Nothing makes me feel more relaxed than when the president of a country is going on TV saying shit like “The government literally doesn’t know what it’s doing and the entire economy is in meltdown.” Continue reading A Complete and Total Clusterfuck
I realize that there are few texts as boring to read as a white paper, but if you’re not afraid of charts and a mountain of statistics, you can read a very informative World Bank report on Romania in English here and in Romanian aici. Entitled “Magnetic Cities” in some versions (oops!), it is, nonetheless, quite a lot of data that backs up what I’ve … Continue reading World Bank Romanian Cities Report
The other day, an attractive young woman in a dress and heels handed me an envelope. When I looked inside, I saw it was stuffed full of euros and (Moldovan) lei. What’s this? Am I being paid by Russian gangsters, the CIA, or some other nefarious group? Nah. The truth is that I now have a “real” job, one that is the most illegitimate bunch … Continue reading Adventures in Legitimacy
The other day, my wife and I watched The Big Short about the collapse of the American economy in 2007-2008 (known in Romanian as the criza financiara). She was having trouble following the plot, and so she fell asleep. I’d already read the book (it’s fantastic) and so I managed to stay awake. But afterwards, it got me to thinking. I doubt very few Romanians … Continue reading How A Few Bankers Fucked Romania
Hey kids, here’s a question: what happens when you take a Romanian, send him to America for 40 years, and then ask him to write about Transdniestria? The answer is a mishmash of unfounded bullshit: Yet on the face of it, that’s what tiny Transdniester has achieved over the past two years as its pro-Russian leadership in Tiraspol has clung improbably to a steady rate … Continue reading More Propaganda About Transnistria
All Things Romania 