As I described in exhaustive detail in The Black Hole of Romania, it doesn’t take a shadowy cabal to censor the news, only a virulent form of cultural blindness. I lost half an hour of my life on Sunday (January 26) watching the 7:00 pm news broadcast of ProTV, which devoted their entire coverage to a single story: snow fell in Romania. It’s currently far … Continue reading The Lonesome Death of Cicerone Ionitoiu
After a Romanian court felt sorry for a pitiful, confused old man and gave him a brief respite for Christmas, now twice-convicted former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase was carted off to jail two nights ago. Officially sentenced to four years, it’s doubtful he’ll serve more than 12 months due to the way the spineless justice system in Romania works. Nonetheless, all of the local press … Continue reading Numai Oua
Yesterday night, the press was ready. Camera crews and journalists circled the property, everyone ready to spring into action when they heard the shot go off. Last summer the comically tragic long-running drama called Politics in Romania was dominated by the story of the conviction of former strongman PSD party leader and ex-Prime Minister Adrian Nastase. Bam, they got him! A win for the good … Continue reading Merry Christmas, Mr. Prime Minister
I often complain about a real lack of transparency in Romania but there is one notable exemption – the activities of the parliament are duly noted and rapidly updated on its website. Likewise, although there’s no American-style CSPAN with a live feed of the parliament floor, the media (and public) are allowed to witness the proceedings. Mind you, there are some shortcomings in the parliament’s … Continue reading A commercial enterprise of the people, by the people and for the people
Back in the year 1985 an enthusiastic and well-meaning young woman gave me a copy of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, telling me that it was a “science fiction” book written 30 years earlier that predicted a bleak future for humanity. Since it was only a year “later” (than the title), I read the first few pages but as I was expecting something about spaceships and … Continue reading The Ministry of Truth
All Things Romania 