But here in Venice, officials took a leaf from the advertising playbook that has helped make bottled water a multibillion-dollar global industry.
A press release popped up on my Facebook news feed this week that appeared to be from the official Toronto Maple Leafs website, proclaiming that at this week's annual Forces Appreciation Night, "both Canadian soldiers AND the innocent civilians killed in the war (Afghanistan) will be honoured".
The legal manoeuvres were "a fig leaf", one official admitted.
The festival has multiple commercial sponsors, including Microsoft, the "official technology sponsor"; Turning Leaf, the "official wine"; and Altria, the new name of Philip Morris, although there will be no official cigarette for the event.
His report quickly disposed of any questions about the legitimacy of Mr. Bruno's helicopter travels; under the rules in place, even a modest fig leaf of official business could justify them.
The Environmental Protection Agency, which tests vehicles for emissions and fuel efficiency, has determined Leaf's official range to be 73 miles on a fully charged battery, much less than the 100 miles previously claimed by Nissan.
(Armstrong, the official spokesman for the Leaf, is the only American to actually have one right now).
Yellow legal pads, scraps of paper, envelopes, and the occasional crisp leaf of official Mad Men stationary record Weiner's spur-of-the-moment thoughts about character development, plot structure, and set design.
Ten units were delivered to the Kanagawa Prefecture Government, which decided to assign six Leafs for official use and the other four will be available for the car rental service run by the local government.
[The New York Times] YouTube pulls a controversial video in which a high-ranking Environmental Protection Agency official talks of taking a leaf from the ancient Romans and seeking to "crucify" big polluters.
