, he started a political movement called "Movimento 5 stelle" ("Movement five stars"), without the desire to be a leader and to be elected, but only to join, by the Internet, people who believe in ideals like honesty and direct democracy, and saying that politicians are only subordinates of the people and that they should work for the country only for a short time and only if they are not condemned for crimes, and thinking about the problems of their country without any other interest. The movement will be truly a party chance only from the next political round, when they will purpose their name not only in some regions but also in the political elections. The five stars represent the five basic points of the shared program: Water, Environment, Transport, Connectivity, Growth.

Beppegrillo.it[link]

Grillo maintains a blog (available in Italian, English and Japanese) at beppegrillo.it which is updated daily. Comments to posts regularly top the thousands (in the Italian version). According to Technorati, the blog is ranked among the 10 most visited blogs in the world. In 2008, The Guardian ranked Grillo's blog among the world's most powerful blogs.^[12]

Grillo often receives letters of appreciation and support from prominent figures, such as Antonio Di Pietro (former Italian Minister of Infrastructures), Fausto Bertinotti (former President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies), Renzo Piano, and even Nobel Prize Winners (like Dario Fo, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Dalai Lama, Muhammad Yunus).^[13]

Legal issues[link]

In 1980 he was found guilty of manslaughter for a car accident in which he was the driver; three passengers lost their lives.^[14]

During his shows Grillo never hesitates to name firms and personalities he considers corrupt, always supporting his views with data and documents^{[citation needed]}. For this reason he has been sued several times for libel by many people and organizations which he had exposed, such as Telecom Italia.

When Italian judges were investigating the Parmalat scandal, which was then the world's largest corporate bankruptcy scandal ever, Grillo was called to testify as he anticipated the imminent collapse of the dairy conglomerate in one of his shows. When he was asked by judges how he has been able to discover that, he simply said that Parmalat's financial holes were so evident that anybody who had enough ability to see them would see them, since the corporate accounting was easily accessible.^[15]

Criticism[link]

Grillo is often criticized for his lifestyle. In particular, critics blame him for owning a motor yacht and a Ferrari sports car, both being in contradiction with his well known ecologist stance. In his blog he admits that he did, in fact, acquire both but has since sold them.^[14]

Grillo is also criticized for taking advantage of the Condono Tombale, a fiscal amnesty granted by the first Berlusconi government in 2001, which Grillo publicly opposed.^[16] Grillo commented on this issue during the V-Day demonstration. He said that he had personally benefitted by only €500^{[citation needed]}.

Grillo has proposed that members of the Italian Parliament who have a criminal record should be barred from public office. As Grillo himself has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter caused by a car accident^[14] his critics^[who?] say he has no right to represent Italians either. Grillo has always stated that he is not interested in becoming a member of the Italian Parliament anyway.^[14] Despite this, in July 2009 he publicly expressed his intention to present himself as a candidate for the PD's primary elections^[17] which, however, does not imply automatic presence in the Italian parliament.

Another proposal of his is that members of Parliament be limited to two government terms of office after which they might not stand again. Detractors^[who?] argue that this would shorten the political life of competent and expert politicians, usually drawing Alcide De Gasperi, Aldo Moro and Enrico Berlinguer as examples of brilliant politicians who served more than two terms. Marco Travaglio replied that, for that sake, also the political life of much less popular Clemente Mastella would have suffered.^[18]

Grillo is criticized as being a mere demagogue who attacks politicians on superficial issues and their private lives while unable to provide a valid alternative. For instance, Daniele Luttazzi, famous Italian satirist, criticized Grillo in 2007 in an open letter published on the website of the news magazine Micromega. Luttazzi accused Grillo of being a "demagogue" and a "populist", suggesting Grillo to choose between satire and politics, asserting the two are incompatible.^[19]

In 2007 Grillo criticized the "Memorial Day of Foibe Massacres and Istrian-Dalmatian exodus" and the President of the Italian Repubblic Giorgio Napolitano^[20]

Filmography[link]

Grillo has appeared in three movies:

• Cercasi Gesù (1982)
• Scemo di Guerra (1985)
• Topo Galileo (1987)

In 2008, Grillo featured in the documentary, The Beppe Grillo Story, produced by Banyak Films for Al Jazeera English.

References[link]

External links[link]

Official websites[link]

• The English version of Beppe Grillo's personal blog
• Beppe Grillo's fans meeting map around the world

Other resources[link]

• 'Time' article about Grillo
• 'New York Times' video about Grillo
• 'New Yorker' Beppe’s Inferno

Michele Santoro
Born	(1951-07-02) July 2, 1951 (age 60) Salerno, Campania, Italy
Occupation	Journalist, anchorman, television host and presenter
Website
http://www.michelesantoro.it/

Michele Santoro (born July 2, 1951) is an Italian journalist, anchorman, television host and presenter.

He also served till October 2005 as Member of the European Parliament for Southern Italy with the Olive Tree, part of the Socialist Group and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, being a substitute for the Committee on Culture and Education, a member of the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and a substitute for the Delegation to the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Education and career[link]

Santoro was born in Salerno.

A graduate in Philosophy, he made a successful debut in the Italian media as editor-in-chief on the regional newspaper La Voce della Campania ("Voice of Campania") and collaborating with some other national newspapers and magazines like Il Mattino, L'Unità and Epoca.

Before being hired by RAI, he had had some experience with a number of radio stations. He started his RAI career in TG3, the Rai Tre news division, first as a foreign correspondent, then creating and producing TV specials and weekly TV magazines, and finally working as chief culture correspondent, again for TG3.

News shows[link]

Santoro's popularity was essentially based on being the author and anchorman for TV journalism broadcasts like Samarcanda, Il rosso e il nero and Temporeale, all strongly left wing oriented, the broadcasts took place during a period of political turmoil in Italy (see Tangentopoli). These often involved debates with politicians, along with ground-breaking reports and questions from the audience. Santoro's shows were seen as places where the Italian people confronted their politicians, often perceived to be corrupt or inept. His shows have always been criticized for the leftism and lack of impartiality like in the last years with attacks against Berlusconi and other right wing Italian MPs.

Santoro left RAI in 1996, because of disagreements with the public television's direction, and briefly worked in Silvio Berlusconi's networks; he left Mediaset because of Berlusconi's continuing political role that he felt to be in conflict with his influence as the country's main media entrepreneur.^[1] After his return, he led two shows, Circus, on Rai Uno, and Sciuscià, on Rai Due. The latter was often made up of a series of reportages, narrated in movie style.

In recent years he has been continually accused of partisanship by the right-wing coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi, whose family holding company controls Mediaset, who installed a new board in the state-owned RAI after their electoral victory in the Italian general election, 2001. Sciuscià remained on the air until May 2002.

Attacks from Berlusconi[link]

The new RAI board installed by the centre-right government decided not to renew Santoro's contract. This followed a declaration by Silvio Berlusconi, then prime minister, at a press conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he clearly stated:

Santoro, Biagi and Luttazzi used the public TV, paid by all, in a manner which is criminal. I believe it to be a specific duty of the new RAI board not to allow this to happen again.^[2]

Soon after, neither Santoro nor the two others obtained any more work for RAI, and working for Berlusconi's own TV networks (the other half of the TV system) was obviously unviable. A legal dispute has been ongoing, since Santoro contested a violation of his contract by RAI. He was supported by a court decision that should have forced RAI to give him the direction of a news magazine,^[3] but in the end Santoro was omitted.

European Parliament candidate[link]

In the 2004 European elections, Santoro accepted the offer of candidacy proposed by the centre-left confederation called United in the Olive Tree. He was elected as MEP with a great poll success, obtaining a total of more 700,000 votes in Italy as a whole. In the southern-Italian mandate, Santoro defeated Silvio Berlusconi himself with 526,535 votes against 452,326.

Michele Santoro resigned as an MEP on October 19, 2005, basing his decision on his desire to go back to his work on RAI, citing a judicial verdict which obliged the Italian national television to reinstate him. Contemporarily he announced his participation on RockPolitik, a controversial and long-awaited TV show on Rai Uno, hosted by singer Adriano Celentano, to talk about issues of media censorship, after Luttazzi and Biagi refused to be guests on the show.^[4]

Return to RAI[link]

Following his resignation from the European Parliament, he started working on a new TV news magazine called AnnoZero (Year Zero) broadcast on Rai Due and Raisat Extra and initially scheduled to be aired first on April 27, 2006; its debut was however delayed and it started on September 14. The show's regular commentators consist of the journalist Marco Travaglio and the cartoonist Vauro. The episode of the show aired on March 8, 2007, which featured Italian Minister of Justice Clemente Mastella as special guest caused controversy for his strong position on the DiCo issue. Mastella walked out of the programme in protest during its live broadcast.

The new exit from RAI[link]

At the end of 2011 Santoro don't find an agreement with RAI and LA7 and decide to realize a TV magazine with distribution in local TVs and in internet in streaming. After he has found an agreement with Sky TG24. The web transmitting this magazine are: http://serviziopubblico.it, ilfattoquotidiano.it, repubblica.it, corriere.it.

See also[link]

Editto Bulgaro Berlusconi's declaration about Santoro, Biagi and Luttazzi.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michele Santoro

• Michele Santoro's official site
• European Parliament biography of Michele Santoro (incl. Speeches, Questions and Motions)
• Declaration (PDF) of financial interests (Italian)

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (February 2010)

Bruce Harold Lipton (born October 21, 1944) is an American developmental biologist, who is best known for promoting the idea that genes and DNA can be manipulated by a person's beliefs.^[1] He teaches at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic.^[2]

Biography & Education[link]

Lipton was born in Mt. Kisco, an affluent town in New York. In 1966 he received a B.A. in Biology from C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University and then his PhD in developmental biology from the University of Virginia in 1971.

Academic Work[link]

In 1973 he taught anatomy as an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin School Of Medicine before coming to St. George's University School of Medicine, where he became a Professor of Anatomy for 3 years. From 1987 to 1992 he was involved in research at Penn State and Stanford University Medical Center. Since 1993 he has been teaching in non-tenure positions at different universities.^[3] His publications consist mainly of research on the development of muscle cells.

Books[link]

• 2005 The Biology of Belief – Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles
• 2006 The Wisdom of Your Cells - How Your Beliefs Control Your Biology
• 2009 Spontaneous Evolution: Our Positive Future and a Way to Get There from Here (co-authored with Steve Bhaerman).

Other Work[link]

Lipton has appeared on several radio shows as well as The Elaine Smitha Show^[4] and The Joe Rogan Experience podcast^[5] episode 165.

In addition to his appearances on radio and television, he has been a speaker at the Institute of Noetic Sciences's 13th international conference,^[6] the Spiritual Science Fellowship International Conference,^[7] and various other conventions.^[8][9]

Lipton was also featured on the documentary Kymatica by Ben Stewart (released in 2009) discussing the concepts of love and fear in their relation to the body.

Awards and honors[link]

• 2009 Goi Peace Award ^[10]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nature, Nurture, & the Power of Love: Conscious Parenting (part 1 of 2)
• Nature, Nurture, & the Power of Love: Conscious Parenting (part 2 of 2)
• Bruce Lipton - The New Biology - Where Mind and Matter Meet 1of 2.avi
• Bruce Lipton - The New Biology - Where Mind and Matter Meet 2o f2.avi
• Genetics, Epigenetics, and Destiny - Interview with Dr. Bruce Lipton
• The Great Lesson The Great Lesson: A New Film About Mind and Body: Featuring Dr. Bruce Lipton