EU Makes New Effort to Raise U.N. Troops photo
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - "Italy, which has offered to send the largest contingent, made a plea Wednesday for more European troops to an expanded U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon. Premier Romano Prodi expressed frustration over the efforts to raise the force mandated by a U.N...."

Ah, if only Italy weren't so close to France and Spain, and yes, that other bastion of modern liberal cowardice, the UK. But the people who gave us flush toilets, hot and cold running water, modern architecture, as well as the forerunners of modern medicines and surgeries...2000 and more years ago while Chinese Emperers were still squatting over bamboo pots and asking court astrologers to decide upon the most auspicious of days to have that most wondrous of all scams...acupuncture...performed. France didn't even HAVE vineyards until Legionairres brought their grapes along with them, the Brits finally stopped painting themselves blue long enough to create legends of transplanted wealthy Romans who retired to the provinces and brought with them swords of steel, and the Spaniards finally got the hint that roads were meant to be traveled and not torn up for the makings of foundations for brothels. But communicating across so vast an empire was impossible with ancient technologies so Rome eventually diminished. And every time they decide it's high time to get back to the old glory days one of the Euro brethren wail enough so that the man on the street is too confused to make heads nor tails of precisely WHAT it takes to make a country great nowadays.

Bloody shame we can't blockade Italy and Australia from communism and moslems. There's enough of the right stuff there for greatness as well as a return to greatness.