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Belgium counts 266 foreign diplomatic missions on its territory, - some calculus approx. 1 "intelligence" official per mission (in some cases delegated to other entities): 266 x 1,5 to 3,5 = anywhere between 366 and 931 foreign spymasters operating under diplomatic cover in Brussels alone. The number of spies in foreign governmental service without cover is unknown. The number of spies operating for foreign companies is unknown.

Since Belgium/Flanders is a knowledge economy: this is a major vulnerability...

Apparently most intelligence activities are directed to
1/ infogathering on the countries' own dissident activities (as is the case for most rogue nations)
2/ economic in industrial espionage - especially at research facilities and universities.

Here is some interesting info on our "knowledge" "economy":
unemployment in Wallonia: 18%
unemployment in Brussels: 21%
unemployment in Flanders: 8%

On another sorry issue: soccer for the masses
The public network VRT lost the rights to the UEFA soccer championships 2006-2009; will this have any impact on unemployment? Or do citizens switch to the commercial channels?
Heard a sorry interview with A.Van Hecke, boss of the public broadcaster, who was lamenting that the public service could no longer fulfill its constitutional right to broadcast sports to the masses.... For that matter, I will be happy to see other things on tv.

Warning! Don't be stupid!

Warning! Don't be stupid! This guy just finished building MARK II of his Solar Death Ray - great fun...

100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time

Verbal Kint, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood?

Blow a Website to pieces

Netdisaster: if you really want to piss off a competitor...

Der Untergang (*****/*****)

Just finished reading "Der Untergang" by Joachim Fest, a wonderful and horror-inspiring account of Hitler's and Hitler's Bunker-occupants last days and downfall.
Now a major and shocking motion picture, soon to be released on DVD.

Most interesting is the insights you gain in the overall disorganised and fantastmagoric universe that characterized the siege of Berlin and the differences of opinion between Wehrmacht & SS, Himmler, Goering and Goebbels; the struggle for the succession and the impact of Hitler's last "Neronian" command to destroy all of Germany and its civilization.

The first serious in-depth account after 60years. A must read

Muppets.com -- Gonzo Stunt Game

A surefire page to waste the rest of your working day

"Preople - Its about who you are...

Care to challenge someone's popularity on the net?

rodcorp: Powerpoint Bad/Good

rodcorp: Powerpoint Bad/Good: "Powerpoint Bad/Good"

Jacques Chirac Blog "Ma vie de Président"

Hoax, reality ... en tout cas very "frenchy"

The Ten Commandments of PC Security

The Ten Commandments of PC Security: "The Ten Commandments of PC Security"

You absolutely positively have to read this!

Check yer backup : Lifehacker

Check yer backup : Lifehacker

More often than not, we never back-up. Yet, in the digital age, crucial information might thus be exposed to harm, theft, loss, permanent damage....

However, if you do backup regularly, try to check those files once in a while: they might have stopped working. Old floppies, olf cd's, old data files might not be working properly.... and it might be really expensive to restore this data: so get to work on an organized method!

Ten Reasons Why Blogging is Good For Your Career

You have to get noticed to get promoted.

You have to get noticed to get hired.

It really impresses people when you say “Oh, I’ve written about that, just google for XXX and I’m on the top page” or “Oh, just google my name.”

No matter how great you are, your career depends on communicating. The way to get better at anything, including communication, is by practicing. Blogging is good practice.

Bloggers are better-informed than non-bloggers. Knowing more is a career advantage.

Knowing more also means you’re more likely to hear about interesting jobs coming open.

Networking is good for your career. Blogging is a good way to meet people.

If you’re an engineer, blogging puts you in intimate contact with a worse-is-better 80/20 success story. Understanding this mode of technology adoption can only help you.

If you’re in marketing, you’ll need to understand how its rules are changing as a result of the current whirlwind, which nobody does, but bloggers are at least somewhat less baffled.

It’s a lot harder to fire someone who has a public voice, because it will be noticed.

Welcome Jenghiz

Proficiat aan Rosalie, Wim en natuurlijk Jenghiz °7/3/05 - alsook aan alle grootouders, nonkels en tantes, neven en nichten, achterneven en achternichten.

101 Zen Stories

101 Zen Stories: "101 Zen Stories"

The unspoken language of... Office behaviour

Slacker Manager: The unspoken language of...: "If a picture is better than a thousand words, then a person's body language has got to 'speak' volumes. A lot of the focus on body language at work has been on how to avoid looking all twitchy and nervous. Not much is mentioned about how to use body language to get people out of your office. "


try:
- the thousand yard stare
- the stand
- the slow clap
- the FAST WALK ;-)

Het Eiland - discuss

Het Eiland :: Index

Na overdonderend succes voor deze tragikomische pseudoreality show: stem voor seizoen 3 nu.

Een overzichtelijk fansite met de sounds van de hilarische Alain

mediabistro: FishBowlDC

mediabistro: FishBowlDC: "fishbowlDC: a gossip blog about Washington, D.C. media"

This guy is the first Blogger in the White House Press Room!

All your Base... belongs to North Korea

KFA Delegations to the DPRK: "The KFA Delegations to DPR Korea
(North Korea) for the year 2005"

Hilarious, instant hit: click here to check out the video

Our next holiday destination, helping "citizens with their daily lives, and joining in for dances...."

BelgianTransfers

BelgianTransfers: "Het Verdriet van België. Financiële transfers tussen Vlaanderen, Brussel en Wallonië in België.
Indianenverhalen, overdreven, genegeerd? Waar zijn de cijfers, de feiten en de studies? Hier!"

The Yes Men!

The Yes Men: "The Yes Men have impersonated some of the world's most powerful criminals at conferences, on the web, and on television, in order to correct their identities. They currently have hundreds of thousands of job openings."

Just off: Nazis had the Bomb(e)

Historian Rainer Karlsch claims Nazis did nuclear tests

According to the publisher, Karlsch says Nazi scientists tested “nuclear bombs” in 1944 and 1945 on the Baltic island of Ruegen and in central Germany under the supervision of the SS, but they were not ready to be deployed before the war ended.

“The Third Reich was on the verge of winning the race to deploy the first nuclear weapon. Was this Hitler’s final hope, the miracle weapon he talked of in 1944/1945?”

Spy Ops | The Art of Naming Operations

Ever wondered what kind of hidden messages are conveyed in the operations set up by secret services worldwide?


CENTCOM proposed and JCS accepted Desert Shield,a name which suggested both the region's characteristic geography and CENTCOM's defensive mission. The metaphor of the shield was well chosen because it emphasized not only US deterrence but also Iraqi aggression, for a shield is only necessary when a sword has been unsheathed. In the context of the metaphor, the deployment of US troops was necessary to deter an Iraqi sword that had already bloodied itself in Kuwait. Such careful and effective wordsmithing played well with domestic and international observers

First, make it meaningful.
Second, identify and target the critical audiences.
Third, be cautious of fashions.
Finally, make it memorable.

How to talk to an Extraterrestrial

EXTRATERRESTRIAL ENCYCLOPEDIA: "A Handfull of Coins, A Loop of String, a Flashlight, and Two Magnets"

EUROPOLL by Reader's Digest

RD polled the Europeans about their favourite cities, countries and people,
France and Paris score really well!

Economist.com - CityGuide to Brussels

Economist.com - Cities Guide: "Tax evasion is something of a national sport in Belgium, which has some of the most punitive tax rates in the world. In particular, Belgians are adept at squirreling their money abroad, so they do not have to declare it or pay tax on the interest. But moves to end bank secrecy across the European Union have made Belgians nervous about their Luxembourg accounts"

thanks to Q for the alert!

Bomen met een verhaal

Evil... Movie Clichés debunked

Peter's Evil Overlord List: "I will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labelled 'Danger: Do Not Push'. The big red button marked 'Do Not Push' will instead trigger a spray of bullets on anyone stupid enough to disregard it. Similarly, the ON/OFF switch will not clearly be labelled as such."

How to destroy the earth (not)!

Sam's Archive: "How to destroy the Earth"

Blow Both Your Brain Hemisphere out

truly a brainbreaker

BTK arrested! Eat this Fourniret

Latest developments in the case of the elusive serial killer BTK - Blind/Torture/Kill

Dennis L. Rader, a 59-year-old municipal worker suspected of being the BTK killer responsible for 10 murders, is believed by authorities to have led a Jekyll-and-Hyde existence.

He was also, according to police, an insatiable murderer who tortured and killed strangers over 17 years, boasting about his crimes in taunting, gruesome letters and poems that he mailed to police and the news media.

More on serial killers, but not only in the USA: this one lived and operated in our own backyard:

Today, Fourniret's wife Monique claims her husband was responsible for another 6 to 10 murders, committed during his séjour en Belgique, bringing the possible tally to +20 victims attributed. Fourniret himself admitted to being guilty of 9 kills already. The story of the Franco-Belgian Serial Pedophile continues to develop and seems to lead to a higher body-count than what Dutroux left us with.?

For accurate info: go Wikipedia

The "Dulce" cover-up

(note: a few of these links thru Metafilter)

UFOs, Cover-ups, Black Ops & Technology! Indulge yourself

Sur mon commandement, ... démerdez-vous!

A database of Corporate Commands, inciting you to eat your brain out

And yeah, Al Pacino was not right in Donnie Brasco..."Never blend in"

Paradgim Shifting

Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific revolutions remains a breakthrough philosphickal piece of writing that will kick you brain into sensory overload!

Garfield - Complete Cartoon Overview

Bono for President ... of the World Bank

After earlier post, it appears that Wolfowitz has serious competition from ... Bono!

Thru his efforts over the past 25 years, lobbying for Debt relief for the developing countries, the LA Times decided to push him forward as a possible successor to Wolfensohn.

Together with Blair, Bono teams up with Bill (Gates) to spread the word about DATA.

Let us all join in in this campaign!

Wolfowitz to follow up on Wolfensohn?

It seems that the "Wolf" is shortlisted to head the foremost important bank in the world!

Need something to brighten your day?

Always good for a quick laugh

Moet er wat meer cultuur zijn?

Vlaanderen is rijk aan cultuur, zo rijk dat we het zelf niet beseffen.
Zo rijk ook dat we er teveel vanachter onzen teevee naar kijken en niet meer de moeite doen om door weer en wind, regen en ijzel, de podia te bestormen, koesteren en over te nemen.

Dit weekend in Flagey een majestueuze vertolking gezien van EL BACHA, die het integrale, chronologische oeuvre van Chopin voor piano ten berde bracht. Prachtmuziek, prachtzaal en meer dan 13.000 mensen die aan de marathon van 5 dagen deelnamen.

Edoch, waar zitten de Vlamingen? Komen zij niet meer uit hun kot? Is Brussel echt een steriel artefact geworden dat de Europese instellingen huisvestigt en waar de Vlamingen forfait geven? Dichtbij genoeg om met de wagen een uur en half in de file te staan, ver genoeg om er niet te veel last van te hebben?

Daar moet toch iets aan te doen zijn?

Hier een paar tips
http://www.brusseldezeweek.be/
http://www.fmbrussel.be/
http://www.flagey.be