[Nickel]

Canada's government hasn't been doing too good here recently either.

Au contraire. Belgium's having trouble putting just one government together... we've got two lined up and ready to go.

[dohboi]

You're right cube. Government is now in the business of taking all of our money and giving it to corrupt billionaires.

[Tyler_JC]

Belgium still has police, fire protection, etc. They just don't have a functioning Parliament and Prime Minister.

Parliamentary governments "collapse" all the time. If the Prime Minister is unable to maintain majority support in Parliament, he is forced to resign and the government is said to have collapsed.

But it doesn't mean that essential government services are suddenly shut off or that zombie hordes are rampaging the countryside.

The term "Collapse" is misleading in this instance. It conjures up images of the fall of Rome rather than just the fall of an unsuccessful politician.

The equivalent effect in US terms was 2006 when the Republican government "collapsed" and fell to Democratic control. (The Congress switched parties)

[dohboi]

Well, maybe more like in the '90s when the Rep's shut down government since they couldn't get their way. But clearly, lots of economies and governments are under enormous pressure.

[reuterrooter]

One after another, each government will collapse, until, we will call for, a NEW WORLD ORDER. Ever hear that terminology before?

[Cid_Yama]

<i>Not to mention Belgian beer</i>

Don't forget feather bowling. Nothing I like better than Belgian Beer, a bucket of steamed mussels and a night of feather bowling.

[smallpoxgirl]

In case anyone else was wondering: "Feather Bowling is a game played with wooden balls shaped like wheels of cheese. The balls are rolled down a dirt or synthetic alley towards a feather sticking out of the dirt at the other end. The object of the game is to get the ball as close to the feather as possible." wikipedia

[ReverseEngineer]

<i>Not to mention Belgian beer</i>
Don't forget feather bowling. Nothing I like better than Belgian Beer, a bucket of steamed mussels and a night of feather bowling.

What about Eco-Villages? Do they have any of those cool Permaculture Tree Hugging Towns in Belgium? How do those places work when the Goobermint Collapses anyhow?

Reverse Engineer

[Cid_Yama]

feather bowling video

http://media.freep.com/drivingdetroit/a ... eather.swf

[sameu]

don't forget the diamonds (or what's left of it)
and chocolates

anyway, it's one hell of a political mess around here

[InToWishin]

Waffles, beer, puppies, diamonds, chocolate, bowling for feathers!

Please don't collapse, Belgium, we need you!

[MrBean]

What about Eco-Villages? Do they have any of those cool Permaculture Tree Hugging Towns in Belgium? How do those places work when the Goobermint Collapses anyhow?

Found only one, in the making: Ecovillage

[Golgo13]

Belgium doesn't exist, so it serves them right.

OH YEAH??? Then where to Belgian waffles come from, huh? Thought you were so smart.

Where do the waffles come from?

"Belgian Waffles," fabled for being superior to normal waffles, were actually created in New York in 1964 during the World's Fair. Then called "Bel-Gem" waffles, they were sold inside the four-acre Belgium Village, a "recreation" of a 19th century Belgium village. Actually, this was the first time in history that a Belgian village had ever been physically constructed.

[InToWishin]

Belgium doesn't exist, so it serves them right.

OH YEAH??? Then where to Belgian waffles come from, huh? Thought you were so smart.

Where do the waffles come from?

"Belgian Waffles," fabled for being superior to normal waffles, were actually created in New York in 1964 during the World's Fair. Then called "Bel-Gem" waffles, they were sold inside the four-acre Belgium Village, a "recreation" of a 19th century Belgium village. Actually, this was the first time in history that a Belgian village had ever been physically constructed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke

[Southpaw]

I'm from Belgium and I have this feeling that my country will go bankrupt soon. The reasons why I believe that are:
1: our debt is almost 100% of our GDP.

2: the two biggest banks FORTIS and DEXIA are technically broke.
Fortis is now almost part of PNB PARIBAS. and DEXIA gets life support from the french luxembourg and belgian goverments.

3. Our country is divided in 3 parts. Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. Wallonia and Brussels have a really bad economy the unemployment rate is 19% and in some parts like Charleroi it's even 25%. And I see no reason they will ever get in better shape.
Flanders is the only part wich has an okay economy only 8.7% unemployment. But Flanders has to support the other half of our country and i doubt that they kan keep that up.

4. The difference between the Dutch speaking north and French speaking south is huge. They never agree with anything, that's why our goverment has to resign every 3 or 4 months lol.

5. Our major exports are cars and Chrysler, Ford, GM, are all shutting down for 4 weeks, and they probably will close for a longer time if the economy gets worse.

6. All the babyboomers in our country are retiring.

I personally believe If Belgium goes broke and we are entering a Depression then Belgium will fall apart. Flanders can't take the burden of Wallonia on it's own we are to small to keep them on life support. Anyone else who has an opinion about the economic situation in Belgium?
Sorry for the spelling mistakes I tried my best not to make too many lol.

Merged with THE Belgium Thread. -FL

[jdmartin]

Maybe they can split along linguistic lines and be absorbed by France & Holland?

[Maddog78]

Yeah, it's too bad. We have linguistic and regional issues in Canada too as I'm sure you are aware.
Maybe splitting up is the answer.

I visited Gent back in 2000. I had a great time and enjoyed meeting the people and drinking the beer.

[Daniel_Plainview]

I'm from Belgium and I have this feeling that my country will go bankrupt soon. The reasons why I believe that are:
1: our debt is almost 100% of our GDP.
2: the two biggest banks FORTIS and DEXIA are technically broke.
Fortis is now almost part of PNB PARIBAS. and DEXIA gets life support from the french luxembourg and belgian goverments.
3. Our country is divided in 3 parts. Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. Wallonia and Brussels have a really bad economy the unemployment rate is 19% and in some parts like Charleroi it's even 25%. And I see no reason they will ever get in better shape.
Flanders is the only part wich has an okay economy only 8.7% unemployment. But Flanders has to support the other half of our country and i doubt that they kan keep that up.
4. The difference between the Dutch speaking north and French speaking south is huge. They never agree with anything, that's why our goverment has to resign every 3 or 4 months lol.
5. Our major exports are cars and Chrysler, Ford, GM, are all shutting down for 4 weeks, and they probably will close for a longer time if the economy gets worse.
6. All the babyboomers in our country are retiring.

I personally believe If Belgium goes broke and we are entering a Depression then Belgium will fall apart. Flanders can't take the burden of Wallonia on it's own we are to small to keep them on life support. Anyone else who has an opinion about the economic situation in Belgium?
Sorry for the spelling mistakes I tried my best not to make too many lol.

The larger question is whether the euro can survive the breakdown of such debt-ridden nations as Belgium, Ireland, Spain, and Greece.

[retiredguy]

Mmmmm. Belgian lambic. Mmmm.

[Southpaw]

Yeah, it's too bad.We have linguistic and regional issues in Canada too as I'm sure you are aware.
Maybe splitting up is the answer.
I visited Gent back in 2000. I had a great time and enjoyed meeting the people and drinking the beer.

Yeah my french teacher talked about it.
we saw a documentation about canada's english and french speaking parts. But you guys have a lot of a autonomy between each other i think?

anyways it's not possible to create a country where people don't understand each other.

The only reason that keeps us together Is Brussels and they also are afraid that if Belgium Splits that the rest of Europe will follow.