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#1 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,028
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Belgian government falls
It took us 4 years and its term was going to be up in just a couple of months anyway, but still...mission accomplished, down with the government!
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"Ideas are also weapons." - Subcomandante Marcos "We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live." - Lucy Parsons "Let us therefore trust the eternal Spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unfathomable and eternal source of all life. The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!" - Mikhail Bakunin |
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#2 |
Proud Award Award recipient
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Belgium
Posts: 2,068
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The government has resigned (assuming that the King accepts the resignation).
For all practical purposes, that means that we are stuck with a caretaker government until after the 26/may/19 parliamentary elections. Given the time that may be needed after the elections to form a new federal government, this Michel caretaker government may well be in power for a year or so. |
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The method of science is tried and true. It is not perfect, it's just the best we have. And to abandon it, with its skeptical protocols is the pathway to a dark age. -- Carl Sagan |
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#3 |
High Priest of Ed
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 19,376
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Hamilton 68: Tracking Russian internet propaganda |
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#4 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,028
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"Ideas are also weapons." - Subcomandante Marcos "We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live." - Lucy Parsons "Let us therefore trust the eternal Spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unfathomable and eternal source of all life. The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!" - Mikhail Bakunin |
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#5 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,028
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Are you being serious? Anarchists have opposed the austerity reform programs in the EU since, like, always. For example the planned pension reforms can now not be implemented until at least since the next election, as well as a bunch of other planned reforms which have been stopped.
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"Ideas are also weapons." - Subcomandante Marcos "We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live." - Lucy Parsons "Let us therefore trust the eternal Spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unfathomable and eternal source of all life. The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!" - Mikhail Bakunin |
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#6 |
Proud Award Award recipient
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Belgium
Posts: 2,068
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The main reform that was supposed to be voted on this week in parliament is the reform of unemployment benefits.
One of the conditions of the N-VA (Flemish nationalist party) for supporting the government was that this reform would be implemented. But this was not the sticking point, as all parties in the coalition had already agreed to the reform. It may well be, given the budgetary situation and the pressure by employers, that parliament will approve this reform. Not this week, but at the beginning of next year, after some more backroom wheeling and dealing. |
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The method of science is tried and true. It is not perfect, it's just the best we have. And to abandon it, with its skeptical protocols is the pathway to a dark age. -- Carl Sagan |
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#7 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,028
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Well not anymore apparently.
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"Ideas are also weapons." - Subcomandante Marcos "We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live." - Lucy Parsons "Let us therefore trust the eternal Spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unfathomable and eternal source of all life. The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!" - Mikhail Bakunin |
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#8 |
Proud Award Award recipient
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Belgium
Posts: 2,068
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__________________
The method of science is tried and true. It is not perfect, it's just the best we have. And to abandon it, with its skeptical protocols is the pathway to a dark age. -- Carl Sagan |
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#9 |
Graduate Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Belgium
Posts: 1,594
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You don't seem to be a NV-A voter, caveman... The NV-A (who had lost ground to Vlaams Belang in recent elections) asked Michel to not sign the Marrakesh UN migration deal. He refused, and now he is likely to lose his job as head of a full powers government. I think there is often great contempt for "extreme-right" ideas in Belgium, especially among French-speaking politicians, which is probably related to Nazi crimes, and is perhaps not fully justified.
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#10 |
Proud Award Award recipient
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Belgium
Posts: 2,068
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N-VA plans to introduce in Parliament a number of the measures that were agreed by the coalition before the crisis.
Logically, there should be a majority in Parliament for these measures. But logic and politics ... ![]() Link in Dutch: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2018/12...arlement-indi/ |
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The method of science is tried and true. It is not perfect, it's just the best we have. And to abandon it, with its skeptical protocols is the pathway to a dark age. -- Carl Sagan |
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#11 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,028
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Obviously. I generally don't vote, but this time I might vote for these people (they're even looking for candidates, only 10 simple conditions you must fulfill).
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"Ideas are also weapons." - Subcomandante Marcos "We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live." - Lucy Parsons "Let us therefore trust the eternal Spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unfathomable and eternal source of all life. The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!" - Mikhail Bakunin |
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#12 |
High Priest of Ed
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 19,376
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__________________
Hamilton 68: Tracking Russian internet propaganda |
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#13 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,028
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__________________
"Ideas are also weapons." - Subcomandante Marcos "We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live." - Lucy Parsons "Let us therefore trust the eternal Spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unfathomable and eternal source of all life. The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!" - Mikhail Bakunin |
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#14 |
High Priest of Ed
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 19,376
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It would help if you defined your terms better, and also recognize that very often your use of terms doesn't correspond with common useage.
I'm assuming from context that you see the austerity policy as the "transfer from the working class to the bourgeoisie" anarchists would be against, but what I'm asking is if anarchism is anti-government then it would follow that it should oppose the very idea of government pensions. |
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Hamilton 68: Tracking Russian internet propaganda |
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#15 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,028
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Well of course it's a wealth transfer from the working class to the bourgeoisie, the entire goal of the austerity reforms is to finance subsidies and tax breaks for the rich by cutting social services. It's a literal description of the policy, taking wealth from the working class and transferring it to the bourgeoisie.
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"Ideas are also weapons." - Subcomandante Marcos "We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live." - Lucy Parsons "Let us therefore trust the eternal Spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unfathomable and eternal source of all life. The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!" - Mikhail Bakunin |
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#16 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 19,036
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#17 |
Master Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 2,127
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Maybe they will go and beat their record - "Belgium matched the record for time taken to form a new democratic government after an election, at 353 days"
Anarchy indeed ![]() Early Christmas present perhaps ![]() |
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... er, that's it |
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#18 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,028
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Government: down. Next up: bourgeoisie. Grève générale!
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"Ideas are also weapons." - Subcomandante Marcos "We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live." - Lucy Parsons "Let us therefore trust the eternal Spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unfathomable and eternal source of all life. The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!" - Mikhail Bakunin |
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#19 |
High Priest of Ed
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 19,376
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__________________
Hamilton 68: Tracking Russian internet propaganda |
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#20 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 42,490
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Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein. |
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#21 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 3,848
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We don't want good, sound arguments. We want arguments that sound good. |
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#23 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 42,490
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__________________
Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein. |
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#24 |
High Priest of Ed
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 19,376
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In common useage, "bourgeoisie" is middle class. It's only used to represent the class that owns the means of production among marxists.
It's not my logic, it's a reasonable extrapolation of opposing the existence of government. That Anarchists support this one aspect of government while claiming to oppose government as a whole is evidence of irrationality in anarchist docterine. |
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Hamilton 68: Tracking Russian internet propaganda |
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#25 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 31,679
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#26 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,028
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Of course not, as you say anarchists oppose government as a whole (such as the boss at work etc) but they don't tend to oppose working class mutualities (such as social security including pensions) - indeed, there's an entire strand of anarchism called mutualism in which social security mutualities find their origin. That some of those mutualities are administrated by government employees changes nothing.
There's nothing irrational about it, just your own ignorance of basic marxist and anarchist philosophy. |
__________________
"Ideas are also weapons." - Subcomandante Marcos "We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live." - Lucy Parsons "Let us therefore trust the eternal Spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unfathomable and eternal source of all life. The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!" - Mikhail Bakunin |
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