Train crash kills at least 20 during morning rush hour

Two packed commuter trains crashed head-on outside of Brussels in the morning rush hour, killing at least 25 people, according to Belgian media reports. The local trains collided near Halle, some 15 kilometres southwest of Brussels at 8:30 a.m.

National broadcaster VRT said 25 people were killed, but officials from the train line operator were unable to immediately confirm that figure. Train services, including the high-speed line between Brussels and Paris, were blocked. The operator Thalys says three trains are involved and advises passengers to change their travel plans.

A spokesman for Eurostar, the high-speed passenger rail service connecting London with Brussels warned that "it is possible that services will remain suspended all day." Two carriages have been completely destroyed in the crash according to early reports. Infrabel, the train operator, has confirmed that there are tens of people seriously injured.

The accident occurred during the rush hour as people were travelling to work. One train was travelling from the direction of Louvain and was on its way to Braine-le-Comte the other was coming from Quiévrain and was going to Liège.

The overhead cables have been severely damaged by the accident and train travel on the lines between Brussels and Doornik and Brussels and Bergen has ground to a halt.

A crisis centre has been set up and the emergency services have arrived en masse at the scene. The cause of the accident is not known.

Scores of reactions are pouring in to Belgian websites reporting the crash. People are reacting with a mixture of disbelief and anger that this has happened.

"How is it that two trains can collide head-on, this means that one was on the wrong track. Are there no safety systems that prevent this type of blunder from happening?” said one reaction to the online edition of newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.

“Lucky it is a holiday today, otherwise they would have been even more people on the trains,” said another reaction to the site.

All Europeans beware of killer wine corks!

The Belgian daily 'Het Nieuwsblad' reports that Dutch MEP Wim Van de Camp has pleaded for a warning notice on champagne corks, claiming that flying corks cause "a scary amount" of accidents.

I guess if Belgians are too uncoordinated to open a Champagne bottle without injuring themselves this might explain why they have such an embarrassment for a National Football team. If you are injuring yourself by drinking Champagne.....it might be time to put the bottle away people.

As far as Mr. Van de Camp goes.....just when I think European politicians can't get any dumber......another one comes along.

Former Miss Belgium Vernonique De Kock

As if the name Veronique De Kock isn’t awesome enough.....look at these pictures. There is alot more than waffles and beer here in Belgium.

Miss Belgium Shows Her Goodies

What do you do if your reign as the most beautiful girl of a small country like Belgium is over? You basically wait for the offers to model tiny lingerie to roll in. And that is exactly what former Miss Belgium Alizee Poulicek did for La Perla. Finally a Miss Belgium we can be proud of. It's not naked, but it's almost better.

Belgian Schools average at least a rape per week

At least one rape takes place in school every week in Belgium. According to police figures from 2007 there were 69 reports of rape.
In 2006 52 rapes were reported to have taken place at school. In 2007 the numbers had risen to 69. The number of assaults at school went up to 122 in 2007, a slight increase compared to the year before.
The figures are alarming, say the authorities, because many rapes and sexual assaults go unreported. This means that the actual rape and assault cases are much higher. Half of the perpetrators are youngsters, the other half are adults.

Also alarming is the high, and rising, number of reports of battery in the school, 2,324. Bullying and illegal arms possession is also on the rise.

Belgian Railways price increase

Belgian Railways (NMBS) has increased its fares by an average of 5.9%. The price of a monthly or annual season ticket went up by 6.25% starting Feruary 1. Belgian Railways says that the fare rises are necessary to compensate for inflation and rising energy costs. VIDEO REPORT

During the cold snap it was apparent that NMBS provides passengers with too little information. Many passengers were not given any information while they remained stranded on platforms or in trains.....my neighbor happened to get home from work in Brussels at midnight on one of those cold nights.

Brussels public transport company also puts up fares
The Brussels public transport company MIVB has also increased its fares by an average of 6%.
The price of a twelve-month season ticket went up from 415 to 440 euros from midnight on Saturday.
The under 25’s now pay 300 euros for a year’s unlimited travel on the capital’s buses, trams and metro.
The price of a five journey ticket has risen by 30 eurocents to 7.30 euros, while a ten journey ticket now costs 12.30 euros, a rise of 80 cents.

Joker Killer Kim DeGelder suffered from depression for years

VIDEO
"Regret but no remorse"
According to Mr Haentjens, Kim De Gelder didn’t have a “murder plan”.
“He had printed out the addresses of crèches, but why he chose Dendermonde remains a mystery."

De Gelder is reported not to remember anything of what happened on Friday morning and it is not yet clear whether he heard “voices” that told him to carried out the brutal attack on the crèche.
Jaak Haentjens says that his client has expressed regret for what happen.
However, as De Gelder is unable to remember what he did, he is unable to show any real remorse.

As a child, De Gelder is reported to have been lonely and withdrawn.
He suffered from severe depression and at one stage even heard voices in his head.
"There are indications that he suffers from a mental abnormality, but we will have to await the results of psychiatric reports.” Mr Haentjens told journalists.

"He suffered from severe depression when he was fifteen and sixteen and he behaved strangely."
"His parents had wanted him to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital when he was eighteen."
"However, he received out-patients’ treatment from a psychiatrist and it was judged not necessary to admit him to a psychiatric unit.”

Kim De Gelder moved out of the family home last October.
Since then he has only contacted his parents by telephone or text message.
Mr Haentjes concludes that "The issue is simply one of whether or not he was aware of his actions."

"Did he hear voices that made him do what he did?"
"If he acted in a psychotic state then he should be sectioned.”

Funny TV commercial of the day...The Heinekin walk-in closet

A real good time to open a Belgian Bank?

New Online Belgium Bank Seeks Foreign Bank Partner or Investor

Maurits Paul Rijkeboer announces the launch of Money.Be, a new online bank that operates out of Belgium. "The current state of Belgium banks is disastrous," Rijkeboer, the CEO of Money.Be says. "That's why we have created Money.Be. We are confident that our foreign bank partner or investor will benefit and customers will be excited about this concept and will flock to us."

As a result, Rijkeboer, who also possesses a master's degree in business administration, is currently seeking an exclusive foreign bank partner or investor for the Belgium market.
"This is a one-time offer for a business partnership and the time to act is now," Rijkeboer explains. "The first bank to provide a serious and generous offer will receive the exclusive partnership."
Money.Be (http://www.money.be/) is currently applying for a Belgium banking license from the government.

Belgium wants their own "Messiah"

An article in the Wall Street Journal today "Europeans Pine for an Obama of Their Own" probably wouldn't be a bad idea for Belgium....but I'm not sure even "The Messiah" himself could get the Flemish and Walloons together. Belgium has to have the most dysfunctional politicians in the history of the planet. He should maybe start out slow by practicing on Quebec first.

Ever since Barack Obama’s election began to look secure, Europeans have dreamed of finding a charismatic post-ideological race-conciliating leader of their own.
Imitating the Obama campaign’s strategic marketing campaign, European supporters printed T-shirts, buttons and bumper stickers of their own. They organized raucous parties on election night and cocktail parties on Tuesday to watch the swearing-in.

All major European national TV networks are carrying the event live. On Tuesday, in downtown Brussels, vendors sold “Obama Belgium” T-shirts. Some residents hung American flags on their balconies, something usually seen only in the country’s south, where the Battle of the Bulge was fought. READ MORE

Flanders American Football League is looking for OFFICIALS

The Flanders American Football League is looking for officials (umpires and referees) for the juniors and seniors whose upcoming season runs from September to November, and February to May respectively.
There will also be opportunities to work Brussels American School, International School of Brussels and SHAPE games.
Clinics and instruction is provided, and new recruits – no prior experience required – will be introduced to real games gradually.
Officials receive a small stipend. Contact Christophe Geldhof at oige@telenet.be for more information.

I posted a while back, that they are looking for coaches too. I f you have any interest in that, you may want to check this out.

For more information on whats happening with American Football, check out this piece in FLANDERS TODAY

No more traveling with my stash...I guess

During an international police anti-drugs operation Saturday night 856 people in Belgium were found to be in the possession of narcotics. Eleven people will have to answer to the public prosecutor.
The raid in Belgium was part of an international operation. Operation 'Etoile' includes police from France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, as well as 700 Belgian police and customs officials. The controls focused on narcotic trafficking and drug tourism. They took place along major motorways, in trains, buses and clandestine outlets where narcotics are sold.

In Belgium the controls took place around Antwerp, Ghent, Dinant, Namur, Liège, Tournai, in Limburg along the border area with the Netherlands, and at the coast. 2500 vehicles and 3400 people were inspected. 11 kilos of cannabis, 373 grams of heroine, 68 grams of cocaine, 245 of hallucinogenic mushrooms and 740 cannabis seeds were seized. 31 illegal arms were also discovered and 12 vehicles seized.
The Belgian federal police are very enthusiastic about the cooperation between the participating countries and the results it has yielded.

Belgium divorce rate doubles in nine months

From enquiries at the courts of Hasselt, Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels it seems that the number of divorces has doubled within nine months. The four courts blame this strong increase on the new divorce law that makes it easier for couples to divorce than before.

Anyone who had wanted a divorce before September 2007 had to prove that the partner had done wrong. This led to a long procedure in which adultery or violence had to be proved. But today it suffices to indicate that couples have been living at different addresses for at least one year. When both lay a divorce charge it is sufficient to show different domiciles for six months in order to have the marital contract annulled.

Gee ....and I thought adultry was a rider written into most Belgian marriage contracts.

Railroad traffic will come to a standstill at 22:00 tonight

The liberal VLD together with the employers' organisations and the Bond van Trein-,Tram- en Busgebruikers (The league of commuters) demand the implementation of peak-hour trains during the general strike in order to assure the rendering of a minimal service.

According to the Minister of Public Enterprises, Inge Vervotte (CD&V), this is however not attainable as it means that 65 pct of the personnel will have to work. Moreover, the minister refused to call on personnel. Open VLD asked why it can be done in France but not in Belgium.

Vervotte agreed with NMBS management that it is far more important to avoid spontaneous strikes. This can be achieved through viable agreements with the unions, the NMBS spokesperson said. The Open VLD did not accept this and demanded that the minimal service rendering be placed on Friday's agenda of the super ministers' cabinet meeting, to which the unions and employers have also been invited. The unions welcomed Vervotte's approach: 'We are pleased to find that the minister understands us', said Jos Digneffe of the railway union, ACOD-rail.

Justine Heinen retires

The world's number one female tennis player, Belgian Justine Henin announced her retirement from professional tennis at a press conference this afternoon. Liège-born Henin has won no fewer than 41 singles titles and more than U.S. $19 million in prize money during her twelve-year career.

Belgium Flower Garden

link to video
For more than 60 years one man in Belgium has laboured to keep the flower garden he promised to his wife.
It looks lovely - like a well-kept city park, or perhaps a flower farm. But it's a private garden - the work of one elderly Belgian, Fernand Geyselings.
Three hundred varieties of tulip compete with daffodils, hyacinths and fritillaries for a colourful and fragrant effect.
For six weeks, it's open to the public - only while the flowers are in bloom.
But a whole hectare is hard work for one man, who promised his then fiancee a flower garden in 1947.
It is located in the north of Belgium, in Kessel, not far from the Dutch border. Last year, 40,000 visitors from 46 countries came to see it. many birds have chosen to make it their permanent home.

In the Black in Belgium

The Cell for Financial Information Processing (CFI, Cel voor Financiële Informatiewerking) is on the track of laundered money, which shows that the illegal economy in Belgium is substantially increasing.

The CFI also discovered more links between dossiers of clandestine labour (human trafficking) and of financial crime. This shows that a black economy is developing, according to Jean-Claude Delepière, chairman of the CFI.

The underground economy grew mainly in Brussels and Antwerp with their large number of night shops and telephone shops. Earlier an American drug report pointed out that the 3500 telephone shops often operated as illegal bank offices. Apart from illegal labour and human trafficking it seems as if the bigger flow of laundered money created by the illegal car trade is on the increase as well.

Has Belgium ever considered that if they didn't tax you for everything but taking a crap, maybe this underground system wouldn't be so prevalent.

Antwerp fireman bare their asses

You just can't write a strange story about Belgium anymore, its just called DAILY LIFE here.

Visitors to Antwerp's historic market square were treated to a rare sight on Tuesday as members of the local fire brigade bared their buttocks in pursuit of improved conditions.
The firemen's grievances concern early retirement schemes and better pay for Saturday work.

In unison the Antwerp firebrigade chanted "kiss my ass", a message directed at the socialist mayor of Antwerp Patrick Jannsens

A spokesman for the fire-fighters told the VRT that the early retirement scheme now on the table was unacceptable.
"Fire-fighters should be able to retire at 58 because the work is increasingly demanding" he said.

Belgium sends dead man to jail

Weekend at Bernies...the Belgium version.

In another one of those only in Belgium stories, A Belgian judge sent him to jail, but fined him too, for good measure.

A MAN has been sentenced to eights months behind bars for beating up his girlfriend and resisting arrest - despite being dead.
Belgian Joey Van den Broeck, 21, was charged, but he subsequently died in hospital in Antwerp after a road crash in Merksem, reports GVA.
The clueless judge went ahead without him. Besides jail, Van den Broeck also copped a $900 fine.

Belgian widow sues Antwerp prostitutes for electric sex!

Death by hooker.....what a way to go!

A Belgian widow is suing two prostitutes who she claims encouraged her husband to take drugs and have sex when he was unwell, leading to his death.
The wealthy businessman — who had a heart condition — asked the sex workers to bring an electric sex toy, champagne and ecstasy tablets for a "special Christmas treat", British newspaper Daily Mail reports.

The man, 38, had fatal heart attack while partying with the prostitutes, who were paid more than $4400 for the night. Hey...the Belgians can keep up with Eliot Spitzer....although this guy did get a two for one.

The widow's lawyer Yvan Naessens said the women encouraged the man to take part in the activities even though he "appeared unwell".
They allegedly did not try to prevent him from using the sex toy, which provided electric shocks, and only wiped the back of his neck with a damp towel when he became unconscious.
The sex toy that was used on the man came with a printed warning label of the possible danger due to high voltage use.
The businessman was regular client of the prostitutes and they are fighting the amount of damages in the case in Antwerp court.