Belgium government collapses, King holds talks

[kir]

Belgium government collapses, King holds talks

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Belgium's government collapsed Tuesday, unable to resolve an enduring divide over more self-rule for the country's Dutch and French-speakers. The gap was so wide the premier suggested the end of Belgium as a country was looming.

Additional Sources:
Belgium's future in the balance as premier quits
Belgium in crisis again as prime minister offers to quit
Belgium returns to disarray as Leterme quits

[Zultra]

I think you duped a bit.

[raptor]

Oh my God...they should think of the sprouts...

Seriously the government collapse while certainly not good is not quite what it sounds like. More than likely there will be a new election as opposed to anarchy in the streets of Brussels.

[Boondock]

That is really strange. Not a reason to panic, at least on our side of the Atlantic, but worthy of an eyebrow raise.

[RickOShea]

I notice that it's been almost four years now.....They got that sh*t straightened-out yet?

[Blacksmith]

I am expecting the starving "goldening horde" to sweep out of the cities and devour everything in their path. No one should go unarmed anywhere in that part of the country. New Flemish Alliance supporters will likely begin a campaign of violence targeting the dairy cattle industry (specifically cheese cows) as well as Belgian Cowboys and extra-national wooden shoe vendors.

I predict a brutal strong man leader will emerge out of the chaos as is common in that part of the world. He will put down the insurgency and rapidly militarize the country while calling for a "unified Europe", unified under a Belgian Flag that is. The most likely candidate for a targeted invasion will be the FRG as revenge for the multiple historical invasions they have suffered at German hands. If the Germans are unable to stop them, they move on to Eastern Europe, as far as the Western Slavic States. This should happen by the end of the summer.

Currently the DoS has Belgium listed as "no travel restrictions" but they have no updated their website on the country in several months. This lack of situational awareness is typical, similar to the lack of analysis from prior to the Iraq invasion of Kuwait.

Remember you heard it hear first on ZS. Second only to Wikileaks.

[TacAir]

So, are they all French now?

[derf26]

Having lived in Belgium, I can assure you this is largely irrelevant. There's the government, and there's the State. The State, with all of its bureaucratic apparatus, has successfully functioned without a government before - for 541 days at that. I think all this means is that the legislature won't be passing an enormous amount of new laws.

The unemployed will continue to get their benefits, the workers will continue to get taxed at 70%, and the country will continue to slowly decline as anyone with half a brain who still works there tries to get the hell out, while the lazy unemployed people immigrate there to take advantage of the welfare state.

In the end though, Belgium is an important part of the EU, and as long as the EU exists, I don't see Belgium going anywhere.

[Tetra Grammaton Cleric]

They're still making guns though right?

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[Mister Dark]

They're still making guns though right?

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Yep. At their factory in South Carolina.

[Tetra Grammaton Cleric]

They're still making guns though right?

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Yep. At their factory in South Carolina.

They moved Liège to South Carolina?

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[greenbeetle]

They're still making guns though right?

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Forget guns is the chocolate ok?

[Blacksmith]

They're still making guns though right?

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Yep. At their factory in South Carolina.

They moved Liège to South Carolina?

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May as well have.

[none1]

1) by kir » Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:30 am
2) by Zultra » Tue Jun 05, 2012 2:15 pm

So, does Zultra get extra brownie points for the 4 year old necro, or was there spam in between, deleted now, that I missed?

[Blacksmith]

1) by kir » Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:30 am
2) by Zultra » Tue Jun 05, 2012 2:15 pm

So, does Zultra get extra brownie points for the 4 year old necro, or was there spam in between, deleted now, that I missed?

Your implication that it was not important then, is not important now, was a never a disaster, involved the heinous use of the word Belgium, was necroed by a fairly clueless noob showing a stunning lack of insight are all noted.

[RickOShea]

So, does Zultra get extra brownie points for the 4 year old necro,

No, just a ZS wasp cookie:

[KentsOkay]

They're still making guns though right?

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Forget guns is the chocolate ok?

And the waffles!

[Zultra]

1) by kir » Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:30 am
2) by Zultra » Tue Jun 05, 2012 2:15 pm

So, does Zultra get extra brownie points for the 4 year old necro, or was there spam in between, deleted now, that I missed?

Your implication that it was not important then, is not important now, was a never a disaster, involved the heinous use of the word Belgium, was necroed by a fairly clueless noob showing a stunning lack of insight are all noted.

If you look at the last page of this section of the forum you will see the author duped a load of threads that are identical, it annoyed me, yes I am sad enough to dig 50 pages into the forum.

[Kutter_0311]

...involved the heinous use of the word Belgium...

My first thaught was, "Oh, Belgium, man! What about the FAL's!"

Still my favorite curse word, though...