I think  a party is a party, unless it's being thrown by a political party.  People dress up to have fun, to boost their own ego, to idolize or ridicule a character, but I do believe if the common understanding that this is a party there shouldn't be a problem.... (People need to lighten up a bit)  As for throwing a drink at Berlusconi, I think it will only be acceptable if you go dressed up as Prodi ;-) otherwise, you'll kindda ruin the fun...

Just my 2 Cents.

There was an earlier quest by Kurt also about freedom of expression of one's opinion "I was watching the channel Fight for Fair Use on YouTube and in one video he asks "Are there any OPINIONS you consider so false or offensive that you think they do not deserve free speech protection?" What do you think?" (http://questler.com/explore/quest/view/1055).

As for the quest above or the Shalabieh's reply- i am not sure what exactly is offensive on wearing a traditional Arab dress or a sari other than they are not quite smart costumes but rather boring. They are like going in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt and saying i am dressed as a cowboy.

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><xml> </xml> <style> st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> There is an episode of Boston Legal in which they discuss halloween and at the end of it the judge declares that halloween is just a party- it is meant to be for fun.

If I were at a party and someone is dressed like Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister for example, I would throw my drink in his face or on his tie and say "Oh, I thought you were Berlusconi. Well made costume, enjoy the party!" You want to be an asshole for a night, you’ll be treated like an asshole for the night!