Why Flemish Independence?

[Albion]

I don't think I've ever seen seedless grapes in my life.

Wow. Here it's very uncommon to find seeded grapes in shops. Seedless grapes are ancient though, they're not GM. Most of the genes for it come from Middle Eastern varieties though, so seedless types tend to be more tender and problematic in northern climates (which is why hybridization is useful). When Islam spread it forbade Alcohol, so they switched to growing grapes for eating alone and put a lot of emphasis on eating quality as a result.

I know. My mother's family's from a place (Southern Limousin) where cider is pretty common, but always home-made. Doesn't compare with industrial cider in any way.

I'm rather defiant of countries producing wines nowadays without having a wine civilization (that is having wine as an essential commodity, not just a drink). They tend to be very willing to make high-standard wine for "snobbish drinking" but they miss on most of what wine actually is. But off course trying to make things by yourself is always a good point for any country (that's how Cognac was invented, as there was a trade bloc on whiskey).
Plus they're buying vineyards in France now, which is a huge problem for that quality of our wines.

The English vineyards mostly produce the higher priced, snobbish stuff. Not all of them though, there are smaller producers selling table wine directly to the public. It's still quite an expensive industry here, so they have to sell at higher prices and market it as a premium product.
I've heard about people buying French vineyards, the English have been doing it forever but even the Chinese are now. I think it's because there's still a move from the countryside to the cities in France. It's strange, here there's the opposite and land prices are greatly inflated.

[Rudel]

Vineyards aren't concerned with population movements really, it's probably the most valued type of land (besides build-able land) in the country.
But foreigners are just buying vineyards like they buy football clubs or out of "French fantasy", it's a vanity thing. I honestly think that selling land to foreigners should be forbidden.

[Albion]

Vineyards aren't concerned with population movements really, it's probably the most valued type of land (besides build-able land) in the country.
But foreigners are just buying vineyards like they buy football clubs or out of "French fantasy", it's a vanity thing. I honestly think that selling land to foreigners should be forbidden.

I agree. In Eastern European states that forbid people to buy agricultural land, but you can still buy a house (so they get around free movement of people regulations by arguing that people can buy somewhere to live). It's a good idea, but sometimes foreigners just get land put in the name of a native citizen to get around the laws.
I think in France and England we should limit foreigners to a maximum of 1 acre of land (and it must come with a house - no land on its own to be sold to foreigners). But Britain would never do anything like that sadly, France at least is still semi-protectionist.

[Tchek]

There are vineyards in Wallonia too, to get back to the topic somehow.

[Rudel]

There are vineyards in Wallonia too, to get back to the topic somehow.

Well, wine isn't exactly the first thing you think about when in Wallonia.



By annexing Wallonia, we'd not only have the best wine in the world but also the best beer.

[Tchek]

France should get rid of Hollande first regardless of whatever happens to the borders of Europe.

[Albion]

France should get rid of Hollande first regardless of whatever happens to the borders of Europe.

I couldn't believe it when he got elected in the first place. I think French were doing a national burying of their heads in the sand in voting him to power. Crisis won't just go away by carrying on like usual and Keynesianism only works when you save for the bad times (few countries actually do that).
Sarkozy was the best of a bad situation.

[Tchek]

I don't have time to answer to the whole post of OP; but it has to be said that it is one of the most deluded piece of bullshit I've ever read

The really bothering thing here is that some people might believe it.

[Tchek]

I couldn't believe it when he got elected in the first place. I think French were doing a national burying of their heads in the sand in voting him to power. Crisis won't just go away by carrying on like usual and Keynesianism only works when you save for the bad times (few countries actually do that).
Sarkozy was the best of a bad situation.

The French voted for Hollande because they believed that as a "socialist", or as an alleged "leftist", he would care for the working class (lol), for the outsourcing and for unemployement, against neoliberalism; they didn't get the message that the former PS president was also the former IMF president. (They basically elected a wolf to care for the sheeps)
Since Mitterrand, the Socialist Party abandoned the french working class big time. The desillusion is huge, now I hope the French got the message.

Actually who the president is doesn't really matter; they do whatever the banking system and the EU are telling them. There is no real difference between Sarkozy and Hollande; the biggest difference is that Hollande is trying to impose some kind of deluded Clinton-style political correctness.

[LouisFerdinand]