'Magna cum Fraude': Dumitrescu, Mang, Kovesi and now Plumb. Who's next?
(Image source) Romania's politicians and officials have been hitting the headlines these last few weeks owing to their embroidery skills - embroidery, that is, of their CVs. Whether it be inventing academic awards, exaggerating their qualifications or committing downright plagiarism, it's become a little like the song, 'Ten Green Bottles'...
Two weeks ago, Corina Dumitrescu was fired from her stand-in position as Minister of Education for being somewhat economical with the truth on her CV. This alone, was damaging to USL, who needed to give a water-tight and confidence-boosting show of ministers seen as trustworthy and honest. Big oops. The ex-minister of education, Daniel Funeriu, reportedly said, "Corina Dumitrescu is the very fibre of PSD - a plagiariser and a liar."
Dumitrescu and her husband Cristian, a deputy, are also implicated in accusations of plagiarising work by Professor Octavian Manolache dating back to 2007. How did someone with such a track record ever get to be nominated minister of education, no matter how temporary the position? Certainly the choice of Dumitrescu for the post was extremely controversial.
(Image source) Her replacement, Ioan Mang, wasn't much better - he was 'let go' due to very solid accusations of plagiarism in at least EIGHT of his academic papers.
'Mang is a computer scientist at the University of Oradea in northwestern Romania, and has served on the senate’s education committee, which tried to hinder the previous government’s research reforms. One of Mang’s papers under scrutiny (I. Mang Seria Technichni nauki 12, 129–135; 2004) was allegedly a near-identical copy of a manuscript intended for presentation at a scientific workshop and authored by cryptographer Eli Biham, the dean of computer science at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.
Biham notes that Mang withdrew the manuscript from the workshop because of conceptual errors, but had been unable to completely remove the document from the Internet. Mang seemed “neither to have read nor tried to understand the claims” in the paper, Biham wrote last week on his website.' (text: Nature)
When pursued by journalists from the Romanian media, Mang stated that the claims were "politically inspired". He pledged to resign if experts could prove the allegations to be true. Prove them, they did. Mang is no more... He has since been replaced by Liviu Pop, whose grammar and spelling reportedly leaves a lot to be desired. Ponta jokingly referred to the position of minister of education as 'the electric chair' but it really is no laughing matter and does nothing to improve Romania's reputation beyond its borders. Crooked ministers - that we knew, but so blatently crooked?
Ponta referred the Mang case to the Romanian Academy, even though it has no mandate to investigate allegations of scientific misconduct.
(Image source) The next far more shocking claim of plagiarism to hit the press (IMHO) was directed at Laura Codruta Kovesi, the General Prosecutor of Romania. This, however, really came as no surprise, for she landed the job at the age of 28 before she'd even finished her MA. Seems very odd that one so young should have a position of such responsibility - and without being fully qualified, not to mention a lack of life experience. I suppose it helps to have a father who just happens to be a bigshot prosecutor in Medias.
Kovesi's thesis is a true example of how to plagiarise with pure arrogance. Her opening paragraph was literally lifted from another work without any effort to use synonyms, change punctuation or reverse sentences. No, it was a 'copy/paste' job. As if, somehow, she knew that no one would be checking it and no questions would be asked. See THIS excellently detailed blogpost from the 'Ovidiu online blog' for more on that - it's astonishing. And what is all the MORE astonishing is that the plagiarism is so incredibly flagrant - no one, however, moved a muscle or lifted a finger to have her removed. The General Prosecutor of an entire country, responsible for stamping out corruption, disorder and bringing criminals to book. Ironic?
In addition, Kovesi is not ONLY General Prosecutor of the entire country, though you'd wonder how she could have time for anything else, the crime-rate being as it is. She is also professor at FOUR different universities where she teaches an hour a week at each one. Salary? You'd better sit down for this. 1000 euros per month from each university, ie. 4,000 euros a month for 16 teaching hours - that's 250 euros an hour... Huh? Simply OUTRAGEOUS!!! And they say we get 'well-paid' in the west!!! I'm obviously teaching at universities in the wrong country. No wonder there's no money in the coffers of Romania's ministry of education, paying salaries like that to so-called 'professors' who steal other people's work for their own gain. Despicable.
This morning, I received a message from a friend of mine with THIS LINK regarding Kovesi's earnings. RD wrote,
"As you can see, according to her last income statement in 2010, she received 137,563 lei as salary + 45,794 lei allowance from CSM. That's a total of 183,357 lei per year or 15,280 lei per month (some 3,500 euros/month)... It's very obvious that the copy/paste method so dear to our politicians really works, and it pays very well." It does indeed. And her additional 4,000 euros from the universities are not mentioned here, so you can add that on too, making her income at an approximative and very comfy 7,500 euros/month. Nice....
The question on many people's lips today is, if forced to resign (and why should she be given the honour of resigning? She should be fired), would she be offered a job as a magistrate? MAGISTRATE? After having been caught plagiarising?!? Magistrates are supposed to be upholders of the law. This woman is an imposter, a cheat, a thief aaaaand a liar. Magistrate?!? Gimme a break.
PSD is trying to kick her out anyway for her rôle in the Boldea case, see HERE. If not for one thing, then another will do. How she remained in her position for so long can only be explained away by nepotism at the extreme. Neeeeeext!
(Image source) This morning, I nearly fell off my chair - yet ANOTHER accusation of falsifying a CV, this time aimed at the minister of environment and forests, Rovana Plumb.
Rovana Plumb declared in her CV that, in 1999, she was awarded a diploma in Management Strategy from the George Washington University. When Hotnews.ro contacted the university for confirmation of the award, they could find no trace of such a diploma ever existing for Ms Plumb.
(Image source) When questioned by journalists, she said that she had attended a one or two week course on a "Romanian Executive Development 
Programme" and was proud of the 'diploma' she had received. Hotnews sent the document to the university who said, simply, that it was NOT a diploma, but a certificate for having attended the course. I have a couple just like that, one for a translation course I took with the American University here in Paris and another for an interpreter's course at the Sorbonne. Indeed, they can NOT be declared as diplomas. They are purely proof of presence and nothing more. They have zero academic value.
Daniel Funeriu told the press that he was “appalled by the dimension of fraud”, which damages the international credibility of Romania. It doesn't only damage credibility for the country itself, but also for the thousands (I hope) of HONEST graduates with real, bona fide qualifications. As it is, academic awards from Romania are considered doubtful in the west to say the least. Questions are always raised as to whether they were bought, plagiarised or earned honestly - terribly unfair to the average hard-working student. As long as these high-ranking imposters continue to lie, cheat and copy/paste for positions of power and responsibility, there is little hope for anyone else...
The question remains how on earth such fiction, exaggeration and embroidery could go undetected for so long (particularly in the case of Kovesi).
For more, if you can stomach it, please see this site, Grupul de Investigatii Politice - they are doing a courageous job in a country so sadly dominated by fraud, corruption, embezzlement and theft.
To be continued...
21st May: Well, what do you know - another falsified CV, another diploma that never existed came to light this morning - this time, the acting Minister of Agriculture, Daniel Constantin, who declared he had a diploma from the Scottish Agricultural College. Nope. Hotnews continues to sniff out the list of imposters (I'm sure it's going to be a bottomless pit) - and Ponta's government is looking, indeed, more and more like a copy/paste club than ever... Daniel Constantin should know that when one's in a hole, one should stop digging: "It was a course which lasted a few days and held here in Romania by a Scottish professor. I didn't use it as an academic qualification," he said. Incredible. "A few days".... Read the full story HERE in Revista 22.
24th May: Please see THIS ARTICLE from Revista 22 by Stefan Vianu (son of Ionel Vianu) regarding phony doctorats.
Commentaires sur 'Magna cum Fraude': Dumitrescu, Mang, Kovesi and now Plumb. Who's next?
- Umbra trecutului...Am citit o analiza cu situatia actualilor parlamentari dinainte de '89...
Ei bine...cei care fusesera...strungari pot fi considerati eruditi...
Majoritatea fiind hamali, lucratori de cariera, chelneri, manipulanti, activisti etc...
Apoi dupa lovitura de stat au fost recrutati "cozi de topor", li s-au creat averi de invidiat, au fost plimbati prin strainatate si li s-au fabricat diplome si cv-uri pompoase...Cunosc cazuri uluitoare...
Astfel s-a creeat o clasa conducatoare complect aservita manipulatorilor...si cu o morga incredibila...
A fost un celebru sondaj cu situatia H2O a apei...deplorandu-se preponderenta H...la care politicienii intrebati au dat raspunsuri penibile... - Re: Linkul?Here you go Sarah:
http://www.bucharestherald.ro/politics/34-politics/20745-european-parliament-bribe-third-trap-severin-has-fallen-into
“In an article done by Academia Catavencu in the 1990s, several politicians were asked to answer what they believe of the existence of two hydrogen molecules in the water formula. The juiciest answers came from [Adrian] Severin, who was extremely worried and proposed urgent measures for the population, starting with giving up drinking "bihydrogenated" tap water.”
http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Severin#Gafele_din_carier.C4.83
“La începutul anilor 1990, răspunzând unei întrebări puse de un ziarist, a căzut într-o capcană alături de alți parlamentari și s-a declarat revoltat că apa de la robinetele din București ar avea o concentrație nepermisă de hidrogen, doi atomi la doar unul de oxigen. Adică are formula H2O.” - To ZoeOh, thank you, Zoe! I have duly corrected it. I think whoever did the Kovesi - Magna cum Laudae perhaps wrote it for the sound rather than for the Latin correction. From Latin, all I remember is 'Caecilius est in horto' and 'bam-bas-bat-bamaus-batis-bant'!!! Once again, thank you very much
Of course, lots of Romanians have true diplomas. That's my point really. With all these imposters, it's more difficult for the honest ones to be taken as 'honest ones'. Dreadfully unfair and tainting. - Doamna Petre ma surprinde..O stimez pe doamna Petre, deaceea am fost neplacut surprinsa cand singurul comentariu pe care l-a facut la acest blog este de a corecta o gresala de limba... latina. N-o cunosc pe Sarah, dar ii urmaresc blogul scris cu atata talent, intelegere si dragoste pentru tara noastra. Mai mult, este foarte informativ, ca de exemplu cel anterior privind boala Lyme, de ex. Mai mult: postarile ei sunt la ordinea zilei si nu numai o sursa de informare dar si de a vedea cum suntem priviti noi de catre o persoana din afara, dar care a trait printre noi, ne iubeste si pune suflet in tot ce scrie. Cati mai sunt ca ea?
Ma asteptam ca doamna Petre sa comenteze in aceasta privinta, si nu s-o puna la colt pentru o amarata de gresala de ortografie. - Just read Marina's commentand I agree: this blog has addressed a diversity of serious issue, events and problems facing Romanian society. It is a very well researched and well intentioned blog written by someone who loves Romania. It therefore puzzles me that an intellectual of the caliber of Mrs. Petre has never taken the time to comment on this blog but was now able to find a spelling mistake. It was a mean, petty remark unworthy of a lady I used to admire.
- Zoe PetreWhile I would have also liked to read some of Ms. Petre's thoughts regarding the fraud taking place in Romania that Sarah so passionately has brought to discussion on her blog, at the same time I understand how 'an intellectual of her caliber' would be irked by a spelling error; especially since the very subject of literacy has been extensively treated in the past several posts.
I tend to think that Sarah most likely appreciates Ms. Petre's correction, but even more so, the fact that she is a visitor to her blog; possibly frequent, and obviously with expectations for high standards, otherwise she wouldn't have bothered to make the correction. This should make Sarah proud.
And yes, I, too, am hopeful that in the future Ms. Petre will grace us (I’m being entirely sincere) with her thoughts regarding the many difficulties that Romania faces today, which Sarah so tirelessly continues to present here. It would be interesting. - Malentendu...Cu totii cred ca n-am inteles ca dna.Petre a fost rau impresionata de tema discutata...
Dansa este totusi cadru didactic si de conducere la Fac.de Istorie...care traieste in ritmul universitar de azi...
Cum cei de-acolo n-au observat distrugerea vestigiilor Man.Sft.Sava si ale Academiei Domnesti de vizavi...este putin probabil sa observe comparat si probitatea propriilor diplome emise...Musca pe caciula! - Mersi frumos, tuturorThank you everyone for all your comments above. Indeed I was glad that Mme Petre made the correction, for it wasn't even in the text but in the main title (actually, I took the 'quote' from the Kovesi photo and, not being a Latin scholar, didn't question its precision - serve me right for not checking), which was rather embarrassing, standing out like a sore thumb to anyone who was more than proficient in Latin. I would far rather be told of an error whether it be grammatical(in any language), contextual or factual than leave it there for everyone to think I was a complete 'inculte', particularly, as Adriana points out, my posts have directly addressed literacy and academic 'ability'just lately.
Yes, it would have been nice to have feedback regarding the content. Like any blogger, I am always pleased to have comments expressing points of view, new off-shoots of discussion, links (as RD provided above), or, indeed, contrary opinions and corrections if I'm wrong.
Thank you Nicole, Marina D and Maria from Iasi who were irked by Mme Petre's comment - I was touched by the indignance, to Adriana for being so level-headed and sensible - and thank you to Mme Petre for having saved me the embarrassment of leaving an error in the post title. Eek!
Numai bine tuturor!
Sarah - To AdrianaAdriana, Your comment entitled 'Right!' just vanished - I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened. Aoleu... In it you said something like 'That's why it would be interesting to have the point of view of Ms.Petre and others in the academic environment'...
I replied and that vanished too. Here it is again, but I can't retrieve yours The 'spiridusi' of Canalblog.... :
To be sure. Any dedicated pedagogue must be either seething or totally frustrated - I know a few who are indeed very depressed by it all and we're not only talking about lack of funding nor funds that vanish or simply go walk-about. Perhaps for some in the academic environment, it is delicate to give a point of view at this time... changing govt, so much uncertainty, so many rotten bones found buried in remote (and not so remote) holes... One doesn't seem to know what tomorrow will bring... "capu plecat, sabia nu-l taie" - Thank you for your reply, Sarah.
What you said is absolutely true, of course. If ever Ms Petre should give her opinion on your blog, I would imagine it would be a careful one – unless she decides to throw caution to the wind and say it like it is, which would be phenomenal, but highly unlikely.
Still, as the prominent scholar that she is, being an insider of the education system of Romania, seeing that the subject keeps coming up, knowing the frustrations people experience every day, I would consider it a treat if she decided to comment sometime – saying what she can, approving or disapproving, explaining certain things, etc. Since she follows your blog, I mean...
In any case, you, Sarah, have shown extreme dedication, perseverence and care toward the country of Romania. Sometimes I wonder where all the energy and feelings come from. If only we could learn ourselves to stand up for our country as relentlessly as you do...
All the best to you,
Adriana - Thank you, AdrianaThat's really very nice of you. The 'energy and feelings' simply come from loving Romania very much (it doesn't take any effort on my part at all) and having the desire to share what is both good and much less good with anyone who takes the time to read. It is a country that so deserves to be known and understood, merits friends rather than misjudged preconceptions and if people don't understand it, then how can they form balanced opinions - either to praise or to criticise fairly? Not that what I write is particularly accurate, I'm sure, for much of it is seen through the eyes of a westerner, a non-Romanian, and often pretty off the mark. But I hope my readers will tell me when it is so and put me right. Very often they do, then I rewriteand hope it's better next time...
I suppose it also does my heart good to write about it, for I miss it very much.
Perhaps if Mme Petre sees all the comments above, she will decide to throw us a torch - or at least a box of matches - so we can see things a little clearer.
Once again, Adriana, thank you so much for visiting, reading and taking the time to comment. It's good to read you once more - and I really am terribly sorry about your earlier vanished message.
Warm regards,
Sarah - Concluzii...Stiu ca apusenii care cunosc intamplator bine Romania se indragostesc de ea, in special cei cu instruire superioara...
Reciproc, romanii au gasit in Apus o scoala generoasa de progres si civilizatie...drum indicat de Dinicu Golescu...
Vai celor care intrerup acest curs prin psihoza spionajului si sabotajului sau campanii calomnioase...
Sunt obsedat de englezii Maria Rosetti, Effingham Grant si Regina Maria...si Sarah nu-i departe...
