@ Atheling

As you can see from his last posting, and despite his frequent Breton-inspired railing against the French Republic, Armor appears in fact to be culturally more 'French' (in his cultural disdain for Americans) than he seems to realise.   

Racism and authoritarian attitudes tend to go together.  So, it shouldn't be surprising that we encounter them as such in a number of 'rightist' Europeans on this website.  I can recall as a college student in the 1960's, encountering African foreign students who would tell me that their counterparts at Lumumba university in Moscou or at various European universities (in former colonial powers) faced much more severe racism than their counterparts in the US. 

Disdain for 'democracy', i.e. for the people's sovereignty, easily translates into disdain for 'other people'.  After all, if you do not respect the 'will' of your fellow citizens, as expressed through democratic institutions, how could you possibly respect others (foreigners and other-looking people) as 'equals'?

Atheling, I agree with the rest of your post contra Armor -- and thank you for posting what you said -- but disagree with your Parthian shot:

No wonder you Euros are in the pickle you're in.

We Americans have no monopoly on republican sentiment. The Revolt of the Netherlands was an inspiration to Americans and some of its ideas are reflected in our Declaration of Independence. I support The Brussels Journals' fight for Flemish independence and for a "Europe of the nations" -- not the EU. That is a republican fight.

Both sides of the Deep Blue are fighting a tough rearguard action against their respective political elites and the media they control. "Armor" doesn't necessarily speak for republican Europeans any more than Charles Johnson for American conservatives.

@HenrikRClausen:

from www.flanders.be :  

Since 1993, when Flanders was given the competence to conclude international treaties, more than twenty treaties with other countries and regions have been signed. The majority of these treaties were concluded autonomously with another state (bilateral treaties), five of them were negotiated in a multilateral framework.

The majority of these agreements was concluded with partners in Central and Eastern Europe. Nonetheless, Flanders has also entered into important treaties and agreements with South Africa and Chile, for example.

HenrikRClausen writes: 

Next, we'll hear "Flanders, which still constitutes a part of Belgium, has joined NATO" or something :)

As John Adams famously remarked, the American Revolution -- independence from Britain -- first took place in people's minds. The rest followed naturally from this.

I'm sure something similar characterized the Revolt of the Netherlands. The EU is the new Habsburg dynasty -- but where is its Alva? 

Is it just me, or is there something unusual about this:

"Flanders has bilateral economic and cultural treaties with Israel."

'bilateral'?

Next, we'll hear "Flanders, which still constitutes a part of Belgium, has joined NATO" or something :)