Comments on: A Romanian Adventure

By: Mazgalica

Mazgalica — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:46:15 +0000

Salut imi place cum scrii vrei sa facem linkexchange cu blogul meu?

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:46:02 +0000

Actually the water it is fluoridated. Tap water is drinkable, but not all cities have the same quality tap water. People that live in rural areas have wells, with cold, clear, natural water which is the best. There are many springs in Romania, with natural mineral water that many people use as treatments for various illnesses. Most bottled water in our country, what Americans call soda water, is actually spring water with added carbon dioxide.

By: Ada

Ada — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:51:47 +0000

Hello,
I just read on the internet today that you have visited and had not one, but two conferences in Romania!
I am a big fan (I subscribe to Skeptic – under my husband’s name, I used his credit card to pay for it), I listen to the podcasts and I work in the media – so I should be better informed, and still had no idea about the conferences!
This is just me venting my frustration in here.
But I have an idea: Next time you go for a public conference in some place at the end of the world – can you please ask the subscription dept at the magazine to drop a mail to those in the area about the event? Some of us could benefit from that.

By: Monica

Monica — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:53:23 +0000

Hi,
I loved your post. I am Romanian (I left the country a while ago) and I still miss “sarmale” and Ursus :)
I must confess I was a bit surprised to see that biology book. I was a teenager in 1989 during the events that overthrew Ceausescu’s regime. After that, religion became more and more visible in the society(to a nauseating degree I must say, priests blessing the opening of malls,etc. etc), but I don’t recall seeing anything like that in school, certainly no biology books presenting such ridiculous views. Only the highschool philosophy book discussed God and theological points, but with quite a balanced approach. It is very worrying to hear that kids are going to study such idiotic books. I hope it will not happen or if it already does, it means the education system is really moving in the wrong direction and the atheist lobby (if there is such a thing) should try and do something about it.
I was a bit suprised to read about Remus who would run for presidential elections to enforce separation of state and church. State and church ARE separated in Romania. It is true that the Church has a huge influence on people, but Romania is not a theocracy. I wouldn’t like Remus to fight a battle that looks already lost (running for president as a declared secular person in Romania would have just as much chance to be successful as running for president of US as a gay and an atheist – although we had a president who declared himselh a “free thinker”, but only after he was elected). Wouldn’t it be better just to try and organize a sort of lobby at Parliament level or start a grassroots organization? You know, start small and grow and be reasonable.
I have always been openly atheist and although sometimes I got some disapproving looks and nasty comments in Romania, very few people seemed to have a huge problem with my worldview. It is a bit annoying and lonely to be the village eccentric, I agree :)
I have moved to a Catholic country and although I don’t see as much display of religion as in Romania, abortion is prohibited here by law and in my opinion, this actually makes this country more religious than Romania.

But yeah, I miss Bucharest and Cluj and crazy Romania :)))

By: Dan Dascalescu

Dan Dascalescu — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:17:22 +0000

@Diana Chemali: that people don’t make a cross sign when they see a black cat is certainly true; and probably few make one when they pass by a church – but the latter is probably the reality in Bucharest.

The rest of the population, I’d wager, is much more religious. I lived in Galati, a decent industrial city of 300,000, and let’s just say that priests in church clothing, people making cross signs whenever they passed a church, and public transportation vehicles displaying religious artifacts displayed in, were a tad too much for my taste.

Mr. Shermer, I greatly enjoyed your presentation at Ohlone College in Fremont on March 06, 2009 (thank you for signing my book), and I wish to thank you as well for helping spread critical thinking in my home country.

By: frank

frank — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:10:06 +0000

re: Glenn (now comment 12 – retreayt having been (properly) deleted)

ok – fair comment!

rgds,

frnk

By: Glenn

Glenn — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:51:42 +0000

Frank using English reads like a Donkey playing a violin.

By: frank

frank — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:05:38 +0000

ooops – mybad

my befuddled brain concatenated messers Shermer and Dawkins.

my apologies.
it is Mr Dawkins whom i have found abrasively offensive in his misotheism. (though absorbing and entertaining in his book (but frustratingly obtuse in proving his contentions))

mr shermer i have respect for in his circumspectness (though some of his followers seem blinkered)

hope this resolves (absolves?)

By: frank

frank — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:02:54 +0000

in reply to retreayt comment No. 12

i, too, had lost patience with mshermer in the face of his abrasive and offensively aggressive dismissal of those who profess a belief in the outworkings and presence of a supernatural “deity”.

i have now read the first and last chapters of “Climbing mt improbable” and find him a far more readable and informative fellow – well worht a read.

i am still wrestling, however, with his seeming prevarications – or maybe i am impatient. i still have not come to any place where he has shown that there is, indeed, a gentle sloping path around the impossible cliffs of the mountain.

By: Jeffrey Eldred

Jeffrey Eldred — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:37:39 +0000

You should have visited ZOMGitsCriss from youtube!