According to an online BBC News report on Belgian PM Herman van Rompuy being chosen to lead the EU:
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said it had been "a very wise
decision" to choose a candidate from "an important country but not one
of the most important countries, so that no-one will feel excluded"
from EU debate.
Oh, so some EU countries are more important than others, hmm? *sound of teeth grating* Large, obviously. Influential, undoubtedly. Important? Well, perhaps, but no one with an ounce of diplomatic acumen would ever put it that way in public.
The debate over health care reform in the US has really brought the crazies swarming out of the woodwork. Beyond some very major but honest misunderstandings of how socialized healthcare works (here's a very good discussion of some of the problems), there's also a lot of a priori flat-out refusal to understand. And that leads to nutjobs calling Obama's healthcare plans a Nazi policy, joining the irrationalists' ranks of Birthers (Obama's birth certificate was faked and he isn't really a US citizen, so he shouldn't be President!), Truthers (the 9/11 attacks were a vast government conspiracy!) and Anti-vaxers (vaccines cause autism!), to name just a few.
So how do you argue with people who are so willfully deluded?
Here's Barney Frank, representative for Massachusetts, giving a master class. Transcript below, with clarifications in [].
Crackpot lady: "Why do you continue to support a Nazi policy, as Obama has, expressly supported this policy? Why are you supporting it?"
Barney Frank: "When you ask me that question I am gonna revert to my ethnic heritage [Jewish] and answer your question with a question. On what planet do you spend most of your time? ... You want me to answer the question? Yes. As you stand there with a picture of the President defaced to look like Hitler, and compare the effort to increase health care to the Nazis, my answer to you is, as I've said before, it is a tribute to the First Amendment [the constitutional article that guarantees freedom of speech]that this kind of vile contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated. Ma'am, having a conversation with you would be like having a conversation with a dining room table; I have no interest in doing it."
I have to confess I usually don't think much of our national holiday -- it's just another day off, really, and an excuse to have a bit of a party, overindulge in my favorite of our famed national products (does it need saying? of course, beer), criticize the King's speech and complain about the "drache nationale", the characteristic downpour of rain that usually marks formal occasions in our little kingdom by the sea.
Not this year though; there was some light sprinkling but no real "drache", and I can tell you why. All the rain is over here (see photo taken out my window), keeping me company and making me feel right at home. Hey, I'm not complaining; after a week of steaming hot weather, this feels lovely and refreshing. And it's like I have a little piece of Belgium with me today (the rain, and Hoegaarden on tap at the local bar since last week, yay!). Which is nice because being away from it makes me value it more, including the national holiday and the history that goes with it. Yes, after all due consideration, I heart Belgium.
Next time I should write a post, I think, about how I describe our people ("like Hobbits in Lord of the Rings") and our history ("shopping around Europe for a spare prince to make King") to, well, pretty much anybody. I suspect true patriots will weep and gnash their teeth and pull out their hair. In my defense, though, I suck at small talk, and my main interests in terms of conversation are either too obscure (plasmids) or too inflammatory (religion) for most social occasions. In contrast, I've noticed that this somewhat comedic bit I've developed poking fun (affectionately!) at the old country seems to be well received, drawing chuckles or even laughter from my conversation partners. Or I'm badly deluded and they're just being polite. But they don't usually slip away at the first possible opportunity [anymore], which I take to be a good sign.
But for now, I want to leave y'all with a wonderfully silly but sweet video made by a loyal Belgian citizen (who might have imbibed quite a bit of that national product I mentioned earlier) to remind us of the history of our national hymn, "La Brabançonne", in its old and new versions, and how to sing it (or not - World War I uniform optional, I believe). For the King, the Law, and Liberty!
Here's another guest post from Dad to keep my innumerable readership entertained while I settle back into my Boston life...
Brussels, June 18th. Today, thousands of tractors of all color and shapes converged to Brussels, capital of Europe. They came from Portugal, Hungary, Germany, Poland and all corners of the European Union, dashing (dashing, really? tractors?) through the highways, wreaking havoc on the daily commute. They are mostly desperate milk producers hit by the drop in sell price they get for their product. They lose money on every liter of the white stuff they sell. Consumers haven't seen anything from the price drop so someone is pocketing the change! Nobody understands it because quotas haven't even been lifted: it is a sheer drop in consumption. Today the demonstrations were peaceful but tonight many of the German fellows planned to stay in the city! Hundreds of tractors are squatting a very large park next to the EC institutions around the Schuman plaza. It was an eerie sight: big sturdy guys in work overalls and heavy boots, truly redneck types with big hands, tanned faces unshaven for a couple of days, young and older men, relatively few women, all huddled in groups around camp fires in the shadow of their big machines. Definitely not the usual crowd of eurocrats generally seen around here!
Try to read this op-ed on the Israel-Palestine question in the New York Times without looking at who the author is. The credit is on the left of the text, so once you've clicked, keep your eyes trained to the right.
As you read, try to guess who. When you're done reading, check.
Then, pick your jaw up off the floor. Go fish for your eyebrows in your hairline. Reconsider your preconceptions.
Incidentally, the one-liner given in the actual RSS feed is "CIA 'using Viagra' to win over Afghan warlords", which just sounds wrong on so many levels...
The story is that CIA agents have been going around Afghanistan handing out Viagra, trying to get on the locals' good side in order to get them to collaborate, feed them information etc. Obviously they're being careful to approach only the older men in the community with this kind of offer. Not that younger men wouldn't need it -- sexual dysfunction can hit younger guys too, particularly if they're going through some stressful times, and I suspect living in what amounts to a warzone probably qualifies as being not entirely relaxing -- but yeah, what with male ego issues and all that... It seems reasonable to assume that older gentlemen would not be so offended at the suggestion that they could use a little help as their less, uh, mature counterparts.
Apparently it's a very successful scheme. They cite an example of 60 year-old clan chief with four younger wives; the agents gave him a pack of Viagra and when they returned four days later, he met them with a much improved cooperative attitude and a smile up to his ears.
Good old CIA, winning over hearts and minds and, well... other body parts.
"Whatever it takes," one agent is quoted as saying. Well, that's the American way, isn't it? Come up with a creative solution to a problem and go through with it regardless of how silly it may sound. Can you imagine British intelligence services going around handing Viagra? No way. Besides, everyone knows James Bond keeps it all for himself.
Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme's stint at the helm of our fractured little nation has been dogged with failures from the start, and it was widely feared that he was doomed to wallow ineffectually in his administration's internal bickering and self-pity for the next five years. How depressing! But at last, and some may call it a Christmas miracle, the poor guy has achieved resounding success in his most recent undertaking. After 3 prior failed attempts, he finally manages to quit. Well done, buddy.
<\sarcasm>
Now will someone please update the "Belgium" page on Wikipedia? The picture of him sitting there looking smug makes me feel ill.
Just when I'm basking in the heart-warming glow of knowing that humans are still out there deploying treasures of ingenuity to help safeguard the health of endangered marine mammals (see previous post), reality rears its ugly head.
The US Supreme Court has removed restrictions on the navy's use of sonar in training exercises near California, the BBC reports.
"The most serious possible injury would be harm to an unknown number of the marine mammals," Chief Justice Roberts wrote. "In contrast, forcing the navy to deploy an inadequately trained anti-submarine force jeopardises the safety of the fleet."
Yeah, who cares about an unknown number of marine mammals. Pretty soon there won't be anymore to worry about anyway.
Now excuse me while I go hug a tree for comfort against the meanness of the world.
Below: cool PBS video on the evolution of whales (with shots of wolves, Dad -- check it out to see why).
"Raving enthusiasm" doesn't begin to describe my boss's attitude towards Obama's presidential victory. It's like he's 8 years old and his birthday and Christmas have come early*/**.
* Not that I know if he celebrates Christmas -- it's interesting how living in a more diverse environment ends up challenging all these seemingly very basic assumptions. ** Not that I'm complaining, either... he's throwing us a party next week to demonstrate the new cocktail he invented in honor of our new President Elect.
Now, while I'm sure we're all very happy that the White House is finally going to be run by someone brainy, articulate and presumably competent (and who likes mutts), it all seemed a bit over the top to me... until I saw this picture.
Barack Obama is a Mac user. It all makes sense now. El Jefe has found his soulmate (I had to lie about having a PC to get hired here -- no not really; I didn't have a PC yet).
Note the Pacman sticker though. Two possible interpretations: A) he has a cute sense of humor, or B) he's also a drug user.
Well yeah, Pacman is a notorious Ecstasy junkie, as in the classic joke: "Video games don't affect kids. If Pacman had affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive music." Oops!
Well no, not quite, and I understand how that could seem like an oxymoronic proposition, but in this video from last week, commenting on Barack Obama's election victory, SecState Condoleeza Rice looks like she could start crying with joy at any moment. It's in her eyes, her smile and the way her throat sounds a bit tight. She's actually showing genuine emotion!
See this article in Salon for more context and an opinion that I completely agree with.
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