The Hollow Men

Another day in the funhouse world that is Romania. First, the European Court of Human Rights has – yet again – ruled against Romania, this time for torturing people. From the ECHR: Romania committed several rights violations due to its complicity in CIA secret detainee programme. In today’s Chamber judgment, in the case the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been … Continue reading The Hollow Men

4.4 Billion Dollars

Due to all of the protests against the PSD’s attempts to legalize corruption earlier this year, it escaped most people’s attention that Grindeanu’s Culture Ministry finally filed the paperwork to make Rosia Montana a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Alas, it’ll take until July 2018 for it to be certified and approved by the United Nations, but it’s a good start. Unfortunately for the people of … Continue reading 4.4 Billion Dollars

Down By Law

WORD COUNT: 2809 Oh my. You know, it’s relatively easy for me to sit here at my keyboard and remotely dissect all of the overwhelming number of serious problems with the Romanian justice system. But it’s quite another thing to hear about it from a true insider, in this case, Raluca Pruna, the “technocrat” Justice Minister. Note: In this article, I won’t even refer to … Continue reading Down By Law

The Fail Whale Checklist

Word Count: 1984 For years, I’ve been writing about the numerous failings great and small of government agencies and political leaders in Romania. Certainly no country is perfect and some mistakes and missteps are to be expected. But the subject of this article encapsulates exactly what is wrong with the country and why no amount of “progress” and European Union money will ever do more … Continue reading The Fail Whale Checklist