prinde orbu' scoate-i ochii!

Short story long, in case it all looks too tangled up in images:
I live in a country much like any other 2nd world country. On the fringes of the 1st world, drilled by corporate interests
and dismantled by political corruption. Romania's currently facing a heavy load of ecological dangers and social dis-
array. Mining projects threaten our natural environment, stray dogs are going to be euthanized on the conveyor belt,
while we watch televised translations and debates about the elephant in the living room. Ignorance used to be bliss.

Gabriel Resources is an international gold corporation that's been pushing for 13 years to grab Romanian resources
through a mining project in the Carpathian mountains. The government's recently drafted a special law, tailored to fit
the corporate demands. The outcome of their agreement will be a natural disaster, consisting of a crater visible form
outer space and a cyanide dumping ground of unimaginable proportions. Romania stands to gain 6% of all the exploits
(which include the largest golden deposit in the E.U. and vast quantities of rare metals such as Gallium estimated at 4
times the value of gold).

But our national crisis isn't just about corporate crap. The area that Gabriel Resources is aiming at is one unique histo-
rical heritage. The Rosia Montana area has been exploited through mining for at least a thousand years. Romans invaded
the country, back in the hay day, expressly for the gold in this area. The Roman triumph is the theme of  Trajan's Column
in Rome. There are mine networks stretching out underground the entire region, some even older than the Roman ones.
This  soon to be crater, is a significant slice of history.

Politicians are struggling to sell what's left of the country, with former Communist party members still pulling the admini-
strative strings. The Gabriel Corporation Crisis is a final drop in a cup all too full. The Danube Delta's soon to be sold, parts
of the Black Sea coast are already property of Chevron and if turmoil continues there'll be a wave of exodus.

At the end of the day, all the corporate craters and political decay will be left to the ordinary "low-life" citizen to clean up.
Unfortunately we're all too comfortable sweeping reality under the rug.

Our government assures us that our future is in good hands with Gabriel Resources.Here's a cinematographic insight, detail-
ing both camps' opinions on the project. Also,
a great article (in Romanian) with a ton of sollutions to Romania's golden
crisis. The article is  written by a Romanian employee of the World Bank in Washington, a strong opponent of the
mining scheme.

Sleep tight dear Romanians!





The Romanian government recently approved a law granting Rosia Montana Gold Corp. the right to start exploiting gold in the Carpathian mountains. The law was deemed of national importance, even though the contents of the contract between the Romanian state and the Corporation have not been disclosed to the public. This project will be the largest and most dangerous of its kind in Europe and the state will only obtain 6% of the gold exploits, while the above mentioned corporation will also uncover galium and silver, amongst other national resources. So far most of the country's dreaming about hell-knows-what-kind-of-a-pink-peachy-future as the Corporation has monopole on all television channels in Romania (as they've bought them over and played their tear-jerking commercials during prime-time). Here is a clearer outlook on the situation, in English & here's the Romanian translation from a Romanian member of the European Parlament