20.12.08

Survival of the cutest

Guide to understand surreal Belgica and misterious soul of it's inhibitants.




Guide to understand surreal Belgica and the mysterious soul of it's inhabitants.
translated 
chapter from "Earth 
- the platet of naked 
apes" 
by Zeul the Alien.vol 12 943.

As observing the third planet of Solar-system at night, you can wonder about a "spider net" of the bright lights in a Middle of North-West-European part of Eurasia. Yes, they illuminate the road tracks,as part of the "practical ways" to use the electric power of the nuclear plants, as humans didn't find yet the way to accumulate electric power at hours ,when demand is lower.



This is Belgium - the home land of some 10,666,866 humans (2008) and territory about 30,355 km² (that number will significantly diminish after the "Grate flood") 

"Young couple"(1830 A.C) of two Frank tribes,marryed after defeat of Napoleon, differ only by Latinization of "Mother Wallonia"(as it happened between" two brothers" -French and Germans after separation many years before) constantly quarrying about the money (taxes)and misunderstanding of the verbs.Previosly poorer,but now proud,hardworking "Father Flanders",doesn't want to pay "child support" for many adopted "Mother's Wallonia" "Unfit children", even dispite her outstanding beauty (Arden mountains,forests and rivers ) 
She used to be bit "bitchy" to Flanders (in it's relatevely poor past),she used to push her "mother tong" in inapropriate places, but she was defiantly supportive during her "Congo-Rubber-Bongo" Golden Age.

Obviosly "Grandpa Brussels DC", who used to speak Flemish and lives at "Flemish house" ,but forced to wear "French cloth" by Leopold the Second, will open it's channels and the river and restore his rights,"regain it's soul", but he will not let the couple to divorce,

as he knows, that Wallonia soon will reopen her "mining treasures", provide home for escaping from the " Great Flood" refugees on her hills 
and language problems will be solved by "The Common Human Language Communication Act".(sipmlified English)

"Foster children" will be politely forced to "Integrate" - accept 350 Belgian beers (and actually start drinking it), their women will be politely asked not to remind about "being special" fashion speaking,at least at the public places. 

( although "Belly dance" will be finally accepted under strong supervision from anti-terrorist groups) and all should be forbidden to "call names" and misbehave against this tolerant Father and Mother,who provided welfare,warm shelter and food for them.
Maybe they also will be asked(regardless religion fate and sexual orientation) to work for a common good of the Nation, from witch they carry a social security number and a driver "license to kill". 


Any carbon based life forms should visit Belgian restaurants, ( French sometimes still remember how to do it, but...) and also spend at least around 250 Earth years among this mysterious people, who appreciate beer and wine equally


.To be continued...



Situation of the country

The "peaceful anarchism" of Brussels architecture may well be the feature that best characterizes Belgium as a whole. During its history of over 2000 years, the region has almost continuously been occupied by foreign powers: from the Romans to the Spanish, the Austrians, the French, the Dutch and the Germans. This has made the Belgians critical of any form of authority, and laws, rules and regulations are not taken very seriously (tax evasion is one of the national sports). This individualistic, anti-authoritarian attitude is perhaps best exemplified by the famous literary figure of Thyl Uilenspiegel, who mocked the Spanish authorities during the 16th century occupation.

The governing of the country is very much complicated by the particular structure with three language communities (Flanders in the North, Wallonia in the South, and a tiny German speaking region in the East), and the multilingual, multicultural and multinational status of Brussels. The language in Wallonia is French (although there still exists a not officially recognized "Walloon language"). The language in Flanders is Flemish, which is officially the same language as the Dutch which is spoken in Holland. In practice, the differences between Flemish and Dutch (mostly pronunciation, also vocabulary and expressions) are comparable to the differences between British and American English, and are just big enough so that Dutch TV sometimes add subtitles to Flemish spoken movies. Although Brussels is surrounded by Flemish territory, the majority there speaks French. Flanders comprises about 55% of the 10 million of Belgian inhabitants, Brussels 10 % and Wallonia the remaining 35%.

There have been a lot of political conflicts between the two main linguistic communities, but the language problem, which is the issue that has received most publicity outside Belgium, is (at least in my view) much less important than it seems. Since the federalization of the state the linguistic conflicts seem to have very much diminished, now that politicians are no longer capable to blame difficulties on the "other side". There have never been any real conflicts between Belgian (Walloon and Flemish) people, as opposed to conflicts between Belgian politicians. The best illustration of that is that even during the most heated episodes, no one has ever been killed or seriously injured in clashes connected with the linguistic conflict. It suffices to consider similar situations in other countries where conflicts exist between cultural or linguistic communities (e.g. Yugoslavia, Canada, Northern Ireland) to conclude that such peacefulness is not the common rule.

Belgium has, since the Middle Ages, always been one of the richest and most developed regions in the world. Just look at the historic churches, town halls, and pieces of art, in cities such as Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, and Antwerp to get an idea of the wealth during the mediaeval and Renaissance periods, when only the North of Italy could rival its splendour and artistic development. During its second golden age, the half century before World War I, Belgium was in absolute terms the fourth economic power in the world. If you take into account that the other industrial powers had a 5 to 10 times larger population, the achievement is impressive. This wealth was not due to natural resources, which are practically absent, but to industrial production and trade, which is facilitated by Belgium's central position in Western Europe, and the presence of many land and waterways.

Although it is fashionable in some quarters to view Belgium as an "artificial state", put together by the European powers after Napoleon's defeat, history shows that the region which is now called Belgium has been almost continuously under a single rule since at least the 16th century, when it got separated from Holland during the reformation. Before that period (and for a few years after the defeat of Napoleon), Belgium and the Netherlands were united, forming the "Low Countries", a remainder of the third, central part of the Frankish empire, Lotharingia, that formed a corridor between France and Germany. There has historically never been a clear split between the Walloon and Flemish provinces. Insofar that there was a division in counties and duchies (Flanders, Brabant, Liège/Limburg, ...), the divide was East-West rather than North-South as it is now. (this is clearly seen on a set of historical maps of the wider German region). The "Flemish" painters and polyphonists who were famous throughout Europe in the Middle Ages and Renaissance often were of Walloon origin (for example the painter Rogier Van der Weyden/Rogier de la Pasture and the composer Josquin des Prés).

10.12.08

It's a mad,mad world.part 1


Don’t go breaking my bank! Elton’s Moscow payday 


Sir Elton John has become the latest world star to visit Russia for a performance at a private party. The British pop icon reportedly received $US 3 million for attending Sunday’s grand opening of a concert hall in Rublevka, a super-rich area of Moscow.

He also presented the new collection of Chopard luxury watches named after the singer. Some tabloid reports claim Sir Elton ditched a concert in the Finnish capital Helsinki in favour of his big Russian pay-day. 

This was not the first visit by the British singer to Russia. In July last year he gave a concert in the city of Rostov-on-Don in the south of the country. 

Not a single visitor paid for seeing the two-hour show – Sir Elton’s visit was sponsored by businessman Vadim Varshavsky. 

While Elton John was dining after the concert, teenage fashion designer Kira Plastinina was waving goodbye to Nicole Richie. Paris Hilton’s best friend was in Moscow in Saturday to take part in the opening of yet another of Kira’s fashion shops and the party which followed. The visit was “purely private”, said a friend of the Plastinin family.

Inviting world-famous stars to entertain your guests is a fad among Russia’s rich. President Dmitry Medvedev’s favourite hard rock band - the legendary Deep Purple – travelled to Moscow in February when energy giant Gazprom was celebrating its 15th anniversary.

A barefooted Ian Gillan and Co rocked live for the man himself (although at the time Medvedev was a mere Vice President of Russia and Gazprom’s chairman of the board) and other powerbrokers, including with Vladimir Putin.

Another celebrity seduced by Gazprom’s money was Tina Turner, who arrived in Moscow right after taking part in the Grammy Awards ceremony. The long flight from LA didn’t seem to fatigue the star, judging from the Private Dancer star’s performance of a dozen hit songs.  Gazprom didn’t disclose how much it paid to Deep Purple and Tina Turner. Tabloids mentioned the sum of $US 2.5 million in the case of Queen.

A real champion in inviting star singers to private parties is Telman Ismailov, whom the Financial Times called one of the most extravagant billionaires in the world. The owner of the AST publisher and a dozen other businesses on various occasions had Ricky Martin, Robbie Williams and Mariah Carey perform for his guests. And Jennifer Lopez sang him Happy Birthday in 2006 when the businessman turned 50. J Lo reportedly earned $US 1.5 million for gracing the party.

Making a flashy present for the 50th birthday is a popular theme. Metals tycoon Vladimir Lisin invited Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting, to his party for a reported sum of $US 1 million. Both were apparently most satisfied with the event, with Lising hearing his favourite singer live and Sting receiving a $US 200,000 bonus for an extra song.

Christina Aguilera was the star attraction at the wedding party of banker and chemical business owner Andrey Melnichenko. Reports on how much lighter Melnichenko’s pocket was after inviting Aguilera range from $US 1m to $US 3.5m.

The singer didn’t even have to go to Russia to perform for the billionaire - the high profile party took place in France’s Cote d'Azur resort. And for his wife Aleksandra’s birthday Melnichenko brought Jennifer Lopez and all her crew from the U.S. to London.

Russia’s celebrity businessman Roman Abramovich also follows the trend. In June, when his art loving girlfriend Dasha Zhukova was opening a gallery in Moscow, controversial soul diva Amy Winehouse was there to entertain the guests. Both Abramovich and Zhukova thanked the Grammy winning singer for coming, with the BBC reporting that the gratitude amounted to $US 2m.

Singers are not the only celebrities that get a warm welcome from Russian billionaires. Paris Hilton was visiting Moscow in October last year on the invitation of Plastinina – or rather her father, the board member of Russian food giant Wimm-Bill-Dann, Sergey Plastinin. Hilton partied and took part in the opening of Kira’s clothes boutique, leaving with a tidy $US 2m in her pocket.

Troubled jazz diva Amy Winehouse flew to Moscow to sing at the opening of a trendy new arts centre. The project is the brainchild of Darya Zhukova, fashion designer and girlfriend of billionaire Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

Zhukova has big ambitions for her new centre of comtemporary culture called ‘Garazh’. The daughter of oil and bank tycoon Aleksandr Zhukov, she plans to make the new venue one of the world’s most fashionable galleries. 

To prove her point, singer Amy Winehouse provided the entertainment at the exclusive opening-night party. She flew to Moscow specially to entertain Dasha, Roman and their friends.

Garazh is located in a former bus station, which is also an iconic Soviet industrial building. It was designed in 1927 by Russian architect Konstantin Melnikov and engineer Vladimir Shukhov, who revolutionised the public transport system.

The 8,500 square metrer space has been completely renovated. 

But Zhukova paid tribute to the original design with an exhibition of work by Melnikov and Shukhov.

In the coming months and years she intends to show more work from leading Russian and European trendsetters. 

There are also plans to open an art library, book store, lecture theatre and maybe a permanent exhibition, which will be free of charge. 

But if anyone can afford to run an arts project along non-commercial lines, Zhukova can.

Paris Hilton struts her stuff in Moscow

World-famous socialite Paris Hilton has set this year's Moscow Fashion Week alight. She came to a fashion boutique of teenage designer Kira Plastinina and spoke to the press.

Moscow fever over Paris

The hotel-chain heiress attracted more attention to herself than to the clothes she flew in to promote.  

The huge crowd at 15-year-old Plastinina's show applauded Hilton's every move, clapping enthusiastically as she smiled and pointed out the most interesting designs on the catwalk.  

When it was all over, the A-list celebrity presented the whiz kid fashion maestro with a huge bouquet of flowers.
Paris Hilton struts her stuff in Moscow

World-famous socialite Paris Hilton has set this year's Moscow Fashion Week alight. She came to a fashion boutique of teenage designer Kira Plastinina and spoke to the press.

Moscow fever over Paris

The hotel-chain heiress attracted more attention to herself than to the clothes she flew in to promote.  

The huge crowd at 15-year-old Plastinina's show applauded Hilton's every move, clapping enthusiastically as she smiled and pointed out the most interesting designs on the catwalk.  

When it was all over, the A-list celebrity presented the whiz kid fashion maestro with a huge bouquet of flowers.

Money Talks

According to reports, she's getting about $US 2 million for her two or three days' work. 

Surprisingly perhaps, The American socialite is not staying at the Hilton in Moscow. She's booked in at the Hyatt, considered to be the finest hotel in the Russian capital.

Family affair

Teenage designer Kira is still a schoolgirl.  Her career is largely funded by her wealthy father, Sergey Plastinin - one of Russia’s biggest dairy magnates. His fortune at the beginning of the year was reported to be in the region of $US 350 million. 

It's said that when Kira Plastinina comes up with her new designs, she imagines Paris Hilton wearing them.

Bob Van Ronkel, President of the ‘Doors to Hollywood’ company, says Paris’ visit to Moscow is a brilliant PR move for both her and Kira Plastinina.

“Kira is a talented young designer, her father is a phenomenal marketing person. Sergey Plastinin understands marketing like no one I’ve ever seen and for all of them it is very good,” he said.

Cultural exchange

Van Ronkel has been bringing stars to Moscow for the last five years and says many come simply out of curiosity. Sean Penn, Jack Nicholson and Laura Flynn Boyle are among forty other celebrities on his list. 

He says many Americans, like himself, grew up with a great fear of Russia.  

“To come here, to meet so many fantastic people, to see how warm people are in Russia – they just love it. They love the food, the nightlife, the caviar – just the country in itself and the culture,” Mr Van Ronkel said. Money Talks


According to reports, she's getting about $US 2 million for her two or three days' work. 

Surprisingly perhaps, The American socialite is not staying at the Hilton in Moscow. She's booked in at the Hyatt, considered to be the finest hotel in the Russian capital.

Family affair

Teenage designer Kira is still a schoolgirl.  Her career is largely funded by her wealthy father, Sergey Plastinin - one of Russia’s biggest dairy magnates. His fortune at the beginning of the year was reported to be in the region of $US 350 million. 

It's said that when Kira Plastinina comes up with her new designs, she imagines Paris Hilton wearing them.

Bob Van Ronkel, President of the ‘Doors to Hollywood’ company, says Paris’ visit to Moscow is a brilliant PR move for both her and Kira Plastinina.

“Kira is a talented young designer, her father is a phenomenal marketing person. Sergey Plastinin understands marketing like no one I’ve ever seen and for all of them it is very good,” he said.

Cultural exchange

Van Ronkel has been bringing stars to Moscow for the last five years and says many come simply out of curiosity. Sean Penn, Jack Nicholson and Laura Flynn Boyle are among forty other celebrities on his list. 

He says many Americans, like himself, grew up with a great fear of Russia.  

“To come here, to meet so many fantastic people, to see how warm people are in Russia – they just love it. They love the food, the nightlife, the caviar – just the country in itself and the culture,” Mr Van Ronkel said. 

7.12.08

Hello.New face -same agenda.



Try to understand me right.
I love American people and admire the technological and cultural achievements of this grate nation.
In fact it's quite ironic, to criticize this country, using it's own creation -PC and Internet.
But why, all the world have to suffer from American latest trend to almost completely deregulate it's own and international Financial Markets?
Wall Street did it again and this time for good, according to most of experts this crisis is the worst in recorded history.
  indeed is the charismatic and well spoken man, especially compare to his "mumbling" predecessor, who was elected for a second term (amazing what you can sell to the ignorant people)
Let's not forget that EVERY ELECTED INDIVIDUAL IS JUST A PUBLIC FACE OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMICAL FORCES ,WHO PUT HIM OR HER IN POWER IN A FIRST PLACE.If you have time to research list of contributors to his election
campaign ,you will be amazed.
And when you take a good look at his new appointed Economic Board, you will see exactly the same people, who prepared and pass trough Congress infamous "deregulation" papers in 1999 and therefor are directly responsible for this banking downfall ,for which you and me and all the world has to suffer.
Thank you very much, well done.
And because it's Global(wink, wink) there is no escape ,unless you prepared to emigrate to other planet.