Fido asked about Zalatnay ...

Well, I don't recall this particular album, but I was still living in
Hungary when she became a big pop star in the mid-60's (can't believe
it's already 30 years since!)

She had quite a few big hits and due to her cute "teeny-bopper" looks,
she was quite popular.  Not quite as popular though as the more
sophisticated Zsuzsa Koncz of that era who happened to be my
all-time favorite.

Joe Pannon

Joe Pannon thinks the lawsuit against the IMF is probably a losing
proposition, but he can still see some merit in filing it:

> Personally, I'd like to see such a precedent setting law suit proceed,
> because one thing banks hate most is bad publicity.  For this reason,
> even if they are sure they could win the case, they'd rather settle than
> go to trial.  So it would be interesting show to watch, if nothing else.

As things stand, Hungary is in the position of a supplicant that can
hardly afford to harrass the IMF with lawsuits.  Every few months, a
delegation of IMF bankers shows up in Budapest, spends weeks poring over
the books of the Finance Ministry and the National Bank, and in the end
either grants Hungary the IMF's Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval
(aka "the stand-by credit facility") or not, as the case may be.  In the
last few years, the facility has been kept open with more and more
conditions piled on by the IMF, and later broken by the Hungarian side.
The conditions set targets for reducing the growth of external debt,
cutting the budget deficit, and accelerating of the pace of privatization.
All good and desirable things, but ones for which the successive Hungarian
governments lacked the political will.  As a result, all post-Communist
governments found it convenient to blame the IMF for making them do the
things that they had no stomach to do by themselves.  This is the PR script
that the dynamic duo of Dr Pellionisz and Dr Endrey swallowed hook, line,
and sinker.

Since the spring of 1992, every last one of the agreements Hungary signed
with the IMF has been broken by the Hungarian side.  So the Hungarian
bankers negotiating with the IMF are too busy sweating and changing their
underwear to worry about taking on the IMF in the courts.  All the IMF
would have to do is suspend dealings with Hungary for a few months, and
the lawsuit would be quietly dropped.  This would be the scenario if the
lawsuit were to be filed by the Republic of Hungary, the only entity with
the standing to sue at all.  The alternative (promoted by Dr Pellionisz)
of a class-action suit filed by a group of citizens is not something the
IMF would lose much sleep over.  A Federal mass tort case like this is
governed by very strict injury-in-fact rules applying to every member
of the class.  In addition, the burden of proof rests entirely with the
plaintiff, and the case is tried by a judge without a jury.  A pretty
tough case to win, even for a legal eagle of Vitez Dr Endrey's caliber,
assisted by the formidable Dr Pellionisz.

-----
Gabor Fencsik

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There is an interesting article in the September 95 issue of Business
Central Europe (published by The Economist) about some individual quality
vintners who have emerged to meet the needs of private restaurants, wine
merchants and foreign interests in Hungary.

The article talks about Jozsef Bock, who has a vinyard in Villany and
makes the Bock Cuvee and the Sommelier Cuvee.  There are other vintners
as well who make fine wines, as opposed to the more common table wines we
are used to buying here in the US.

I wonder if anyone has information on this and other vintners.  Also, I
wonder if there are any publications (in Hungarian or English) that carry
articles about quality Hungarian wines.

I would be grateful receiving your e-mail or posting.

Charles Mikecz Vamossy

"It is the National Debt, stupid!" This was the title of a heated exchange
I originated in the columns of the list of "Hungary". I suppose some elder
readers can recall the debate, it was but a few months ago. I outlined at
that time the very conservative and modest effort I took active part in,
to ease Hungary's debt well before she collapses (first politically, soon
after economically) under the unbearable weight the debt truly represents.
I spearheaded the effort conceived by conservative Hungarian emigrees in
the USA, to shave an initial $400,000,000 from the debt, years ago.
Such a conservative "trajectory correction" would have eliminated, if
executed IN TIME, the need of a much radicalized last minute "crisis
management"
that Dr. Endrey presently has to resort. If solution is further sabotaged,
the hemorrhage of $10,000,000 PER DAY from a country the size and population
of the State of Ohio will result in radicalism far worse than the lawful
protest conceived by Dr. Endrey!

So much for the difference between my conservative bent and the bold
(yet hitherto restrained) radicalism of Dr. Endrey, advocating a lawsuit
against IMF/WorldBank.

We encounter a most interesting and very telling fork, however, when
arriving at the idea of risking any criticism on IMF/WorldBank.

As Joe Pannon and Fred Sweet point out in the "Hungary" list, there is
absolutely nothing "unheard of" IN THE WEST about speaking out against
the obsolete and obviously inappropriate policies by which these
institutions mishandle the transition of fragments of the former Communist
Empire into brave new NeoCommunist fifdoms. Jeffrey Sachs from
Harvard could write a penetrating essay in New York Times about historical
(ir)responsibility of IMF/WorldBank in (mis)directing and ruining the
Russian economy ("Who Lost Russia!?"). Noam Chomsky from MIT could write
a book exposing the same crime some Western institutions are committing
in the region. Yet,in the West, nobody would dare using against such
sharp minds the arrogant-ignorant "ad hominem" attack the unshamed liberals
from Hungary avail themselves. Culture and wisdom aside, attempting to
suppress certain views by such sleezy and lowly ways would be utterly
futile in the West as free press ensures there an immortality of opinions.

Not so in the East. There, ideas were to be bottled up for as long as
Eva Balogh can remember (recalling 1956 from a rigid mind as a "socialist
revolution" :-), and some ignorant youngsters, quite fresh out from
Kadarjugend, apparently still believe that "dangerous ideas" (such as
demanding compensation for carelessly inflicted damages) should be suppressed
by any means, including slick "ad hominem" badmouthing in lieau of
arguments. I don't waste too much time on the latter kind, since I am
not young enough to know everything (certainly won't argue on legal
details with a lawyer with 40 years of international experience!)

I just point out the striking difference how the debt-reduction debate
is handled in the "Hungary" list (in English, and in plain view of
American readers) and in the "Forum" list (in Hungarian, where most often
even the family-background of some pink opinion-holders is widely known).

I thank Eva Balogh for kindly pointing out, that in "Forum", the oft-acerbic
list written in the inpenetrable "machine code" of the Hungarian language,
Dr. Endrey's idea of suing IMF is applauded by an overjoyous vast majority.
In "Forum", Ms Balogh is practically alone with her strange views that
re-paying a $30 billion debt is "easy" for Hungary (why is abortion and
suicide breaking all records then?) Indeed, Ms Balogh has to resort to
calling Dr. Endrey "senile" to try to "hold the [SZDSZ-party] line",
and Mr. Fencsik would not even dare joining debate in Forum.

Why is, again, the difference? Because IT IS CLEAR TO EVERYONE, that the
merit of Dr. Endrey's concept lies with the PUBLICITY it generates.
No big deal in the West, where in the midst of cachophony the most striking
"publicity" is a few moments of utter silence.

Hungarian society, however, is still indoctrinated by a virtually homogeneous
(left-wing liberal) press, in fact much worse than during Kadar's communism.
It used to bore readers to tears. Today, big lies are made "palatable", by
presenting them in a jazzed up fashion, "Western style". Hungarian Society is
indoctrinated by Big Lies that (a) capitalism and liberalism are inseparable
twins, (b) that the American society is liberal, (c) that the "Most American
City", the only thing that counts in the States, is New York, (d) that
IMF/WorldBank are Santa Claus & Rudolf the Red-Nosed Raindeer, beyond
criticism of any kind,and (e) that unpayable national debt of post(?)communist
countries can not be written off.

Ms. Balogh, Mr. Fencsik and other brand-name liberals are fighting (futile)
wars to suppress or derail publicity of widespread revolt against bankloan-
slavery, using slick tactics neatly tailored to each captive audience.

Not for very long. Liberals sustained a crushing blow in the USA less than a
year ago, and Hungary (although she lags by a few months) is not very much
behind the curve.

The Center for Global Research is preparing a special publication dealing
with issues of nationalism. If you are interested in writing about some
of the issues facing Hungary (gypsy culture, Hungarians in Slovakia,
Romania and Serbia etc,) please contact Dr. Chris Kuehl at CGR.

It is gratifying to hear Dr Pellionisz tell us that the hullabaloo
about the IMF lawsuit is strictly for Hungarian domestic consumption.
No wonder he does not bother with legal niceties such as venue, Federal
tort law, original jurisdiction, standing to sue, and other bothersome
constitutional issues.  None of this matters, since no suit will ever
be filed anywhere.  The idea is to use the mythical lawsuit to whip up
as much propaganda as possible.  In the Doctor's very words:
(CAPITALIZED for the HARD OF HEARING)

> IT IS CLEAR TO EVERYONE, that the merit of Dr. Endrey's concept lies
> with the PUBLICITY it generates.

Otherwise, the latest missive from Dr Pellionisz touches rather nicely
on most of the obsessions bothering him lately.  The only thing missing
is any mention of Mr Soros, and the role of freemasonry in all this.
I hope he will get around to these topics in the next installment.  It
is also good to know that the family background of FORUM participants
is known to the good Doctor.  You never know when this kind of
information might come in handy.

-----
Gabor Fencsik

Gabor Fencsik writes:
>
> It is gratifying to hear Dr Pellionisz tell us that the hullabaloo
> about the IMF lawsuit is strictly for Hungarian domestic consumption.
> No wonder he does not bother with legal niceties such as venue, Federal
> tort law, original jurisdiction, standing to sue, and other bothersome
> constitutional issues.  None of this matters, since no suit will ever
> be filed anywhere.


   Could this not be filed with the World Court? Are there any experts
on the list who can tell us what the World Court juridiction really
is?
   (In my opinion, it is a heck of a good idea, and countries like
Jamaica and Guyana which suffered from IMF diktats would either be
glad to join or glad to use a success as precedent.  However, also in
my opinion, I would bet that IMF 'advice' is couched in the same terms
as bankers, investment brokers, and lawyers' advice -- that is to say,
they take the position that they just give you options and you make
the choice yourself.  If the choice is between doing what the IMF says
and simply going to the poorhouse, you naturally take the advice)

    Jan George Frajkor                      _!_
 School of Journalism, Carleton Univ.      --!--
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