text:
Lowry, Ted.
Chesapeake Bay Log Canoe 'Island Blossom'.
St. Michaels, MD: Ibis Graphics, 1989. Limited Edition of 40. A fine original serigraph (hand-cut silk screen) hand-pulled, signed and dated by the artist/ designer Ted Lowry. Folio (20 x 26 inches). Individually printed in 17 colors on 100% Rag stock. Edition limited to 40 prints, after which the screens.....	More
Hooper Straight Lighthouse and Skipjack.
St. Michaels, MD: Ibis Graphics, 1989. Limited Edition of 130. A fine original serigraph (hand-cut silk screen) hand-pulled, signed and dated by the artist/ designer Ted Lowry. Folio (26.25 x 20 inches). Individually printed in 25 colors on 100% Rag stock. Edition limited to 100 prints, after which the screens.....	More
Hooper Straight Lighthouse and Waterman's Boat 'The Martha'.
St. Michaels, MD: Ibis Graphics, 1988. Limited Edition. Archivally matted and framed. A fine original serigraph (hand-cut silk screen) hand-pulled, signed and dated by the artist/ designer Ted Lowry. Limited Edition Artist's Proof. Folio (23.25 x 29.25). Individually printed in 10 colors on archival stock. This fine, crisp serigraph features.....	More
Old Dominion Line Steamer- Luray.
St. Michael's Harbor.
St. Michaels, MD: Ibis Graphics, 1989. Limited Edition of 100. A fine original serigraph (hand-cut silk screen) hand-pulled, signed and dated by the artist/ designer Ted Lowry. Folio (29 x 23 inches). Individually printed in 25 colors on 100% Rag stock. Edition limited to 100 prints, after which the screens.....	More

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


me to change the setting. Is there a workaround?
> not permit me to change the setting. Is there a workaround?
of them, no workaround in OOo 3.2.1.
The problem will be solved in OOo 3.3.
Try OOo 3.3RC5 it not has this bug.


text:
И́горь Корнелю́к:
 Корнелюк, Игорь Владимирович (1977—2014) — российский журналист, специальный корреспондент ВГТРК.
 Корнелюк, Игорь Евгеньевич (род. 1962) — советский и российский музыкант, певец и композитор, телеведущий.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


2015 Change: At the 2013 REALTORS® Conference & Expo, the Delegate Body approved an amendment to Article III, Section 9 of the NAR Constitution, which outlines REALTOR® Emeritus eligibility. Beginning with applications filed in 2015, in addition to the forty (40) years of membership, a REALTOR® Emeritus candidate member must also have completed at least one (1) year of service at the National Association level. However, for applications filed through 2019, the one (1) year service requirement may also be met through service at the state or local level. This provision will sunset at the end of 2019.
Upon approval of an application for REALTOR® Emeritus by the Board of Directors of the National Association of REALTORS®, no further payment of dues to the National Association is necessary by the member association of which the REALTOR® Emeritus is a member. Please note that the dues waiver does not take effect until the dues year immediately following the Board of Directors' approval. In addition, REALTOR® Emeritus Members are exempt from the Quadrennial Ethics Training requirement.


BEAUTIFUL HOME WITH ALL AMENTIES YOU NEED. JUST BRING YOUR CLOTHES, FOOD AND WATER VESSELS. LAKE IS 9 MILES LONG BY 3 MILES WIDE, VERY DEEP AND SPRING FED. THERE IS A DOCK AVAILABLE IF YOU CHOOSE TO BRING YOUR BOAT AND SPACE AVAILABLE FOR OTHER WATER VESSELS YOU MAY BRING. PLANTY OF PARKING FOR YOUR VEHICLE AND TRAILOR IF YOU BRING ONE. EVERY OUTDOOR RECREATION EVENT ONE CAN THINK OF IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR DOOR STEP.
Katahdin Region of Maine. An updated trailside bungalow. Dog friendly.


Unless somebody advises me otherwise, I will try commenting out these lines and recompiling. I will do a test tomorrow to determine if this fixes the problem.
I will have to do this on my Fedora server where I have succeeded in getting swftools to compile. The process for compiling on Windows looks to be way beyond me.
"SecurityError: Error #3207: Application-sandbox content cannot access this feature.
.. then the error is generated.
If I remove those two lines, then the error goes away.
"have you set the local-with-network priviledge for your generated swf files?
1) Trying to set the securityDomain of the LoaderContext to SecurityDomain.currentDomain will throw up an error "Error:Error #2114: Parameter LoaderContext.securityDomain must be null."
2) It is confusing that Filip is asking "have you set the local-with-network priviledge for your generated swf files?" It's not clear to me where this gets set. The GUI tool Gpdf2swf supports this option, but I don't see a corresponding parameter for the command line tool. I've tried creating swfs using both options "Access Local Files" and "Access Network Files" in the Flash IDE Publish Settings, but neither options corrects the error.
that is not supported in Adobe AIR.
It's possible to modify the constructor or delete this feauture?
I have no idea how to modify the source files, yet alone compile them. I would really love to try testing a version with the allowDomain command turned off.


text:
Presumptes implicats és un telefilm de l'any 2007, escrit i dirigit per Enric Folch, autor també de la pel·lícula Tempus Fugit (2003).

Es tracta d'una comèdia sobre l'amistat, l'enveja i la maduresa, interpretada per Xavi Mira (Jet lag), Jordi Sànchez (Plats bruts), Pau Durà (Ventdelplà), Ivan Massagué (El cor de la ciutat), i Mireia Aixalà (Lo Cartanyà).

Argument
El Santi és un triomfador: cotxàs, nòvia espectacular i una bona feina que desapareixen en un tres i no res degut a una broma pesada que li fan el Víctor i els seus amics. El Santi ni tan sols s'adona que el Víctor i els seus amics són els culpables de tot plegat, només sap que, de sobte, es queda sense res. El Víctor i els seus companys decideixen refer el que han espatllat. En un mes, han d'aconseguir una nòvia, una feina i un cotxe nou pel Santi, sense que ell se n'adoni.

Repartiment
 Xavi Mira: Víctor
 Pau Durà: Fèlix
 Jordi Sànchez: Ramon
 Ivan Massagué: Berni
 Javier Coromina: Ricardo
 Mireia Aixalà: Marta
 Leticia Dolera: Estefania
 Carmen Contreras: tieta
 William Miller: Santi

Enllaços externs
 La pel·lícula, a HoyCinema

Pel·lícules de Catalunya en català
Pel·lícules de comèdia de Catalunya
Pel·lícules del 2007
Pel·lícules de Catalunya de la dècada del 2000


text:
GOOFY HUMAN TRICKS
NOT KEEPING THEIR PANTS ON
By Howell J. Malham Jr.
Special to the Tribune
He looks like the kind of guy who spends sunny Saturday afternoons in a terry cloth bathrobe and brown slippers, yelling at the neighborhood kids to keep off his front lawn.
You know the kind of guy I'm talking about: the stand-up, full-blooded American who insists he likes a good, clean joke as much as the next guy, but quickly mislays his sparkling sense of humor the minute some youngsters come crashing through his row of brushwood.
"I've never heard that one," he says, "although, somebody told me once that I looked like a 6th grade gym teacher.
"I guess that's just 'cause I have short hair and wear a shark skin suit," he appends and then waits an uncomfortably long moment before grinning a wide, wan grin that looks as if it requires every facial and neck muscle to hold in place.
It is a typical understatement -- typical for Ken Mottet, the perfectly square and hopelessly hokey 38-year-old host of cable TV's "The Otherside," atypical for everybody else with regular paying jobs that do not require employees to pull their pants down to their knees when a joke bombs in the office, something Mottet does every chance he gets.
Now in its fifth year, "The Otherside" is a music video show flourising in oblivion. Seen on on Fridays and Sundays in Chicago and on a handful of suburban cable systems, the show is a throwback to the MTV of 1984, back in the days when cheap videos, not slick programming blocks, were standard, and Mark Goodman had steady work and a shoulder-length perm.
"The philosophy for the show is that it should look or rather sound like any sane person's record collection," Mottet says, then begs to clarify. "My ideal show would open with a Dr. Dre video. Then an REO video, then Poison. Then Garth Brooks, then Matchbox 20.
"Remember, there are no bad videos, just bad parents."
The show is brainchild of Mike Hoffman and Mark Mensching, a couple of audio/visual junkies who graduated from Maine West High School and headed straight for the TCI studios in Skokie to further their education in broadcasting.
Beginning as an excuse to showcase videos that nobody else cared to air, "The Otherside" mutated into a hybrid of fringe music and shtick, the kind of thing you'd expect if you combined "120 Minutes" with Steve Allen and served it to urban hipsters who adore obscure videos and plenty of cornball gags that are sometimes so bad, they're actually entertaining.
"To me, when you see a guy who looks square and then he does something weird, that is a very cool thing. Like, if you were watching `Dragnet' and all of sudden Jack Webb started tap dancing, that would be a good thing," Mottet says.
The true story of "The Otherside" unfurls in Mottet's Uptown living room.
"The real reason the show started," Mottet says, "was because the same record companies that were sending all these heavy metal videos to Mike and Mark for their other shows would also send them all these other kinds of videos as well. Country stuff. Alternative stuff. Rap stuff.
"So they created this `alternative' music show to showcase these other videos, named it `The Otherside,' and roped a couple of hosts to serve as VJs. Eventually, one of the hosts had had it and left. Then the other host left. When that other host left, they mothballed it."
Not long after shelving the idea, "TV Mark" and "TV Mike" as Mottet calls them, walked right into his life, back when he was slinging amps at a local music store and wondering what his next move was going to be, if there was a next move.
Mottet already had more than his share of deliberate living in the years that preceded his still-current day job at the North Shore music store. After graduating from the University of Iowa in 1984, he was wasting time around his parents' hog farm in his hometown of Fairfield, Iowa, and smoking cigarettes.
Even then he had the subversive rockabilly look working overtime for him: An Ersel Hickey tattoo on his right bicep, just above an atomic symbol; a skinny Elvis circa 1958 on his left arm, not far below a fiendishly inaccurate inking of Lenny Bruce screaming across his deltoid. All this, packed tightly under a foot and a half pompadour and a whisper of eyeliner, a la Brian Setzer, back when he was the rail thin front man of the Stray Cats.
On a lark, he moved to Chicago and started flinging pizzas. Quickly, he learned he wasn't the only guy in the world who was into the retro revival. Feeling somewhat demoralized at his loss of uniqueness after finding that there were other people on the planet who dug old Chevys, bi-level pompadours and Ersel Hickey tattoos, Mottet was happy to hear from an old Iowa buddy in 1985 who had just landed a gig at a 24-hour UHF station in Anchorage, Alaska. His job? Hosting the "All Night Diner" music video show. And he needed some help.
"This was a golden opportunity for me," he says. "I grew up watching Red Skelton and Ernie Kovacs (reruns), so to be on TV is pretty cool to me. And I always thought music videos were way cool.
"Put those two together and, man, you've got just about the coolest thing in the world." Literally, considering he was heading way north to Alaska. The rush was on.
"I can still remember sitting on the plane, wearing a gray shark skin suit, smoking Lucky's and putting them out in the ashtray in the arm of my seat.
"I fell asleep, and woke up and looked out the window and saw impossibly gigantic mountains covered with snow, and oil refineries wedged between them and I said, `Man, I'm not in Iowa anymore. I've gone to the moon.' "
After about eight months of playing Bruce Springsteen and Duran Duran videos at the "All Night Diner," working under the stage name of Jack Stevens (the name of one of his college professors), a homesick Mottet headed back to Chicago to resume a seemingly go-nowhere life in the naked city. End flashback.
"Mike and Mark were really my lifesavers," he says. "They were always in the (music) store, borrowing equipment, and I just started to bug them. I made a demo reel of the stuff I did in Alaska, and I gave it to them and just kept bugging them.
"One day they came in and said, `Hey, buddy, we used to have this show called `The Otherside.' You want to try hosting it?' "
Producer/director/editor Hoffman had his reasons for knuckling under.
"We thought this guy was either brilliant or dangerous," he says. "Either way, we figured we better give him a show." What Hoffman and his partner soon discovered was that their new host had all the morbid allure of what Hoffman calls, "a good car wreck."
Within a few weeks, Mottet was on camera, doing what he does naturally: amusing himself.
"That is job one. Entertaining me. My favorite moment is when we do a bit, and I pause, and I hear Mike laughing down the hall. If I make him laugh, then I really know I hit it," Mottet says.
Unfortunately -- or fortunately -- there's no surefire way to measure viewership of the program, being that it is a cable access property. No Arbitron. No Nielsen ratings for public access.
"Actually," Mottet interjects, "we do have a Nielsen rating. Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick likes what we do. So we get a one."
The best way for the sharpest square in town to rate the popularity of this woefully under-appreciated program is to simply make his way around the city and notice how many people notice him.
"I'll be at the grocery store and hear, `Hey, you're that guy who pulls his pants down and plays videos, aren't you?' " he says. "If I hear that 10 times a season, I'm a happy guy, whether we get this thing to the next level or not."
The next level being a wider commercial audience -- and a paycheck -- for Mottet for doing the same kind of oddly thrilling things he's doing now, twice a month, 10 months out of the year, for free.
"The way I look at it is, if 50,000 Elvis fans can't be wrong, then 100 Ken Mottet fans are absolutely right.
"Right?"
Only the 100, plus this one, can tell at this point.
Rockabilly Central | Tours | Chicago | Swing | Photos | Articles | Reviews | Movies | Links


text:
You are here: Home > Travel > China Trains > Beijing Classic City Bus Tour
Beijing Classic City Bus Tour
Pick up at your hotel between 7:00am and 8:30am. The first stop is Tian'anmen Square. Tiananmen Square was named after the Tiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace), entry to the Forbidden City. As the world's largest city square, It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several key events in Chinese history.
Then move on to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors between 1368 and 1911. It is the largest and the best preserved ancient imperial architecture complex in the world. It takes about 2 hours visiting the Forbidden City along the central axis from south to north.
Continue our tour to visit the Temple of Heaven. On the way to Temple of Heaven, you will have a chance to visit the Chinese traditional medicine culture.
The Temple of Heaven was built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty, which is the largest ancient imperial worship architecture complex in the world where the ancient Emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties prayed for peace and harvest. The visit to Temple of Heaven takes about 1 hour.
After Chinese lunch (40 minutes) in local restaurant, enjoy a short visit to a pearl free market not missed.
Then we drive 30minutes to Summer Palace, the largest and best preserved imperial garden in China. The visit takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Back to your hotels at around 6:00pm.
1.We will call or leave you a message the night before your tour to confirm the pick-up time.
2.You may visit some local shops on the trip, but there is no force-shopping!
Summer Palace & Badaling Great Wall Seat-in-coach Tour
Chinese Kung Fu Night Show in Beijing (Group)
Old Beijing Hutong & New Olympic Sites Bus Tour
PRICE INCLUSION
Centrally Located Hotels
Authentic Chinese Food
Private Cars and Drivers
Flights & Transfers in China
Service Charge & Government Taxes
Luggage Transfers
PRICE EXCLUSION
International Airfare or Train Tickets to enter or leave China
China Entry Visa Fees
Excess Baggage Charges
Single Room Supplement.
From USD
Each tour can be tailored.
1 Your Departure Date:
2 Enter Total Number of Travelers:
Adult:
3 Contact Details:
Please fill in your Full Name.
Adult Price


text:
using std::cout;
using std::cin;
using std::endl;
using std::ostream;
using std::istream;

class Rational
{
	friend ostream & operator<< (ostream &output, Rational &rhs);

	public:

		// The rule of 3 - big 3
		// 1. Copy constructor
		// 2. Destructor
		// 3. Overloaded assignment operator

		// Constructor - ctor
		Rational (int newDenominator = 1, int newNumerator = 1);

		// copy constructo
		Rational (Rational &rhs);

		// Destructor - dtor
		~Rational ();

		// setters - mutators
		void setNumerator (int newNumerator);
		void setDenominator (int newDenominator);

		// getters - accessors
		int getNumerator ();
		int getDenominator ();

		Rational addition (Rational num1, Rational num2);

		Rational & operator= (Rational &rhs);
		Rational  operator+ (Rational &rhs);
		//bool operator> (Rational &rhs);
		// true, false

	private:
		int mNumerator;
		int mDenominator;
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The linked parishes of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Silvis and Saint Patrick in Colona welcome you to our new website. We are a Roman Catholic community of believers located in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria dedicated to growing closer to Jesus Christ on a daily basis and becoming the saints who God has called us to be. Our parishes welcome all who want to come to Holy Mass, go to Eucahristic Adoration in our Perpetual Adoration Chapel, are looking for answers to life's difficult questions, and to anyone and everyone seeking the truth about Jesus Christ, the Sacred Scriptures, and the Catholic Church. We are happy to pray for you as well and be of service in any way we can help. All are welcome! We look forward to seeing you soon!


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text:
Field Poll Examines Governor's Future
When it comes to Governor Schwarzenegger's future career options there's some mixed news for him in the latest Field Poll.
By Jenny O'Mara
Governor Schwarzenegger has not announced what he plans to do when his term is up… but some have speculated he might run for the U.S. Senate. Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo says the most recent survey shows he has an edge among voters in a hypothetical match against incumbent Barbara Boxer.
"What we find is Schwarzenegger and Boxer are almost in a dead heat, we had 44-percent of voters saying they prefer Schwarzenegger if he decided to run, 43-percent would choose Boxer…"
However, voters do not support the Governor for President. 63-percent say they would not be inclined to vote for him for the top job—but he can't run because he was not born in the U-S. As for his current job, the poll shows Schwarzenegger's approval rating is at 56-percent. It was 65-percent in 2004 but dipped sharply in 2005 when he called a special election.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 3:00 AM


text:
Jaime Belmonte
Jaime Belmonte Caparrós is a Spanish-Finnish composer, conductor and researcher based in Helsinki. He works as an independent composer and collaborates with different artists exploring transculturality, transdisciplinarity and new ways of expression using technologies. His music strives to create refined and captivating sound worlds employing a blend of traditional, extended techniques and electronics. The perception of space and sonic architecture is a constant presence in Jaime's work.
Jaime Belmonte Caparrós is a Spanish composer and conductor based in Helsinki. His music is regularly performed in America, Asia and Europe and he works both as an independent composer and collaborating with different artists exploring transculturality, transdisciplinarity and new ways of expression using technologies.
At the moment he is finishing his Master's Degree in composition at the Sibelius Academy under the guidance of Lauri Kilpiö and has taken lessons with Pierluigi Billone, Aureliano Cattaneo, Stefano Gervasoni, Mark Andre, José María Sánchez Verdú, Giovanni Verrando, Alberto Bernal, Francisco López, Wolfgang Heiniger, Fabián Panisello, Marco Stroppa, Jukka Tiensuu among others. His music has been premiered in festivals like Ung Nordisk Music, Sibafest, Mixtur, SMCC and Tenso Days, by ensembles like Avanti, Zagros Ensemble or Helsinki Chamber Choir.
He has participated in several academic programs like Ruta Quetzal in 2005, Tenso Workshop for Choir and Electronics in 2016 and Transcultural Collaboration in 2017. His music has been awarded in competitions like the 1st PAMPA residency and the 1st Witold Szalonek Composition Competition, and supported by the Martin Wegelius Foundation.
As well as composer, conductor and teacher, he is a very active choir singer and has been founder member of the platform for contemporary music Ineditio in Murcia (Spain). He has also been part of the board of the Korvat Auki society for young composers.
Currently, he carries out doctoral artistic research at the Sibelius Academy, studying methodologies of interdisciplinary collaboration, their effect on efficiency, creative freedom, power structures and collective authorship, and investigating the changes that the collaborative environment produces in a composer's creative process. He graduated with a Bachelor and Master in composition at the Sibelius Academy under the guidance of Lauri Kilpiö and mentored by Kaija Saariaho, and has a previous degree in composition and music theory at the Conservatory of Murcia. In addition, he has participated in numerous workshops, masterclasses, academic programs and residencies such as Ruta Quetzal, Tenso Workshop for Choir and Electronics, Transcultural Collaboration and Atlas Lab.
Jaime's music is heard regularly in Europe, Asia and America, appearing in numerous festivals and performed by leading contemporary music ensembles. In addition, his music has been awarded in competitions such as the 42nd Irino Prize, the 1st PAMPA residency and the 1st Witold Szalonek competition, and his artistic work has been supported by the Pro Musica Foundation, the Laura and Marketta Simes Foundation, the Martin Wegelius Foundation, the Sibelius Academy Foundation and the Sibelius Fund.
Jaime's compositional and academic life is combined with the artistic direction of Ruamjai and Järvenpää Chamber Choir, an active career as a professional ensemble singer, music instruction at the International School of Music Finland, and the membership at the Korvat Auki society for young composers, the Society of Finnish Composers and the Catalysti association of transcultural artists.
Listen to Jaime Belmonte on SoundCloud
Concerto for Film and Orchestra
2211 2000 01 0, str [ehn]
Perpetual morning
fl+pic+bfl, cl+bcl, vlc, pno
Xibalbá
0222 4231 00 0, 3chx


AS REVIEWED in this issue of The ASCO Post, ASCO and Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) have issued an updated guideline on the role of bone-modifying agents in metastatic breast cancer.1 The updated guideline supports a change in clinical practice for our patients with breast cancer and bone metastasis. After reviewing data from recently published phase III studies evaluating dosing intervals for zoledronic acid in patients with bone metastases, the ASCO/CCO update now includes the option of every-12-week dosing of zoledronic acid (4 mg over 15 minutes), in addition to the prior standard interval of every 3 to 4 weeks.
Recent phase III noninferiority trials of zoledronic acid dosing intervals include two trials with patients who had received approximately 1 year of prior bisphosphonate therapy (both restricted to metastatic breast cancer) and one trial in patients with no prior bisphosphonate treatment for bone metastases (including patients with prostate cancer and multiple myeloma, as well as breast cancer). All three trials showed similar rates of skeletal complications whether zoledronic acid was dosed every 12 weeks or every 4 weeks, with at least trends seen in some studies for fewer serum creatinine elevations and lower rates of osteonecrosis of the jaw with the less-frequent dosing interval.
Dr. Gralow is Professor of Breast Medical Oncology and Professor of Global Health at the University of Washington School of Medicine; Director of Breast Medical Oncology at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance; and Member of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.
THE GUIDELINE continues to strongly support the initiation of bone-modifying agents in all patients with breast cancer and bone metastases but still does not recommend one bone-modifying agent over another. Pamidronate, zoledronic acid, and denosumab (Xgeva) continue to be recommended equally in this update, as they were in the 2011 guideline.
Although the ASCO/CCO update supports dosing intervals of every 12 weeks and every 3 to 4 weeks for zoledronic acid, there is not an identifiable population of breast cancer patients with bone metastases who appear to be harmed by using the less-frequent dosing interval, either after prior exposure to bisphosphonates or in the first-line setting. Additionally, with ASCO/CCO support for longer dosing intervals of zoledronic acid and the availability of generic versions of the drug that have dropped the price considerably, it is hard to any longer imagine a role for pamidronate. The mandatory 2-hour infusion for pamidronate and lack of data supporting extended dosing intervals beyond every 3 to 4 weeks make this a less convenient and now more costly option.
As for denosumab, there is no current evidence to support lengthening dosing intervals in metastatic patients. Based on differences in the mechanism of action, drug distribution, and half-life between bisphosphonates and RANK ligand inhibitors, one cannot extrapolate findings in the zoledronic acid trials to denosumab. The head-to-head comparison of denosumab and zoledronic acid in breast cancer patients with bone metastasis did show a longer time to first skeletal-related event with denosumab, although overall survival, progression-free survival, and adverse events were similar between the arms.
In a cost analysis included in the ASCO/CCO guideline update, every-4-week denosumab is estimated to have an annual cost of more than 100 times that of every-12-week zoledronic acid (taking into account only drug pricing). A recently published non–industry-funded cost-effectiveness analysis took into account costs associated with the drug, drug administration, and treatment of a skeletal-related event; it concluded that every-3-month zoledronic acid was more cost-effective than denosumab (with a mean ninefold higher cost) and that quality-adjusted life-years were virtually identical.2 With several remaining years of patent protection for denosumab before biosimilars are expected to become available, denosumab prices are not expected to drop in the near future. There may be some patients for whom denosumab is a superior agent, including possibly those with the highest risk of skeletal-related events or those for whom the subcutaneous delivery route represents a major convenience, but for the average breast cancer patient with newly diagnosed bone metastases, it is hard to justify the considerably higher cost of denosumab.
The ASCO/CCO guideline update recommends sticking to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved package insert dosing for denosumab (120 mg at 4-week intervals) at present, while we await the results of ongoing studies evaluating the extension of denosumab dosing intervals in patients with bone metastases.
THE UPDATED ASCO/CCO guideline on the role of bone-modifying agents in metastatic breast cancer emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive and multidisciplinary supportive care and pain management strategy. That said, these guidelines specifically do not address the treatment of hypercalcemia of malignancy with bone-modifying agents, and they are restricted to breast cancer. Evaluation of longer zoledronic acid dosing intervals for tumor types other than breast cancer was not within the scope of this update, although one of the trials leading to the change in the ASCO/CCO guideline included patients with prostate cancer and myeloma.
We still have not determined the optimal duration of treatment with bone-modifying agents once initiated, and ASCO/CCO is maintaining a recommendation for "indefinite use" in the metastatic breast cancer population, although reiterating the importance of weighing potential benefits and harms of long-term therapy. Obtaining data on the long-term effects of bone-modifying agents is important, especially in our patients with metastatic breast cancer who have a long life expectancy.
Can we stop bone-modifying agents when the cancer is quiescent and restart them at disease progression without causing harm? Is there a definable group, possibly those with very active bone disease, who still benefit from shorter dosing intervals? Is there a patient population for whom RANK ligand inhibition is preferred? How do we help those who continue to have skeletal-related events despite treatment with bone-modifying agents? We still have work to do to optimally support our patients with bone metastases.
DISCLOSURE: Dr. Gralow has served in a consulting or advisory role for Novartis, Genentech, Pfizer, Merck, Puma, Sandoz, and AstraZeneca.
2. Shapiro CL, Moriarty JP, Dusetzina S, et al: Cost-effectiveness analysis of monthly zoledronic acid, zoledronic acid every 3 months, and monthly denosumab in women with breast cancer and skeletal metastases: CALGB 70604 (Alliance). J Clin Oncol 35:3949-3955, 2017.


IPL 2016: How to watch IPL 2016 cricket matches live on television, mobile and online in the UK and abroad. Eight teams battle for the IPL trophy in the ninth edition of the tournament.
The ninth edition of the Indian Premier League set to begin on April 9 and end on May 29 and is expected to enjoy the live action of IPL by all the cricket fans in India and around the world. The IPL entertainment factor is not limited to the cricket field, but also outside. It is a competition of any age or gender, along with people from all walks of life coming together to support their teams and favorite players.
This edition will see two new participants Rising supergiants of Pune and Gujarat lions, replaces Chennai Super Kings and suspended Rajasthan Royals. The opening ceremony of the tournament will take place on April 8, with the first match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and newcomers Rising supergiants Pune.
The games are set to be telecasted live on television, mobile and online streaming. Find out how you can watch live 2016 in the UK and abroad.
Here is a list of the official television that will telecast live IPL 2016 worldwide.
The IPL matches starting time will be are 11:30 am BST and 03:30 PM BST. TV coverage of IPL games will be available live on Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports 3 HD.
Live TV coverage will be available on Sony Max, Sony Six and Sony ESPN.


text:
Share this Story: 'EXPENSIVE, EXTREME:' Environment Canada releases annual list of top weather stories
'EXPENSIVE, EXTREME:' Environment Canada releases annual list of top weather stories
The aftermath of an intense hail storm shows in a damaged home and car in Calgary on Monday, June 15, 2020. Photo by Gavin Young /Postmedia
It was another year of record-breaking disasters and crazy, dangerous weather from coast to coast, says Environment Canada's senior climatologist.
A vicious hailstorm in Calgary wrote off more cars than Albertans normally buy in an entire year. Heat in Ontario quadrupled Toronto's normal number of hot, stuffy nights.
'EXPENSIVE, EXTREME:' Environment Canada releases annual list of top weather stories Back to video
The East Coast experienced eight hurricanes compared with the normal two or three. A chokehold of wildfire smoke gave southern British Columbia some of the dirtiest air in the world.
A flood washed residents of Fort McMurray, Alta., from their homes.
"It was an expensive year. It was an extreme year," said Dave Phillips. "There were no shockers."
Compiling the annual list of Top 10 Canadian weather events since 1996 hasn't left Phillips blase. It's just that, after 24 straight years of normal or above-normal temperatures, this is what Canada can now expect.
"Scientists have seen this very clear link between climate change and weather extremes," said Phillips. "There's no denying it any more."
The year 2020, he said, was remarkable for the impact weather and climatic events outside Canada had inside its borders.
Waters in the Atlantic, far off Canadian shores, were up to three degrees warmer than average.
"Conditions outside of Canada made for a more active hurricane season," Phillips said. "It was a hyperactive season."
Smoke from vast wildfires in the U.S. Pacific Northwest drifted into southern B.C. and as far as the eastern slopes of Alberta's Rocky Mountains. Victoria and Vancouver had up to 80% more smoky hours in September than they did in 2018 when the province was ablaze.
"What 2020 showed, through smoky skies in British Columbia, frequent hurricanes in the East, and vanishing ice in the North, is that climate change occurring elsewhere outside of Canada is also having an increasingly greater impact on the health and well-being of Canadians at home," Phillips said.
Weather events cost Canadians $2.5 billion overall this year — and that's just insured losses.
Phillips's top weather story occurred June 13 when golf-ball-sized hail pounded Calgary.
Driven by 70-kilometre winds, the icy missiles shattered windows, downed trees and battered 32,000 cars. The flood that followed swamped streets, led to blackouts in more than 10,000 homes and cost about $1.3 billion in insurance claims.
B.C.'s smoky September took the next spot.
At one point, Victoria was shrouded for 186 consecutive hours. In some places, temperatures fell eight degrees as smoke blotted the sun. Vancouver's air was up to seven times more toxic than it had been during B.C.'s 2018 wildfires.
Back to Alberta for third place.
A cold spring followed by rapid warmth and rain caused ice jams that raised water levels on rivers in the Fort McMurray area between 4 1/2 and six metres in a matter of hours. The ice slabs were so big explosives couldn't remove them and 13,000 residents had to leave their homes for more than a week.
Anendless — and merciless — summer in Central and Eastern Canada was fourth.
On May 27, Montreal hit 36.6 C, an all-time May record. In June, Quebec broke 140 temperature records. Ottawa's average temperature for the hot spell was its highest in 145 years.
Fredericton had the most days above 30 C in 50 years. Summerside, P.E.I. had 10 such days compared with the average of one.
It wouldn't be a Canadian list without a snowfall story. This year it came from St. John's, NL., where a blizzard deemed a "bomb cyclone" in January howled 18 straight hours. Nearly a metre of snow buried cars up to their hood ornaments.
Canada needs to come to grips with climate change, said Phillips, who added that the COVID-19 pandemic may show reason for optimism.
"The lesson from the pandemic is that the world mobilized," Phillips said.
"Science is the winner. Climate change (science) may very well benefit from that."
At least, that's his hope.
"There's no vaccine for extreme weather."


text:
A vetővirág (Sternbergia) az amarilliszfélék egyik nemzetsége mindössze 8–10 fajjal.

Származása, elterjedése

Fajai Dél-Európától Közép-Ázsiáig találhatók meg; a legtöbb Törökországban él. Magyarországon egy fajuk honos, az apró vetővirág (Strenbergia colchiciflora). Megtalálható a Csanádi-hát területén is.

Megjelenése, felépítése

Hagymás növény, látványos virágokkal. Toktermése van.

Életmódja, termőhelye

Leginkább sziklás lejtőkön, mezsgyéken, valamint az ún. garrigue növényzetben, tehát a mediterrán mészkőfennsíkok nem összefüggő, másodlagos cserjéseiben fordul elő. Virágai és levelei az év különböző időszakaiban fejlődnek ki.

Felhasználása

Az őszi vetővirág (Sternbergia lutea) kedvelt kerti növény.

A vadon élő vetővirágokat szép virágaik miatt sokat szedtek; Törökország sokáig exportálta is. Mivel egyrészt ennek eredményeként, másrészt a művelt földek terjeszkedése miatt vadon élő állományai erősen lecsökkentek, a ritkább fajokat a 2000-es években védetté nyilvánították, és ezzel az export is megszűnt.

Jegyzetek

Források

 Növénykatalógus
 Kertpont.hu: Őszi meglepetés

Növénynemzetségek
Mérgező növények
Kerti virágok
Amarilliszfélék


The network declined to air an ad on the president's first 100 days that used the term to describe the mainstream media.
CNN and Donald Trump are at it again.
In the ad, the narrator runs through the president's "success," highlighting the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and his tax reform proposal, adding: "You wouldn't know it from watching the news. America is winning and President Trump is making America great again." CNN took issue with the labeling of mainstream media as "fake news." The words are also spelled over the faces of anchors in the ad—NBC's Andrea Mitchell, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, ABC's George Stephanopoulos, CBS's Scott Pelley, and CNN's own Wolf Blitzer.
The recently released ad on Trump's first 100 days in office is the first of his re-election campaign, Politico reported Monday. And despite an attempt to jumpstart Trump's 2020 campaign, recent tensions over the ad indicate the spat between CNN and Trump won't easily be resolved.


Ella fell in love with circus at the age of 7 when she joined the Australia's only full time children's circus school – Flying Fruit Fly Circus. Through extensive performing and touring with award winning productions, Ella continued to diversify her performance repertoire.
At age 15 she landed the lead role of Ringmaster in Joining the Chorus's production of Barnum the musical, which performed a sellout 2 week season in the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne, Australia.
This lead to an invitation to attend the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne, Australia to complete certificates III & IV in circus arts while simultaneously completing her schooling at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School.
Since graduating with her bachelor degree from NICA in 2014 Ella has performed and toured extensively specialising in corporate and cabaret performance work.
Ella now aims to continue sharing her passion for circus with as many people as possible all over the world with her performing and teaching work.


text:
Юбер Ведрін (;  31 липня 1947, Бельгард-ан-Марш, Франція) — французький державний і політичний діяч, дипломат.

Біографія

Народився 31 липня 1947 року в Бельгард-ан-Марш. Закінчив Академію державного управління (ENA). Паризький інститут політичних досліджень.

До 1981 — працював у міністерстві культури Франції, згодом в Міністерстві закордонних справ Франції.

З 1981 по 1986 — співробітник служби дипломатичного радника президента Франції Франсуа Міттеррана.

З 1986 по 1994 — дипломатичний радник, прес-секретар Президента Франції.

З 1994 по 1995 — керівник особистого секретаріату Президента Франції, фактично керував Францією під час хвороби Президента.

З 1996 по 1997 — займався адвокатською практикою.

З 1997 по 2002 — міністр закордонних справ Франції в уряді Ліонеля Жоспена за президентства Жака Ширака.

23-24 липня 1998 — перебував з офіційним візитом в Києві. Є одним із засновників українсько-французького «Привілейованого партнерства».

Викладає в Паризькому інституті політичних досліджень.

Примітки

Посилання

 Зленко А. М. Дипломатія і політика. Україна в процесі динамічних геополітичних змін / Худож.-оформлювач Б. П. Бублик, В. А. Мурликін. — Харків: Фоліо, 2003. — 559 с. — ISBN 966-03-2130-9.
 Українська дипломатична енциклопедія: У 2-х т./ Редкол.: Л. В. Губерський (голова) та ін. — К.: Знання України, 2004. — Т. 1. — 760 с. — ISBN 966-316-039-X.

Дипломати Франції
Уродженці Крезу
Народились 31 липня
Народились 1947
Члени французької Соціалістичної партії


text:
extern "C" bool QueryPerformanceCounter(uint64_t *);
extern "C" bool QueryPerformanceFrequency(uint64_t *);
double currentTime() {
    uint64_t t, freq;
    QueryPerformanceCounter(&t);
    QueryPerformanceFrequency(&freq);
    return (t * 1000.0) / freq;
}
#else
#include <sys/time.h>
double currentTime() {
    static bool first_call = true;
    static timeval reference_time;
    if (first_call) {
        first_call = false;
        gettimeofday(&reference_time, NULL);
        return 0.0;
    } else {
        timeval t;
        gettimeofday(&t, NULL);
        return ((t.tv_sec - reference_time.tv_sec)*1000.0 +
                (t.tv_usec - reference_time.tv_usec)/1000.0);
    }
}
#endif


Reviews for "Christmas Shotgun Defense"
Ridiculous as always. Thanks for a good laugh, Sos.
For what it was, I really enjoyed the game! The goofy dialogue between the two characters is what kept me wanting to finish the levels. First impressions were underwhelming, especially when enemies got by with no repercussions, but I think it fits the game, and loses its goofy feel if people had to be concerned about things like 'winning'. Weapons were simple, in the best way possible. After the shotgun, it was just bigger and badder spam weapons, great for for mowing down wise men and stuff with high health. I overall enjoyed myself, especially the twist at the end. Great job! It's a nice little game to pass a few spare minutes and is very good at what it does. Stuff that wouldn't work in other games (like limited weapon choice, overly simple mechanics, minimal programming, etc.) work perfectly here because there is an understanding this game is not meant to be taken seriously, and establishes it right off the bat. All elements work for what this game is trying to do.


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text:
The partition of Belgium is a hypothetical situation, which has been discussed by both Belgian and international media, envisioning a split of Belgium along linguistic divisions, with the Flemish Community (Flanders) and the French-speaking Community (Wallonia) becoming independent states. Alternatively, it is hypothesized that Flanders could join the Netherlands (Greater Netherlands movement) and Wallonia could join France (Rattachist movement) or Luxembourg.

Both communities have a large degree of autonomy within the Belgian federation.

Complicating questions of partition are the status in a partitioned Belgium of Brussels (an autonomous bilingual region, geographically located in the Flemish half of the country) and the minority German-speaking Community.

Background
The territories corresponding to the modern Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourgish states are collectively called the Low Countries. They emerged at the end of the Middle Ages as a set of more or less independent fiefdoms loosely linked to the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. The southern part of this region—the Southern Netherlands, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, the Imperial Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy and the Duchy of Bouillon—was partitioned both politically into many fiefdoms, and linguistically into the Romanic and Germanic Sprachräume. The feudal borders did not match the linguistic borders, and some fiefdoms were divided into Francophone and Germanic regions. However, the ruling aristocracy, which usually spoke languages other than the population, did not much bother about these language-related disparities. After the 1581 secession of the Dutch Republic in the northern Low Countries, French progressively emerged in the Southern Netherlands under the influence of the Habsburg nobility and, later, of the French invasions, as the upper class language, not only at the court but also in the administration and in the political circles.

Antagonism between speakers of French and Dutch increased after the independence of Belgium in 1830, when residents of the Southern Netherlands rebelled against the newfound hegemony of the northern provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Major European powers were divided in opinion over the fallout of the revolution. Ultimately, the state of Belgium, composed of provinces of both French-speaking and Dutch-speaking people, gained independence as a buffer state between France and the Netherlands. French became the sole official language. Dutch speakers demanded equal rights beginning in the late 19th century, but these were only introduced gradually throughout the 20th century. While postage stamps became bilingual in 1893, it was not until 1967 that an official Dutch version of the Constitution was accepted. Since independence, socio-economic imbalances have fueled resentment between the two communities.

Since the 1960s, separate regions have been created based on the country's linguistic division. As a result, minorities in certain areas (in and around Brussels and along the language border) claim to be disenfranchised in local government and services. Along with the usual left–right political division, there is also a linguistic division, causing a double party system which complicates coalition creation on the national level. The crisis over the formation of a coalition government in the aftermath of the 2007 elections, coupled with the unsolved problem of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde electoral district and the rise of extremist political parties, has given a fresh impetus to the issue, with recent opinion polls showing sizable support for a partition. However, support for a unified state remains among the majority of Belgium's people. Unitarists claim that the monarchy, strong national institutions, and the geopolitical importance of the linguistically and ethnically mixed Brussels serve as unifying elements, while separatists rather claim these factors (and the considerable state debt) serve merely as obstacles to an inevitable partition. Some political observers have suggested that a possible partition of Belgium may be a blow to the European Union model of diverse cultures working together.

According to a 2019 opinion poll by the Flemish newspaper Het Belang van Limburg, 28.4% of the population supports a partition of Belgium whereas 62.7% opposes it; the remaining 8.8% having no opinion; ignoring those without opinion, this would leave 31.2% in favour and 68.8% opposed to partition. However, the opinion poll was limited to the Flemish province of Limburg, which is considered somewhat less Flemish nationalist, especially compared to Antwerp Province.

Regional demographics

As no census exists, there are no official statistics on Belgium's three official languages or their dialects. Various criteria, including the language(s) of parents, of education, or the second-language status of foreign born, may affect suggested figures. An estimated 59% of the Belgian population speaks Dutch (often colloquially referred to as Flemish), and French is spoken by 40%. Total Dutch speakers number 6.23 million, concentrated in the northern Flanders region, while French speakers comprise 3.32 million in Wallonia and an estimated 870,000 (85%) of the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region. The German-speaking Community is made up of 73,000 people in the east of Wallonia; around 10,000 German and 60,000 Belgian nationals are speakers of German. Roughly 23,000 more German speakers live in municipalities near the official Community.

The Capital Region having bilingual status obliges its authorities to attend to people and organisations in French or Dutch language as these prefer, and to show street names in both languages on the plates, but does not allow a bilingual school as education belongs to either the French Community or the Flemish one. Geographically, it is an enclave in the Flemish Region, though near Wallonia. Constitutionally, it is a politically distinct Region, while within its boundaries both the Flemish and French Communities exercise their authority. Historically, the local language of Brussels was Dutch, and Dutch remained the vernacular language of a majority of inhabitants until around 1950.

Dutch is mainly spoken by approximately 150,000 residents, or a 15% minority, at most. The city has strong economic ties with surrounding Flanders, and many Dutch-speakers commute to Brussels for work; but, at the same time, the expanding suburbs of Brussels led to a majority of French-speakers in six Flemish villages.

Feudal borders

The territory of Belgium is the southern part of the historical region called Low Countries.  The Low Countries emerged at the end of the Middle Ages as a very loose political confederation of fiefdoms ruled in personal union by the House of Habsburg: the Seventeen Provinces. The largest components of this union were the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Flanders, the County of Hainaut and the Duchy of Luxembourg.  The Prince-Bishopric of Liège was almost an enclave within the Seventeen Provinces. The prince-bishopric was not formally included in the Habsburgs' dominion but was, since the time of Emperor Charles V, strongly influenced by its Habsburg neighbors.  The border which emerged after the Dutch Revolt and the Eighty Years' War split the Seventeen Provinces into the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands.  In particular Brabant and Flanders were divided into northern and southern components. Though the fiefdoms constituting the Southern Netherlands were more or less ruled by a single reigning House, they were all quite distinct.  Different traditions and dialects of Dutch and Walloon appeared.  Within the largest fiefdoms like Liège, Flanders and Luxembourg, several distinct languages and dialects were in use.

The feudal borders partitioning Belgium during the Ancien Régime have nothing in common with the partitioning lines which currently separate the Belgian federal entities. The French disbanded these feudal entities and replaced them with departments during the French occupation from 1794 to 1815. The new entities or departments mirrored, approximately, the language border. For instance the new division separated the bilingual kernel of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège into two more or less monolingual regions. The only major exceptions were the bilingual Dyle and Forêts departments. The departments would eventually become the provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and later on of Belgium. The name of the provinces were inspired by the roughly corresponding medieval fiefdoms.  In particular, the Dyle department became the province of Brabant, that is the most southern part of the older duchy of Brabant.

In 1815, the territory now constituting Belgium was incorporated into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, which had been created to rehabilitate and consolidate the former Seventeen Provinces and serve as a buffer against any expansionist ambitions of France. However, this placed the Catholic Belgian provinces, including French-speaking Wallonia, under Dutch-majority rule and a Calvinist Dutch king. The Belgians had little influence over their lives and resented Dutch control and domination over economic, political and social institutions, sentiment that culminated in revolution in 1830.

Major European powers (which included France, Prussia and the United Kingdom) were divided over their response to the revolution of the Belgian people against the Dutch royal authorities. France favored the secession of Belgium from the Netherlands, hoping to annex all or at least part of the area, which was also the aim of most of the Belgian insurgents. After this proposal had been rejected by the other European powers, which supported the continued union of the Netherlands, Charles de Flahaut, a French diplomat, proposed a partition of the Southern Netherlands (most areas of modern Belgium). To this end, the parts of the provinces of Liège, of Limburg and of Namur east of the Meuse river as well as the cities of Maastricht and Liège and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg would go to Prussia. Part of the province of East Flanders, nearly all of the province of Brabant, the province of Hainaut and the province of Namur west of the Meuse would be assigned to France. The province of Antwerp—except the city of Antwerp itself—and the province of Limburg, west of the Meuse river—except Maastricht—would remain with the Netherlands, as would a small part of the province of Brabant, the former Oranje Lordship of Diest. West Flanders, most of East Flanders, including Zeelandic Flanders, and the city of Antwerp were to form the Free State of Antwerp, under British protection.

However, this plan was rejected as absurd by the French ambassador to the United Kingdom, Talleyrand, who cited the danger posed by a British base on the European mainland. Belgium was subsequently established as an independent Kingdom. According to Flemish and Walloon nationalists, it was established as a 'buffer state' to check the ambitions of France. Wallonia and Flanders did not exist in 1830. The National Congress of the Kingdom chose a German prince, Leopold I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, as the Head of State. A historian of the Belgian revolution said that "in Belgium, there are parties and provinces, but no nation. Like a tent erected for one night, the new monarchy, after sheltering us from the tempest, will disappear without a trace." This opinion is however not shared by the overwhelming majority of historians.

Language border
The language border separating the Germanic and Romance Sprachräume moved over the centuries which preceded the establishment of the Belgian state over an area between the Ardennes and the more or less straight line going from Aachen to Calais on the one hand and the much less populated frontier from Aachen to Arlon via Malmedy. However, this frontier has not much changed since the 18th century. For example, in the communes of Mouscron and Comines-Warneton, French seems to be dominant at least since 1761.  The frontier splitting the older province of Brabant and the Hesbaye moved regularly during the 17th and 18th centuries. Some communes, such as Hélécine, switched from Dutch to French and others, such as Herstappe, switched from French to Dutch. The Voeren have a long Flemish tradition and, in the Land of Herve, several communes which used to use Germanic dialects switched to French during the 18th century, as for example, Berneau and Warsage, both now part of Dalhem and Saint-Jean-Sart, a hamlet of Aubel.

Prior to the 20th century, this language border did not merely distinguish speakers of Belgian French, standard Dutch and standard German, as today, but between Romance and Germanic dialect continua. The Germanic Sprachraum was made of different components such as West Flemish, East Flemish, Brabantic, Limburgish, Ripuarian (transitional dialects between Limbourgish and Ripuarian are called Low Dietsch), Moselle Franconian dialect of Trier and Luxembourgish. The Romance sprachraum was made of Picard, Walloon (with four distinct dialects around the cities of Charleroi, Namur, Liège and Bastogne), Lorrain and Champenois. Due to mass education and the expansion of modern media such as television, the mid-20th century saw a uniformization of the different language regions, leading to the domination of the standard languages in their respective domains. In Wallonia, French became the dominant, priority language (local dialects being seldom used). Elsewhere in the Low Countries, the local dialects survived better, at least in private use.

The historical language border in the Low Countries corresponds to the frontier between populations whose majorities spoke distinct languages. However, the ruling upper classes most often spoke French. As was the case in many European noble courts, French was historically the nobility's language. This was also the case most of the rest of the Low Countries.  Several sovereigns of the region, notably including Maria Theresa of Austria, succeeded in making French not only the language of the court but also of their administrations. For instance, while the major part of the population of Luxembourg speaks Luxembourgish in a private context, the administrative language of Luxembourg is French. As another example, the motto of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is the French phrase: "Je maintiendrai", because the language of the Orange-Nassau reigning family was French until 1890. In Flanders, until the beginning of the 20th century, many upper class Flemish burghers, such as Maurice Maeterlinck or Suzanne Lilar, used French as their first language. Another example is the University of Ghent which was a French-speaking institution until 1930.

The language areas were established in 1963. The division into language areas was included into the Belgian Constitution in 1970. The border between the language areas is the so-called Belgian language or linguistic border.  It is based on the actual language border between the sprachräume but is not utterly identical. Through constitutional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s, regionalisation of the unitary state led to a three-tiered federation: federal, regional, and community governments were created, a compromise designed to minimize linguistic, cultural, social and economic tensions.  The authority of the Regions and Communities is limited to some language areas:
 Flanders to the Dutch language area, Wallonia to the French and German language areas, Brussels to the bilingual language area,
 the Flemish Community to the Dutch and bilingual language areas, the French Community to the French and bilingual language areas, and, the German-speaking Community to the German language area.
This territorial issue, in particular around Brussels, is a source of tension between the Belgian communities.

Nationalisms and regionalisms

Belgian nationalism

Currents of Belgian nationalism began to emerge in the late 19th century, seeking to overcome the ethnic and linguistic divide and create a national culture. Historian Henri Pirenne asserted that Belgian identity was not defined on racial, ethnic or linguistic lines, but in the civilizational community of the Belgian people. Supporters of a partition of Belgium argue that the synchronized attempts to forge a national identity and culture have been unable to forestall ethno-linguistic rivalries.

Flemish movement

French was the only official language of Belgium until 1898, even though Flanders was and still is predominantly Dutch-speaking. The government's long refusal to acknowledge Dutch as an official language led to hostilities between Flanders and the French-speaking bourgeoisie who held both political and economic power. These hostilities gave rise to the Flemish movement, which began as a literary and cultural organization, but later became a political movement that called for legal recognition of Dutch and for social emancipation of the Flemish people. The 1898 Equality Law made Dutch an official language of Belgium, but it did not become the sole official language of Flanders until 1921. The Francization of Brussels was at that time in full expansion. To this day, French remains the language of the aristocracy.

While a Walloon industrial and mining base developed during the 19th century, the largely agrarian Flanders area trailed in socio-economic development, leading to widespread demands for regional autonomy and the correction of imbalances in taxation, social services, and representation. The deterioration of the Walloon industrial base in the late 20th century occurred parallel to the growth of service and technological industries in Flanders, aggravating socio-economic tensions. Modern Fleming demands center over the alleged over-taxation of Flanders and insufficient autonomy and complaints over the concentration of social services in Wallonia, causing a so-called "stream of money" from Flanders to Wallonia. The Flemish movement has inspired the growth of Flemish nationalist political parties such as the Volksunie (People's Union) which split into different parties including the Vlaams Blok (succeeded by the Vlaams Belang), the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) and FlemishProgressives. While the N-VA seeks greater autonomy and favours the independence of Flanders, possibly in a confederate state, the Vlaams Belang is more clearly separatist.

Walloon/Francophone movement

The Walloon movement arose in the 19th century along with the language disputes; French-speakers sought the preservation of the French language and culture as the defining creed of the country. French-speaking politicians (who were sometimes  elected in Flanders) and other influential citizens opposed the Flemish demands for the recognition of Dutch and wished to maintain a centralized government to prevent regionalization. On the other hand, the Walloon politician Jules Destrée reacted in 1912 to the process of minorisation of Wallonia and asked explicitly for a splitting of Belgium along linguistic lines. However, Destrée was using the word separation in French in the sense of federalization (), and not in the sense of complete partition. The New York Times explained that Destrée was afraid of the domination of the Flemings within Belgian institutions.

The Flemish historian Maarten van Ginderachter wrote that the Walloons were "excluded from the national power, between 1884 and 1902 there was only one Walloon in the Belgian government at any time".

After the division of Belgium into two clearly separate linguistic areas, and after the economic decline of Wallonia, two more or less separate currents have formed. One is a more regional Walloon movement, demanding to maintain the solidarity between the richer north and the poorer south, but also increasingly stressing the separate cultural identity of Wallonia. Another current is merely Francophone and pro-Belgian, but not regional as such, mainly based on the French-speakers of Brussels and especially of the surrounding rim municipalities which are effectively suburbs of Brussels but situated in Flanders. The two movements have in common the support of the French language, support of the Belgian state and opposition to further federal devolution. A minority of Walloons, however, support increased independence. Flemish nationalists have claimed that the French-speaking "Belgicists" of Brussels and its suburbs do not have common interests with the Walloons, but that these two parties have formed a quid-pro-quo alliance to oppose the Dutch-speaking majority. According to this analysis, Walloon politicians would allegedly give political support to the French-speaking politicians of Brussels (and its surroundings) in return for receiving economic support to Wallonia.

Since the 1960s, Belgian political parties and civic organizations have witnessed bifurcation of membership and organizations between Walloon and Flanders. Ethnic tensions affect the working of local governments, which often pass laws prohibiting the use of the language of the respective minority populations in official functions. For example, municipal council meetings in Flanders must take place in Dutch, even if a majority of the council is French-speaking. On the other hand, Dutch-speaking citizens of the Flemish municipalities close to Brussels claim their position is being undermined by the minority rights of French-speaking settlers. Significant pressures in living conditions have kept the two main communities separate and confined to their majority regions; stark ethnic and linguistic segregation has emerged in Brussels, the capital and largest city of the country. Ethnic tensions have affected some of the city's surrounding municipalities, which are situated in Flanders, but have had a great influx of monolingual French-speakers as a result of suburbanisation. These Dutch-speaking "facility municipalities" are obliged to offer local government services in French, meaning health-care and public amenities are divided on linguistic lines, and in some municipalities the original French-speaking minority is believed to have become a majority.

Brussels

The main reason for Brussels being mainly French-speaking was the low social prestige of the Dutch language in Belgium during the 19th century and the severe discrimination against both Dutch as a language and the Flemings. French was, at that time, the language of the administration, government, culture, law and education. From 1880 onwards, more and more Dutch-speaking people became bilingual and passed only French on to their children, resulting in a rise of monolingual French-speakers after 1910. Halfway through the 20th century, the number of monolingual French-speakers carried the day over the (mostly) bilingual Flemish inhabitants. Only since the 1960s, after the fixation of the Belgian language border and the socio-economic development of Flanders was in full effect, could Dutch stem the tide of increasing French use.

The status of Brussels in a partitioned Belgium is uncertain and a source of considerable debate.

 Union with Flanders

One idea is that the city rejoins Flanders in which Brussels is geographically and economically embedded. Proposals include a guarantee that the linguistic rights of the French-speaking population in Brussels are safeguarded.

 Union with Wallonia
Another idea is that Brussels would form a union with Wallonia, often referred to as Wallobrux. One problem is that the regions do not border each other, as Brussels is an enclave in Flanders. Some French-speaking politicians therefore demand that a corridor be made between the two territories (see the topic of the extension of Brussels below).

 City-state scenario

Another idea is that Brussels would become a "European [capital] district", similar to Washington D.C. or the Australian Capital Territory, run by the EU rather than Flanders or Wallonia. The Union's structure, however, has no experience at governing at this level at present. To fulfill this solution in practice, Brussels would probably need to be an independent city-state which could join the EU on equal footing with other EU member states. The possible status of Brussels as a "city-state" has been suggested by Charles Picqué, Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region, who sees a tax on the EU institutions as a way of enriching the city. However, the Belgian issue has generated very little discussion within the EU bodies.

Extension of Brussels

A controversial issue, complicating the "city-state" scenario, is the possible extension of the Brussels capital region into the surrounding municipalities within Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant. This proposal is not necessarily linked to a split-up of Belgium.

Some have, however, suggested that these wealthy areas would make the city financially viable as an independent state, potentially give it around 1.5 million inhabitants, an airport and forest within its boundaries, and make it three or four times larger than the current capital region. Currently, Brussels is the most important seat of EU institutions, but the EU has no formal capital. It has been claimed that a large and independent status may help Brussels advance its claim as the capital of the EU.

The enlargement of the Brussels capital region is supported by many French-speakers in the Flemish municipalities with facilities for French-speakers surrounding Brussels. As a result of suburbanisation and an influx of French-speakers and EU officials from Brussels, these municipalities have in recent decades become increasingly French-speaking to an extent that French-speakers now form a majority in some municipalities. In contrast, an extension of the bilingual region is out of the question for the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of these communities and for virtually all Flemish political parties, who say that these newer inhabitants should respect and adjust to the language of the region they are moving into. In fact the facilities now in place were initially established in order to ease the adaptation of the French-speaking to living in a Flemish area.

Similar to a "Greater Brussels" region, the electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde consisted of Brussels and 35 surrounding municipalities in Flanders. Prior to its dissolution, this district was the last remaining entity in Belgium that did not coincide with provincial borders, and as such had been deemed unconstitutional by the Belgian Constitutional Court. The district was a conflict issue for several years, and a major political problem in the cabinet formation crisis of 2007–2008. In July 2012, following the 2010–2011 Belgian government formation, Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde was split into two parts as part of the sixth Belgian state reform.

 Condominium

Another proposition is the establishment of a condominium of the Flemish and the French-speaking Communities of Brussels, where both sides would govern Brussels together for national and international issues. For all local territorial policies, Brussels would be fully autonomous. For all 'non-territorial' public services (as culture, welfare and education), each community would enjoy autonomy. This idea is in general popular among Flemish politicians, such as socialist politician Louis Tobback and nationalist Bart De Wever.

Such an arrangement existed for several centuries in Maastricht. Shortly after 1200 this city received dual authority, with the prince-bishops of Liège and the dukes of Brabant holding joint sovereignty over the city.  In 1284, this dual authority was formally endorsed in a constitutional agreement, the 'Alde Caerte' ('Old Charter').  After some disputes in the interpretation, this was elaborated further in 1356 with the Doghter Caerte ('Daughter Charter'). These institutional arrangements then survived until the French Revolution.

This dual authority ensured a relatively stable and prosperous institutional environment for nearly six centuries (from  1204 till 1794). The citizens from Maastricht had to choose between the Brabant nationality (and jurisprudence) and the Liège nationality. Each had its own judges and public services. Something similar would be the case if Brussels became a condominium governed by the two major communities, the French-speakers and the Flemings.

German-speaking Community

The small German-speaking Community of Belgium in the east is in fact more an observer than a player in the difficult negotiations between Flanders and Wallonia.  The region of Eupen-Malmedy was given to Belgium in the aftermath of the First World War. (The former German city of Malmedy and the surrounding villages are Walloon and therefore are not part of the German-speaking Community.) The territory consists of two parts with a total area of about . Apart from being linked by the route of the disused Vennbahn railway, which runs as a Belgian exclave through German territory, the two parts are not connected. Approximately 75,000 people live there. The conflict between Walloons and Flemings provided the German-speaking Community with considerable autonomy. Although the region is too small to play a role in the negotiations, it obtained an autonomy similar to that of its larger neighbors. The German-speaking Belgians now have a parliament and a government with four ministers and a minister-president.

Four theoretical scenarios are usually considered in the event that a partition of Belgium would occur: remaining with Wallonia, sovereign statehood, reattachment to Germany, or attachment to Luxembourg. The community is part of the Walloon Liège Province and, per se, would stay so in the event of partition. This status quo solution is the most probable, although it is uncertain whether or not the German-speakers could maintain their cultural and political rights in the long term in an otherwise monolingual francophone country. The other three possibilities would become realistic only if Wallonia were to seek unification with France. Since the community used to be part of Germany, "reunification" seems to be the logical step to take (the region borders the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate). However, opponents to this idea argue that the autonomy of the region would be lost in Germany as much as it would be in France, though giving the region the status of a German Bundesland could alleviate this issue (cf. Saarland). Because of the strong cohesion of the regional population, however, some would prefer the creation of an independent state. They argue that the new country would, for example, be five times as large and more than twice as populous as Liechtenstein. Opponents say this would lead to the creation of a new undesired tax haven. The last option would be to merge with Luxembourg. Supporters of this scenario underline that many from St. Vith currently commute to Luxembourg and that a union with the rich Grand Duchy would be economically profitable. However this would leave the northern part of the community around Eupen as an exclave of Luxembourg. Minister-president Karl-Heinz Lambertz is said to have supported such a project. He, however, has refuted this and has committed himself to the continued union with Belgium. In an interview with the German TV-channel ZDF in February 2011, he listed the four aforementioned options concerning the future of the German-speaking Community.

21st century position of the political parties

The parties with long lasting participation in the Belgian governments, that is the Christian Democrats, the Liberals and the Socialists, as well as the Green parties, usually refuse to speak openly about a possible partitioning of Belgium.  This question seems to be taboo on the Belgian political scene and is only discussed from time to time by mainstream politicians in order to menace the other community, not unlike the atomic bomb threat during the Cold War context. In particular, on September 6, 2010, after long lasting negotiation for the formation of the federal government, most leaders of the French-speaking Socialist Party simultaneously declared that they now consider the partition of Belgium as a realistic alternative solution to the Belgian problems. This openly separatist point of view expressed by the French-speaking Socialists is analysed by some, including French-speaking liberals and most Flemish politicians, as an idle threat which aims at forcing progress in communitarian negotiations.  The heart of the problem is not the partition of Belgium but its federalization also called regionalization or communitarization. This process of devolution, which began in the 1960s due to the pressure of the Flemish movement and, to a lesser extent, of the Walloon movement, is called in the Belgian context the state reform.  While most Francophones argue that the state reform is unnecessary, virtually all Flemish political parties demand a severe reform of the Belgian state.  In particular the N-VA and a part of the Flemish movement want to apply the so-called Maddens Doctrine in order to enforce the Francophones to require such a state reform.

Socialist Party Different (sp.a), the Flemish socialist party, states on its website that it believes an independent Flanders is not necessary. It does support the devolution of a number of additional responsibilities, such as the railways or the policy of employment.  Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD) want more socio-economic and financial autonomy for Flanders, a homogenous division of responsibilities, more cooperation between the communities and regions and a strong federal state.  Green, the Flemish green party, wants another round in the state reform, but only if it leads to more solidarity, a better functioning of the institutions and more democracy. It states on its website that it doesn't want to reform for the purpose of reforming. Green wants Belgium to remain a federal state and considers the cooperation between different communities within one state to be a challenge rather than a problem. It also pleads for federal loyalty and respect for the rulings of the Constitutional Court and wants to see a more homogenous division of responsibilities.

The Francophone Socialist Party (PS) and Christian democrats (cdH) promote the conservation of the current Belgian welfare state, and therefore oppose any further regionalisation of the federal social policies. The Reformist Movement, the Francophone liberal party, stresses in its manifesto that the Flemings are intending to split most of the solidarity mechanisms that exist between the Belgians. They also state that they minimize the importance of the Brussels-Capital Region as a constitutional component of the federal state. Their approach is to build strong links between the different components of the French-speaking part of Belgium, including Brussels and Wallonnia as well as the municipalities with a French-speaking presence around Brussels and in Voeren. The aim of this approach is to create a strong autonomous Francophone component within the federal state. Écolo, the Francophone Green party, supports an improvement of the political links between the communities. They suggest, among other things, the creation of a national electoral arrondissement for the election of part of the federal parliament.

Outright support
In Flanders, several large parties openly call for a partition of the country. Until the 2010 federal elections, the largest was the far-right party Flemish Interest. Since 2010, the largest Flemish nationalist party in Belgium is the more moderate New Flemish Alliance (N-VA). N-VA does not openly advocate the partition of Belgium, instead proposing a confederalist solution, where the center of power would shift to the regional governments, while certain tasks such as e.g. the army, diplomacy or the national football competition would remain on the Belgian level. Another openly separatist moderate party that emerged in 2007 is List Dedecker, which was relatively successful in the 2007 federal and 2009 regional elections, winning several seats, but subsequently lost all of them again in the 2014 federal and regional elections, due to the large success of the N-VA .  In Wallonia and Brussels, only the Wallonia-France Rally party is openly separatist.  This party, which has no elected representative at either the national or regional level, promotes the partition of Belgium and a union of Wallonia and Brussels with France.

Several small parties with no or very few seats at the parliament campaign explicitly for the unity of the Belgian state.  The conservative Belgian Union promotes a stronger federal government and a return to the Belgian unitary state which existed in the 1960s.  The far-left Workers' Party of Belgium also supports the unity of Belgium since it considers the federalisation of the country as an employers' attack at the welfare state and the unity of the trade unions.  The Francophone far-right Front National is also explicitly opposed to the partition of Belgium.

There are several Walloon representatives of the Socialist Party in the Walloon Parliament who are in favour of the Walloon Regionalism, also in the Walloon Government such as Eliane Tillieux and Jean-Claude Marcourt for instance, i.e. two socialist ministers on the four of the Walloon Government. The Walloon wing of the General Federation of Belgian Labour are in favour of more powers for the Regions.

2007–11 Belgian political crisis

2007 government formation

The Belgian general election, 2007, resulted in no political party or coalition gaining enough seats to form a working majority. The crisis continued for 196 days, leaving Belgium without a government with a popular mandate. While prime minister Guy Verhofstadt's lame duck ministry remained in power as caretaker, several leading politicians were nominated without success by the King to build a stable governmental coalition. Flemish politician Yves Leterme had been the prime candidate to lead the national government, but a political gaffe would prove to be his undoing. Asked to sing the Belgian national anthem in French at National Day celebrations, instead of the Brabançonne Leterme started to sing the Marseillaise, France's anthem. Leterme's error drew condemnation from the different communities, aggravating distrust and separatist sentiments.

Eventually, after 196 days, the parties finally succeeded in forming a new government. In December 2008, another crisis related to the Fortis case, erupted, again destabilising the country and resulting in the resignation of Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme. The new Herman Van Rompuy-led government brought a brief period of fragile stability, but ended when Van Rompuy left his office to become the first full-term President of the European Council. The succeeding Leterme II government fell in April 2010 over the lack of progress on resolving the BHV issue.

Although most Flemish political parties describe their demands as limited to seeking greater regional autonomy and decentralization of government (save for members of the Vlaams Belang party, who called for a splitting of the country and claim of a national identity, culture and institutions, and claim Belgium is an "unnatural" and "artificial" state, formed simply as a buffer between France and other European powers during 19th century conflicts), some public opinion polls performed during the communautary crisis showed that approximately 46% of Flemish people support secession from Belgium. Other surveys indicated only 12% of the Flemings want the end of Belgium, whereas 37% want more responsibilities to be devolved to communities and the regions. Many French-speakers maintain that there is sufficient regional autonomy and that Flemish demands are exaggerated and separatist in nature. However, the diversity of Brussels and its significant economic and geopolitical importance in the Western hemisphere as the headquarters of the European Union and NATO, make it a unifying force, making partition unlikely at least for the near future. In response to heightening domestic and international speculation regarding the country's future, the Belgian government launched a public relations campaign through its embassies worldwide to assuage concerns and fight speculation that Belgium's division is impending, as indicated by numerous recent public opinion polls. The King of the Belgians rejected notions and speculation over a change in the nature of the Belgian state as part of proposals for the formation of a working government.

On November 18, 2007, an estimated 25,000 people marched in Brussels to support the unity of Belgium. The march was organized by Marie-Claire Houart whose petition calling for unity was signed by 140,000 Belgians.

The Belgian Chamber of Representatives on November 22, 2007, rejected the consideration of a proposed resolution to dissolve Belgium. The resolution had been introduced on October 29 by Bart Laeremans, Gerolf Annemans, Filip De Man and Linda Vissers (Vlaams Belang) and called upon the federal government to "take without delay the measures necessary for the purpose of preparing the break-up of the Belgian State, so the three communities—Flemings, Walloons and Germans—can go their own separate ways." Most Flemish parties voted against the consideration of the proposal. The three members of the New Flemish Alliance abstained, together with three members of CD&V.

In 2007, Polls in Editie NL, a Dutch news program on the commercial station RTL 4 and newspaper De Dag in the Netherlands showed that between 45% and 77% of Dutch nationals (the results of the two different polls) would support a merger of their country with Flanders. However a similar poll performed by Synovate Nederland in 2010, showed that only 20% of the Dutch support a union between the Netherlands and Flanders. A comparable poll held in 2007 in France showed that a majority of French citizens would support a merger of Wallonia with France, if Belgium ceased to exist.  However, French politicians have ruled out any interference into the inner Belgian debate.

2010 fall of government and new government formation

After the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD) left the government on April 22, 2010, Prime Minister Yves Leterme offered his resignation to King Albert II. An election were then called for June 13, amid fears that coalition-building would once again be protracted. In Flanders, the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party won a plurality with 27.8% of votes, while the winning party in Wallonia was the Socialist Party. Both parties, along with other parties, negotiated a state reform during the 2010 Belgian government formation.

Although seven parties (N-VA, CD&V, sp.a, Groen!, PS, cdH, and Ecolo) were participating, the negotiations were led by the main winners, Bart De Wever (N-VA) and Elio Di Rupo (PS). The large number of implied parties was due not only to the multipolar Belgian political landscape but also to the will of the Flemish parties to reform the state and, hence, to change the constitution, which can be modified according only to very restrictive rules including a two-thirds majority vote in the Lower House.

Some in the international media saw this election as evidence that Belgium would be partitioned.  On September 9, 2010, a poll taken by RTL showed that a third of the French-speaking population supported the beginning of preparations for the country's partition. On September 13, Het Laatste Nieuws published the result of a poll within the Flemish population. According to these results 60% of the Flemish did not desire an independent Flemish state and 26% were willing to support a partition. A similar poll taken on September 25, 2010, by La Libre Belgique showed that 40% of the Belgians were willing to return to a unitary Belgium (as the country was before the state reform of the 1970s). This percentage is to be compared with the 12% of the Belgians wanting a partition of the country and the 32% who desired a further federalization. The poll also showed that a unitary Belgian state was supported by 22% of the Flemish, 50% of the Brusselers and 51% of the Walloons, and that 16% of the Flemish wished a split of Belgium. It is interesting to compare this with the 40.8% of Flemings who voted for a party advocating Flemish independence during the 2010 election. In any case, the vast majority of the Belgians want a change: only 8% agree with the current Belgian federal system. The Belgians who participated in this poll were also asked which scenario they would prefer in the event that a partition of Belgium did occur. An independent Flanders together with a union of Brussels and Wallonia was supported by 35% of the Belgians. The creation of three small states (Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia) was preferred by 23%, a union between France and Wallonia was supported by 14%, and a union between Flanders and Brussels together with an independent Wallonia by 12%. In Flanders, 27% supported a three-state scenario and 26% supported a union between Flanders and Brussels. Those who had no preferred scenario numbered 25%. The majority of Walloons (53%) agreed with a union between Brussels and Wallonia while a minority (21%) supported a merge with France. Only 10% of the Walloons prefer an independent Walloon state. In contrast, the Brusselers were divided between a union with Wallonia (39%) and a city-state scenario (34%).

On October 4, 2010, De Wever (N-VA) left the negotiations. His exit put Di Rupo's Plan B for Belgium, i.e. a partition of Belgium along the borderline of the French Community, under a new light and many, particularly in the French-speaking part of the country, started to speak openly about its concrete implementation.  Plan B is the continuation of Belgium with Brussels and Wallonia only and the departure of Flanders from the Belgian federation.  On October 10, Elio Di Rupo stated on television what his plan was: first, asking the Flemish population whether it was willing to secede; second, asking the population in Brussels and Wallonia whether they intended to remain united within Belgium. He also stressed that in either case citizens living in municipalities with linguistic facilities should also be asked.  He however underlined that he did not desire such an extreme response  but that this scenario should not be ignored.  Di Rupo's declarations on television have been broadly discussed in the French-written press: according to Le Soir, the country had never been so close to a split than this day; less alarmist La Libre Belgique observed that the negotiations are deadlocked and considered Di Rupo's move a good way to define the point that the Francophones are not ready to negotiate further.  However La Dernière Heure, L'Avenir and Flemish columnists in De Morgen, Het Laatste Nieuws, and De Standaard condensed Di Rupo's Plan B down to a tactical move in order to put the pressure on the negotiations and redefine the relations between PS and MR.  The Plan B proposed by Di Rupo was developed by Christian Berhendt, a specialist of constitutional law at the University of Liège.  According to Berhendt, a hypothetical partition of Belgium is constrained by the fact that no political party is ready to split Belgium at the cost of separating from the numerous international organizations to which Belgium is affiliated.  These constraints are such that a splitting of the country would require the modification and ratification of a huge number of treaties.  The interpenetration of the Belgian entities is so complicated that, in comparison, the peaceful splitting of Czechoslovakia appears quite simple.  According to Berhendt several scenarios are therefore impossible: a unilateral secession of Flanders would be rejected by countries fearing secession of their own minorities, such as China, Russia or Spain, because this would create a precedent they cannot allow; the creation of an autonomous European district in Brussels is not a realistic perspective because the European Union, as it is now, is not able to administer such a large city; a scenario where Flanders and Brussels would form a union is unlikely either because, according to Berhendt, the French-speakers will never agree on such a treaty.  For Marc Verdussen (Université Catholique de Louvain), two doorways are open: Plan B1, Belgium dissolves into two entities Flanders on the one hand and a new Wallonia-Brussels state on the other; and Plan B2, Flanders secedes and a residual Belgian state continues with Brussels and Wallonia.  Though it is clear that Plan B2 is favorable to the Francophones, it is not evident that it would be accepted by the Flemings and by a hypothetical international tribunal.  According to the Gewif (Groupe d'études pour la Wallonie intégrée à la France), Di Rupo's Plan B is not viable because the new Brussels-Wallonia would inherit an unbearable debt.  The Gewif therefore argued that only a union with France would be possible.   On September 13 Le Soir published a five-page article on the possible consequences.  According to this analysis, the largest burden on the shoulders of the new Brussels-Wallonian state would be unemployment (17% of the workers; to be compared to 8% in Flanders) and state debt (€150 billion, 106% of GDP).  However Le Soir's columnists observed that the new state would have a huge GDP per capita (€31,000) and would rank 7th among the 27 EU states.  Nevertheless, this would be only due to the inclusion of Brussels where the GDP per capita numbers more than €60,000.

References

External links
 Belgique, vers la fracture? (ARTE, French)
 Zerbricht Belgien? (ARTE, German)
 Belgium, from Model to Case Study for Conflict Resolution, report published on 2011-02-01 by the United States Institute of Peace.
 Hasquin, Hervé. Historiographie et politique: Essai sur l'histoire de Belgique et la Wallonie. Charleroi: Institut Jules Destrée. 1981.
 La Flandre, 28e membre de l'UE? by Jean-Sébastien Lefebvre on Slate.fr (in French).
 Time to call it a day : Sometimes it is right for a country to recognise that its job is done, The Economist, September 6, 2007
 The trouble with Flanders : Why Belgium's unending linguistic disputes matter to Europe, The Economist, January 27, 2011

Separatism in Belgium
Political history of Belgium
Belgium
Politics of Belgium
Ethnicity in politics
Belgium
Public policy proposals


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