"I cannot foresee any problems with government funding newspapers. It works great in China. They're big on a free press, and a fine example of the benefits of government getting involved in the media."

It doesn't have to be that way. The EU funds news agencies, and let's face it, they don't have a good reputation at all.
There's a difference in partially funding it, and controlling it. Every government completely funds ombudsmen, the juridical system and auditbureaus (to check governmental spending). Those institutions are there to keep government in check, while they're completely funded by it. They work well, why would a press bureau that's partially funded with tax money but are otherwise free automaticly mean they're propaganda?

"How does your retort hold in a world where newspaper companies have been able to post their news articles online, posting the same articles which would be otherwise accessed via the newspaper, and being profitable anyway by charging people for the right to access the information and advertising on the website?"

Newspaper websites, at least over here, only give a brief version of the article in the paper form. They also don't charge to access their site. They can't or people would just take the next link in google that is free. It's the same for advertising: the net is a completely different market.
If that doesn't answer your question, I didn't really understand your question..

Yeah, I read it Zarf!

My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes

"And all state-sponsored education is propaganda. Noam Chomsky agrees."

Agreed. And that eliminates the need of insinuating that leftists would make it more propaganda than any other party by default.

That reminds me of the Belgian general who planned a coup d'etat, but failed cause he sent his weapons to Brussels by train, wich obviously ran into a delay..

The first phase of stinky piss!

an artist's interpretation of Moria's entrance in Eregion?

"Do you mean that immigrants misbehave even more so in Antwerp? Or do you mean the lower classes that work in the harbour? I suppose in part it can be compared to Rotterdam."

The harbour of Antwerp is a magnet to all sorts of criminal activities. Antwerp has a proportional larger population of drug addicts as well.

"Best is to split up Belgium in 3 parts: Flandern, Walloon and Eupen-Malmedy. The first two may create new states and Eupen-Malmedy joins germany (again)."

You take language as the only means of measure. That's not correct, as Switzerland clearly shows. Belgians across the language border have more in common with eachother than with their neighbours. Most of them don't seem to realise that. There is a sense of timid  Belgianness (and exactly that form is Belgian), but it only surfaces when we're abroad.

It's not Rembrant, Michiel de Ruyter, Vermeers, Hals or Jordaens. I recognise the face, but I can not connect it to the name..

A political joke?

Flint

Damnit. It's on the tip of my tongue!

You succeeded in the stereotype part though!