Has Belgium gone mad?

[Jaguar]

Originally posted by dannubis
Yes, the whole world should tremble when the almighty US labels somebody a terrorist, but a person who orders tanks to drive through homes of civilians but happens to be a supporter of your governements foreign policies is to be left alone ... "Land of the free" my #ss !

I see you are waving the German flag.

[KrazyHorse]

Oh, and now IIRC the decision, the WTO also found that the US case for the amount of subsidy provided was completely off-base wrt reality...

[DinoDoc]

Yes, they took issue with the calculations the US used to justify the amount of the tarrif imposed on Canadian softwood lumber. How does that justify your stance that the Candian government has done nothing to precipitate this dispute?

[KrazyHorse]

Because if the stumpage fees are too low by the American estimation they should have said that and provided a reasonable estimate of what they should be raised to instead of demanding a switch to a free-market system and imposing a tariff which is completely out of tune with the realistic benefit of the current fees.

Keep it up, though. Even with the current duties we've increased the amount of lumber we're shipping south over the past year.

The US attempted to claim that an acre of wood in Washington State is the same as an acre of wood in the BC interior. Somebody should have told them that it costs a hell of a lot to build roads up in the mountains and ship the stuff a thousand kilometers south, lowering its value...

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Frogger
Keep it up, though. Even with the current duties we've increased the amount of lumber we're shipping south over the past year.

This seems to argue against the need for the stumpage fees, does it not?

[KrazyHorse]

No, what it says is that the combination of more abundant forests, undervalued dollar and more efficient factories is what gives Canadian softwood the competitive edge, not an artificially low stumpage fee.

Why should we do business the way you want us to? We usually settle on trade disputes, but this one is starting to get on people's nerves.

Until you drop the requirement that we completely change the way the Crown sells lumber rights (which it's been doing for 200 years in Canada) or artificially inflate stumpage fees to the point where the US lumber industry can compete despite all its inefficiencies and natural disadvantages, I don't think we're going to settle this time.

[Eli]

And the reason for the Belgian policy...

The most popular names for newborn boys in Brussels in 2000&2001.

1) MOHAMED
3) AYOUB
5) BILAL
6) MEHDI
10) HAMZA

And girls :

3) IMANE
4) RANIA
5) YOUSRA
9) YASMINE

[Chemical Ollie]

Originally posted by Eli
And the reason for the Belgian policy...

The most popular names for newborn boys in Brussels in 2000&2001.


9) YASMINE

I named my youngest doughter Jasmine. And I am an extremely secular Christian, who doesen't care at all about any Christian or Muslim name lobbies.

[Spiffor]

Eli : Yes, in Belgium, France and Germany, there is a strong muslim minority, and they are much more numerous than Jews (but often less influent). The governments there do not want to alienate this big minoruty, which explains in part why they reject war.

[Dinner]

Most of the people naming their children muslim names are muslim. Large numbers of muslim immigraints have moved to places like Belgium and they have brought their anti-semitism with them. Now, the politicians are pandering to their hatred in order to get votes.

[KrazyHorse]

Do we really have to bring up the large numbers of Jews living in the States? Or the fact that they're probably one of the groups most for a war?

Do you actually claim that most Muslims in Western countries are antisemitic? Or is it possible that they're just more sensitive to an attack against their coreligionists, as Jews are to attacks against Jews?

[Dinner]

I do contend that Arab culture is deeply ingrained with anti-Semitism. Certainly as deeply ingrained as segregation was in the south. Sure, they are more sensitive to the plight of their coreligionists but their is also a very large dose of hate involved.

[Spiffor]

I have seen no antisemitism from politicians whatsoever in Europe in my entire lifespan, except from Le Pen (who attacks the Arabs much more than the Jews).
It is a complete misconception to think the Arabs are naturally antismeitic, and it is a complete misconception top think antisemitism is promoted by politicians in Europe.

[Pekka]

It's often forgotten here also, that Arabs are targetted x 100 in racists attacks than Jews. Especially after 9/11.

[KrazyHorse]

I think there's a lot of antisemitism in the muslim world itself. But I've also noticed that the muslims who live here aren't as ignorant as those who live in countries like Syria or SA.

And it may be because I know some Jews but hardly any Muslims very well, but I've seen a lot more examples of hatred among the former.

I still try to think the best of the community as a whole, and from what I've seen I'm probably right: most in both communities are pretty decent.

And I also know something else: I think that in this case (it's sometimes different, especially when the issue is more Pal/Israel related) the positions of the 2 blocs (American hawks, Euro doves) are probably due more to actual differences in perception than they are to the presence of single-issue ethnic groups within their borders.