Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 12, 2008 5:08:42 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Waterloo—You Know, Like in the ABBA Song

Posted Apr 8, 08 11:04 AM CDT in Arts & Living,  World 

(Newser) – An telecom exec came up short in a motivational speech to employees when he called the battle of Waterloo a victory for Napoleon. Now clips of the animated Italian manager urging his staff to "go ahead and score like Napoleon at Waterloo" have become a YouTube hit, the ANSA news agency reports.

"Everybody wrote him off," the unwitting revisionist said of the Little General. But because of "strategy, clarity of ideas, determination, and power," Napoleon was able to make the 1815 battle—which became synonymous with shattering, career-truncating defeat—his "masterpiece." Luca Luciani, a 39-year-old star at Telecom Italia, has apologized for the gaffe. No word on whether he'll move to St. Helena.

Source ANSA (Italy)

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • In Mix-Up, Wine Flows From Italian Taps

    Oct 8, 08 5:45 PM CDT
    In Mix-Up, Wine Flows From Italian Taps The highlight of an annual Italian wine festival is the flow of wine through a city fountain—but this year, a mix-up diverted the drink to faucets in nearby homes, the BBC reports. Tourists come for miles to see the festival, but this year, all they saw shooting from the fountain in Marino, Italy, was water.
    More »

  • Europe Scrambles to Save Banks

    Oct 6, 08 6:31 AM CDT
    Europe Scrambles to Save Banks Barely a day after rejecting the need for a massive unified rescue plan, European leaders are wading into two substantial bailouts and vowing to save banks, Bloomberg reports. France’s BNP Paribas will take over Fortis in Belgium and Luxembourg, while Germany’s government and banks bail out Hypo Real Estate with a $68 billion rescue package. Meanwhile, Alistair Darling says the UK will do whatever is necessary to aid its banks.
    More »

  • Europe Agrees to Take It One Financial Crisis at a Time

    Oct 5, 08 10:53 AM CDT
    Europe Agrees to Take It One Financial Crisis at a Time Leaders of Europe’s four biggest economies did not settle on a unified plan for tackling the financial crisis, the Washington Post reports. Instead, each country will deal with banking problems as they crop up. While France’s Nicolas Sarkozy hoped for a Europe-wide plan, British and German leaders were opposed to a single safety-net fund.
    More »

  • 'Borat' Crashes Fashion Show

    Sep 26, 08 2:32 PM CDT
    'Borat' Crashes Fashion Show Sacha Baron Cohen caused a scene at a Milan fashion show today when he got up on the catwalk and danced violently before being hauled off, ANSA reports. Cohen—stalking the Italian city’s fashion week as he works on a film in which he plays gay fashion reporter Bruno—was turned over to police but released later without charge.
    More »

  • 'Foxy Knoxy' Faces Old Flame

    Sep 26, 08 12:50 PM CDT
    'Foxy Knoxy' Faces Old Flame Amanda Knox saw her one-time boyfriend in an Italian court today for the first time since they were arrested on suspicion of killing her British roommate, reports the Telegraph. The pair can’t write each other, but Raffaelo Sollecito sent the 21-year-old American flowers on her July birthday. They met at the trial for Rudy Guede, the third person prosecutors have accused of the murder.
    More »

Napoleon met defeat -- not victory -- at Waterloo.   (Magnum Photos)
Luca Luciani   (NapoleToneLuciani (YouTube))
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
NAPOLEON MADE HIS MASTERPIECE IN WATERLOO   (mekawar (YouTube))

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 3)

Tags

Italy  • Napoleon


Loading...

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »