₦airaland Forum

Romania is known to be one of the most corrupt nations of the European Union. Less commonly known, however, is that Romania has become the centre stage of one of the fiercest anti-corruption battles.

This radical metamorphosis of Romanian society is mostly the work of a new generation that knew communism when it was young. How was a radical change in the country made possible?

It's difficult to get a political culture, to interest people in the pros and cons of public politics, in the costs and benefits, when you're not sure about your next meal. Democracy is difficult to practise on an empty stomach. -Elena Calistru, chair and founder of Funky Citizens

On January 31, 2017, the biggest protests since the fall of Romania's communist dictatorship broke out in the streets of Bucharest. Thousands of people marched against a new government decree that would grant its members immunity from prosecution on some corruption charges, including those with financial damages under $48,000 (200,000 lei).

The move was particularly bold in light of the hundreds of officials, including businessmen, mayors, government ministers and parliamentarians that have been charged and sentenced for corruption charges in the last two decades.

In early 2016, over 1,200 defendants were sent to court on charges of high-level corruption - including Romanian senators. Bribes of cash, political sway, tax cuts and even sausages have shaken and tickled the nation in turn.

Thirty years of dictatorship that ended with the Romanian Revolution and the execution of Nicolae Ceausescu have given rise to a healthy sense of humour in the country - culminating in a Bucharest tour that was created to showcase the history of corruption in the capital.

But it was the fall of the dictatorship that gave way to new levels of corruption, including the misappropriation of government funds. However, the EU laid down its own terms and conditions for Romania's then pending negotiations to join the union. Under new Minister of Justice Monica Macovei, a process of judicial reform made way for Romania's anti-corruption prosecutors.

It was also Macovei that (successfully) pushed for an independent judicial body, the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) for the right to prosecute all levels of crime. The heads of the DNA, the chief prosecutor and two deputies, are nominated by a minister of justice and the president of Romania. However, it does not answer to any ministers or deputies, enabling free reign over who and/or what the organisation chooses to investigate.

More importantly, Romanian youth are working within and alongside the DNA and other independent collectives, like Funky Citizens, motivated by the promise of a cleaner, corruption-free country.

By 2007, Romania had joined the EU and seen an unprecedented judicial overhaul resulting in the unearthing and prosecution of multiple corruption cases at the highest level. Independent media groups, like Rise Project, have since played an important part in continuing the anti-corruption legacy Romania is building, empowering journalists and activists to speak on related matters in a safe and supportive space.

In a culture of corruption, can Romania's youth be the hope the country needs to continue its transformation to democracy? Or will the ghosts of the nation's communism and corruption past be back to haunt the newly rejuvenated Romania?

Ngo40:
Welll actually....(and I hate to say this)...a lot of Black Americans don't know much about Africa other than it being an impoverished continent. They see nothing of value....all the way down to skin color (which is sad).
I assume you live in the U.S....so you've seen the t.v. commercials showing starving children....shanty towns...etc.
The views just aren't good ones.
Many Black Americans are ashamed of their heritage...because they know nothing about it nor are many of them trying.
They only associate with the European culture that they've grown up in....and which, although, has indoctrinated them to feel inferior...still is the culture in which they have complete loyalty to...

NigerianScholar:
God didnt only visit Adam and eve. He walked with them. This is how our relationship with God is meant to be until they introduced sin into themselves by eating the forbidden fruit. It is that sin that seperated us from God.


It made us so dirty that we cant comprehend the glory of God. Except when he appears in another form. Eg burning bush that wasnt really burning









andyboi4real

NATIONALPASTOR:
The same hate you are celebrating when the North threatened the Igbos to leave North or be killed.

Why are AFONJA Muslims hypocrites?

frank317:
.

Or what?

hfeetham0:
this is one of you above several billion years ago isnt it?

GloriaNinja:
WITH ALL THE BOMBING AND TERRORISM, I DON'T BLAME THEM.

IamProdigy:
The fact is you have not said anything...that can make Christians argue with you....

Amidst that what's your belief/religion...I hope ure not floating on this earth saying there is no God?....

...for only a fool says there is No God"..everything around us speaks volumes of this reality!

Goodmorning

hfeetham0:
atheists are stupid people who will believe saturn has a ring made up of dust and space rafts.. and on't believe their mother was created...

ecoeco:
Well, We all know who an atheist is..... So I'm just gonna go straight to the point and categorize them

1. THE WOUNDED: The wounded is an atheist in denial, deep in his heart he knows there's God because he has tasted of the powers of the world to come....... THIS IS HIS STORY.... He was once a fervent Christian, he gave all the seeds, did all the evangelism, prayed all the prayers, fasted even exercised some spiritual gifts.... Simply put ' e cari church for head'..... BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED..... Something tragic, painful....maybe he lost a family member, failed an exam,maybe she was raped....something happened and he taught... If truly there was God, this wouldn't have happened...... No..... No.. .. God can't be that heart less to allow this to happen... No..... Infact.... THERE IS NO GOD... (If you ever meet these ones during evangelism they will be like 'GUY FORGET..... WE HAVE DONE ALL THIS THINGS YOU ARE DOING BEFORE')



2. THE THOMASES:This ones are' REAL' i.e they only believe what they can see,hear and touch. You can also call them the scientists.....most of them have Christian/Muslim parents.... they are usually very brilliant..... Well if you ask me why these ones turned atheist, I will say dy/dx got into their head.



3. THE CONFUSED: This now atheist was once a Christian.He attended church regularly, gave offerings..... Just average..... Then one day he read/heard something and started questioning the authenticity of the Bible.....because of this he picks up the Koran and reads but he gets more confused.... then he reads about the Buddhist... the indian Krishna.... At the end he says 'TO HELL WITH RELIGION,THERE IS NO GOD '.



4. THE IGNORAMUS: This type of atheist was trained that way...probably born into a rich home....nice parents who take them to the beach instead of the church on Sunday....they have never read a single passage of the Bible, never seen the inside of a mosque.....Simply put...they are too busy enjoying the wealth of their parents they never had the time nor need to consider whether there's God or not......in pidgin... THEY NO SEND


Written by:Ecoeco

Anti-Muslim rallies across US denounced by civil rights groups
So-called ‘anti-Sharia’ rallies across almost 30 US cities come as hate crimes on the rise, prompting criticism and counter-protests
A memorial for two men fatally stabbed on a light rail train in Portland, Oregon, last week, as police said they defended a woman from an anti-Muslim tirade.
A memorial for two men fatally stabbed on a light rail train in Portland, Oregon, last week, as police said they defended a woman from an anti-Muslim tirade. Photograph: Don Ryan/AP
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Sabrina Siddiqui in Washington
@SabrinaSiddiqui
Saturday 10 June 2017 23.48 AEST Last modified on Sunday 11 June 2017 02.15 AEST

A wave of anti-Muslim rallies will sweep nearly 30 cities across America on Saturday, in a move by far-right activists that has drawn sharp criticism from civil rights groups and inspired counter-protests nationwide.

The so-called “anti-Sharia” rallies have been organized by Act For America, which claims to be protesting about human rights violations but has been deemed an anti-Muslim hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The planned demonstrations prompted security fears at mosques across the country and come at a time when hate crimes against Muslims are on the rise.


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A coalition of 129 national and local organizations amplified concerns on Friday in a letter urging mayors to denounce the marches, which also coincide with Ramadan, the holy month in which Muslims fast during the daylight hours. At least one planned rally was canceled in Portland, Oregon, where two men were fatally stabbed last month while defending two Muslim women from a man who taunted them with racial slurs.

“We are deeply concerned about the type of message that these protests send to the American public and to the good people in your city – that it is acceptable to vilify people simply because of their faith,” the groups wrote in their letter to 29 mayors.

“We, the undersigned national and local civil rights, faith-based, and community organizations, ask that you use your voice as an elected representative of your city to reject bigotry.”

At least some elected officials condemned the rallies, which they argued would promote fear and hatred under the guise of free speech.

“We need to remember that we’re strong when we’re united,” said the US representative Debbie Dingell, a Democrat who hails from Dearborn, Michigan, where roughly 40% of the residents are Muslim.

“They will not win, they will not divide this country and they will be total failures on Saturday,” Dingell said Thursday on Capitol Hill, “because we will be united against that hatred.”


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Concerns within the Muslim American community have risen since the election of Donald Trump, whose campaign routinely drew upon Islamophobic comments. The president pledged to ban Muslims from entering the US, falsely claimed Muslims celebrated on the roofs of New Jersey on 9/11 and suggested Barack Obama sympathized with extremists.

The FBI has documented a surge in anti-Muslim hate crimes in recent years, reporting a 67% spike between 2014 and 2015 of incidents motivated by bias against Muslims, Arabs, South Asian and other immigrant communities.

In some cities, hundreds of protesters will take to the streets to counteract the anti-Muslim marches. One such event is the Fasting 5K, a marathon to take place in 10 major US cities and Toronto.

The grassroots event, which raises money for charity targeting civic engagement among Muslim youth, was not initially planned in response to the anti-Muslim rallies. But it has taken on new meaning to its participants, according to the group’s founder, Farhaan Razi.

“While this Islamophobia is going on around the country, we can highlight the positive side of how Muslim Americans are supporting and being active members of their communities to counter that narrative,” Razi said.

“We looked at it as an opportunity.”

MykOnyxo:
Its just because christainity and islam have the highest population of followers. And more so Yahweh and Allah seems not real and non-existence in a very remote india village where the statues of shiva and vishnu adorns their temple .....
our birthplace, residence, and family we comes from has high impact in our religious belief.
one thing is sure.... and that is that every religion will give you arguably points to back up their claim of the existence of their deity

Mrjo:
ur lesson is still missing

Ndukings92:
had it been that the reverse was d case,u think she will do just like u did?d Devil must be Female

emotions1:
I sense a potential Gaybriel

Mr man face ur front...
whats the joy in been sexually attracted to a fellow guy....

emotions1:
He didn't create...
Adam and Steve but rather Adam and Eve..