My Life on this planet.

In Belgium, a serious discussion was happening about whether nuclear power stations should remain open for many more years, and now politicians and the public are convinced that two reactors should remain open to have sufficient cheap electricity, certainly after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia when energy prices became very expensive and nearly unpayable for even middle-class people but also for companies. Employers organisations are happy, others are not as the others highlight possible risks and certain costs to continue nuclear energy. Also the CEO of Engie Electabel warned it will not be easy to keep two nuclear plants open beyond their current expiring date, partly because they need reparations to continue to work safely. Still, the Belgian government reached a pre-deal with Engie to keep the nuclear reactors running for another 10 years, although Engie first need to check whether this is possible. Sign to indicate radioactivity The Belgian government, supported by the Ener...

The Chinese Pavilion and Japanese Tower, two beautiful buildings in Laken, Belgium, that you wouldn't expect here but are perfect in the country of surrealism. In 2013 the buildings were closed because of stability problems. The administration responsible for the maintenance of the buildings promised they would start restoration that should end in 2021, but at the start of 2023 little happened to these iconic, and now protected buildings . In another part of Brussels you can visit the recently restored Hallepoort / Porte de Hal (Halle Gate). Now, a discussion about the future of these buildings started as the  owner Royal Museums of Art and History (RMAH) wants to sell them .  Chinese Pavilion and Japanese Tower These two buildings, located in Laken in the north of Brussels, were museums that housed Asian art, Chinese art in the Chinese Pavilion and Japanese art in the Japanese Tower and they are collectively known as Museums of the Far East. After the closure of the buildings...

Haiti, an example why developing countries became failed states. Why is Haiti such a disaster as a country? Who saw the movie about General Toussaint Louverture who led Haiti to independence knows a lot of the answer; the Guardian article summarises it and goes further . In short, inspired by the French Revolution, black slaves of Haiti revolted against their French owners who refused that slaves in colonies can fight for the same ideals of "liberty, equality and fraternity" as the French themselves against the aristocratic and religious elite in France. In the end, Mr Louverture hoped to negotiate peace with Napoleon but, who refused to meet him so Mr Louverture died imprisoned far from his country. Ironically, Napoleon also died imprisoned far from his country.  Cover of the 2-part movie Toussaint Louverture But, after Haiti's independence, the French managed to force Haitians to pay enormous amounts of money plus interest as condition for France to recognise Haiti...

The Belgian Commission on Belgium's colonial past was a failure as politicians didn't want to agree on an apology about the terror under, mainly, king Leopold II's reign in Congo, although later also Belgium didn't always act correctly. Originally an apology was planned although without compensation , but even this was too much.  Belgium doesn't apologise for its past in its colonies It is beyond believe that Belgians still don't want to condemn officially and with the strongest possible wording the crimes, the genocide committed under their second king Leopold II who allowed the mutilation and dead of men, women, even children when they didn't work hard enough, and to use the violence as an example for others to work harder. Estimates are that up to 10 million people died under king Leopold II's rule over Congo as his personal property; he should never have taken that land. Remember Hitler's 6 million Jews, and most Germans are rightly ashamed of ...

27/11/2022.  Fights between Moroccans and police in Belgium during and after the World Cup match Belgium versus Morocco. Of course, many Belgians but also those belonging to the Moroccan culture are furious. Why this violence? During a next game, Moroccans formed a human chain to control the violent persons  and prevent fights with the police. Of course, parents should try to avoid aggression by their children although distrust towards police, and more general society should not be so intense that their children refuse to acknowledge the authority of police and more general, government. First, we also complain about Belgian hooligans during Belgian competition games . Thus, it seems that a certain part of football supporters is attracted to football for a fight, not for the game. I repeat, a certain section of football supporters, whether Belgian or Moroccan supporters. Heavy machinery to stop potential supporters from entering the centre of Brussels But, I think a problem ...

Who are often the biggest enemies of progress for women apart from the obvious men who try to secure their own positions at the top? Indeed, women.  First of all, I understand why certain people are anti-abortion as they cannot understand that a woman doesn't want her baby, someone who should be someone to look forward to according them. Still, certain of these anti-abortion people are not interested in babies, for them this is a religious political issue to gain votes. It is similar with certain powerful politicians who claim people should not divorce but they have extramarital relations their partner doesn't know about; for the public eye they seem to be faithful but in practice they are not although they are not divorced. The below article discusses why abortion is sometimes important, just as contraceptives are important to pervent unwanted pregnancies, and thus abortions. It also describes how women can be used by men for their century old conservative agenda, even when wo...

Although I hoped there would be fewer mass shootings in the USA than previous years, I always feared many more may come. And thus, after a silence on gun violence after previous posts (see numbers 17 such as 17e and 17i in which I already referred to other mass shootings that killed), here another article on my blog after another two recent shootings in the USA that killed more than 30 people, including many children - some of below texts were first publications on my Facebook account.  The solution? Fewer weapons, and certainly semi-automatic guns should not be available. But, opposition to stricter gun laws is strong, certainly in certain mainly rural and conservative states so little can change and more evidence that weapons in society kill is likely to become available after more future shootings. Indeed, first comes a period that supporters of free gun-ownership can proof that supporters of stricter gun laws are wrong and thus that more weapons in societies protect people. I...