LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Belgium
built 630 days ago
Belgium is one of the most urbanized regions in the world. This is first of all owing to Urbanus from Anus, the last Belgian pope (Outside link). Outside Belgium, Urbanus is mostly remembered for the Reformations of 1713 and for mooning the Council of Tollembeek. He was ... the only pope to be re-elected into the office 3 times. The second reason for the high urbanization of Belgium is that any congregation consisting of more than 7 people is called a City. Belgium therefore also hosts the smallest city in the world, Durbuy, which has four inhabitants Julien, Marie-Claire, grand-mère and the five children.
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[I]n this region just to the west and south of Brussels lies an area of Belgium known as Payottenland, which is the home of Gueuze and Lambic beers. (This is not an official province, rather a region where this great beer style originated and continues.) This valley surrounding the River Senne allows for excellent spontaneous fermentation for this unique beer style that is sought after by beer lovers from all corners of the world. A trip to Belgium is not complete without visiting a few of these great breweries and blenders. Some of the lambic breweries and blenders of this style include Belle Vue, Boon, De Block, De Keersmaeker, Drie Fonteinen, Girardin, Lindemans and Timmermans.
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Belgium has a small but advanced telecommunications market. The country’s comprehensive DSL and cable networks have provided an excellent basis for the take-up of IP-based technologies. Broadband penetration is almost twice the EU average, and the fifth highest in Europe. This report introduces the key aspects of the Belgian telecom market in 2005. Comprehensive data is provided on fixed network services, and on the broadband and mobile phone sectors. In addition to valuable statistics, the report overviews the key regulatory issues, noting the status of interconnection, Local Loop Unbundling, number portability and carrier preselection.
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The Swedish part of Belgium has its own government, but then again, they're Swedish so who gives a damn. The Italian part has two governments. The Korean part has one. There's a governement for Brussels, one for each of the seventeen provinces and one for the minorities of each language group in every one of the other regions and provinces. Every one of these governments has a corresponding House of Representatives and Senate. waffles?
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Belgium's industrial plant had remained relatively intact despite the war, enabling the economy to recover far more rapidly than those of the other nations of Western Europe. The immediate political issue was the return of Leopold III, who was barred from Belgium until 1950. Popular discontent led to his abdication (1951) in favor of his eldest son, Baudouin. An economic union between Belgium and Luxembourg, formed in 1921 (the first of its kind in 20th-century Europe), was superseded in 1958 by the Benelux Economic Union, which ... includes the Netherlands. An early proponent of a united Europe and a firm advocate of collective security, Belgium is the seat of many important European Union functions and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
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Under Leopold II, Belgium faced many domestic problems. Liberals and Catholics fought over control of education, finally agreeing to let local governments decide whether or not to subsidize parochial schools. By the 1880s industrialization and population density—the greatest in Europe—had produced appalling living conditions in the cities. As the rural labor force shrank and the number of people engaged in industry tripled, the government enacted legislation to improve housing and working conditions. The workers, who still could not vote, began organizing to obtain political equality. An 1893 general strike forced parliament to institute universal adult male suffrage, modified to give more than one vote to university graduates, men over age 50, and property owners.
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