Shocker: Flemish Liberation Army against Freedom launches bomb website

Belgium is in total shock after the FLAAF (the “Flemish Liberation Army Against Freedom”) launched a horrific website in English tonight (screen shot above, check out www.flaaf.be), featuring three bone-shilling terror videos (in Arabic, with Dutch sub-titles).  Whereas the “axis of evil” video will send shivers down your spine, watching “smart bomb” and the “Vulcan of justice” will make you sick to your stomach (but stay informed: watch these atrocities now!) . Obviously, Belgium immediately raised the “homeland security level” to red, so make sure to check out the horrendous videos over at www.flaaf.be.

Early US elections winner: a true maverick

It’s almost midnight in Antwerp, Belgium (11:59 pm UTC+1), on one of those foggy Belgian autumn nights some of us wished we were somewhere else. My SO has fallen asleep in front of some ‘major’ soccer game on TV, I’m watching the video tsunami of US election news on my pc.  With yet another network repeating the classic visuals and sound bites (“massive numbers”, “waiting in line”, exit poles”) I suddenly stumbled upon one local station that had discovered “a true early winner”: a “maverick’ that scored all the way to the bank.

I’m not sure if Sarah Palin ever knew what she started when she coined the word “maverick” (well, she ‘kind of’ borrowed it, out of context, as we’ve come to expect): little did she know that for most Dutch speakers “maverick” is only (and really nothing more than) a US jeans brand, a brand that was totally elated to hear its name all over the place, all of the time, on all channels, for free. Obama may well be the next US president when I wake up Nov 5th, but in Holland and Belgium, one ‘maverick’ already ran off with the grand cash prize: months worth of priceless advertising.

[Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with or endorse any "maverick". In fact, I prefer authenticity "]

McCain: Palin is not qualified as vice-president

Watch McCain (link to full text), say exactly what the whole world knows by now: Palin is not qualified to be a US Vice President. Quote (dated October 21, 2007):

“I have had a strong and a long relationship on national security, I’ve been involved in every national crisis that this nation has faced since Beirut, I understand the issues, I understand and appreciate the enormity of the challenge we face from radical Islamic extremism.”  “I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn’t a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn’t a governor for a short period of time.”

I rest my case.  If there is a god, may he be there to save America from the walking disaster called McCain(72)-Palin. I’m no US citizen, but I’m gay: if this cute couple were to win the 2008 elections, I’d emigrate to Canada. Time to reclaim your country, America.

Wikipedia quote: (“Questions have been raised by some in the media regarding Palin’s views on the separation of church and state, given her support for the inclusion of creationism into public education and an address to graduating ministry students at her former church where she urged them to pray “that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God”,[181] and in the same remarks, her assertion that “God’s will” was responsible for the Alaskan national gas pipeline project. Bloggers have characterized her remarks as having “painted the current war in Iraq as a messianic affair” or reported that she told the students “that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a ‘task that is from God“)

After electing a lying, war-mongering, virtually certified nutcase twice, there must be something profoundly wrong with a significant part of the US electorate, wouldn’t you think so?

Antwerp port day: ride a Sky-Watch, get on TV

Sometimes, it takes a lot of effort not to get on the six ‘o clock TV news.

Today we had the pleasure of taking part in the Antwerp port day [in Dutch only], that once-a-year chance to visit the behind-the-scenes part of the huge port of Antwerp (video in English), Europe second largest. I won’t bore you with too many details, but after a free boat trip we ended up in a “Sky-watch“, an impressive movable crane lifting 20 visitors 50m (165 feet) high.

While I was really looking forward taking some stunning shots, a TV crew from ATV boarded the platform, preparing an item for the Antwerp 6 o’clock news.

As we were on a tight schedule [getting the boat back, preparing to attend the open-air evening dance/concert in front of numerous huge antique cranes and a pile of containers (more later)] I had no choice but to take the ride with a TV news camera crew, a crew that really couldn’t care less if I had a great view or not.

You may have cute looking/big-breasted reporters, ATV, but next time I’m on a “Sky-watch”, please board later.

Your “big tools, big breasted” crew almost spoiled my ride.

[Please click to enlarge. I'm obviously only referring to my picture]

Euro Trash: the 2008 Eurovision song contest

I just switched channels. The 2008 Eurovision song contest semi-final, live from Belgrade, Serbia resembled a cheap cabaret show, covered in an expensive high-tech wrapping. Mariah Carey body-doubles from Poland, weird Nordic groups with outrageously loud, atonal mega-show packaging that hurt my ears, no, this was no music contest, this was an attempt by 40+ musically obscure countries (hello Russia, hello Azerbaijan!) to prove they could get away with raping a musical heritage that was not theirs. While I admired the rare Transylvanian (whatever) acts that desperately tried to remain authentic, most countries/acts kept on pretending to be an MTV music video from LA. They failed.

Basically, they all forgot one basic prerequisite to really be that great star: ‘talent’, a commodity replaced by exploding fireworks, fake exotic (but mostly plain weird) charm and equally fake boob-jobs. Time for some real music. Oh, Belgium dropped out almost instantly, after a disgraceful act presented a song in a non-existent language. Really [My screen capture from the 2008 Eurovision song contest website (watch the final Sat May 24 and have a laugh!): Poland tried to sell some lingerie, hoping we wouldn't listen to the music]

‘If I were a terrorist’, a video by James Pence

Some of his comments are way off, but in this video James Pence tries to redefine the word “terrorist”. Intriguing, isn’t it?

Full text: “If I was a terrorist and I wanted to destroy the American way of life, I wouldn’t use planes and bombs to kill folks. Hells bells! That is too risky. You might get caught or killed or both. Real terrorists get results, and then they lay the blame or can’t be found. So here is what I would do if I was a terrorist.

I would foreclose on millions of homes, you know, kick folks out of their houses. I would devalue the dollar so the price of everything would go up. I would outsource the jobs so they couldn’t find work. I would move the factories to foreign countries, you know, all the good fine factory jobs. I would make education unaffordable, you know, terrorists don’t like having educated people around. I would make healthcare difficult to get and let the insurance companies just get away with murder. I would listen to their telephone calls, monitor their E-mails, and use that information to really stick it to them. Then, I would give myself a big old tax cut, sit back in luxury, and watch them fight over the crumbs. But you know what? We live in the United States of America, thank you, Jesus, and the people that represent us would never ever let them get away with that. Would they? Would they?”

“Europe is not a country, it’s a turkey”

In some countries, being painfully dumb won’t stop you from becoming a well paid celebrity. Video: Kellie Dawn Pickler, who finished sixth on the fifth season of the Fox (USA) television series American Idol. [All figures and quotes from wikipedia] Pickler’s debut album, Small Town Girl, was certified gold on January of 2007. She was compared to Jessica Simpson in a March 27 story in US Weekly magazine entitled “Kellie: The Next Jessica Simpson.” Pickler also received numerous awards from local and US statewide government officials praising her accomplishments as a contestant on the American Idol television show. Pickler actively supports St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she helps raise funds and gives kids special visits.

Pickler appeared on Jeff Foxworthy’s show, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?. She was asked, “Budapest is the capital of what European country?” She replied, “This might be a stupid question, but I thought Europe was a country”. She thought it might be France, and then was confused if France really was a country or not. When told the answer was Hungary, she did not believe the host. She said, “Hungry [sic]? That’s a country? I’ve heard of Turkey, but Hungry? I’ve never heard of it.”[end quotes]

The YouTube video above [+2 million pageviews] convincingly showed that being a successful ‘American Idol’ does not prevent one from being geographically challenged. The same has been happening in Belgium: take a very cute, but clueless no-brainer bimbo, dump her in a studio, overdub her voice with an entire gospel choir and hey presto: a new star is born. Are we too harsh on these ‘new stars’?

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, a book by Naomi Klein

I just finished reading Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine, an outstanding but utterly disturbing 500 page piece of work that made me profoundly question the true nature of our democracy, economy and moral values. [NY Times review] quote: “the larger lessons are clear: “Countries are shocked — by wars, terror attacks, coups d’état and natural disasters.” Then “they are shocked again — by corporations and politicians who exploit the fear and disorientation of this first shock to push through economic shock therapy.” People who “dare to resist” are shocked for a third time, “by police, soldiers and prison interrogators.” While information might well be the first step on the way towards any form of resistance as an outsider, most of those suffering from a Shock Doctrine approach are in no position to resist at all. Are you still in shock too?

The Naked King

Unlike foreignpolicy.com (politely posting “We’re still not sure how seriously we should be taking this, but Belgium appears to be in the midst of a political crisis that has many questioning whether the country even has a future“), the Belgian Dutch-speaking press decided today that is was time to move in for the kill.

Belgian weekly Humo, as always fond of more than just regular parody, farcically photoshopped King Albert of Belgium (left), calling his ‘weak’ approach during the failing government talks “The end of monarchy”, while trying (but failing) to air a slightly controversial radio commercial (original mp3-version), featuring King Albert’s edited voice, exclaiming how proud he was to be part of a deviant, dysfunctional royal family. Reality check: search for “royal” at this blog.

Unlike the stations who bluntly refused to air the benign spoof (10 sec TV commercial in mpg video), most Dutch speaking Belgians remembered the recent royal scandals and acknowledged the insanity of how Belgium still lacks a new government, three months after the elections.

Facing up to reality can be tough: Belgium is much like a Dutch/French speaking couple, whose only reason to keep the failed marriage on life support is their inability to sell the house [=Brussels, the capital]. Many countries managed to “separate” peacefully when their respective regions felt that a “break up” served both their aspirations best, but how do you exercise your power as a sovereign, when half the country screams “we want a divorce, and the house”?

OK, you’re now reading the boring details of a European “bad marriage kingdom issue” and you (+75%) are probably not even Belgian. Is this tale basically a non-issue for a non-Belgian audience?

The lost bride

Guess what happened to this distressed “all dressed up and nowhere to go”
bride, smoking a cigarette right in front of Antwerp Cathedral. Most unusual
scene..   Shot taken last Sunday, August 26, 2007 [click to enlarge]