It seems that a country with a decent bureaucracy (and a king) can actually function without a government.

And with decent, I mean functional. Not good, not efficient, just functional.

The proof? Belgium:

What would be a humiliation for many turned into a party for Belgium Thursday as the country's citizens marked 249 days without a government ( Read more... )

I think a post about Belgium is clearly overdue:


( Read more... )

Since I have not say anything about Belgium (or anything else) in a while, I think it is time for some Belgiumness.

At first, I was very tempted to post about the luring story about the murder by cutting-the-parachute-strings, one of those stories that could only come from Belgium (or Florida), but I think this one is better. A bit dated, alright ( Read more... )

Yesterday, I was reading The Daily Beast list of "The 9 Most Shocking WikiLeaks Secrets". Corruption, real conspiracies & plots, North Korea's clear and present role in nuclear proliferation... terrible, terrible news.

But the one which stands out the most, in my absolutely-not-humble opinion, is number 7:

7. U.S. Offers Payouts in Exchange for ( Read more... )

I bring to you today a short film (6 min., 48 s.) untitled "Merci!" by the Belgian Christine Rabette.

About? "A Bodhisattva saving people on a Belgian tram."

It is a bit slow at the beggining: be patient, you will enjoy it.

Click to view

It seems there has been a terrible accident in a coal mine in Belgium:

Close by the small town of Marcinelle is the mine called Amercoeur, the "Bitter Heart." There one morning last week, 302 miners-115 of them Belgians, 139 Italians-dropped 3,105 ft. underground in their steel-cage elevators to their daily jobs at the coal face. Above ground the ( Read more... )

Looking for post-WWI maps of Europe, I found this:

( A map! Who would have guess it? )

Now, right now, is the time of the year to visit Brussels.

Why? Because... they are going to have the great Ketchup versus Mayo Battle!

Vous aimez la Belgique ? Bruxelles ? Les frites ? Hmmm ! Très bien ( Read more... )

And so it came to pass, that the longest-serving bishop in Belgium resigned Friday (today) after admitting to sexually abusing “a young man in my close entourage” many years ago:

In a statement issued by the Vatican on Friday, Roger Vangheluwe, 73, the bishop of Bruges since 1984, said that the abuse had occurred “when I was still a simple priest ( Read more... )

Well, I crossed the pond again and I am back ( Read more... )