pixelconscious

Vazut astazi Matizul lui Steph pe Praporgescu. Face baiatul asta ce face si tot pe la SRI parcheaza... Steph, nu ne zici si noua ce grad ti-au dat astia ?

Adevarat, birocratia lor este poate mai pronuntata decat a noastra. Dar articolul aduce o nota pozitiva Romaniei. Saracii, daca veneau din Ungaria in Romania s-ar fi luat cu mainile de cap ----------------------------------------------------------- Romania a primit un review foarte bun in urma exercitiului Immediate Response '06 - exercitiu al trupelor armate SUA/Bulgaria/Romania care a avut loc in Bulgaria, la Novo Selo. Articolul si mai multe poze la http://www.hqusareur.army.mil After a hard day of training at the Novo Selo Training Area in central Bulgaria, Specialists Jeremy Taylor and James Camberg watch as Sgt. 1st Class Richard Untaru, of the Romanian Army’s, 29th Infantry Battalion “Red Scorpions”, assembles one of their M-16A2 rifles. Taylor and Camberg, both of Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery, along with Untaru are participating in Immediate Response 06, a joint training exercise in Bulgaria. Photo by Sgt. John Queen, 1AD Public Affairs. Known as the “twin scorpions” by their colleagues in the Romanian Army’s 29th Infantry “Red Scorpion” Battalion, the brothers Tudose, take a break during training at the Novo Selo Training area in central Bulgaria. Soldiers of the Romanian, Bulgarian and American armies are training together in a joint exercise named Immediate Response 06. Photo by Sgt. John Queen, 1AD Public Affairs. Romanian Soldiers provide covering fire during the assault on a suspected terrorist base during a Military Operations in Urban Terrain training scenario in Novo Selo, Bulgaria. The MOUT site is a major training area for the trilateral exercise Immediate Response 06, which involves about 800 U.S. Army, Europe; Bulgarian and Romanian Soldiers. The exercise began July 17 and goes through Friday. Photo by Gary Kieffer, USAREUR Public Affairs. Romanian Staff Sgt. Richard Untaru of the 26th Infantry Regiment Red Scorpions, and Pfc. Ronald Ricks, a Soldier with the U.S. 1st Armored Division, escort a “terrorist” during an air assault exercise in Romania during Exercise Immediate Response 06. U.S. Army photo. U.S. and Romanian Soldiers demonstrate teamwork while clearing a building during an air assault mission in Romania for Exercise Immediate Response 06. Photo by Spc. Andrew Orillion, 1st Armored Division Public Affairs. A convoy of Romanian Soldiers react to a simulated Improvised Explosive Device detonating during convoy-ambush training at Novo Selo, Bulgaria. Allied Soldiers from the three countries are participating in Immediate Response 06, which involves about 800 troops, and is part of USAREUR’s Theater Engagement program to increase NATO interoperability among partner nations’ militaries. It began July 17 and ends Friday. Having just cleared a room during MOUT (military oriented urban training) training, a Romanian Soldier pulls rear guard as the stack prepares to exit a building during Immediate Response 2006. Immediate Response 06 is a trilateral training exercise involving the U.S., Bulgarian and Romanian Armies. Photos by Spc. Andrew Orillion, 1st Armored Division Public Affairs. LE: Pacat ca bietii nostrii soldati merg la razboi tot cu AKM-urile alea vechi de cand lumea si pamantul. La cati bani a invartit MApN-ul cred ca puteau sa cumpere macar 100 de arme mai bune.

Initiativa foarte buna dar care sper sa nu se rezume doar la mediatizarea pe Internet. Fara o campanie sustinuta Radio-TV ma tem ca nu o sa aiba prea multe rezultate. Oricum, felicitari initiatorilor.

Driving the Scenic Route to European Union Membership New York Times By Nicholas Kulish Traveling through Turkey last year with an international group of journalists, I heard a consistent message from government officials and human rights groups: keep the European Union talks going. What surprised me was that many said the process was more important than membership. The talks need to keep going or reforms will grind to a halt, the argument went, so let's worry about the details later. The message sounded Machiavellian. But I grasped its meaning a few months later as I sat at a Ukrainian border station in a beat-up Volkswagen Golf, trying to cross into Moldova. "Present? Present?" the border guard asked, holding up my CD player. His comrades were inside our car, searching every nook and cranny. I smiled and told the guard I didn't understand. He smiled back, gave the player a whack with his billy club and permitted me to keep my broken Discman. Then we were inexplicably told we couldn't leave the country. In retrospect, I might as well have given it to him. It could have saved me 30 hours of desperate searching, through the night and into the following day, for a station where the border police would let us pass without stealing our car or demanding a bribe higher than we were willing to pay. The asking price at the next stop was $200, a lot more than I paid for the CD player. The travel and foreign affairs writer Robert Kaplan writes that if you want to get to know a place you have to move on the ground. Fly into the capital and look around for a couple days before flying out again and you learn nothing. After logging several thousand miles in that trusty Golf in Eastern Europe last year, I'm inclined to agree. A stopover in Kiev and a visit to Warsaw wouldn't be so different. Both are scarred by war and Stalinism, beautiful in places and hideous in others. Truck stops at dusk in the boonies are another story. In Ukraine I feared each trip to a roadside bathroom might be my last. Entering Ukraine was as challenging as leaving. After a four-hour wait in a line of cars that hadn't moved, my companion and I finally realized that we had to bribe drivers camped out ahead to get to the border station. There the agents tried to impound our car, or generously suggested that we sell it to a friend who materialized, in Mephistophelian fashion, seemingly out of nowhere. I had both my worst and best times in places like Sevastopol and Odessa. But the open, daily corruption was difficult to take. A form of paranoia sets in when a shakedown for a bribe is an hourly occurrence on the highway. A gray uniform and a black-and-white traffic baton become the most frightening sight. I was glad to hear in July that President Viktor Yushchenko disbanded the traffic police force, but recent turmoil in the government tempers optimism about the country's future. We cheered out loud, in an almost tearful swell of relief, as we re-entered civilization, crossing the border into Romania. Romania, another former Communist dictatorship is my idea of civilization? The answer is absolutely, because of that tiny little blue flag with yellow stars - the banner of the European Union - at the crossing point. Let me be clear: Romania is not yet a member, and still the contrast with a country like Ukraine was night and day. What had been an hourly ritual of bribes, doling out the three C's - cash, Coke and cigarettes - to machine pistol-wielding cops, abruptly ended. We drove the length of Romania and the breadth of its European Union-accession comrade Bulgaria without once being solicited for a bribe. Romania and Bulgaria have their own problems, but it's doubtful that either would trade places with Ukraine, their Black Sea neighbor to the north. The difference throughout the drive was clear: countries on the E.U. invite list seemed more stable than those outside the velvet rope. Debate always centers on joining the union, but the greater improvement seems to come from the invitation. It's like a stamp of approval for nervous investors and political cover for reformers. "We don't want to allow Kurdish-language radio and television broadcasts, but the European Union is making us," Turkish officials can tell, and more importantly have told, hardliners. Through its guest-worker program, Germany, the E.U.'s largest member, has bound its fortunes to Turkey's. But all of Europe needs a stable neighbor to the southeast. The alternative could be flare-ups with Greece and Cyprus, lost leverage over human rights concerns, most notably in Kurdish areas, and an even bigger mess in the vicinity of Iraq. European Union members remained deadlocked over the weekend on holding membership talks with Turkey. A last-minute deal could get the process moving, but every step seems harder than the last. To understand what Turkey would look like without even a distant promise of membership, perhaps European officials could take a spin through Ukraine. My advice: bring Marlboros and money in small denominations. You don't get change from corrupt cops.

ONU nu o sa faca nimic pentru Liban. Doar vorbe, intalniri si discutii. Poate o sa se miste ceva doar daca mai multe natiuni pun piciorul in prag si insista pentru luarea unei decizii. Pana atunci insa, toti ambasadorii la misiune vor fi oripilati "vai, ce tragedie.. vai ce orori.." dar nimic concret. Sa nu va mirati ca ONU a ajuns aici, este o organizatie care geme de birocratie si este patronata de deviza "fiecare pentru tara lui". Pace in Orient ? Probabil ca nu am sa apuc sa traiesc acea zi. Cu o religie care indeamna la taierea capetelor sau la uciderea de oameni nevinovati, sunt slabe sperante de pace. Ce poti sa-i ceri unuia care crede ca daca omoara 10 turisti care iau masa pe terasa o sa mearga direct in Gradina lui Allah unde il asteapta tot atatea gagici ? Pentru ca tot vorbim de teroristi, va amintiti atentatele de la metroul londonez? Pe cand englezii erau sub stare de soc si nu le venea sa creada ce s-a intamplat, IRA a anuntat ca va renunta la atentatele cu arme si va incepe o noua lupta, de data asta pe cale diplomatica. Oare nu aici se vede cel mai bine diferenta dintre civilizatii? Imi pare rau pentru Liban, dar pe undeva este vina lor. Pacat ca oamenii obisnuiti vor duce tot greul razboiului si nu cei care conduc si au dat mana cu Hezballah.

Mi se pare util si interesant sa mai vedem ce spun altii despre noi. Vad ca pe site-ul Guvernului nu se mai oboseste nimeni sa actualizeze sectiunea cu rapoartele Misiunilor Diplomatice ale Romaniei. Asa ca daca aveti un articol din presa straina, va rog sa-l impartiti si cu restul forumului. Incep eu: U-Md. Teacher Heads Inquiry In Romania Friday, July 28, 2006; A16 The Washington Post By Jim Compton Probe of Communist Past Stirs Backlash BUCHAREST, Romania -- Working out of a human rights office in a former mansion in this Balkan capital, a University of Maryland professor is leading an official inquiry into Romania's ugly communist past. His work has stirred a vicious backlash from people who want that past left alone. Vladimir Tismaneanu, born in Romania and now a U.S. citizen, heads a national commission appointed by President Traian Basescu earlier this year. "A democratic political community cannot be built on amnesia," said Tismaneanu, 55, an energetic man who favors jeans and casual shirts. The commission's 20 staff experts, drawn from the Romanian academic world, are poring over scholarly research and papers in state archives. "Our goal is not to break new ground," Tismaneanu said in an interview, "but to bring together the mountain of existing material, with every statistic, every fact, about our communist past." His commission, which includes historians, political scientists and a philosopher, has no power to issue subpoenas or bring formal charges. Another commission, appointed by Parliament, probes allegations of crimes by individuals. But Basescu has said that the Tismaneanu panel's report will become "an official document of the Romanian state" and that he will seek a parliamentary endorsement for it. Plans call for the report to form the basis of a textbook on communism for Romanian high schools. In the years since communism's fall here in 1989, Romania has become a close U.S. ally, sending troops to Iraq and agreeing to a long-term U.S. military presence on its soil. President Bush hosted Basescu at the White House on Thursday. The man Basescu appointed to catalogue the four-decade communist era is a professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland's College Park campus and the author of standard works on Romanian communism and on Eastern Europe after the revolutions of 1989. He grew up in Romania under communism, earning a BA degree at the University of Bucharest in 1974. He left the country in 1981 and later campaigned against the dictatorship of President Nicolae Ceausescu, speaking on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Voice of America. Romania's sometimes halting steps toward democracy since Ceausescu's overthrow in 1989, along with the persistence of corruption, have hindered the country's advance toward membership in the European Union, set for 2007. Hundreds of former high-ranking communists and secret police agents continue to hold top positions in government and business. The Conservative Party leader, Sen. Dan Voiculescu, was recently accused by Romanian newspapers of operating decades ago under the code name "Felix" and furnishing economic reporting to the much-feared Securitate -- the KGB of communist Romania. After initially denying the allegations, he called a news conference at which he confirmed them but made no apology. "I collaborated, just as millions of Romanians collaborated," Voiculescu said, adding that "no one was injured by my reports." He has abandoned a bid to become deputy prime minister. Former prime minister Adrian Nastase, meanwhile, is the target of three criminal investigations by Romania's anti-corruption agency and has resigned as Social Democrat Party chief and speaker of the lower house of Parliament. He is accused of taking bribes to make political appointments and of receiving improper campaign contributions during an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2004. Despite many obstacles, some victims of communism have managed to win important victories. Doina Cornea, a gutsy professor of French who is widely considered the leading anti-communist dissident to have remained in the country, demanded and got her security files. She received two wooden boxes containing about five feet of records, including surveillance photographs. Sitting recently in the book-lined studio of her 19th-century cottage in Cluj-Napoca, capital of the Romanian region of Transylvania, she displayed handfuls of pictures. One showed a neighbor looking over the fence, another the uniformed policeman who stood menacingly in front of her house for more than a year. She was followed everywhere, jailed and roughed up for leading protests. Cornea noticed that one very knowledgeable informer was designated "X." She demanded to know who the snoop was and, two years later, was informed that "X" was Eugen Uricaru, president of the writers' union. Cornea said she wrote to Uricaru and told him she'd learned what he did. When he failed to reply, she waited a month, then held a news conference to unmask him. Uricaru did not seek the union presidency again. The Romanian novelist Augustin Buzura also obtained his security files and found that 56 informers, including close friends and associates, had reported on him. The 67-year-old writer, winner of the country's highest literary prizes, expresses skepticism that any commission can manage the hydra-headed issue of communism. "Practically, the communist era has not ended," he said. "The mentality is the same. No matter how extraordinary a commission may be, it cannot fathom in a period of six months the catastrophe that was communism." Tismaneanu, who commutes between College Park and Bucharest, works out of a mansion in the capital that houses the Group for Social Dialogue, a political and human rights organization formed during the 1989 revolution. The house was once the scene of parties held by Nicu Ceausescu, the dictator's son. Tismaneanu shrugs off criticism that his parents were committed communists and that his credibility is hurt by his friendship with Ion Iliescu, who held various posts under Ceausescu and served twice as president after 1989. Nationalist politicians have harassed Tismaneanu relentlessly. The extremist Greater Romania Party published articles asserting that he was a Zionist operative and stooge of the Americans. "A Greater Romania Party senator made a speech in Parliament," he recalled, "about 'five reasons why Tismaneanu should not head the commission,' and reason number three was that I was a Jew." The mainstream newspaper Ziua printed an allegation that Tismaneanu had been a Securitate agent as a student in the United States, a story for which it later apologized. (A government agency certified that his political past is clean.) He has also drawn criticism for supporting the war in Iraq. "Saddam himself was a weapon of mass destruction," he has said of the deposed Iraqi president. Meanwhile, he continues his research. Is closure possible? He is careful to say that his campaign is about moral recovery, not vengeance. "I believe we are able to somehow approach the past in a way that combines both analysis and compassion," he said.

Exode, imi pare sincer rau pentru ce ai patit. Daca fierul se indreapta, cu viata nu te joci... de aceea am doua cuvinte pentru tine: CERTIFICAT MEDICAL! Si eu am patit-o cand am fost lovit din spate, nici nu stii ce bine o sa-ti prinda. Succes si sa revii cu vesti bune!

Nu prea este un razboi stupid, STUPID este ca nu s-a reusit mentinerea armistitiului din primavara. Hezbollah a trebuit sa faca dovada ca este cu mult deasupra tuturor. Urmarea o vedeti acum, cand sute de nevinovati traiesc blestemul incapacitatii politice de a indeparta gruparea terorista din administratia libaneza. Iar liderii gruparii au stiut cum sa devina populari impartind alimente celor saraci - un fel de PSD cu fata umana inaintea alegerilor parlamentare si prezidentiale. Pe de alta parte depinde insa si din ce punct de vedere privesti problema. DPDV al celor relatate de mass-media, prinde contur ideea ca Hezbollah trebuie stearsa de pe fata pamantului cu orice pret. Prin primavara l-am cunoscut pe omologul meu irakian de la multinationala pentru care lucram si l-am descusut un pic deoarece eram curios sa aflu si punctul de vedere al arabilor. El mi-a explicat cum tarile occidentale vin sa le ia petrolul, cum le-a fost invadat comertul de lucruri de proasta calitate, cetatenii arabi sunt furati/umiliti in tara lor prin tot felul de metode si cum tarile occidentale le dicteaza ce au de facut. Ei bine, Hezbollah a prins asa de bine pentru ca s-a erijat de la bun inceput intr-o organizatie a poporului care lupta pentru protejarea intereselor acestuia (mai pe romaneste, un fel de PRM ). Anii au trecut si acest PRM a deviat mult de la interesele declarate atunci, in prezent a devenit o struto-camila implicata in afaceri dubioase, terorism si tot ce este mai rau. Solutia data de colegul meu, era ca Libanul, Siria si Iranul sa renunte la colaborarea cu organizatiile teroriste iar Occidentul sa puna umarul la o stabilizare politica a regiunii. Insa, asa cum a recunoscut el, liderii lor politici sunt incapabili sa opuna rezistenta pentru ca averile lor ar avea de suferit. Ridicati doua degete daca vi se pare ca orice asemanare cu o tara din Estul Europei este intamplatoare Eu ma intreb.. oare cine finanteaza aceasta grupare ? Nu era mai bine daca Occidentul ar fi incercat o apropiere financiara fata de locuitorii acestor tari ? Ma refer la constructia de autostrazi, programe sociale pentru copii/elevi/studenti, imobiliare, etc. Odata castigata simpatia lor, liderii lor politici ar fi fost nevoiti ca incet incet sa renunte la colaborarile cu Hezbollah. Adevarat, o idee cam greu de pus in practica dar care cred ca nu ar fi facut atatea victime si nu ar fi despartit familii.

A fost frumos. Cateva poze si de la mine: Siriu: Varlaam: Surubareala: Sato si Bogdan imi curata IAC-ul (multumesc, nu stiu ce as fi facut fara ajutorul vostru) Ploaia de la plecare: Popasul de la intoarcere: Multumiri si pentru: efectele speciale (lumanari) asezate cu grija de CrisR si VAXXi, Alx, Sato si ceilalti fara de care gratarul nu cred ca ar fi fost la fel, Laurentiu, Steph si Gigi care si-au bagat masinile prin hartoape ca sa ne aduca lumina si muzica.

1. satori, vaxxi 2.Tommy 3. Xenna 4. ileana 5. wizzard 6. Zmeul cel rau 7. sebian 8. pixel

Zeule, cu adanca durere te anunt ca daca GM este pe cai, haturile sunt la Ford. Ma rog, nu este nimic batut in cuie si se mai poate spera intr-un happy end pentru noi si GM.

Stati linistiti. Probabilitatea ca DWAR sa fie preluata de un producator american (GM/Ford) este de 95%. Este posibil sa avem un anunt oficial la intoarcerea lui Base din SUA.

Poate cineva sa-mi spuna unde se comercializeaza la noi modelul Captiva? Din Februarie tot intalnesc in trafic o doamna draguta care conduce un Chevy Captiva cu numere de leasing.

Nttt.. GM sau Ford

Flacaul asta era in fata mea la semafor. Scuze pt calitatea pozei, a fost facuta cu telefonul Deci.. asa cum scrie si pe luneta, biata Dacie este Ferrari under cover

Astazi la ora 8:48 dimineata, Matiz visiniu BxxPEP undeva pe Sos. Viilor. La volan o tanara si draguta Doamna/Domnisoara. Cine este ? Sotia PEP-ului ?

Succes Cauta o macara in punga cu sigla GM-Daewoo, sub nici-o forma sa nu dai banii pe una care nu este ambalata.

B50DEY, trebuie sa schimbi macaraua. Dar ai grija ce cumperi, pe cat posibil evita sa iei din Vitan. Eu am luat odata pentru Cielo si nu m-a tinut mai mult de 2 luni - in conditiile in care nu zapacesc geamul cu mii de miscari sus-jos. Si eu am patit ca tine, noroc mare ca m-a ajutat Shenck sa-l blochez pe pozitia inchis.

In primul rand, nu cred ca este indicat sa desfaci busonul de la vasul de expansiune cu motorul pornit. In al doilea rand, din cate stiu eu nivelul apei nu il verifici imediat ce ai oprit motorul. Folosesti si antigel ?

Asta cu pantalonii am pierdut-o, cred ca eram absorbit de povestirile lui static Cat despre artistic.. ohhh, esti prea generos cu mine Sebian, a fost buna ciorba de burta ? (Sorry dude, dupa cum vezi am fost fortat sa pun poza cu tine)

Da, a fost frumos. Cativa ne-am intalnit la benzinaria Petrom din Buftea (Vijelia - am recunoscut-o foarte usor dupa numarul de inmatriculare - , Mircea si sotia, Sebian si eu) de unde am mers impreuna la locul Intalnirii: Clubul Barbosilor. . M-au trecut toti fiorii cand am aflat ca este o proprietate pazita si patrulata de... pisici (Thanks Sato ) Ceva mai tarziu ni s-au alaturat si Cristian_W, Sato, static, Brainiac si fratele lui. Nu stiu cum a fost pentru ceilalti, eu unul m-am simtit foarte bine. Local bun, companie de exceptie Cateva poze: Am cateva poze compromitatoare cu Mircea care se chinuie cu o ciorba care pare a fi ciorba de burta si cu Satori care alearga prin farfurie niste mici care arata de parca ar fi vii Astept oferte Glumeeeeesc PS: Data viitoare mergem si la bikini. Grrrrrr... am vrut sa spun piscina

Cand apasam ambreiajul se auzea un scartait cam enervant. L-am rugat pe un mecanic sa rezolve, iar el a scos joja cu un strop de ulei si a dat pe la pedala. A repetat operatiunea de 2 ori iar scartaitul a disparut. De atunci au trecut doi ani si nu am mai avut probleme. Acum a reaparut (mai timid) dar ma simt generos, cred ca o sa-i dau doi trei stropi de ulei cu o pipeta

...In completare, primele 3 cifre reprezinta Misiunea Diplomatica de care apartine: 105 Austria, 149 Norvegia.. samd. In cazul de fata, 168 s-ar purtea sa fie chiar Japonia Dar nu inteleg, ce a facut soferul masinii din imagine ? LE: in principiu, evitati sa va luati in gura cu soferii masinilor TC si CD, chiar daca de multe ori acei soferi sunt romani. De regula, autoritatile romane le dau dreptate (exceptand cazul Staff Sgt VanGoethem), ba mai mult... s-ar putea ca masina respectiva sa fie urmarita discret de baietii cu ochi albastri si pistoale mitraliera la gat. Nu vreti sa va incurcati cu astia

Mircea: da, te sun maine dimineata Sebian: vorbim la telefon pentru ca nu stiu inca la ce ora o sa plecam. Daca Intalnirea este la 11, cred ca un 10:30 ar fi indicat.. nu stiu, vedem. Daca bikinii de care pomenea static sunt deja acolo, eu zic sa ne grabim sa prindem loc Ca poate e coada, ca la BMW

Sigur ca da, te ridic din Iancului?