How 200 state secretaries appeared in Romania, which is four times more than in 2010 ●In the footsteps of a prisoner who left a note in the walls of a casino in Constanta ●More than 20 families from a village near Mangalia pay rent to the city hall because they live in the buildings of the former IAS. Some were stables ●Submarines, tanks, drones: what else is Romania armed with? ●Germany, the first country in Europe with a million electric cars ●Serotonin, Antidepressants, and the Complicated History of Antipsychiatry with Professional Ethics: Psychoanalysis and Its Demons ● Eight famous hotels on Calea Victoria ●The “Law on Fugitives” was blocked by the former High Council of Magistrates

​h2: How Romania got 200 state secretaries, four times more than in 2010

In 2010, when the PSD left the government, Emil Bock carried out the first reform of state secretaries. From 100, 50 remained. Since then, their number has steadily increased. In 2016, there were 70 state secretaries in Romania, to which were added 25 heads of sub-departmental institutions with the rank of state secretary.

Two years later, in 2018, their number reached 135, including subordinate institutions.

In March 2023, Free Europe journalists counted more than 200 secretaries of state, directors or members of administrative councils with the rank of secretary of state, or people in the leadership of intelligence services who also have the rank of secretary of state. And the Government’s actions in recent months indicate that Victoria Palace officials are not going to rest on their laurels. writes Free Europe

In the footsteps of a prisoner who left a note in the walls of a casino in Constanta

May 1952. Julius Marton, a mason and carpenter, tears off a piece of paper from a bag of cement and writes a note with a carpenter’s pencil, which he hides in a matchbox in the wall of the casino where he works. He is a political prisoner, sentenced first to nine, then to three years for illegally crossing the border.

He does not know when he will escape and be able to return home to Cisnădie, and whether he will manage to escape alive. His ticket, fixed in the walls, will remain a sign that he passed. That in the spring, when he turns 50, he is still alive.

70 years later, during renovations in the casino, Julius’s ticket was discovered. The mayor of Constanta publishes a message that worries everyone. He wrote to an unknown reader, he wrote to us, with impressive warmth and dignity, writes PressHub

More than 20 families from a village near Mangalia pay rent to the city hall because they live in the buildings of the former IAS. Some were stables

Despite the difficult conditions, the room and hall under an asbestos-cement roof, people say they feel at home in the buildings of the former IAS in Pecineaga commune, Konstanz county. Furnaces were installed, electricity and water connected, and painted. They do not even dare to dream of better conditions, they are only afraid that they will be taken out into the street.

The commune of Peckineaga with approximately 3,200 inhabitants is located 19 kilometers from Mangalia. It has two villages, Vânători and Pecineaga, and the mayor Nikulaje Stan is in his fourth term. Last December, the mayor avoided a trial in which he was tried for abuse of office because the statute of limitations intervened, relevant as the sword of Damocles.

More than 20 families from a village near Mangalia pay rent to the city hall because they live in the buildings of the former IAS. Some were stables. – We raised five children here! Houses where 20 families live After 1990, the buildings of the former IAS in the commune became houses. Some of them had already been designated to accommodate day laborers who came from all over the country to work on the farms in the area. Others served as stables for horses.

The area is called “La Dormitoare”, as the inhabitants of the commune call it, and it is located on the edge of the village of Pecineaga, right where the asphalt on the streets ends and the dirt begins, Svoboda writes

Submarines, tanks, drones: what else is Romania armed with?

More than a decade ago, at a conference in Bucharest, American strategist George Friedman urged Romania to buy tanks, explaining the importance of these classic machines for modern warfare.

Meanwhile, too little has changed, Romania still has 400 tanks, the most in the region, but all from the Warsaw Pact era, most of them obsolete, if not even functional. Only about 50 were modernized and equipped with modern sights, reinforced armor and electronic controls.

When Friedman spoke about the need for tanks, about the aggressiveness of the Russians and the division of the Europeans, the American expert tried to explain to the audience that in case of immediate danger, Romania must defend itself until the mobilization of NATO. . And then, as now, between Romania and Russia – Ukraine, writes DW

Germany, the first country in Europe with a million electric cars

After China, which is already approaching 4 million vehicles powered exclusively by batteries, Germany is the second country in the world and, of course, the first in Europe to cross the threshold of one million electric vehicles.

Just as they changed the subsidy regime for the purchase of electric cars – reducing the discounts that those who buy cars with batteries receive – Germany managed to reach a historic threshold: one million registered electric cars.

In particular, as of December 31, 2022, 1,013,009 purely electric cars were registered, which is 63.8% more than at the end of 2021.

This number is probably equal to that of all other European states combined, given that the two main European markets, Spain and Italy, have not implemented Rabla-like programs with significant impact, and France has had erratic behavior when we talk about subsidies on electricity , writes AutoCritica.

Serotonin, Antidepressants, and the Complicated History of Antipsychiatry with Professional Ethics: Psychoanalysis and Its Demons

In the first part of this series, I talked about David Rosenhan, a professor of forensic psychology at Stanford, who in 1973 published a study in the journal Science with an anti-psychiatry thesis. He obtained admission to a psychiatric hospital with a diagnosis of schizophrenia based on a false allegation of three auditory hallucinations, concluding that psychiatry could not distinguish sanity from pathology.

A 2019 investigation by journalist Susanna Cahalan found that Rosenhan lied about his symptoms and told doctors about strange behavior and suicidal thoughts. Almost 50 years later, in the summer of 2022, British psychiatrist Joanna Moncrief et al. published a review investigating the role of serotonin in depression, which exploded in the media under the argument that antidepressants had no effect. In what socio-political circumstances was born anti-psychiatry, which today is called “critical psychiatry”, which Moncrieff and others adhere to? writes Escoada

Eight famous hotels on Calea Victoria

Today a promenade and tourist ford, Calea Victoriei in Bucharest became more than 200 years ago the center of attempts to develop safe trade in the capital of Wallachia.

So, one by one, Bucharest inns appeared on this important artery of the city. On Calea Victoriei were the most important inns, noble and genteel, with properties to match. In addition to commercial development, their role was also to help churches and monasteries support their expenses.

In crisis situations, inns were places surrounded by high and thick walls, where powerful people and boyars found refuge. Under similar circumstances, they could become headquarters for generals or army commanders.

Imposing buildings of the city, such as the head office of the National Bank or the National Historical Museum (formerly the Post Office Palace) later arose on the ruins of destroyed or disappeared inns. Other inns, such as Tei’s or Manuc’s, still preserve the memory of Bucharest’s old trade, writes Dela0.ro

The “Law on Fugitives” was blocked by the former High Council of Magistrates

The Ministry of Justice in May 2022 initiated a draft amendment to the Criminal Code, the so-called “escape law”, which provides for the addition of 3 years to the sentence for convicts who flee the country, being accused of “escape”.

The Higher Council of Magistracy (VSM) did not agree with the project, believing that “it should not be promoted.”

According to the project, finally convicted persons who do not surrender within 7 days after the sentencing will receive an additional punishment for “escape” of up to 3 years.

Since the law provides for amendments to the Criminal Code, the Ministry of Justice requested the opinion of the Supreme Court of Justice. In September of last year, the former Higher Council of Magistracy gave a negative opinion on the project, according to PressHub