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How nice to see Bucharest portrayed positively in a foreign newspaper for once! Bravo, NYT....and, by the way, it's true! Lipscani looks great! The roads are slowly but surely being resurfaced and the bars, cafés and restaurants are highly recommended....by me! Yes, all of them. Oh, and you know why garbage litters the sidewalks? Because the gypsies get into the rubbish skips and strew stuff everywhere looking for whatever gypsies look for in rubbish skips....that's why. Shame Bourdaine didn't think to spend an evening here. Idiot. ... [Lire la suite]

Alleged 'Drunk' Nun Appears In Court By ANDREW RAMOS wpix.com 1:45 PM EDT, September 4, 2009 HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (WPIX) - A Long Island nun who is accused of polishing off a half bottle of gin and then going for a wild joyride where she nearly killed a group of children, appeared in court Friday to face the music.Sister Lauren Hanley of the St. Frances de Chantal Church in Wantagh had nothing to say to reporters after leaving First District Court where she appeared to answer charges of driving while... [Lire la suite]

From Hotnews re: an article on BBC News... BBC News: Romanian gypsies compel children to steal and beg for huge profits de A.C. HotNews.ro Miercuri, 2 septembrie 2009, 11:01 English | Regional Europe Across Europe, thousands of Rroma children (gypsies, as explained by BBC) are obliged to steal and beg, as police forces are unable to put an end to this phenomenon. BBC News analyzes this phenomenon and notes that the roots of criminality are in Romania and converge because of the discrimination present in the country. BBC... [Lire la suite]

This from the Telegraph Russia and Poland trade insults on 70th anniversary of World War Two The dignity of ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War in Poland is being marred by furious spats between Russia and Eastern European states over their respective wartime roles. By Matthew Day in Warsaw Published: 6:00AM BST 01 Sep 2009 A rose and a Polish flag is placed on the grave of Major Henryk Sucharski who defended Poland during the first days of the World War II at Westerplatte.... [Lire la suite]

They shall not grow old, As we that are left grow old.Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun, And in the morning,We will remember them.Lest We Forget.

This from the Guardian, whilst I wait for a certain student to show up for class (Mjo, hurry up!)... The war? Nothing to do with Stalin, says Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev Luke Harding in Moscow guardian.co.uk, Sunday 30 August 2009 20.30 BST Joseph Stalin. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis It is a debate that has raged in European capitals ahead of the 70th anniversary on Tuesday of the beginning of the second world war on 1 September 1939. Who, apart from Hitler, was actually responsible for starting it? This... [Lire la suite]

Bravo! Bravo!! Romanian wins prize for best Ph.D. thesis in Netherlands Nine O'Clock Raluca Marin-Perianu is this year’s winner of the Christian Hygens Prize, a prize offered each year in the Netherlands for the best scientific Ph.D. thesis. Her thesis, entitled ‘Wireless Sensor Networks in Motion,’ represents a significant contribution to the development of IT and telecommunications technology. Dutch Education Minister Ronald Plasterk will award the prize during an official ceremony scheduled for October 7 in Voorburg,... [Lire la suite]

Dear Everyone, Here we go again. I'm back on the band wagon...the Madonna concert is what I'm talking about. Her Madge has been touring with a group of Rroma musicians. Good for her. They are great musicians. As they toured, they told her how unfair life was in Roumania, how discriminated against they were, how tough life is and how rascist Roumanians are. Of course, they forgot to say how little they want to integrate, how they are responsible for most of the petty criminal acts in Roumania and how impossible they are to live... [Lire la suite]

Partying like it's 1989 The picnic that changed Europe Participants in a very eventful picnic gather for its 20th anniversary at the Austro-Hungarian border. (click for video) By Colin Woodard — Special to GlobalPost Published: August 19, 2009 06:32 ETUpdated: August 20, 2009 09:04 ET SOPRONKOHIDA, Hungary — Race north on the newly paved country lane from this Hungarian village, past cornfields and patches of woods, and you might miss the Austrian border altogether. The old border between East and West... [Lire la suite]

Travelling with Air Europa has been an experience. I just got back to Paris. Maybe I'm bad-tempered because I've left Hamden and am feeling so sad without them. Maybe I'm jetlagged. Maybe I'm just knackered. Guilty to all of the above. But guys, never EVER have I travelled with such a crappy airline in my life and I'd like to think I'm a fairly seasoned traveller. I already told you about the Paris-JFK legg (see "Hi From New England" post, 7th August)...so now for the return trip. It was even worse. I swear. Let's... [Lire la suite]