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When I saw Romania’s army marching through Bucharest last week it struck me how out of date Romania’s military is. The brass band music and gendarme uniforms are from nineteenth century France, the authoritarian voice-over and elderly commanders are from Soviet Russia, and the 50 ton tanks are WW2.  None of it is useful against modern day threats.

An out of date army is designed to resist territorial invasion whereas a modern army is a flexible unit which can respond immediately to unknown threats.  Unfortunately read more…

My knowledge of politics and economics is very limited. Truth be told both sciences bore me and politics in particular makes me nauseous, especially in Romania. Before having Alex, my daughter, I would always read or watch the news, because I wanted to be informed and because I found it entertaining. Now, most of the news stories are such downers: world economy is collapsing, our planet is dying, PD-L is best chums with PSD (how a liberal party and a socialist one can ever form a partnership should be beyond our comprehension). read more…

One day, a very brave woman got on the case of a young man for throwing his empty cigarette pack in the park. She almost got beat up. I was cowardly watching, deciding it was best not to intervene, fearing for my own safety. While I admire the woman for her courage and conviction, a conviction which I share, I do believe it was not her duty to teach the young man a lesson. It is the duty of the civil society. Unless a national anti littering campaign is made, single acts of bravery like this one will only put people in danger without making a major and lasting change. read more…