I am completely and utterly disgusted. I am fuming. I could not believe what I was hearing last night. Yes, they did that at 10.00 PM (poor them, maybe they should get paid for the extra hours too). I'll be out tonight, protesting. Again. Good or bad, Romania is still my country and we need to fight for it. These slimy politicians need to be stopped! We don't want a dictatorship again, do we? Well, judging by the way the Minister of Justice answered questions last night, that's the direction this country is going. Basically, what he was saying was they are in charge, they can do whatever the fuck they want - apologies for the language, but they don't deserve being treated with gloves when they simply spit on us, on justice and on Romania.
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Romania to protest against an emergency ordinance passed on Tuesday night that decriminalises some offences, including official misconduct in cases where the financial damage is less than 200,000 lei (£38,000).
Critics of the ordinance, introduced by a government that won parliamentary elections in December, say it could reverse an anti-corruption fight in Romania that has drawn widespread praise internationally. Additional laws could be issued in the coming days, further eroding ministers’ accountability, according to the government’s opponents.
In a post on Facebook, the Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, who has opposed the emergency ordinance and who last month joined protesters on the streets, wrote: “Today is a day of mourning for the rule of law.”
News of the ordinance passing broke at about 10pm local time, and by midnight local media estimated that 12,000 people were demonstrating in Bucharest and 10,000 in other cities across the country, despite freezing temperatures. There were shouts of “Thieves” and “You won’t get away with it.”
“I don’t normally protest but I just felt such a sense of rage,” said Alexandra Boeriu, a 35-year-old NGO worker who protested outside the main government building in Bucharest. “I was young, but I did live through communism and I know what this is. I don’t want this for my kids. There are a lot of people protesting who want to have a future in this country. It feels like someone has died.”
“You can’t just publish laws in the night and say shut up, we won the election, you have no rights,” said Dragos Stanca, 42, a digital media entrepreneur who was also demonstrating. “It’s a very dangerous precedent. If this is the kind of procedure they do, we wonder what’s next. It looks like anything is possible.”
Protests have been held for the past two Sundays over the government’s plans, which would also grant amnesty to those sentenced to jail terms shorter than five years in relation to certain crimes and halve prison terms for those with young children, pregnant women, or those over 60.
The EU has weighed in on the controversy, warning the government not to backtrack on anti-graft measures. “The fight against corruption needs to be advanced, not undone,” European commission head Jean-Claude Juncker and his deputy, Frans Timmermans, said in a joint statement. “We are following the latest developments in Romania with great concern.”
Government officials have suggested the laws were aimed at easing overcrowded conditions in prisons, but few observers are convinced, and many believe the real purpose is to help convicted politicians, or those who are now under investigation, escape justice.
Romania, an enthusiastic EU member for a decade and a major recipient of EU funds, remains one of Europe’s most corrupt countries: a report by the IPP thinktank released late last year found that of the 588 MPs elected in previous elections in 2012, 89 – or 15% – were either under investigation for graft, had already been convicted, or chose to step down for other positions.
Hundreds of officials have been imprisoned in recent years, and more than 2,000 files are under investigation in relation to abuse of office, according to prosecutors.
“With this government I feel insecure and the new law which favours corruption is a huge offence and an attack on us, the regular people,” said Alberto Grosescu, a 29-year-old photographer who took to the streets on Tuesday night immediately after the ordinance was announced.
Grosescu predicts that many more people will come out to protest. “I’m pretty sure that tonight there is going to be over 100,000 people in Bucharest, maybe over 200,000 across the whole country,” he said.
Those protesting hope that their actions could still lead to change.
“They have to, I don’t think politicians can ignore so many people, but we have to stand up and continue to stand up,” said Boeriu.
Thousands of people gathered outside the main government building in Bucharest on Wednesday morning. It is thought that protests later in the day could be the biggest since the fall of communism in 1989.
Brian May: „So daily I make myself very unpopular with various people, who still believe animals were put on Earth to be used and abused at will by humans.
Human is the name we give ourselves, and there is an adjective derived from it, implying compassion, sensibility, fairness: the word “humane”. Throughout history man has tried to justify his behaviour towards fellow man and other animals.
As I write, millions of animals are suffering at the hands of humans.
Animal farming (read “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer) involves the abuse of millions of creatures every day that have senses and feelings similar to ours.
Ian Redmond OBE, the world-famous zoologist, says that a generation ago, any biologist attributing “maternal feelings and behaviour” to a mother monkey cuddling her offspring would be accused of anthropomorphism and never taken seriously as a scientist again.
This is no longer the case. Recent mapping of genomes has revealed the uncanny similarity of the human make-up to that of primates and only a little less closely to mammals such as mice and rats.
It is now accepted that the idea “humans think and behave rationally, but animals act just on instinct” is unsupportable”.
More here:
http://www.all-creatures.org/articles...
12 May 2015. Sunny day. Beautiful day. Tuesday. Bad luck. :)
I arranged for an interview with Yngwie Malmsteen. The local promoter agreed, the Artist agreed, the manager agreed. Everything was well. Or... so I thought. :)
If there is one thing that I hate the most in this world, is waiting. And I waited for almost two hours to meet Yngwie Malmsteen. When he finally came, his manager said he is too tired so... bye-bye interview for me. Now... that was frustrating! Instead, I got the chance to take a picture with him so that I will never forget this meeting. Well, I guess it's better than nothing!
Sunt blocată într-o „lume” falsă. Pe Pro TV. La Vocea României. Telecomanda este departe, oboseala este mare, iar lenea învinge. Sunt hotărâtă să nu mă ridic din pat! Am trecut și prin clipe mai grele, așa că mă decid să rezist. Nu trece mult și mă cuprinde revolta. Un sentiment mistuitor, apăsător, sufocant care m-a determinat să-mi dau ochii peste cap, așa cum nu o mai făcusem din liceu. Se caută artiști fără personalitate. Dar asta nu-i o noutate. Se scot „vedete” pe bandă rulantă. Există un „șablon” stabilit de „mai-marii industriei”, iar cine nu se „adaptează” e scos din „joc”. Sigur, n-am zis nicio noutate până acum... „Rețeta” e veche! Mașinăria de „spălat creiere” funcționează la capacitate maximă și „roadele” se văd (la nivel mondial, nu doar în România). Cine pierde până la urmă?! PUBLICUL care este „bombardat” cu astfel de „produse” de tip fast-food. Te uiți la acești concurenți și (aproape) toți au aceleași gesturi studiate, aceeași mimică, străduindu-se să mimeze cât mai bine trăirea autentică pe scenă. După o astfel de emisiune, singurul sentiment cu care rămâi este acela de gol, de pustiu. Concurenții vin de acasă cu ideea (și, probabil, aceasta este întărită de producători) că un artist, pe scenă, trebuie să își ducă mâna la frunte, trebuie să pară pătruns de text, trebuie să cadă și în genunchi dacă i se pare că undeva e un moment dramatic, trebuie, trebuie... trebuie pe dracu! Nu trebuie nimic. Doar să înțeleagă textul și să și-l asume. Știm cu toții cazurile unor artiști care chiar dacă nu cântă mereu „pe note”, trăirea și emoția pe care o transmit îi salvează în ochii publicului. Până la urmă dacă TREBUIE ceva, atunci poate că e necesar să fii consecvent cu tine, să abordezi teme care te preocupă, să crezi în ceea ce faci. Doar așa vei reuși să îi convingi pe spectatori de sinceritatea ta. Pe asta nu o poți repeta în oglindă. O ai sau nu.
„Poți să faci alegeri bune, sau poți să faci alegeri proaste în timpul unei piese”, îi spune Smiley concurentei din echipa lui, Ruxandra, care urma să cânte o piesă din repertoriul lui Amy Whinehouse. Dar cine stabilește dacă modul în care alegi tu să transmiți mesajul unei piese, este bun sau prost?! Există reguli de trăire a unei piese?! De ce să te bâțâi prin fața unor oglinzi și să cauți camera din priviri, dacă tu, ca artist, vrei să stai pe jos, turcește, și să cânți de acolo, pur și simplu?
Antrenorii au un mod bizar de a alege piesele pentru concurenți. De multe ori își „îngroapă” elevii fără milă. „Se potrivește timbrului tău, îți vine bine pe voce”. Tudor Chirilă îl laudă pe Armand: „ai câștigat un pariu cu tine. A fost cea mai bună interpretare a ta. Dacă ai transmis sau nu emoție, e o chestie subiectivă. Asta va decide publicul”. Asta e replica mea preferată: „publicul decide”. Trec peste faptul că niciodată nu este anunțat numărul votanților, nu știm niciodată câte voturi a primit fiecare concurent. Dar stau și eu și mă întreb: câți dintre cei care se uitau la TV în acel moment știau care este mesajul piesei „Perfect Day”? Câți telespectatori auziseră măcar de acest artist special, Lou Reed? Cât și ce a înțeles Armand din mesajul, din starea piesei lui Lou Reed? Din fața televizorului, a părut că a pornit la drum cu un handicap. De altfel, a și plecat acasă!
Chris de Burgh a interpretat pe scena Sălii Palatului din București, piesa Yesterday (cover The Beatles), un tribut pentru victimele din Clubul Colectiv.
In the end, I liked Morrissey! Even though I have never left a concert so… bewildered, shocked or confused. I had to take some time to think about if I like it or not…. At first, I panicked. I didn’t like what I saw; the music didn’t blow my mind, so I was already worried about having nothing to write about it. Then, something happened. Morrissey’s lyrics, his way of articulating the words, the images on the screens, all put my neurons to rotate at maximum speed (even more than Titanic’s engine trying to avoid the iceberg). :)
What Morrissey gave at Palace Hall in Bucharest on Wednesday evening (14th october) was more than a concert. In fact, it had nothing to do with the entertainment concept. It was THE LIFE. That part of life which we often ignore because we don’t like it. After such an encounter, on your way home you find yourself wondering about everything. You can disagree with Morrissey, but you can’t stay indifferent to his message. After all, it’s not just about being a vegetarian/vegan or not, it’s also about not accepting any sort of violence (whether is against humans or animals)! The hardest moment on your way home is when you realize how selfish you really are (like it or not, you’re haunted by this thought for a while).
But... Let’s start with the beginning. I’ve never been a Morrissey fan. I knew him, of course. I've read about him, but I don’t think I’ve listened to more than two or three of his songs till last year. Then, in 2014, he released the album „World Peace Is None Of Your Business”, and Andrei Partoș (a well known, respected journalist from Romania) played it on the radio and the feedback from our public was great. One important aspect: Andrei received the album from a listener who asked him if he can play it on te radio. Anyway, in august 2015, I started to learn more about his music and his career, as we got involved in promoting his concert in Bucharest (we were media partners for the show). Andrei Partoș was playing his songs on the radio (old ones, new ones, from The Smiths and from his solo career), almost every night during his radio-show, and step by step I became ‘friends’ with his music. Frankly, I’ve always admired people who fight with everything they’ve got for their own believes and stay true to those! That is why Morrissey became easy to like. Yet, nothing of what I’ve read or listen to prepared me for what I was to see at Palace Hall.
I was curious about his public, what kind of people they are... Let’s be honest! Morrissey is not a well-known artist in our country. Unfortunately, I don't have friends who listen to his music (all of my friends listen to hard-rock, heavy-metal, thrash, blues, jazz, etc), I haven’t met people who would talk about him (neither praise nor criticize). So… I was really curious about his public. To my pleasant surprise, I have found out from the local promoter that the tickets were selling well (to be honest, when the concert was announced, I thought it gets cancelled).
On 14th October, I arrived at Palace Hall at 7.15 p.m. In the hallway there was a merchandise stall (100 lei a t-shirt). Inside, semi-dark (a few lights were on), intimate atmosphere, the curtain of the room bottom was down, just a few people were looking for their seats. From time to time small groups of 3-4 people were coming in. I was thinking that at this pace we’ll manage to have the same audience figures that we had for Elvis Costello (he sang in front of merely 500 people). I was proved to be wrong. And I am glad! At 8.00 p.m. there were approximately 2.000 people waiting for Morrissey. The concert was scheduled for 8.00 p.m., but I’ve found out from Andreea Andreescu (PR Events) that we’ll have a ’30 minutes movie’ in the opening. A movie?! Hmmm... No one said anything about a movie... I taught it would be about his career. The „movie” started on time, but it turned out it wasn't really a movie, but a collection of videos (songs, interviews, etc). As there was no explanation, I assumed that it was about musicians and well-known people who inspired Morrissey somehow (I’ve read in one of his interviews about his admiration towards New York Dolls). I was expecting to see Marc Bolan as well... but... no luck this time. I know it wasn’t his intention to teach us music history but he could have written for each video what band/artist it was, at least. As you can see there are people, like me, who see him for the first time... :) Anyway…
While the videos were running, the lights were still on. People weren’t that much interested about the videos. Most of them were doing their check-in on Facebook. Morrissey should have forbidden the phones too, not only the meat dishes during concert. The audience age range was 35 – 40 years old. I was surprised to see the protection fence in front of the stage. I haven’t seen that before at the Palace Hall! I admit I didn’t understand that safety procedure, as I have seen photos from other concerts in 2015 and the audience was ‘glued’ to the stage. Anyway, they’d probably thought that the Latin blood is boiling inside Romanians, get passionate and would be all over him. :) Yeah, I know about the „stage invasion”, but it was still weird to see the protection fence at Palace Hall. Before the show started I've asked one of the BGS guards about that protection fence. Bad idea! I'll never forget his frowned face, the cold look in his eyes and the harsh tone in his voice: „go to your seat, please! We were warned about his fans who try to get on stage”. During the show, one person tried to ‘break the protection wall’ and climb on the stage. But you can’t pass BGS guards that easy. The venture guy was ‘thrown’ back into the crowd. Nevertheless, his effort wasn’t in vain. Morrissey went to him and shake his hand. Which was really cool.
The artists came on the stage at 20.35. The audience stood up (and stayed that way until the end) giving him a very warm welcome. Their enthusiasm weakened after a while but there were people who danced and sang all through the concert. One girl was very funny, after hearing Morrissey sneezing a couple of times (or at least, it seemed that way), she took out of her bag a C Aspirin pill, looked at her friends and asked them: „Should I go to give it to him?” Yeah, sure! Good luck with BGS! :)
As I’ve said before, first impression wasn’t quite in his favor. I didn’t like nor understand it, I couldn’t ‘connect’ to his music, I didn’t find his voice appealing, his lyrics made no sense to me, he looked weird on the stage (playing with mike’s cable too much, moving chaotically, jerkily…). But... After 3 songs, his music was overpassed by the visual, the lyrics and Morrissey’s way of pronouncing the words has captivated me completely. With every song I became freer, as if somebody was taking a burden from my shoulders.
It is the first show I see in which all communication channels (interpretation, lyrics, video, pictures, lights, stage movement and music) are efficiently used to send the artist’s message. During the concert I remembered one of Alice Cooper’s statements: „In the 60s or 70s, it was easy to shock, now you can’t do that anymore”. Well, now I know you still can! Morrissey understood that there is no need to be subtle nowadays. If you have something to say, say it straight! You brutally ‘deliver’ your message to the public. It is well known that the artist fights for animal and human rights. Therefore, he took the chance to show us the ugly truth. We saw uncensored images from slaughterhouses (you can’t forget the look of slaughtered animals), police forces who were attacking men, women, people in wheelchairs or who were ruthlessly shooting people or animals. He didn’t forget about Spain’s bull fights nor Great Britain’s Royal Family. The videos were really shocking and their message was amplified by the music and by the words that sometimes sounded like cannon fires. Many spectators (maybe too many!), in order to avoid watching the videos, stared at the floor or opened their Facebook. Or maybe it was just their habit. After all, this is what we always do: we’ve got used to turn our head and walk away when we don’t like what we see. We no longer have the courage to face the ugly truth.
There wasn’t any ‘dead time’ in the show! Morrissey didn’t lose his audience not even for a second. You get born with such a charisma, you don’t acquire it. I‘ve seen an artist completely ‘free’, who takes responsibility for his words, gestures or phantasms. I went to the concert of an artist little known to me but I left there with the joy of having have met the leader of a generation.
I was also impressed with Morrissey's band: Jesse Tobias (guitarist), Boz Boorer (guitarist), Mando Lopez (bass player), Matt Walker (drummer) and Gustavo Manzur (keyboards, acoustic guitar, accordion). Morrissey enthusiastically presented his colleagues, telling us where they are from.
I was expecting the Palace Hall to be full with thousands of animal lovers. Morrissey has dedicated his career to his belief ; from the beginning he has fought for animal rights. But I was proven again that the love for animals and mankind is just a fashion in Romania. If it’s about a walk on Capital’s boulevards (a’ protest’ walk) there are thousands of people there just because is ‘cool’ to be seen to such a ‘meeting’. But when there is something meaningful, when they get the chance to see an artist who unconditionally supports this cause, then the Romanian animal lover would rather have a quick bite at McDonalds from where he posts on Facebook some tearful message asking others to save the animals. Shame on you guys! We got used to say „it's his fight”, when it really is EVERYBODY'S FIGHT! Thank you, Morrissey for pointing that out!
14th October 2015 was a very special evening for me. I’ll be happy if Morrissey returns in Romania. I would like to go to another concert of his!
Setlist: Suedehead Alma Matters Kiss Me a lot You have Killed Me Speedway Ganglord Staircase At The University World Peace Is None Of Your Business How Soon Is Now? I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris Istanbul Reader Meet Author Oboe concerto I Will See You In Far Off Places First Of The Gang To Die The Bullfighter Dies Meat Is Murder Everyday Is Like Sunday The World Is Full With Crashing Bores What She Said The Queen Is Dead
