Bad News From Belgium

Fleecing Belgium: No one pays more to the EU than a Flemish citizen

2009-05-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

From Gates of ViennaA Fleming pays twice as much as a Walloon, triple as much as a Briton and five times more than a Frenchman.It was already known that, from the 27 EU-member states, 15 are net recipients and 12 are net contributors. Belgium is a large net contributor. The Vlaams Belang group in the European Parliament, led by Frank Vanhecke, has now calculated how much each citizen of Flanders

Belgium Socialist MEP Would 'Strangle' Israeli Diplomat

2009-05-25T06:24:00.000-07:00

It is a news story back from 2007 but illustrates the Belgian political elite and mirrors the policy of PS - The Belgian Socialist Party.By Gil Ronen for Israel National News(IsraelNN.com) Member of the European Parliament for Belgium Véronique De Keyser stated in an address that she would like to “strangle” Israel's ambassador if he discussed Israel’s security with her. Addressing an

Anti-Semitism skyrocketing in Belgium

2009-05-25T05:14:00.000-07:00

From HaaretzAnti-Semitic attacks have skyrocketed in Belgium in 2009, according to a local government watchdog. The agency's director compared the hike to "the anti-Muslim hate campaign after 9/11."The Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism last week said that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the first four months of 2009 has equaled the number of such incidents recorded

Update

2009-05-25T05:01:00.000-07:00

New email address for blog contact, google has terminated the previous account for reasons unknownThe new mail address is: badnewsbelgium [a] gmail dot comRegardsBad news

Poll: Only 17% of Belgians believe in Belgium as a state

2009-05-25T04:08:00.000-07:00

Belgium a failed state?http://polls.linkedin.com/poll-results/38075/ignrtShould Flanders continue to subsidize Belgium or declare independence?By David BaeckelandtPrincipal, U.S. Business Leader - Analytics & Research Group at Mercer Investment Consulting

Al Qaeda recruits back in Belgium and the EU, but why? Are they planning to strike?

2009-05-25T03:27:00.000-07:00

From Los Angeles Times 24/05Reporting from Brussels -- Determined to die as martyrs, the French and Belgian militants bought hiking boots and thermal underwear and journeyed to the wilds of Waziristan.[...] "We were expecting at least a welcome for 'our brothers from Europe' and a warm atmosphere of hospitality," Walid Othmani, a 25-year-old Frenchman from Lyon, recalled during an overnight

Belgium Welcomes Islamic Terrorists

2009-05-25T02:36:00.000-07:00

Geo TV Friday, May 22, 2009BRUSSELS: Belgium's foreign minister says his government remains committed to taking in several detainees from Guantanamo Bay when the U.S. military prison closes down.Speaking to La Premiere radio during his current trip to Washington, D.C., Karel De Gucht says it remains to be seen how many former inmates may be taken in.De Gucht says in Friday's broadcast that he

No-Go Zones in Brussels

2008-11-20T02:20:00.000-08:00

In Brussels, several neighborhoods have turned into no-go zones for police officers. Neighborhoods where they can hardly patrol without being pelted with rocks, without being attacked, or without their police vehicles being wrecked. Unsurprisingly, 80% of the people who live in these neighborhoods are of Islamic origin. More often than not, the aggressors are underage.Police inspectors claim that

Belgian Neo-Fascist movement attacks politicians

2008-10-11T01:48:00.000-07:00

The preferred tactics of the “anti-fascist” Left are classically fascist in nature. Rather than engage in spirited debate, they prefer to silence their opponents on the Right by using social pressure, verbal harassment, intimidation, and — if necessary — violence.This tactic was much in evidence when Filip Dewinter, the prominent Flemish politician from the party Vlaams Belang, was scheduled to

17 Slaves Liberated From Brussels Hotel

2008-07-04T03:15:00.000-07:00

We were not allowed to complain or to ask any questions. We just had to be there at their beck and call, claims one of the slaves.The police raided the luxury Conrad Hotel in Brussels, liberating 17 women who were most likely working as slaves for the Arab royal family, Telegraph reports. Belgian media described the case as “slavery right in the heart of Brussels”. The investigation was started

Belgian girl raped at Gare Du Midi in broad daylight for not wearing a muslim veil

2008-06-24T02:14:00.000-07:00

Saint-Gilles It is an indignant father, disgusted and outraged, who speaks to us. “My daughter was raped in the Gare du Midi. In Brussels. Capital of Europe. With total impunity.”It was June 12. “My daughter was returning from Waterloo. It was 9:00 pm. On exiting the train, she headed for the Bancontact.” A public passage. Yet this is where the tragedy took place.“Right in the middle of a station

“Miss Jihad” Collects Unemployment Benefits

2008-05-30T02:40:00.000-07:00

From the desk of The Brussels Journal on Wed, 2008-05-28 12:50 A quote from The International Herald Tribune, 27 May 2008 and The New York Times, 28 May 2008 On the street [in Brussels], Malika El Aroud is anonymous in an Islamic black veil covering all but her eyes. In her living room, El Aroud, a 48-year-old Belgian, wears the ordinary look of middle age: a plain black T-shirt and pants

An Old Ghost Is Rising In Belgium: Anti-Semitism And Hatred Of The Jews - Politicians Stage Psycho-drama

2008-05-29T15:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the 24th of June political 'progressive' activists dressed up in Israeli military uniforms goes through the streets screaming against the people surrounding them and passers by in the city center of Nivelles, a Belgian city situated approximately 30km south from Brussels.The occasion for this staged psychodrama was Israel's 60 years anniversary to which the organisers wanted to

Ethnic War in Brussels: Moroccans Attack "Whites"

2008-05-27T03:03:00.000-07:00

On Friday evening (today), riots broke out in the streets of Brussels between Moroccan youths and supporters of football club RSC Anderlecht. On Thursday evening, a blog had called for attacks on the "white" supporters of the club, and "to burn pubs, houses and cars." The official story is that the problems began last Sunday, after the Belgian Cup Final between RSC Anderlecht and AA Gent. RSC

Belgium-based Moroccan behind dismantled "terror network"

2008-05-22T05:52:00.000-07:00

RABAT, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A Moroccan national living in Brussels was the mastermind behind a "terrorist network" involving11 people that was dismantled by Moroccan security forces earlier this week, a Moroccan newspaper has reported. The Moroccan police had moved in to arrest the members of the network Monday "after receiving credible information regarding the activities of Abdellatif

Belgium: Fundamentalists infiltrated integration business

2008-05-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

A former social worker from Boom (Antwerp) is sounding the alarm. "The integration sector is infiltrated by Muslim fundamentalists." he says. Minister Marino Keulen is shocked and announces regulations.The story of Peter Calluy started off in 2004. He then convinced his party, SP.A, to appoint him as social worker on the streets. He would build bridges between the ethnic Belgians and the

Belgium teeters on a linguistic edge slowly breaking up

2008-05-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

If Belgium vanishes one day, it will be because of little towns like this one, where Flemish politicians are riding a new wave of nationalism and pushing for an independent state.Liedekerke has only 12,000 inhabitants, but its elected council has caused a stir by insisting on the “Flemish nature” of the town. Not only must all town business and schooling take place in Flemish, true throughout

Belgium has become an important center for the global Muslim Brotherhood

2008-04-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

[Belgium has become an important center for the global Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. Since its origins in early student organizations, the Belgian Brotherhood network has grown to include Hamas support infrastructure and local Islamic groups that in turn are part of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), the global Muslim Brotherhood umbrella group in Europe. Belgium also

Poisonous dioxins 3-5 times higher in Belgian backyard chickens

2008-04-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

Eggs from backyard/garden chickens in Belgium are not so healthy, reports Belgium newspaper De Morgen. These eggs contain 3-5 times more poisonous dioxins than battery chickens.This was the conclusion drawn from a national research study by scientists from the universities of Antwerp, Ghent and Liège. Those who eat the eggs from their own backyard chickens are at greater risk of developing

Belgium: Not a Model to Follow

2008-04-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

Belgium's linguistic communities pay a high price for sticking together, resorting to fudges that range from the silly to the destructive. Put like that, you can see Belgium's new government not as a relief, but as an awful warning. A political union hatched together by a fractious elite, and answerable only to itself, is not a model for anybody to follow.From: The Brussels Journal

Freedom Of Speech In Belgium? Not any longer, Fredom of Expression and Thought is dead in Belgium.

2008-04-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Today in neighbouring Belgium the government’s anti-discrimination body CEOOR warned bloggers and websites to remove their links to Wilders’s movie. The CEOOR states that the movie aims to foster “fear, distrust and hatred of Muslims.” The anti-discrimination body has asked the Belgians to be “vigilant” and to report “cases of incitement to hatred and/or discrimination.”Meanwhile, it has become

Brussels: Possible Muslim majority in 15-20 years

2008-03-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

Olivier Servaix, sociologist at Université catholique de Louvain, said in an interview to La Libre Belgique last week that Brussels, would have a Muslim majority in 15-20 years, due to the community's high birth-rate. According to Servaix, a third of the population of Brussels is Muslim. Since 2001, Mohammed is the most popular name for new-born boys.Mahfoud Romdhani, a local parliamentarian,

Victims Of Moroccan Islamist Identified

2008-03-17T04:39:00.000-07:00

On February 18 this year, Moroccan authorities arrested several individuals, claiming that they belonged to an "Islamist network". Initially 23 persons were apprehended, with that number soon rising to 32. The leader of the group was identified as Abdelkader Belliraj, an individual who had spent some time in Belgium. On February 20, Morocco's Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa gave a press

Ex-Model Waris Dirie Found Safe in Belgium

2008-03-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Police on Friday found Waris Dirie, three days after the Somali-born model who launched a worldwide campaign against female genital mutilation had vanished. Dirie, 43, appeared to be in good health and was being questioned by police about the disappearance, said Estelle Arpigny, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office. She declined to give

Waris Dirie, former model and women’s rights campaigner, reported missing.

2008-03-08T09:26:00.000-08:00

March 7, 2008BRUSSELS, Belgium - Waris Dirie, a former model who has campaigned against female genital mutilation and written an international best-seller about her experiences, is missing, police and her manager said Friday.Dirie, 43, has not been seen since early Wednesday when police saw her getting into a taxi in Brussels, manager Walter Lutschinger said in a telephone interview.“We are

Missing Irishman's dead body 'found' and identified in Brussels City Morgue after ten days of search

2008-03-06T06:34:00.000-08:00

Brussels March 6: The family of an Irishman who went missing in Belgium over a week ago say they have identified his body. 33-year-old Conor Synnott from Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, disappeared in the early hours of 23 February. His family began searching for Mr Synnott the next day with the help of the Belgian police. Mr Synnott's body was found by police later that day close to where he had last

Belgium drops Myanmar rights case against Total

2008-03-06T06:02:00.000-08:00

BRUSSELS (AFP) — Belgian authorities dropped Wednesday a legal case brought by refugees from Myanmar targetting the French oil group Total, which they accused of crimes against humanity, their lawyer said.Investigators looking in to the matter "declared the case closed," lawyer Xavier Deswaef told AFP, describing the decision as "surreal".Although his clients could lodge one final appeal against

Belgium Donates 86 millions Euros For Funding Terrorism

2008-03-05T05:29:00.000-08:00

Ramallah 5 March 2008, Belgium is giving 86 million Euros in funding in favor of the Palestinians over the next 4 years, due to a convention concluded yesterday in Ramallah between the Belgian Minister of 'Cooperation and Development' Charles Michel and the Palestinian Minister of the 'plan' Samir Abdullah.The biggest slice of the sum, 50 million Euros will be transferred directly to the

Heavy jail term for pornographer who filmed daughters

2008-03-04T04:43:00.000-08:00

A Belgian court handed a child pornographer the maximum jail term of at least 10 years for making films of his daughters for a worldwide network, a report said. The court in Bruges, western Belgium, condemned the 37-year-old named only as Pascal T. and laid down the 10-year sentence with the possibility of another 10 years behind bars if the government sees fit, the Belga news agency reported.

Turkish parliamentary speaker slams Belgian court decision on terrorism

2008-03-04T04:34:00.000-08:00

All countries should fight together against the global scourge of terrorism, said Toptan.ANKARA - The speaker of the Turkish parliament has lashed out at the decision of a Belgian court to released a number of members of a far left wing Turkish terror group, saying the ruling was terrifying.Parliamentary speaker Koksal Toptan said the decision by the court in Anvers on Thursday indicated that

Morocco busts al Qaeda-linked terror network funded by crime in Belgium

2008-03-04T04:29:00.000-08:00

PARIS, France (AP) -- Morocco's government said it has dismantled a terrorist network that had plotted to assassinate Cabinet ministers and members of the North African kingdom's Jewish community. Authorities believe the network has links to al Qaeda and local terror groups, the official MAP news agency said late Wednesday. A total of 32 people were arrested in sweeps this week, Moroccan

Search continues for Irishman missing in Brussels

2008-03-04T04:09:00.000-08:00

Monday, March 03, 2008 The family of an Irishman missing in Belgium are continuing to appeal for help in tracing his whereabouts. Conor Synnott, who is originally from Dun Laoghaire in Co Dublin, was last seen in Brussels 10 days ago. The Belgian police have launched a formal missing persons appeal and Interpol has been

Telekom Austria prefers Belarus to Brussels

2008-03-04T04:05:00.000-08:00

Telekom Austria (TA) chief Boris Nemsic has said that he prefers Belarus to Brussels as a business partner. He said: "We have been treated much better in Belarus than in Brussels. That is not a political but a business comment." He was evidently referring to EU Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding's recent instruction to the mobile-phone branch to lower the cost of SMS

Dark, and very bitter

2008-03-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

By Matthew Engel It is now possible – a mere 205 years after the original proposal for a Channel Tunnel – to travel overland from London to a foreign capital, i.e. Brussels, in less than two hours. But Belgium no longer feels like just another country, it feels increasingly like another planet.This isn’t routine journalistic hyperbole. The inhabited areas of Planet Earth are organised into

Adopted by wolves? Bestselling memoir was a pack of lies

2008-03-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

At just six years old, Misha Defonseca trudged across three countries to try to find her Jewish parents who had been carted off to Auschwitz by the Nazis. She collapsed in a forest but was rescued by pack of wolves who adopted her as their cub. Her story became the best-selling Holocaust autobiography, Misha: A Memoir of the

Socialist Spokesman From The European Parliament Martinez Affirm Iran Has Got The Right For Nuclear Arms

2008-03-01T06:52:00.000-08:00

Iran's Ambassador to Belgium Ali Asghar Khaji held talks Tuesday with the Vice-President of the European Parliament Miguel Angel Martinez on promoting parliamentary ties between Iran and Europe. The meeting focused on global and regional issues, including Iran's nuclear program. Referring to the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Khaji said that the report proved all

Rwanda: Genocide Survivor Wants to Sue Belgium

2008-03-01T06:42:00.000-08:00

A Rwandan genocide survivor has filed a suit in a civil court to prosecute the Belgian state and is also seeking for compensation estimated at 100, 000 Euros for death of her relatives during the 1994 genocide, according to "Le Soir" Belgium daily newspaper.The financial compensation is sought on grounds that the Belgium peace keeping force failed to protect her sister, brother-in-law and their

Alleged Moroccan extremist was Belgian spy

2008-03-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

Morocco’s Belliraj said to have provided information to Belgium's internal security service for 8 years.BRUSSELS - The alleged leader of a Moroccan extremist group and suspect in several murders in Belgium was a long-time informer for the Belgian authorities, local media reported Friday. Abdelkader Belliraj, who has dual Moroccan and Belgian nationality, was arrested in Morocco last week, along

Belgium's political parties struggle to overcome differences

2008-03-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

The Belgian government crisis has gained a little breathing space. Prime Minister-elect Yves Leterme has left hospital two weeks after being admitted for stomach problems but he still faces political problems within his own party,the Flemish Christian Democrats, if major reforms are not adopted by July. He says he'll rest three or four days as the doctors advised. From Monday he hopes to apply

Belgium Inflation Hits High

2008-03-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Belgium saw inflation soar to a 17-year high of 3.6 percent in February, the country's statistical office said in a first estimate Thursday. Prices have not risen so fast since July 1991. The Belgian government promised last week that it would try to tackle surging prices for food and energy by talking to supermarkets and food producers as well as giving energy

Alcohol Test: Blowing Police officers will be punished

2008-02-25T14:37:00.000-08:00

The Police being short on personel has themselves blown the alcohol tests to reach their quotas. An investigastion has been opened.In certain cases the police had staged fake alcohol controls and blown the alcohol tests themselves.Fernand Koekelberg, the high police commissar exclaims "If we have to tap them over their fingers, it will be done, all which is left is to find the responsible,

Chicken Run in the EU Parliament (20.02.2008)

2008-02-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

Watch it - The future of Europe looks gloomy

Pedophilia: Belgium In Shock

2008-02-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

The Lawyer of the two families of Julie and Melissa, who both were found murdered in the basement of Marc Dutroux (the horrible pedophilia case shaking Belgium) in 1996, Victor Hissel has been found guilty of being in possession of child pornographic material. The Lawyer from Liege admits to the facts and do not present any explainations.It was discovered due to an investigation on a pedophile

Leader of an Islamic Group Suspected of several murders in Belgium

2008-02-23T12:03:00.000-08:00

The leader of an Islamic group which was dismantled in the beginning of the week in Morocco is suspected of having carried out several assassinations and hold-ups in Belgium, announced the Moroccon Minister of interior affairs Chakib Benmoussa."Abdelkader Belliraj, aka "Ilyass" and "Abdelkrim", who was born in 1957 in the Nador Region (Morocco), and who is a dual Moroccon and Belgian citizen has

Bloch Patisserie closing it's doors.

2008-02-11T03:40:00.000-08:00

After 110 years the renown Bloch Patisserie is closing it's doors.Bloch is known for it's great pastries in the whole Ghent surrounding.The owner is Jacques Bloch. Mr. Bloch is the head of the local small Jewish Community of Ghent. Jacques Bloch and his wife Christiane together with his sister Nicole where running the shop since they took over in 1958 from their father Mr. Rudolphe Bloch. In

Understanding The Belgian Crisis

2008-02-11T02:46:00.000-08:00

A look into Belgium beyond the famous beer, the mussels and fries, wafers and chocolate can be headscratching at first, Belgium have got 4 Parliaments, a National, a Walloon, a Flemish and Brussels capital.Daniel Tanuro's article illuminates some of the points into understanding Belgium and the current political crisis in this country.Daniel Tanuro, a certified agriculturalist and eco-socialist

49.171 accidents on Belgian Roads in 2006

2008-02-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

In 2006 their have been 49.171 accidents on Belgians Roads with dead or wounded victims.This is 0,3 procent less then the year before (2005).The deadliest day was Saturday and the deadliest hour was on Friday beyween 6 and 7 P.M.. The safest hour was strange enough also on Friday between 11 and 12 a.m. with no accidents counted in 2006.Source:http://www.standaard.be/