Belgian Big Bang???

[RetroRuss]

I find it rather amusing that I have to read about Belgium's problems on a Disco Music forum! In the UK (when in two weeks we will be 90 minutes by train from the Belgium capital), the story doesn't even make the BBC News website!
I imagine our Government have a 'D' notice (complete censorship) on this issue as they are sh*t scared that if we see discord in another EU country then the mutterings for withdrawal from it will become a cacaphony!!

[dfc99bb]

I find it rather amusing that I have to read about Belgium's problems on a Disco Music forum! In the UK (when in two weeks we will be 90 minutes by train from the Belgium capital), the story doesn't even make the BBC News website!

Same lack of coverage here in the US. Nothing or next to nothing about Belgium on Fox News, CNN or the broadcast networks. The cable and brodcast networks tend to cover events in the UK, Ireland, France and Germany on a regular basis. Forget about Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, etc. Only 2 items in the NYC newspapers about Belgium over the past few months.

It's not a big story here perhaps because it's expected to be settled in a peaceful fashion. Plus there is no large Belgian ethnic community in America. If Italy were to break up north/south it would get more coverage here, maybe.

[Videoskooter]

I imagine our Government have a 'D' notice (complete censorship) on this issue as they are sh*t scared that if we see discord in another EU country then the mutterings for withdrawal from it will become a cacaphony!!

The whole EU is scared for Belgian's worst case scenario. What will the other regions do? Scotland? The Basks? Nato and the EU headquarters are in Brussels! What will happen to Brussels? Will Flanders claim a part of that region. How will the national deficit be taken care of. Will Brussels and Wallonia continue together under the Belgian flag?

Some say, that in that case all the debts are for them! Will Wallonia go bankrupt? Will Flanders be accepted as a new member of the EU (because as a new state they are NOT a member of the EU, nor Nato (the American nukes are based in Flanders), nor the United Nations, nor the Eurozone (currency), nor the Shengenzone (bordercontrol and customs).

Same lack of coverage here in the US. Nothing or next to nothing about Belgium on Fox News, CNN or the broadcast networks. The cable and brodcast networks tend to cover events in the UK, Ireland, France and Germany on a regular basis. Forget about Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, etc. Only 2 items in the NYC newspapers about Belgium over the past few months.

It's not a big story here perhaps because it's expected to be settled in a peaceful fashion. Plus there is no large Belgian ethnic community in America. If Italy were to break up north/south it would get more coverage here, maybe.

Well, New York is discovered by Belgians who quickly sold it to the Dutch. F.i., Hoboken is named after a Belgian city near Antwerp! Belgians are more to be found in Africa, in are former colonies, Cogo, Rwanda, Burundi.

And we gave you Jean-Claude Vandamme, Audrey Hepburn and Toots Thielemans, the Belgo restaurants, the Beaulieu carpets, Celis White Beer, Belgian fries, Belgian pralines, Belgian waffles, Soeur Sourire, the chief designers for Pininfarina, Bentley, Lamborghini...and...the Videoskooter in 2009, so you don't have to complain :icon_lol:

Famous Belgians

[dfc99bb]

Well, New York is discovered by Belgians who quickly sold it to the Dutch. F.i., Hoboken is named after a Belgian city near Antwerp! Belgians are more to be found in Africa, in are former colonies, Cogo, Rwanda, Burundi.

What!! The Dutch first settled New Amsterdam!! Who was the Belgian that first settled New York? I live on Staten Island, where you still have neiighborhoods and streets with Dutch names: New Dorp, Kill Van Kull, Arthur Kill Road, Great Kills, etc.

Nato HQ goes to the UK, EU HQ goes to France. The US can move it's nukes out very quickly if need be.

[Videoskooter]

READ...LEARN and BE SURPRISED!

No Belgians in the US, hmmmmmm: :icon_eek:

New York and its origins

The Dutch never tell you that story, do they????? Grrrrrr!

[RetroRuss]

Ah but it was us British who discovered New York! and it was eventually named after one of our cities!!

Henri Hudson
In 1609, an English sailor named Henri Hudson discovered a great bay with a big river flowing into it from the mountains, at a latitude of forty-one degrees north and a longitude of seventy-four degrees west.
Hudson had been entrusted by the Flemings Emmanuel Van Meteren, Judocus Hondius and Petrus Plancius to discover a new passage to the land of Tartars and to China, on behalf of the East-Indies Company.
While he was exploring the coasts of America on his ship, luck would have him discover, 85 years after Verrazzano, the territory of the future New York, together with the river who was going to be called after him.

[dfc99bb]

Ah but it was us British who discovered New York! and it was eventually named after one of our cities!!

That's right. We joke here on Staten Island that a lot of our traffic problems are due to the fact that we still have pretty much the same road network that the Dutch and British left us over 200 years ago.

[Videoskooter]

Ah but it was us British who discovered New York! and it was eventually named after one of our cities!!

No, not exactly :icon_mrgreen: Read your own quote my dear Russ and discover that it was this man who really went their first:

Discoverers Web: Verrazzano

An Italian :icon_twisted:

But the whole point is: Belgians are always neglected somehow but maybe we are (too) modest and do not brag about everything like the Dutch always do :icon_eek:

sssssshoooooo sssshorrrry!



And now back on topic: Flanders a part of Holland???

NEVAH EVAH!!! We kicked 'em out in 1830 and we are perfectly happy without 'em :icon_lol::icon_mrgreen:

[Videoskooter]

OK, I know I've let the board down on this because you are ALL desperately waiting for an update of this thread! :icon_eek::icon_mrgreen:

Well, it's getting worse every day now. Still no government after 155 days because...

The Flemish are not on speaking terms with the Walloons and wait for a goodwill gesture by the Walloons who won't speak with the Flemish because they wait for a goodwill gesture by the Flemish and both are ordered by the King to negotiate but still they won't speak to each other because both are still waiting for a goodwill gesture from the other party and now hate sites are being created that are not really helpful because if it goes on like this we will have a real big bang or civil war and in reality everybody's fed up with everybody here and I'm going to eat a pizza quattro stagioni!

Belgian crisis deepens after collapse of coalition talks - International Herald Tribune

The Walloons angry leaving after the Flemish voted on a part of the state reform:

[dfc99bb]

No, not exactly :icon_mrgreen: Read your own quote my dear Russ and discover that it was this man who really went their first:

Discoverers Web: Verrazzano

An Italian :icon_twisted:

TRUE! The bridge linking Brooklyn to Staten Island is the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, named after Verrazzano.

Now back to Belgium. When you say a civil war is possible, do you mean an actual shooting war like the US Civil War, or a bullshit all-talk European-style civil war??

[Videoskooter]

Now back to Belgium. When you say a civil war is possible, do you mean an actual shooting war like the US Civil War, or a bullshit all-talk European-style civil war??

First things first: it was 1 DELICIOUS PIZZA! MMMHHH!

Well, uptil 2day Belgians are joking about a civil war, but...too bad I can't post the famous Anti-Flemish hate site here, made by radical Walloons because it's in French (yeah, of course).

There are 6 million Flemish against 4 million Walloons. Don't forget that 1 million Flemish voted for the right-extremist Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest). If those radicals (and believe me, they are heating up) will start retaliating to the provocations of some Walloon radicals we could have trouble and nobody knows where that will be taking us.

A shoot out? Probably and hopefully not, but it's time that some people come to their senses, if not, things can and will get out of hand.

Let's face it: if the Flemish Christian-Democrats and Liberal party (who won the election) will make a compromise/deal with the Walloon parties, next elections in 2009 (regional election) will be won by the radical extremists and they WILL declare Flemish independence!

I'll keep you posted :icon_biggrin:

[Videoskooter]

And we all go down together!

Telex....still no government....last ultimatum expires Saturday 01/12/2007-9 AM Belgian time....if the Walloons say no the very last offer then....MAJOR CRISIS!

What a CHARADE :icon_evil:

[dfc99bb]

So if Dec. 1, 2007 passes without the issues being resolved, then what? When I wake up tomorrow morning Belgium could be in chaos? Will Belgian Waffles be removed from the menu at my local diner? (And what does that fake movie poster translate to?)

[Videoskooter]

So if Dec. 1, 2007 passes without the issues being resolved, then what? When I wake up tomorrow morning Belgium could be in chaos?

Yes, then we have a constitutional crisis and we have to form an emergency government.

Will Belgian Waffles be removed from the menu at my local diner?

They will become very valuable-nostalgic food! Just like the Atlantis Burger!

(And what does that fake movie poster translate to?)

That's appearing everywhere right now. It mentions all the names of the party chairmen that are currently trying to govern and signifies the last days of King Albert II.

[dfc99bb]

I read in the Brussels Journal that talks have collapsed. Nothing yet on the cable news networks here, but I expect that this story will now get more coverage on US TV.

Story here: Brussels: Coalition Talks Collapse

[Videoskooter]

Indeed, we are in the biggest crisis ever. At this stage we can not form a federal government anymore. Flemish and Walloons have a completely different agenda and we need a sort of miracle to get the two ethnical groups on the same (Belgian) road again.

What now? Nobody knows! Every formula for creating a government has its boobytraps. New elections (with probably the same outcome)? Towards a confederation like Switzerland is a possibility. Or maybe, the implosion of Belgium will be happening very soon, in a few weeks or the second half of 2008).

I repeat, nobody knows how to handle the situation at the moment.

One nation under a groove? :icon_redface:

The man (our man), Christian-Democrat Yves Leterme, who has tried to form a government over the last 180 days but failed today:

[Nano]

And now the Belgian bigbang virus is contagious! See Bolivia:

Four Bolivian regions declare autonomy from government - CNN.com

Some people here expressed doubts about Fox News' credibility, so I chose a respectable source: CNN :icon_mrgreen:

[Videoskooter]

Peeps, look what we got as Christmas present: a real federal government! Thank you Santa!

(This inbetween-government under former prime minister Guy Verhofstadt will stay on til' Eastern and then the real government with a new prime minister, mr. Yves Leterme, will be installed (if everything works out as planned of course!)

[Videoskooter]

Hi Tension Time again 2day (8th of May 2008)!

After 50 days of governing the battle is in full force again! At noon the Flemish will use their majority to vote against the Walloons on a very sensitive topic: the split of an electoral area around Brussels (sorry, even I can not explain that to non-Belgians).

3 possibilities:

- the vote will be avoided at the last minute
- the vote is on and that could mean the end of the current government and the start of a very deep institutional crisis.
- the government stays in power but with the next deadline on July 15th when the Flemish absolutely want their state reform.

U can't follow this anymore? Neither do we, ze Belgians :icon_mrgreen:

[Videoskooter]

OMG, we're getting press coverage in the US of A :icon_eek:

Belgium News - Breaking World Belgium News - The New York Times

Belgium teeters on a linguistic edge - International Herald Tribune

[Videoskooter]

I know that the whole board is following the Belgian events very closely with da fingers crossed but I don't have very good news:

Belgium's pitiful politics | Economist.com

Belgium’s government | Leterme’s limits | Economist.com

Maybe this site will help, where they ask the Belgian women to show their boobs and save the country (yes, seriously!)

BOOBS FOR BELGIUM

If not, we'll have to start rehearsing this:

[Bernie]

So, it's always the French causing the trouble :icon_evil:

From reading the article it seems as if Belgium's King will probably ask Leterme to stay on and work things out, which seems like a wise thing to do.

I just don't understand how the dual (triple-if you add German) language and identity thing stood so long and can work. It's doomed to failure I feel. Albeit more serious, Belgium's scenario is almost like Canada's French/English language snafu I guess, but I'm sure Graham can chime in on that.

Let's hope your countrymen can compromise and work it all out.

[Videoskooter]

King Albert has installed a council consisting of 3 elderly statesmen who have to find out if there's still a chance for a compromise. They have to report by 31st of July. Meanwhile Leterme stays on with limited powers.

The aim is to come to a confederation of 2 states, Flanders and Wallonia with two districts, Brussels and the East-Cantons (German-speaking).

If that is possible Belgium still exists and will be politically organised like Germany and Switzerland. A federal government with limited power (Defense,...?) and the the regional governments with full power.

If that is not possible the Walloons will unite with Brussels and will form Wallobrux. The name sucks and the idea also bums!?

But, to be honest, things are getting worse every day now and nobody knows a decent solution. There could be new elections but they would be illegal as there's not a legal solution for the mixed district of B(russels)-H(alle)-V(ilvoorde). That district is on Flemish territory but has a lot of French-speaking habitants.

New elections could also spark a major boost for the Flemish nationalist parties Vlaams Belang (Flemish interest, right extremist), NVA (New Flemish Alliance, rightwing) and Lijst Dedecker (List Dedecker, ultra-liberal which in our country means very rightwing).

The Walloons are now accusing the Flemish of being fascists with no respect for the minority of French-speaking population and they are campaigning that way worldwide. The truth however is that since the birth of Belgium in 1830 the majority of the population is Flemish and was bashed all those years by the French speaking part who think that their language and culture is superior.

BTW, Belgium has almost 11 million inhabitants and we have 60(!) Ministers (secretary of state).

So it's the choice between:



or



And let me out myself: Ik kies voor, Je vote pour, Ich wähle für, I vote for >

[Bernie]

Johan,

I enjoyed that last video. Belgium looks beautiful... old and new architecture, history, tourism... Seriously, it looks like a great place to be. My lady and I need to fly over there before it's too late. Save a spot in the bumper cars for us.