Will we have to change the name of Belgium STUDS?

Belgium appears to be in the midst of a political crisis that has many questioning whether the country even has a future. In June, when French-speaking Wallonian politicians rejected their Dutch-speaking counterparts' demands for greater autonomy for Flanders. Lawmakers have spent the past 11 weeks trying to form a coalition government. There is apparently growing Flemish resentment that their tax dollars are going to subsidize the less prosperous French-speaking south. Pro-independence rallies have been held in Flanders and remarkably, only 29 percent of Belgians are certain that there will even be a Belgium in ten years. A full fifteen percent are certain that it will not.

After a round of talks led by the head of the Flemish Christian Democrats collapsed last week, Belgium's king has now appointed another prominent Flemish politician, Herman Von Rompuy, to resolve the situation.
Paul Belien at the Brussels Journal blog has been all over "the Belgian Crisis" like mayo on frites, deriding the international media for not covering what he calls "Yugoslavia in slow motion" and speculating about Europe after Belgium.

A recent editorial in Le Figaro (in French) called for French President Nicolas Sarkozy to annex Wallonia if Belgium should split, comparing it to Helmut Kohl's decision to absorb East Germany after the fall of Communism. Seventy-seven percent of Dutch citizens apparently favor absorbing Flanders as well.
If nothing else comes from this, it should certainly give EU diplomats some pause before chastising Albanians and Serbs, Palestinians and Jews, or Sunnis and Shiites for failing to coexist. I suppose Congolese peacekeepers on the streets of Brussels would be too much to hope for.

Belgium was ranked number 167 on the 2007 Failed States Index.

No Sex Please...We're Swedish

The Swedes are famed for their sexual tolerance and laissez faire. But that tolerance hasn't been extended to a seemingly innocent competition to find the world's most beautiful bottoms.

A competition launched by German underwear maker Sloggi to uncover the world's most beautiful ass, has been slapped down in Sweden after media protests against the "pornographic" event. "Alas, our goal of finding the most beautiful backsides has been misunderstood by certain sections of the media" in Sweden, the German firm said in a statement Tuesday.

'Taste is a bit like buttocks - divided'.

In Keeping with Beer Week

German beer. Bought most cheaply in crates of 18 to 24 bottles. The only problem is that these crates can be heavy, especially when they're full of beer. (here, full of Kristallweizen):
If you dropped one on a small child, for instance, tragedy could strike -- you could lose several bottles, if not the entire case. Fortunately, you can always count on German ingenuity.
Behold the Paulaner 20-bottle crate When you lift up the golden handles on either side of the top, something charming happens:

Damn, i hate when that happens!

Austrian runner Guenther Weidlinger slammed his head into a hurdle during the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the World Athletic Championships in Osaka the other day. Here’s a video of his painful experience:


http://view.break.com/356996 - Watch more free videos

Belgium needs a dose of Austrailian Politics

In the Australian House of Representatives last month, opposition member Julia Gillard interrupted a speech by the minister of health thusly:

"I move that that sniveling grub over there be not further heard.''
For that, the good woman was ordered removed from the House, if only for a day.

She might have escaped that little time-out if she had responded to the speaker's demand for an apology with something other than "If I have offended grubs, I withdraw unconditionally.''

Read more..Real Clear Politics

And you wonder why Belgium is always the butt of a joke

For the man who once toasted the death of the pope by uttering "Champagne for Everyone!" Freddy (the clown) Thielmans is becoming a world celebrity ! His decision to ban freedom of speech and freedom of demonstration in Brussels has made him the laughing stock of the whole free world now...
A far-left group of anti-American conspiracy theorists, calling itself “United for Truth” (UfT), is going to demonstrate in Brussels on 9 September. Of course these fellow moonbats were OK'd by Freddy, to demonstrate away.....

watch the video

Anniversary of the Dinant Massacre

On this day in history, In one of the worst atrocities of the First World War, German troops executed over 700 people in the Belgium town of Dinant, then sacked and burnt the town.

Nearly 700 Belgians, of whom 73 were women and 39 children, had been killed; and some 600 others who had been made prisoners had been sent to Germany, where they would be taught to live. Of the 1,400 houses which Dinant contained 1,200 were destroyed, burned from top to bottom, having first been pillaged; and the factories which had afforded a livelihood for several hundreds of hands, were now but heaps of ashes.

MORE WORLD WAR ONE BELGIAN HISTORY

Belgium in Crisis...King's on Holiday

Talks to form a Belgian coalition government collapsed Thursday with King Albert II ending Flemish Christian Democrat leader Yves Leterme's fruitless attempt to reach a deal with francophone partners, the palace announced.

The King actually delayed the process a few hours as he had to be called back from the south of France where he was kicked back at the pool sipping cocktails.

The king returned to his palace in the evening to be greeted by a group of demonstrators waving Flemish flags and calling for independence for Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern part of Belgium.

The result of all this: Yves Leterme had to wait several hours until the King finally decided the time was right to come back from the South of France and meet Leterme. Not only did the King show everybody that he has absolutely no interest in what's supposed to be his full-time job, he even managed to block the process of forming a new federal government in Belgium for several hours. Thank god that we have a Monarchy to save this country!

And to think I may have wasted all these hours brushing up on the Belgian National Anthem.

Belgian Banks can now accept "Black Money"

Belgian banks will be able to accept small amounts of funds that have been kept from the taxman.
Until now bank clerks risked a conviction, if they handled illicit earnings - what Belgians generally refer to as "black money" - but a modification of the definition of fencing in Belgian criminal law means they now no longer need to fear a court appearance.

Leo Van Hove, Assistant Professor of Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, made a monetary study of the underground economy of Belgium as part of his 1997 doctoral thesis.
“Black work” costs every single Belgian EUR 1,500 per year in additional taxes, says Siebens. A family of four pays a staggering EUR 6,000 extra in taxes every year in order to make up the amount of taxes that would have been paid had everyone reported their income. “Only the richest people are profiting from this situation,” he says.

Ryanair to suspend flights

Irish low-coster Ryanair has suspended the sale of tickets on flights to and from Brussels Charleroi from November, calling for a guarantee that there will be no more wildcat strikes.
In June security staff at the Belgian airport carried out a strike, forcing the airline to cancel a slew of flights. Although the airport has promised that the dispute will be resolved, Ryanair has suspended bookings to and from Charleroi from November 12 as a contingency measure.
"Ryanair is determined to ensure that its flights and passengers at Charleroi will not be cancelled again and so there must be an effective contingency plan in place to keep this international airport open and operational even if some staff wish to engage in wildcat strikes in the future," a spokesman for the carrier said.
However, Ryanair did stress that flights to and from the Belgian hub in August, September and October would go ahead.
Meanwhile, a Ryanair advertising campaign claiming that its flights from London to Brussels are faster and cheaper than Eurostar trains has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The regulator said the ads were misleading because they failed to take into account the time and money needed to travel from city centres to the airports that Ryanair flies from (London Stansted and Brussels Charleroi).
Responding, Ryanair called on the ASA to reverse the "false finding", maintaining that its flights are faster and cheaper than Eurostar. The airline sent the group a Dummies Guide to Mathematics, saying it apparently couldn't add or subtract.

Fiesta Latino this weekend

A Latin festival in Brussels? ¡Pero sí! Fiesta Latina gets hips gyrating every year on Place du Châtelain, with parades, live concerts, dancing and the odd mojito or two...
The programme includes live concerts and jam sessions, dance groups, DJ floors and a mercado latino with Spanish, Caribbean and Latin American specialities. Brussels' trendy Place du Châtelain is an appropriate venue for the event - the usual buzz of the popular bars adapts easily to the burst of sound and colour from the best Latin bands Belgium has to offer. Please visit the comprehensive festival website for the latest news and up-to-the-minute information. Saturday and Sunday, August 25th and 26th.

European Union Urges Texas To Halt Executions

The European Union on Tuesday urged Gov. Rick Perry to halt executions and introduce a moratorium on capital punishment in the United States' busiest death penalty state.

What?? No Libyans to pacify this week?

As comedian Ron White says:
"I grew up in Texas. The thing I liked about Texas is because we had the death penalty and we USE it! Other states are trying to abolish the death penalty and Texas is putting in an express lane!" If you commit a capital murder with at least 2 or more eyewitnesses you can be moved to the head of the line!

Actually it's not an execution, it's called permanent rehabilitation.

Simultaneously the dumbest and funniest thing I've seen in a while.

Click Here To Have Some Chick Moan Your IP Address
Why? Who knows. I was told I had a "really big IP" before she began moaning it.
Clicking will start the sexual moaning of numbers. Not really work safe, but so preposterously stupid you could get away with it.

Brussels Beer Fest

The BELGIAN BEER WEEKEND is organized by the Belgian Brewers and the Knighthood of the Brewers' Mashstaff in collaboration with the City of Brussels. The festival features over 400 beers from numerous regional brewers as well as many of the National brewers.
Entry is free and beer tokens are sold at a rate of 3 Euro for 4 tokens. Beers are served for a charge of 2, 3 or 4 tokens, depending on the beer.
Most stands are tended by the owners, brewers or employees of the respective stand. This allows for questions as to how the specific beers are brewed.

THE BEER PROGRAM

Friday 31st August from 6 till 10 p.m., Saturday 1st September from 11 a.m. till 10 p.m. and Sunday 2nd September from 11 a.m. till 8 p.m.!

If she believes in Global Warming...so do I

We have Yves Leterme. The Italians?
They have a woman named Michela Brambilla.
Life just ain't fair.
All my life I've been looking for a red-headed woman with a passion for conservative politics, and she ends up in Italy, creating a new political party with former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Now, I know I will get angry comments if I don't post this babe's picture somewhere. So, I dug around on YouTube and came up with one that I think will satisfy your curiosity.
And the fact that it basically features 2 minutes of slow-motion close ups on her legs crossing? Never even entered into my decision to choose this particular footage. well maybe that slo-mo at the end...
You can tell she's a conservative without even knowing any Italian. Whenever she speaks someone tries to shout over her.

Although it's impossible to make sense of Belgium, this is the best I've seen

At first I was having a laugh about everything that happened at the so- called government formation talks since the last elections. But I’m not laughing anymore, as day after day, it becomes crystal clear that Flanders and Wallonia are digging their political trenches instead of trying to find common ground. A recap…

Soccer.....America's favorite sport!

Beckham scores his first goal for LA.

Paid attendance for Wednesday’s game in which Beckham scored and tallied an assist? Under 10,000. Apparently, 8,000 free tickets were given away.

Posh and Becks whooo?

Is She a Whore?

Italy defender Marco Materazzi finally disclosed what he said to Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup final that provoked the French star to retaliate with a head-butt.

Finally, after a little more than one year, we finally have the words that led to the headbutt heard ’round the world: ‘I prefer the whore that is your sister.’ This solidifies it - Zidane is a weak, weak man.
Does Materazzi really think people are going to buy this book because of that one line? Does he really think he’s that compelling of a figure?
*If you’ve seen Road House, you know what I'm talking about.

The Smurfs are having a bit of trouble forming a government

As the coalition talks to form a new federal government have reached an impasse, King Albert steps in. The king is to consult the different political parties during the forthcoming days. Meanwhile, the coalition talks have been suspended.

It is not the first time the king steps in during coalition talks, but is quite unusual. The last time was in 1978. The king has to make sure he plays a neutral role, as he can't take sides. Later, Mr Leterme (Flemish Christian democrat) will try to bring his mission to an end. He does not throw in the towel, as some had expected. Last night, the talks had reached an impasse

Original inhabitants of the coast are leaving

An increasing number of original inhabitants of the coast are leaving their native town because they can no longer afford to pay the high rents caused by the construction of new apartment blocks.
The group of original coast inhabitants that are forced to leave their native village because they can no longer afford to pay the high rents is on the increase.Single people, those that are deprived and even people on normal incomes can no longer cough up the prices asked on the sale or rental market.The price increase is due to the rise in the number of newly built apartment blocks.
In the coastal resort of Knokke-Heist, rents have risen from 300 to 400 euros a month in 2005, to 700 to 800 euros today.

So much for global warming...

That was it for summer this year, say meteorologists Eddy De Mey and Frank Deboosere. The long term weather charts do not predict any sunny, warm, dry weather anywhere in the near future.
"The coming weeks will be changeable, as the rest of the summer has been," predicts De Mey. Nor does it look as if any lasting nice weather can be expected for September.
It will be several degrees cooler in the next few days. Today's weather showed no signs yet of the change in weather that is on its way. It has been bright and sunny most of the day, with a few clouds.
More clouds will be coming in from the western part of the country in the course of the afternoon, followed by the first drops of rain that will reach the coast in late afternoon. Tonight the rain will advance further east, until the whole country is rainy and under heavy cloud cover.

Belgium is suffering from an invasion of racoons

"Don't be surprised if you come across this little varmit when strolling through the country... Racoons are more and more present in Belgium, especially in the Ardenese valleys. The multiplication of the animal, which is not an indigenous species, is beginning to worry bio-diversity experts", explains the daily, which tracks down the origins of this invasion. "The racoon, originally from North America was apparently first introduced into Europe via Germany, 1934. At the time, a breeder in Kassel is said to have succeeded in obtaining permission from the Third Reich to release the little mammal into nature in order to diversify local fauna. ... In the following years, the little mammals gradually acclimatized to Western Europe before becoming a thriving population and spreading to surrounding countries. Today they are notable present in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Poland".

Brussels Beach a Success

The city of Brussels and its event planning bureau say the fifth edition of Brussel Bad was a success. The city beach along the canal on the Saincteletteplein in Brussels drew almost a half million visitors. The weekends were busy because of the sunny weather, but the weekdays were disappointing because of the clouds and rain.
The 70 musical acts drew an average of 150 to 350 spectators. The on-site library loaned out 800 books to beachgoers. No fewer than 130,000 cocktails were served during the event.

Muslims Intimidate Brussels Mayor

The Brussels mayor, Socialist Freddy Thielemans sent out a press release in which he has banned a demonstration for a minute of silence to commemorate the victims of 9/11 on the 11th sept in Brussels. The reason for the prohibition is that he says he cannot guarantee public safety and that he won’t disturb the Islamic section of the population in Brussels.
The group, “Stop the Islamization of Europe” points out by invoking the lack of public safety highlights the graveness of the situation.

Wow! Protests are now dangerous even before they start. The European self-parody continues, so much for freedom of speech.

This should be an annual STUDS event!

Now we know where the Exxon Valdez captain ended up!

A 105 metre long ship destroyed a house in Holland after its skipper fell asleep. Dutch newspaper De Stentor has a slideshow of pictures

Bejing Olympic Hopefuls

Ahhhh, don't quit that day job.

The Sunday Antique Market in Tongeren

Every Sunday morning from 6am till noon the small town of Tongeren comes to life. The Sunday antique market follows the streets around the old town wall, fills squares and two huge halls with dealers’ stalls.
I was pleasantly surprised while inspecting the different items on offer — the quality was very good and the selection truly enormous. Prices were also reasonable — a marked difference compared with Brussels.
Tongeren is Belgium’s oldest town. It is an hour’s drive from Brussels, between Leuven and Liège.
The town was established on the site where Julius Caesar had his military camp during the conquest of Gallia. Ceasar faced courageous opposition from area’s own son, chief Ambiorix, who is still today prominently represented by a tall statue on the central square in Tongeren.
The market is located mainly in Leopoldwal and Middeleeuwsewallen on the east side of the town near the railway station.
Driving directions: to get to Tongeren from Brussels take E40 to the direction of Liège and take exit 29 at Waremme, turning towards Tongeren to N69.

I read Tintin as a kid, and as a result, I hate everyone.

Sales of "Tintin in the Congo" have shot up by 3,800 percent after the CRE watchdog claimed it contained potentially highly offensive material, said The Daily Telegraph.
The comic has reached number eight on Internet retailer Amazon's most popular books list, the broadsheet reported.

When it comes to ginger Belgian reporters with such a backwards social interaction skillset that they're required to perpetually be accompanied by a small dog for company, Tintin is probably in the top three or four of all time. However, just because you're ginger, went to the moon two decades before Neil Armstrong and saw a big mushroom on a beach once, it doesn't mean that you can't be so racist that parents regularly cover their childrens' ears and run away every time you express any of your dubious views, as Tintin is discovering for himself.

As far as Americans are concerned, at least he's an equal opportunity racist!

No restraining order ever stopped my love!

Ahhh...no one can resist the Duke. I've used his moves on my wife on more than one occasion. A true STUD

Dutch politician wants Koran prohibited, compares it to Hitler work

Although he looks like some sort of crazy Dutch pimp, he speaks a little truth that the rest are afraid to talk about. I'm actually diggin "Chucky" with the blond hair!

READ ALJIZEERA

“Europe’s Dirty Secret: Why the EU Emissions Trading Scheme isn’t working”

God Bless the Goracle

"Instead of obsessively trying to ram through the rejected EU Constitution it should be sorting out its chronic failures on the environment. Under the Emissions Trading System emissions have gone up, not down. The last thing we should do is reward a failing organisation by giving it even more power."
READ THE TELEGRAPH

But will we still be able to get Waffles?

Arrêtez!... This could be the end of Belgium

Yves Leterme, the Flemish politician and party leader who is struggling to put together a ruling coalition after Flemish-speaking separatists made striking electoral gains, has declared Belgium "an accident of history".

Belgium has long been the butt of jokes from its larger European neighbours. But to its French-speaking minority, the current political crisis is no laughing -matter. READ ON

Ryanair...We'll get you there when we feel like it!

Belgians left stranded

Several dozen Belgians were forced to spend Friday night at Pisa Airport after the plane that was due to take them to back Charleroi in Hainaut province was grounded by bad weather. To save ten eurocents per passenger Ryanair has initiated their new "run naked through security" procedures, as seen above.
The passengers will now have to wait until Monday evening for the next scheduled flight back to Belgium from the airport or buy a ticket with another airline to try, if they want to return to Belgium before.
The stranded passengers are unhappy at having to pay for three nights extra accommodation.
However, Ryanair is unrepentant. The company's spokesman in Belgium David Gering told VRT radio that "you should compare our flights with bus services".
"If your bus doesn’t turn up you don't expect the bus company to pay for an expensive hotel room while you wait for the next one".

Take the bus, leave the crashing to us!

Tiger Woods's wife nude!

Bakkersmolen

Just south of the Belgian/Netherlands border is a great place called the "Bakkersmolen", or ..."the baker's [wind]mill."
It has a working windmill, which the owner built. A steam locomotive giving rides to children A steam-powered carousel, bakery, using grain milled in the windmill, and many other interesting things.
We have friends in Belgium who took us there. We saw no other 'foreign' visitors, and our friends told us that indeed it's really only Belgians or Dutch that even know about it. In fact, the only pages I have seen about it are written in Dutch.
There is no charge for admission, but they would like visitors if possible to patronize the bakery, which is nooooo problem! They also serve food and beverages for reasonable prices...like De Konnick beer. We were there during beautiful weather, and sat outside on the patio.
WEBSITE

Good Luck Dave and Michele

Good times, along with some good food were had by all, at El Vergel on Thursday night for Dave and Michele's going away party.
Good luck to you both, you'll be missed.
MORE PICTURES

Antwerp Summer Festival

Antwerp’s great summer festival, Zomer Van Antwerpen, until September 2nd, is renowned for its free and generous spirit, with many events happening in the open air around the city. Twelve of Antwerp’s squares, for example, are hosting live concerts with world music and local talent providing the music in the hood. Each square has its own brochure outlining its programme – perfect for planning a warm evening of Salsa or a more rebellious night of African rhythms.
One of the centres of the festival is the Summer Bar, down on the River Scheldt by the circus tents. There’s a beach with colourful huts, a restaurant and a bar serving everything from a bolleke of beer to an exotica of cocktails. WEBSITE

Brussels Summer Festival

This used to go under the impossible name of Eu’ritmix. Seemingly, someone has sensibly suggested that less is more and the brand has become known as the Brussels Summer Festival August 10-19.
The free festival takes place in the main squares of the city – Grand’ Place included – and offers around 140 free concerts, theatre and children’s events.
This year celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and artistes from across the EU are piling into Brussels to take to the stage. Last year, over 250,000 people attended the events, so this is one to watch out for. A European village, close to Grand’ Place gives a heart to the proceedings. WEBSITE

TANKS IN TOWN

It’s not a case of tanks or nothing.
The 9th annual Tanks in Town, an annual assembly of World War II tanks in Mons, Belgium, will draw more than just the heavy armor.
There will be the ubiquitous re-enactors, period vehicles, a military flea market, parades and thousands of onlookers for the event, to be held Aug. 25-26.
“This year we may also have some (vintage) planes,” said Pierre Deghaye, president of the Royal Mons Auto Moto Club, which, along with the city of Mons, is sponsoring the event.
The gathering commemorates the Sept. 2, 1944, liberation of Mons by the 1st Infantry Division and 3rd Armored Division. The Battle of Mons led to the defeat of 30,000 German soldiers, though their comrades would soon try to undo matters by launching an offensive that came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge.
Organizers of this year’s event opted to hold their remembrance a week earlier to avoid conflict with another across the border in France, Deghaye said.
The Mons gathering ends on the afternoon of Aug. 26 with a two-prong parade, one consisting of tanks and the other World War II vehicles, including transport trucks to motorcycles. Last year, about 25,000 people lined the two parade routes, Deghaye said.
“Once all the tanks arrive (at the city square), it’s packed,” said Cis Spook, a spokeswoman for U.S. Army Garrison Benelux. “That is the highlight Sunday.”
For some visitors, it’s the day before that holds the greatest promise.
Many of the active participants in the tank and vehicle parades will offer rides to the public. A tank run is especially coveted and interested parties are encouraged to register in advance. Prices will vary depending on the vehicle.
The flea market is also scheduled for Saturday.
For more information on the rides or the weekend, go to the event Web site at: TANKS IN TOWN

Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis

Although this is world news by now, a bridge over the Mississippi near downtown Minneapolis collapsed during rush hour last night. The red arrow is where my condo is.

As of this morning there were at least 9 dead and 20 missing.

PICTURES VIDEO

READ MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE

Dinner for Dave and Michelle

This is just a friendly reminder to let you know that Dave 's goodbye party at El Vergel is on for tomorrow night. Due to the fact that it is a weeknight and many of our talented spouses will be coming from a hard day at work; we will plan to meet between 7:00 - 7:30pm. We will tentatively plan to sit for dinner around 8pm.

I want to clarify a few questions that I have received. El Vergel is a very casual restaurant that specializes in Latin American food that is primarily sandwiches and tacos. The cost per person will be 10 euro. STUDS will be picking up the alcohol, which at this place is the most expensive item.

We look to have a large contingency coming which I think has more to do with El Vergel rather than any of us missing Dave .

Dave 's Goodbye Party
Where: El Vergel
Rue du Trône 39 (2 blocks from the Trône station as you go away
from the palace.) MAP
T: 02 502 6930
When: Thursday August 2, 2007
Time: 7:00pm – 7:30pm dinner around 8:00pm

If you have any questions, please contact me.
Ron Peterson katron12@yahoo.com

Hmm, Beermania is just around the corner from El Vergel. If anyone wants to meet up there for a beer or two before dinner--say, 5ish?--drop me a line. -Joe S. joestange@gmail.com

YOU GO......GRANNY!

A grandmother aged 78 from Kapelle-op-den-Bos may be banned from entering a football stadium because she called a police officer she suspected of supporting KV Mechelen a "pompous bastard."
The woman, a fanatic supporter of arch-rival Racing Mechelen, was told at the police station that her file might be sent on "to Brussels," to the interior ministry's special unit on football hooligans.
The elderly woman is hoping for clemency after the questioning at the police station. You can see where this would be a challenge for the Belgian Police.

Drive In Movies

Dedicated film fans with a car can watch a drive-in movie every Friday and Saturday night during the summer. From 27 July, films are projected on a big outdoor screen on the Esplanade. Those without a car can perch on a stool. From JULY 27 to SEPTEMBER 1 in the Jubelpark/Parc du Cinquantenaire. WEBSITE

Intel in Euro-Land

The Wall Street Journal argues that "The case against Intel is the latest in a series of EU assaults on successful US technology companies. Brussels apparently is determined that if Europe can't be a global leader in information technology it can at least become that industry's world-wide regulator. If it succeeds, the world is bound to be a less competitive and innovative place - like, well, Europe."

Computer chips are getting faster and smaller, and prices are dropping amid fierce competition. So naturally the European Commission thinks this is the ideal time to lodge another antitrust suit against another American technology titan.

Last Friday, EU regulators accused Intel Corp. of offering computer makers -- brace yourself -- rebates designed to harm rival Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, in the chip market. In Brussels jargon, that's an "abuse of a dominant position" and could lead to a fine of as much as 10% of Intel's annual global turnover, or perhaps €3.5 billion.

Grand Prix of Belgium

All top-ranking Motocross riders will be competeing at the Citadel of Namur. The spectacular Grand Prix of Belgium is back on the calendar. On 4 and 5 August 2007 WEBSITE