You (Don’t) Get What You’re Paying For

When it comes to being an American ally, you never get rewarded for doing the right thing. After compiling a lengthy list of what Romania has done to try and get on America’s Visa Waiver Program, I realized that I needed to produce something a bit more visual. Therefore, here’s a graphic that anyone can understand: Romania Hungary Poland Joined “Coalition of the Willing” to … Continue reading You (Don’t) Get What You’re Paying For

Second Only to Syria

One of the ongoing tragic results of bad governance in Romania is that millions of its citizens have left the country to find a better life elsewhere. According to this well-researched piece, Romania is now second only to Syria in terms of the percentage of citizens who are now living abroad. Considering that Syria is in the midst of a vicious civil war and Romania … Continue reading Second Only to Syria

Dirty and Dirtier

You’ve got to love the variety of English-language news reports during the past 24 hours with titles like New prime minister appointed after ruling party ousted their own government. I mean, only in Romania could something like this be seen as “normal” business. But there are some vitally important facts missing from all the international coverage. To review, last week, PSD mafia chief Dragnea and … Continue reading Dirty and Dirtier

Good News

When you have a language like Romanian, sometimes you get two (or more) similar words with subtle shades of meaning that come from two different linguistic sources. In Romanian, stiri (shteer) and veste (ves-teh) both mean “news.” The first comes from Latin and means “knowledge” while the second comes from Slavic roots and means “that which is new” or news. If you’re talking about journalism, … Continue reading Good News