Clipmarks | ouyangwulong's Belgium: A Random Obssession collection

True Political Waffling: Belgian Civil War Averted!

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:29:33 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Thank goodness Belgium has been rescued from political obscurity and irrelevance!

Is anyone impressed by the fact that Belgium just didn't need it's government for 6 months? Imagine if that had happened in America? We'd be looting Wallmart on day 3.

(Although I, personally, would be looting Wallmart on day 0, because that's what I do on my spare time.)

At any rate, waffle lovers (and I suppose swift boat veterans for truth) can now rest easy.

The feud between Flanders and Wallonia, ostensibly over why Dr. Seuss was allowed to name their territories, can finally be laid to rest! Except for that they hate each other, and there's a ridiculous wealth gap, and they are both presumably frustrated by their own irrelevance.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

Deal reached for 3-month interim government in Belgium

BRUSSELS, Belgium: Belgians woke up to the news Wednesday that two Dutch-speaking and three French-speaking parties will form an emergency government to tackle issues neglected during 192 days of deadlock that followed June elections.

It will be led by Guy Verhofstadt, the outgoing premier, who is to be sworn in Friday.

He spent a week assembling an alliance of Christian Democrats and Liberals — each split into Dutch- and French-speaking camps — and Francophone Socialists.

Belgium has been without a permanent government since the June 10 parliamentary elections.

In wealthier Flanders, a region of 6.5 million, more self-rule is supported by all parties. But politicians in poorer Wallonia, with its 4 million residents, accuse Dutch-speakers of seeking to wrest social security from the hands of the federal government. That, they say, would mean the end of Belgium.

Beer Sign Language in Flanders, Belgium

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 12:25:45 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes

Clip Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Beer Sign Language in Flanders, Belgium

Should you find yourself thirsty in our galaxy, with its infinite number of languages, there's every chance that you will not be able to convey to the locals that you are in dire need of a drink. Still, if you find yourself in this condition in the Dutch-speaking part¹ of Belgium, you can resort to 'Beer Sign Language'.

This Sign Language is not official and is simply a series of gestures commonly used in bars, at parties and anywhere else it is too noisy to order a drink

1. E pinke

The basic drink in a Flemish pub is a pintje or e pinke². This is a simple lager, a 250ml glass of beer

The universal Flemish sign is simply making a fist, but showing your little finger (pinkie)

A variation of this is nen 33er

2. Nen Duvel

Use both index fingers to simulate horns on your head.

3. Ne Palm

just show the palm of your hand

5. Ne Mazout

Mazout⁵ is a light fuel oil in Dutch

It is a mixture of Coca Cola and lager: one third coke with two-thirds beer added

Tags: belgium, flanders, beer, sign, sign language, drinking, culture

Monks make the best Beer

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:29:05 GMT

clipped by: boozich
clipper's remarks: I've gotta get a hold of some!!

Clip Source: muzich.blogspot.com

Monks make the Best Beer

The Trappist monks at St. Sixtus monastery WESTVLETEREN, Belgium

have been brewing Westvleteren beer at this remote spot near the French border since 1839. Their brew, offered in strengths up to 10.2% alcohol by volume, is among the most highly prized in the world.

They haven't increased production since 1946. They sell only from their front gate. You have to make an appointment and there's a limit: two, 24-bottle cases a month.

"We sell beer to live, and not vice versa," says Brother Joris

Rate Beer and Beer Advocate, rank the strongest of Westvleteren's three products, a dark creamy beer known as "the 12," best in the world, ahead of beers including Sweden's Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter and Minnesota's Surly Darkness. "No question, it is the holy grail of beers,"

using a recipe they've kept to themselves for around 170 years. The result is a brew with a slightly sweet, heavily alcoholic, fruity aftertaste.

Tags: best, beer, monks

Nothing Lasts Forever, Not Even Belgium

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:42:34 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: Belgium: the country where other European countries go to fight their apocalyptic wars. Flemish: Somehow not quite Dutch, but only they can tell the difference. Waffles: Yum. Endives: Not as boring as lettuce. White asparagus: whiter than regular asparagus, I guess. Eels in garlic sauce: okay, now that's taking it a bit too far...

Yes, for those who thought you could take things for granted, and who just assumed that such a stalwart pillar of modern nationhood as Belgium would be around forever: prepare for extreme-right xenophobic "Flemish" nationalist Filip (Philip to those filthy Wallonians) Dewinter to rock your world:

"It's 'bye-bye Belgium' time!"

Indeed, it is a sad day for humanity, and a bitter personal defeat for me, being as I had long argued that Chocolate and Beer were in fact enough to keep a nation of feuding and indistinguishable ethnic groups together. Guess I can't be right all the time!

Clip Source: www.iht.com

BRUSSELS: Belgium has given the world Audrey Hepburn, René Magritte, the saxophone and deep-fried potato slices that somehow are called French.

But the back story of this flat country of 10.4 million is of a bad marriage writ large - two nationalities living together that cannot stand each other. Now, more than three months after a general election, Belgium has failed to create a government, producing a crisis so profound that it has led to a flood of warnings, predictions, even promises that the country is about to disappear.

"We are two different nations, an artificial state created as a buffer between big powers, and we have nothing in common except a king, chocolate and beer," said Filip Dewinter, the leader of Vlaams Belang, or Flemish Bloc, the extreme-right, xenophobic Flemish party, in an interview. "It's 'bye-bye Belgium' time."

Tags: belgium, wallonia, flanders, nation building, nation unbuilding, chocolate, waffles, beer

Gaffe Yves Leterme sur l'hymne national belge

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 18:35:22 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes
clipper's remarks: The future Belgian Prime Minister is asked to sing Belgians National Anthem - the Brabançonne - and sing the French one - the Marseillaise.
...
The video is in French

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

Gaffe Yves Leterme sur l'hymne national belge

[Video]

Le futur premier ministre belge confond la Brabançonne avec la Marseillaise et ne connait pas l'histoire de la fête nationale.

Tags: belgium, yves leterme, brabanconne, marseillaise, premier, politics, video