The story unwrapped “without fear or favor” about the Romanian family The New York Times has used to attack Trump. ”Baby Constantin”’s father has been convicted twice in France and he is under investigation for a violent crime in Rāmnicu-Vālcea. The mother stated she had been abusively sterilised in Romania, although her consent is filed at the County Hospital

Warning: This is not an article for those who have prejudiced opinions about the Roma. Please do not read it! Because it is not about ethnicity. It is about how, by presenting several implausible elements which the journalists never checked, a story done by the New York Times starting from the painful and unacceptable experience of a child being separated from his family, may generate an effect so disparate from empathy. The overblown heroic portrayal of a character is not beneficial for the Roma community in Romania and raises doubts regarding their actual discrimination.

marți, 25 iunie 2019, 11:29

Warning: This is not an article for those who have prejudiced opinions about the Roma. Please do not read it! Because it is not about ethnicity. It is about how, by presenting several implausible elements which the journalists never checked, a story done by the New York Times starting from the painful and unacceptable experience of a child being separated from his family, may generate an effect so disparate from empathy. The overblown heroic portrayal of a character is not beneficial for the Roma community in Romania and raises doubts regarding their actual discrimination.

By Delia Marinescu, Adriana Oprea and Catalin Tolontan
contributors: Alexandra Nistoroiu and Oana Moisil (Paris)

The patient chart, where Florentina Pătru herself wrote „I solicit tubal ligation”

We intended to leave on a field trip on Friday, June 14, the very release day of the teaser to the story in which The New York Times announced that the youngest child separated from his parents by the Trump administration was a 4-month-old boy.

We aimed to find out what drives one to take their baby into their arms and run together to the end of the world to apply for political asylum from ethnic-based persecution. And how does the separation from one’s own baby affect one’s life. Be it even temporarily, the separation from a child is horrifying.

Yet we did not know where to go, as Constantin’s parents hometown was not mentioned in the first article.

How did our research start and what it turned into

Sunday, June 16, the NYT story was fully published along with a 25-minute documentary on paid channels FX and Hulu. The story showed that at the beginning of 2018, Vasile Mutu, a Romanian Roma man, was held up at the Mexico – USA border, together with his 4-month old infant, Constantin.

This is how the NY Times online version of the original story opens

The father requested political asylum, claiming that his family is persecuted based on ethny back in Romania. The American authorities analyzed Vasile Mutu situation and out of unknown reasons, says NYT, they locked him up in a detention center. Meanwhile, the 4-month old Romanian infant, ”Baby Constantin” – as the American newspaper calls him, became the youngest immigrant separated from his family, due to the policy enforced by President Donald Trump.

The separation from the family was the most massively contested measure taken by President Trump, who ultimately gave it up. A failed policy.

The Times piece was quoted and praised by CNN, Salon, Business Insider, The Hill.

Olteni village, Bujoreni commune, Vālcea county

Constantin was given into temporary custody by the American state to a family in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a town placed between Detroit and Chicago. After 5 months in America, first the father, then the baby were repatriated to Romania. The woman who took care of the baby in Michigan came personally to Romania and put Constantin into his mother’s arms, on Otopeni airport.

In their article, NYT do not indicate the county were the Mutus live, making public only the name of the town: Olteni.

As Olteni is a name common for 11 towns in Romania, the identifying itself of the village has been a challenge, a first step towards the unrevealed geography of the story.

Libertatea identified the hometown of ”Baby Constantin” comes from: Olteni village, Bujoreni commune, Vālcea county.

Vasile Mutu: ”Of course the American journalists paid me, it is my face that appears all over the news”

We managed to get the phone number of Vasile Mutu, Constantin’s father. He told us that he is working in Paris, together with his wife and baby and that he cannot see us there for a press article as he lacks a stable home yet. Moreover, he added, the journalists from The New York Times had paid him for the aired report.

“Of course the american journalists paid me, it is my face that appears all over the news”, he explained the reason for which he claims to have received money from the American journalists.
Being contacted through email, Caitlin Dickerson, the NYT reporter, denied.

Vasile Mutu, in a photo he posted on his Facebook page

”The New York Times does not pay for interviews, and as such, did not do so for the story to which you refer. I spoke to Mr. Mutu yesterday morning and he told me that he made no such assertion to anyone” Caitlin Dickerson, NYT

Upon a request made by Libertatea, Danielle Rhoades Ha, Communication Vicepresident at NYT, stated:”We do not pay sources for interviews, ever. Our mission is to help people understand the world through unrivaled, expert and deeply reported independent journalism. Our story and The Weekly episode were based on months of rigorous reporting that revealed the human impact of the U.S. government’s child separation policy on one family.”

The Libertatea reporter is nevertheless not the only one Mutu spoke to about being paid. Two other persons, the mayor from Bujoreni, Gheorghe Gāngu, and Ilie Marun?elu, local counselor in Bujoreni for the Roma Party, stated for Libertatea that they also knew that Mutu has an exclusivity paid contract with NYT.

Mutu also stated for the Libertatea reporter that the NYT investigation will help him with the trial he says he has begun in the USA against the American government, for the family separation, claiming damages.

Another villager stated for the newspaper, undercover of anonymity, that ”Mutu was bragging he received a lot of money from the Americans and that he would get some more, from donations”.

Facts are stubborn things

So we reached on our field trip the Olteni village and Rāmnicu Vālcea, following the information presented by The New York Times that intrigued us. Keeping the faith that facts should be presented as they are, as goes the historical NYT credo – ”Without fear or favor”.

NYT: ”One bathroom with no shower shared among 11 people”. Actual documents: ”2 houses, a 288 sqm one and another of 65 sqm”

Caitlin Dickerson describes the life of infant Constantin Mutu family as follows: ”The Mutus, who are pursuing a claim for damages against the United States, are back in the village where they grew up, crammed temporarily into a small house they share with another family — one bathroom with no shower shared among 11 people. They bathe with cups of water warmed on the stove and keep their clothes in an attic, climbing a rickety ladder every few days in order to change them”.

The life conditions of the Mutus are yet different from what the report depicts. According to the Libertatea research on site, Florentina Patru owns:

The small house where 11 people crammed for the photo shooting with the American journalists

The big house (left) where the five children now live, waiting for their parents to return from France

All these assets are registered under her name at the Bujoreni Town Hall, according to the documents consulted by the journalists.

Vasile Mutu holds nothing under his name and all the estates and goods officially belong to Florentina, who never had a job. Her only income is represented by the maternity allowance, the children’s allowance and an allowance for a seriously disabled child (a 13-year-old girl).

In the report, the family makes finely honed brooms and Vasile Mutu chops wood, but under the name of Kornea Kapatoos the same man sells luxury Audi and BMW cars

Vasile Mutu chopping wood with an axe, in the NYT story | Photo: NYT documentary still

During several days at the beginning of this year, the New York Times team was in Bujoreni, to document their article.

One of the pictures shows a few of the Mutu family members making finely honed brooms.
The photo explanation is: ”The family makes finely honed brooms and axes out of wood, a trade passed down through generations of their ancestors”.

”Mutu’s grandparents still make brooms, Mutu (reporter’s note: Vasile), doesn’t”, explains Roma leader Ilie Marunțelu.

”The Rudar Roma people are wood workers, they make baskets, brooms, sticks for agricultural tools. Now they have ceased to do so, as they are traveling abroad. The system in Romania prevented them to pursue their occupation, they are requested to get licenses in order to sell their merchandise”, adds Ilie Marunțelu.

Vasile Mutu goes in the village by the nickname Cornea. He created a Facebook page under the name of Kornea Kapatoos, where he sells luxury cars: Audi A6 Allroad and various BMW models.

Printscreen of the second Facebook profile of Vasile Mutu, under the name Kornea Kapatos

Another photo on The New York Times site presents Vasile, Florentina and their 5 children in the backyard of a house near the railway tracks. They stand before a clothes line with clothes hung for drying, a symbol of poverty.

World Bank Report from 2018: ”The poverty rate for the Roma population in Romania is almost 70%”

The poverty and the vulnerability deriving from it are real in Romania. According to a study published in November 2018 by the National Institute for Statistics, out of a total of 19 million inhabitants, 4.6 million live under the international poverty line – they have at their disposal only 23 lei (5.5 US dollars) per day.

Studies demonstrate that the theory according to which in Romania people are poor because they are too lazy to work is just a busted myth.

19% of the Romanian employees are in danger of poverty, which means that, very often, work does not grant dignity to the ones providing it.

As far as the Roma population is concerned, the poverty rate ranges about 70%, shows a report of the World Bank from 2018, while the same study states the life expectancy for the Roma is by 6 years lower than the one of the non-Roma people at national level.

Nevertheless, Vasile Mutu and Florentina Patru, who own, according to the town hall papers, three plots of land, two houses and a BMW 320D do not belong to the poor Roma category, as depicted by the NYT picture, taken in the pink house’s backyard.

The Roma discrimination, a reality correctly signaled by NYT

Vasile and Florentina state in the NYT report that the persecutions are the fact that triggered their decision to try to get to America.

The NYT note that discrimination against Roma are a reality in Romania is entirely correct.

”They do not find a job here in our county. You feel discriminated once they see you. Nobody hires my Roma, because they lack education. Mutu went to school for 6 years. Florentina 6 years as well – never worked a day in her life, she had the children early”, explains for Libertatea the situation from Vālcea Ilie Marun?elu, the leader of the Roma community in Bujoreni.

”When they see you do not have education, they never call you again. I was hired in a shop with a recommendation from the local chief police officer who said: I am responsible for this boy”, Marun?elu recalls the manner in which he managed to get himself a job.

Ilie Mărunțelu, representative of the Roma party in Bujoreni | Photo: Facebook.com

Within the depiction of the persecutions endured by Florentina and Vasile, exposed by The New York Times, there are yet a few rather shocking elements.

NYT: ”The doctor had also performed a tubal ligation” after Florentina ”signed documents that she could not read”

The two told journalist Caitlin Dickerson that the last drop that made them leave the country for Mexico to USA was Florentina’s sterilization without her consent, right at the moment of Constantin’s birth, on October 11, 2017.

”In a haze of pain while she was in labor, Florentina signed documents that she couldn’t read. When she returned to the hospital for an appointment to check on her recovery, a hospital employee told her that the doctor had also performed a tubal ligation. She and her husband had planned to have more children, as is traditional in their culture. They were devastated.” Caitlin Dickerson, nyt.com

The tubal ligation is an irreversible sterilization method for women, if it is accompanied by cutting the tubes, not only stitching them together.

Undergoing such a procedure without the patient being aware of it would be truly horrifying. It would go against human rights, against any ethical code or medical deontology.

The manager of the County Hospital in Vālcea: ”It would have been a crime!”

The New York Times also never mentioned the name of the hospital where Florentina claims to have undergone a tubal ligation without knowing.

”It would not only be a breach of humanity and of medical ethical rules, but also a crime!”, is the astonished reaction of Dan Eleodor Ponoran, manager of the county hospital in Rāmnicu Vālcea, the place where Libertatea discovered Florentina Patru gave birth, on October 11, 2017.

The manager of the hospital with 1.300 beds listens to the story quietly. It is the first time the information is brought to his attention and he has not been contacted up to now by any other journalist.
Manager Ponoran often passes a Roma person within the community in Rāmnicu Vālcea. ”I often get the title of the Roma of the week in the local newspapers, although I am not Roma”, smiles Ponoran.

Written in the hospital file of Florentina Patru: ”I solicit tubal ligation”

According to the medical documents, Florentina’s C-section procedure was undergone at Section 1 of the hospital, from 11:40 to 12:20 and unfolded normally, with the baby getting the score 9 out of 10.

Dr. Stoica, head of OB-GYN at the County Hospital, says that „we are extremely thorough and here are the documents atesting the truth”

Behind his desk cluttered with files and newspapers, gynaecologist Marian Stoica explains: ”To stitch together the tubes of a patient against her will or benefiting from her lack of attention is impossible, as it is not only about signing something. As a rule, the patient explicitly writes down that she desires the tubal ligation”. ”So there is not any standard form being signed?”, we ask. ”No, no, the patient wrote everything herself”, he claims.

On the document accompanying the birth, Florentina Patru almost drew, with big letters of a person who is not very familiar with handwriting, the words: ”I solicit tubal ligation”.

Doctor Brănzan: ”So she cannot claim she could not read, as long as she was able to write”

Instead of ”trompe” (tubes), Florentina wrote ”tompe”, an understandable phonetic error.

We tell the doctors that the sophisticated verb ”solicit”, from Florentina’s tubal ligation request is implausible in the current vocabulary of a woman with only six years of school.

”Are women told what to write?”, we ask the head of the department. ”If the patients are illiterate, there are also situations when we write down, but always in front of several witnesses”, explains doctor Stoica.

So we know what is written on Florentina’s file and we also know that she is most probably the one that wrote the message. What we still do not know is if the mother with only 6 years of school entirely understood what she wrote, as the problem of informed consent is a rather sensitive issue in Romania.

Doctor George Brănzan gets in, the one who conducted Florentina Patru’s birth of ”Baby Constantin”.

Doctor Brânzan, 66, is the one who assisted Florentina Pătru at birth and denies entirely the possibility of a forced sterilization

”According to the rules, the medical procedure, in this situation the C-section and tubal ligation, is asked for or consented by the patient and approved by the head of the hospital department”, the gynecologist says. On October 11, 2017, in the hospital operating room where Florentina Patru gave birth, three doctors underwent the procedure, the fourth only assisted and head of department Amza approved the intervention.

Brănzan lays back on the sofa inside the head of the department office: ”It is clearly incorrect what the patient states in the article, that she blindly signed. The paper shows not only that she signed, but also she wrote the consent herself. So she cannot claim she couldn’t read, as long as she could write”.

”Have you ever had ethnic-based discrimination complaints?” ”No, never”

Surgeon Brānzan, who is also the chief of the College of Physicians in Vālcea, an institution that addresses the patients’ complaints and which is not very popular among the Romanian society, does not try to be agreeable. He had had situations when he was accused by patients for medical faults, ”but not a single ethnic-based accusation, for having discriminated Roma patients”.

In 2012, according to the local press, George Brānzan was accused by a family for the death of a baby by miss-supervising the mother’s pregnancy.

”Not at the hospital, nor at the College of Physicians have you ever had any ethnic-based complaints?”, we insist. ”No, never!”, he replies.

Roma leader: ”I believe she requested it. I don’t believe that the doctors do such a thing”

”I believe she asked for the procedure. I don’t believe that the doctors do such a thing, I don’t believe that the women in my community are done such methods”, says Ilie Marun?elu, leader of the Roma community in Vālcea.

”They (the Americans) did so in order to get more audience, they went a little overboard, I think”, he refers to the NYT article.

In his turn, after being asked if he has ever heard of cases where the Roma women in Romania were sterilized by force, Gelu Duminica, president of “Īmpreuna” (Together) Agency stated: “I admit I have never heard. I heard of separated rooms in maternity wards, because certain women were Roma or belonged to an inferior social category”.

“I have heard of such practice in Slovakia, not necessarily lately, but at least in the early 90’s that is what the reports indicated”, further states Duminica, regarding the forced sterilization procedures undergone on Roma women.

The doctor denies having accepted money

Vasile Mutu is also mentioned in the fragment regarding the birth published by NYT.. ”Vasile sold two pigs and a cow to pay a doctor to do the procedure.”, the journalist writes.

What does doctor George Brănzan have to say? ”These are the words of a desperate man. It is not true, I did not take any money from that woman”, he counterattacks the bribe accusation and says he has never been investigated for anything of the kind.

Informal payments are a common practice in the Romanian hospitals. Recently, the Health Minister Sorina Pintea has asked the patients to stop giving bribe, especially taking into account that the doctors’ wages in Romania were doubled or even tripled during the last few years.

”Recently I was doing the math for a friend doctor working in Wales. You earn 5,500 pounds in the UK and I can give you, in Vālcea, 4,500 euros per month”, says Dan Eleodor Ponoran, the manager of the county hospital where Florentina Patru gave birth.

”He has several misdeeds on his legal record, including two convictions in France”

Vasile Mutu claims he sued the American authorities that did not grant him political asylum, for separating young Constantin from his family

”They had occasional run-ins with police. Once, Mr. Mutu said, he was arrested for stealing cable from a construction site”, further states NYT about Vasile Mutu.

He actually has a more diverse criminal record.

This year, on January 14, police and gendarmerie forces in Rīmnicu Vālcea had to come in force during a fight with axes at the ”Paradis” motel, where a baptism party was taking place. After the violent assaults between the families, arisen due to the amount of money offered as a gift to the newborn, 7 persons needed medical care. They had head trauma, one of them being hit in the head with an axe.

Two of the aggressors were held up for 24 hours. One of them was Vasile Mutu.

He was released under parole by the prosecutor until March 14. At the moment he is being investigated within criminal case 292/P/2019.

When putting him under detention, the policemen also confiscated his license for non-lethal weapon, issued in 2016, Vasile being the owner of a ball bullet gun.

The criminal case with the fight from the Paradis motel is not the only one including Vasile Mutu. ”He has several misdeeds on his criminal record, including two convictions in France”, confirmed an official of the Romanian Police force, without providing any further details.

They were warned they would lose the child allowance, if they don’t return by Monday

On Friday, when the Libertatea journalists were in Bujoreni, Vasile Mutu called from France and summoned us to stop the investigation.

”It is an abuse! I am calling my lawyer in America and if she says I should sue you, I will” he said, being upset that we were discovering the truth about his houses.

A social worker has recently visited Vasile Mutu‘s relatives and found all the 5 children, including Constantin, being looked after by grandparents and their mother’s relatives.

The children now live in a big house, with a second floor. In the small pink house, the one filmed by NYT, we found on Friday two teenagers. Being asked ”Are you related to Vasile and Florentina?”, the girls replied ”We don’t know”.

The Mutu’s posing for The New York Times, when they crammed in a small, pink house, together with another family | Photo: NYT

The same house photographed today, when another family lives here, without any connection to Mutu’s children, who shared the much larger house | Photo: Libertatea

When they left the country, Vasile and Florentina did not inform the authorities, as the law stipulates, who the care-takers for their children were going to be. The social worker from Bujoreni warned Vasile Mutu by phone that unless he comes back home by today, June 24, their maternity allowance in the name of the eldest son will be ceased.

Constantin, the little boy who has impressed the whole wide world through the story published by NYT, is now 1 year and 8 months old. He lived 5 months in America, separated from his parents. Now he is waiting in a yard in Bujoreni, for them to return from France.

Comentarii (28)Adaugă comentariu

ticbis  •  25 iunie 2019, 13:53

Domnule Tolontan, constat ca acest articol e traducerea (destul de ok, in ansamblu) in limba engleza a articolului aparut cu doua zile in urma in ziarul "Libertatea", publicat mai apoi pe blogul dvs si postat pe site-ul GSP. Evident, ziaristii americani de la "The New York Times" au insailat o stupizenie de reportaj, nul din punct de veder jurnalistic, cata vreme nu a fost sustinut si argumentat nici de o documentare profesionista, nici de alte dovezi si probe care sa le justifice demersul. Interesul lor a fost pur politic; iar daca si CNN a preluat articolul, elogiindu-l chiar, inseamna ca si-au atins scopul. Fiind vorba de o familie de romi, pentru americanii de la NYT a fost cat se poate de simplu: i-a platit pe aia si astfel au obtinut exact povestea pe care si-au dorit-o. Acuma, stie toata lumea (cel putin, toata Romania), ca acestei etnii, daca-i dai bani, iti poate spune orice-ti doresti sa auzi, fara nicio limita; deci, astfel de povesti sunt nule din start cata vreme nu sunt documentate si probate din surse credibile si legale. Acuma, dupa clarificarile din articolele dvs pe acest subiect, sunt convins ca orice roman normal la cap a inteles mistificarea publicata de NYT; n-a mirat pe nimeni (in presa occidentala se publica frecvent astfel de povesti), dar nici nu cred ca a interesat pe cineva (toata lumea cunoste "metehnele" acestei etnii si "practicile" ei curente; suntem obisnuiti de o viata cu ele; e in firea lucrurilor, ca sa zic asa). Surprinderea mea a fost publicarea pe blogul dvs a traducerii in engleza a articolului aparut in ziarul "Libertatea", in limba romana. Sa fim seriosi, sunt zeci de milioane de americani ce citesc zilnic NYT (fie print fie on-line); probabil or fi si cativa zeci ce citesc "Libertatea". Asadar, raul (citeste, neadevarul) a fost deja facut, s-a propagat deja in masa. Daca acest demers se doreste a fi impus ca un "drept la replica" ce va fi publicat in editia de maine a NYT, inteleg si e foarte OK; altfel, nu. Mai degraba, consider ca institutiile si organismele oficiale romane, implicate, defaimate si acuzate absolut fara nicio vina reala in "povestea" inventanta de aceasta familie de romi, indusa si platita de catre "interesele" politice ale grupului de presa NYT, ar fi trebuit sa fi trimis deja drepturi la replica, comunicate oficiale si clarificari cu documente asupra situatiei reale a acestui caz, catre redactia ziarului american. Oricum insa, ca sa ramanem in siajul articolului: Nice try, Mr. Tolontan!

Cătălin Tolontan  •  25 iunie 2019, 13:54

@ticbis: intelegem ce spuneti, dar nu e treaba noastra sa motivam autoritatile romane sa actioneze. Meseria noastra e sa incercam sa ne informam publicul.

ticbis  •  25 iunie 2019, 15:19

Post-Scriptum la comentariul anterior: Dupa cum am afirmat, traducerea in limba engleza a articolului este cat de cat acceptabila; exista insa si multe stangacii jenante. Spre exemplu, pornind chiar de la titlu, exprimarea corecta este: "The Unwrapped Story (...) about ... (etc)" si NU cum apare scris aici! No offense!

17 Nentori Tirana  •  25 iunie 2019, 15:38

Adevarul e ca de multe ori e mai bine *** decit roman, sa nu lucrezi decit sa lucrezi, e mai bine sa ceri decit sa dai, sa deschizi gura mare si sa ai pretentii. Filmati un adevar dar ocoliti subiectul: grija fata de om nu-i decit un slogan de campanie. -------------- Tolo si TicTac, foarte bine, dar uitati ca vorbiti de romani. Nu va acuz de rasism, nu-i vorba nici ca toti care fac probleme au pasaport romanesc, e pur si simplu vorba ca multi dintre cei prezentati de voi si politicieni drept romi sint romani. Adevarul e ca in multe situatii e mult mai bine *** decit roman – va rog sa apreciati ca fac o diferenta. E vorba de o ***, sa ceri sa ti se dea, ca ***, esti si tu om. Credeti ca nu puteau sa pozeze departe de rufele atirnate, ca asa zisa *** nu-si putea o ie si niste blugi turcesti rupti ca mai toti fotbalistii ? --------------- Trist e ca cei ramasi rid de cei plecati: ha, ha, v-am dat voua toti *** – un neadevar – dar ***. Nu-i vorba de pensionari, nici de fosti colectivisti si muncitori, e un fenomen general, dus si la export, intretinut de clasa politica conducatoare. Uite, ditamai Negoita si fotbalistul Mutu s-au dus la scumpa mea de Carmen sa-i ceara stadion cu … in loc sa-i cera ce are si ce mie imi pare inca foarte pretios desi are deja o virsta. Si-au construit hotel, de ce n-ar putea construi un stadion cu bani europeni, bani pe de-a moaca de care a profitat pina si Isarescu ? Caci nu sint prosti, sint dastepti, sint *** Unde lucreaza toti dinamovistii, rapidistii, csa-pistii, petrolistii si moldovenii clujeni … toti fanii care se duc ziua in amiaza mare peste proprietati si finantatori ca sa impuna o echipa … a lor !, a lor ba, niste burtosi coate goale in pantaloni trei-sferturi ! Ei cer, iar lumea timboviteana e a lor, dar nu se intreaba nimeni cine le asigura existenta, de unde au bani de fumigene si artificii. -------------------- Alt caz, al fetitei abuzate de … o procuroara: se zgiriie psd-isti pe ochi ca n-au gasit nici o legatura cu Kövesi ori macar Soros. E demential cum nimeni nu spune ca odata adoptata „mama“ ar fi ramas fara lucru, cu bani mai putini. In localtate, prin vecini, sint mai multe „mame“ care „lucreaza“ - ca asa-i romanul, smecheria ajunge la toti. Copiii si batrinii au ajuns marfa, de dat, de luat, surse de venit pentru toti trogloditii – liberalii spun doar ca tot e mai bine decit sa fie tinuti in lanturi ca sclavi moderni si pusi la lucru, s-a intimplat tot intr-o localitate psd-ista romaneasca. Te miri ca fetita a fost speriata ca e luata pentru organe ? Nu, daca 3 posturi TV de stiri au sustinut ca Jonannis a vindut copii pentru organe, ca el si sasii lui au luat de la SS toate casele din Transilvania, ca toata opozitia - si gruparea rezist care cupinde milioane de cetateni fara carnet de partid si care in proportie de 90% nu au vorbit nicidata intre ei – e fascista atunci ce mai vrei ?

Acest comentariu a fost moderat pentru că nu respectă regulile site-ului.

Vlad  •  25 iunie 2019, 17:56

Numai minciuni. Dar la ce să te aștepți de la unul care îi lua că martori pe amicii lui când voia să demonstreze că nu a luat bani de la Roșia Montană Gold Corporation.

ticbis  •  25 iunie 2019, 18:13

***

Acest comentariu a fost moderat pentru că nu respectă regulile site-ului.

marc  •  25 iunie 2019, 19:48

Regret ca o spun dar asta cheama ***. Tolontan, un modest jurnalist roman, ***, se crede jurnalist la The Sun sau la Daily Mirror. Isi scrie articolele in limba engleza. Pai ce ma tolontane, limba romana a inceput sa-ti puta? Si ce ai vrut sa demonstrezi cu acest gest ***, ca esti destept? Si de fapt pt cine ai scris ce dracu' oi fi scris acolo? Ca noi suntem romani, iubim limba romana si in ziarele romanesti citim doar in limba romana.

Acest comentariu a fost moderat pentru că nu respectă regulile site-ului.

Crimson Veritas  •  25 iunie 2019, 20:53

'Presa' din US ... este si ea puternic polarizata ... intre democrati (CNN, NYT) ... si republicani (Fox) ... cum este si la noi ... oricum distinctia este ... ca Soros si co ... au cca 80% din presa ... Trump's Team (people's choice) au doar 20% ... procent care se pastreaza si in Romania ... intre Intact Grup (25% cel mult din piata media) si Restul (75%) ... banuiesc ca si in Europa este la fel ... intre PPE si Restul ... The Economist ... este un ziar practic aservit PPE ... si alte publicatii impoirtante ... la Emerging Europe de exemplu ... se ocupa de Romania un englez ... care practic face parte din echipa de PR a lui Kovesi ... Craig Something. Presa este clar ... battleground ... dar este un camp de lupta dominat clar de propaganda sorosista. Dar batalia nu se limiteaza la presa ... The Powers That Be ... si-au creat si 'fenomene civice' ... echivalentul 'soimilor patriei' din mileniul trecut ... denumute #rezist ... instrumente de presiune online sau stradala ... prin care sa-si realizeze obiectivele ... politice si economice. Ce reprezinta acesta miscare ... este de fapt ... Terorism ... si inainte sa-mi cenzurati cuvantul datorita unei intelegeri precare a termenului ... cititi definitia Terorismului ... 'Terorismul este o tactică de luptă neconvențională folosită pentru atingerea unor obiective politice' ...:))

Lestie  •  25 iunie 2019, 22:50

***

Acest comentariu a fost moderat pentru că nu respectă regulile site-ului.

Lestie  •  25 iunie 2019, 23:23

Vai de capul vostru! Nici cenzura comunista nu a fost asa penibila.

Cătălin Tolontan  •  25 iunie 2019, 23:30

@Lestie: puteti gasi jos, in linkul ”Regulile comunitatii” standardele dupa care colegii mei modereaza blogul si forumul Gazetei. Nu cenzuram, incurajam polemica civilizaa, chiar si aprins, inclusiv criticile la adresa noastra. Insa discriminarile, limbajul urii sau insultele polueaza discutia si nu au ce cauta aici. Multumim ca intelegeti.

Toader  •  26 iunie 2019, 10:46

Lestie, mai în glumă, mai în serios, deunăzi am spus cam același lucru: dacă știam cum o să ne taie gândurile democrații, în 1989 ieșeam să apăr RSR. Sînt anumite cuvinte, două-mi vin în minte, ce denumesc de cînd lumea anumite...culturi. Din pricina...calităților ce le au, oamenii au făcut nenumărate vorbe cu numele lor. De aici schimbarea de nume. La fel popă-preot.

Mich  •  26 iunie 2019, 10:51

Inteleg ca postatul in engleza este facut pentru a le da posibilitatea cititorilor americani sa citeasca putin realitatea, si sa isi dea seama cam unde a ajuns profesionalismul jurnalistilor de la NYT. Ca sa isi atinga scopul insa, sper ca ati trimis un comentariu oficial la articolul initial aparut in NYT, cu trimitere la pagina de aici. Altminteri, nu stiu cati cititori de limba engleza o sa ajunga pe un blog eminamente romanesc. Cred ca cei de la NYT vor incerca oricum sa isi acopere greselile si nu vor fi nici macar dispusi sa va afiseze comentariul, asa ca ar trebui sa gasiti si o alta sursa care sa preia link-ul de aici. Sa nu va asteptati ca NYT isi va pune cenusa in cap si va va multumi pentru ca niste terchea berchea din Romania incearca sa lamureasca ca profesionalismul lor lasa de dorit. De aceea va trebui sa prezentati link-ul in alte ziare americane, care de abia asteapta sa isi critice rivalii din presa. Ce se intampla in SUA in zilele acestea este un joc politic murdar de ambele parti, unde adevarul conteaza din ce in ce mai putin.

daniel  •  26 iunie 2019, 12:50

articolul scris de d-voastra, a aparut tradus in vreo publicatie americana, sau e tradus la noi, ca o dovada, ca s-a ocupat cineva de caz ????

pacific ionel  •  26 iunie 2019, 14:15

Un demers corect și curajos. Eu ca cetățean român m-am săturat ca toți escrocii și infractorii să se ascundă în spatele prevederilor de lege privind ''discriminarea'', ''drepturile omului'', '' normele privind egalitatea între oameni'' etc., ei fiind primii care încalcă în mod samavolnic legea. Sper ca după această tevatură să se sesizeze în primul rând autoritățiile române, pentru că cetățenii români de etnie romă, adică *** din această poveste halucinantă au săvârșit un concurs de infracțiuni, care mai care mai gravă. Iar dosarul aflat pe rol al ''neprihănitului și ostracizatului'' cetățean român de etnie romă (Vasile Mutu) se impune să fie finalizat cât mai repede cu putință pentru că acolo ar trebui să ia vreo 8 ani de pușcărie ca ''popa''. Dacă altădată v-am contestat dur domnule Tolontan, acum vă felicit din suflet și mă bucur enorm pentru finalizarea cu succes a acestui superb reportaj -anchetă.

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pacific ionel  •  26 iunie 2019, 14:30

Of ...Doamne unde am ajuns, ca un cuvânt care până la urmă reprezintă denumirea corectă a acestei etnii venită de undeva din îndepărtata Indie și recunoscut în toată lumea asta, să fie calificat ca ''limbaj intolerant''. Îmi pare rău că o spun, dar noi ca nație nu cred că ne mai facem vreodată bine. Oricum felicitări pentru curaj domnule Tolontan, dumneavoastră și întregii echipe care a realizat acest reportaj.

17 Nentori Tirana  •  26 iunie 2019, 22:17

Ce Constitutie, ce Democratie, nici nu ne putem intelege cu mii de "***" : "Cătălin Tontolanlan 25 iunie 2019, 23:30 @Lestie: puteti gasi jos, in linkul ”Regulile comunitatii” standardele dupa care colegii mei modereaza blogul si forumul Gazetei. Nu cenzuram ..." - (adica noi ?) ------------- E blogul tau Tontolane, sint colegii tai, esti si tu in noi, ... dar cu tine a fost mereu acelasi lucru: esti baiat bun dar cam sarac cu duhul - poti aprecia ca m-am abtinut la mai multe. Mai incercam si noi cu tine, dar avem si noi niste reguli - tot constitutionale - deci ori te integeazi ori pleaca ***. in Corea de Nord !

Acest comentariu a fost moderat pentru că nu respectă regulile site-ului.

??????  •  26 iunie 2019, 22:17

@Ați zice și că Mitică Dragomir a rămas "unsuros" după ce a fost "șef peste ligă", însistând însă că i se cuvenea să devină "rânced", ?

Ionut Arsene  •  26 iunie 2019, 23:35

Un articol foarte bine documentat, insa mie mi se pare ca subiectul articolului din NYT e un pic diferit de cel scris de Catalin si echipa sa. Chiar daca familia asta de romi nu face parte din categoria celor mai saraci si persecutati romi, ramane faptul separarii copiilor de parinti la intrarea in SUA. Toti cei care incearca sa intre in SUA au o anumita istorie in spate, dar asta nu motiveaza separarea copiilor de parinti. Asta e mesajul principal (intr-adevar tintit politic) celor de la NYT, chiar daca romii au reusit sa insele si autoritatile din SUA si poate pe ziaristii NYT. Dvs va referiti aici la detaliile acestui caz (familia nu e asa saraca cum s-a scris in NYT si au si cazier) care nu schimba fondul articolului NYT in opinia mea. Daca NYT l-a platit pe Vasile Mutu pentru a da declaratii false, atunci asta ar fi intr-adevar o poveste tare, dar mie mi se pare ca aveti nevoie de un pic mai multe dovezi decat declaratii ale oamenilor din sat care doar stiu chestii cu care el s-o fi laudat. Nu zic ca nu e posibil, dar mi se pare ca mai aveti nevoie de o sursa independenta ca sa puteti sustine asta. Cele bune, Ionut

Cătălin Tolontan  •  26 iunie 2019, 23:36

@Ionut Arsene: aveti dreptate, miezul povestii NYT este separarea de familie. Iar politica lui Donald Trump l-a pus indiscutabil pe copil in risc. Mai exista insa o intrebare: tatal si-a pus copilul de 4 luni in risc platind unor traficanti ca sa intre in SUA cu el? De ce a platit traficantilor de vreme ce a vrut sa ceara azil politic, act pentru care nu se plateste? Aici credem ca lucrurile au ramas nedescoperite.

Simon  •  27 iunie 2019, 3:08

Aoleu au ajuns *** astia si pe nytimes! ne-au patat imaginea in toate colturile lumii! Mergem in strainatate si ne este rusine sa spunem ca suntem din Romania. Toti ne spun ca suntem hoti.

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Mich  •  27 iunie 2019, 9:53

Adevarata ratiune a lui Vasile Mutu pare sa fie putin diferita, si tinteste mai sus de banii primiti de la NYT. Banuiesc ca el a fost suficient de destept sa inteleaga ca e rost de bani in aceasta lupta politica. Va da in judecata statul american pentru abuzul emotional la care familia lui a fost supusa, cu sprijinul financiar si mediatic de la NYT ( care probabil ca ii vor plati avocati buni ca sa faca un caz politic reprezentativ), iar el are sansa sa devina milionar din incasarea unor despagubiri consistente. Altminteri nu are nici un rost povestea lui... sa o zbugheasca din Franta catre Mexic, ca sa traverseze de acolo catre SUA, stiind exact tumultul de la granita... are deja pasaport EU, asa ca Europa ii era mult mai la indemana. Totul a fost bine planificat, in opinia mea, cu un calcul facut la rece.

cn  •  27 iunie 2019, 11:28

Welcome to the New World. Povesti de genul asta, sugerand discriminarea a tot felul de minoritati, sunt publicate zilnic in presa 'liberal-progresista' din Occidentul anglofon (unde traiesc), iar elemente esentiale ale acestor povesti sunt intentionat lasate in afara, asa ca in povestea de fatza (felicitari Tolo!).

Gandalf  •  27 iunie 2019, 11:42

Stimate Tolo. A folosi termenul de *** nu este o discriminare, așa cum nici a folosi termenul de grec, neamț, român sau englez, francez , etc... etc... nu poate fi tras pe linia moartă a discriminării și nici instigare sau mai cine știe ce grozăvie. Mai degrabă a folosi termenul de rrom, de care nici nu am auzit până n-au venit ”românii” Petre Roman și Adrian Severin să ne învețe, este ceva destinat introducerii în ceață și producerii de confuzie între român și rrom... Deci eu, cetățean român de etnie ROMÂN, protestez la inducerea în eroare și la provocarea de confuzie pe care mințile astea cenușii, vor să le producă. Iar moderatorii dvs. atunci când interpretează termenii folosiți să nu facă exces de zel , pentru că atunci ar trebui să pună steluțe în locul oricărui adjectiv. Toate pot avea ”conotații” subversive. Bine, accept faptul că uneori textul depășește puterea lor de înțelegere . așa că ”taie” tot ce prind, în speranța că astfel, nu ”trece” nimic... Sa fiți iubiți.

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ticbis  •  27 iunie 2019, 15:27

@Gandalf: Din pacate, ai foarte mare dreptate. Domnul Tolontan se alinta singur vorbind despre "colegii lui moderatori" si de regulamentul site-ului si al blogului. Regulamentul e cat se poate de OK, insa "colegii" lui de la moderare sunt sub orice critica; n-au nicio treaba cu meseria si activitatea asta, nici cu regulamentul invocat. Ceea ce "modereaza" ei este dupa ureche si depinde de mesaj; n-are nicio legatura cu regulamentul site-ului. Personal, am adunat cca 2000 de cuvinte si expresii absolut comune si admise de DEX-ul Academiei Romane in lexicul uzual al limbii ***ane, ce mi-au fost cenzurate aiurea, doar pentru ca aia au putut si pot sa faca asta. Lasand deoparte citatele din opere si autori de referinta in cultura si literatura ***aneasca si universala, care, probabil, "colegilor moderatori" nu le sunau prea bine in urechi si in consecinta au taiat cu barda din ele fara nicio jena, sunt sute si mii de cuvinte din lexicul ***anesc pe care astia, fie nu le inteleg definitiile si sensurile, fie au o ura viscerala fata de limba ***ana, ceva asemanator inchizitiei evului mediu. Altfel, e greu de explicat la ce se preteaza ei si pentru ce. De exemplu, intr-un comentariu mai vechi am folosit pentru denumirea turneelor de tenis de "Premier Mandatory" prescurtarea internationala "PM"; ei bine, acesta a fost considerat "limbaj jignitor si intolerant", postarea a fost blocata si am primit "cartonas galben"!:) Cat priveste subiectul de fata, am salvate vreo 50-60 de comentarii cenzurate in anii trecuti ca urmare a incercarii de a defini cu un nume, oricare ar fi fost acesta, denumirea de identitate pentru aceasta etnie. Pentru "colegii moderatori" ai d-lui Tolontan nicio denumire din lume nu s-a dovedit a fi multumitoare; am scris "***" si mi-a fost refuzat; am scris cu doi de "r", "r***" si am primit cartonas galben; am scris in engleza "***" si mi-am luat cartonas rosu; am scris in franceza "***" si am fost la un pas sa mi se inchida contul; am scris in spaniola "***" si eram ca si trimis la puscarie...:) Ceea ce frapeaza acum, in articolul acesta scris (aproximativ) in limba engleza si destinat (se pare) cititorilor americani si publicatiei The New York Times, este termenul folosit in traducere pentru a defini etnia celui implicat in poveste: "***a man"!:))) Asa ceva. este de noaptea mintii!!! Ii asigur pe dl. Tolontan, pe "echipa lui de moderatori" si pe traducatorul textului ca NICIUN american din Statele Unite n-a inteles despre ce etnie se vorbeste in articol; acest termen NU este utilizat in limba engleza, nici macar la nivel academic! Cel mult, americanul de rand a inteles ca este vorba de un individ de etnie ***ana!!!:))) Asadar, e greu de spus daca la gsp si pe blogurile pe care le gazduieste se practica o cenzura de manual, tipica regimurilor totalitare, sau este vorba doar de o prostie dusa la extrem. In fine, oricare ar fi cauza, rezultatul e nu numai jalnic, dar si rusinos pentru oricine, gazetar sau moderator, ce se complace in asa ceva, in secolul XXI. Nu in ultimul rand, este o dovada evidenta de incultura, ca sa nu spun mai mult!:)

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ticbis  •  27 iunie 2019, 16:44

Bravo Tolo! Numai sintagmele "limba romana" si "literatura romaneasca" nu fusesera pana acum cenzurate pe blogul tau! Faci progrese evidente; e clar ca prostia e infinita si n-are limite; asta a zis-o unul mai prost ca "moderatorii" tai, pe nume Alfred Einstein!:))) Esti sigur ca ai un regulament pe care-l respecti???!!!:))) Asa ceva, e de Kafka si Orwell!!! Da-i inainte, ca de bun simt nu se pune problema...:) Prostia rules!!!

??????  •  27 iunie 2019, 17:06

,,GERMANIA U21 - ROMÂNIA U21 // Generația U21 vs. Generația de Aur: analiza post pe post a naționalelor » „Tricolorii” mici, subordonați clar! Doar Tudor Băluță e mai bun" Ianis Hagi a jucat și la Fiorentina, Hagi senior a fost vândut doar cu 4.000.000 de dolari, Ionuț Radu 15.000.000 de euro, Florinel Coman, ofertat după cum zice Gheorge Becali, Cicăldău , Rus 800.000 de euro, etc., ? Rădoi are oferă de 1,5 milioane de euro din țările arabe, Anghel Iordănescu nu a avut ofertă, ?

Eddie  •  13 iulie 2019, 0:39

Bun articolul... am citit varianta in romana acu' vreo 2 saptamani. Intre timp am dat de povestile astea de la NY Time si Yahoo... vezi linkuri mai jos. Banuiesc ca esti oricum la curent cu articolele astea, dar ma amuza ce truncat se prezinta cazul asta in SUA (iar eu sunt unul din cei ce nu sunt de accord cu ce se'ntampla la granita cu Mexico). Ar fi intersant de vazut ce raspunde Yahoo News la povestea publicata de voi. Bafta! https://www.youtube.com/embed/QhRHczLKMKs https://news.yahoo.com/4-month-old-baby-separated-184238956.html

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