Brussels, Belgium? to dpruner

I cannot speak those languages.
Why all the flooding in England and Texas lately? Global warming?

As far as the beer goes, I do like Tetley Ale out of England. Efis out of Turkey and all those Euro beers. My favorite is a real Abby beer from Belgium. Cherry is also good for a change from Belgium. A sip is enough for me. My wife orders it.
I hate all U.S. Lights! Leaves an after-taste in your mouth. Yuch!
Some Irish beers are good on draught.

Doug, this is my favorite: A MUSTY; a draft ale and a beer mixed together. I can drink a ton of them. Not a Black and Tan. Those are stronger tasting.
To make a Musty, just mix a good English Ale with a Good English beer half and half or your favorite beer and ale. Goes down smooth and you never want to stop popping down a few. Try it. Tastes good.
Maybe you will get your buddies joining you for a few pints.
First time I had a MUSTY was with a Dawson Ale and Beer in the Boston area during the early 60's. Pretty popular at that time.
Today, hardly anyone knows of it.

OH! While in the Heathrow airport, a pint would have cost me
16 dollars! That is robbery! The heck with that! I can buy a 12 oz. beer for $3.50 on the airline.

I do not know to speak Dutch or Flemish. Flemish is harder to learn being a mix of French and Dutch.
I heard of an automobile factory in Holland that would fire an employee if that worker spoke English at the factory. Weird! True!

-Kevin

I would say the latter is closer to the truth. Only an idiot would put such a massive range of cultures,beliefs & religions together & expect a good outcome. There are massive problems over here since we had the huge influx of immigrants,from lack of housing,crippled NHS,lack of local school places to increased gang culture & other criminal activities like prostitution & human trafficking. The middle & upper classes will tell you that its great & is working well,but it is not! They need to get their heads out of the sand. Its a complete disaster!
And as for the price of things over here,well i would call that a disgrace!
The best thing that could happen imo,is that we stop leaving the important decisions to the toffs in the government. The best way to do this would be to have telephone voting on all decisions. Its useless simply voting at the polls because once theyre in they do what they want. Its a known fact that more people pick up the phone & vote in Big Brother than they do when it comes to elections. It might sound daft,but thats what you call democracy.

Economic and political pressures make the poor of many countries flock to USA and Europe. The resulting situation is forced on both sides. Governments move slowly and sometimes unwillingly to help. And there you are, in the middle.
It's arguably worse in S America, where the "immigrants" are native-born: Rural poor now squatting in the cities, and resented by their fellow citizens.
"crippled NHS" Funny you should say that. Michael Moore's recent film says you have the most wonderful system in the world. I wonder if Moore is as na

so please bare with me when i try to explain. Im just working class,which in some cases gives me more of an insight!
Yes i realize why a lot of the people flock to Britain & neighbouring counties & who can blame them,but not all of them are genuinely seeking asylum due to war etc in their own country. Five or so years ago i knew this would bring huge problems with it like housing,schools & the struggling NHS,along with crime,as if we didnt have enough! But why didn't the government have the foresight???
I cant comment on Michael Moore's claims that the NHS is the best in the world because i haven't used another country's health service. So all i can tell you is that yes we are lucky to have such a system,but the system is badly managed,short of cash,short of beds,short of decent contractors to do the cleaning. Iv seen many fly on the wall documentaries that have been SHOCKING. The nurses are under paid & over worked,like most people in this country. The waiting lists are a disgrace,but managers manipulate the figures to meet the targets so they dont look as bad as they are. Both of my parents received imo shoddy & late treatment for cancer. The elderly lady who lived in the house i now live in,fell down the stairs & broke her hip or collar bone & therefor had to take a trip to the hospital,where she contracted MRSA & died. I don't know what Michael Moore is comparing the NHS to but what ever it is,it must be bad.
The immigrants you mention in South America seem vastly different to the ones over here. Over here the immigrants get massive support & aid,which causes resentment. The government denies this,but the people on the streets & in social housing see it constantly. The immigrants take priority over the native british,this is denied,but it is true. They were even given over a thousand pound to buy cars to help them get work,something that again the government denies but i saw the cheques & took the people to garages for the cars in my taxi. When the young male Kosovans,Bosnians first came we were told they only had food vouchers & a small amount of money to live off but they were hanging out in shopping centers all day,wearing the latest designer clothes & using the latest mobile phones. This is what causes resentment. Then you throw in the different beliefs,cultures & religion & you end up with a ticking bomb. Young male foreigners making sexual advances on young girls,very young girls. And the fact that they were not allowed to work didnt help! Anyway as a result of the governments ignorance we all live together in one quagmire but don't mix. I think it will end up like the situation we have with the Asian community,where they all live together & stick together & bearly an english family live on the street or in that suberb. I think the gap there has widened so much that its doubtful that we will ever be a mixed comunity,getting along together. Every year though the local council puts up the christmas lights & there is a'happy deepwhalla' im sure this helps build the bridges! lol sorry about the spelling.

Bottom line is..if the govt & councils didnt hoodwink us into believing them & their figures,it would be a better place. This is why people don't use their vote,because it is futile no matter how you look at it. They give you their spiel,you believe them,you vote for them,they do a u turn!
Politics has to evolve into something that gets the voters attention. People have lost all faith in the system & feel that they do not have a say in anything apart from who gets into office. Until we reach something resembling 'the people having their say in how the country's run & what bills & laws get passed'i won't be voting.

what they need.
From the small issues (you stop shopping at a market that has spoiled food) to the biggest (people leave religions that don't give them peace of mind).
Government is somewhere near the top (so Tony Blair was not God)

BTW I found this comment interesting: "Young male foreigners making sexual advances on young girls,very young girls." In the case of Muslims, there's another thread that may shed light on this.

http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6130_102-0.html?forumID=50&threadID=256168&messageID=2538313

The article cited said that the Muslim marriage system leaves many such men without hope of a marriage mate. In addition, many of their leaders teach that non-Muslim women, especially Westerners, are immoral. ('How could they be otherwise?' is the reasoning. 'They're infidels!') And the age of marriage in Oriental countries is often lower than in Europe. These are facts that may explain what's happening, but of course they won't make you or other European mothers any happier with it. And sex with minors is against the law, which foreigners also must obey.
"they were not allowed to work"
I wasn't aware of that; which group, and why not?
Twenty years ago I went through Hounslow and it seemed mainly South Asian. Is that still the case?
One 'evolution' that can take place in countries with failing elected governments is a drift to the Strong Leader. Hitler, Mussolini and the dictators of Africa all filled voids, real or perceived. The person proves just the right "salesman" for the times, and the rest is [recent] history.
(Your country has had periods of prominence under at least two of the above: Strong monarch and strong Parliament.)
The UN is another system proposed to bring 'peace on earth', like the League of Nations before it. Even mainstream religious leaders have looked to it for that.

So, any of these alternatives take your fancy? (Did I hear a "Seig Heil"? )

jonny2000,
I really do not know of the problem you are telling us about.
I have a relative enrollen in school in England. She just loves it and it will be her third year in London.

Can you explain in detail for us?
How does Europe think about the valuation of the pound being worth $2.
The Euro is worth $1.33.
Brings about an imbalance I think between the Euro and the British pound.
The only thing I do not like is after going through security in Brussels I had to go through security again in Heathrow. Another long line and only one security station. That airport is the worst!!! I hate Heathrow airport! My second time at that antiquated airport.
Oh, and their $16 pint beer. At Brussels airport a pint was 5 Euro which is a lot less expensive and better tasting as far as I am concerned.

-Kevin

to visit England! The only other place i have visited that is more expensive is Monaco!
I have to go & pick my son up right now,so apologies for not answering your questions right now. I will be back tonight to try & answer them but im not much of an economist! I can tell you this though before i go, Britain is a rip off!!

We won't tell him you said that.

The beer is served in 30ml or 12 oz. footed beer goblets and 50ml or 16oz goblets. They are all heavy and have the logo of the brewery on every style that is ordered. What a treat to have a heavy glass goblet keep the beer cold.
http://www.trabel.com/brussel/brussels-cityofbeer.htm

Same way in Germany, Holland and France.
Wish it was that way in the U.S.

There is a small chain in the South Shore of MA and Cape Cod called British Beer Company. Good place to have lunch, dinner or just to wash down a couple.
All the imported beers, ale and stout are served in a pilsner style glass with the logo of that beer on it that you ordered such as Stella. In Europe it would be served in a heavy Stella goblet. http://www.britishbeer.com/local/pembroke/


The Boston Globe, two weeks ago, ran an article about the heavier goblet being used for beer in the U.S. now in upscale restaurants.
Don't you hate a thin-walled 6 oz. glass served with your beer. What's worse is a plastic cup. Sports stadiums have to. That's OK.

Anyone like the heavy footed beer glasses that are used in Europe?

Mac. Please send my best wishes to your Air Force son for me. My son is in the USAF also.

-Kevin