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mariacallous · 22 days ago

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Update: On December 6, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first round of the country’s presidential election, according to Romanian media.

It’s now a familiar story: a right-wing outsider candidate whose campaign is seen as so unserious that media coverage classifies it as entertainment rather than news pulls off a shocking upset. But while Romanian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu has yet to secure victory, with a second round of voting still ahead, his rapid rise, incendiary rhetoric, and lack of a political party stand out even by the standards of the last decade’s populist surge. And while the Russian government has backed no shortage of far-right candidates in foreign elections in recent years, the success of its apparent influence in Georgescu’s campaign — as declassified Romanian intelligence documents indicate — is striking. Meduza explains why Georgescu’s first-round victory came as such a shock, what his presidency would mean for Ukraine and the rest of Europe, and what the newly released intelligence documents reveal about the forces promoting his candidacy.

From TikTok to the ticket

The first round of Romania’s 2024 presidential election came on November 24. Pre-election polling showed Marcel Ciolacu, Romania’s prime minister from the center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD), as the favorite to win among the 13 candidates running. Elena Lasconi from the center-right Save Romania Union, who stood out as the only candidate to oppose the idea that Ukraine should cede territory to Russia for the sake of peace, was also performing well.

The most prominent ultranationalist candidate in the race — who the ruling PSD was reportedly hoping would win just enough votes in the first round to give Ciolacu an easy win in the runoff — was George Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the right-wing AUR Alliance. Simion cited Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as his political role models. Even he, however, blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal” and declared his support for Romania’s NATO member status.

Largely absent from pre-election coverage, meanwhile, was Călin Georgescu, a 62-year-old sustainable development consultant who doesn’t belong to a political party and reached voters primarily on TikTok. Most polls predicted him winning less than 10 percent of the vote. Instead, he won about 23 percent — more than any other candidate. He and Lasconi, who came in second with about 19 percent, will now face off in the election’s second round on December 8.

Many of Georgescu’s past statements make Trump wannabe George Simion’s positions look moderate by comparison. According to Politico, he has described the 1989 revolution that overthrew longtime communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu as a “coup d’état used by the West to steal Romania’s resources.” In 2022, he said that Nazi collaborator Ion Antonescu and Corneliu Codreanu, founder of the World War II-era fascist and anti-Semitic Iron Guard movement, were “heroes of the Romanian nation.” He has also expressed skepticism about vaccines and called climate change a “global scam that has nothing to do with reality.”

In 2018, Georgescu referred to Vladimir Putin as “a true leader” in a TV interview, and four years later, he referred to the Russian president as “a man who loves his country.” And while this may be the extent of his direct praise for Putin in public statements, there’s a lot for the Kremlin to like about his political positions.

For example, in 2021, Georgescu called a NATO missile defense shield in Romania a “shame of diplomacy” and said the bloc would not defend its members if Russia attacked. He has also called for ending Romanian aid to Ukraine and said that rather than creating its own foreign policy, Bucharest should look to “Russian wisdom.” On December 4, he told Reuters that he plans to ban transit of Ukrainian grain through Romania if elected. Asked about whether Romania would continue prioritizing defense spending in accordance with NATO benchmarks, Georgescu said, “This is ultra-secondary, I am not even interested.”

‘Romania first’

According to journalist Paula Erizanu, who covers Romanian and Moldovan politics, it’s likely not Georgescu’s praise of fascist leaders or admiration for Putin that won him the election’s first round. “Some of the far-right messages and the pro-Russian messages actually came as a surprise to people who voted for Georgescu,” she told Meduza. “Some influencers and ordinary voters came out after election day saying that they regretted their votes because they did not know about the extreme views. Others dismissed them as fakes, because Georgescu himself dismisses them and contradicts himself all the time, and still others just ignored these views and focused on the anti-system messages.”

Erizanu said that one of Georgescu’s most popular TikTok talking points had to do with Romania’s support for Ukraine. “Georgescu uses the same line as Russian propaganda across the West, which is that Romania has its own problems, so why should it help Ukrainian refugees, especially as some of them are really wealthy? Why are there Ukrainian males in Romania when they should be fighting in the war in Ukraine? And why is Romania giving weapons to Ukraine when this war is not Romania’s war?” she said.

These ideas likely resonated with voters in part because of the uncertainty and fear many Romanians feel as neighbors of a country at war. “I would say that the political establishment in Romania has not been communicative enough to the public about what the war in Ukraine means to Romania and how they can guarantee Romanian people that they will not be sent to the front line,” Erizanu explained.

On the other hand, she noted that Georgescu has vowed to introduce mandatory military service if he wins the presidency. “[He argues that] it supposedly ‘ennobles’ young men, but that doesn’t seem to scare Romanians off,” she said.

Outside help

Georgescu announced at the start of his run that his campaign would have “zero budget” and be run entirely by volunteers. On December 4, however, the Romanian authorities declassified intelligence documents indicating that at least hundreds of dollars were paid to TikTok creators to promote the dark-horse candidate.

According to documents cited by Politico, approximately 25,000 accounts made up a network “directly associated with Georgescu’s campaign and became very active in those two weeks.” Another declassified document says that the activity “could have been coordinated by a state actor.” While the documents don’t directly assert that Russia was behind the operation, they contain circumstantial evidence pointing to Moscow and note similarities between the TikTok campaign and Russian influence operations in Ukraine and Moldova.

Journalist Paula Erizanu said that while the documents don’t prove that Georgescu was in “collusion” with Russia, it’s difficult to see how he could be unaware of such a large-scale campaign. “This is, of course, what [Alexandr] Stoianoglo, the presidential candidate in Moldova, said when proof appeared that Russia was buying votes for him: he said he didn’t know about any of these schemes so he wasn’t guilty,” she told Meduza. “But of course, if something is done in your name in order to boost you, you should at least be worried about it if you’re not complicit in it.”

She also noted that Georgescu’s messages “seem to align with Russia’s funding into anti-vaxxer, conspiracy theories, and extremist content in the Romanian language.”

The shocking election results had aroused suspicion even before the intelligence documents were declassified. On November 28, Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defence announced that a document analysis had shown that an unnamed candidate in the presidential race “benefited from massive exposure due to preferential treatment granted by the TikTok platform.” This prompted the country’s Constitutional Court to order a recount of votes. On December 2, the court validated the votes and confirmed Georgescu’s lead.

The same day, Vladimir Putin joked about the recount, saying: “The authorities didn’t like one of the candidates, so they decided to recount the votes.”

‘Agents of chaos’

A Georgescu victory in the runoff election could be bad news not just for Ukraine and NATO but also for Romania itself.

“At the moment, analysts are talking about Romania turning into a sort of Hungary or Slovakia with Georgescu in power, and that would mean not getting E.U. funds, which are critical in order to keep Romania’s economy going,” Erizanu told Meduza, adding that Romania currently has a large budget deficit.

At the same time, she noted, it’s difficult to predict what Georgescu’s skepticism of international institutions would mean in practice. “It’s not clear whether Romania would actually withdraw from the E.U. or NATO,” she explained. “Just like we can’t predict what Trump will do once he comes to power, it’s unpredictable, to a large extent, what Georgescu will do if he comes to power. These are agents of chaos.”

In any case, according to Erizanu, Georgescu becoming Romania’s president would almost certainly give Moscow reason to celebrate. “There is so much information, including the declassified intelligence documents, showing that Russia was behind Georgescu’s campaign, so we can basically foresee Georgescu withdrawing support for Ukraine and becoming a kind of unfriendly neighbor to Ukraine and pursuing Russian agendas within the E.U. and NATO,” she said.

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notyourhistoryclass · 1 month ago

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In 1971, the head of state in Romania, Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, Elena visited Mao Zedong in China and they were met with an incredible sight. Everywhere, Chairman Mao was being worshipped, treated with reverence, pushed to an almost God-like status. For the couple, both born in poverty, the son and daughter of peasants, this was almost too good to be true and they took it to heart. Nicolae wanted so badly to be put on a pedestal, to be glorified by his citizens, and Elena was by his side, whispering in his ear. Telling him that he deserved to be worshipped, to be in the hall of greats. His megalomaniac, narcissistic mind started to believe his own propaganda. Nicolae later became President of Romania and he and his wife spent the next 18 years creating hell on earth for the Romanian people, eventually leading to the genocide of thousands of individuals.

Thanks to Mike Meyers for the theme music, you can follow him on X @themikeshow42.

The background music of this episode is “A Secret Comes Out” by John Bartmann (Free Music Archive)(CC0 1.0) https://tinyurl.com/secretcomesout

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darkmaga-returns · 2 months ago

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Many people who know me will recall that way back in 2015, during the last full year of the Obama Administration and as the 2016 election season was getting underway, I started giving a simple warning to people. Using social media and during my speaking engagements and guests spots on radio programs, I reminded everyone that throughout history, “no communist regime has ever willing just given up power.”

As was the case in the former Soviet Union, the people had to rise up and shake loose from the bonds of communism that had held them captive for decades, forcing then Soviet Premiere Mikhail Gorbachev from office and bringing down the Soviet regime.

The people of the once Soviet Bloc nation of Romania took it a step further and dispatched the former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena, standing them both before a wall and exacting permanent judgment against them for the crimes they committed against the Romanian people.

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kirstythejetblackgoldfish · 5 months ago

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Seeing Michael Smith and Luke Littler petting animals in Australia reminds me of the Ceausescus' trip to Australia in 1988

Because of course

#Michael Smith #Luke Littler #darts #Ceausescu #Nicolae Ceausescu #Elena Ceausescu #Ceausescus #Romania #Australia #koala

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personal-reporter · 1 year ago

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Festival di Narrazione 2023 ad Arzo

Arzo, un quartiere di Mendrisio alle falde del Monte San Giorgio, sulle sponde del Lago di Como, è famoso per le cave di marmo e per il Festival Internazionale di Narrazione che, per la XXIII edizione, porterà nella zona spettacoli, incontri, momenti musicali e tanto altro: da giovedì 17 a domenica 20 agosto. “Vedersi di fronte” è il motto di questa edizione, per conoscersi, riconoscersi, interrogarsi e aprire spazio al confronto. Per quanto gli spettacoli per il pubblico adulto, Karakorum Teatro presenta lo spettacolo Vasi comunicanti nell’originale drammaturgia di Marco Di Stefano, sulle storie raccolte sul confine tra Italia e Svizzera. Si prosegue con 80 centesimi di e con Pietro De Nova: che parla di aspettative e sogni, di un pallone da inseguire e di come la linea tra successo e fallimento sia sottile, che nasce dall’esperienza di pendolare dell’autore, per alcuni anni di passaggio nella stazione di Rogoredo. Il desiderio di avvicinarsi è all’origine dello spettacolo Gli Altri – Indagine sui nuovissimi mostri della compagnia bolognese Kepler-452, di e con Nicola Borghesi:, che indaga l’identità degli hater, gli autori di commenti pieni di odio e violenza, che sempre più popolano il web. La compagnia Frosini/Timpano sarà in scena al festival con due spettacoli Gli Sposi, sulla storia di Nicolae Ceausescu ed Elena Petrescu, la coppia che ha messo la Romania in ginocchio per oltre vent’anni, e Carne sul mondo del cibo narratto attraverso il dialogo di due personaggi, uno vegetariano e uno carnivoro. Come ogni anno, non mancheranno momenti di energia e puro ritmo, ad esempio i musicisti europei e latinoamericani di La Combi animeranno, con una musica che combina cumbia, milonga e altri ritmi popolari, le giornate di festival con intermezzi e con un concerto, Giuseppe Semeraro, torna al festival con Mio nonno e il mulo” ispirato al racconto di Vasilij Grossman: che ripercorre le vicende della guerra, per diventare un canto sui piccoli gesti di cura, mentre l’attrice svizzera Piera Gianotti Rosenberg, in Genealogie caprine, racconta le peripezie, la malattia e la morte di un gregge di capre piuttosto particolare. Se il teatro è una finestra sul mondo, spesso la collaborazione con i mondi diventa fondamentale, come in Home sweet home di Roberto Capaldo, una riflessione sulla casa che nasce da una ricerca con, tra gli altri, migranti, senza fissa dimora e pazienti in lungo degenza. Da laboratori e da consulenze, si sviluppa l’idea di Storia di un No, uno spettacolo della compagnia Arione de Falco che affronta le problematiche legate all’educazione sentimentale negli adolescenti. Infine al festival non mancherà la profonda leggerezza del lavoro dei Giullari di Gulliver, che proporranno due spettacoli alla Casa Fossati di Meride, i Canfabula saranno in scena con Il giovane gigante mentre il Collettivo Minimo con Biancaneve allo sbaraglio. Read the full article

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anti-imperialist-squad · 1 year ago

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#elena ceausescu #romania #masquerade #masquerade mask #masquerade ball #mascarada #bal mascat

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bartholomaus · 2 years ago

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Tatăl meu mi-a povestit mai demult o întâmplare (despre care citise undeva) petrecută într-o comunitate relativ săracă de undeva dintr-o țară africană.

Un grup de occidentali, în cadrul unui proiect de educație ecologistă, a prezentat locuitorilor unui orășel african un film documentar despre apă, resurse etc. Sau ceva de genul. La sfârșit a fost un fel de conferință în care spectatorii au fost întrebați ce părere au. Majoritatea covârșitoare au spus că cel mai mult le-a plăcut găinușa. Stupoare pe occidentali! Care găinușă? La o revizionare, occidentalii au descoperit că într-o scenă în care apărea un sat sărac, prin fața cadrului a defilat, întâmplător, un pui de găină. Asta îi amuzase teribil și asta reținuseră localnicii din tot filmul ecologist-educațional. În rest, n-au reținut și înțeles absolut nimic din film.

later edit - Vezi mai jos un link către o carte unde experimentul e descris un pic diferit. Filmul e despre realitățile din SUA. Iar el a rulat în mai multe comunități din Africa unde toți au remarcat -invariabil- doar puiul.

Ați observat, în multe din comentariile de pe facebook cât de mulți oameni gândesc (dacă pot spune asa) în genul asta? Cât de paraleli sunt cu subiectul, cum nu văd pădurea de uscături, bref, cum nu înțeleg nimic din postare, dar comentează

Este din Marshall McLuhan ”Galaxia Gutenberg” (Editura Politică 1975) capitolul ”De ce analfabeții nu pot privi filme sau fotografii fără un antrenament temeinic”. O carte cam bramburită, dar plină de FAPTE extrem de relevante. Și, DA, acest gen de oameni mișună printre noi în număr foarte mare - gîndiți-vă doar la nenumăratele cazuri trăite, în care ați observat cum o grămadă de șoferi VĂD (obstacolul), DAR NU-L PERCEP (și frînează în ultima clipă). Ar mai fi multe de spus dar... sîntem pe fb.

Deseori oamenii pot fi instruiți, dar nu le creste IQ in mod semnificativ. Iar judecata lor va fi etern simplista, chiar și cu o bruma de educație. Iar oamenii prosti sunt mai intodeauna și răi. --

Oamenii prosti Oriunde te uiti, la majoritatea oamenilor, acestia sunt "easy going", cum ar spune americanul. Oameni BUNI, in general, desi nu au nici cea mai mica idee despre ceea ce se intamplă cu adevărat in jurul lor si incotro se indreapta. Asta nu-i peocupa deloc. Le place doar sa se distreze, in general. Omenirea merge inainte, zic ei, dar nu se prea priep cum sa contribuie sa o ajute sa progreseze. Oamenii destepti Cei mai multi oameni inteligenti fac parte din cei care nu-i ajuta pe semenii lor si stiu sa profite de ceilalti. Sunt RAI dar preocupati de progersul omenirii pentru ca in acest fel ei vor putea profita mai bine, din prea mare lacomie. I-am putea numi printre ei si pe bancheri. (😛) Oamenii inteligenti si buni - Rarae avis O minoritate. Ii place sa invete mereu si sa faca bine. Ei admira cunostintele si le folosesc pentru a crește ca individ. Sunt iubitori de oameni. Asta-i un imbold pentru ei sa-si ajute semenii. Stiu ce se intampla in jurul lor si fac tot ce pot sa-i ajute pe cei din jurul lor, ajutandu-i sa progreseze. Cati oameni sunt asa? Doar de-a lungul istoriei omenirii ii poti intalni. Contemporani cu mine eu nu prea cunosc. Ca sa avansam la un nivel superior, ne-ar trebui cat mai multi oamni de felul asta. Nu e o clasificare exhaustiva, insa, in mare, cam astia sunt. (Excepiile intaresc regula.) --->>>>>>>> Desi cei de pe urma carora suferim cel mai mult, sunt cei din prima categorie, care - din lăcomie -

încearca să intre în a 2-a categorie. Si ar face orice (ar vinde-o si pe mă-sa) pt o vilă cu piscină si un BMV. De exemplu, sunt politicienii nostrii dar si majoritatea directorasilor sau șefuleților din orice funcție de raspundere. Și nu numai... Sfertodocți, proști dar vicleni, imorali. Variațiuni ale modelului Elena si Nicolae Ceausescu.. Mai sunt și tot felul de stupizi (prosti, da mulți...) care aderă la ideologii. Tot felul de ideologii (veganism, mancare bio, anti-vaccinism si alte pseudo-stiinte, religii dubioase sau traditionale dar duse pe noi trepte de ignoranță, atitudini anti-a orice, extremisme reîncălzite, xenofobii etc ). ------------------------------------------------- e vorba de cum se transforma in idei relevante ceea ce vedem. Cum putem extrage esenta din ceea ce vedem. Cum putem (sau nu) să pricepem ce vedem. Mințile simple nu pot extrage ideile principale dintr-o poveste mai lunga (vazuta sau auzită). Mințile simple se pierd în detalii fară să vadă ansamblul. Am văzut asta la fata mea. Care la vârstele mici retinea dintr-un film secvențe izolate, dar nu pricepea defel povestea. Cu cat a inaintat în varsta a început sa priceapa mai mult din poveste, în dauna detaliilor (soarele, pasarelele, muzica). Despre asta vorbim. Am si spus in postare despe nevăzutul pădurii din cauza uscăturilor. Si despre faptul ca pe fb (fiindca asa sunt si in lumea reala) sunt o multime din astia. ---- în caz că nu ai făcut acest test, fă-l acum. https://youtu.be/vJG698U2Mvo --------->>> Nu este vorba despre același tip de perceptie. In experimentul african era vorba despre înțelegerea mesajului, priceperea unei idei transmise de un film. Care nu a existat. Oamenii nu au fost capabili sa sintetizeze niste informații mai bogate, fiind preocupati de niste fragmente de realitate familiare lor. In testul cu numaratul mingiilor este vorba de perceptia primară. Cred ca este cu totul alta zona de creier si alt mecanism de percepere

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