The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting

https://europeancorrespondent.com/en/r/the-us-ambassador-had-belgian-police-stop-our-reporting

by robtherobber • 23 days ago

695 238 23 days ago

spwa4• 23 days ago

Yes, the Brussels state is in desperate need of funds, so they rent out public parks, including the Cinquantenaire, for private events. Of course, during such events the park is not accessible to the public, and there's private security who can hand over anyone to the Brussels police to be escorted out of the park. You know, like you can do in your apartment too.

So if Bill White, the US ambassador, pays to rent out the park for, I think it was 2 weeks, they can have whoever they want removed from this public park. Including any reporters.

philipwhiuk• 23 days ago

So if Bill White, the US ambassador, pays to rent out the park for, I think it was 2 weeks, they can have whoever they want removed from this public park. Including any reporters.

That would be by private security not police though. You aren't generally arrested for annoying an event organiser.

Aerroon2• 22 days ago

If you get trespassed then wouldn't the police get involved?

FabCH• 22 days ago

They are not allowed to lie about it though.

Lying to the police that the reporters are an "active threat" is criminal.

gpm• 22 days ago

Presumably the ambassador has diplomatic immunity unfortunately. Really a concept we should get rid of in the day of video calls - there's no longer a strong enough need for foreign diplomats to be in a country to justify putting them above the law.

carlosjobim• 22 days ago

The police didn't do something outside of their legal powers, that's not what the question is. It's rather unusual for any ambassador to use force to kick out invited reporters from a function.

elil174• 23 days ago

For additional context, tensions are already high surrounding the US ambassador after he directly insulted multiple Belgian politicians and also attempted to interfere with local criminal judicial proceedings.

Waterluvian2• 22 days ago

[flagged]

kergonath• 22 days ago

The American ambassadors to almost anywhere are complete clowns these days. Obnoxious, unfunny, despicable clowns.

iso1631• 22 days ago

The ambassador is a representative of the American President, so that fits.

As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people.

JdeBP• 22 days ago

I am wondering whether there will be any effect to petition e-7124. It seems unlikely, to me.

* https://noscommunes.ca/petitions/fr/Petition/Details?Petitio...

bambax• 22 days ago

The US ambassador to France is a convicted felon, father of Jared Kushner.

From Wikipedia:

«In February 2026, French authorities restricted Kushner’s direct access to government ministers after he failed to attend a summons from Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, sending a senior embassy official in his place. The French foreign ministry cited an "apparent failure to grasp the basic requirements of the ambassadorial mission".»

throwaw12• 22 days ago

The American ambassador to Canada is also a complete clown

Since we are talking about American ambassadors, Mike Huckabee, American ambassador to Israel, doesn't seem like to work for America, it feels like he is an ambassador for Israel

DanielHB2• 22 days ago

What the US is doing is not that different from wolf tiger diplomacy that China was running during the 2010s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_warrior_diplomacy

This kind of antagonism comes from the top. China mostly toned it down recently because it is ideology-driven counter-productive, we will see how long it takes the US to do the same.

Mezzie2• 22 days ago

Ambassadors to developed nations are typically political appointees, so yeah, they tend to suck. (Versus ambassadors to other nations, which tend to have worked their way up in the Foreign Service).

JSR_FDED• 22 days ago

The former Trump US ambassador to the Netherlands, Pete Hoekstra, claimed there were “no go zones” in the Netherlands where politicians and cars were being set on fire. He called it “fake news” of course, then denied having ever called it fake news, and then eventually claimed it was a mix-up of countries.

Only the best people!

mx7zysuj4xew• 22 days ago

You mean Pete "they're burning politicians" Hoekstra?

https://youtu.be/thIRJLsnIxY

elric4• 22 days ago

For context: he's accused Belgium of being anti-semitic because a couple of Orthodox Jewish mohels are being prosecuted for practicing illicit medicine (i.e. performing ritual circumcision without a medical license). The investigation started after a complaint was filed by a rabbi, so it's hard to chalk this up to anti-semitisim, but that's modern day US diplomacy for you.

toolslive• 22 days ago

For a bit of context https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brit_milah#Metzitzah

"In three medical papers done in Israel, Canada, and the US, oral suction following circumcision was suggested as a cause in 11 cases of neonatal herpes " lovely.

hector1242• 22 days ago

It's considered very anti-semitic in America to be against male genital mutilation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Defamation_League#Circumc...

When Iceland tried to ban it, the ADL had some very choice words about the potential consequences.

Greenblatt sent Iceland's Parliament a letter regarding a proposed infant circumcision ban in that country, arguing that the ban should be rejected due to circumcision's religious significance and health benefits. Greenblatt also said that if the ban passed, the ADL would report on any celebration by antisemites and other extremists, asserting that this would deter tourism and harm Iceland's economy

It's scary stuff.

elil174• 22 days ago

Well, he didn't just say it was anti-semitic. He called for the judges to rule in a specific way. It was very much framed as being about Belgian sovereignty by much of the Belgian media.

One of the mohels was from the US, it was viewed as asking for US citizens to have special treatment in the Belgian legal system.

Imustaskforhelp• 23 days ago

The Streisand Effect is taking effect in here in terms of surpressing a question has lead to many more people finding out about it, as it should be and I just find some layers of irony about America celebrating its freedom while this whole thing happens because of press freedom.

I did some search on freedom250.org and found this interesting piece of TOS: YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS THE COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSEES, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMPANY/ANY OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES DURING, OR TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF, INVESTIGATIONS BY EITHER THE COMPANY/SUCH PARTIES OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

also it seems to be an wholly owned subsidiary of a Non profit (national park foundation): https://www.nationalparks.org/freedom-250-faqs#:~:text=NPS%2...

I am not a lawyer but I am unsure if this terms of service applies to the website or anything in general and if the European correspondent can sue freedom250.org or not

alistairSH• 22 days ago

Freedom250 is essentially another of Trump's fundraising bodies.

The congressionally created organization that was supposed to run the 250th events was America 250 - it was created in 2016 (IIRC). When Trump was re-elected, he spun up Freedom250, redirected funds to it, and started accepting bribes.

DanielHB2• 22 days ago

This is an example of the Bondaz Effect which is a subtype of the Streisand Effect:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_warrior_diplomacy#Bondaz_...

pyrale• 22 days ago

The Streisand Effect is taking effect in here in terms of surpressing a question has lead to many more people finding out about it

The reason why people like this don't care about the Streisand effect is that they are not afraid about a one-time scandal. The value they get out of harassing their victim and potentially having them stop reporting is worth a bad buzz that people will eventually forget.

actionfromafar3• 22 days ago

Or not forget! They want people to remember that if you stuck your chin out, you're gonna get punched. Hard.

utopiah• 22 days ago

IANAL either but ToS are not superseding the law. It's not because somebody they claim their action will have no consequence that they do. It's a bit like a kid playing a game shouting "I won!". Sure, you can say that, it doesn't make it true.

blitzar2• 23 days ago

free speech, I fear, is in retreat

N_Lens• 22 days ago

I'm sorry Mario, your Free Speech is in another Castle!

nashashmi4• 22 days ago

Europe (which could mean anything from the UK to Belgium to Hungary to Turkey) never had absolute freedom of speech like the US. But yes, even by the US standards to champion freedom of speech, it is in retreat.

blitzar2• 22 days ago

never had absolute freedom of speech like the US, which itself (since it was colonised) never had absolute freedom of speech.

mrtksn9• 22 days ago

I got the impression that free speech in the US is limited to right to annoy people and harass politicians from distance. Seems to be more restricted than Europe actually since access is tied to private property and its culturally acceptable to remove people from private spaces if you don't like their speech. In this particular case the US embassy appears to have "hacked" their way by claiming that those journalists are a threat but if it was in US they could have been removed and have their free speech in a designated area simply because they don't want them there.

You can give finger to Trump from distance but you can't attend to his press conference to actually ask him stuff if he doesn't like you. That's just slightly different from Turkey where you will be arrested for giving the finger to Erdogan's motorcade(happened a few times, then Turks learned their lessons and in the stats Turkey doesn't arrest as much as Britain).

In contrast, in most of Europe you usually can approach and ask politicians whatever you like.

jampekka2• 22 days ago

EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Article 11:

Freedom of expression and information

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

2. The freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected.

egeozcan• 22 days ago

I'm saying this with love, so hear me out: Turkey has nothing to do with what comes to mind when you talk about anything European, except maybe some parts of Istanbul and Izmir.

I was born and raised in Turkey, and I have been living in Germany for nearly two decades, and I have Greeks, Bulgarians and Kurdish in my family too (no. I don't take pills to survive), so I know what I'm talking about.

It's not about inferiority/superiority, it's just a completely, unmistakably different culture, perspective on life, degree of pragmatism, and... everything. Especially when it comes to the topic at hand, freedom of speech. I think the Ottomans have a lasting effect there. The Turkish search for the new sultan never ends. You may say that some tendency in dictatorship exists everywhere, but in Turkey, you'll see authoritarian ambitions in the speeches of even the most supposedly liberal people.

I also have to say, I'm not even talking about religion. Perhaps the most religious groups, Muslim or Christian or Jewish, are the groups with the most similarities actually.

ethagnawl2• 22 days ago

Which is quite ironic, given all the chuds running around and screeching about _free speech absolutism_.

vvpan• 22 days ago

Free speech for them, "woke propaganda" for you.

vrganj3• 22 days ago

You misunderstood, they were only ever concerned with the freedom of their speech. You know, stuff like inciting racial hatred.

It was never their opposition's speech they wanted to be free.

SidewaysView• 22 days ago

Maybe frozen fruit will finally die the death it deserves and we can get back to making the world a better place.

mito882• 22 days ago

freeze peach

itake2• 22 days ago

reminds me of Dan Brown's latest book: The Secret of Secrets.

xutopia• 22 days ago

Why?

itake2• 22 days ago

*book spoilers*

In the book, the Czech police characters frequently complained about the various ways the US ambassador in Prague had too much influence over their investigations, especially of American citizens.

This influence was served as multiple plot devices.

dimitrios12• 22 days ago

"Belgian police willingly comply with U.S. ambassador's request, and Belgian police stopped your reporting"

FTFY

a foreign ambassador had Belgian police remove us

Belgian police removed us.

FTFY again.

The article is making a good point, especially the hilarious irony of all the private companies, and US being complicit in limiting press freedom. But it also fails to recognize the agency and complicitness of the Belgian authorities as well, and makes them out to be some sort of innocent bystandards -- "Oh look those poor Belgians being bullied by the big bad US!" If they didn't want to remove you, they simply could have not.

yorwba• 22 days ago

Renting a venue for an event usually comes with the right to decide who may attend and who may not. So if the embassy indeed rented the park, then as soon as the ambassador decided the journalists weren't welcome, they were no longer allowed to stay and the Belgian police were correctly doing their duty in making sure they complied and left.

So the article isn't strictly alleging that the ambassador did anything he didn't have the right to do, but uninviting journalists from an event after they ask a question he preferred not to answer and involving the police instead of directly telling them to leave is maybe not the best use of those rights.

watwut3• 22 days ago

The officers, we later learned, had been told that Samuel was an ”active threat.”

The ambassador does not have the right to lie about someone being an active threat.

A few days before the event, Samuel had published on his Instagram that ambassador White tacitly threatened an American and Belgian resident after that citizen urged the Zac Brown Band not to perform at the event

No right to threaten either.

how we had got into the event (that the American embassy invited us to).Eventually, they accepted that we were journalists and that they disagreed with detaining us.

You dont get to invite journalists and then try to get police to detain them either.

flohofwoe4• 22 days ago

Did you actually read the article?

The Belgian police got the information that the person would be an 'active threat' which is just absolutely bizarre and explains the somewhat 'hasty' reaction of the police to quickly remove that person from the event before asking further questions. After they realized their mistake they apologized but of course at that point the journalist wasn't allowed back in.

The ambassador essentially swatted the journalist.

dimitrios12• 22 days ago

Yes.

I quoted something from deep in the article.

Did you read my entire comment, and assume the least bit of positive intent?

I acknowledged the main points the article brought up. I highlighted a glaring discrepancy, from my point of view.

When police act unjustly, hastily, or rash, in my country, it gets at least equal weight (typically more). We don't just focus entirely on the person or party who triggered the reaction.

Anyways, the reason I commented anything at all was, as someone who values true unbiased and objective journalism, something we need now more than ever, this is clearly falling short of their stated goals -- from their editorial policy:

"Doing journalism means taking responsibility for the public. We are aware of our biases and strive not for artificial objectivity but fairness."

Seems like a complete lack of awareness of the strong Anti-american bias, and a lack of taking responsibility for the Belgian public.

impendia• 22 days ago

Indeed, I find this story quite interesting (and disturbing) from the Belgian point of view.

Suppose the Belgian government declared the ambassador persona non grata, and sent them on the next plane to Washington. Presumably this would raise their popularity with their own voters, although if Trump noticed he'd throw another temper tantrum. What then?

drstewart• 22 days ago

Europe is mighty, independent, strong and decoupling from the US, but also everything bad Europe does is because the big old meanies in the US made them do it against their will

nashashmi4• 22 days ago

More and more we see the relationship with authoritarianism (police) and tyranny (those in power) out in the open. We see this with the protests in Germany for Gaza. We see this in Britain with freedom of speech taken away from Palestine supporters. And we see this shamelessly occurring from the Trump world.

I used to balk at those who were too worried at growing government power, but this is a wake up call. Protections have to be in place for the vast majority of people, even if it does allow a few criminals to get away.

flohofwoe4• 22 days ago

Quite a leap to bring Gaza and Palestine into a discussion about the US ambassor in Belgium.

danw19792• 22 days ago

Only if you’re not following along.

The link is police abusing their allowed powers to silence free speech and protest.

jagged-chisel3• 22 days ago

It logically supports the claim "More and more we see the relationship with authoritarianism and tyranny out in the open."

It's a shame someone is so sensitive to a subject that it can't even be used as additional support of another argument.

jagged-chisel3• 22 days ago

Protections have to be in place for the vast majority of people...

And how do those protections work when the current administration doesn't even respect the law, and no one will enforce it against them?

morkalork• 22 days ago

In a 6-3 Supreme Court decision..

legacynl• 22 days ago

I'm a little bit less cynical about it; most police still live with the assumption that all of our allies are trustworthy. If the US says there is a credible threat, they rather exercise caution, and remove the threat.

It's just that the US cannot be trusted anymore, and this will probably be the moment that Belgian police will stop taking US intel as fact.

StefanBatory2• 22 days ago

We see this in Britain with freedom of speech taken away from Palestine supporters.

Palestine supporters or "Palestine supporters"? Your freedom of speech ends when you sabotage military bases.

dgellow3• 22 days ago

Germany has had far right problems with its police and military for a while, unfortunately

- https://www.dw.com/en/german-armed-forces-bundeswehr-elite-u...

- https://www.dw.com/en/germany-far-right-extremism-bundeswehr...

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_German_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat... (look at the list of members)

pngwen• 22 days ago

I’d say the embassy did a good job of exporting the American journalistic experience.

The only point of inauthenticity is that neither journalist suffered any lasting physical harm.

ethagnawl2• 22 days ago

The only point of inauthenticity ...

And that the fuzz "disagreed with detaining them". The real experience involves them doubling, tripling down, etc. and threatening to "find a reason". By their logic, they are never and could never be wrong.

buellerbueller4• 22 days ago

America: a terrified little country, run by a small, terrified maniac.

elric4• 22 days ago

I hope the journalists in question will lodge a complaint with the Belgian police watchdog, Comité P: https://comitep.be

Belgium has been pretty repressive towards certain journalists for a while now. Our "World Press Freedom Index"-score has gone down a fair bit in recent years, and rightly so. The current prime minister and his friends have a history of litigating against journalists who exposed some questionable deals, so it's all to be expected.

szmarczak3• 22 days ago

They were “just doing their job,”

It's always this one exact excuse. They were simply "following orders". The police don't have their own brains capable of thinking.

vanviegen3• 22 days ago

You are meaningfully misquoting here ("doing their job" not "following orders", which has a different ring to it, at least for me).

Also, apparently they do have brains capable of thinking because: "Eventually, they accepted that we were journalists and that they disagreed with detaining us."

szmarczak3• 22 days ago

Ah yes. Let me detain you for 8 hours for doing what you're legally allowed to do. Sorry for my mistake, it's all paid by the taxpayers anyway.

ralferoo3• 22 days ago

"... a foreign government using local police to eject reporters over a single question from a public space turned private at the will of the American government is not a minor diplomatic awkwardness."

The fact it's a public space is kind of irrelevant here, if the landowners (the city council, I guess) decide to temporarily allow private use.

If some roads had been closed for film production use etc, the police would similarly be involved in removing people who interfered with the proceedings and didn't leave when asked to. The land owner has given the company exclusive rights to the space for the duration of the event.

Whether ejecting someone from a press event for asking a question you don't like is right or not (I personally think it's not) is irrelevant. At the point they ask you to leave for whatever reason and you don't comply, then it becomes trespass and the police can be asked to remove you.

vanviegen3• 22 days ago

At the point they ask you to leave for whatever reason and you don't comply, then it becomes trespass and the police can be asked to remove you.

According to the journalists' account, they were never asked to leave.

Though I agree with the rest of your reasoning.

watwut3• 22 days ago

1.) The journalists were invited.

2.) The ambassador told the cops the journalists are an active threat. That was straightforwardly a lie.

This was not "trespassing" event at all.

ralferoo3• 22 days ago

I don't particularly want to argue, but even if they were invited, if they were asked to leave it would still be trespassing.

We also only have their word for it that that's what they told the cops. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not, there's no way of telling from what they've have chosen to present us.

Personally, I think it's suspicious that the interviewer was clearly recording their conversation on his phone that's inches from them, but we can't hear either the question or the response from the guy who seems to be asking them to leave them alone, we can only faintly hear the woman saying "no cameras, no cameras". The video then cuts and switches to the interviewer saying "well, no comment", but there are different people in frame, and personally I'd wonder how long they continued following and asking questions, and whether they were in fact asked to leave the event.

unethical_ban• 22 days ago

Bad take. They didn't refuse to leave. The problem is they were asked to leave at all.

Whether ejecting someone from a press event for asking a question you don't like is right or not (I personally think it's not) is irrelevant.

That's the core issue. It isn't irrelevant.

cassepipe3• 22 days ago

Are you speaking from the perspective of US law or are you familiar with belgian law ?

mito882• 22 days ago

not surprised

einpoklum2• 22 days ago

It happened roughly 300 metres from the European Commission, in Europe's capital.

Well, considering the EU's general direction, that is perpahsp appropriate symbolism :-(

For a continent that lectures others on press freedom

Well, if it becomes difficult to lead by example:

https://europeanjournalists.org/blog/2026/03/03/press-freedo...

then lecturing about it is the thing to do I guess. The US is famous for lecturing other world states about human rights.

greenleafone74• 22 days ago

What is weird in all of this is why is the US obsessed with israel so much exactly! Was it a random choice; did they had a random number generator pick it? Why are they not going to such lengths for other random countries in the opposite side of the world for example? And if an official's number one priority is not the people that pay him and have granted him his power, should he be in that position?

The US is turning into a planetary joke and it's sad to see.

vrganj3• 22 days ago

* AIPAC is one of the biggest donors to US political campaigns.

* Entanglement of tech industries

* Israel serves as an outpost of US imperialism in the Middle East.

* Shared understanding with fellow Settler-Colonialist state

* On a related note, it's a country with a big white-reading population in a mostly brown neighborhood.

* Evangelicals believe Israel is where the battle that rings in the Second Coming will happen.

sequoia5• 22 days ago

People think AIPAC is some all powerful unique lobbying group, in fact they're not even in the top 10 major lobbyists. Did you know SpaceX gave 5x as much as AIPAC in 2024? AIPAC was also outspent by Coinbase, by Ripple, and several other companies[0]. And this "18th largest lobbyist" position is after a post-october-7 surge in spending. Pre-october-7 (2022) they were ranked forty sixth in terms of spending.

Can you name 10 of the groups who spent more than them? How about five? The question worth asking is why are people obsessed with demonizing the AIPAC in particular and singling it out as the one or primary 'evil lobbying group' when there are tens or dozens of groups that spent more. The 2024 AIPAC spending number (50 mil, which is donated by American voters, not foreign money) is 1/8th of the $400 million plan Qatar (a foreign government) gave Trump in 2025.

People focus on AIPAC specifically because they have a problem with Jews. Jews and other Israel supporting Americans are allowed to pool money and lobby just like anyone else. the fact that people think they shouldn't be allowed to play this game, the same one everyone else is playing in US politics, is what should be questioned.

0: https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/top-organizat...

pelorat• 22 days ago

AIPAC is more than a PAC. Mossad involvement is all but guaranteed.

electriclove• 22 days ago

Interesting how the Overton window on this has shifted over the recent past. These are questions one wouldn’t dare verbalize not that long ago

greenleafone74• 22 days ago

Even the "wouldn't dare to verbalize" is weird to me! I thought we had governments to help with defense, and the budget, but now we are at the point were some guy somewhere is dictating what I can and can't say, what I can and can't eat. Odd how we ended up like this.

godwinson__4-82• 22 days ago

The answer: Evangelical Christians

The same reliable voting block that thinks the current president is basically the second coming despite the fact he is an obvious nihilist. They are obsessed with Israel for similarly delusional reasons. I have few things in agreement with Tucker Carlson. But the way he made Mike Huckabee or Ted Cruz squirm on basic questions about Israel was delightful. These people are motivated by little more than blind faith which resembles a cult to any thinking person. Couple this with American anti-democratic compromises (connecticut compromise which allows sparsely populated, evangelical states to get outsize representation) and you have your answer. These small states are also easier to control. AIPAC actually doesn't spend that much money. It turns out to buy a Senator in the middle of nowhere is pretty cheap, and a great ROI. A Senator from Arkansas has the same voting power as a Senator from New York. Of course, for the time being New York is also bought and paid for. That may be changing. Part of the reason primaries in NYC have gotten so much attention in the last month is because of what it portends for a potential primary against Chuck Schumer. While he is not an evangelical, he is a beneficiary of AIPAC.

Since he's not an evangelical and is capable of critical thought he did call for new elections in Israel in a somewhat notable speech in 2024. It was notable as a public criticism of Netanyahu even if it was pretty mild. People of Chuck Schumer's generation who are not evangelicals still have a bias towards Israel because of post WWII guilt. America essentially inherited the power, but also the responsibility of the terminated British empire in WWII's wake. Unlike young progressive Jews who are perfectly capable of recognizing two things can be true - a state can both be Jewish and genocidal - older Americans have a bias to buying into the fiction that Israel is some uniquely vulnerable nation that needs protecting because they have parents that were around to know America largely sat on its hands during the genocide against the Jews in WWII. Americans did not want to get involved until after Pearl Harbor, and even then, anti-semitism was not exactly out of the American mainstream. And there was a time where in the Middle East, Israel was not the obvious regional superpower that it is today. So the American intelligentsia was also largely behind Israel, even if for very different reasons than evangelicals.

But even these Chuck Schumer types have basically been forced to come to terms with the fact that the current Israeli leadership is extremely far right, and frankly, pretty much as nuts (if not more) as people like Mike Huckabee. That's why again, the real answer is the evangelicals. As with Trump, they don't care if a president or a nation careens off course. They believe they are doing what their invisible friend wants. You can't really argue with that type of crazy.

greenleafone74• 22 days ago

From what I understand the 'current' leadership in Israel-even with how they behave-they are still the most left of all possible options. The ones that could come after it are even more extreme.

tencentshill• 22 days ago

Britain and the US created the state of Israel. There have been many commitments made since then.

dgellow3• 22 days ago

The US is turning into a planetary joke

We are way past the point where we have to use the present continuous tense

greenleafone74• 22 days ago

I maintain hope

lr0• 22 days ago

The US "obsession" with Israel is not "random" or arbitrary at all, it's quite systematic and there are so much literature on that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Israel_Lobby_and_U.S._Fore...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUQ_0MubbcM [Why the US. supports Israel / Noam Chomsky]

outside12343• 22 days ago

We elected a kakistocracy. The sane majority of us are sorry about this and the road back starts this fall.

Please report about this at length. This is the risk you all face if you elect a bunch of ultra right wing nut jobs.

unbalancedevh• 22 days ago

kakistocracy

New vocab word, thanks. The word's been around for a while, so I guess there's some solace in knowing that this isn't the first time. Hopefully this is just a speed-bump to progress, and not a long-term decline.

Havoc• 22 days ago

Sounds like the Americans lied to get a stronger response than warranted.

Can definitely understand why police would roll aggressively and with limited info if they’re lead to believe there is an active threat at a mass public event.

MetaWhirledPeas• 22 days ago

"The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting"

Or reworded: "Belgian police stop our reporting simply because some foreign ambassador asked for it"

baq• 22 days ago

yeah this is called 'soft power'

petesergeant• 22 days ago

I suspect if the Greek embassy had rented a park for an event, and then told diplomatic police that there was someone there they considered an active threat, much the same thing would have happened.

mcherm2• 22 days ago

Yes, BUT...

If, indeed, the park was rented out for a private affair and the person managing that affair asked that someone be removed from the property, then like any case of trespass, it is within the purview of the police to remove that person.

It doesn't make the US look good, but I don't think it reflects poorly on the behavior of the Belgian police.

cassepipe3• 22 days ago

Could be but I am not sure belgian law is as trigger-happy with the whole trespassing thing. I wouldn't be surprised that lying to the police about someone being a threat in order to remove them form the private event you have invited them to would be a clear cut case

mrhottakes2• 22 days ago

The Belgian police are the ones following American orders.

golem14• 22 days ago

It probably matters if the park, or the rented sub-venue is a public place or not.

Local laws also matter.

In the US, getting someone removed from a public event without or with fabricated cause is likely to cause problems down the road, as the removed people might be likely to win lawsuits.

Belgium has probably - like the rest of the EUb - far weaker freedom of speech protections,

But IANAL, and just a second rate, third hand armchair commentator.

trwhite• 22 days ago

So much for the "free speech" Vance hounded us Europeans with. All lies, of course.

pluc• 22 days ago

Man, the World Apology Tour is gonna be a generational event won't it

gwbas1c• 22 days ago

It's interesting to see a European perspective on this incident. They seem a lot more intent on avoiding political agendas than Americans are.

Usually incidents like this (in the US) come from activists who are very bad at "picking their battles wisely." In this case, I don't think a battle was picked going in, as there was an assumption of a fair dialog, and the way the police acted implies that they (police) were hoodwinked into doing something they normally wouldn't do.

A bigger question is, what is the expected outcome from this reporting? Is it that Brussels shouldn't welcome events like this? Is it that the US needs to elect different leaders?

newaccount670• 22 days ago

A bigger question is, what is the expected outcome from this reporting? Is it that Brussels shouldn't welcome events like this? Is it that the US needs to elect different leaders?

Definitely the latter. The primary goal of all journalists is to brainwash people into voting against their own interests.

StefanBatory2• 22 days ago

And then Americans will lecture us that we don't have free speech.

Departed7405• 22 days ago

Don't follow people saying they are police. In fact, I am pretty sure they can't ask you anything without visible id.

Also, you don't have to answer their questions before they tell you why they are asking those questions. It's none of their business.

zem• 22 days ago

genuine american culture!

UltraSane• 22 days ago

As an American I'm disgusted by this idiotic ambassador and by the Belgian police who did his evil bidding.

penguin_booze• 22 days ago

attempts at American cultural exports

To those who haven't realised yet, there lies the problem.

The US ambassador had Belgian police stop our reporting

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