Walter Veltroni is an Italian writer, film director and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He served as Mayor of Rome from June 2001 to February 2008. Veltroni was born in Rome, his father, Vittorio Veltroni, an eminent RAI manager in the 1950s, died only one year later. His mother, Ivanka Kotnik, was the daughter of Ciril Kotnik, a Slovenian diplomat at the Holy See who helped numerous Jews and anti-fascists to escape Nazi persecution after 1943. Veltroni joined the Italian Communist Youth Federation at the age of 15, was elected Rome city councillor in 1976 as member of the Italian Communist Party, serving until 1981, he was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 1987. As a member of the Italian Communist Party's national secretariat, in 1988, he played a leading role in the transformation into a social democratic party. Veltroni, a professional journalist, was editor-in-chief of L'Unità, the newspaper of the Democratic Party of the Left from 1992-1996.

He ran as one of the leading members of The Olive Tree coalition in the 1996 general election. After The Olive Tree's victory, he served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Cultural Assets and Activities from 1996 to 1998, joining 25 other PDS members in cabinet–the first Communists to take part in government since 1947. In 1996, he joined the Bilderberg Meeting. In 1998, he subsequent to his election as National Secretary of the Democrats of the Left. Despite his background as a journalist, he has been involved in controversial episodes related to freedom of expression. For example, in 2001, after the late night show Satyricon aired an interview that discussed indictments on links between the right-wing leader and the mafia, Marco Travaglio reported that Veltroni dispatched a messenger menacing the closure of the show. In 2001, Veltroni resigned as leader of the party after being elected Mayor of Rome. In May 2006, Veltroni was confirmed Mayor of Rome defeating former Minister of Agriculture Gianni Alemanno, of National Alliance, obtaining an unprecedented 61.4% of the valid votes against the 37.1% achieved by his main opponent.

The percentage of votes that supported Veltroni's second term in office was a record in local elections in Rome. Shortly before this confirmation, Veltroni had declared that he was going to leave politics at the end of his second term as Mayor. In 2005, as mayor of Rome, he met in Washington, during a visit to the United States United States Senator, Barack Obama, being one of his earliest supporters overseas, he wrote the preface to the Italian edition of The Audacity of Hope in 2007 and has been referred to as "Obama's European counterpart". Veltroni was widely considered one of the most popular centre left politicians in Italy, singled out for the leadership of the Democratic Party, despite his statements that he would not accept such position after his tenure as Mayor would end. In June 2007, DS leader Piero Fassino publicly asked Veltroni to run for the party leadership, offering support from all of his party. Several other Democratic Party leading members publicly stated their support for a possible candidacy of Veltroni.

Furthermore, the strongest of his possible contenders, Pier Luigi Bersani, which polls showed as having a 50% support in center-north regions, withdrew to avoid a'confusing candidacy'. Veltroni presented his candidacy for the leadership of the Democratic Party at a rally in Turin on 27 June 2007. At this occasion he introduced the four key issues his programme would address: environment, generational pact and public security. Veltroni was elected as the first leader of the newly founded Democratic Party on 14 October 2007, winning an open primary with around 2.6 million votes, or 75.8%. In 2007, Veltroni had some remarks against the Romanian immigrants, claiming that Italy has become "unlivable" since Romania joined the European Union, while before its entry, Rome was "the safest city in the world", bringing accusations of xenophobia from the Romanian press. Following the defeat of Prodi's government in a January 2008 Senate vote, Veltroni led the Democratic Party into the April 2008 general election.

Veltroni resigned as Mayor of Rome on 13 February 2008 to concentrate on the campaign. He has been criticised for his over-frequentation of Rome socialites, advised to focus on more practical problems. On 17 February 2009, following clashes within the party and only a day after a heavy defeat of the Democratic Party in a local regional election in Sardinia, Veltroni announced his immediate resignation from his leadership post; the Constituent Assembly of the party subsequently convened on 21 February 2009 and elected Veltroni's former deputy Dario Franceschini as the new secretary. On 28 September 2014, in Venice, the former Mayor of Rome was responsible of marrying George Clooney to Amal Alamuddin; the wedding was reported in the media. In 2003, he received an honoris causa degree in Public Services by the John Cabot University of Rome. In 2006, Veltroni received the title of Cavaliere di Gran Croce from President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, he won the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2009.

Veltroni has written a number of books on various topics, such as music, social issues, fiction and politics. 1977 – Il PCI e la questione giovanile 1978 – A dieci anni dal'68. Intervista con Achille Occhetto 1981 – Il sogno degli anni sessanta 1982 – Il calcio è una scienza da amare (Football is a science

Ishii Fudeko was a pioneer of modern education for Japanese girls, one of the first founders of welfare for people with mental disabilities in Japan. Born as the eldest daughter of Watanabe Kiyoshi and Gen, her father was a feudal retainer of the Hizen Ōmura clan, a patriot through the end of the Tokugawa period to the Meiji Restoration, the Meiji government appointed him a baron for his service as the Fukuoka prefecture Ordinance and a Councilor of the Genroin Senate. Fudeko's uncle, Watanabe Noboru, was a meritorious man with a friendship with patriot Sakamoto Ryōma at the turn of Meiji Restoration contributing for the Satsuma Alliance. Watanabe Tei was her younger half brother and he became the third school principal of Takinogawa Gakuen. After graduating from Tokyo Jogakko, a national girls' school, Fudeko studied in Europe per the order of Empress Kōmyō, returned to Japan to become a teacher at Kazoku Jogakko and taught French to daughters of imperial and aristocrat families, together with Tsuda Umeko who studied abroad with her.

Among her students, there was Empress Teimei. Fudeko was a popular figure and frequented the balls at the Rokumeikan, being reputed as "the flower of the Rokumeikan". Taking office as a principal of Seishu Girls' School, Fudeko was a leader in modern education for girl students; the School was succeeded to the present Tsuda College. Her husband was Ogashima Minoru, a high-ranking official from her village, they had three daughters. She was widowed when her husband died at the age of 35 in 1892. Fudeko was baptized around that period, she had her daughters to Takinogawa Gakuen school under the care of principal Ishii Ryoichi, she did not spare economic and spiritual support to the school. Fudeko understood Ryoichi's mission in life as well as his personality to marry him, she started to contribute for the protection and independence of mentally handicapped persons. Under Militia, an individual with intellectual disability was regarded as a burden to the society being not capable for manufacturing or as a labor.

Sympathy or understanding for those was low, those disabled lived locked up in rooms more than frequently. While Fudeko taught at her classes, she succeeded in receiving economic support to Takinogawa Gakuen through her contact with her alumni at Tokyo Jogakko and her students as members of the royal family, wives of aristocrats and successful business people. In her years, she was half-paralyzed after suffering stroke, lost her husband who left her a huge debt and their school. While she once considered to closing their school, but decided to keep her husband's will, on October 16, 1937 at the age of 76 years, Fudeko took office as the second school principal. However, it was the wartime when she lost lives of her students as well as faculty members, Isii Fudeko died at the age of 83 uncertain of her school's future; the Takinogawa school had survived the war and continued on to be the current Takinogawa Gakuen, incorporated as a social welfare institute. 火影. 藤本鐡助. 1920. Ishii Fudeko. Shizenkai to otogibanashi.

Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō Shoten. OCLC 672949990. Fudeko Ishii. Suginishi hi no ryokō nikki: Meiji sanjūichinen Beikoku ni tsukaiseshi ori no tenmatsu. Kindai Nihon no sekushuariti: Josei no kakarekata ni miru sekushuariti. 9. Yumani Shobō. ISBN 9784843321959. OCLC 124046542. BooksShakai jigyō no ikita joseitachi: sono shōgai to shigoto. Domesu shuppan. 1983. Retrieved 2017-01-27. Kawao Toyoshi. Ishii Fudeko. Fuchū, Tokyo: St. Mark's Church, The Holy Catholic Church in Japan. Akira Masugi. Tenshi no piano: Ishii Fudeko no shōgai. Netto Musashino. ISBN 9784944237029. OCLC 674579228. Yūji Tsumagari. Ishii Fudeko. Shirīzu Fukushi ni ikiru. 49. Ōzorasha. ISBN 9784283000797. OCLC 49896690. Yasuko Ichibangase. "Kindai" o toi rekishi ni umoreta josei no shōgai: mumyō no hito Ishii Fudeko. Domesu Shuppan. ISBN 9784810706185. OCLC 56824496. Otabe Yuji. Kazokuke no josei-tachi. Shogakukan. ISBN 9784093877107. OCLC 150413172. Rekishi Kyōikusha Kyōgikai, ed.. "Geijutsu gakumon kyōiku no sekai o kirihiraite". Rekishi O Ikita Joseitachi. Chōbunsha. 2.

ISBN 9784811385518. OCLC 703341257. Magoroku ide. Ibaramichi o shirite sasageshi: ishii fudeko no futatsu no jinsei. Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 9784000259286. OCLC 867599834. Yōichi Nagashima. Meiji no kokusaijin Ishii Fudeko: Denmāku josei Yohanne Myuntā to no kōryū. Shinhyōron. ISBN 9784794809803. OCLC 891549392. Yūji Tsumagari. "Ishii Fudeko"-dokuhon: hato ga tobitatsu hi: danjo kyōdō sankaku to tokubetsu shien kyōiku, fukushi no haha. Satoru Yonekawa. Ōzorasha. ISBN 9784283013254. PeriodicalsYūji Tsumagari. "Ishii Fudeko sensei no gaikoku keiken ni tsuite". 淳化. 滝乃川学園学園史研究会. Yūji Tsumagari. "Ishii Fudeko no yoshoki ni kansuru kenkyu nooto" [A res

Tosca is a 1941 Italian historical drama film directed by Carl Koch and Jean Renoir and starring Imperio Argentina, Michel Simon and Rossano Brazzi. It is an adaptation of Victorien Sardou's play La Tosca and its subsequent opera version, composed by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, it was released in the United States as The Story of Tosca. It was shot at the Scalera Studios in Rome with location shooting taking place around the city; the film's sets were designed by the art director Gustav Abel. Jean Renoir was hired as the film's director, was encouraged to make the film by the French government as part of an effort to encourage Italy to remain neutral in the Second World War. However, he left Rome following Italy's entry into the war and the film was completed by the German director Carl Koch. In 1943 it was released in Spain by the film studio Cifesa. Imperio Argentina as Floria Tosca Michel Simon as Il barone Scarpia Rossano Brazzi as Mario Cavaradossi Carla Candiani as La marchesa Attavanti Olga Vittoria Gentilli as La regina di Napoli Adriano Rimoldi as Angelotti Nicolás D. Perchicot as Sciarrone Juan Calvo as Spoletta Nicola Maldacea as Il pittore di corte Claudio Ermelli as Paisiello Enzo Musumeci Greco as L'ufficiale della regina Tosca on IMDb