we also have no brussels, no belgium, but european towns, towns in europe, trying to find one another and to press, to put pressure on mayors and regional ministers to commit themselves to invest in bicycle policies. so those towns can learn from one another. as i told you, brussels, i have found several similarities with the two towns i have been getting to know now yesterday and today. we have about one million inhabitants. brussels is 10 to 10 miles on distance and i agree with what has been told here that that is in favor of promoting cycling because the distances are never too long, although we also have a difference of height. i mean, like amsterdam is plat as a pancake we would say. brussels does have some, well, ups and downs. an important issue politically is that we have -- we are, in fact, giving big gross national product to the country, 20%, although we're only 10% of the population, but yet most workforce is coming from abroad, from flounders, from outs. so they are coming in at 9:00 in the morning and the workers are again leaving to the north or the south of the countr

. >> one magazine for all the people of belgium? with no real definition, the editor in chief, imagine this happening anytime soon. >> a few weeks ago, the king of belgium warned the country of the risks that they face along with the european continent. as a result of the political crisis. the cell mate claims to it -- may create belgian and european unity. the king is a powerful symbol in the divided nation. >> this is a popular tourist destination and many people believe that the king is the only thing holding their country together. >> he is more important than before, the only person who is still there, in contrast to the government, which we do not even have. >> the king called on lawmakers to put their differences behind them and to form a government. he also had a message for the people. >> the people must not only remind their representatives to make brave and necessary decisions, they must also endeavored to create harmony in society >> they are doing just this. their web site aims to bridge the cultural and linguistic divide betwe

documents, and just within the last few weeks there's a class action suit in belgium naming the pope as a defendant. i have no understanding of belgium law, so i can't give an intelligent comment on that, but it is clear from the extent of the crisis in western europe that the holy sea cannot simply call for conferences and put out these directives that are not nearly as strict as the youth protective charts adopted in this country. you referenced kansas city. it is certainly an example of a place where the bishop did not follow the protection charter. he had a priest who had child pornography on his computer and instead of reporting him to law enforcement, he sent him to live with a group of nones. terrible insult to the good sisters. you know, i hesitate to say this. i don't like to act like jeremiah with a horn, but we are seeing a continued erosion of stable governance within the church and more and more people clammoring for changes and the wild card is the attrition rate of catholics leaving the church. the pugh research center study a few years ago says 35% of -- excuse me, 25% of people in this countr

just within the last few weeks there has been a class-action suit in belgium that names the pope as a defendant. i have no understanding of belgium law so i can't really give you an intelligent comment on that, but it is clear from the extent of the crisis in western europe that the holy city cannot simply call for conferences and put out these directives that are not nearly as strict as the youth protection charter the bishops adopted in this country. you reference kansas city. it is certainly an example of a place where the bishop did not follow the protection charter. he had a priest who had child pornography on his computer and instead of reporting him to law enforcement he sent them to live with a group of nuns. a terrible insults to the good sisters. so, you know, i hesitate to say this. i don't like to act like jeremiah with the horn but i think what we are looking at is a continued erosion of stable governance within the church and more and more people clamoring for structural changes and the real wild card is the attrition rate of catholics, people leaving the church. the pew research center stud

against nuclear weapons we must rise in opposition to current nuclear arsenals there are no many nuclear arsenals in belgium and germany and other european countries. so let me just get this straight by you saying that at some point in the future you may want to acquire a nuclear deterrent a nuclear weapon. will never never we do not want nuclear weapons we do not seek nuclear weapons this is only a human weapon and our religion says it is prohibited and we are religious people nuclear weapons have no capability today if any country tries to build a nuclear bomb in fact they waste their money and resources and they create great danger for themselves the international equations are not determined by nuclear arsenals today the americans have nuclear bombs and nuclear weapons and could they win in iraq and afghanistan could the nuclear weapons help the israelis to gain victory in lebanon and gaza could nuclear weapons help the former soviet union from collapse. you clear weapons or weapons of the previous century our goal in a country and the goal of our people is peace for all nuclear energy for all nuclear w

no longer consider with belgium and new zealand and the usa a negative outlook which means that we coulddown there with bermuda, kuwait and spain. >> i don't understand how france has aaa ratings given their problems. the french banks have yet to reveal the extent of the damage that they suffered in 2008 and european bad debt that has been issued by some of these peripheral countries that they themselves are in a great deal of difficulty. what is being discussed is a preverse reaction tomorrow in the markets meaning that if you're going to flee u.s. treasuries because of the downgrade, where are you going to park your money? what we don't know is that the international reaction. china has been highly critical of the u.s. and there was a piece in one of their party papers yesterday suggesting that we need to get off our addiction to debt. the europeans said that they will continue to hold regulators and they are telling banks that they are unaffected despite the collateral and nor will mutual funds or money markets if there was foreselling of treasuries, that would cause the interest rate

no mention or why it is the chosen village. at the church, we need a family from belgium. they want to go hiking. we asked if may have heard about the looming apocalypse. >> no. >> she wants to climb the mountain. we want to go up there because there is a powerful energy before tax. a vortexes is a direct connection to the universe. a pipeline between heaven and earth. many villagers cannot understand the fuss. the apocalypse of legend has prompted many people to visit. some want to move here. real-estate prices are said to have risen. this house is for sale. the owner has no time for journalists. he's seen too many in the village recently. the village mayor returns from a stroll in the forest. he does not seem to concern about doomsday either. in fact, he seems much more interested in the mushrooms he has collected. did you feel any special vibrations? >> they are always there, but they are not from aliens. >> and john is a british pensioner. he wants to move there because it is so idyllic here. >> what do you think? should we try to get everybody to come here in 2012? sho

smith, policeman from liverpool and sharpshooter who fought in france and belgium knew the man running away with charlie. there was no doubt in his mind. it was ten minutes past 4:00. smith shoulders 3220 winchester rifle. he took aim at the man running across the field. when he had charlie in his sights he wrapped his finger around the trigger. he took a breath and held it. he slowly squeezed. [applause] this is my latest sun. a bit of rascal. he did not meet his end in an ohio corn field as you well know. this crockett biography, talking to a friend at dinner tonight, is off to a great start. we have had incredibly good reviews from the wall street journal, texas monthly and a totally endorsed this book. i am pretty hard on texas in this book. they are reviews my late mother could have written and i am pleased that that. my first exposure to mr. crockett, that american icon came, and i bet some of you throughout this room are in the same boat, recall the exact date. it was a frosty night, december 15th, 1954, in my hometown, abc television just aired davy crockett:indian fighter. the first of three episodes by walt

chester smith, a policeman and a sharp shooter who fought in france and belgium knew the man running away was charlie. that was no doubt in his mind. it was now 10 minutes past four. smith shouldered his 22 rifle and took aim at the man running in zigzags across the field. when he had charlie in his sights, smith wrapped his finger around the trigger, took a breath and held it. he slowly squeezed. mr. floyd. [applause] this, my friends., is my latest son also a bit of a rascal, although he did not meet his end in an ohio corn field as you all know. this, i must say, i was talking to a friend the other night and this is off to a great start. we have incredibly good reviews from the "wall street journal" to "texas monthly" and the texas has endorsed this book, and i'm hard on texas as i should be and am, but there's reviews my late mother could have written, and i'm pleased with that. now, my first exposure to mr. c mr. crockett came, and i, for one, and i bet some of you looking around this room, are in the same boat and can vividly recall perhaps the exact date. it was a frosty night for me, december 15th, 1954,

nuclear weapons we must rise in opposition to the current no clear loss of all that there is now and there are a lot of. comic arsenals in belgium in germany and in other european countries for this is a serious jeopardy against the international community ok i'm just waiting for the translation to come to let me just get this straight are you saying that at some point in the future you may want to acquire a nuclear deterrent a nuclear weapon how did you how did you never never for me steve you know clearly you know the weapon is normal the table also has something because we do not want a nuclear weapons without i see you know your weapons are dishonest for a few days and because you feel they got aggressive to carry out pushing a should do that and france above you meant there was a view the. us as leverage here. let me explain. you must be patient a little. earlier you say look it is this this is an inhuman. because of our beliefs we are against. our religion says it is prohibited. we are religious people in. the second quarter you know clear weapon is as no. capability to this. any country tries to build a nuclear bomb in fa

east liverpool and a sharpshooter who had proudly fought in france and belgium, knew the man running away was charlie. there was no doubt in his mind. it was now ten minutes past four. smith shouldered his 32-20 winchester rifle. he took aim at the man running in zigzags across the field. when he had charlie in his sights, smith wrapped his finger around the trigger. he took a breath and held it. he slowly squeezed. mr. floyd. [applause] and this, my friends, is my latest son, also a bit of a rascal. although he did not meet his end in an ohio cornfield as you all know. this crockett biography, i must say, i was talking to a friend at dinner tonight is off to a great start. we have incredibly good reviews from "the wall street journal" to texas monthly. the texans, i am so pleased, have totally endorsed this book. the bright oneses, the create sickics -- the critics, the scholars -- [laughter] because i'm pretty hard on texas in this book as i should be and am. but there are reviews that my late mother could have written, and i'm pleased with that. [laughter] now, my first exposure to mr. crockett, the in'em it bl

belgium. >> fine. >> we're defending a triple-a rating saying, well, if push comes to shove we can always print more. >> no, no. >> what are we mozambique? >> if we're double a and france is single a. and shows the absurddy of the system and-- >> aim he not saying that we don't deserve a top financial aid and spending money on programs that don't-- >> and taking in people and. >> to your point, neil. >> i think the american public should thank s & p for one thing, a necessary wakeup accumulate. >> that's what i'm saying. >> it won't be a wakeup call, the markets will ultimately dictate the wakeup call and if the markets and investors-- >> they are. >> and exactly, so they're going to kick the can down the road. >> and even that doesn't mean that we're not in trouble. it just means that europe is it in more trouble than us. give us some time to play up. >> and everyone has been running to our paper and we still stink, they stink more, but that's hardly an area to say, well, you know, all of a sudden, you know, i go on the biggest loser and i'm the-- >> and neil, with respect, with respect, i think the origi

belgium has not been able to form a government since 2010. new zealand also has aa plus. many economists say that while the u.s. is no longer on top of the class, it is stronger than other countries. china is rated slightly lower than the u.s., at aa minus. japan, the most indebted economy in the world, only has to pay 1% interest, because the country's citizens on such a high proportion of its debt. perhaps the u.s. will not do badly. economists suggest it might have to offer 3.5% interest in future instead of 3%. historically, that is still a lower rate. >> some analysts are calling it a perfect storm, with the u.s. debt crisis coming just as the eurozone struggles to get to grips with its problems. >> greece, ireland, and portugal have all received a big bailout packages. it seems larger countries like italy and spain may need help. the european central bank has started buying spanish and italian bonds. the desired effect was quick to come as yields fell on markets. but analysts doubt the move will be affected in the long term. for more, we are joined by the head of the frankfurt school of finance and management.

. >> now that we are no longer a triple a nation look at the company we keep. those doubling us with a double a plus. belgium and new zealand and list longer for a. adudabi . spain and qatar . china and japan and tiwand menus a . that is based on the nation's capacity to meet commitments. what does the downgrade mean for the american people. steve moore. i have to say that the number one worry on people's mind, how will we feel the down depraid? >> it is a black eye for america's position in the global economy. you mentioned countries that are in our country as double a. this does not mean that america is a double a country. we are still triple a. who cares what s&p rates us. they don't have the greatest record for rating companies or debt. they gave triple a bond ratings to the subprime bond mortgages a week before the crash. the whole episode is not just the last couple of weeks but last five years when we have almost doubled the national debt and on the pass to borrow eight trillion in 10 years and it does signal that republicans and president obama have to get together and they have to do a better job cu

no tsunami. another deadly stage collapse. this time in belgium.ierce thunderstorm blew through a music festival 50 miles east of brussels leaving five people dead and another 140 people hurt including 10 seriously. it tore down concert tents, stages, toppled trees setting off a wave of panic in that crowd. the tragedy in belgium comes one week after the stage collapsed at the indiana state fair leaving five people dead there. last night, country duo sugarland performed for the first time since that day. >> ♪ making you >> the grammy winning group performed for a packed house this time in albuquerque, new mexico. >> we are going to try our best to put on our professional faces and come out here for you and celebrate a moment with you of the joy and the healing power of music. >> sugarland was minutes away from performing at the indiana state fair when that stage came crashing down and those are your headlines this morning. >> all right. let's talk about immigration, we don't talk about enough controversial things and i think it's time to bring this

east liverpool and a sharpshooter who would probably fought in france in belgium knew the man running away was charlie. there was no doubt in his mind. it was now 10 minutes past 4:00. smith shouldered his 32 winchester rifle. the two game at them the man burning in sig zags across the field. when he had charlie and his sites, smith wrapped his finger around the trigger. he took a breath and held it. he slowly squeezed. mr. floyd. [applause] .. because i'm pretty hard on taxes in this book, as i should be. and m. but there are reviews that my late mother could have written, and i'm pleased with that. [laughter] now, my first exposure to the mr. crockett was and american icon came, and i, for one -- and i bet some of you looking around this room in that same boat and vividly recall, perhaps, even the exact date for. it was of frosty night for me, december the 15th 1954. my hometown of st. louis. and abc television had just aired davy crockett indian fighter, the first of three episodes produced by walt disney for his studio new series that premiered only two months earlier. it was called simply disneyland, much like

no longer the united states. to give you some perspective, a aa plus credit rating is still a very strong credit rating. it puts us on par with belgium but below places like the umpbl k and australia. the bigger picture and the bigger question that's getting a lot of focus now is whether or not the united states needed this. what was it that, was it the kick we needed? the growing debt in this country, year after year, not being addressed. and standard & poor's very critical last night. the inability of washington to get together, to come to an agreement on a debt deal, not at the 11th hour like we saw happen. that would have helped substantially. they said that that was part of their reasoning here. one of the reasons why they decided that the united states credit, that our debt is not as secure as it was before. just to reiterate. a aa plus credit rating that we have is still a prestrong rating. >> if s&p was sending a message, it doesn't seem like it was received very well on the presidential campaign trail on the republican side. a lot of them continuing to be very critical of president obama. meanwhile though, poppy, not talking

no longer part of that. just to put this in perspective for you, we're still rated at aa plus, that's still a very high rating, this puts us right in line with belgium. this is still a high rating, but the concern is what does this do on one hand to confidence, to the american consumer right now, given the high unemployment, given the lack of consumer confidence, what does it do to the stock market? we'll know that monday morning here in new york when wall street opens. and what does this do to the invest at home? does this drive interest rates up? that's the fear. we don't know because this has never happened in the history of this country, so it's an unprecedented move and we're in uncharted territory. >> let's talk about s&p's reason for doing this. what are the factors that they use to make this decision, to downgrade the u.s. credit? >> they follow five sort of different guidelines, we'll pull them up on the screen and show them to you, but there's two real key ones, you see political climate and that was number one for a reason, there was a lot of talk about the political fight in washington over the debt ceiling deal that contributed to this

east liverpool and a sharpshooter who would probably fought in france in belgium knew the man running away was charlie. there was nodoubt in his mind. it was now 10 minutes past 4:00. smith shouldered his 32 winchester rifle. the two game at them the man burning in sig zags across the field. when he had charlie and his sites, smith wrapped his finger around the trigger. he took a breath and held it. he slowly squeezed. mr. floyd. [applause] .. although he did not meet his and any ohio cornfield as you all know. i was talking to her friend it dinner tonight and it is off to a great start. we have incredibly good reviews from "the wall street journal" to texas monthly. the texans, i am so please, have totally endorse this book and the bright runs, the critics, the scholars because i'm pretty hard on texas in this book, as i should be and am, but there reviews of my late mother could have written and i'm pleased with that. [laughter]mrcr now, my first exposure to mr. crockett, this in and the muggle american icon and ith for one can remember me, the exact day. it was a frosty night. december the 15th, 1954 in my homet

east liverpool and a sharpshooter who would probably fought in france in belgium knew the man running away was charlie. there was no doubt in his mind. it was now 10 minutes past 4:00. smith shouldered his 32 winchester rifle. the two game at them the man burning in sig zags across the field. when he had charlie and his sites, smith wrapped his finger around the trigger. he took a breath and held it. he slowly squeezed. mr. floyd. [applause] .. because i'm pretty hard on taxes in this book, as i should be. and m. but there are reviews that my late mother could have written, and i'm pleased with that. [laughter] now, my first exposure to the mr. crockett was and american icon came, and i, for one -- and i bet some of you looking ad this room in that same boat and vividly recall, perhaps, even the exact date for. it was of frosty night for me, december the 15th 1954. my hometown of st. louis. and abc television had just aired davy crockett indian fighter, the first of three episodes produced by walt disney for his studio new series that premiered only two months earlier. it was called simply disneyland, much like the

belgium and it runs very, very well. >> what it suggests is people are happy and have no government and apparently no elections. i don't know about mandatory voting and the fact they have gridlock. the variation among nation states, our own states, are interesting and may suggest alternatives we wouldn't have considered. i guess we got the ballot in america from australia, didn't we? >> it's the australian ballot. >> with took some parts of it. of course in any system, one knows, some classes -- we talked about wealth is making it easier to vote. but academically. look at the election in america and note the often discrepancy between the university community and the rural communities. there's always a cap and gown distinction, an intellectual distinction, credential distinction because intellectuals aren't necessarily any brighter than the average american. but look at those distinctions in america. but we don't worry about academic voting biases but we do worry about wealth to some stents. different people are going to be driven by different intensities and different concerns and abilities and the best we can

belgium and it runs very, very well. >> what it suggests is people are happy and have no government and apparently no elections. i don't know about mandatory voting and the fact they have gridlock. the variation among nation states, our own states, are interesting and may suggest alternatives we wouldn't have considered. i guess we got the ballot in america from australia, didn't we? >> it's the australian ballot. >> with took some parts of it. of course in any system, one knows, some classes -- we talked about wealth is making it easier to vote. but academically. look at the election in america and note the often discrepancy between the university community and the rural communities. there's always a cap and gown distinction, an intellectual distinction, credential distinction because intellectuals aren't necessarily any brighter than the average american. but look at those distinctions in america. but we don't worry about academic voting biases but we do worry about wealth to some stents. different people are going to be driven by different intensities and different concerns and abilities and the best we can

belgium, $775,000. >> bayer, switzerland. $745,000 picks. on and on. 24 of obama's nominees bundled over $11 million. the number is hard to come out with, because there's no full disclosure. the minimum range is at $11 million, and by the way, that doesn't include money to the inaugural committee or the pack or d.n.c. both sides do it. i don't mean to just pick on the president. he's the worst. but both sides do it. his 30/70 ratio is 65% political. selling important jobs like 1/3 -- selling important jobs like a third-world nation. it's not right. it's not good. it's not healthy for america. the tierney for the big check. lobbiests who are fundraisers. you can be one or the other. i don't have a problem with either one. i know when i was a congressman, another i didn't take pack money, i did accept a meeting with a lobbiest. information is critical. it is a valid job to be a lobbiest. but not where all you do is bring a check. i think a registered lobbyist should not be allowed to be both lobbyist and fundraiser. you know who agrees with me? the american bar association just last week. the name jack abra move comes to mind. jack abramoff comes to mind. i

belgium, $775,000. switzerland, $745,000. on and on, 24 of obama's nominees bundles over $11 million. the heart -- the number is hard to come out with because there is nol disclosure and just ranges of bids, the minimum ranges at 11 million. and that does not include money to the inaugural committee, the leadership's pac, for the dnc. both sides to it, and i do not mean to pick on just the president. he is the worst. but both sides to it. his 30-70 ratio is 57% political. selling important jobs like the third world nation. it is not right, it is not healthy, it is not good for america. the tyranny of the big check, the lobbyist and fund-raiser. i know and i was a congressman, although i did not take pac money, i accepted a meeting with a lobbyist to representative you buy. knowledge of an industry is critical. it is a valid job to be a lobbyist, but not when all you do is bring in check. i think are registered lobbyist s should not be allowed to lobby and fun race. that is very specific. the american bar association agreed with me just last week. the name jake eberts off -- jack abramoff comes to mind. i notice congressman the becerra just had to revea

belgium, 775,000. bayer, switzerland. 745,000 bucks. on and on. 24 of obama's nominees bundle over $11 million. the number's hard to come out with because there's noull disclosure and just ranges are given. the minimum range is at 11 million. and by the way, that doesn't include money to the inaugural committee, the leadership pac or the dnc. both sides do it. i don't mean to just pick on the president. he's the worst, but both sides do it. his 30:70 ratio is 65% be political. selling important jobs like a third world nation. it's not right, it's not healthy, it's not good for america. the tyranny of the big check. lobbyists who are fund raisers. you can be one or the other. i don't have a problem with either one. i know when i was a congressman, although i didn't take pac money, i did accept a meeting with a lobbyist who represented a viewpoint. ideas are critical. knowledge of an industry's critical. it is a valid job to be a lobbyist. but not where all you do is bring a check. i think a registered lobby should not be allowed to both lobby and fund raise. that's very specific. you know who agrees with me? the american bar association, just last