"How so? 6 million Flemings vs 3.4 million Walloons? 75% of the Flemish parties, socialists and green excepted, supporting at least confederalism or beyond?"
Its 3,5 in the "waals gewest" if you want to have your facts straight. But be serious. Its more like 40% french speaking not 34%. But hey whats 6% aye? Most parties want to keep belgium. Only a minority wants Belgium to split up. Even many nva voters don't want Belgium to split. Most self proclaimed flemish nationlist do. Easy to do the math.

"Comparing the EU structure and competences with the current belgian state system? Apples and pears wouldn't even begin to describe that idea."
I can't agree more with what you say, it was, after all, you who compared France and germany cooperation to belgium, not me. For debates sake and not letting you feel like an idiot, I went along with that reasoning. They seem to cooperate well.

"Can I ask what your sentiment is towards Belgian nationalism then and all what it encircles?"
What does my sentiment have to do with this debate? I'm no belgian nationalist. I'm for 100% EU and a slow fading of the belgian gov into that superpower.

"Since it's got no ground under it, I'd love to read some of your adjectives on that."
ok, that why then. Nope, sorry, no belgian nationalist. Belgium is a mistake of the 19th century. An advocater of a bigger EU at best. I'm however very critical about how it works at the moment but thats another story.

"I also suggest you relax on condemning nationalism."
Thanks for your suggestion.

"It started the American Revolution, the French, it created the German and Italian states. Look further and you might see a European nationalism appear. Very much compatible with a smaller scale regional nationalisms. Just like in the US."
Its not called nationalism. Before we go into the semantics don't count debate, you refer to fogi in general, thats my point.

"Just enlarge the picture and imagine France and Germany forced into a newly created nationstate to imagine it somewhat."
like EU? They seem to cope better as the rest of the EU. Nice example. Its not that I like the french but Flemish nationalism is plain stupidity.

A note on the drain you described, the money transfers east<->west are far bigger as north<->south. But the money transfers between states in the US are real. Yet US manages to act as one powerful giant to foreign countries, and survived many rural eras as a democracy. Nationalism in EU on contrast is what started WW2 and nationalism is also what keeps EU down.

lol

idd lol.

...or you have connections with the mob and control the media.

@bief:
its the latest hit from van Peene. Now we know the truth about lenins father and why lenin had this ridiculous beard (one died soon before the other appeared, can't be a coincidence):
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippoliet_van_Peene .

I don't want to spoil the broth but .... he did not exactly invent the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbzdGYe-Jb4
I made a version in which you can sing along, since you seem to like those modern songs.

you also forgot a few verses, one of which reminds me of the belgian revolution:
Het wraaksein is gegeven, hij is hun tergen moe;
Met vuur in 't oog, met woede springt hij den vijand toe.
Hij scheurt, vernielt, verplettert, bedekt met bloed en slijk
En zegepralend grijnst hij op 's vijands trillend lijk.

On a more serious note it sounds like:
I'm beaten and you're stronger but you never gonna keep me down. A losers hymn. Universal pathetic persons anthem. I really don't understand the fuss about it. If they want to be crybabies and are proud of it, let them.

"China could easily feed itself by intesifying its agriculture and making it more efficient."
I strongly disagree with that opinion. They already intensified their agriculture, and there simply isn't enough space for farms, even if they quadruple their output. Also, producing food will only be more expensive, as energy prices increase every year.

"Furthermore China is the main producer for North Korea: this costs them a lot of food that they could use for themselves. If China decides to drop North Korea as its ally it could keep the food for itself."
Thats right. But NK only consists of 20-25 million people of which only a part (huge as it might be) uses chinese food. Chinas population is above 2 billion according to some estimations.

"About the literacy: yes, that's what i mentioned myself."
ok lol.

Another note about china's econ. A lot of their growth comes from investements of foreign countries in combination with a low Yuan.  Almost any big trading partner demands a more reasonable course of the Yuan. Comming from nothing with stockpiles of cheap educated labour, its highly unlikely they will grow as much in the future as they did in the past.

If china's internal market grows bigger, it will also mean more export for other nations like US or EU, and make cheap labour less cheap every year.

"You argue that China will not be able to repossess US properties, because the debt is only an agreement and the US could just choose to ignore that agreement."
idd.

"However, I think that by that time US alliance with other countries will have weakened (due to a stronger China)"
If you talk about third world countries that could be right. And those are important. But not important enough.

"and the US will not be able to afford said agreement, as it would just expose how hypocritical the US is and how others cannot trust it, causing it to lose even more allies. That would weaken the US's power even further."
I doubt it. Europeans always bash about US but when it really comes to it, the US is preferred as world leader over china by the majority of the population. People in Europe fear a strong China or Russia but do not fear a strong US. No autocratic regime will ever get enough credit. Public opinion matters.

"but in China the situation is actually becoming better (gap between rich and poor closing a little, or at least looking like it will)"
no it doesn't. It increases every year and those are only the stats permitted by the gov. to leak. I don't wanna know the real status.

@RS:
can't determine what you're saying now. In one post US is doomed to hell and in the next its more powerful then the sun. The sun will burn many more years you know.

In any case international law, and even its enforcement, is made up by multiple variables and one of them is influences of people with a lot of power. Its almost 100% sure those come from a lot of different places around the world. Else you're just plain naive.

italian mob or chinese triads, he'll invent a law to make it legal if you're called SB

bet they party everyday...