Will Belgium seperate....................?

115 days without being able to form a new government, the international community looks at Belgium, slightly amused. Where will this already very tiny country go if it splits up? And what about Brussels? Will it become international no mans land? I don't think so!

I have been now living in this country for more than 2 years and as much as I did not like it at the beginning, it has become like a third home for me now. Other than in my study times in Italy, here I have been living what they call an "expat life", lots of international friends, not really participating in the local reality... In the past months this has changed a lot, of course, because I am co-founding a center for social innovation here, so I better be aware of what is going on in this society. But today it really struck me: we were walking around in the city with my friend Diane and saw shops selling Belgian flags. She said to me: people who don't want Belgium to separate buy it and hang it out of their window. It reminded me of the times when people in Italy were buying rainbow peace flags and hanging them out of their windows to prevent the US to invade Iraq... it didn't help. So this brought up some strange emotions and that's why I am writing about it. I don't understand much about politics here, I just know it is really complicated and that people have a short memory, forgetting that once, in the times when agriculture was still important here, it was Wallonia to drag along Flanders and now, in the industrial age, the cards have changed and who was weak before is now strong and showing it to the former strong part like a little kid that says: Hah, now I have the bigger toy! Of course I am simplifying things here, but isn't it funny somehow?

Belgium is quite a bizarre country. In fact some weeks ago, a journalist wrote in the Economist that Belgium is not even a real country and the only thing that unites both sides is football and beer. I am not quite sure about this! What I have come to believe is that Belgium is the place where the Mediterranean "dolce vita" lifestyle and the germanic-nordic work and result orientedness clash... (of course again cultural stereotypist simplification). So where will this go? This is not the first time this happens to Belgium, but will this be taken as a chance to learn form? We will see!

Reflections on the situation in Burma and change

A few days ago in a meeting about sustainable business somebody said something like "sustainable change can only happen when there is sufficient pressure from the inside and from the outside of a system. If it comes only from one side, attempts often fail. Let's say South Africa was a positive example. But what will now happen in Burma? Its people are ready for the change, they want freedom and democracy, hundreds of thousands demonstrate on the streets. So what would be the needed pressure from outside? Petitions signed by a million people? Countries imposing sanctions? Throwing a missile onto the government? Diplomatic efforts?

I can't stop myself from thinking that it's not fair, that the big empires bomb the countries of their convenience without asking if their people are ready for the change towards democracy, but when people cry fro help, we don't give it. I know it is not that simply and easy, but it still makes me angry, when I see the pictures of tortured and killed monks and people having to fight for their basic human rights (see pics here). Is it than all only about the money? Where is the humanity of states? Corporations are beginning to show their humanity more and more, shamed publicly, forced to change their way of operating by the NGOs and the media. But what about the states? Will they be the boo-men of the next era? Will they change then? What would would "socially responsible government" mean? How would it look like? And by the way, should a government not be socially responsible by default...???

Support freedom in Burma

Message from the Avaaz team:

Dear friends,

Our emergency petition to stop the crackdown on peaceful protesters in Burma is exploding, with nearly 500,000 signers from every nation of the world. But the situation in Burma remains desperate, with reports of hundreds of monks being massacred and tortured. Burma's rulers have also killed and expelled international journalists, cutting off global media coverage of their cruelty.

China is still the key - the country with the most power to halt the Burmese generals' reign of terror. We're delivering our message this week with a massive ad campaign in major newspapers, beginning Thursday with a full page ad in the Financial Times worldwide, and in the South China Morning Post. The strength of the ad comes from the number of petition signers listed – can we reach our goal of 1 million signatures this week? The link to sign the petition and view the ad is below, forward this email to all your friends and family!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/u.php

China continues to provide key economic and military support to Burma's dictatorship, but it has been openly critical of the crackdown. Now we need the government to match words with actions. Our ad paints a powerful moment of choice for China in its relationship with the world – will it be a responsible and respected member of the global community, or will it be associated with tyranny and oppression?

People power, on the streets of Burma, and around the world, can triumph over tyranny. Our strength is in our numbers, spread the word!


For the best local reporting on the situation in Burma, try these links:

http://www.irrawaddy.org

http://www.mizzima.com