What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun or fester like a sore, and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat or crust and sugar over, like a syrupy sweet? —Langston Hughes Five days ago, there was a surge of joy in Romania after the website EurActive reported that the European Union was going to pass … Continue reading Another Dream Deferred
I spent several hours yesterday and this morning in the disagreeable task of digging through the career of Victoria Nuland after the western media reported on a YouTube video of an intercepted telephone call in which Nuland and American Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey “Geoff” Pyatt are heard discussing their plans for the future of Ukraine’s government. You can read a fairly comprehensive transcript of that … Continue reading With friends like these, who needs enemies?
No matter how stupid and inept the government is, no matter how poorly the economy is faring and no matter how low the salaries in this country are, Romanians have always been able to solace themselves with the fact that at least we’re ahead of Bulgaria. In just about every ranking of the 27 European Union member states, Romania has come in 26th, only just … Continue reading Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate
If you want to know why there are so many stupid and corrupt politicians in Romania, the first thing you have to understand is that there are a lot of politicians. Romania has a surplus of judete (counties), each of which has its own prefect (governor) and legislative council. Other countries in Europe which are far bigger manage with far fewer administrative divisions. Using data … Continue reading A Profusion of Politicians
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
All Things Romania 