This was the result of a rejected takeoff in Brussels on a Kalitta Airways B747-200F Cargo plane. The pilot told rescue crews that he had heard a ‘large noise’ while attempting to take off just after midday. It is not clear what caused the accident as of yet, but an investigation is underway. Four of the five crew members on board were injured during the crash.

The jumbo jet came to rest at the end of the runway some 500 metres (yards) from housing in the Brussels suburb of Zaventem after the crash, which occurred at 1130 GMT.

Local residents have long campaigned to have this particular runway shut down, and said the crash was entirely predictable.

The plane broke into three pieces, and stopped just metres short of electricity power cables.

"The politicians can no longer beat about the bush, this runway must immediately be closed to the heaviest carriers," said the Mayor of neighbouring Wezembeek-Oppem, Francois Van Hoobrouck.

Based in Michigan, and named after the owner Conrad Kalitta, Kalitta Air was founded in 2000 and has 18 Boeing 747s, according to its website.

Yesterday I took a guided tour of Brussels. It's a really nice place. Lots of old buildings. That's my travel guide sales pitches for Brussels.

Even verder nagedacht en waarschijnlijk gaat het om Nederlands limburgs (blijkbaar een officiële taal), maar het idee van een blog in het dialect leek me wel leuk. Zelf ben ik van Vlaams-Brabant en een echt dialect spreek ik niet. Soms probeer ik met mijn grootvader 'diegems' of 'vilveuds' 'te klappen', wat hij dan hilarisch vindt omdat ik de klanken niet goed beheers, maar wat hij ook aanmoedigt omdat het "toch spaatig is da da joeng voelk da ni mee klapt. 't Is pertang een schoen toal".

Blijkbaar organiseert Antwerpen van 15 tot 21 september een week van het dialect. Misschien een leuk idee om dit initiatief uit te breiden naar heel Vlaanderen en dat stadsblogs zoals Gentblogt, Oostende blogt, Brusselblogt en andere blogs een weekje in het dialect bloggen?

I kinda found a solution to writing, photos. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that sure keeps me from Carpel Tunnel.

Check out the badge on the right hand sidebar of our blog. We'll be trying to keep this updated with writing as well!

"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek" - Joseph Campbell

Yesterday (21st of July) was Belgium's birthday, and unlike in the Flemish parts of the country, there was a big celebration in Brussels. They had probably one of the biggest fireworks (at least longest) I have seen and me & Alsu even manage to spot some royal handwaving.

This got me thinking about nationalism and its evil cousin xenophobia. For those who don't know Belgium has recently been in a flux becuase of the inability of the currently elected parties to form government. This resulted in relatively timid displays of nationalism - at least in Brussels where a lot of people still want Belgium to stick together as one country.

Nationalism isn't always as peaceful, and spurred on by destructive forces it can turn really bad, even in Belgium. Probably why it can be so destructive is because it stems from such a basic human emotion - the fear of the unknown. Almost all of us can recognize this feeling - when we find ourselves in a new country, or just in a different part of town.

I live in the borders of the maroccan and turkish parts of Brussels (in total between 100 000 and 200 000 people, about 50% of the inhabitants of these districts), which I think is great. There is a mix and an energy I love - but most of all, what you realize, is that it's just the same as anywhere else.

However, a lot of people are afraid of these districts - I recently met a girl who just moved in to this area and she was genuinely afraid of walking from the subway after dark. The fear itself doesn't stem from any factual experiences - she had never heard, nor seen, nor experienced any unsafety. Rather it was all about a sense of not understanding or not regonizing what was going on around her.

Instead of fearing this, the unknown, I would say the opposite holds more danger to you - fear the known. It is when you are surrounded by the known that you are stifled, your creativity goes bust and you stop developing. In the known you are not forced to think new things, to react to unexpected situations - to learn.

For me - I use the fear of the unknown as an indicator that I am on the right track - that I am challenged and developing. Whereas when I feel that comfortable, warm, fuzzy feeling of the known - I try to urge myself to run, a bit like Hantzel and Gretchen should have done. Because behind that candy coated house of the known there is a witch - and all she wants is to stifle your personal development - so get out of there as quick as you can!

"Nothing in life is to be feared.  It is only to be understood." - Marie Curie

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Our trip was primarily governed by the cheap National Rail train and National Express bus deals available that 2006 holiday season. We hit Stratford-upon-Avon, but didn’t pay to see Shakespeare’s or Anne Hathaway’s home. We went to Edinburgh, but skipped the underground city. Instead, we reveled in the cost-free beauties of the cities. After taking the train from Edinburgh to London, we had opted not to take the expensive London-to-Oxford train. We instead paid the few pounds cost to hop aboard the clean and comfortable Megabus.

The following spring, we took the same gear, adding a Johnson & Johnson tchotchke bag, to tackle Western Europe by primarily traveling and attempting to sleep on daytime and overnight National Express/Eurolines buses and a tiny EasyCruise riverboat, and by walking onto a SeaFrance RORO ferry (though we did take a TGV to Calais as a gift to me, and a currency exchange error on my part landed us in a nicer Paris hotel for the Easter weekend). After we were dumped off in downtown London, we again were happy to pay the small amount for our Megabus tickets home.

My final low-cost story reviews our most recent trip was this year. We hit Boston and New York, crashing at friends and family, staying in Hotwire-garnered hotels outside the city (and for a time, using a Hotwire-acquired rental), living on shared $5 Subway sandwiches (that promotion was a wallet-saver), and flying on JetBlue’s ‘red-eyes’. While planning, my wife and I found we needed to find a way to get from Boston to New York, and we loath spending over $10 for nearly anything. Our fears quickly vanished when we discovered that Megabus had recently added a Boston to New York route. Fortunately for us, the riders the week before were the guinea pigs (they luckily had a New York native aboard to help the lost driver), and we experienced a low-stress, low-priced—$8—jaunt into Manhattan.

Of course this isn’t about the chain-smoking and music that we had to endure on the bus from Amsterdam to Paris (it was awful), or about the 12am – 2am creepy tour of Brussels (it was the least expensive time to get there); it is about the reasons that Megabus as become one of the constants in our travels.

Megabus isn’t innovative simply because it caters to me and all of my fellow dinner-sharing, park-and-riding, non-AC-using cheapos. It wins because it has created a platform that wholly embraces the web and in so doing, passes on the cost-savings to the consumer (often said, but not often executed). They are succeeding in a thought-to-be-dead industry, using an Easy and/or Hotwire type motel, where seats are sold with a supply-demand treatment. Instead of looking at seats as a perishable item, like, say an airline that drastically cuts costs at the last minute to fill their plane, they look at their space as a commodity. When there are a lot of seats available, it's $1 to ride, and every seat taken increases that cost. The magic also comes in the routes they chose. The focus on high-use routes (LON-OX, BOS-NY), knowing that if consumers are made aware, the Megabus seats will fill. And, as a result of their model, they cut through the clutter—it seems primarily by word-of-mouth—and their services begin to own the route. Their success comes in adapting a proven, customer-centric model (seen most effectively with Ryanair and Easy; and I mean customer-centric not in a fluffy way, but in the way the customer does the work in securing the tickets, planning, etc.) in an antiquated industry, knowing that their larger competitors are hard-pressed to change their business models to compete.

As a result, Megabus wins.

read more | digg story

the gardens in front of the palace / betw the palace and the UN building

the palace. think there is national day or sth coming up, so a lot of works gg on

the courts (i think) .. tilt yr head paiseh forgot to rotate b4 uploading


museums!

garden of statues (really thats the name!) i remember the most random things heh

another car place

random fotos.. cant remember where i am now

and that leaves me with ONLY london (where i took pitifully few photos) and graduation. phew!

more brussels fotos coming up .. i'll never finish uploading sobz

Belgians being obviously deficient in cemetery planning affairs, the new death venue got rapidly saturated. After 1945, inhumations grew rare. In 1958, it closed down. Slowly, nature took over.

The crosses became one with the trees.

Ground cover swallowed the stones.

Sporadic light piercing through forests of trees gave the graveyard an eerie feel.

The neighbourhood of Uccle where the cemetery is located is home to most of Brussels bourgeoisie. Some of the tombs lie adorned with impressive monuments to the glory of the great families. Some say we are all equal in death but, I'm sorry, some tombs are way better than others.

On one hand, gigantic statues, on the other, little Jesus with no legs. Equality? Come again!

Walking around, you wonder whether you are experiencing the ultimate romantic interlude,

Or whether when you reach the end of the "Sematary", you'll stumble upon the "deadfall."

While absolutely unable to deal with death on any levels, I dig cemeteries. The Dieweg graveyard falling into the category of crazy weirdness, it rates second on my top ten list. It is no wonder that Herge, Tintin's creator, obtained a special derogation to be interred in the closed down venue.

It is only closed to the dead people, the living are most welcome to visit.

I spent a few days last week pootling around southern Belgium, escorting a certain VIP to various historic sights (and rather nice restaurants as well). We shot to Brussels in less than two hours by Eurostar, and then used a rental car to explore.

Belgian law obliges you to carry a warning triangle, reflective jacket, first aid kit and fire extinguisher in every vehicle. Perhaps a desperate legislative attempt to compensate for their consistently horrific driving? This is the extract that most interested me from my Lonely Planet guidebook to Belgium & Luxembourg.

'Aggressive' is the word generally used to describe Belgian drivers, and many foreigners who take to the roads here find it apt. Whether cruising on a sleek highway or bouncing over potholed inner-city streets, drivers have a reputation for being fast, impatient and at times abusive ... anyone idling at 120km/h in the fast lane of a motorway will be flashed from behind by speed demons doing 160km/h ... One peculiarity that ensures adrenaline-pumped journeys is the voorrang van rechts / priorité à droite (give way to the right) law, which operates in both Belgium and Luxembourg. Thanks to this rule, cars darting out from side streets sometimes have right of way over vehicles on the main road (but not always - signs with an orange diamond surrounded by white mean the main road has priority). Recent figures show that 250 people die each year due to this rule ... Statistically, Belgium has double the rate of road fatalities of most of its neighbouring countries (France is the exception) ... And if you think all this is a bit exaggerated, have a read of Pisa Test's recent study of 3000 European drives in which the Belgians came out as the worst drivers in Europe. Just 48% are capable of passing their driving test ...

Leanne Logan & Geert Cole, Lonely Planet: Belgium & Luxembourg (2007)

The current situation in Belgium is quite chaotic. In one hand is the struggle for more representation between the Dutch- Flemish speaking people and the French speaking Walloons and the question about finding an acceptable solution. I read in a newspaper that the king did not accept PM Leterme‘s resignation. The possibility of splitting Belgium after so many years of problems linked to influence, Brussels region, etc now seems very frightening. Even more, I think that time is passing by and things will get worse. Moreover, moving from one ultimatum to another does not bring any viable development. The king should have accepted his resignation. These problems are so rooted in the past that neither Leterme nor anyone else will be able to stop this critical situation.

Just try to imagine for a second Belgium splitting up. What will happen with Brussels? I remember some months ago I read about a poll conducted in France in which French people were asked if they will be willing to create the link with the Belgian French speaking part. The answer received was positive. I think economically it will be a suicide for the Walloon part.

I really hope I am wrong. This whole crisis is starting to get a tragicomedy feeling. Next week, on the 21 July Belgium will celebrate its national day – independence from the Netherlands in 1831. I am sure everyone will have a happy face and celebrate the festivities in front of the Royal Palace.

The saddest part that in this whole game between the government and the king I do not see where are the Belgian people- the voters. What happened to them?  Are they all gone in holiday? I won’t be surprised with this weather.

James Kirkup
London Telegraph
July 18, 2008

Read Full Article Here

I've been doing very little at home now I have no commitments. Just waiting with baited breath for the moment of truth now (a.k.a. results day) and savouring my time before all hell breaks loose.

Feeling much better these days, perhaps the depression was due to the painful process of mentally preparing myself for a day when I would wake up and she would no longer be there. Maybe that phase has started to wane and I pray that I am past the worst of it. It is said that depression often subsides within 6-10 months, I truly hope that now the only way is up.

I knew I needed a good kick up the arse, I personally cannot stand people who mope about feeling sorry for themselves, so I was horrified as I felt myself beginning to join their ranks - hence my ensuing panic campaign to inject some hope and happiness into my life. First, I went to Belgium with some friends. Although it wasn't spectacular, I wouldn't have changed a thing. Despite the place being somewhat dull (there were hardly any young people around) and I saw a less than attractive side of one of my friends, it was still an undeniably uplifting and encouraging few days. It achieved my purpose of surrounding and refocusing myself on the positive, as well as giving me an alternative perspective - at least I have more hope and am more equipped to deal with the world than... (the friend who I now see in a slightly altered light.)

Of course, gorgeous Belgian chocolates and their world-famous waffles also helped things along...

In addition, I watched the Japanese drama 'A litre of tears'. Although not my usual kinda entertainment, the drama is based on the diary of a Aya Kito, who was diagnosed with Spinocerebellar Ataxia aged only 15. The degenerative disease slowly destroyed her body but her willpower and spirit was an encouragement to others - both healthy and impaired. To be honest, it didn't have the effect I hoped it would - a harsh guilt trip at my pathetic self. It was a tad too cheesy and overdone, but certain scenes and lines did trigger my appreciation for what I do have.

This is my way of trying to drag myself out of the dumps - chocolate, tragedies, friends and laughter. Wish me luck! :)

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Three men tried to abduct their brother and brother-in-law on his wedding day Saturday, intending to bring him to Morocco. They did not agree with the marriage since the bride did not fulfill their requirements, according to the Brussels prosecution.

In their interrogation the three said they did not agree with their brother's/brother in law's choice of a bride. The girl was of Moroccan origin but had Spanish citizenship and did not fulfill the family's criteria. Therefore they wanted to abduct the groom to Morocco. The prosecuting judge decide to keep the three under arrest.

Technorati Tags: kidnapping+the+groom+because+they+did+not+like+the+bride, Islamism, Muslims, Belgium, Brussels

I have recently found and fell in love with the Arenberg Cinema in Brussels. Last week I had the opportunity to watch Calle Santa Fe, an excellent Chilean documentary about the MIR (movimiento de izquiera revolucionario) and how it managed to survive the dictatorship of Pinochet after Allende just to be pronounced as dead and dissolved a few time afterwards.

This week it was Darjeeling's Limited turn. This film continues the same line and style of the Royal Tenenbaums (they even share actors). The soundtrack of the film is excellent. I specially enjoyed the Hotel Chevalier short film in the beginning with the "Where do you go to" song which was continually repeated throught the Darjeeling film. The "Aux Champs Elysees" at the end of the film drew an enormous smile on my face, and I can assure you it is still there today. The story is simple and the scenery in India is presented with no prentetious purpose. The photography is excellent and thanks to its mix with music it delivers its message sharp and clear. The story line turns somewhat boring at the end but the movie is conveniently ended on time.

To recommend: the soundtrack, specially "Aux Champs Elysees" and "Where do you go to."
The scene I remember: from Hotel Chevalier, the last scene of the view of Paris.
What I didn't like: the story ending. It turns out too slow and lost my interest.

These plans include:
- Control over the UK's assets
- More control over the military
- More control over Britain's borders
- Control over emergency law enforcement units
- Control over civil protection operations
- Foreign criminal friendly policies
- Expanded propaganda activities
- Using climate change to expand its foreign policy powers
- More green stealth taxes
- More control over energy policy
- Control over beauty products

Wake up! It is nothing more than a massive power grab by the Commie Scum in Brussels over YOUR country. The Lisbon Treaty, apart from being self-amending, has primacy of law over your nations sovereign laws (remember, the Lisbon Treaty removes sovereignty, transferring your governments powers to Brussels.)

Read this to find out.

Announced on the EICTA website, Digital Advocacy Europe was launched earlier today. Unlike the pesticides information blog, it appears that the blog's purpose is has an internal objective of cutting down on the large number of emails Director General Mark MacGann generates. In any case, it may have been wise to get into the groove of making a few posts before heraldling it to the prying eyes of Brussels' ever vigilant consultants.

Having said this, we like Mark's tone and the fact that in one day and one post he's already managed to gather a number of comments from his membership. In itself, not a bad start to any blog - we are still trying to get our own posts/comments strike rate up - please comment readers, please....just say anything...it need not be intelligent (look at our posts...)

We look forward to seeing the Digital Advocacy Europe blog grow. It seems a natural place for an association such as EICTA to drive their message on all issues affecting their industry. As the blog grows, we hope Magnus and team will do the decent thing and update their top 7 blogs from the sector to include it. Perhaps with a few more from the sector, they could make it to ten.

I was intrigued since day 1 when Shreyas told me he was embarking on an trip to Europe on his own. When he returned, I pestered him to write a travelogue until he did write one. :D Once I read his travelogue, I was intrigued by the personal touch Shreyas gave to his travelogue. Its not run of the mill where-to-visit story, it is simply how story of his visit with his thoughts and perceptions. :) Without much ado, I will leave you to enjoy Shreyas journey through his words and pictures:

February 16th 2008

Departure from Bangalore to Chennai at 20:25 hours IST in Jet Airways. Arrival in Chennai at 21:15 hours IST. Spent time at the Chennai airport looking at other passengers initially. Had an obscenely expensive cutlet for dinner. Then, made my way to the Leela Palace lounge and watched the F A Cup game between Manchester United and Arsenal which ended up in a wonderful 4-0 win for the Red Devils. Great start to my trip indeed!! ( A real soccer lover, MU fan that my friend is!)

February 17th 2008

Departure from Chennai to Brussels at 01:15 hours IST in Jet Airways again. The flight was good with nice entertainment options and decent hospitality. Arrived at Brussels International Airport at 07:15 hours CET. Took a while to get my baggage, went through checks and then proceeded to the train station at -1 level of the airport terminal building.

Tintin, Captain Haddok and Snowy climbing down the stairs in Brussels

Purchased tickets to Brussels-Nord and a ticket from Brussels-Nord to Amsterdam Centraal. On the train from the airport to Nord, met a Portuguese co-passenger and indulged in some stray talk. He was telling me about his trip to Africa and asked me a bit India. He helped me in getting down at Brussels-Nord and that is when the cold weather of Europe hit me for the first time. Standing alone with my luggage on the platform waiting for the train and with my cell phone giving me problems was not the ideal way to start my vacation. But, what lay ahead gave me reason to smile. ( I would smile too if I were in his place.)

Departure from Brussels-Nord to Amsterdam Centraal at 09:15 hours CET. The train journey was good with me soaking in the sights of the Belgian and Dutch countryside. In between, I was still working on getting my cellphone to function properly. Made a few calls to the help center that weren’t of much help. Arrived at Amsterdam Centraal at 11:15 hours CET where my friend AP was to meet me at the exit of the station.

Amesterdam Train Station

Arrived at Amsterdam Centraal at 11:15 hours CET where AP was to meet me at the exit of the station. The cold wind of Amsterdam was a bit uncomfortable initially while I was waiting for him. Saw a girl wearing a plunging neckline and that was proof enough that one can be hot even in such weather. ( Boys never stop ogling, do they?) Saw a familiar face next… that of AP. Both of us then proceeded to the youth hostel where he had booked a place for me. On the way to the youth hostel, as we walked straight from the Centraal station, AP pointed to the left and said ‘that’s the red light district. We will go there soon.’

Things were looking good already. We walked to Bob’s Inn where the girl at the reception was very friendly. She was quite confused to hear AP and me converse in English and enquired as to why we don’t talk in our own mother tongue with each other. That was when we told her that India has so many languages and AP and I have different mother tongues. She was quite intrigued by that. AP and I then headed to my room which was in an adjoining street.

I checked out the room (a dorm) which I would be sharing with a guy from Australia, a guy from France and another person whom I never got to talk to (he was always asleep). The dorm costs 21 Euro per night with complimentary breakfast. AP left me in the room and went to shop with his friend Sam (they both had arrived in Amsterdam from Brussels the previous day). I freshened up and then messaged him (my cellphone still wasn’t allowing me to make calls). He asked me to hang around in the red light district and they will catch up with me over there.

I walked in to the red-light district and I have to admit, it was the first time I had seen such a place and it’s quite a sight. What is considered taboo in most places is not so in here. There are cafes, restaurants and shops which one would normally find in any city but so naturally blending in to this were the coffee shops, the sex toy stores, the porn video stores, peep show bars, porn theaters, massage parlors and of course the famed windows with girls in them. ( Well, this is new description for me too!)

The district itself is typical Amsterdam with canals flowing in between, lovely bridges, cobbled streets and of course, the cyclists. There are more cycles than there are people in Amsterdam, some say!

Canals of Amsterdam

More tomorrow in next part!

All images and story are copyrighted to Shreyas.

I like traveling by train, and I try to do so whenever I have the opportunity. A few years back, I flew out to San Francisco and the took the train, stopping along the way, up the coast to Vancouver. At the time, there wasn't any first class service for me. This time, though, it's different.

I'll be taking several train trips as part of my world travels. The first and the most daunting is going to be the twenty-four-and-a-half hour ride from Hong Kong to Beijing. The train ticket is going to cost about half as much as a flight would, and it will take eight times as long. As you might have guessed, this isn't about cost.

There's something utterly romantic about taking the train. It's a throwback. A mode of travel that still, when you splurge, can live up to the “olden days.” It lets you relax and look out the window at a world whizzing past frightfully fast. And yet, it is serene. Something about the rhythmic clack-clack-clack just gets into your body and relaxes you.

I've decided to take the nice berth on this and all trains, this time around. I want to experience that old time service and class. In Germany, I'll be traveling first class from Frankfurt to Berlin, and again from Berlin to Brussels. In Belgium, I'll get to take the more modest first class cabin up to Bruges. But the train I'm most looking forward to riding it the Eurostar.

I'm booked on a two hour high-speed hurtle through the countryside of Belgium and France and finally through the Chunnel. This train runs for over 31 miles under the sea! Again, here, I'm not skimping. It's first class, all the way. Of course, it appears that there's a “premium” first class that gets you a three course meal on your two hour trip, and while I'm sure that meal is excellent, I chose not to cough up $300 more for it. That's the price of an iPhone, for crying out loud!

beer...

chocolate...

mussels & frites...

and waffles...