It's part of an old joke (crops up in Yes Minister, may go back further): in Germany, everything is prohibited except that which is allowed; in the UK, everyth

It's part of an old joke (crops up in Yes Minister, may go back further): in Germany, everything is prohibited except that which is allowed; in the UK, everything is allowed except that which is prohibited; in Russia, everything is prohibited including that which is allowed, while in Italy everything is allowed especially that which is prohibited.