Showing posts sorted by date for query german. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Our favorite former SF author, CTP, is back with another seemingly antiziganist or racist controversy, again on former PM and current PSD candidate for president, Dancila. He made fun of her family name etymology (likely Romani or Gypsy) and an anti-discrimination group / person entered the fray.

The most important debating tournament in Romania took place at the “Mihai Viteazu” high-school and the reporter summarized a debate with a BIRT on whether the Romanian government should provide reparations to the Roma community for the Holocaust. This is worth a discussion.

While I am naturally a bit upset by the multiple levels of irony in this story, I have to admit I'm also quite irritated and disappointed. It appears that the German police has actively engaged in ethnic profiling at the Saxony Highfield festival, reported in the German press as "racial profiling", most likely because of the Gypsy/Roma/Romanian Confusion. Let us consider this news together with a few more concerning the diaspora.

Recently, a friend asked me to provide Romanian lessons. I directed her to Duolingo (invite) and, as I occasionally listen to Romanian eTeatru (or “teatru radiofonic”), it occurred to me that this is something worth sharing with the rest of the world.

This is an (Austro?-)German movie shortlisted for the Foreign Oscar and filmed in Bucharest. It’s great and rated 7.6 on IMDB, with a Metascore of 93. It is also remarkably warm and positive toward Romania.

It is only natural for a government representing the most religious people in Europe to implement mercy, this unabashedly Christian concept. I’ve just learned from my former classmates that the amnesty ordinance (which is really an executive order / edict / decree “emanating” from the government and bypassing the legislature) that formed the object of the past week’s protests has been adopted. Precum in cer asa si pe pamant.

I promised a reader to answer a thoughtful provocation on Herta Mueller and I finally keep (or try to) my word. I am replying to Mr Mihail Lungu in regards to how opportune and appropriate was my declared enthusiasm for her work and her Nobel.

After briefly going through the just-published PISA 2015 results, here we expand on our knowledge of the top-performing Asian countries, which share some important characteristics.

When it comes to presidents, I prefer them quiet and subdued, but when I look back, I kept voting for the loud ones. I’m much like a woman who claims she’s looking for good guys but constantly ends up with bad boys. I’m not the only one, judging by the recent results of US elections. So I’m hurrying to finish this article, in a McDonald’s with non-working Wi-Fi, fueled by their free coffee promotion with only 30 minutes left to go. 

Despite having better things to do and write about, a recent article published by Deutsche Welle annoyed me enough to get me to write about the non-debate happening in USA and discuss abortion.

I don’t have time for this any more than you do. It’s summer, it’s sunny, and I hardly have the time for my daily swim. But some bigwigs are counting precisely on our not paying attention to pass some really bad regulations.

It’s been a while since we haven’t talked about poverty in Romania and solutions. A recent “debate” caused by an over-the-top article on not giving money to the poor gives us a chance to look at it again and also address our reticence with BDSM practices.

Some recent Romanian news led me to consider the possibility that many Romanian men suffer from an undiagnosed affliction: Uterus envy. Let us together discover what that means, and how this was already named “womb envy” by a psychoanalyst named HORNEY.

Though it may be unfair to extend the failure of the Romanian National Press Agency (Agerpres) and the Romanian External Affairs Ministry to an entire nation, let us not forget that part of their job is to represent the country. The recent faux-pas, confusing the French contours with the German one in a one-print commemorative brochure is, unfortunately, indicative of the dilettantism that has taken over the Romanian government.

I don’t like to adopt a nationalist stance on any day of the year and least of all when you are supposed to do so, such as on December 1, Romania’s national day. Rather than pen yet another pointless, devoid of meaning nationalist article, I’d much rather look at a few forgotten issues.

More than two years have passed since my last Poc-Rrrom (III) and today, inspired by a story I've just read, I've decided I'll go through with this one.

My reservations notwithstanding, I suspect most of the people who voted for Iohannis do not really know who he is, apart from the fact that he is not Ponta. I'm trying to bring a bit more color and background to his wooden personality.

As shown in results, in the runoff, Romanians will get to choose between Iohannis and Ponta. I wrote extensively about Ponta (dottore, virgin suicides, beligan-ponta, greatest plagiarizer, plai cu plagiat, roi rouge, geoana, partisanship, nastase), so before I tell you why I'm voting Ponta, I'll take a look at who is Iohannis.

I’ve hinted before on my personal struggle with answering such philosophical questions as “where are you from?” or “where were you born.” As I started answering with “Dacia,” more and more of those asking me, unsatisfied with this answer, started to look it up. One such acquaintance, a Brazilian dude, was kind enough to let me record our conversation. So I made a movie to share it more easily (like the Jens interview).

So, I just voted. I thought I share with you how it went.