tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891289711377156224.post4903740963228507758..comments2024-03-28T09:46:24.020+02:00Comments on A Political Refugee From The Global Village : Is Romania a real country or a case of plagiarism?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891289711377156224.post-54720075402808833802012-07-02T23:22:07.481+03:002012-07-02T23:22:07.481+03:00... and once you've been outside the country l...... and once you've been outside the country long enough, seeing these kind of things gives you a 'sudden' urge the gather them all up and put a firing squad in front of them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891289711377156224.post-73913926694434278022012-07-02T20:55:08.710+03:002012-07-02T20:55:08.710+03:00There is NO official body in charge of judging pla...There is NO official body in charge of judging plagiarism of a thesis in Romania, hence why it's so easy to do it and a large majority of PhD holders are probably imposters. They do not use the software we do (God, the stress I felt knowing my dissertation was going through the software at C'bridge - that I hadn't quoted properly, cited adequately, labelled and referenced enough...) Imagine it, a country so admired for its latter-day intellectuals (Spiru Haret, Alexandru Rosetti come immediately to mind) now full of fake copy/paste so-called 'Drs' - between the PM, the country's General Prosecutor, Mang, Dumitrescu, the minister of agriculture and a whole bunch of others ALL have been accused of nicking other peoples work and calling it there own from degree level upwards.<br /><br />In Romania, you can get a PhD in three years (I know people who have - one who managed it in two and a half). Elsewhere it is 5-7... a PhD in Romania is in no way equal to what we consider a PhD in the western neck of the woods.<br /><br />Having a PhD in Romania is a matter of snobbism - a root from communism. Elena Ceausescu as you know got hers when she was illiterate (and was the death of poor Nenitescu who threw her out of his office in disgust and later had a heart attack from the terrible stress of what would happen to him in consequence). Why a politician would need one anyway is beyond me. Surely, a good, solid education up to a degree standard (not even MA) and then a great deal of common sense and life experience is what is required. The Romanian PhD is not what it used to be - and hasn't been for decades...<br /><br />Romanians don't take all this seriously because chez eux, everyone has a 'doctorat'. Its nothing unusual. It's not even that admirable or impressive. Someone asked me once whether I had one and when I said no,I had an MA though, they kind of sneered! "Aren't you going to get one? It's just a couple of years." I didn't get it at the time. But I get it now.<br /><br />Your average Romanian doesn't expect him to stand down (only those living outside Romanian long enough to absorb different priorities and values do) for this reason and also because they know full well that he is too arrogant to do so, will not accept shame and will blame everyone else from the commitee to the cleaning lady to the neighbour's dog.<br /><br />The ridiculous "I'll stand down if Basescu stands down with me' is just laughable - let the people decide. 'The people' have no one to vote for... what a situation. Come November, USL will win the elections, because as Silvia Colfescu wrote in her superb article day before yesterday entitled 'Poporul plateste', "nu stie". And that's exactly it.<br /><br />I am sure that the commission to judge Ponta's fake blurb once and for all will be hand chosen and loaded with PSD-ists who will find him innocent as the driven snow. they won't even revoke his qualification - and Ponta will offer to give it up to show what a nice, honest guy he is...watch this space. The idiots (who 'nu stie' mai bine) will be very impressed with that. <br /><br />But the damage has been done. International opinion has made its verdict and will consider him a plagiarist for always. Not that he cares. <br /><br />It's very sad that Romania has become so famous for something as disgraceful rather than for something positive. Any PhD coming out of Romania from this point on (if it wasn't before) will be seen as dubious - and there are some who have the bona fide award having worked their toes off for it.<br /><br />Sorry, a rather long comment...<br />SarahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com