Free Republic

Romania is taking dramatic steps to modernize its military. Driven by fears of Russian aggression, worries about older weaponry and equipment, and a not-completely-altruistic desire to protect neighboring Moldova, the government is committed to increasing its defense spending over the next decade. A document recently obtained by the Romanian news site Profit.ro reveals that the government is planning to use a national emergency procedure that will allocate more state funds to domestic defense companies. The document argues that the country's lack of investment in its defense industry "could significantly injure the basic interests and security of the Romanian state." This...

On March 5th, 2014, the Juridical Commission of Romania’s Chamber of Deputies rejected a bill proposing legal recognition for civil partnerships signed before a notary. The bill had already been rejected by Romania’s Senate (with 105 votes against and 2 in favor). After its unanimous rejection by the Juridical Commission, the last chance would be for it to be introduced directly to the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies. This is exactly what its sponsor, Remus Cernea, independent Member of Parliament and a promoter of secular humanism, intends to do, though with little chances of success. Romanian MP Diana...

The British Library formally opened it’s landmark photography exhibition Points of View last night at a well-attended private view. The exhibition marks the librarys first ever photographic exhibition. It opens to the public free. At a risk of running out of superlatives Points of View is quite simply the best exhibition that the library has ever put on. It is a large show, but never feels unapproachable. It is well designed and laid out and presents a wealth of the library’s treasures... The poison in the veins: “After the fall of Ceausescu, the country has long delayed the opening of...

The Soviet Union was never comfortable living in the same world with the Vatican. The most recent disclosures document that the Kremlin was prepared to go to any lengths to counter the Catholic Church’s strong anti-Communism. In March 2006 an Italian parliamentary commission concluded “beyond any reasonable doubt that the leaders of the Soviet Union took the initiative to eliminate the pope Karol Wojtyla,” in retaliation for his support to the dissident Solidarity movement in Poland. In January 2007, when documents disclosed that the newly appointed archbishop of Warsaw, Stanislaw Wielgus, had collaborated with Poland’s Communist-era political police, he admitted...

WWII Combat Europe Ploesti, Rumania 1 August 1943 While Allied and Axis forces were battling in Sicily, the AAF staged one of the war's most daring heavy bomber raids. The target was the Ploesti oil fields in Rumania, estimated to be supplying 60% of Germany's crude oil requirements. Shortly after dawn on August 1, 1943, AAF B-24s took off from bases in Libya and headed toward the heavily defended target, deep inside enemy territory a thousand miles away. Over Bulgaria, clouds broke up the B-24 formations and the bombing elements became widely separated. Tracked by German radar which alerted Rumanian...