From Brussels, with love (and cash) Your tax money at work.

Here's a new take on buying off a politician.... slip your hand in their pocket for once!

Some European officials who joined a matchmaking agency have apparently been targeted by suitors who were not after their hearts - but their cash.

Bernard van Pouche, a divorcee, says his own wallet has been cleared out more than once (more than once?...the power of the "other" brain) after he was courted by female newcomers to EuroSingles, but then found out he was left to foot the bill for all the wining and dining that followed.

Dumb enough to let it happen more than once, and dumber, to publicly admit it!

READ ON TO SEE HOW YOUR TAX MONEY IS SPENT

Cool Belgium

Cool Belgica: Tour Brussels

Brussels struggles to be cool, and only occasionally succeeds. The city -- which, as the home of the European Union institutions, fancies itself the "capital of Europe" -- doesn't overwhelm you with the unrelenting beauty of Paris, the all-business bustle of London or the black-turtlenecked, horn-rimmed self-confidence of Berlin. Rather, Brussels unveils its charms to you slowly. For some -- business travelers or relatives visiting for the weekend, say -- far too slowly.

Sprinkled here and there in the city, however, are hot spots of trendiness, certain street corners or squares with a unique sense of style that seems to defy the city's bureaucratic and insular character. READ THE WALL STREET JOURNAL'S TOUR OF THE CAPITAL

SLIDESHOW

Brussels not popular with Flemings

The number of Flemings living in Brussels continues to fall. The fact that the population of Brussels continues to rise is largely due to the immigrant community.

In 2004 over half of all Brussels new inhabitants came from outside the country.11,000 people moved to Brussels from Flanders, but a larger number, 18,000, quit the capital. READ ON

So you think life in Belgium is dull?

It’s spring in Belgium. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the flowers blooming, the fields and forests are green with new growth. It’s a time to embrace optimism and a positive attitude—unless of course you want to leave your neighborhood, in which case it’s a time to buckle up, grit your teeth, and abandon all hope of arriving at your destination on time.
Yes, the popular way to prove your mettle here is to barrel around blind curves, tailgate, invent your own passing maneuvers, and speed like a German on the autobahn. Driving is the unofficial national sport and the Belgians want to see who triumphs in the end: you, the other driver, or the Grim Reaper. READ ON

Belgian French-language newspapers were back on Google on Thursday after agreeing that the search engine can link to their Web sites, the first signs of a thaw in a bitter copyright dispute. But neither has so far settled on a key part of the dispute: the use of newspaper story links used on Google News.
In February, Google Inc. lost a lawsuit filed by the newspapers that forced it to remove headlines and links to news stories posted on its Google News service and stored in its search engine's cache without the copyright owners' permission.
Google had earlier removed all reference to the newspapers to avoid legal trouble, meaning that a search for even the name of Belgian daily "Le Soir" would not bring up the publication's Web site.