"The guy is co-producing more than half the film, nearly 80%." The chief executive of one of the production companies behind the movie, Louise Maurin of Leuviah Films, tried last year to defend United Passions over accusations that it had implausibly steered away from the recurrent scandals that have afflicted world football's governing body down the years.
"The most serious evils afflicting the world," Francis told Mr. Scalfari, "are youth unemployment and the solitude to which many elderly people are consigned".
It was thus tempting to conclude that Mr Koizumi had at long last chosen to take the banks' problems seriously, prodded into action by America and others frustrated at the decade-long policy paralysis afflicting the world's second-largest economy.
But, as five of the six are probably spending €25m apiece on new boats – and north of that if there is a big hospitality programme bolted on - three years into the confusion of financial chaos afflicting the world that the race can survive at all is remarkable.
Last year, four-fifths of the US experienced a heatwave, there were prolonged droughts in Russia and Africa, a lighter monsoon in India and floods in Pakistan – extreme weather events that were likely linked to climate change afflicting the world's major food basket regions.
"Quite clearly this is an opportunity for the G8 leaders to sit down and discuss, I hope in a very serious and meaningful way, many of the issues which are afflicting the world at this time," he said.
Harrison then uses what Christian theologian Dale Allison terms "the language of pollution" to describe the problems afflicting the world, and offers a method by which to cleanse oneself spiritually.
"It often happens that I wake up at night and begin to think about the serious problems afflicting the world," he said, "and I tell myself, I must talk to the pope about it.
Democracy is obviously a book intended to alarm (its subtitle is "Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It") but it also offers a compelling way to look at several trends afflicting the world.
Offshoring could help solve several problems afflicting rich-world economies, including that of ageing populations: after all, you get more bairns for your buck in Bangalore.
