Oh, Belgium...

MOTnews reported on a strange fixation of the Miss Brussels of 2006: she wants to wipe Israel of the map.

Last September Halima Chehaïma, the 18-year old daughter of a Moroccan father and a Flemish mother, was elected Miss Brussels. ... Halima Chehaïma was a controversial candidate. Last October she stood for the Marxist-Leninist Labour Party in the local elections in Molenbeek, the predominantly Muslim Brussels borough where she lives. The party is so marginal that she did not get elected, but her declaration that Israel must be wiped off the map raised the eyebrows of the organizers of the Miss Belgium pageant. What really seems to have ruined her chances, however, is her connection with Bilal Ould Haj, a Belgian criminal of Moroccan origin.

And more, which you can read in the original post. But the celestial justice (with a bit of a helping hand from the Elders) eventually won, and we have us another Miss Belgium 2006:

Anyhow, if you leave that dirty world of politics alone, it is not just that some celestial justice has had an upper hand in this case. Look at it like a true red-blooded... people. I mean, isn't it clear, without involving... oh well, enough is enough...

Her name is Annelien Coorevits, if you have to know, and that's all I am ready to say at this stage.

In related news from Belgium:

Smoking animals cause upset

A controversial TV spot informing people about a smoking ban in restaurants will not be shown anymore. The decision to withdraw the advert was made after various complaints had been launched. A Special Ethics Commission decided that the advert will not be shown anymore after receiving various complaints. Gypsies feel insulted as the song "les gitans" (the gypsies) is used as background music during the advert. The combination between the music and the "rather shocking images" would make people think that there is actually a link between the two. Another complaint was launched by a smoker, who finds it "insulting that smokers are being compared to animals."

Wrong school evacuated in bomb scare

Last Wednesday, some three thousand students and staff from the Catholic Polytechnic in Mechelen (Antwerp province) were evacuated from the school, after the emergency services had received a call claiming that there was a bomb inside the school.

Airline to modify logo

Brussels Airlines is to modify its logo before the company becomes operational in March of next year. The airline, which is being formed by the merger of Virgin Express and SN Brussels Airlines, is to add an extra ball to its thirteen-ball B-shaped logo, amid concerns that thirteen is an unlucky number.

But really, that new Miss Belgium is something else, so...

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