Word: belgian
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...combed the 900-plus pieces of Islamic art in the DIA's collection, most of which was stored in the basement. Some pieces, like shards of pots, weren't worthy of being publicly shown. Others were striking finds, like the massive gilded copper candlestick the DIA acquired from a Belgian art dealer in 1922. It had been classified as an 18th century candlestick but was actually made between 1400 and 1500 in what is now Turkey. Some people thought the candle looked like a church bell...
Critics point to the selection of Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton as Europe's President and Foreign Minister as symbolic of a lack of vision. Van Rompuy, a former Belgian Prime Minister, is known for his ability to balance local sensitivities - no small feat in Belgium - and cajole opposing camps towards a consensus. Useful attributes, no doubt, but hardly the ones needed to make the E.U. count on the international stage. Ashton, a former British minister and European trade commissioner, has little experience in foreign affairs. "Van Rompuy and Ashton give the impression of being chosen for their limits...
Herman Van Rompuy Position: President of the European Council Powers: Should Europe's top job be an administrative role or that of an assertive continental boss? Much will depend on the tone set by this former Belgian leader...
...debate on national identity, a move that critics claimed stigmatized immigrants and Muslims. Now France is demonstrating what looks like a neurotic obsession with Islam - if not outright Islamophobia - as it frets over the halal hamburgers that are sold in a handful of the 362 French affiliates of Franco-Belgian fast-food chain Quick...
...Rompuy, who was appointed president of the newly restructured E.U. following the passage of the Lisbon Treaty last year, proved to be the linchpin of the deal. The former Belgian Prime Minister is uniquely equipped to understand the importance of projecting confidence to assure shaky markets - he has a master's degree in applied economics and worked for the Belgian Central Bank before going into politics. And as Belgium's Budget Minister in the 1990s, he was instrumental in helping to drive the country's public debt down from a peak of 135% of GDP in 1993 to about...