Does anyone here realize the gov't of Belgium is no more?

[Stewie]

Anyone? Fortis? I didn't think so. It's not in the plan of the central banks and media to report on how widespread the problems have become. Belgium's gov't is done and now they're scrambling.

[oaklandhater]

no link...?

[Stewie]

Ha! A link! That's my point! This news should be EVERYWHERE!!!

For the lazy:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUKLK18248320081220

[StcChief]

are they still making Beer? good.

[Iowanian]

Thats what those rat bastards get for buying BUDWEISER>

[SNR]

Yer just speakin crazy talk

[StcChief]

Thats what those rat bastards get for buying BUDWEISER>did Belgium gov't float InBev the loan?

[Iowanian]

The same pricks that sent us Jean Claude Van Dam.....


He'd have been able to save the nation if he was in a leotard, dancing with Techno-Viking in the capitol.

[H5N1]

the guvment of belgium is no more! it has ceased to be!

[splatbass]

are they still making Beer? good.

As long as they still make Hoegaarden I'm good.

[Adept Havelock]

the guvment of belgium is no more! it has ceased to be!

Has it rung down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible?

[H5N1]

Has it rung down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible?

you're a loony.

[Calcountry]

The King is dead, long live the King.

How did the government collapse?

[Adept Havelock]

you're a loony.

I am not a looney! Why should I be tied with the epithet looney merely because I have a pet halibut? I've heard tell that Sir Gerald Nabardo has a pet prawn called Simon and you wouldn't call him a looney; furthermore, Dawn Pailthorpe, the lady show-jumper, had a clam, called Stafford, after the late Chancellor, Allan Bullock has two pikes, both called Chris, and Marcel Proust had an 'addock! So, if you're calling the author of 'A la Recherche Du Temps Perdu' a looney, I shall have to ask you to step outside!




Oh, s**t. How did I wander into the wrong sketch? :p

[BucEyedPea]

are they still making Beer? good.

Choc-o-lat!! The world's best!

[H5N1]

I am not a looney! Why should I be tied with the epithet looney merely because I have a pet halibut? I've heard tell that Sir Gerald Nabardo has a pet prawn called Simon and you wouldn't call him a looney; furthermore, Dawn Pailthorpe, the lady show-jumper, had a clam, called Stafford, after the late Chancellor, Allan Bullock has two pikes, both called Chris, and Marcel Proust had an 'addock! So, if you're calling the author of 'A la Recherche Du Temps Perdu' a looney, I shall have to ask you to step outside!




Oh, s**t. How did I wander into the wrong sketch? :p

ROFL

what, where you expecting the spanish inquisition?


http://luciferknight.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/spanish_inquisition.jpg

...NOBODY expects us!

[Adept Havelock]

ROFL

what, where you expecting the spanish inquisition?


http://luciferknight.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/spanish_inquisition.jpg

...NOBODY expects us!



Of course not. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is surprise...Surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency.... Our three weapons are fear, and surprise, and ruthless efficiency...and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.... Our four...no...

[whoman69]

With the lousy beer there, I'm not surprised. Please, nobody drink Jupiler or Maes Pils.

[patteeu]

I guess I'm having a hard time getting shocked over the failure of a European multi-party coalition government. If there's a silver lining to the fact that we often seem to have limited choices in our two party system, it's that our governments don't fall apart when the going gets tough.

[ClevelandBronco]

Fortis was my (self paid) health insurer in 2007.

They got their premiums. I got my protection.

Game over.

[ClevelandBronco]

I guess I'm having a hard time getting shocked over the failure of a European multi-party coalition government. If there's a silver lining to the fact that we often seem to have limited choices in our two party system, it's that our governments don't fall apart when the going gets tough.

Exactly. We form our coalitions in our system before we try to elect a government. We know what we are (or aren't) getting as soon as the election is over.

It seems to me that European-style systems are more of a crap shoot.

To hell with trying to form coalitions after an election.

This is one of the main reasons I really like a two-party system. I know who and what I'm voting for on election day.

[Extra Point]

On the Fortis issue, the insurance paradigm only works in a growing stock market. If you're not making real goods, then you're not making real money.

On top of all this, is that Flemish is the new Latin. French, Flemish, Dutch, and English are the languages spoken in that country. Communication breakdown.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sibeGJDOYRQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sibeGJDOYRQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[jAZ]

It's much less interesting when you read the article to find out that "no more" doesn't mean that the nation is broke as a result of the collapse, but that there is no political consensus there. Oh, and that this is the 2nd time it's happened in the last few years.

I guess those parliments are strange things.

[Amnorix]

Anyone? Fortis? I didn't think so. It's not in the plan of the central banks and media to report on how widespread the problems have become. Belgium's gov't is done and now they're scrambling.

You need to spend just a wee bit of time studying parliamentary democracies before understanding that this isn't exactly like anarchy taking over.

[whoman69]

On the Fortis issue, the insurance paradigm only works in a growing stock market. If you're not making real goods, then you're not making real money.

On top of all this, is that Flemish is the new Latin. French, Flemish, Dutch, and English are the languages spoken in that country. Communication breakdown.



Let's not forget parts also speak German. Within Brussels alone 4 different languages are spoken.

[StcChief]

It's much less interesting when you read the article to find out that "no more" doesn't mean that the nation is broke as a result of the collapse, but that there is no political consensus there. Oh, and that this is the 2nd time it's happened in the last few years.

I guess those parliments are strange things.the way a democracy should work. Build your base based on issues needing a vote.

[jAZ]

Anyone? Fortis? I didn't think so. It's not in the plan of the central banks and media to report on how widespread the problems have become. Belgium's gov't is done and now they're scrambling.

By the way, did you know that the same thing was happening in Canada?

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/12/04/harper-jean.html

GG agrees to suspend Parliament until January
Decision gives Tories reprieve, thwarts imminent attempt to topple government
Last Updated: Thursday, December 4, 2008 | 2:55 PM ET

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean has granted a request from Prime Minister Stephen Harper to suspend Parliament until late next month, a move that avoids a confidence vote set for Monday that could have toppled his minority government.

"Following my advice, the Governor General has agreed to prorogue Parliament," Harper said outside Rideau Hall after a 2½-hour meeting with Jean.

Harper would not reveal the content of the discussion, citing constitutional traditions, but he said the first order of business when Parliament resumes on Jan. 26 will be the presentation of the federal budget, to be delivered the following day.

"The economy is the priority now, and the public is very frustrated with the situation in Parliament. We're all responsible for that," Harper said in French.

Monday's no-confidence vote could have precipitated the rise of a proposed Liberal-NDP coalition, supported by the Bloc Québécois, or could have resulted in another election, depending on the Governor General's response.

The decision to suspend Parliament — made after Jean cut short a two-week trip to Europe — only gives the ruling Conservatives a reprieve until Parliament resumes in about two months. At that point, the Tory government could be brought down when it tables the budget, which would be a confidence vote, as all money bills are.

In the interim, the Tories will continue to wage a public relations blitz against the Liberal-NDP coalition. But the opposition parties showed no sign of easing talks of a coalition and planned to continue waging their own campaigns to gain public support.

[Admiral Crunch]

This is standard Parliamentary procedure, nothing to see here.

[banyon]

I guess I'm having a hard time getting shocked over the failure of a European multi-party coalition government. If there's a silver lining to the fact that we often seem to have limited choices in our two party system, it's that our governments don't fall apart when the going gets tough.

Yeah, it's been anarchy in Britain ever since the 1706 Treaty of Union.

[patteeu]

Yeah, it's been anarchy in Britain ever since the 1706 Treaty of Union.

You've got the wrong guy here if you think I said anything about anarchy. Besides, for all practical purposes, British politics seem to be dominated by two parties. I don't know enough about their political system to know why that's the case but it seems to be. Have they had very many governments cobbled together by tenuous coalitions?

[Duck Dog]

The waffle industry is fucked.

[Stewie]

You need to spend just a wee bit of time studying parliamentary democracies before understanding that this isn't exactly like anarchy taking over.

Thanks for the info. I knew you were smart... really.

My point was that this government was tied to OTC derivatives. Fortis was counterparty to lots of derivatives, hence, they lose. Gov't people, parliamentary or otherwise, are but pawns in the world of Ponzi schemes. They're so lost and confused they don't know what they're governing any longer... or who to turn to when they need money under the table.