If you’re a native English speaker you’ve probably heard the expression “spare the rod and spoil the child”, interpreted for centuries by schools (and sadistic parents) that the Bible supports whipping, caning, using a ruler to slash knuckles, tying a log to a child’s back, tawsing (a form of whipping), imprisoning children in stocks, flogging and being imprisoned in a cage (large wicker basket) as … Continue reading Spare the Rod
I’ve been extraordinarily pleased with all the feedback I’ve been getting from readers about my new book The Colony. I was even stopped in a local store by someone who was reading the book, which was amazingly cool. I put a hell of a lot of hard work into writing a fast-paced story that’s easy to read and I’m very happy that people are enjoying … Continue reading Mad Men
After all these years of “covering” Romania-related issues, it really doesn’t give me a whole lot of satisfaction to find out, once again, that I was right. In the domestic media (here in Romania) for some reason there is never any coverage about Nigel Farage, the UKIP or all of the fearsomely waged internal politics going on in Britain about the upcoming rule changes that … Continue reading Told Ya So (Redux)
I had to laugh because yesterday the newspaper Evenimentul Zilei for some reason published a press release from a member of parliament named Vasile Mocanu in which he savagely criticized American foreign policy in Romania. I have no idea why Mocanu, a loyal member of the PSD, would send this press release to EVZ, which normally is far more sympathetic to opposition political parties, but … Continue reading Cloudy with a Chance of Foolish Outbursts
You know I can’t stop thinking about the Curious Case of Traian Berbeceanu, especially the part about how this “elite” brigade of anti-mafia cops have to fill out a fuel requisition sheet before a raid. If that’s actually true, why bother wasting time and money (or this whole sideline thing I never mentioned about swapping a car) bribing the chief of a police unit? The … Continue reading Just Receipts
All Things Romania 