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Drawing on field research in Malta, Sicily and among Italian emigrants in Canada, this book explores the social influence of the Mediterranean climate and the legacy of ethnic and religious conflict from the past five decades. Case studies illustrate the complexity of daily life not only in the region but also in more remote academe, by analysing the effects of fierce family loyalty, emigration and the social consequences of factionalism, patronage and the friends-of-friends networks that are widespread in the region. Several chapters discuss the social and environmental impact of mass tourism, how locals cope, and the paradoxical increase in religious pageantry and public celebrations. The discussions echo changes in the region and the related development of the author's own interests and engagement with prevailing issues through his career.

As early as 1913, observers suspected such displays of philistinism and self-deception. The target of criticism then and later in the 1940s when the influence of the Church was beginning to slip was the lamb, an attribute strongly associated with French-Canadian interpretations of the saint since the 1850s. The depiction of St. John as a young child accompanied by a lamb appears to have been initiated by Albert Chalifoux, a Montreal tailor who derived the idea from \"des representations de ce saint dans les peintures et les images en provenance d'Italie\" ([Therese Beaudoin] 1987, 164); the legitimacy of the tradition was further propped up with a reference to similar customs in France (Roy, R.-G. 1945, 279). By the time [Olivar Asselin] satirized the terrified lamb clutched by a curly-headed child that featured in every Saint-Jean-Baptiste parade Asselin had ever known, lamb and child had, as it were, acquired the status of an inviolable dogma, and the clerical response to Asselin's criticism was accordingly severe. In order to satisfy \"la volonte philistine d'un president ou d'un secretaire de section,\" Asselin charged, child and lamb were paraded \"sous un soleil brulant, au risque de le rendre idiot pour la vie\" (Asselin 1923, 81); the lamb, moreover, usually betrayed its saintly role by raising its tail and defecating in full view of the audience. In short, Asselin considered the traditional trappings of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day little more than an embarrassing display of \"mascarades et petarades.\" In 1912, French language schools were abolished in Ontario and instruction in French limited in other provinces. Together with the influx of non-Francophone immigrants, these measures were, Asselin claimed, a serious threat to the survival of French Canada. The childish shenanigans of the Saint-Jean parade failed to depict its participants as a force to be reckoned with and only served to attract the contempt of the outside world (Rumilly 1975, 235). Archbishop Bruchesi's response to Asselin (implying that those who ridiculed the lamb could not be \"de sens chretien\" [237]), came close to an excommunication; it certainly cost Asselin his post as president of the Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste, although it is recorded that a reading, \"a haute voix,\" of the offensive diatribe caused much amusement among committee members (Morin 1959, 26). In order to counterbalance such exclusive interpretations of Quebec nationalism, organizers of the parade and the Francophone press have, since the late eighties, gone out of their way to include all ethnic groups. Articles explaining newcomers' enthusiastic response to, and adaptation of, Saint-Jean-Baptiste customs in \"fetes de quartier\" (which sprang up during the mid-seventies when the parade was suspended) have become a staple in the coverage of the event. Thus, in 1992, Le Devoir devoted an article to describing \"Les cent visages d'une fete toujours renouvelee,\" by interviewing citizens of Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Italian, and Latin-American backgrounds. Sherry Simon, professor at Concordia University with an expertise in Quebec multiculturalism, is quoted as pronouncing an appropriate prophecy for the future in Quebec: \"On fete un Quebec a l'image qu'on voudrait qu'il soit. Pluri-ethnique et en evolution\" ([Leduc, Louise] et [Danny Vear] 1992). Perhaps not surprisingly, the English-speaking press has been considerably less prepared to emphasize the multicultural potential of Saint-Jean-Baptiste. On the contrary, the Montreal Gazette headlined a 1992 report with \"Parade's Quebec History Lesson Leaves Many Newcomers Puzzled,\" noted elsewhere that the Montreal South Asian Community Centre had been refused a grant for the preparation of its Saint-Jean festivities (\"Fireworks, a Quebecois Tradition\" 1992), and repeatedly made light of the parade's political message, stressing its commercial aspects instead (Peritz 1992).

MobileMail (OTCBB: MBMU) - Wednesday's shares decreased 25.00% to $0.45 per share with a total of 36,750 shares traded. The company is very pleased to announce that both Nigel Nicholas and Ian Downie have been appointed to the board as Non Executive Directors. Nigel & Ian have combined experience of over 45 years in creating excellent companies with outstanding financial track records across a variety of industries, especially within the telecommunications and I.T. sectors. Nigel & Ian will focus on MobileMail's aggressive rollout of its operations, especially with regards to securing more content and distribution channels with leading UK operators and content providers, as well as bolstering the US sales channels and utilising their extensive contact base and exemplary knowledge of the industry to actively pursue further M&A activity in 2007, allowing MobileMail to significantly add to its revenue in 2007. The first acquisition target has been identified, with revenues in excess of $4m, that fits perfectly with our strategy to become the leading provider of leading-edge mobile content and interactive services across North America, Europe & Asia. Nigel Nicholas brings significant experience, knowledge and energy to MobileMail. He has 25 years of director level experience in developing and implementing winning strategies and operational plans within Ecommerce, Internet and Mobile Telecoms. Nigel is the CEO and co-founder of Move2Mobile Limited, the foremost Wireless Business Incubator and Accelerator in the UK. Before that, he was Director of Strategy and Operations at Lucent Technologies and, as part of their GSM infrastructure business unit, developed and executed the Business Strategy that grew the business unit from \"start up\" to a US $1.2 billion enterprise with over 2,000 employees in 5 worldwide locations in 3 years. Prior to that he was Chief Financial Officer for AT&T Network Systems for 6 years covering the UK & Ireland. Ian Downie has a proven track record of creating successful technology focused businesses having successfully supported over 50 start-up to early maturity companies in the last 3 years alone. Ian has established an extensive network of contacts across the industry, notably with; British Telecom, CISCO, IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, O2, Orange, Oracle, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, SUN, Symbol, and Vodafone among many others. His wealth of knowledge and experience in identifying industry niches and exploiting market opportunities will significantly increase the pace of our accelerated development in 2007, reflected in a healthy flow of new sales agreements and of course revenue. Ian also brings with him excellent working knowledge of securing contracts and working with the very highest caliber brands such as Coca Cola, IBM, Starbucks, Vodafone, Becks, Europcar and Somerfield among others. His proven ability in identifying opportunities and closing large deals will significantly assist the company in moving forward with its strategy of further M&A activity within the mobile industry. With direct access to a large number of highly innovative and dynamic mobile companies, Nigel and Ian are an excellent addition to the current management team. With a total combined portfolio of over 500 companies MobileMail is in an excellent position to hand pick and approach the very best companies in this exciting and fast growing mobile industry. With expected revenues in the mobile gaming & content market increasing from $2.4 billion in 2006 to a huge $7.2 billion by 2011(1), MobileMail is ideally positioned to grow exponentially in 2007 and beyond. Nigel Nicholas will extend MobileMail's portfolio of content and distribution channels and content providers both within the UK and also will expand and strengthen the European & US sales channels. Finally, Nigel will establish collaborations with leading companies within the business to significantly enhance MobileMail's acquisition strategy. Gary Flint, Director of Business Development comments, \"We are all delighted that MobileMail has assembled such an excellent and experienced board of directors. Both Nigel and Ian have a proven track record of creating winning business strategies within the technology sector as well as in-depth specialist knowledge of the mobile industry. MobileMail is embarking on an aggressive growth strategy and through recruiting such highly qualified and experienced industry professionals we have taken huge steps towards achieving our goal of becoming the leading mobile content and service provider. I am looking forward to utilising their skills and contacts to significantly add to our bottom line in 2007 through our planned M&A activities with in the industry.\" Nigel Nicholas adds, \"The mobile entertainment industry is rapidly changing. MobileMail has identified a huge opportunity to establish themselves as a market-leading provider of mobile content and services through their planned consolidation within the industry.