WAY, WAY OFF TOPIC.

But Weasels and other Europeans are sometimes fun to watch.

There is a real brouhaha going over here as Italy's Prime Minister Berlusconi recently insulted a German Minister of the European Pariliament by comparing him to a Nazi.

Then Italy's tourism minister said all German tourists were "hyper-nationalistic blondes", which prompted Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to cancel his Italian holiday (vacation).

Today Das Bild, a popular newspaper in Germany (if not exactly a paragon of journalistic virtue) strikes back.

Germany's Bild newspaper is organising a free flight for Germans to the Italian resort of Rimini in an attempt to prove wrong the Italian minister who called Germans ''hyper-nationalistic,'' loud and arrogant.

''Bild will show how friendly, cheerful and pleasant German holidaymakers really are,'' the top-selling daily said, continuing a campaign against the comments from Italian junior minister Stefano Stefani that prompted Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to cancel his Italian holiday.

Bild staged a ''beach demonstration'' in front of the Italian embassy in Berlin on Thursday with topless models on deckchairs to prove how ''beautiful, sexy and charming'' the Germans are.

Bild also published a list of Italian phrases German tourists may need in ''these difficult times.''

The phrases include:...

"Great wine, do you have any other warm drinks?,''

Ouch!

The Italians are not happy over this...consider this:

Local authorities in Pesaro (Italy) said Wednesday they were considering suing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for damages as a result of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's decision to cancel a planned trip to the Italian resort.

And small wonder because the article goes on to say:

Up to 10 million German tourists visit Italy each year. Many of them travel to Italy's Adriatic Riviera, not far from Pesaro.

Read it all here.

Of course, Chancellor Schroeder was featured on this site recently upon his triumph in the German courts in obtaining an injunction against a magazine for speculating that he dies his hair.

The mainstream German press are less enthusiastic than Das Bild about the friction between Germany and Italy, accusing the chancellor of distraction techniques.

"Berlin’s Die Welt newspaper wrote that German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder can definitely rely on his political instinct when in hot water.

Temporarily, Germany has forgotten about its domestic problems and seems more interested in where its leader will be vacationing."

And Americans will also recall that when Schroeder was staring defeat in the face, he lambasted the USA and President Bush over Iraq in order to save a faultering election bid.

Curiouser and curiouser.