Oh, by the way -- Italy, bitches

Yeah, got my first-ever visit from Italy this past week. Not sure why it took them so long, but they finally got here. Sure, we all know Italy -- Rome, the Coliseum, Russell Crowe killing a fucking tiger and all that good shit. It's a unitary parliamentary republic with nearly 61 million residents, making it the fifth-most populous county in Europe. It includes Sardinia and Sicily, the two largest islands in the Mediterranean, as well as numerous smaller islands and the Campione d'Italia enclave in Switzerland. They used to be global bad-asses, but pretty much can't keep a government for more than a year or so, as there have been 61 goverments since World War II. Plus they're pretty much bankrupt and are probably going to take down the Euro at some point soon (if Spain, Portugal or Greece doesn't beat them to it.) Can't have everything. But hey, we have this:

Welcome, my Italian friends. Or, so far, friend.