[my shot: taken Sept 28, Antwerp Cathedral]
This female street artist evokes a famous painting (the resemblance is really striking), in front of the Antwerp Cathedral.
There were no camera crews, no fake speeches about “peace”, “freedom” or other rhetoric. There was only solemn silence.
If you know the name of the painting, feel free to comment
Holland was “not amused” today after ‘WebWorld’, the Dutch part of the IDG group (http://www.webwereld.nl/articles/43054/amerika-oefende-druk-uit-op-neelie-kroes.html) and the Dutch Financial Daily http://www.fd.nl/ reported that the US embassy has been pressuring Nelie Kroes, the EU commissioner, on behalf of… Microsoft.
The American embassy allegedly asked the Dutch European Union commissioner personally to (quote) “be nicer for Microsoft”. EU Competition commissioner Nelie Kroes was outraged and called this US Embassy action on behalf of Microsoft “not done”. Kroes ignored the US government pressure: MSFT was hit by a 280 million Euro fine by the EU regulator in July 2006. In a letter to the Financial Times Kroes denounced recently what she called “the recent coordinated attacks” from Microsoft (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/dcfd40a4-477b-11db-83df-0000779e2340.html), apparently with some rather amazing “please be nicer”-help from the local US embassy. But then, that’s the way the world turns 
Last weekend I spent a great time at a tiny, almost unknown diving spot in the forests of Southern Belgium: Villers-Deux-Eglises, a 50 inhabitant ‘forgotten village’, hidden in the middle of nowhere, featuring one single unique attraction: an abandoned marble quarry, now turned into a unique diving spot: http://www.carrierevillers.be/
[shots taken Sep 24: left: having fun with a wetsuit and a doll 
- enjoying a perfect steak, in the middle of nowhere]
While I just enjoyed the gourmet food and preferred to forgo the rather cold water, it is obvious that diving in Belgium has its
limitations: the English Channel is only suitable for very experienced divers, the former marble quarries and rivers/lakes are chilly-to-freezing cold during 8 months a year. When snow covers Belgium, diving outdoors is for the ‘really brave’
Fortunately, there is always Egypt: a +4 hour flight from Belgium drops you right in front of the most impressive coral reefs on this planet. Egypt’s Red Sea is a perfect diving spot, lined with 5* hotels.
A perfect country for diving, until increased security measures turned flying with diving gear into a nightmare. Long lists of “forbidden items” (like the batteries in one’s diving lamp), weight-limits, endless security checks, serious problems checking in needed diving gear: a diving vacation to Egypt has become a most annoying obstacle race.
I’m leaving for Egypt in October, but I have yet to decide to rent locally (expensive) or go through the trouble of “flying with diving gear”. Anyway, flying after 9/11 is no longer fun, and rest assured, it will not change in the foreseeable future. UPDATE 28 Sept. : from Nov 2006 EU outbound flights will have new restrictive carry-on luggage limitations (weight, size, content) to all destinations…
[right: the ancient quarry in English around 1930, courtesy Carriere de Villers, Southern Belgium]
Imagine an innocent walk in the park while you’re enjoying (like I am overhere in Belgium) a superb Indian summer, with an unusual 26°C (80°F) and not a cloud in the sky. On your way to the local university you suddenly notice a strange bird in between the leaves..
Upon closer inspection you realise you’re looking at a multitude of full-sized security cams, the ones usually found at your local bank. You can’t quite figure out what on earth is happening here, but then you bump into several huge, high-tech emergency units from Code Blue (US), the ones some cities use in underground train stations, high-crime urban areas or some large, remote parking lots.
A red panic button, a cam, an flashing alarm, a direct emergency operator voice-link: the works, anything you can imagine in crime alerting. But hey, reality check: you’re walking in the peaceful, almost 100% crime-free Arenberg University park… (leuven, Belgium, 30 km East of Brussels), so this surely must be some sort of sick joke?
It’s not a joke, it’s real.
Is there a crime wave threatening this cozy Belgian university park? Is there a serial killer on the lose? A rapist in search of virgins? Not at all. This university actually believes that a couple of cams and silly, extremely expensive high-tech SOS units at the entry will convince students that they care about their security, while ignoring 99% of the park, which even lacks basic lighting.
My shots:excessive security, Arenberg Park,Sept 23: 
Creating a fake sense of security, it has become a booming business worldwide. If you happen to know equivalent examples of security gone haywire, feel free to comment.
[Left: Arenberg university park, Leuven, Belgium]
You must have noticed by now: 2006 is an election year in several countries (Nov7: USA, Oct 5: Belgium, local elections). Belgium is strikingly different though: we do not enjoy the “right to cast our vote”, we are under the legal obligation to do so.
That’s correct: while many governments world-wide are elected by a minority of the population, every Belgian over 18 has the civic duty to cast his/her vote. Non-compliance means breaking the law and is punished by a fine. If you ignore the “duty to vote” for the 4th time, a judge can even take away part of your civil liberties.
I know it must sound weird, but mandatory voting is the best way to ensure a real democratic government. In many countries, the poor, the dissatisfied, the “I have an appointment with my hairdresser and I don’t care” part of the electorate is huge, making the head of state (eg George W Bush in the US) someone who has been elected by a minority.
Mandatory voting ensures that almost every Belgian citizen shows up on election day, with the liberty not to choose a candidate, although that figure is neglectable in Belgium: most people pick their party/candidate.
[image: I wonder what the USA would look like with some system of "mandatory voting" ]
After deleting yet another vile anti-gay comment from a reader (I wonder why they bother in the first place), I stumbled upon an amazing article in the Salt Lake City Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4136232 - a couple who both knew the bride-groom was gay, still decided to marry - not really pressured by their faith or the belief he would ever “turn straight”, but just because they loved one another.
It’s a special, sometimes heart-warming story
Quote:
“ “The special circumstances of same-sex attraction have made us extremely close,” Jason said in a phone interview. “Closer than I think either of us could have been in any other relationship.”
Jason has accepted his gayness and doesn’t care if it never goes away.
“My attractions are as potent as any normal male’s. I feel stirrings for other men with the frequency that men feel sexual stirrings, and let’s be honest, that’s a lot,” he says. “On the Kinsey scale, I’m as gay as they come.”
As Jason anticipated making love to his wife for the first time, the thought was repulsive. He had a gnawing anxiety that he wouldn’t be able to do it. But he was.
“I am surprised at how fulfilling my sex life is with my wife,” he says. “It definitely exceeded my expectations.”
In conversations online, Jason uses the name “Another Other” to symbolize his outsider status. He doesn’t belong to the straight world because of his attractions to men, but he’s not part of the gay community because of his marriage to a woman.
“I am accepted neither by the normal Joe nor by the group that shares my plight,” he says. “To one I am an anomaly, to the other I’m some sort of traitor to the cause.”
He started his blog, gaymormonandmarried.blogspot.com, so people could know there are options other than celibacy, a totally gay lifestyle or “marrying a girl to see if you can get better.”
–
To add a local, contrasting touch: in 2004, Serge Muyters, Antwerp’s openly gay chief of Police, married his male lover, another high-ranking gay police officer.
[left: Serge Muyters, gay-married and respected.]
Even this liquor brand tries to be “controversial” [shot taken: Namur, Belgium, Sep 16]
I’m sure you must have noticed: blogging has changed. Ever since the advent of MyTube & Co, there are more and more ’shock’ postings, filled with shots, pictures and video-feeds showing extreme sports, violence, well, basically anything that is gross, shocking or profoundly provocative. I know, most of the posts on this blog are not about my dog either, but I do try to create a balanced mix, posting both the mundane/boring and the more juicy bits.
With more and more blogs going only for the highest ratings, is ‘the art of blogging’ following the footsteps of commercial tv where anything goes, while sadly forgetting to post any worthwhile textual content?
The most valuable online commodity today is attention. The real question is what you do with it, once you get it…
On a personal note (yes, my mom reads, eh, ‘writes’ this blog) : I succeeded in getting my divers license, allowing me to dive in Egypt in October. I just returned from www.nemo33.com, the world’s deepest pool in Brussels, Belgium.
Nemo33, a 33m/100feet deep pool in Brussels, Belgium.
My instructor had a 10m waterproof disposable camera, some more personal shots soon (wait, I promised not to bother you with all the trivialities in my life, but for once, I may break my own rules 
)
While ETonline (www.etonline.com) calls “Death of a President”, an upcoming UK movie released in the US by Newmarket Films, showing the fictional assassination of US president George Bush by a Syrian sniper during an anti-war protest in 2007 “a movie that should not have been released in the US”, many Europeans feel that by depicting Bush as a victim of alleged terrorism the producers will inadvertently boost his fading popularity in the USA.
“If the president can be shot, we’re all potential victims, time to be scared” also seemed to be one of the less than subtle messages, at least, at first glance. But anyway, while the Bush administration has admittedly been lying to the nation, they have persistently been using fear as a very powerful weapon to make sure their agenda got passed through (”treat level yellow, orange, red, back to yellow” - anyone should get scared by this psychological homeland warfare).
Most Europeans feel that the US population has been treated like a Pavlov’s dog, brainwashed by the neocon networks such as Fox-tv, on “terror alert” while their constitutional liberties were eroded, one by one.
As such, “Death of a President” appears to be yet another reminder to be scared, a booster for the Bush admin who keeps on repeating the same message: “We’re at war, make sure to be scared”. But rest assured, the movie is much more complicated.
[Photo left: courtesy of Borough Films, right: well, you decide :-)]
“Death of a President” is due for release in October over here in Europe and was presented last weekend at the Toronto film festival. In the US it will be shown in theatres nationwide before the end of 2006.
Original VIDEO clip from “Death of a President” as shown on UK Channel 4: (Windows media format Watch a clip from Death of a President , courtesy UK Channel 4.
Related: Wikipedia article (Spoiler warning: movie plot and ending details): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_a_President
[image credit: unknown source]
The Bush administration did a pretty good job controlling mainstream US news sources - will your voice be the next to drown in their flood of lies? And if your voice is still being heard, will someone really care?
Whereas George W. Bush has admitted to ordering the US National Security Agency to conduct electronic surveillance of American civilians without seeking warrants, I and millions of other non-US bloggers are spied upon by the US Echelon network http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON
If Clinton almost got impeached for an insignificant affaire with an intern, isn’t it time to impeach Bush? And you know, it’s even easier than you thought it was: http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=622
In the meantime, let’s focus on the latest Paris Hilton gossip story, while thousands of US troops are dying in Irak.
Timeline: “Lie by Lie: Chronicle of a War Foretold”: http://www.motherjones.com/bush_war_timeline/
[note: at 03.59 UTC/GMT+2 (about 10pm Washington, Sept 12) someone at the US department of State read this item. He commented below.]
Last weekend my local gay dance club (”the biggest in Belgium”) re-opened its doors after extensive renovations.
Gay danceclub RedandBlue, Antwerp, almost my “neighbour”
Although my dating-and-dancing days are over (I’m not happily married, but “emotionally involved” :-)), I decided to pay them a visit, trying to behave like neighbours do. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a very, very wrong move.
The place looked great, but my god, what on earth happened to the 20-somethings that spend their nights dancing until they drop.. I know men are supposed to be hunters, but most hunters had some dignity left, way back when I frequented places like “red&blue”. The crowd at my friendly neighbourly gay disco was half-to-almost-completely-naked, extremely arrogant, showed signs of blatant narcissism, was completely fixed on status/looks/age and well, basically hunting for a fresh piece of meat. I know gay dance-clubs aimed at 20-somethings are not supposed to look like a kindergarten, but most clients behaved in a gross and provocative manner.
I left, wondering which part of the century I missed out on. Was I really expecting someone at RedandBlue to just talk to me, or did I just stumble upon a subculture I am no longer part of?
Maybe you can help me out
[all pictures: courtesy of www.redandblue.be - Antwerp, Belgium]
Madonna recently became the face for H&M, the Swedish retail clothing chain with 1900 stores in 22 countries. I’m not a customer, finding their clothing kind of bland, with little or no distinctive flavour or style.
I was slightly (very slightly) surprised watching a huge Madonna H&M billboard in a poor, rather run-down part in Antwerp-North. She’s famous, filthy-rich and has it all. Why degrade yourself on a 25m (75 feet) billboard in a run down part of town, somewhere in Europe?
BTW: don’t you love the fake English accent Madonna has been cultivating recently? Kind of sad and pathetic, for someone with an amazing musical legacy.
Madonna billboard, Antwerp, Sep 9, 2006
Next Monday, 9/11 2006, the USA will see a nation-wide remembrance of the 9/11 victims, when 2,973 innocent civilian lives were lost when the WTC collapsed [related: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_conspiracy_theories] It must be a very sad day for their relatives and friends. The whole world will share their grief.
Next Monday, the number of innocent civilian casualties in Irak will have passed the 46,000 mark. (source: http://www.iraqbodycount.net/). There will be no remembrances. Only their families will recall their names, if they weren’t wiped out completely in the first place. The world basically won’t care. Those 46,000 death civilians are “just Iraqis”, not “real” victims.
Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt’s advice to Iraqis who see TV images of innocent civilians killed by troops: “Change the channel” (NY Times, 2004) Online database non-US civilian casualties: http://www.iraqbodycount.net/database/
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General Tommy Franks, US Central Command: “We don’t do body counts”.
With the Bush administration busy de-humanising dead civilians overseas, many Europeans find it hard to feel real, authentic empathy for the US civilian casualties. But then, hasn’t this always been so? When tragedy strikes, every nation adds it own “no <insert local nationality> were killed” in its national newscasts.
On a personal note: friends in Wisconsin and New York invited me over. Unfortunately, I had to decline. Like most Europeans, I’m not into the habit of visiting countries that are at war.
On Monday 9/11, if you happen to be American and lost someone in the NY WTC towers, I can understand and will try to share your grief.
On Monday 9/11, if you happen to be an ordinary American citizen: watch Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, and realise that for millions of working Americans, the Bush administration is not “your government”, but in more than one way, your enemy.
The remaining part of the world woke up years ago.
[in case you missed Fahrenheit 9/11: try this link: http://www.fahrenheit911.com/, http://www.michaelmoore.com/ or just use google]
While Antwerp is world renowned for its great museums (several are on the UNESCO world heritage list), some of our inheritance is being left to gather dust, or is just falling to pieces. I took the following shocking shots a couple of hours ago, at the National Maritime museum in Antwerp, in a publicly accessible area in the back, near the river (a 5 min walk from City Hall)
[left: these musuem vessels are just left to fade away since the 90's - a Japanese tourist was taking pictures, utterly amazed. Right: An old BP railway carriage on the outside of the museum, vandalized and neglected. Another carriage was filled with smelly waste. The whole "Maritime Park" is filled with vessels, 50% are beyond repair or restoration.]
Most of us are well aware of the pros and cons of globalisation, with countless articles appearing almost daily. But while the EU opens its doors to more and more countries previously outside the borders of fortress Europe, most Europeans resent the sudden influx of eager but impoverished immigrants, along with massive relocation of the companies that used to provide us with a job.
Yes, I’ve read many of the arguments in favour of opening the borders, but I only saw sharply increased unemployment, resentment towards the ‘newcomers” and a visible shift of manufacturing and service industries towards the ‘cheaper’ East.
My building contractor is a Catholic Polish immigrant who hardly speaks any Dutch, my suits are picked up by a dry cleaning service staffed entirely with Asian women, and when my software is causing trouble the phone support is provided by an engineer on the line from Bangalore, India.
Belgium only has 10 million inhabitants, but with already 400,000 out of work (many highly skilled, multilingual and experienced) this country needs to take care of its own, before globalisation becomes a real threat.
However, globalisation is like Pandora’s Box: once it has been opened, there’s no going back. In the end, I strongly believe it will simply destroy large parts of our economy.
Feel free to comment
[Recent Worldbank figures: Belgium dropped to position 31 on a list of 'countries to invest in']
This is not just another item about Paris Hilton, I guess this high school drop-out already got all the attention she never deserved. I’m actually more interested in watching her parents (heirs to the estate of a company that used to represent quality and style) actively support their daughter in trashing the Hilton legacy of authentic style.
The question remains: why?
Would you (being a real estate tycoon, representing a classic name associated with refined hospitality, worth $1 billion) really allow your daughter to behave like white trailer trash?
The Paris sex-tapes, the degrading Simple Life tv-shows, the fake white trash behaviour: When Conrad Hilton died in 1979, he left the bulk of his estate to the Roman Catholic Church and other charities, and almost nothing to his children - somehow he must have known that his offspring would try to mess with the family name. Unfortunately, they contested Conrad Hilton’s will and got the cash.
Paris’ father (Richard) is listed as number 100 in “100 People Who Are Screwing Up America”, a list of people claimed to be making “the US a far more selfish, vulgar, and cynical place” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hilton)
My Antwerp neighbour’s playing the annoying “Stars are blind” CD, with the volume wide open.
Anyway, I strongly doubt whether this “star” is as blind as she pretends to be. Along with part of a US$ 1 billion fortune, she just wants more of your hard-earned cash to boost her peroxided ego even further.
You know, I used to like sitting in the Terrace Cafe of the Antwerp Hilton, a former historic landmark. But the feeling that I’m sponsoring the checking account of dear Paris is enough to make me pick the competition, just across the square. The owners are Italian immigrants, the coffee is great and they even started to recall my name.
“wow, that’s hot”
[edited CD photo credit: http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/2006/09/banksy-does-paris.html ]
Just in case you’re reading this item from a screen situated in yet another office building, trying to escape into a less boring world: let me assure you, for some people, there is another life out there.
For the past decade, I was able to share many utmost rare moments with the members of the elite navy seals from the Belgian army (the para commando “frogmen” team) - my ex-diving instructor was actually one of them. Due to budget cutbacks the old core team was split up and was forced to move in different directions. Let me show you some pics from their “good old days”:
[pic left: courtesy of my ex-diving instructor - yes, its a "scripted" shot - right: "humanitarian" mission in Benin, Africa]
Yep, war in Kosovo, trouble all over Africa: you name it, they were there, “securing the safety of civilians” (sound great for their press releases) in countries during/after a war. They obviously were a very close team. Last Saturday, they had a reunion barbecue, and much to my surprise, I was invited, as the only civilian.
Their children had grown, their jobs had changed, but deep down inside they were all still trained to kill, a fact no “army make-over” will ever change. I try to ignore this gruesome fact, as I’ve mostly met them during all those PR-type of events: BBQs, open-door events: the classic “hey, this a a regular job” type of hype, ignoring their true nature.
I will have to check if I’m allowed to upload more of the shots I took, but for the time being: this was the campfire they lit, just the way they did on “missions” in Africa and all over the globe:
[my shot: Belgian frogmen campfire, Sept 2, 2006]
My former diving instructor - we lost touch after he started to engage in life-threatening behavior - was kind of quiet when I drove back later that night. Words were not suited to describe the experience. I couldn’t help wondering though, how many lives were “terminated”by these smiling “frogmen”. Like Bob Dylan used to sing: “The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind”..
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