Moldova is at a crossroads that could bring a dramatic turn in its post-Soviet history. The main reason for the chronic political crisis that's been eating up Moldova from the inside for years, is related to a constant threat that has existed ever since the break-up from the Soviet Union: namely, the possibility of a Romanian Anschluss. In other words, Romania has been preparing to swallow up Moldova for quite a while.
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This is going to be about the way history itself can be treated, and twisted, and perverted, for political purposes. Do bear with me. For the target of my contention is your fave boxing bag too: Russia. And for a good reason.
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Awesome lettuce salads for Easter, May 1 parades under the open sky and all that, while in blissful ignorance about what had just happened not more than a thousand km away from our homes - that's what I could say about April 1986...
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First, the context:
Oil Found in Bulgarian Black Sea Offshore Drilling
WARSHINGTON, The Land of the Brave and the Free. The US government has surprisingly announced that they're planning drastic measures against Bulgaria because of suspicions that the tiny Balkan country is developing nuclear weapons with the help of Russia and North Korea.
Since recently I've been hearing the talking points of some Russophiles both at home and abroad taking precedence over common sense, I've bothered to do some work in summing up some facts, which I hope would help put those Putinite talking points into perspective. Because the Russian propaganda ain't sleeping for a minute, definitely not around these latitudes. Just a disclaimer: the lines below are not directed at the Russian people as a people. Indeed, they're quite lovely people when taken individually. What I can't approve of is the way that nation has allowed itself to be ruled for centuries, and the results that've come out of it. So do bear with my diatribe.
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In a couple of weeks we will mark 27 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. No doubt November 10 is a very symbolic day for my society. On that day, 27 years ago, democracy "exploded" here in Bulgaria. Well, maybe not exactly. But it felt like it at the time, at least for a while. One thing is for sure, though. Things haven't been the same ever since. Even if only prompted by events abroad, we did do our best attempt to erase and forget the past, sometimes with more success, sometimes with less. But the idea was there. However, one'd think that some things just can't go away like that. You'd think it would take several generations for a society to completely shake off the legacy of the past, especially if that system had been instilled into the brains of people for decades, ultimately distorting the very culture of said society, and the mentality of its people. No, good things don't just happen overnight.
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Now that a almost a year has passed since the act of barbarism in Paris which was instantly branded by some smartheads (and politicians) "a clash of civilizations", perhaps it's time to sit back a little and assess things a bit more soberly. In my opinion there's no such thing as a war of the civilizations, not really. Of course there can't be a yes or no answer to such complex issues spanning generations and even centuries, but still. On one side, this isn't a Muslims vs Christians clash per se. It's rather a conflict of values, one side refusing to adopt the other's values even when the former is being hosted by the latter, with all the hospitality that comes with that.
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branchandroot
