Belgium is resisting The Shock Doctrine

Hello friends,

I wanted to share some more positive news about Belgium after my earlier post.

Threat level down and de-politicized

The threat level has been stepped down from 4 (highest) to 3 in Brussels. As a result, at least the Christmas fair which usually attracts 1,5 million visitors has been able to open.
There has been fierce debate about how the threat level has been used and implemented. As a result, the idea which was floating around to allow the executive branch of government to set that level seems to have been killed. No (more) terra terra highjacking for us. Even members of the governing coalition are calling for politicians to step out of the process of deciding where to use police and military, as that use has been widely perceived to be provoking terror in itself. A comedian named Kamagurka stepped in and out of zone 4 to make fun of it.

Nuanced debate about islamic extremism, the role of Saudi-Arabia front and center

The fact that IS has found a fertile breeding ground in some parts of my country has been publicly and almost unanimously linked to wahabism (but not just that). Wahabism is a very conservative interpretation of Islam and the state religion of Saudi-Arabia. The fact that Saudi-Arabia sponsors the international spreading of this form of Islam has come front and center. All parties but one (NV-A, flemish nationalists who have taken the electorate of a radically islamophobic rightwing party) are demanding that we re-examine our (economic) ties with Saudi-Arabia. The fact that the NV-A mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever, has been very eager to get a deal done (worth 3.7 billion euro) with those same Saudis is also widely known. As a result of the attacks nearby, we are having a moment of collective reflection on our values. One could call it waking up to our own hypocrisy.

No Patriot Act for us
About the most respected voice on the Middle East and Africa, Rudi Vranckx, has linked IS to the war in Iraq immediately and in prime time. He called US measures after 9/11 draconian in the same breath.
The set of measures announced by the government include some which I consider overreaching. They plan to prohibit anonymous mobile phone cards (for new purchases) and to lengthen the time for detention without access to a judge from 24 to 72 hours. Luckily, a commission including the (socialist/green) opposition will review the measures and doubts have been raised by all kinds of legal and political scholars.

What is less positive:

Fairs yes, protest no
10.000 belgian civilians wanting to go to Paris to march for Climate around the summit could not. The march was rescheduled to Brussels, forbidden there, rescheduled to Ostend and forbidden there "because there was not enough police to secure it". It may happen on the 6th in Ostend, we'll see. The choices of what to allow/protect and what not clearly illustrate the neoliberal underpinning of the current government.

Silence about NATO
Though the state channel seems to be making a point of for example being open about the collateral damage of the drone war, there has been little discussion of how our NATO involvement makes us susceptible to blowback. Our (one) frigate is escorting a french aircraft carrier and its mandate or mission aren't discussed.

on a personal note:

Have i cast a small but significant stone in the river?
These turbulent times have made me active here and at home. I've been on the main national news radio in a program that accepts calls, and got to warn about not staying in shock from fear by choosing the channel and one's exposure properly, which may have led to this piece explaining manipulation. The video is in dutch but you will like it and recognize what I mean. In another show I got to promote small-scale citizen-owned energy coops to the chief EU climate negotiator who was in the studio for a big "climate panel" show and he agreed and expanded on it.

I may be dreaming, but before those interventions I sent a big compliment to the state news channel which included a warning about the Shock Doctrine, and several other items. I think it has raised their awareness. I was able to provide much detail based on what I learned here. Never underestimate what an honest compliment can do, I do it all the time and it works wonders.

What I'm saying is, I seem to have a "voice", seem to have finally found it, and DU was an essential step in that. Thank you.
Being on DU in those crazy Bush years (I had another screen name before this one) has made me understand it's wrong to lump all the citizens of a nation together with the actions of its government and I will always keep that nuance.

I also have to be clear: I have moved DU way down in my news sources, have moved down the US in my country folders and included a subfolder "signs of decay". A documentary detailing US police brutality towards minorities (1500 black men killed in one year) aired mainstream recently. I will be doing my little best to divorce the course of Belgium and Europe of the NATO/US one because I honestly believe you're on an extremely dangerous path.

take care,
bmc