Yeah. No joke.
On Sunday, the public television network in Flanders will broadcast a 45-minute special program during which 12 professors (followed by a panel of local politicians) will outline how Belgium could be divided into two separate Dutch and French speaking countries. They will take on such issues as control of the army, the future of the monarchy, social security payments, a massive national debt and the most contentious issue of all -- control of the capital Brussels, which also serves as the headquarters of the European Union.
For many Belgians, the timing of the broadcast could not be worse. The country has been without a government since June elections led to the victory of a Flemish nationalist party committed to gradual dissolution. And the mix of television broadcasts and Belgian unity have been a sore point since the French network four years aired a spoof of Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" --called "Bye Bye Belgium" --dramatically portraying the end of the nation. As with that famous radio broadcast, many viewers in Belgium thought they were viewing the real thing, until 50 minutes in when the fiction was revealed.
That's right. Read that again...without a functioning Government since June.
Here's my question...why, outside of PBS's NewsHour (where I got the link) isn't anyone covering this in the States?
The answer, I'm afraid, is that your News Media sucks.
Remember this @#$% when the Republicans threaten to cut the funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
