Just returned from a holiday in Bulgaria. Like on my previous visit, I saw the rulers of this poor country are still the gangsters.
Surprising, because each time I asked a local about the gangsters, they deny their existence, claiming they are respectable suit and tie businessmen now, or that they have all moved to France.
Bulgarians have apparently been trained by the media and government. Not surprising since so much money is involved - hundreds of millions of Euro in EU grants can be withheld if the EU considers corruption to be still rife.
But it doesn't take great powers of observation to see who is still in charge.
We happened upon a big meeting in Sunny Beach one night, with about 12 flash black cars, parked wherever they felt like, blocking the road, with big thuggish-looking 'drivers' hanging around, guarding the area. There was a Bentley, a Lamborghini, several Mercedes and Porsche Cayennes.
After hanging around for some time, ostensibly eating kebabs, the bosses came out, also brutes with a killer glance to freeze your blood and somehow induce you to automatically look away.
It seems that the previously frequent killings have stopped. Probably due to advice from the government that the EU millions would be lost if better methods of gang warfare are not adopted. Nowadays enemies quietly disappear, instead of being publicly machine-gunned with their bodyguards in cafes and bars, as was the custom a mere few years back.
The country is composed of very poor people who work for a pittance, 10 euro a week or so, while the super-rich gangsters drive black luxury cars and live the good life. Why black? Maybe because pink would be too conspicuous. A middle class seems to be lacking. It's like the old feudal lords reaping the profits while the vassals and serfs do the work.
What a dire mistake it would be to let Bulgaria join the EU. Like inviting Somalia! The cities are squalid, the people are desperately poor except for the gangsters ruling the country. Opening the EU gates would invite a flood of poor and hungry people, while the gangsters would relish the newly opened market for guns, drugs, prostitutes and whatever else is illegal.
Are you are looking for a Maastricht house for rent?
Friday, August 27, 2010
Uncooperative Dutch
A striking aspect of the Netherlands is the lack of cooperation and unwillingness to take responsibility.
At a company I recently worked for called Atradius, a major IT project I worked on was continually stalled by managers whose only aim was to offload work onto another department, even though our IT department could easily and efficiently do the work. Despite my best efforts to simply do the work and overcome the politics, the project just dragged on for years and has probably been canned by now.
I confronted my local Connexion bus driver about why his bus leaves the station two minutes before the train from Amsterdam arrives. I told him they should fix the timetable. He replied that the train comes too late and NS should fix THEIR timetable. 'Disconnexion' might be a better name for their company.
It seems that customers are too patient and long-suffering in Holland. Am I the only person to suggest that buses and trains could connect?
It further seems that people are not willing or motivated to stand up and take responsibility for changing their world. Perhaps they are not rewarded in their youth so it is not considered a commendable ting to be te force for change. Maybe the quest to be 'normale' is the overriding factor that subsumes any aspirations to achieve or excel.
Are you are looking for a Maastricht house for rent?
At a company I recently worked for called Atradius, a major IT project I worked on was continually stalled by managers whose only aim was to offload work onto another department, even though our IT department could easily and efficiently do the work. Despite my best efforts to simply do the work and overcome the politics, the project just dragged on for years and has probably been canned by now.
I confronted my local Connexion bus driver about why his bus leaves the station two minutes before the train from Amsterdam arrives. I told him they should fix the timetable. He replied that the train comes too late and NS should fix THEIR timetable. 'Disconnexion' might be a better name for their company.
It seems that customers are too patient and long-suffering in Holland. Am I the only person to suggest that buses and trains could connect?
It further seems that people are not willing or motivated to stand up and take responsibility for changing their world. Perhaps they are not rewarded in their youth so it is not considered a commendable ting to be te force for change. Maybe the quest to be 'normale' is the overriding factor that subsumes any aspirations to achieve or excel.
Are you are looking for a Maastricht house for rent?
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