Bucharest lay stunned under the sticky assault of an 85° heat wave. Couples lounged inertly in the lilac-scented shade of the parks along Boulevard Magheru, sipped raspberry soda out of communal glasses, or took in the desultory lake breeze at the Pescarus Restaurant. Then, with an electric crackle, loudspeakers began to blare, and a tingle ran through the crowd.
The tingle was caused by a four-hour speech from Party Boss Nicolae Ceausescu on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of Rumania's Communist Party. Totally unexpected and unheralded, it was a stinging attack...
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