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Entries Tagged as 'International Media'

Romania Unadulterated: Book Review – “Bread, Salt & Plum Brandy”, by Lisa Fisher Cazacu

September 11th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Books, International Media, PEOPLE, Reviews

The list of Ubuesque mishaps is endless and a great eye-opener both for the reader who could not imagine it and for the natives who got used to and put up with it for far too long!

But, thankfully, not all natives – for Romania is experiencing a brain drain of unprecedented scale and not just brains but muscles too – Romanians emigrate in droves to get away from the quagmire of corrupt officialdom – in the last two decades more than two millions mostly young able-bodied people have voted with their feet and left their country , not in good hear, but in dispair …

One of the statistics is Lisa’s Romanian husband and this is the SECOND ‘plus’ I had in mind as a benefit of Lisa’s Romanian experience: for this rumbustious and unflappable young lady would not allow her unpleasant experiences tarnish her romance with a dashing Mr. Cazacu. They get married and beat the bureaucracy at its game (o yes, even the American bureaucracy because we learn that there is some…) to live “happy ever after” in Texas!

Who needs a better happy-ending than this? in fact, on reflection there are bits in this account to please each and all readers. I for one, after overcoming the initial shock, I enjoyed this brave story in spite of its stark comments, or perhaps because of it.

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Romanian Science (I) – Romania’s First-ever Plate Tectonics Model born in Cambridge

July 4th, 2010 · No Comments · Books, Diaspora, International Media, PEOPLE, Reviews

ROMANIA’S FIRST-EVER PLATE TECTONICS MODEL WAS BORN IN CAMBRIDGE – THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN “NATURE” (LONDON)

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António Mega Ferreira: “A blusa romena”

April 8th, 2010 · No Comments · Books, International Media, Reviews

O resultado é uma engenhosa urdidura onde cabe quase tudo: as duas histórias de amor em espelho (cheias de simetrias e curto-circuitos), mas também evocações de Paris e da Roménia de Ceausescu, referências eruditas (de Joyce a Schubert, de Sonia Delaunay a Espinoza), jogos metaliterários, auto-ironias e um quarteto de personagens bem desenhadas, a executarem na perfeição a sua música de câmara. Pela sua crescente importância ao longo do livro, destaco Lumena, a prostituta por quem Vasco se enamora, cuja beleza está algures entre uma Madonna de Rafael e a «terrível Judite» que decapita Holofernes num quadro de Caravaggio.

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Curierul Romanesc, Suedia – Interviul luat de Silvia Constantinescu despre ‘Blouse Roumaine’ – o Antologie a Femeilor din Romania (Partea I-a)

February 13th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Books, Diaspora, International Media, PEOPLE, Reviews, Uncategorized

Silvia Constantinescu, editor, “Curierul Romanesc”: În meseria mea de bibliotecar de informatie în Suedia, am întâlnit zilnic elevi, studenti, cercetatori care s-au izbit de lipsa de informatii despre acea Romanie care n-a fost creatia ”partidului comunist si a lui Ceausescu, fiului cel mai iubit al poporului”, ci despre adevarata Românie, care dainuie de secole, înaintea comunismului si a ”eliberarii” tarii de catre armata rosie.”
Lucrarea lui Constantin Roman si-ar fi capatat, desigur, un loc în istoria literaturii române, dar ar fi ramas limitata la aria limbii române, falindu-ne noi între noi cu personalitatile feminine din istoria noastra. Lucrarea lui Constantin Roman si-ar fi câstigat, desigur, un loc în istoria literaturii române, dar pe plan international n-ar fi ajutat sa se împrastie ignoranta cititorilor despre o tara despre care informatiile existente sunt numai despre ”Dracula, Ceausescu, orfelinate, coruptie si infractiune”, informatii primite prin scurtele buletine de stiri din ziare, de la radio sau TV.

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40th BERLIN Film Festival (Feb. 2010):

February 5th, 2010 · Comments Off on 40th BERLIN Film Festival (Feb. 2010): · International Media, Reviews

Povestea Grupului Gavrilă primul film al trilogiei „Apoape linişte“ despre Rezistenţa Anticomunistă „Portretul luptătorului la tinereţe“ a fost selectat şi va fi prezentat la Festivalul Filmului de la Berlin

When the Soviet Army marched into Romania in 1944, a part of the Romanian population went “into the mountains”. Over a thousand armed resistance groups took refuge in the inaccessible forests of the Carpathian Mountains where they waited in vain for the support of the Western Allies. Thirty of them held their ground well into the 1950s. One was led by Ion Gavrilă-Ogoranu, who managed to remain undetected until 1976 when he was arrested.

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ARGIA – Basque weekly Magazine – 90th Anniversary

November 6th, 2009 · 2 Comments · International Media, OPINION, PEOPLE, Reviews, Translations

Why ARGIA? This Basque-speaking weekly published on its front page of October 2009 a feature article on “Herta MULLER – THE JOURNEY TO THE 2009 NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE” We asked San Sebastian journalist Karlos Zurutuza, to tell us something about ARGIA: “ARGIA ASTEKARIA is a  Basque-speaking weekly which covers  Basque culture and both national […]

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The Best Times, This Side of the Atlantic…

October 20th, 2009 · Comments Off on The Best Times, This Side of the Atlantic… · Books, International Media, PEOPLE, Reviews

All these events were chronicled by the Irish Times during its twists and turns of fortunes and soul-searching which remains truly amazing in being able to secure a steady readership AND survive through thick and thin. Dermot James relates these events from within with the sharp eye of the journalist and his story is riveting – it is not just about the humdrum of life of editors but reflects the beating heart of a whole nation: he tells it with zest and irony in the best tradition of Irish humour. The reader is certainly not disappointed – there is no dull moment, just an alert pace where light stories intermingle with hard facts which caught the staff of the Irish Times at the core of each historic event.

This particular phenomenon of change and adaptation through choppy waters merits in itself the attention of the media in other countries which were equally visited by revolutions, civil wars, strife and radical changes of government and of political directions. Such is the case of the young nations of Eastern Europe, in a broad way going through a same process of renewal as Ireland did, but also of nations of Central Europe who lived through upheavals which toppled monarchies brought in dictatorships, suffered the indignity of defeat or the weighty burden of victory: how might their newspapers been affected? The difference between the Irish Times and its counterparts on the Continent of Europe is that the former has survived through constant change, whilst in most of the other countries, especially behind the Iron Curtain newspapers disappeared overnight. So far as the ethos of this web site is concerned the comparison with the Romania media is of special interest, as one feels that the Irish Times offers a good template for comparison.

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Pourquoi Matisse?

May 6th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Books, Communist Prisons, Diaspora, Famous People, History, International Media, OPINION, PEOPLE, Poetry, POLITICAL DETENTION / DISSENT, quotations, Reviews, Translations

Après la chute de Ceausescu, l’image de la Blouse roumaine retrouva graduellement sa place, lentement, comme le réveil après un cauchemar surréaliste : est-ce que la transition existe ? Est-ce pour de vrai ? Le passé va-t-il se répéter ? Dans ce sens, une mise en garde fut émise par le porte-parole du Parlement polonais lorsqu’il déclara : « Il ne faut que quelques semaines aux Empires pour s’écrouler, mais la mentalité impérialiste a besoin de plusieurs générations avant de disparaître. »

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Romanian Destinies in The Times of London Obituary: Monica Lovinescu

April 27th, 2009 · 4 Comments · Books, Diaspora, Famous People, History, International Media, OPINION, PEOPLE, POLITICAL DETENTION / DISSENT, quotations

Romanian dissident whose broadcasts from exile in Paris enraged the communist authorities
Monica Lovinescu
Asked in April 2002 about her opinion on the desirability of a Nuremberg-style trial of communism, Lovinescu answered:

The trial of communism might have offered Romanian mentality a real chance for change. The handful of initiatives taken so far are built entirely on moving sands. We cannot consider a Nuremberg-style trial simply because that involves winners and losers. Or, in this particular instance, communism lost its own war: it simply imploded, not exploded. But one should consider at least a moral prosecution. It is impossible to contemplate the fact that torturers in Romania have not been yet morally indicted.

Monica Lovinescu, M.Litt., Grand Officer, Order of the Star of Romania, was married to fellow journalist, literary critic and political analyst Virgil Ierunca (1920-2006). They leave no children and their estate has been bequeathed to a Romanian government foundation.

Monica Lovinescu
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The voice of the journalist and human rights activist Monica Lovinescu in her regular Paris broadcasts to the people of Romania during the postwar decades became synonymous with freedom and was a lifeline for those listeners behind the Iron Curtain.

As a result she was severely beaten up on the orders of the communist authorities in Bucharest, and, in a vengeful act, her elderly mother was sent to prison, where she died.

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ROMANIA VAZUTA DE LA LONDRA –

September 6th, 2006 · Comments Off on ROMANIA VAZUTA DE LA LONDRA – · Diary, Diaspora, International Media, OPINION

ROMANIA VAZUTA DE LA LONDRA – problema copiilor Abandonati

ROMANII – RUDELE SARACE ALE EUROPEI:

Sunt cam deprimat de cand, pe canalele englezesti ale televiziuniii, tot ce se discuta este despre valul iminent de imigranti romani si bulgari care ar incerca sa vina sa lucreze in Marea Britanie odata cu noua extindere a UE.
Motivul acestei ingrijorari? “Sunt deja prea multi straini (Polonezi) la munca, veniti in Marea Britanie”. Numarul lor nu se stie precis, dar se pare ca ar fi circa 450,000 – adica aproximativ cam de zece ori mai multi de cat prevederile cifrelor oficiale.
Alt motiv al ingrijorarii?
“Romanii sunt corupti si criminali”.

Da, ori si cat ar fi de umilitoare si de incomoda eticheta care ni se da, asta este perceptia in occident – falsa si nedreapta, gandim noi, dar asa este! Aceasta eticheta a conducatorilor si a politicienilor nostri de azi acum se lipeste omului de rand, care vrea sa castige o bucata de paine, muncind cinstit in strainatate.
Dar ca si cum aceasta perceptie negativa nu ar fi fost destul ca sa ne otraveasca viata, mai recent jurnalisti britanici au filmat in orfelinatele din Romania:
Desigur am fost prea naiv ca sa dau crezare afirmatiilor guvernului de la Bucuresti, conform caruia aceasta racila a trecutului disparuse, doar ca sa aflu ca este aceeasi ca acum 17 ani – cu singura diferenta ca acum realitatea se ascunde sub pres: copii abandonati, infometati, piele pe os, legati cu mainile la spate sau legati de pat, fara stimulatie de nici un fel, lasati sa stea in pat toata ziua si toata noaptea fara a fi schimbati, personal insuficient, ingirijire medicala zero – copii destinati sa devina niste zarzavaturi umane vestejite, inainte sa infloreasca: era o viziune de cosmar medieval.

Pana acum dadeam vina pe Ceausescu si pe comunism – dar acum, dupa 17 ani de “tranzitie”?
Acum trebuie sa dam vina pe ipocrizia si dublele standarde, pe prefecatoria institutionala si politicianista care da praf in ochi publicului autohton si strain, asigurandu-ne ca “totul este bine”, ca “suntem la nivel European, sau aproape.” Cu alte cuvinte, asa cum ar spune englezul, “cloud cuckoo-land”, sau “Alice in Wonderland”: totul factice!

UNDE ESTE SPIRITUL CIVIC ROMANESC?

De fapt, de ce suntem in starea asta de abandon al aproapelui? Nu sunt acestia copiii nostri? Generatia de maine? Nu, nu are importanta! Societatea Civila nu are inca forta, spiritul civic nu s-a format. Aveam, chiar acum o suta cinci zeci de ani spiritul de ajutorare, de civism si de caritate patronat de Elena Doamna, de Carmen Silva, de Regina Maria, care prin exemplul si dedicatia lor au antrenat in aceasta activitate nu numai pe barbatii lor, oamnei politici si de stat, dar si pe doamnele inaltei societati: regimul communist s-a inversunat sa distruga tot ce se cladise cu truda de cateva generatii si sa stinga spiritul de civism in cele mai inumane inchisori si lagare de concentrare, in domiciliul fortat al Baraganului nesimtirii noastre viscerale. Ar cam trebui nevestele si amantele tovarasilor, incepand cu cei cu dosare de retea si de informatori sa-si ispaseasca pacatele facand opera de caritate – sa-si vanda termopanele ca sa le ofere copiilor nostri o existenta civilizata si umana. La fel cu nevestele oamenilor din aparatul de guvern si de stat, sau ale oamenilor cu profil inalt; sa se demarcheze, sa se declare, sa se implice in opere de caritate.Si aici o precizare; ma refer nu la caritatea personala, pt conurile de banca proprii, gen Matusa Tamara.

Bani in prostie de la UE au venit, ba au fost dati mai multi decat i-am fi meritat, sau care i-am fi putut fura prin coruptia ministeriala si de la toate nivelele (vezi scandalul Palatului Justitiei).

ASCUNS SUB APARENTE:

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