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We Live in Belgium...
We live in
Belgium, a little country right in the heart of Europe. The country is in many
ways a small version of Europe. Most have heard of Brussels, which is not only
the capital of Belgium, but of the whole of Europe. Belgium is becoming a divided
country, with the two largest communities – the Flemish (Dutch speaking) and
the Walloons (French speaking) – opposing
to each other on different levels, but mostly about financial issues.
This
disunity of Belgium typifies the larger European Union, which is a hodgepodge
of countries with a lot of differences (cultural, languages, ...) and only one
common aspect: the euro. A currency more and more experts are starting to
question!
But not all
things are turning sour in Belgium. Belgians have it for the good life. The
country is widely known for its waffles, chocolate and pralines, beer and fries.
Its inhabitants have a taste for good food and strive for a higher standard of
living. Things like culture (fine arts, music, ...) and folklore are highly
ranked.
But this ‘good
life’ is coming at a cost nowadays, a cost which is rising at a phenomenal pace. A
typical shopping list doubled over the last five years, while the bills for
energy, insurance, ... are going through the roof lately. Just last month, they
raised the electricity bill in Flanders with 10%! Americans often think that
driving a car in the US is becoming expensive, with gas prices hovering around
$4 per gallon. Well, over here in Belgium, we’re currently paying around $8 at
the pump.
Inflation
is running rampant in Belgium, although government statics are pointing at modest
increases for consumer prices. Being Belgians, we know better by now. The fear
of a potential runaway inflation is putting pressure on people's sentiment. Luckily, we
have a very open cultural towards gold. You can buy gold not only at your local
coin shop, but also order it at the bank. A simple phone call and the physical
yellow metal is delivered in all forms. And gold isn’t being taxed, like silver
which comes with a VAT of 21 percent on top of the selling price. That’s why
there is a larger gold community in Belgium than in other parts of Europe. But gold is generally well distributed among Europeans.
Being
commodity and precious metals analysts in Belgium, and to a wider range the
Benelux and Europe, we often get the question whether gold is in a bubble.
This is not such an unusual question as many have been riding the gold bull all
the way from the bottom ten years ago. To us, it is clear that gold is most
definitely not in a bubble. We often speak to bankers of all kinds, and they
still concentrate their clients’ portfolios in the classical way: a diversified
portfolio of bonds, equities, real estate and cash. Seldom do private bankers
or family offices allocate more than a few percentage points to gold or silver.
As the
graph below shows, gold is still a marginal phenomenon. Gold and gold mining
shares represent a tiny fraction of what they used to in the 1980s. It is
therefore a fallacy to say that gold is over-owned, that it is a speculative
bubble, etc. Financial assets such as stocks and bonds represent the bulk of all
global wealth. Also in Europe...
So who are these European gold investors? First of all, we have the
impression they are a bit older than average. Many European gold investors have
inherited bullion and gold coins from their (grand)parents, and fully realise
their value. Most of them are not obliged to sell. On the other hand, we have
the impression many younger people are starting to grasp the true value of gold
and what it can do to protect a portfolio. Younger people, who often get their
financial information from top-notch financial blogs (such as Zerohedge) are
mostly more informed about the true state of affairs than mainstream media,
which tend to deliver a lot of noise.
Our conclusion is that it is ridicilous to assert that gold is in a bubble
when it represents a mere 0.8% of global assets. We frequently ask John Doe whether he owns gold and the
answer is always negative, even after a fourfold of the price of gold in euro.
Gold still has a long, long way to go before it is fully valued, or even
overvalued. We continue to advocate euro/dollar cost-averaging into the yellow
metal combined with a selection of quality junior gold stocks. You have
to protect yourself from the fiat currency delirium, even if you’re living in
Belgium.
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That's the real story here. That and the shitty enforcement of already lax safety standards.
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Doesn't take a whole lot of effort to press the one, zero and enter keys.
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It was the fault of the Japanese for allowing such a reactor to be built in that location without additional safety measures being required. That's the real story here. That and the shitty enforcement of already lax safety standards.
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I heard the whole interview, and he said "if silver goes to triple digits this year that would make me think about selling. On the other hand, if the dollar is confetti while silver is $150, I'll keep my silver."
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The lower echelons of a tyrannical regime who are responsible for (most likely) imposing unjust rulings against the oppressed masses are now scrambling over one another in a last-ditch effort to avoid their date at the hands of the lynch mob.
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when they could still land in your pocket. Also I asked people to sift them out for me when the silver price of the coin was only 0.6 face silver value. Maybe my text is not right but you know what I mean. 70-236 exam I hoarded everything I could get and financed it by trading collectible items like fifties and sixties Japanese robot-toys and other stuff."70-270 exam I really liked silver" but my quest ended when our pockets didn't 70-433 exam contain guilders but instead Euro's. Sometimes a paid some more than face value
Where is a waffle recipe.
Ik ook
Ik ook
Ik ook
Gold, buy gold, more gold, just don't tell your bankers.
The people who love to say Gold is in a bubble are people selling stocks and bonds and who worship FED liquidity to prop up said stocks and bonds.
They HATE alternate stores of value such as Gold and other Precious Metal's (PM's) because it escapes their asset trap nets.
I've been sifting coins since I was 10 years old and stored the silver guilders (and other coins like the 2.5 guilders and the 10 guilders) when they could still land in your pocket. Also I asked people to sift them out for me when the silver price of the coin was only 0.6 face silver value. Maybe my text is not right but you know what I mean. I hoarded everything I could get and financed it by trading collectible items like fifties and sixties Japanese robot-toys and other stuff."I really liked silver" but my quest ended when our pockets didn't contain guilders but instead Euro's. Sometimes a paid some more than face value
and for you that do not know what a guilder is: I live in the netherlands and on a timescale before the euro hit my fellow citizens (who do not realize that there is something wrong, somewhere, somehow) we had a sort of value on a basis of GDP, Philips, DAF, Fokker,Solid Bank(st)ers, Music Industries and invention and a lot of other industries. I think al these have gone abroaght allready and (ashamed) maybe we have the "brightest" bank(st)ers
these are the numbers about my "hobby" and the numbers are "about";
275 silver 1 guilders coins costing me about 1.05 guilders each, and in euro's it is €0.48 for each coin that I can turn in for €3.80 each
100 silver 2.5 guilders coins costing me about 2.70 guilders each, and in euro's it is €1,22 for each coin that I can turn in for €8.60 each
50 silver 10 guilders coins costing me below silver price because they were drawn back for legal payment (replaced by 10-guilder notes and people being almost forced to deliver and get the paper instead) and people wanted to get rid of it; I paid about 90% of face value for these coins so I paid 9 guilders each, about €4.10 for the coin, today I can sell for € 14,50/coin
Maybe the yield does not look much over the past 20-25 years but as me liking silver I alo invested in silver at 600 Euro's/kilo about a half year ago and now it is about €850/860 per kilo and the stuff is doing better in euros than dollars and Euro's have been taken to invest in this by me being a paesant
Please keep your valuable assets like I have done and remind that every silver or gold coin means the right "face value" if weighted on a scale. Be vivid to buy family PM assets before they get to hands of people who are taking taking 30% of the value. It is better to get your coin before it is melted
thanks, dank U wel, Sudden Debt!
Tour of Flanders, pavé bitch!
I forgot; :)
There is a lot of silver for sale in the EU without the taxes on ebay and marktplaats, it comes from private people and they sell without taxes, you're joking Sudden Debt, cheers
But at what price? :)
But there are deals on European (ex euro coins) on ebay.be which sell below melt.
Sudden Debt, het pakje moet dan eigenlijk eerst ingevoerd worden of wordt er niet eens op gelet?
Je hebt trouwens prachtige reacties en je avatar is fantastisch in combinatie met je gebruikersnaam!
groet van een kaaskop
Er wordt gewoon niet op gelet. Je moet nu geen mega aantallen bestellen he. Koop het per rol.
Deze 3 zijn de goedkoopste en shippen allemaan naar België zonder checken:
http://www.ccsilver.com/
http://www.southerncurrency.com
http://www.usgoldbureau.com/
Voor staven:
www.Straightsilver.com
www.Fortknoxmetals.com
Made port call in Zeebrugge with the US Navy back in '87. Quite a few of us walked the few clicks up the road to Blankenberge to take in the scenery (and drink some more). I found the Belgian people to be very polite and more than happy to take USD for virtually all transactions. I'm sure those days are over. After 3-4 days of festivities, we were off to Rotterdam, Den Helder, and Willhelmshaven.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VjPPuias1k
Recently returned from Belgium. Spent 2 weeks touring & working. Didn't go to Brussels, spent all my time in Flanders. I'm fond of war sites, so I got a nice tour of WWI areas, particularly around Ypres. There are many lessons to be learned from the Belgians, and particularly the Flemish.
The first, regarding the corruption (or even the pedo rings) is that the Flemish are fed up with the corruption. I don't paint Belgians with a broad brush and say this is indicative of their culture, because if I did, then the US would be a racist, corrupt, violent nation with little or no culture to speak of. That is outlandish in and of itself, so I'll refrain from commenting on the nature of details in Belgium. Needless to say, the citizens all enjoy certain aspects of not having a government - that is, from a financial standpoint, the country is being run somewhat successfully and in a manner that ordinary politicians could not run it. They would be seeking to enrich themselves while the current "caretakers" are just trying to get by. This is a good thing for the country, at a small level. Jokingly, I pointed out that the King is a "kingmaker"...which garnered more than a few wry smiles. At any rate, the downside is that the corruption and crime is becoming rampant as the caretakers have little power to do much about it or fight it to any degree.
The second thing I was impressed by was the work ethic of the people. I won't say much here about that, but the Flemish are proud of their past, and proud of their future and they want to work to improve things. I met a few Walloons and those that live in Flanders have adopted this mindset. Those that didn't were extraordinarily French in their thought and behavior (see the SC2 fellow above) - often complaining about how the Flemish don't do enough to "help". Well, from what I saw, the Flemish are more than a little fed up with working to pay for people who are unwilling to work. Which leads to the final point - that the Flemish are moving toward a very Libertarian viewpoint.
Yes, the third point is important, because in Flanders, more than a few Libertarians are winning elections and cleaning up the political landscape. No they aren't all clean and sparkly nice, but they have done quite a bit to fight back against the encroachment of the government in Brussels AND the EU. The Flemish love this. It is often noted that in Dijksmuide, there is an annual Flemish festival celebrating how the Flemish refused to give up to the Germans in WWI. Walloons....are not happy about this, for obvious reasons. The Flemish lost much and suffered badly in WWI - and show great gratitude to this day for the countries that came to their assistance (anyone who visits Ypres would see this). They are individualistic and hard working. It points out stark contrasts in views between what the Flemish call "the South" and Flanders.
All told, it will be interesting to see what happens - I suspect the country will wind up being divided and Brussels will revert to Wallonia. The Flemis would love to have Brussels, but they consider it dirty and crime ridden. Most likely they will use it to negotiate a better settlement for themselves....assuming this is the direction they go. But I suspect they will. It makes little or no sense to have a nation set up this way - more than 2 languages (there is a German speaking minority), different cultural views culminating in fiercely different political and economic views. Why, many Flemish ask, can a foreigner arrive and get housing and a stipend to live? And who is paying for it? Of course, we can ask similar questions here in the US - and nobody answers here either. But the fact is they are much deeper into the socialist mire that is dragging them down and they want to do something about it. We can only hope they succeed.
About the Belgian sex-rings scandals :
http://www.naderlibrary.com/cult.beyonddutroux.htm
And I suspect the gang of clowns that run the European circus (Barroso, Solana etc) have been caught on tape with their pants down and a 12 y.o. Belgian girl on their lap. Otherwise how would you explain their compulsive desire to please their Washington master...? (war in Kosovo, GMO's, etc etc)
Regina Louf often said the network was also used to blackmail **important** politicians...
Gladio anyone?
Belgium is a complex web of interconnected old and new (EU) money and power.
Some dark stuff in that link. The flemish should've followed up the white march with a taxpayer revolution. (main function of government is to protect, originally) In the old days they'd thrown out the ruler, and gotten a new one. The issue is very much obfuscated the last decade though. I skimmed through it, some is unconfirmed (and presented as such), but other stuff is, I could cross check quickly. Hard hitting, indepth, I don't really understand you got junked there. oh well..
VAT sucks!
Same group think as here. They're staying the course, debasing the euro, and gold of central banks, forgetting there's a BILLION gold hungry Chinese, Indians and other folks just waiting to snatch it up now, and use in the coming decades. The excuse "to plug holes in the budget" is ridiculous short term thinking. A sellout of the belgium people's assets is what it is.
this morning in a belgian newspaper (hln page 2) : a fucking liberal not socialist called Bart Tommelein came up with the stupid idea of selling the belgian gold (+ 200 T stored by the Fed in NY) to cut the deficit. The bastard should call first call Gordon Brown to ask his opinion (he sold the britisch gold at a topic at +/- 250 usd.) and than let check if the Belgian gold in NY isn't changed into tungsten. Somebody can give a call to India, they are only interested in +200T deals.
Er, just a minute. Where and when did Belgiums gather any wealth or treasure or to turn it into gold? 200T? Ah, come on. They've been invaded too often for a start.
This should give you a idea of gold coins that Belgium minted in the 19th century. This is only 1 coin, they minted hundreds different kinds but this is one of the most common.
To give you a idea, that's MORE then what the US did or has.
Second: A LOT of people own these coins as family pieces. I got about 120 from my grandfather.
http://users.telenet.be/egmp/belgie/cat/indexbk-.htm
Third: The National Portfollio (Where Leopold II hid his gold) is said to cointain more gold then what lies in Fort Knox and isn't included in official reserves.
There are massive ammounts of gold in Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Germany and France. WAY more than you can imagine.
Indeed we've invaded too often but at the time we invaded Congo. We just took the natural ressources and the congolese people is still calling us "uncle".
Belgium raped the Congo. Read Conrad's "Heart of Darkness".
10 million congolese butchered by king Leopold II.
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/35/181.html
And the belgians have the nerve to set up an international court of human rights in their blood drenched soil. What a farce.
France and Germany commited even greater atrocities. Yet today, in their schools, this part of history is not mentioned. It has been erased in true orwellian fashion. Just as they are now trying to erase the atrocities commited during WWII in the concentration camps.
A 21 % VAT tax on money(silver)? That was news to me. Ugh a thousand time over.
I order it in the US, ship it over and sell it here on Ebay for a 25% profit :)
TAXFREE :)
@ Sudden Debt
Good for you! Buying silver here in America and selling it in Belgium at a profit due to stupid tax laws is good for you AND helps to weaken the Superstate.
+ $38.00
Well you must have connections, cuz normaly they would confiscate it and charge u double to bring it over the border
yes, wondering about that as well... that's tax evasion pure and simple. (??)
isn't there a different VAT percentage on coins? Over here it's 6%.
My eagles are "collector" coins, not investment :)
The only once that I had to pay taxes on where the once I bought at APMEX.
WHO HASN'T?!
brussel sprouts? hahaha j/k
Thats where there's a law that states if you're doing 130kph you musn't be more than three feet off the back bumper of the car in front, isn't it? And I think I'm right in saying that you can only pull out if it makes someone brake. Maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, between that and lunch in Nieuwpoort on a summers afternoon where there where thousands of people but it was absolutely silent, the whole place scares me a little.
Fok de banken, koop meer goud en zilver.
indeed
'The country is widely known for its waffles, chocolate and pralines, beer and fries.'
Er...No. Sadly for you.
Belgium is known for its bizarre paedophile rings where judges and politicians cover for sadists who keep kids in dungeons while the police chat to them and let them go. They treat their paedophiles like brits treat their royalty and the usa treats their wall st banksters.
Also its known for its european gravy train corruption and being totally boring.
Sorry, i like your beer but when most people think of belgium they think of a puckered asshole dripping sloppy shit.
Just being honest with ya....
Have been to Belgium quite a bit and, frankly, it is a cess pit, dirty in many ways, ugly in others, and yes it is indeed known for pedophile rings. Since Belgium is the center of the EU, this also tells alot about the European Union.
I had to drive through Belgium to get home to germany. It was like someone fly-tipped all over your front lawn of your beautiful castle.
'The country is widely known for its waffles, chocolate and pralines, beer and fries'...
Er, no. Waffles are associated with the USA although a anglo german invention.
Chocolate = Switzerland.
Beer = Germany and England
Fries = Chips = England (to go with fish)
Thank you
pfffft
The Belgians invented chocolate to better lure children ;-)
Belgium is a very disgusting country, I lived there in three occasions, and really the only country I did not like...it is easy to believe all they claim about child molesters over there, it is so corrupt and ugly place to be.
Plus they invented chocolate after robbing Congo....anyone aware of Belgian venture into Congo?
It is the very rotten heart of Europe
Well, in fact: Here in Belgium they get cought, while in your country they are walking arround free and fucking your 10 your old daughter in the ass.
But hey, sssstttt, nobody needs to know right?
got a point here, Dutroux is old story...there are plenty of sex crimes in all countries, it is not limited and not restricted to a single country. Belgium's situation is pretty much the same as in France where prices are hitting the roof too...the difference with Belgium is that they still have NO Government ! Wow, I envy you guys....