


AMY GOODMAN: A little-noticed story surfaced a couple of weeks ago in the Army Times newspaper about the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team. Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, reported Army Times staff writer Gina Cavallaro, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks. Disturbingly, she writes that they may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control as well. The force will be called the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive Consequence Management Response Force. Its acronym, CCMRF, is pronounced sea-smurf. These sea-smurfs, Cavallaro reports, have spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, in a combat zone, and now will spend their 20-month dwell time time troops are required to spend to reset and regenerate after a deployment armed and ready to hit the U.S. streets....
FOR THE FULL STORY, CLICK HERE.
It gets worse:
NAOMI WOLF: On October 1, 2008, President Bush deployed a brigade which means three to four thousand warriors somewhere in America. We do not know where they are deployed though citizens have informally reported to me having seen military vehicles and troops in Georgia and Alabama. We do know that their official mandate according to the first report is crowd control as well as action in the event of a mass civilian catastrophe. Initial reports described their technology module package as involving Tasers and rubber bullets.... The First Brigade is Bushs force: they are not answerable to Congress or to the Governors of states: they are answerable to the Commander in Chief. In an Alternet posting, I interviewed Air Force Colonel (retired) David Antoon who noted that the troops must obey the president, even if he asks them to arrest Congress or fire on civilians or attack media outlets. If they do not obey orders, he notes, they face five years in prison.... Antoon himself calls the deployment ominous. Troops on our streets makes us something less than a democracy: one definition of a police state is when a leader sends his own military units into civilian streets. Meanwhile the civilian policing of citizens is becoming more brutal. Hundreds of preemptive arrests took place in St Paul, dozens of journalists were arrested.... In St. Paul, funds were sent in advance to pay off the lawsuits against police forces that were guaranteed to arise from the planned abuse of citizens. This sort of thing is happening across the country. The tactic has established a closed circle that has turned citizens law enforcement agencies into contractors of a state that is directing acts of increasing severity against US citizens. Now a military brigade is being deployed....
FOR THE FULL STORY, CLICK HERE.
Click here to see an interview with Naomi Wolf conducted in early October 2008.
For the past five years or so I hve been hearing rumors that Halliburton has been building (and has now finished building) 800 prisons throughout the USA, not yet functioning, but just waiting for the right crisis. I have not found reliable evidence for the specific quantity, readiness, functionality, locations, or details, but you might be interested in taking a look at page 5 of this Halliburton press release dated 26 January 2006: KBR has been awarded a contract announced by the Department of Homeland Securitys United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) component. The Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contingency contract is to support ICE facilities and has a maximum total value of $385 million over a five-year term. The contract provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the United States, or to support the rapid development of new programs.... Now, really, what are the chances of an emergency influx of immigrants into the United States? And what are the new programs that could come under rapid development?
FOR THE FULL PRESS RELEASE, CLICK HERE.
![]() |
![]() |
REVISED NOTES, POSTED ON MONDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2002: On my first viewing, nearly a year ago, I thought the first 15 minutes enchanting, but the rest of the movie didnt do much for me. Well, thats putting it mildly. Actually it horrified me. But a second viewing changed my mind, and Capriccio is now one of my favorites. Brass had wanted to make this film, from Mario Soldatis novel, immediately after The Key, but had to wait a few years to convince a producer. The story, which I at first thought overly simplistic, is of Jennifer and Fred, a couple whose marriage is beginning to fail. A business trip to Capri after the war reunites them with their previous lovers, the scary pimp Ciro and the hot-tempered hooker Rosa. The disillusionment that both Jennifer and Fred suffer has the unexpected consequence of renewing their marriage. On my first viewing, my basic problem was Jennifers crush on the scary Ciro, which I found disturbingly unrealistic. More specifically, the one scene that turned my stomach and turned me off to the entire movie was when Jennifer lured Ciro into attacking her. But when I watched the film again (Why, you ask? Because I wanted to write about it), I realized how dumb I was. All my life Ive been witnessing otherwise-intelligent women swooning over dangerously scary guysand seeming to enjoy being victims of violence. For the life of me Ill never understand why that is. So okay, the movie is perfectly realistic. How could I have thought otherwise? Still, though, I wish that scene had been written differently, without the sexual violence. Anyway, that aside, Capriccio beautifully explores the minds of people who are a short step away from self-understanding. The acting by the four leads is completely convincing, and Nicola Warren in particular is superb. (She is obviously a professional actress, but she has made no other movies, and Google searches turn up absolutely nothing. Strano!) The more I think about it, the more beautiful I think this movie is. (And no, in case youre wondering, the sex scene at the end is faked. And if youre wondering why Mario Soldati is not credited, well, thats simply because he didnt want to be. I dont know why.)
Interesting to see Brasss daughter Beatrice as Alice the babysitter. (Is she the one whos credited simply as Bea? Is the baby shes babysitting her real-life son? Is his name Matteo? Is the girl watching the parade Brasss niece Lulù?)
![]() |
NOTE: Ciro, in addition to being a personal name, is also the name of the film splicer invented by famous editor Dott. Leo Catozzo. The expensive models are the best splicers in the world, and the inexpensive models are the worst splicers in the world. I dont know if that bears any significance on this film, but just in case it does, now you know.
TECHNICAL NOTES: Capriccio was made in English, but every English copy we have found looks just terrible. The only copy we know of that looks nice, bright, clear, sharp, colorful, and widescreen (1.66:1) is the Italian dub. Oy.
![]() |
ANOTHER NOTE: This is the first of Brasss films in stereo.
![]() |
YET ANOTHER NOTE: Brasss next script was Luomo che guarda, from the Alberto Moravia novel, which was scheduled to go before cameras in late 1986 or early 1987, but was delayed by seven years. (See Variety, 2 April 1986, p. 42.)
| Operatore alla macchina (cameraman) | Enrico Sasso |
| Collaborazione al montaggio (assistant editor) | Fiorenza Müller |
| Montaggio sonoro (sound editor) | Alessandro Sandro Peticca |
| Ufficio stampa (press office) | Lucherin-Pignatelli |
| Fotografo di scena (still photographer) | Gianfranco Salis |
| Coordinamento generale (coordination) | Carla Cipriani |
| Organizzatore amministrativo (accounting manager) | Mario Sampaolo |
| Organizzatore generale (production manager) | Mario di Biase |
| Costumi disegnati da (costumes designed by) | Jost Jakob |
| Costumista (costumer) | Carolina Ferrara |
| Divise (uniforms) | Ugo Pericoli |
| Scenografia e arredamento(art director) | Paolo Biagetti |
| Musica composta e diretta da (music composed and conducted by) | Riz Ortolani |
| Direttore della fotografia (director of photography) | Silvano Ippoliti |
| Una produzione | Famous Films Productions n.v. |
| Realizzata da (produced by) | Giovanni Bertolucci |
| per la (for) | San Francisco Film S.r.l. |
| Liberamente tratta dal romanzo di(freely adapted from the novel by) | Mario Soldati, Le lettere da Capri[uncredited] |
| Scritto, diretto e montato da(written, directed, edited by) | Tinto Brass |
| Aiuto regista (assistant director) | Sandro Peticca |
| Segretaria di edizione (continuity) | Carla Cipriani |
| Parrucchiera (hair dresser) | Iole Cecchini |
| Truccatore (make-up) | Fabrizio Sforza |
| Coreografo (c[h]oreographer) | Giuseppe Pennese |
| Primo assistente operatore (first assistant cameraman) | Ettore Corso |
| Assistente al montaggio (second assistant editor) | Giovanna Ritter |
| Arredatore (set dresser) | Maurizio Garrone |
| Fonico di presa diretta (sound) | Amedeo Casati |
| Ispettori di produzione (unit managers) | Massimo Ferrero, Roberto De Laurentiis |
| Assistente scenografo (assistant art director) | Emita Frigato |
| Capo elettricista (gaffer) | Sergio Spila |
| Capo macchinista (key grip) | Giancarlo Rocchetti |
| Attrezzisti (property masters) | Roberto Magagnini,Marco e Luca Mazzieri |
| Effetti speciali (special effects) | Franco Celli |
| Maestro darmi (stuntman) | Giorgio Ricci |
| Microfonista (boom man) | Alfredo Petti |
| Assistente truccatore (assistant make-up) | Antonio Maltempo |
| Assistente operatore (second assistant cameraman) | Gino Conversi |
| Assistenti alla regia (second assistant directors) | Emanuela Lucidi, Massimo Arcalli |
| Dialogue coach | Stefania Amfitheatrof |
| Assistenti costumisti (assistant costumers) | Simonetta Mattei, Fulvia Amendolia |
| Sarta (wardrober) | Franca Paoletti |
| Pittore (set painter) | Otello Tiberi |
| Aiuti al montaggio (third assistant editors) | Giorgio Peticca, Cristina Serangeli |
| Elettricisti (best boys) | Marcello Cardarelli, Franco Cardarelli, Franco Gubiotti |
| Macchinisti (grips) | Massimo Galiano, Mario Occhioni, Riccardo Ferrero |
| Cassiere (paymasters) | Dorina Mari, Alessandra Sampaolo |
| Segretari di produzione (production secretaries) | Francesca Andriotto, Mauro Babini, Andrea Mattei |
| Edizione italiana a cura di (Italian edition) | Gruppo Trenta |
| Assistente al doppiaggio (assistant dubber) | Monica Simonetti |
| Fonico di doppiaggio (dubbing recording) | Adriano Torbidone |
| Esterni (locations) | Capri, Amalfi, Atrani, Caserta, Tarquinia, Soriano, Caprarola, Vicarello |
| Teatri di posa (interiors filmed at) | De Paolis, Roma |
| Negativi (negatives) | Kodak spa |
| Sviluppo e stampa (processed by) | Technicolor spa |
| Postsincronizzazione (postsynchronization) | Cinecittà spa |
| Missaggio (sound mixers) | Fausto Ancillai e Danilo Sterbini |
| Titoli e truke (titles and opticals) | Studio 4 |
| Sartoria (wardrobe supplied by) | Russo Costumi dArte srlNeriteatromoda srl |
| Calzature (shoes) | L.C.P. srl |
| Parrucche (wigs) | Rocchetti-Carboni |
| Tappezzerie (textiles) | Schiavi Bruno |
| Arredamento (set dressing) | DAlfonso-DedaloG.R.P.-Latour |
| Mezzi tecnici (technical equipment) | CineNoleggio |
| Trasporti (transportation) | Romana Trasporti Cinematografici srl |
| Musiche di repertorio (songs) | ROSAMUNDAdi Nise - Vejvodaed. Leonardi-MilanoBUONASERA SIGNORINAdi Sigman - De Roseed. R.C.A.NANNÌdi F. Silvestried. Abramo Allione Edizioni MusicaliTAMMURIATA NERAdi E. A. Mario - E. Nicolardiedizione musicale eseguita dallaNuova Compagnia di Canto Popolaresupervisione artistica diRoberto de Simonedisco EMI Italiana |
| Dolby stereo sound consultant | Federico Savina |
| Dolby Stereo in selected theatres |
| PERSONAGGI E INTERPRETI | |
| Jennifer | Nicola Warren (doppiata in italiano da Roberta Paladini) |
| Rosa | Francesca Dellera (doppiata in italiano da Giuppi Izzo) |
| Fred | Andy J. Forrest (doppiato in italiano da Tonino Accolla) |
| Ciro | Luigi Laezza (doppiato in italiano da Claudio Sorrentino) |
| ??? | Isabella Biagini |
| ??? | Venantino Venantini |
| Clark Gable | Giuseppe Pino Pennese |
| ??? | Dodi Moscati |
| Sergeí | Osiride Pevarello |
| ??? | Josephine Van As |
| Alice | Bea [Beatrice Brass] |
| Hotel Owners Young Niece | Lulù |
| Duccio | Matteo |
| Don Vincenzo | Vittorio Caprioli |
| ??? | Camillo Marino |
| ??? | Enzo Turrin |
| ??? | Simona Tedeschi |
| ??? | Laila Peloso |
| ??? | Armando Marra |
| ??? | Luciana Cirenei |
| ??? | Jean René Lemoine |
| ??? | Cheryl Lee Buchanan |
| ??? | Maria Rosaria Virgili |
| Waiter | Eolo Capritti |
| ??? | Robert Sommer |
| ??? | Umberto Conte |
| ??? | Paolo Pigozzi |
| Hotel Owner | Tinta Brass (Carla Cipriani) [uncredited] |
| Rosas Client | Tinto Brass [uncredited] |