Chains for a former Prime Minister of Romania [Lanţuri pentru un fost premier al României]

Former Romanian Prime Minister, Adrian Năstase, has just been sentenced to two years of imprisonment, by a definitive decision of the highest court in Romania (ÎCCJ).

He was found guilty for illegally obtaining electoral campaign funds, although he has been repeatedly claiming his innocence.

Not since the late 1940s and 1950s, when under USSR’s boots, or since Nicolae Ceauşescu’s execution in 1989, has Romania witnessed such a controversial decision.

Neither Năstase, nor his political allies would accept the decision, unless the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ever confirms it.

By that time, he will have most probably spend his two years in prison, while most of the world will be sure of his guilt.

The length of the trial (8 years!) serves as enough ‘evidence’ for most people, either his political enemies, voters or onlookers from the EU.  

Just like an imprisoned former PM in Ukraine has done nothing to improve the country’s image in Europe’s eyes, Năstase’s chains won’t bring dividends for Romania on the long term.

Symbolically, the sentence has huge significance. Chaining a demigod like Năstase appeared to be in the early 2000s is a huge blow to the perceived omnipotence of political leaders.

It’s long since the defendand’s arrogance has deprived him of any presumption of innocence, and not few would be those opening champagne bottles tonight.

One of these would surely be Năstase’s archenemy of 2004, Traian Băsescu – another character who lives under the spell of a presumption of guilt.

Irrespective of how many praises of the ‘independent Romanian judiciary’ we read in foreign media for the next days,  it would be foolish to believe Băsescu has nothing to do with the decision.

In less than a year, Băsescu could be suspended by a hostile parliament, and later even put on trial just like Năstase.

Unless he manages to pulverize the former opposition – USL (= PSD + PNL + PC), already in power, before the next election (another Romanian bizarrery!).

Let us not forget that the now condemned Năstase was the PhD coordinating professor of Romania’s current Prime Minister, Victor Ponta.

Ponta had been accused of plagiarism two days before Năstase was sentenced. The court’s decison comes two days before Năstase’s 62nd birthday.

Rather than destiny’s irony, it’s a masterstoke of Băsescu.

Will Băsescu be the one who laughs last, thus laugh better?! Too bad that there’s nothing to laugh at for most Romanians...

The ruling class is as unprepared for the cataclysmic times ahead of the world as those in power in the late 1930s.

[For all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

[EN] No comment / [RO] Fără comentarii (13) – Nowhere to hide / Nicăieri să te ascunzi

[EN] In an e-Society, where we all – willingly or not – leave traces online, ‘hiding in the crowd’ is not possible. [RO] Într-o e-Society, unde cu toţii – cu voie sau fără voie – lasă urme online, ‘a te ascunde în mulţime’ nu este posibil.

[EN] However, it seems that hiding will no longer be possible even in the real world… [RO] Totuşi, se pare că ascunderea nu va mai fi posibilă de acum înainte nici în lumea reală…

[EN] Check this site to find the needle in a haystack – a presumably guilty face amidst thousands of innocents! [RO] Verificaţi acest site pentru a găsi acul în carul cu fân – o faţă presupus vinovată între mii de nevinovaţi!

[EN] These images were taken in Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada), just before the shocking riots in June 2011… [RO] Aceste imagini au fost făcute în Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada), chiar înainte de şocanta răzmeriţă din iunie 2011...

[EN] …that would break its reputation as  ‘one of the most livable cities in the world’. [RO] …care avea să-i ştirbească reputaţia de ‘unul dintre cele mai locuibile oraşe din lume’.

[EN] It’s a Gigapixel image, a technology based on which spying (by satellites or other means) gets easier. [RO] Este o imagine Gigapixel, o tehnologie pe baza căreia spionajul (prin sateliţi sau alte mijloace) devine mai uşoară.

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

God’s place in a humanist society (18) [Locul lui Dumnezeu într-o societate umanistă]

So that the previous episode of this series didn’t seem too biased against Britain’s leaders, I should balance it with a similar inquisitorial tone regarding the equally chameleonic leaders of Romania, and the ‘Christian’ (?!) nation they rule over.

Actually, there’s more honesty in the UK. Leaders, as well as ordinary citizens, may have a perverted acception of Christianity or a clearly atheist outlook on life, however, they are (more or less) openly professing their beliefs.

On the other hand, while ruling over a nation of predominantly Orthodox Christians, Romanian political leaders often find themselves more compelled to become ‘tightrope walkers’ in regards to expressing religious opinion in public.

Almost none would declare themselves nonbelievers, like Nick Clegg, nor would their popularity profit from the sort of ‘political correct Christianity’ shamelessly paraded by Tony Bliar or a bit more decently exibited by David Chameleon.

Anyway, disguising their utter indifference to religion is the least of the ‘crimes’ that Romanian leaders could be guilty of.

Even to a greater extent than politicians in Britain – where there is still a class system in place, denying the acces of ordinary mortals to upper steps on the social ladder – Romanian leaders are the mirror image of Romanians.

Irrespective of the centuries old tradition of regarding the rulers of this land as ‘corrupt’ villains who were (and still are) oppressing a ‘virtuos’ nation, it’s simplistic to judge history in these terms.

It’s very likely that most of the 86.7% self-confessed Orthodox Christians in Romania (making up the second most populous Orhodox Church after that of Russia) resemble more the leaders they despise than the Saints whom they are supposed to immitate.

Self-centered (albeit not spared of a great deal of self-loathing), hedonist, vain, envious, lazy, inconsistent, gossipy, unreliable, complaintful, cowardly – this is how many Romanians (including Orthodox believers, including myself!) are.

Above all these, the greatest sin is our hypocrisy – seeing faults only in political leaders and Church hierarchs, yet almost never within ourselves.

There’s a proverb saying that “the fish rots from the head down,” and countless historical examples seem to support this claim. In spite of this, when it comes to disasters that befall entire nations, it would be reckless to believe that the Lord may be arbitrarily punishing ‘virtuos nations’ with undeserved unworthy leaders. 

An often motivated presumption of guilt has been cast upon all political leaders in Romania, and a definitely unmotivated presumption of innocence was bestowed on the ‘ordinary’ citizens.

Herod was no better than most of the Jewish society at the time when the Son of God was born into this world. Nor were most Jews under Ahab and Jezebel, in Elijah’s days.

To the same degree, most Britons may not be better than the successive ‘chamelelons’ in Downing Street 10, while Romanians surely deserve a mischeivous character like president Traian Băsescu is.

A country soaking with the blood of some 20 million aborted children for the past 20 years, cannot expect anything else then a ‘reckoning day’ that will surely come.  

Any nation  wearing this ‘mark of Cain’ (and so is the case with Russia, UK, France or China) has no moral right whatsoever to hope that a ‘providential leader’ could bring ‘providential solutions’; on the contrary, things will keep turning from bad to worse.

The shameless and self-interested daily deeds of political leaders that outrage us, the ‘law abiding citizens’ and ‘good Christians’, only happen to be in the spotlight (thus more visible), yet they are not worse than our personal sins.

Be it true that the sins of rulers in power have farther reaching consequences than the personal sins of each of us, it is the sum of the latter that has thrown Romania (Britain or any other nation for that matter) into the present spiritual abyss.

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

God’s place in a humanist society (14) [Locul lui Dumnezeu într-o societate umanistă]

The less aware of Who really keeps the world alive people are, the easier it is to scare them into believing that there are ‘threats’ everywhere around them.

So it happens in today’s Britain, where people are advised by the Nanny State to keep an watchful eye on everything around them, including on… suspicious bags.

In the case of pieces of luggage, the supreme humanist value of “innocent until proven guilty” is reversed, becoming “guilty until proven innocent.”

It’s so much safer to be cautious, isn’t it? Be it peaceful UK or crazy Iraq or Afghanistan (turned into unsafe places thanks to British contribution), I don’t find this attitude exaggerate.

What I wonder is when (not if – it’s just a question of time) this presumption of innocence gets scrapped for human beings as well. Christians are already prime targets.

They are more likely to be suspected and accused of being politically incorrect and prejudicing others than Muslims and secular Britons.

Terrorism is a pretty serious thing, and maybe no precautions are ever too many, yet I can’t help noticing that IRA’s bombing campaign (1969-1997) had a higher death toll compared to that of rather scarce al-Qaeda attacks in the past decade.

Anti-terrorism specialists could claim that such a lack of lethality of al-Qaeda, compared to that of the IRA, could be the result of Britons being more ‘alert’.

I seriously doubt that. Not that I would immediately embrace so-called conspiracy theories – claiming that the ‘terrorist threat of al-Qaeda is invented’ (examples here, here or here) – but it’s surely worth reflecting on their claims.

Unaware of what the name of the ‘disease’ should be, I noticed that the farther away from God one society is, the more it needs ‘enemies’ to redefine itself.

In societies with no fear of God fear of everything and everyone else reigns. So happened to Revolutionary France, to Nazi Germany, to Soviet Russia…

Is this about to happen to Britain? Is this country, supposedly one of longest-continuing-democracies in the world, on the path to becoming George Orwell’s Oceania?

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

The European Citizens’ Initiative: could it improve anything? [Iniţiativa Cetăţenească Europeană: ar putea îmbunătăţi ceva?]

As the European Monetary Union (EMU) is in dire straits, the battle for the European Citizen Initiative (ECI) is doomed to be kept out of the media spotlights.

Few Europeans, out of so many burdened with earning a living in a more and more hostile economic climate, know that this ECI is about giving them a chance to forward law proposals directly to the European Commission.
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Even fewer of those few who are aware of this innovation made possible by the Treaty of Lisbon care about whether this invention will ever be brought to life, and if it will ever prove to be an effective tool of participatory democracy.

Most of the people I know (including readers of this blog) are more likely to be part of the ever growing ‘skeptical camp’… Thus, they would probably exclaim something like the following, bewildered with my naivety:

“What participatory democracy?! There’s no such thing in the EU! Can’t you see that it’s all some sort of couch-potato democracy? How can you be so stupid not to see that all decisions that matter are taken behind closed doors?”

“What faith can you still have in the EU or in democracy in general, when you see the MEPs asking for an increased budget, when the eurocrats recently had their pay rise confirmed by the European Court of Justice?”
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On the spot, while under the heavy bombardment of such questions, I admit that one can hardly find much to say against such a diatribe, sprung from the embittered hearts of so many people. Politics has gravely disappointed many people in the EU.

If dialogue with such decidedly ‘anti-EU’ people would still be possible, I’d first say to them that I don’t put faith in any human construction. How could anyone have faith in earthly institutions, and not in the Maker of all things visible and invisible?

Maybe this is precisely what explains their disillusionment… People all over the EU put all their faith in this ‘paradise on Earth’ that allows us to abort millions of children, to live carelessly, and enjoy benefits that Americans couldn’t dream of.

But the piggy bank of the Welfare State is now broken. Having fun till in the late 20s, retiring in the early 60s, having holidays abroad every year, choosing not to work if staying on the dole is more convenient may slowly become a thing of the past.

A golden age of hedonism may be over. It wasn’t (exclusively) the EU’s merit while it lasted, nor it is EU’s fault because it’s no longer possible. A day of reckoning has come, and we should thank God for this chance of coming to our senses.

On the other hand, I would also admit that both in the old EU (EU15), where people had decades of benefits from being part of the Union, and in the newer EU (EU12), there are objective reasons for citizens to feel confused, irritated, and disheartened.

They are witnessing a widening gap between the EU elite and themselves, the ordinary people. Much of what’s on Brussels’ agenda may not be on the citizen’s agenda and vice versa.

Yet this is what the ECI could do – bridge the gap. Wouldn’t it be an interesting to see people (not so many: one million) being able suggest what should become law in the Union? It may not work wonders, but it could prove useful.

Keeping all politicians under a (healthy, not paranoid!) presumption of guilt, some of those who know about the ECI have noticed immense pressures from governments, and quite possibly industrial lobbysts, to make it as ‘useless’ as possible.

Initially, gathering signatures was supposed to take no more than 12 months, from a 1/3 of EU’s Member States (9 countries). Now, the draft bill refers to more time available, 18 or even 24 months, and to fewer countries – 1/5 of 27.

That makes 5.4 countries, but I hope they will reasonably solve the dilemma, without having Belgium split or Scotland secede from the UK to make up for the 0.4 :-)
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Another barrier against an effective ECI is the request of several governments want that each signer should provide the number of their ID card or passport number. This is a requirement that would radically decrease participation.

For fear of not having their data collected many people would probably give up the idea of supporting a proposal. According to an ECAS survey, up to 66% of those required to put their ID number on a ECI could refuse to sign.

The battle against deterrent restrictive conditions for the validity of a ECI is carried out these days in the European Parliament, and those favouring a ‘citizen friendly ECI’ are asking their support for this petition.

It’s pointless to complain about the democratic deficit in the EU, while not trying to address it. Hardly could the ECI turn almost 400 million Europeans of voting age into politically-conscious citizens like the Swiss, but why not try to have a say?
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A petition which could one day turn into a ECI is the one that asks for a complete ban of GMOs in Europe. That would be a great victory against a huge army of transatlantic lobbyists, wouldn’t it?

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[For all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

An airplane crash makes the ‘perfect crime’ [O prăbuşire de avion este ‘crima perfectă’]

No matter how impressive thanks to its state-of-the-art craftmanship (not that a Tu-154M would necessarily be so), any airplane is as vulnerable as a sparrow, up high in the sky.

As a matter of fact, the closer to the ground it flies, the more vulnerable such a piece of machinery becomes. Mistakes are unredeemable when the aircraft is only a few dozen meters above the earth than when they happen at higher altitudes.

And the closer any such mistake is made to a Russian military airbase, the sillier of an attitude would be to give the benefit of doubt to the Russians when a crash occurs.

“The Russians did it AGAIN”, millions of people in Eastern Europe surely must have said to themselves, seconds after hearing the tragic news from Smolensk. In this part of the world, Mother Russia has earned herself a rarely challenged presumption of guilt.

I personally tried to resist my inner urge to put the blame on the Russians, remembering that Lech Kaczynski had plenty of enemies in the EU, and in his beloved country as well.

In less than 24 hours, the Russians would prove once more that they may be masters of perfect crimes, yet their propagandistic tools are a bit outdated. Maybe they could still fool other parts of the ‘civilised world’, but not Eastern Europe!

The moment when high ranking military officials started spreading the idea of the ‘human error’, the likelihood of not being an error suddenly increased. They could have waited at least 24-48 hours.

After 1-2 days of (feigned) shock & confusion, with the Russians presumably trying their best to solve the mystery – as any aiplane crash remains very difficult to explain! – maybe their story would have been plausible.

Moscow’s eagerness to prove that Kaczynski was as impulsive as Mikheil Saakashvili, and that it’s all the dead mens’ (president + pilot) fault blows up it’s alibi.

The Russians took advantage of Kaczynski’s (typically Polish maybe?!) stubborness to reach Katyn on time, in his terms (let’s not forget that he invited himself!), and of another huge mistake of his (cramming so many top officials in an airplane).

This is how a conspiracy theory could sound, yet none of the above actually ‘incriminates’ Russia. There’s no hard evidence to that, and there will probably never be.

The prime suspects started incriminating themselves when they claimed that the pilot spoke poor Russian. In reality, he was a very good speaker of both Russian & English; moreover, he was familiar with the airfield where he had landed three days before.

Like these images (taken after take-off from Gatwick & while landing at Edinburgh airport) show, any flight is but a fairy tale full of mystery. It’s not human technology & skill that keeps a plane in the air.

It’s entirely God’s will, and He can make technology either work or fail. Yet He never does anything arbitrarily. Mistakes rarely occur out of the blue. They are more often forced by the malevolent will people.

When people interfere with the Lord’s will – like the Perfidious Albion did with Wladyslaw Sikorski’s destiny in 1943 – only He decides to what extent they are allowed to do so.

He respects our free will, and none of us can run away from the consequences of our deeds; if we happen to ‘skip some payments’, our descendants will certainly pay the full cost (and due interest) of everything we did wrong in life.

Kaczynski exposed himself as easy prey for Moscow, so the Poles are now paying a dear price for their exuberant recklessness, as they have done for so many times throughout their history.

Some may be desperate that justice is never being done in this part of Europe, but I am sure there will be a reckoning day for Putin’s Russia as well. As for what’s left of Orthodox Russia, I can only hope it will be saved through fire.

God always brings the truth to light. So was the case with the Katyn massacre of 1940, as well as with the Perfidious Albion’s cover up.

It’s never too late for us to learn some bitter truths. The tragic past of Eastern Europe cannot be ‘mended’, but we should have learned our lesson by now – never to count on the presumption of innocence of any great power.

[For all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]