What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun or fester like a sore, and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat or crust and sugar over, like a syrupy sweet? —Langston Hughes Five days ago, there was a surge of joy in Romania after the website EurActive reported that the European Union was going to pass … Continue reading Another Dream Deferred
I spent several hours yesterday and this morning in the disagreeable task of digging through the career of Victoria Nuland after the western media reported on a YouTube video of an intercepted telephone call in which Nuland and American Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey “Geoff” Pyatt are heard discussing their plans for the future of Ukraine’s government. You can read a fairly comprehensive transcript of that … Continue reading With friends like these, who needs enemies?
No matter how stupid and inept the government is, no matter how poorly the economy is faring and no matter how low the salaries in this country are, Romanians have always been able to solace themselves with the fact that at least we’re ahead of Bulgaria. In just about every ranking of the 27 European Union member states, Romania has come in 26th, only just … Continue reading Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate
Just a few hours after I wrote my piece Penetration yesterday, I saw a report from the Romanian Transportation Ministry that demonstrated how ignorance of the internet can actually kill you. On January 20, 2014 in what I call the Frozen Tears debacle, a plane crashed on the Cluj-Alba county line in a very rugged mountainous area. Although all those on board managed to survive, … Continue reading Lethal Ignorance
On Monday the European Union issued its first ever report on corruption, which caused a media sensation worldwide as it was the first time that people had hard numbers of just how bad the situation is. Every member state was included in the report, including Romania (PDF), a lengthy document that deserves in-depth analysis. However, I was immediately drawn to a paragraph (page 5) concerning … Continue reading Penetration
All Things Romania 