Bulgarian Nurses Shocked as Libya Raises New Charge

This is just too much to comment on...

I just heard an interesting conversation on Programa Horizont.

The interviewee was a Bulgarian journalist heavily involved in the Libyan case.
When asked about his conversations with the Libyan officials, he made a very perceptive observation.
Paraphrasing:
- they often ask me "how would you like if someone disrespects you judicial system"?
- I would be very sympathetic towards anyone "disrespecting" our judicial system, because we all know how much there is to improve there.
- then they ask me "how would you like if a foreign country interferes in your internal business, and not just the EU but say the USA"?
- I like that very much, in fact the American ambassador often has much to say about our problems and we certainly welcome any outsider's input and constructive criticism...
- they just look at me blank.... abe, he said, that's when you run into the serious cultural differences....

The reason I think this small exchange was brilliant, is because it really illustrates that despite the Vas's and all the rest of the bruised and abused middle aged Bulgarians (sometimes guilty) who rant and bitch regularly about everything, Bulgaria is really and deeply part of the civilized European culture.

mo/kolega~
"despite the Vas's and all the rest of the bruised and abused middle aged Bulgarians (sometimes guilty) who rant and bitch regularly about everything"
okay Boradt...
:-P

BTW, how come you are not using the "mo" nick?

BTW, how come you are not using the "mo" nick?

...like you totally miss "mo" like...;)

We can't imagine what life is like for them. I was at a BG celebration in Dublin tonight and a lot of poeple were wearing 'You're Not Alone' ribbons. Monika (my gf) says all her customers are aware of the case (it seldom makes the papers here) and many ask for updates on the situation.

Kolega,

Nope, it isnt yet but god willing, in some years it will happen. An important difference is that somehow the people in Europe know since a pretty young age what they should not do and also know how to exploit the system in a (semi)legal way.

Our guys dont know what they should not do or dont care and do it anyway, and the more ambitious ones exploit the system mostly in an illegal way (bribe being the normal thing to do if you want your job done) thinking this is perfectly okay.

The only good thing is that now there is more compassion and solidarity among the Bulgarians about this case, while 2-3 years ago nobody in BG cared about the nurses. SNA wrote about a demonstration to free the nurses in 2005 I think where only 50 people showed up, which is a shame.

About that time I wrote here that nowadays Bulgarians are not really a nation but a collection of individuals who happen to speak the same language and most of them to cohabitate the same territory, but can hardly get together in an organized enough society. Now apparently the indifference has gone a little bit and we see some normal reaction from the people, which is good.

Kolega: All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds
Vas: All is for the worst in the worst of all possible worlds

moleda,

Not only has your English grown by leaps and bounds but your rationality in certain areas is admirable. What has happened?

CS,

"Kolega: All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds
Vas: All is for the worst in the worst of all possible worlds"

To bad we live in neither.

WW,

I know of at least four people who lived or are living in the best of all worlds - mo, Leibnitz, Candide and Pangloss, but the second one is dead and the last two never existed.

As for the population of the worst of all worlds, I know that Vas is living there but there are certainly some more.

So I reckon the best of all worlds must have a population like Monaco and the worst of all worlds must have a population like the Mauritius Island.

CS,

Oh, you mean in their heads? Perhaps, but it is even more painful when that world collides with the real one.

WW,

I believe there must be such a thing like real world but it is damn difficult to distinguish between this one and the "real world" in your head.

SC:
"Kolega: All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds"

I am not sure how exactly you mean this but I am a history geek and tend to put things in historic perspective, removed from emotions as much as possible. (with variable success, to be sure).
Bulgaria has many problems, social awareness and demographic crises among the biggest, but right now we are in the best possible position we've been in modern history, save perhaps that brief period between San Stefano and the Berlin Congress.

I think for all of us, who came of age in the previous regime, the sheer availability of news and constant pounding by the new and free media of the problems we are dealing with in combination with our own ability to see the rest of Europe with the inevitable sad conclusions regarding our relative situation, has created an air of negativity and hopelessness that is subjective and a bit obsessive compulsive.

We are a nation of people who get their reality from the newspapers and rarely pick up a book - we are fascinated by the media, because we are still collectively unused to being free, and easily derailed from the all important ability to judge objectively.

20 -30 years a go, Bulgaria was a much, much worse place to be in, but we were blissful in our ignorance.
Now we are informed, and that rattles the shit out us;)

Similarly there is much hype about the US's economic shortcomings in relation to China - 100% repetition of the Japan fears of the 80's!
Back then there were calls here in the US that America should restructure its economic model to resemble that of Japan - where most people have only one job in their life time and government helps business export, as well as the "Made in USA" movement - remember?
TIME magazine had on its cover a painting of a boat, tugging all the famous US land marks towards the "Rising Sun"...
Inside there was a cartoon portraying the Japanese President, in front of a huge map of the world, holding the shoulder of the German president saying: "Fritz, this time, no Italians, please!"

What is Japan now - stagnating economy, aging and depressed population living with their parents and their goods are being produced in China and the US - the same thing the Americans decried in the 80's.

Reagan, (the evil satan) was privatizing and de-regulating and the US has a much more flexible and resilient economic model now.
Perspective - that's all.

Kolega,

I have no serious objections to your analysis, it is interesting to read it. What I meant with the Voltaire phrase was that when it comes to Bulgaria you often describe the actual situation as if we are several years from now in the future - not that it will not happen but it has not yet happened and to get there some energy must be spend;)