From the Chronikles: In the name of equality
January 2012 – As Belgium toys with the idea of allowing mothers to pass on their surnames, is there a way to make naming practices fairer?
Are we now ‘friends’ of al-Qaeda in Libya?
September 2011 – Belgium was one of the ‘Friends of Libya’ in Paris. But does the prime minister realise that these Libyan ‘friends’ include a former al-Qaeda fighter?
March 2011 – No this isn’t a perverse way of describing French kissing, but a new theory of how two languages can peacefully co-exist in one country.
February 2011 – Arab revolutionary fever has spread to Europe as Belgians raise their freedom fries, not to bring down a regime but to ask for one to be formed.
Baksheesh and social tipping points
January 2011 – Egypt’s ‘baksheesh’ culture helps poor people get by and maintains relative social peace, but it encourages subservience.
December 2010 – Among the most hated people in Europe, Roma are treated as second-class citizens at home and abroad. Nikolaj Nielsen spent some time with members of a Roma family.
Falling in love… too literally
November 2010 – ‘Spurned skydiver murders love rival in Belgium’. Big news in a little country, and a film just waiting to be made.
The rise of far-right politics on both sides of the Atlantic
November 2010 – On KALW’s weekly media round table, Khaled Diab took part in a radio debate on the rise of far-right politics on both sides of the Atlantic.
November 2010 – Some in the west are more likely to believe in elves in Middle Earth than in Arab men in the Middle East who are secular and do not oppress women.
October 2010 - ‘Catholic’ education thrives in Belgium, but the decision between principle and pragmatism is not easy when choosing a school.
September 2010 – Moving house is a back-breaking master class in logistics. But it’s also an emotional rite – moving from what was to what will be, purging yourself of possessions and packing some away for good.
July 2010 – The fifth anniversary of the 7 July attacks has refocused attention on Islamist terrorism, but the neo-Nazi threat goes largely unnoticed.
Queer times in Belgian politics
June 2010 – The product of an odd political marriage between left wing Belgian unionists and radical Flemish nationalists could be the world’s first openly gay male premier.
Smoking, from sticks to carrots
May 2010 – Belgian MPs raised eyebrows with their recent banning of facial coverings. Now, with a twist, factions have set their sights on smokers and work.
May 2010 – Het zogenaamde ‘burqaverbod’ is een vrouwvriendelijke wetvoorstel.
May 2010 – Belgium’s effort to ban the face veil is a statement of female empowerment and a vote against religious fundamentalism.
April 2010 – Silent nights, genuinely blue skies and the sense that nature is finally fighting back. Am I the only one who enjoyed Iceland’s volcanic eruptions?
April 2010 – As we approach the 50th anniversary of independence, how successful has Congo’s post-colonial experience been?
April 2010 – A Belgian far-right politician is in hot water for uploading a video of an attempted break-in. Was he right or should he have gone to the police?
April 2010 – In multicultural families, deciding on where to raise your child is no easy matter and has profound implications for the future.
April 2010 – I spend so much time sorting my rubbish that I’m thinking of putting it on my CV as a skill or taking it up as a profession.
Zero tolerance=zero difference
February 2010 – Belgian media hysteria over crime and calls for zero-tolerance policing miss the real issue – social exclusion in the inner city.
February 2010 – Big corporations are using the banking crisis as an excuse for exploiting cheap labour. Is it time for a global minimum wage?
January 2010 – Lean, green commuting machines will be the new black for Belgian fleet car managers this year.
January 2010 – Like shrimps on the barbie and hard yakka*, the great outdoors is one of the binding contracts of being Australian. Except it really isn’t.
Hating the ‘world’s smartest woman’
January 2010 – Linda De Win is clever, competitive and middle-aged – would Belgians respect her TV victories if only she were male too?
December 2009 – The British are famously reserved, but so are the Belgians. Let’s break the ice and make the public sphere more friendly.
November 2009 – Much as we’d like our children to hold the same things dear as we do, we should have enough faith in them to let them choose their own belief system.
Middle East: a Belgian solution?
October 2009 – Northern Ireland offers one model for Israeli-Palestinian peace. But a dose of Belgian pragmatism wouldn’t go amiss either.
October 2009 – Having kids is no longer the preserve of married couples, or couples full stop, it now seems. That’s all good and well, but does it mean dads will soon be surplus to requirements? No way!
September 2009 – (press release) Landmine survivors call on governments to live up to their Mine Ban Treaty promises.
Poetry, nonsense or what (not)?
July 2009 – Beauty, failure, enchantment, … you name the emotion and poetry’s got it. But this noble art is not for everyone. And it’s by no means easy to call yourself a poet.
June 2009 - Despite the current crisis in the property market, the belief that buying a house is a long-term winner persists. But does the house always win? More
May 2009 – The Belgian city of Ghent has declared Thursdays ‘meat free’. Should cities around the world also join the vegolution?
Integration and its discontents
February 2009 – Are religious immigrants within their rights to boycott an ‘unspeakable’ integration course in Belgium?
All continents on the Western Front
November 2008 – It is time European countries acknowledged the part soldiers from their former colonies played in the First World War.
October 2008 – Was Belgian television justified in pulling an episode of a cooking programme featuring Hitler’s favourite dish?
September 2008 – A murder trial is delving into the mystery of why and how a young Belgian was stabbed to death for his MP3 player during rush hour in the capital’s busiest train station.
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