Evil Europeans and mistreated minorities

I was browsing WAYLA's blog when I stumbled across a reference to a Christian Science Monitor article on allegations that Gypsy women were sterilized in the Czech Republic. Basically, a few Gypsy women alleged that they were sterilized without their consent immediately after giving birth. The government denies it, but one such allegation help up in the Czech courts.

Jeez, regardless how true that is, this is pretty bad PR. The article even drops a line on other evil doers such as Slovakia and states that "the practice also has been reported in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria." Who exactly reported that is not clear.

Okay, it goes without saying: sterilizing without consent is morally reprehensible and plain wrong, but how widespread is such a practice? Not much. Although, I am sure isolated incidents do occur. Of course, it is very easy to raise the ghost of the evil ex-commies and their deviant ways. After all, few of this paper's readers have even heard of these countries, let alone have any real knowledge of them.

To be sure, this is a tragedy for any family that has been coerced or tricked into sterilization, but plain observation tells me this is very isolated. In Bulgaria it is not uncommon to see Gypsy families with 5-6 or more children - hardly victims of such practice. Every so often I also read about abandoned Gypsy babies (some dead in the garbage containers) - a prime example of maternal care. The sad truth is that as long as there are "mothers" who abandon their children by the garbage, there will be wacko doctors who will sterilize without the woman’s (or the government's) consent. Nasty, but hardly a government policy.

Bill Bailey

A true Chaucerian bard at his best. Enjoy.

The End of an Era

Well, this is a tough one. I can't think of anyone who can be upbeat when his favourite team or player decides to step down and call it quits. But this is how things go and Michael Schumacher, no matter how fast he is, cannot outrun time. And now we know for sure, he is stepping down at the zenith of his career as a racer.
It has been a great ride for the last 13 or so years since I started following Michael's career as a driver. Almost religiously, I watched more or less all of his races both with the Benetton team and with Ferrari. Yes, some people never got used to his aggressive style, but Formula 1 is all about being aggressive. Somebody had to push the envelope and get into new, unchartered territories when it comes to speed and pure driving skill. Schumacher did it all. Not only did he win a record number of titles, but more importantly, he brought Formula 1 racing to a new, much higher level and this sport will never be the same. It was incredible! Thanks, Michael.

Back from Bulgaria

What up?
Maan, seems like I have been out of sight for more than a month! Well, this blog is not a stillborn, but very much alive and kickin'. I am not gonna bore you with my mundane, day-to-day stuff, but apart from work, I also spent a good chunk of August in Bulgaria, you know, the mother ship. I was mostly in Sofia and Plovdiv seeing family and visiting friends. Anyway, I took a ton of photos and then, when I was just about to post some of them here, I forgot my camera at my girlfriend's place in Sofia. She should be e-mailing them to me pretty soon.
Some memorable events, just from the top of my head - I did a few great runs in South Park in Sofia, which is at the foothills of mount Vitosha. This was a lot of fun. Gotta say, though, most young Bulgarians prefer to drink beers in the park, rather then do "American" things like jogging, leave alone doing endurance runs like me. Alright, I have a few commentaries coming up, so bear with me and this weekend this blog is going to be buzzing with "clever" ideas.
Later.