juillet 2012

(Photo source) The 'lumière' hasn't exactly 'fut' in terms of the results of yesterday's referendum. Well, it has and it hasn't. The last I heard was that BEC have given their partial results: 46,23% participation (including diaspora), which falls short of what is required (50% +1) for the referendum to be valid. Definitive results will be published on Wednesday. Basescu is packingto make his return to Cotroceni whilst Victor Ponta holds on to his claim that the actual percentage was 52% (or something like that), and, as far as he is... [Lire la suite]

(Photo source) The votes for today's referendum for whether or not to remove President Traian Basescu from his position once and for all are still being counted. As we wait, I beg you to PLEASE take the time to watch THIS superb interview between senior political correspondant for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) Karl-Peter Schwartz and Alexa Ionescu recorded a couple of days ago on the situation in Romania today. It was aired on Nasul-TV but, as far as I know, made it to no other channels. Big mistake. In my humble opinion,... [Lire la suite]

After a lovely, peaceful Sunday on my balcony reading in the sun with a cat (or three) on my feet and Romanian classical works blaring from my long-suffering speakers, I couldn't go to bed without sharing some of my most favourite works with you. There are few things more soothing than shutting one's eyes and drifting off, bewitched by the spells of Enescu, Dimitrescu, Porumbescu and Negrea, to the swirling mist-enveloped mountain peaks, endlessly rolling hills, babbling brooks, joyous waterfalls, villages trapped in time.... Of... [Lire la suite]

"Destiny is the excuse of the weak and the work of the strong." ~ Nicolae Titulescu on democracy (Photo source) Nicolae Titulescu was born in Craiova in 1882 to a family of lawyers. On graduating with honours in 1900 from the Carol I High School in Craiova, he went to study law himself in Paris from 1900 until 1904 when he returned to Romania and published his first works subsequently going on to write more than 30 published papers in Romanian, French, English, German and Italian on problems of common and international law as well... [Lire la suite]

(Photo source) This post has nothing whatsoever to do with Romania, but I was fascinated by the story of The Little Dancer and since Edgar Degas was born today in 1834, here goes... Marie was a fourteen-year-old ballet student (un petit rat) at the Paris Opéra, where Degas (see VIDEO) often drew and painted. The figure was nude to begin with, but he later dressed her in clothing made of real fabric - cream-coloured silk for the bodice, tulle and gauze for the tutu, and silk slippers. It was first shown in the sixth Impressionist... [Lire la suite]

(Image source) It causes chagrin when one can no longer speak one's mind... The general Romanian atmosphere, particularly on Facebook at the moment, makes that very difficult. Today, I have seen a friend of mine totally slammed for having opinions that dared go against those of someone else. That 'someone else' named her publically on a very aggressive status as a vehicle of pro-Basescu propaganda. You get the gist, I'm sure.... What is it about the average Romanian and his incapacity to listen, debate and discuss without insulting,... [Lire la suite]

Approximately fifty members of the Romanian diaspora in Paris braved the rain and wind to call for democracy in Romania once again at Place du Trocadéro this afternoon. Slogans visible today: "You have the right to remain silent, but we don't recommend it" "Democracy not Oligarchy!" "Democracy not Pontacracy!" "Save ICR/Sauvez ICR" "In mourning for Romania's Democracy" "Please respect: the Constitutional Court, the Rule of Law, State Institutions!" "Stand up for Democracy" "On veut un gouvernement qui nous rend fiers,... [Lire la suite]

(Photo source) Last night, I was invited to the Romanian Embassy, otherwise known as the Hôtel de Béhague in rue St Dominique, Paris 7ème for a conference, followed by some great jazz and a very sociable cocktail afterwards. It was the first time I had ever set foot in the Embassy itself although I know the ICR just next door fairly well. Tucked behind a high wall with heavy, unpenetratable street doors leading into a paved court-yard, it is a stunning palace with an incredibly eclectic mix of styles from Versailles staircases, French... [Lire la suite]

(Image source) Not much news to update you on and anyway, I'm sick and tired of the whole political scene in Romania. I'm sick of the lies, the slandering, the rudeness, the way people talk to / about each other and the general inability to see a civilised, intelligent debate where people aren't ripping strips off each other and dung-flinging... It's hard to filter, hard to know what one should read, heed and pay attention to and what is there to manipulate and purposely mislead. I still abide by 'content over author' but I have had... [Lire la suite]

(Photo source: Protesters in Bucharest holding up posters depicting Ponta and Antonescu in communist-era police uniforms.) This today on the front page of Der Spiegel (originally in the German issue 28/2012, July 09, 2012) by Andrei Plesu - a big 'ouch' and an excellent article: A Brutal Assault Democracy Loses as Romania Spins out of Control By Andrei Plesu, 07/10/2012 No longer is the government in Romania characterized merely by mistakes, excesses and professional incompetence. Prime Minister Victor Ponta has... [Lire la suite]