Unthreaded
SandyS 1:59, ACK
Defining what is, and was Belgium is not easy. Defining who the Belgians are now, is even more difficult.I admit to thinking of Belgium as a bit of a joke country through to my mid 20s, but the more I have learned, the more confused and conflicted it becomes, not helped by Napolean, Waterloo, and two World Wars.
About 10 years ago, I was on French soil, but the guest of Belgian hosts, on their National Day. I was asked to join them in singing the Belgian National Anthem. I was handed the words, in Flemish, which I have never spoken or pronounced, and decided to La-La my way through, much as John Redwood did as Welsh Secretary when he tried to sing the Welsh Anthem. Unfortunately, I did not recognise the tune either. Ouch...!
On the paintings of Bruegel, the winter scenes include snow and ice skating. Whether portraying what we now know as Holland or Belgium, skating was a method of transport as well as sport and leisure, as it was on the Norfolk Broads. Little Ice Age?
golf charlie
"President-elect Trump's campaign manager said Tuesday that Trump's Monday meeting with cable news hosts and network executives wasn't nearly as hostile as portrayed by the New York Post." washingtonexaminer
but BBC has just run with original story
stewgreen
Stewgreen: Just a thought about Ambassadors...does the American Ambassador to London have to be, ahem, American? Maybe DT could get NF into the Court of St James. What fun!
Harry Passfield
stewgreen, given Trump's friendly fireside chat with US media, about their lies and distortions, is there any news on how things may go with US Taxpayer funded Climate Scientists?
golf charlie
BBC Radio4 is tripping ..all day they made the #1 Headline that Farage could be ambassador
ah they use it to repeat the EU paliamentry expenses claim against UKIP
Trump says something weird and controversial
..and suddenly the media give him hours of free publicity and get distracted from other things.
He’s played that game before
(“Mr Trump said “many people” would like to see Mr Farage as ambassador and he would do a “great job”..
..that's an opinions. What's wrong with him tweeting it ?)
In the US The presidents appoints ambassadors like as a kind of favour payback. So it wouldn’t be a ridiculous thing there.
It may play to well US voters to see that UK lefty Media/polis are still spreading hate.
stewgreen
2:15pm a play about Eco-Terrorism 1/2
Set in California, and inspired by a true story. A radical group of environmental activists becomes suspicious of their latest recruit, the mysterious Anna. Believing she might be an FBI infiltrator, members of the group attempt to unmask her before carrying out their most audacious act – a plan to blow up a dam.
R4 4 pm Melanie Phillips examines where we should place the limits on free speech
She argues that we're placing limits on freedom of speech in the wrong place, outlawing certain points of view for fear of upsetting certain groups in our society, while allowing others which should be prohibited because they pose a danger to the state.
"the security services have lost a huge amount of accumulated expertise in identifying and dealing with subversive behaviour and ..the state needs to be protected not just against violent acts but against incitement to insurrection against the established order."
stewgreen
ACK
I think that my brother mentioned something about it many years ago, added a bit of interest by artistic licence. Thinking about it as modern Belgium is a 19th century creation and he is 16th century then he might only be Belgian by being Flemish. I'll also put forward that details of his birth are unclear and born near Breda includes modern Belgium.
Winters like those painted by Bruegel will hopefully remain in the past!
SandyS
tomo, why would any sane person "bankroll" Bliar's comeback? Has he ever put his own hand into his own pocket for his own financial gain or betterment? That would go against all his defining principles, in and out of office.
golf charlie
A rumor:
Beardy Branson is bankrolling Bliar's comeback.
If I were a Virgin franchisee / brand renter I would be looking for alternatives PDQ - hero to zero might sound glib - but it happens and I can't think of a more effective way to destroy the Virgin brand.
tomo
@gc
Branson has made a lot of his money with his cheeky chappy, acceptable face of counterculture and anti "big business" / look after his employees and customer schtick. Most of it is marketing - with a bit of tax fraud...
A marketing man with a golden egg laying Virgin goose domiciled in the Caribbean with a corporate HQ in Switzerland.... who's developed a taste for telling others what to do - what could possibly go wrong?
Branson has made a bit of a specialty of taking on tainted brands (railways, mobile phones, Internet Service Providers, budget airlines) and applying some "Virgin identity magic" to TB might be his biggest challenge evah! Let's not forget that RB must have a conduit to Blair after the rail franchise business in the noughties.... and a few favors are still outstanding. Maybe they're simply chums?