The local Public Broadcasting System station here in Austin has been
running some Maigret stories in the "Mystery" series.  These were produced
in 1991 by the British company Granada Television.  The stories themselves
are enjoyable enough, but I've noticed when the credits run that several
people in the cast and at least half the technical staff have Hungarian
names.  Can it be that Maigret's Paris is being portrayed by Budapest?

Robert

Robert S. Helfer              | "What is real and what is not?
University of Texas at Austin |  Can you tell me or I you?
  |  Perhaps we shall never know more than this --
                              |  that to think a thing is to make it true."
                              |  - P.L. Travers

The caste-system is still going strong in most parts of India, not
all traditions are there to be admired. Perhaps loosing some - such
as slavery and punishment of intermixing etc. actually brought
progress at times to various places. Eva Durant

>
> If cultural preservation is not an issue; if identity to one ethnic
> group, and not to another, is not an issue, why are any of you on this
> list?  Does having a Hungarian lineage have any importance?  I would assume
> ethnic identity is an issue with most people who take some interest in
> their heritage.  It is not surprise that it is a source of pride for the
> non-European groups who well meaning anarchists opposed to my views on this
> topic are defending.  Why is it that Japanese, Chinese, and Asien Indians
> tend to marry within their groups?  Ethnic identity seems to be an issue
> with them, does it not.  I have Indian friends who tell me their families
> would flip out if any of my friends would date or even worse, marry an
> American.  The reasoning is, an American or other non-Indian cannot accept
> their culture, and religion, and is not an Indian.  As a matter of fact,
> even marrying into another INdian group is strongly opposed, ie. a
> Pujab man and a Gugurat girl, or two people from any 2 Indian states.
> Again, the prejudice" racial policies of Japan seem to escape the scorn
> of you all who attact ethnic isolation in Europe.  Should not Japan and
> South Korea be expected to accept economic refugees, as western Europe
> has, including European refugess?  If you asked Japan is accept it's
> share of the refugees from Bosnia, then you'd see some racism.  They would
> not allow such a mixing between ethnic groups in their country, but are all
> to happy to allow Euroipe to take in the refugees Japan should be
> responsible for.  It seem ethnic identity is not an issue, so long as it's
> the loss of a European group at risk.  That is the ultimate in hipocracy, and
> is too strong of a trend to be ignored today.
>
> Paul

Yes! The series were made in Budapest, and it was not so easy
to spot familiar places, it was well made! Eva Durant


>
> The local Public Broadcasting System station here in Austin has been
> running some Maigret stories in the "Mystery" series.  These were produced
> in 1991 by the British company Granada Television.  The stories themselves
> are enjoyable enough, but I've noticed when the credits run that several
> people in the cast and at least half the technical staff have Hungarian
> names.  Can it be that Maigret's Paris is being portrayed by Budapest?
>
> Robert
>
> Robert S. Helfer              | "What is real and what is not?
> University of Texas at Austin |  Can you tell me or I you?
>   |  Perhaps we shall never know more than this -
-
>                               |  that to think a thing is to make it true."
>                               |  - P.L. Travers

>        Can it be that Maigret's Paris is being portrayed by Budapest?
>
---I noticed that, too.  But when I watched the second week, I couldn't
recognize any outside locations.  I expect that they would be careful
not to use anything obvious, or it would give away the location.  But
it could be, couldn't it?

Charles

Subject: Re: multicuralism (NOT)
From: Attila Gabor, 
Date: 18 Jul 94 23:32:03 GMT
In article > Attila Gabor,
 writes:
>On Mon, 18 Jul 1994, Imi Bokor wrote:
>
>> Attila Gabor ) wrote:
>> : I think some list members (Zoli) are not clear on the definition of
>> : assimilation within the frame work of social studies, so for the sake
>> : to clear my earlier letter, let me write it down.
>>
>> : "Assimiliation; The merging of cultural traits from previously
distinct
>> : cultural groups, not involving biological amalgamation."
>>
>>
>> as ever the shorter oxford dictionary of 1980 p.119:
>> "assimilate: 1. to cause to resemble... 2. to be or become like
>> ...3. to adapt to ....
>> II To absorb and incorporate ...2. to become absorbed or incorporated
into
>> the system. Also fig."
>>
>> what you have in mind seems closer to the notion of "integration".
>>
>> i, for one, strenuously resist assimilation while striving for
integration.
>
>Please, keep in mind that we were talking about social science, hence the
>specific definition.


i am keeping it in mind! that is why i wish to draw a distinction between
assimilation and integration.

in the case of the u.s.a. there was an insistence on assimilation during
the great migrations of the period around the turn of the century. the
pressure for assimilation was also dominant in australia until about
twenty
to thirty years ago, somuch so that aborigines were arrested for speaking
a
language other than english in the streets. assimiliation is really a
matter of absorption into the dominant culture/cultural values. it  is
integration which captures the notion of social amalgamation rather than
absorption.

d.a.

Subject: Who is a Hungarian?
From: Gabor Ellmann, 
Date: 18 Jul 94 11:09:23 GMT
In article > Gabor Ellmann,
 writes:
>Dear Readers,
>
>Could anyone provide me with a definition about Hungarianness?
>I would prefer a clean-cut set of criteria, that can be used in both
ways.
>

anyone who has at least one grandparent who is/was a hungarian citizen
is considered a "hungarian national" and is entitled to hungarian
citizenship. that at least was the law in the mid-eighties.

d.a.

Joe--

You are quite correct in stating that many liberals were unhappy with the
results of the election. They, of course, would like to have seen the SzDSz
win a majority, but we all know that was unlikely to happen, given their
upheavals in recent years. The MSzP was also described as fragmented, but I
imagine less than the other major parties (at least when it counted). The
liberals, I'm sure, probably felt a bit queasy when the SzDSz went into
coalition with the MSzP, but I'll bet that feeling has subsided. In any case,
it's important to keep in mind that the majority of Hungarians deep in their
hearts would like Hungary to develop as a democracy.

As for the right-wingers I met, they sounded like religious fundamentalists
who feel the need to poke their faces in everyone's business to warn them that
S-A-T-A-N is behind it all.

Regards, Marc

Paul:

Sorry, I can't control myself. It's 1994, Paul, not 1934. Your assertions
about America, Europe, and Australia for that matter are sheer idiocy. Your
assessment of the state of the world is clearly at odds with current reality.
Are you living in a hospital? If so, tell the nurse to change the medication.
:-/
Rejection of immigration is *not* a fundamental right of every country,
according to the signers of several international treaties guaranteeing that
right. As for control of state borders: in case you haven't noticed, the
world is moving towards *more* global interaction, not less, despite the
nationalist wars being waged in a number of countries. From Europe to Africa to
the Far East, small countries in particular are realizing this, and are taking
appropriate steps to accommodate this trend, rather than rejecting it. Self-
imposed isolation a reasonable course? I'm sure the North Koeans could find
you a nice apartment in Pyongyang, because that is about the only place where
those ideas would be welcome.

Who cares if there's no Patel or Szabo or Kim signers of the Declaration of
Independence. There are no Africans either. Can you guess why? As for the
judge who administered the oath of citizenship in Spanish, well, it was a
curious gesture, but only for practical reasons. Generally, to succeed in the
U.S. you should probably master English; but I attach no moral superiority to
any language, and I certainly wouldn't strip him of his judgeship. Promoting
treason? Get a life, Paul.

By the way, Hungary is almost entirely made up of people from somewhere else;
or is the Great Migration merely a myth. Sheesh!

Regards, Marc

Paul:

Yes, Japan should be forced to accept refugees. Any yes, everyone knows about
the attitudes of some Japanese, but not everyone over there is a racist.
I have many Japanese friends who are the spouses of European-Americans. You
should not confuse the issue of state borders with the issue of ethnic
identity. State borders, at least in some parts of the world, are getting
thinner, not thicker. Ethnic identity knows no border. It it true that
families are the principal source of "pressure" involved in keeping their
ethnically wayward offspring in line, and that is certainly a double-
edged sword. It is for me. I spent ten years exposing audiences in New York
to the poetry of "unpopular" language groups, so I have a lot of respect for
ethnic identity. But being an American, I am faced with the paradox whose
solution is elusive: how to reconcile traditional ethnic responsibilities with
the demands of modern life in America. I confess I have no answers. I suppose
one could live like the Amish or Hasidic Jews, but that was unpalatable to me.
Everyone in America must look at that paradox and answer it for themselves.

--Marc

On Thu, 21 Jul 1994, Marc Nasdor wrote:

> Paul:
>
> Yes, Japan should be forced to accept refugees. Any yes, everyone knows about


Does not sound good! Sound like forced child bearing. Just like in case
of abortion, if the person whose primary concern would be the child
decides that raising the child would be beyond the means of that person,
a country can decide that it is unable to provide for other nationalities.

Furthermore, it is Japan's internal affair if they do not want to accept
refugees.


I hope this is not one of those statements that some "liberals" use, who
want to use any means available to force others to accept their "liberal"
point of view.


                                                        Attila

In reply to your message of "Thu, 21 Jul 94 09: 14:12 PDT."
             >
Date: Thu, 21 Jul 94 09:41:01 -0700
From: 

Attila Gabor writes:

> > Yes, Japan should be forced to accept refugees...
> Furthermore, it is Japan's internal affair if they do not want to
> accept refugees.

This thread is now mixing the concepts of refugees/asylum seekers with
general, run-of-the-mill immigrants.

AFAIK, international law treats them quite differently.


--Greg

Attila:

Internal affairs? Oh, I suppose one could make that argument. That is, if
one believed in national borders, which I kind of don't. :-)

In fact, I'm looking forward to the day when state borders between "countries"
have as little meaning as the borders between NY, NJ, and CT.



The policy of accepting refugees has nothing to do with forced child bearing,
so I will elaborate on my statement. I did not state that a given state should
accept *unlimited* numbers of refugees, or that those refugees should be
permanent residents. I do believe, however, that in cases of political asylum,
any state should accept such asylum-seekers who are merely attempting to get
out of harm's way. That is what I meant by my statement regarding Japan. And
in any case, If my taking the side of the individual over the state qualifies
me as a "liberal" (in the American sense), then I'm a proud liberal indeed.

On Thu, 21 Jul 1994, Marc Nasdor wrote:

> Attila:
>
> Internal affairs? Oh, I suppose one could make that argument. That is, if
> one believed in national borders, which I kind of don't. :-)
>
> In fact, I'm looking forward to the day when state borders between "countries
"
> have as little meaning as the borders between NY, NJ, and CT.

You are right! That does make a difference.

> me as a "liberal" (in the American sense), then I'm a proud liberal indeed.

Good, because I did not intend the word "liberal in the American sense"
to be used in negative way.


                                                        Attila

In two weeks nine of my friends are going to bike around hungary.  I
was wondering if anyone had any advice concerning where to go.  (we have a
very flexable itenary.)  We were also wondering if you have to make
reservations at camp sites?  + anything else you might like to add..

                                        Ben Gannon
                                        

Dear List Members,

Volume 7(1996) of the Shakespeare Yearbook will be devoted to the subject
matter of Shakespeare in Hungary.

Professor Holger Klein, the editor of the Yearbook, would like to solicit
contributions from United States and Canadian scholars. He would very much
appreciate a list of university departments in the United States and Canada
where Hungarian is taught in order to establish contacts.

If anyone on this list has relevant information, could you please forward
it either tothe list or to my personal e-mail address. I will be in contact
with prof. Klein daily during the next seven days and I will forward the
information to him. If information arrives after this time, I will forward
it to him in Austria.
Thank you so much for your help.

Imre J. Eifert

On Wed, 20 Jul 1994, SZABO,ATTILA wrote:

> KEDVES OLVASO !
>
> LEHET OTTHON DOLGOZNI NYUGATI CEGEKNEK/SZERVEKNEK MELYEK
> VALUTABAN FIZETNEK?  HA HALLOTT VALAMILYEN MUNKAKOZVETI-
> TO IRODAROL, VAGY EGY MUNKALTATOK REFERENCIA LISTAJAROL,
> KEREM SZEPEN ERTESITSEN.  BARMILYEN MEGOLDAS ERDEKEL, ES
> NAGYON SZEPEN MEGKOSZONNEK MINDEN JOTANACSOT.
>
> TISZTELETTEL:
>
> DR. SZABO ATTILA
> MONTREAL/CANADA
>

Attila,

Magyarorszagon nagyon sok kulfoldi ceg van (en inkabb igy nevezem, mert a
nyugati az nem teljesen tiszta kifejezes szamomra, pl. az Izraeli vagy
Japan az nyugati?).  Szamuk tobb ezerre teheto, tralan meg meg is
kozeliti a 10,000 a vegyesvalla;atokkal egyutt.

A tudomasom serint mat tobb mint 500 amerikai ceg mukodik Magyarorszagon,
meleyek kozott sok nagyvallalat is szerepel.  Az Egyesult Allamok a
legnagyobb befekteto Magyarorszagon.  Ezen kivul sok nemet, osztrak es
olasz ceg is van.  Nem tudom az angolon kivul milyen nyelvet beszelsz, de
szerintem az uzleti kultura miatt neked inkabb amerikai vagy pedig
kanadai cegnel kell szerencset keresned.  Kb. 200 vagy tobb kanadai ceg
is letezik Magyarorszagon es ok is igen komoly befektetok.

En a heleydben felkersnem az Amerikai Kereskedelmi Kamarat es a Kandai
Kereskedelmi Kamrat Budapesten (ezek teljesen fuggetlen Magyarorszagon
bejegyzett non-profit szervezetek) es ok biztosan tudnak segiteni.
Tekintve, hogy en 2 evet dolgoztam az Amerikai Kereskedlmmi Kamaranal igy
azt hiszem eleg jol ismerem a helyzetet.  Mivel beszelsz magyarul neked
nagyobb eselyed van munkat szerezni, de teljsen a hatteredtol fugg, hogy
mi az eselyed.  Valoszinu az a legjobb, ha fogsz egy listat ami
tartalmazza a Magyarorszagon levo amerikai es kanadai cegeket (ezt a
listat a kamaraktol be lehet szereznoi) es felhivni egyesevel a cegeket.
Vagy meg jobb, ha egy-egy kamarai gyulesen, ebeden reszt tudnal venni es
szemeleysen talakozni a cegekkel.  Persze ehhez Magyarorszagra kell utazni,.

Nem ertem teljesen miert szertnel kulfoldi valutaba fiztest kapni. Ha
akarod tudtommal mint Kandai allampolgar (ha az vagy) atvalthatod a
keresett penzedet (az 50%-at mar vagy 5 evvel ezelott is at lehetett
valtani osszeghatar nelkul).  En azt hiszem ez a kerdes mar a multe, nem
hiszem, hogy ilyennel foglalkoznod kene.  Valoszinu ha Franciorszagban
dolgoznal akkor sem ragaszkodnla a Kandai dollarban valo fiztesert.

Egyebbkent a munkaero piacra az az ervenyes mostanaban, hogy relativ
nehez munkat talalni (marmint a 2 evvel ezelotti helyzethez
viszonyitva).  A kulfoldi vegek mindinkabb hazai munkaerot kersnek,
nemcsak azert, mert olcsobb altalabn (de egyebbkent ez sincs mar igy
minden esetben), hanem mert sokszor a magyar munkaero jobbnak bizonyul,
mint az amerikai (nekem ebben van tapasztalatom).  Van egy-ket terulet
ahol meg talan van lehetoseg, de foleg kapcsolat kell ehhez, vagy pedig
egy eppen befekteto ceg itteni ismerete.  Ezen teruletek egyike peldaul a
management (ez is egyre szukul, mert javul a magyar business schoolok
minosege es sokan tanulnak a tengerentulon a magyar vezetok kozul).

A masik problema amibe utkozhetsz (ha nem vagy magyar allampolgar) az az,
hogy a bevandorlas nagy utemu novekedes miatt egyre nehzebb
munkavallalasi engedely szerezni (es persze a munkanelkuliseg miatt is).
A cegnek be kell azt bizonyitania, hogy arra a munkahelre nem volt kepes
egy magyar allampolgart talalni, aki el tudta volna a feladatot vegezni.
Persze mindig vannak kivetelek es a magyar szarmazasod is segit, de en
sok emberrel; talalkoztam akik nem voltak kepesek engedelyt szerzeni (a
felesegem mint amerikai allapolgar is feketen tudott csak dolgozni,
amikor meg nem voltunk osszehazasodva).

Nem akartalak ezzel elkeseriteni, vagy negativ kepet festeni, csak
elmondani, hogy mire szamits.  Egyebbkent lehetoseg az mindig van, csak
keresni kell.  Az en velemenyem az, hogy a kamarakkal kell kezdeni, mert
ok ismerik a legtobb ceget.  Az Amerikai Kereskedelmi Kamara cime:

Fath Peter
Ugyvezeto Igazgato
American Chamber of Commerce
Budapest 1086
Dozsa Gyorgy ut 84/a

tel: 361-269-0616


A kandai kamra adatait az amerikaitol megkaphatod bioztosan, de fejbol
nem tudom a szamukat, se a ciumuket.

Sok sikert es emailjel, ha kell segitseg, vagy ha valami jo hired van.

Zoli

Ga1spa1r Miklo1s Tama1s claimed that the year 1990 didn't mean a
revolutionary change but a dramatic moment of a reformistic development. I
think he is right and here is an example to bolster his claim. The quotation
is from *168 o1ra.* This weekly is actually a series of interviews and the
July 12 issue contains an interview with Iva1n Vita1nyi (MSZP deputy) and
Istva1n Nehe1z-Posony, a lawyer, about private foundations and the former
government's support of these foundations. But the topic of the interview is
really immaterial. Each interview is introduced by a preamble which gives the
background to the interview itself. In this particular interview, conducted
by Gabriella Lantos, the preamble contains the following sentence: "It is
almost impossible to inspect the newly created foundations of the last four
years of *interregnum* [emphasis is mine] and the public money which was
pumped into them, thinks Istva1n Nehe1z-Posony, the well-known lawyer."
Actually, if one reads the interview with Istva1n Nehe1z-Posony, he never
mentioned the "last four years of interregnum"; it was a slip of the tongue
by the journalist, Gabriella Lantos, and all those people who read the
interview before its appearance. I don't know what the Hungarian practice is
but I assume that the editor-in-chief approves each item which appears in the
newspaper. Maybe there is even a copy editor, although judging from the
occasionally questionable style and the often-times purple prose, one
wonders! In any case, two or three people must have looked at that piece and
none of them caught this faux pas. I must assume that these people know what
"interregnum" means and what the use of this word indicate. Coalition or no
coalition, protestation to the contrary by the new leadership, the population
obviously looks upon this new government as the continuation of the Ne1meth
government under the one-party system of the pre-1990 days. Eva Balogh

Dear Eva,

just FYI: the Nemeth government actually ended the one-party system.

-- Zoli

(Was there a honeymoon?)

NEW CONFLICT OVER HUNGARY'S ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Ongoing talks
between the governing coalition and parliamentary opposition
parties were interrupted on 16 and 17 July when it was learned
that Prime Minister Gyula Horn had already appointed Adam Horvath
and Janos Sziranyi as the new chairmen of Hungarian Television and
Hungarian Radio, respectively, replacing Elemer Hankiss and Csaba
Gombar. The opposition parties lodged a protest against the move
and asked President Arpad Goncz not to confirm the nominations.
The Community of Hungarian Journalists called the appointments
undemocratic and a threat to freedom of the press. On 18 July the
parliament's cultural committee, with the opposition party members
absent, approved the nominations, which were countersigned by
Goncz on 20 July, MTI reported.  Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL, Inc.


"The opposition parties":  which/all of them?

"The Community of Hungarian Journalists":  who are these guys?  How
large or representative are they?


Opinions, anyone?


--Greg

> > --The Washington Times is owned by the Rev. Moon's church, isn't it?
>  Why, that's the last refuge of non-extremists in these tough days - whom
> would you trust not to become lefties, when even one-time stalwarts like
> Goldwater seem to turn pinko ;-)...
>
> -- Zoli
>
The Times is indeed owned by Rev. Moon; I assume the rest of the
message is sarchasm.

`s{-sIw3
Robert Helfer wonders:
> I've noticed when the credits run that several people in the cast and at
> least half the technical staff have Hungarian names.  Can it be that
> Maigret's Paris is being portrayed by Budapest?

Yes, Budapest has been the setting for a number of television films,
not only because the same level of expertise is available here at
much lower salaries, but because the not-so-benign neglect of
this century has inadvertenly preserved the 'look' of previous
eras.{Having moved here from Los Angeles, where film crews
blocking streets and freeways was a constant nuisance, I was
surprised to see that nearly every month someone is here making
movies, too.

Now, if only I had a TV, I could see those films myself! :(

Mary