Italy has taken its fair share of losses in the current economic downturn.  However, the damage hasn't been severe enough to elevate it to one of the top five countries that we fear could become the next Iceland.  In scanning the reddit comments on our list, I noted one Italian with a hilarious explanation for why Italy hasn't been more affected:

We (Italy) are somewhat not in this mess because our banks did not understand the last 5 years of finance and did not pretend to understand it, so they stayed out. We are now in the spot where stupidity and luck meet.

Photo:  AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS

Former French President Jacques Chirac was recently mauled by his white Maltese, Sumo, who happens to suffer from clinical depression. The vicious beast, seen here in 2007 with Chirac's wife, Bernadette, had become increasingly prone to unprovoked violence over the years and was taking antidepressants. Chirac was treated at a hospital for bites and is expected not to have permanent scars.

This incident wasn't the first time a presidential dog has behaved aggressively:

• Last November, Barney, the Scottish terrier of former U.S. President George W. Bush, bit a reporter.
• Former Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported to have used his black Lab, Koni, to intimidate German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is afraid of dogs.

There are two presidential dogs, though, who couldn't have created well-publicized biting incidents even if they had wanted to. Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's Pekingese, Dot and Buddy, appear to have been placed in hiding.

President Obama ought to be careful which lucky canine he selects for First Pooch.

DANIEL VELEZ/AFP/Getty Images

Kudos to Chesley Sullenberger, the US Airways pilot behind yesterday's "miracle on the Hudson". Fortunately, passenger jet crashes are extraordinarily infrequent worldwide. But for the aerophobes out there, here are two interesting lists of countries to avoid flying in, and airlines to avoid flying on:

The European Union has a blacklist of airlines banned from Europe for being too unsafe. The list is populated mainly by airlines from African countries and failed states. It includes North Korea's Air Koryo, Sudan's Air West, all of Indonesia's airlines, and over fifty airlines from the Democratic Republic of Congo -- including the unfortunately named "Safe Air Company".

The US Federal Aviation Administration has a list too, of countries that it deems capable, or not, of meeting international aviation standards. Most of the "category 2" countries that don't meet international standards are small or poor countries, like Kiribati and Bangladesh. Israel, though, is a surprise inclusion.

Treat these lists skeptically. They may be politicized. And while air accidents happen six times more often in Africa than in other regions; the rate there is just four accidents per million flights.

Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Via Japan Probe, a Hilton in Osaka is offering guests a chance to use the yen's rise against the dollar to their advantage. The price in yen "$80 party" package fluctuates daily based on exchange rates. So if you reserve a party, expecting the value of the dollar to stay low, you can get a pretty good deal.

Here's what you get for your money (in Japanese):

I doubt this is true, but it is funny:

The subdued Ms Merkel, who loathes Mr Sarkozy's bravura, has been watching videos of the late Louis de Funès, a manic comic actor and Gallic institution, for clues to understanding the ever-agitated President. 

Here's a representative sample of M. De Funès's work:

Speak Japanese? Me neither. According to Japan Probe, though, this video report tells the tale of one Mr. Nakamura, a boxing-gym owner in bicycle-clogged Osaka:

Nakamura acts a volunteer bicycle parking manners enforcer, standing around for hours forcing people to re-park their bicycles in places he decides. All his efforts are ultimately meaningless, as the sheer volume of bicycles means there will always be parking chaos.

Watch the video here:

The editors at MaxPlanckForschung, flagship journal of Germany's Max Planck Institute, got a little more than they bargained for with an example of "classical" Chinese calligraphy they used on the cover of their latest issue. The idea was to evoke an image of China, which was the focus of the issue. But instead of arousing interest in cutting-edge science, Chinese readers discovered the calligraphy was titillating in other ways. A translation:

With high salaries, we have cordially invited for an extended series of matinées

KK and Jiamei as directors, who will personally lead jade-like girls in the spring of youth,

Beauties from the north who have a distinguished air of elegance and allure,

Young housewives having figures that will turn you on;

Their enchanting and coquettish performance will begin within the next few days.

Despite having consulted a "German sinologist" about the text, no one seems to have caught the two glaring letter K's - I would think a dead give-away things aren't so "classical," even if you fail to comprehend the other characters. Maybe that's just in hindsight, though.

If only the content in science journals was so exciting.

In a spirit of reflection, as the UN's International Year of the Potato winds to a close, we present this monstrosity:

Lebanese farmer Khalil Semhat holds a giant potato in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on December 6, 2008. The farmer couldn't believe his peeled eyes when he discovered he had grown a massive potato weighing 11.3 kilos (24.9 pounds), he said today, adding that he now hopes to enter the Guinness World Records book.

AFP/Getty Images