Dilema veche
Eurozine
Dilema veche
2010-06-04
Abstracts for Dilema veche no 324-327 (2010)
Dilema veche 324, 29 April 2010
Andrei Plesu
Training
Andrei Plesu notes that the Romanian language has been invaded by some strange words, terms that are usually taken from English, the use of which is both abusive and confusing. The author notes that some of these words have equivalents in Romanian. He provides us with some tasty examples.
Mircea Vasilescu
Getting an apfelstrudel and a schnapps
Mircea Vasilescu describes his impressions from a trip by car from Romania to Switzerland. He noted the facilities that can be used on highways in Hungary where the euro is accepted (a country that officially does not use that currency for the time being). Vasilescu is surprised that all the pro-EU propaganda has not produced the expected results and, what is more, has led to a nationalist resurgence.
Sever Voinescu
Romanian ethics and the spirit of capitalism
Sever Voinescu comments on the director Alexandru Solomon's last film Capitalism, our secret recipe, a documentary about the capitalists in Romania. Voinescu discovers that Solomon has lived the same experience as himself -- and their entire generation. He thinks the film images of the politician and businessman Gigi Becali (whom he considered very difficult to classify) walking the corridors of the European Parliament are absolutely anthological.
Constanta Vintila-Ghitulescu
Ubiquitous canine
Constanta Vintila-Ghitulescu tells us that the multitude of stray dogs on the streets of Bucharest today is almost an historical tradition. She recalls several attempts to eliminate dogs in the nineteenth century, stories that were told by foreign visitors in those days. It seems that stray dogs have survived all these attempts at elimination.
Daniel I. Iancu
About sheepfolds, shepherds and mountains
Daniel I. Iancu recounts a study of the slow demise of the traditional occupation of sheep shepherding. He describes the current state of sheepfolds compared with 20 years ago. Many of them have disappeared. Iancu notes the emergence of settlements on the outskirts of cities, with unsuitable sheepfolds and where the sheep graze on trash.
Weekly dossier
Parerea mea
My opinion
Marius Chivu
How much is worth an opinion
The Internet has democratized the freedom of expression which, according to Marius Chivu, has allowed for abuse and led to the devaluation of dialogue. Having an opinion has come to be confused with cursing and being offensive. TV in Romania no longer discuss ideas but opposing positions. Each guest in a talk show tries to symbolically annihilate the opponent. Chivu asks how we can revalue the right to an opinion under these circumstances.
Interview with historian Zoe Petre
"Nobody can bear a confrontation of ideas"
Zoe Petre believes that Romania has lost the activity of the public discourse as it was: inherited from antiquity. One cause of this loss would be the very dramatic change in public space during the communist era. Then, in public, ordinary language was replaced by the language of Soviet propaganda. Petre is now skeptical about possibility of recovering civilized language and behavior in public. 20 years after the fall of communism, the last election campaign has revealed a much poorer level of language and public discourse.
Dilema veche 325, 6 May 2010
Andrei Plesu
The honour of the Church
Andrei Plesu criticizes harshly the hierarchy of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the context of building what is called "The People's Salvation Cathedral". The Church puts strong pressure on the government to give half a billion euro, in times of economic crisis, to build a huge, grandiose cathedral in the centre of Bucharest.
Mircea Vasilescu
Back around Europe
Mircea Vasilescu recently travelled by car in a few European countries which has given him the opportunity to share his impressions of the mentality in different places of the continent. In this article he recalls his thoughts while travelling in Switzerland.
Andrei Manolescu
Democracy for puppies
The mayor of Bucharest recently decided to "euthanize" the stray dogs that have become a public nuisance and danger to the citizens. Animal rights associations and different personalities have protested against this decision. "I don't know to what degree the taxpayers are for or against euthanasia or sterilization of dogs", writes Andrei Manolescu, "but I know for certain that the citizens have the right to walk without fear in the streets or parks. And it is the business of the authorities to find a proper solution."
Lucian Mîndruta
The car is the bicycle of the poor
Lucian Mindruta pleads in favour of using the bicycle, as long as the expensive car has become a symbol of status, success and wealth in Romania. "My bicycle is my freedom. It's a way of declaring that I don't care about status", he writes.
Grigore Vîrsta
An outsider's review
Grigore Virsta analyzes the way the media has covered the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull. He dissects the myths, disinformation, lack of scientific knowledge and exaggerations that have accompanied the presentation of the eruption in the mainstream press.
Weekly Dossier
The future of public television
The role and responsibility of public television is uncertain almost everywhere in Europe. Besides, in the eastern part of the continent, the situation is complicated by political involvement in the activities of an institution that is supposed to be independent. What is the future of public television in this context?
Ioan Onisei
Public television in a European context
Ioan Onisei analyzes the legal background on which the Romanian Public Television is based and what can be done in order to improve the political neutrality, and also the quality, of this institution. "Winning back the trust of the viewers is something that takes time", he concludes.
Florin Iepan
A television we cannot live without?
Florin Iepan -- an independent movie director and producer -- states straightforward that public television is something we can live very well without, particularly in Romania. In his opinion, Romanian Television is hopeless and beyond salvation: "The complete collapse of this institution is the only realistic reform."
Marius Dragomir
A lost bet
Even if he declares himself a supporter of the idea of public television, Marius Dragomir states that we are witnessing the end of public TV as we know them, especially in Eastern Europe. About western television of this kind he says: "The most important TV institutions change completely these days, to adapt to the informational context and new generations of viewers".
Raluca Turcan
A new beginning
Raluca Turcan is a Romanian MP who struggled in the latest years for the reform of the public television. She still believes that the transformation on new bases is possible: "The essential question is: what kind of public television do we need? Taking into account the viewers' interest, I think the answer is: a television capable of doing a reasonable compromise among information, education and entertainment".
Dilema veche 326, 13 May 2010
Mircea Vasilescu
The presidential voice
The EU president, Herman Van Rompuy, presented all "the noble truths and common places of the comme il faut speech about EU" on the occasion of Europe day. He listed all the concrete advantages the common citizen derives from the EU, and he underlined the need for solidarity. Talking about solidarity to national leaders doesn't seem too appropriate: at the moment, EU is based on the associations between national states, and its politics functions mainly on the national level. Faced with the difficulties caused by the economic crisis, the solidarity speech is hard to digest for national political leaders.
Sever Voinescu
Russia, between Take and Grigore
One of Romania's ministers stated recently that the only dependency we have in point of power resources is on Russia, and that the presence of Russian investors in our power system should be encouraged, even through our afilliation to the Southstream megaproject. Through history, symplifying our relationship to Russia has taken two alternative directions: the first, through alliances sustained by Take Ionescu who, in 1921, created the Little Entente; the second one was "through ourselves". Grigore Gafencu, in the mid 1930s, thought that Romania should develop its own independent politics towards Russia. Today, the situation is almost the same: through alliances it doesn't work too well, and through ourselves it doesn't work at all. Anyhow, Romania's independence from power resources would be too great a price for Kremlin's friendship.
Adrian Cioroianu
In Chisinau -- a true mistress of the dishes!
The Moldavian Republic, if it really wants to win its sovereignty from Russia, should limit its dependency towards Moscow in certain markets: wine exports and natural gas imports. The strength of Moldavia is its agriculture. But this is also its weakness because Russia sets the price level.
Cristian Ghinea
How long will EU be able to say no to Moldavia?
Two important events for the Republic of Moldavia have probably already taken place by now: 15 officials from the republic: the negotiators for the Agreement with EU should have met with think-tank, press and institutions in Brussels; and a hearing taken place at the Parliamentary Delegation for EU-Moldavia on the subject of cancelling visas for Moldavian citizens. In Ghinea's opinion, Moldavia should sign the agreement, benefit from all the advantages and, if the present direction continues, will in two-three years be able to ask EU for a new evaluation from a better position.
The Archbishop Chrysostomos of Etna, California
The crucial importance of insignificancy
Today, we see an almost universal tendency among those who still have to learn elementary things about fate: they cultivate in themselves a sense of their own importance. However, in every day life and in the spiritual one, nothing is more useful to success and happiness, or to our spiritual transformation and restoration, than being able to see our own insignificance. If we centre our actions around others, forgetting our own temptations, we can fulfil what, otherwise, is impossible to do in this life.
Weekly dossier
The Law on Education -- what does it offer us?
Cristian Ghinea
More pride than real differences
If we analyse closely the differences between the solutions proposed by different actors in the educational field, you notice that in reality these differences are minor seen in the light of the bigger picture. In fact, everyone's pride is greater than the differences. This accounts for the impossibility of sustaining a dialogue, to have a common opinion on the matters of agreement and disagreement. But first of all the debate suffers from the lack of a system.
"Parents can judge very well"
Interview with Daniel Funeriu, Minister of Education
Cristian Ghinea asked minister Funeriu about some of his ideas about education in the law he proposed: Administration Councils that are to govern schools, made up of one third teachers, one third local authorities and one third parents. He asked if the teachers become more vulnerable through the new law or not; if in universities there will be a classification separating students into three levels; and what institutions would decide what universities rank first, second or third, and on what criteria? Is it a good thing that the headmaster is to be elected with the involvement of people from outside the university, too? Will this influence university autonomy?
"I don't know if we are prepared..."
Interview with Adriana Saftoiu, National Liberal Party MP, member of the Education Commission of the Deputy Chamber
Adriana Saftoiu thinks that the role attributed to parents and to local authorities by the education law is too important: these two categories have to approve the budget project, even the curricula, to evaluate the teachers' performances, to sanction them, even to fire them. Those are very serious tasks. Saftoiu doesn't know if Romanians are ready for all this. That is why in her opinion it would be better if, in the Administration Councils, there would be a representation of 50 per cent teachers, and 50 per cent parents and local authorities. At the same time she suggests that teachers should become title holders at their school. And if the school is dissolved, the Ministry of Education should not leave them jobless but offer them other positions.
Dilema veche 327, 20 May 2010
George Daniel Rîpa
The media has discovered a new enemy: capitalism
The economical crises has given the opportunity to communist leaders to dig out the traditional attacks on the capitalist system. At the same time, "the Chinese", "the Cuban" or "the Venezuelan" models appeal to more and more young people, charmed by the radicalism of the discourses. After all, who doesn't want to change the world, at least once in a lifetime? Either by throwing stones at the police like young Greeks do, or by posting comments on the Internet. The purpose of the revolutionaries of the twenty first century is easy to explain: death to capitalism. Unfortunately, this hits even the honest journalist who has no connection to this revolutionary social activism. Because of the infamous crises in Greece, on 5 May the media decided to protest and suspend all informative programmes as a protest against "the measures of economical austerity announced by the government". Besides the moral repercussions of this, the extremists have found an ally in this action. There was no difference between those who claimed "the death of capitalism" and the media, whose main purpose it is to inform. In Romania, the most critical TV stations were Realitatea TV and Antena 1. They only criticized the measures the Romanian government has taken. The written media did the same. The capitalist system was strongly criticized, but in clichés not with facts. "Crying the poor State employees became a national sport."
Dana Jalobeanu
How to make history of science in the Arctic Circle
Dana Jalobeanu describes the experience she had at a conference called "The Arctic Circle Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy". The conference was an adventure, as she describes it, that started on the airport where 20 participants from all over the world met and boarded another small plain, travelling towards the north.
This type of meetings are held 8-10 times a year, in all parts of the world. It consists of a community of scientists with a common interest: the history of science and its main questions. How do we think the way we do? How has it shaped our beliefs about space and three-dimensional representations of space? It also represents a new educational method: "students and professors travel from one seminar to another, they debate, learn to ask questions and answer some of them, they learn how to compose a scientific paper, to argue a discovery and to build a career."
Simona Sora
The misbehaver
If Almodovar's film Mala educacion (2004) had been released this year, it would undoubtedly have been connected with the sinister revelations by Der Spiegel on the abuse of German catholic schoolchildren. The connection could have been made even if Almodovar's story is set in fascist Spain, not in present-day Germany. Simona Sora writes that Mala Educacion is more about the monsters next door, a story of the black irony in which the abuse, the fratricide and the criminal revenge are being seen as a misbehaviour. Perhaps, she writes, boorishness can actually kill? It is not the first time literature of misery is regarded as a potential muse. But this is the point that marks the lack of faith in literature, imagination, in the idea that fiction can create another reality.
Weekly dossier
Corporate culture
A chance of civilization for Romania
Interview with Cosmin Alexandru manager at B&P Brandivia
The corporate way of living has more positive aspects than negative. In the 1990s, there were only a few good patterns of practice in Romania. "We were forced to learn capitalism as we go and the big corporations in Romania were like a pattern for performance, productivity and order. To our style of working this meant a huge step forward."
Rodica Zafiu
Corporate culture
From a linguistic point of view, the former communist speech is no different from the present corporatist discourse. Clichés, positive thinking, collective feelings are all combined values for this way of being. It must remain within the business area because "the problem starts when professional talk starts to be self indulgent and the whole concept is seen as reality".
Stefania Mihalache
Big and small corporatism
If we are to talk about the difference between two approaches, the western and the eastern corporatism, the western corporatism, born after WWI, became the main principle of society, a society seen as a body governed by pragmatic functionalism. "In a corporatist state, functions are basically hierarchical, and the individual matters only through the function he fulfils. But the advantages of this formula, combining the political and economical aspect of the doctrine, is that it develops political organisms designed to protect the economic interests of the most dominant social layers.