Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2003 (15. évfolyam, 4-49. szám)
2003-11-21 / 45. szám
HUNGARIAN COINS Official Representative Office P.O. Box 1057, Clifton, New Jersey 07014 Contact: A. Friedberg (973) 471-1441, Telefax (973) 471-1062 5000 Forint Silver Coins 1. 50th Anniversary of the Gold National Football Team This week marks the 50th anniversary of a historical victory for Hungary - not on the battlefield but on the playing field. It happened on November 25th, 1953. It is an event few Hungarians can forget and one which is still spoken about with awe today: the 6-3 upset of England by Hungary’s national soccer team on English soil, at Wembley Stadium no less! No one ever dreamed it could possibly happen. Grosics, Kocsis, Puskás Öcsi - and the others, known simply as “the boys with the golden feet,” remain legendary today. Happy Thanksgiving! There will be feasting on Nov. 27, in the name of a holiday. And quite properly, in afford with tradition and custom. But this is also a time for thanks, and that is the deeper tradition. Not one day only for thanksgiving but a season of gratitude, for harvest, for work accomplished, for life and the further opportunities that life will bring. In the United States, the Pilgrims are credited with observing the first Thanksgiving in 1621. No one is certain of the exact date, but we do know it went on for three days and the festivities were attended by approximately ninety invited Indians. What were those first thanksgivers grateful for? Not for plenty. Not for security. Not for ease and comfort. They were grateful for untilled land, for homes little better than hovels, for survival in a wilderness. They were thankful for each other, for companionship in a bold undertaking in a common cause. They dreamed of liberty, and here they found room to achieve it, if they could make that dream endure. Interestingly, Thanksgiving recreation, modem Americans’ favorite pastime, was invented by the Pilgrims, belying our notion that the only form of excitement they enjoyed was praising God for granting them occasional respites from persecution, fámine, illness, droughts, infant mortality, predators, epidemics, fires and frozen winter. Like everyone else, they had time on their hands when feasting in the company of those with whom they did not customarily dine. Plymouth’s original version of the holiday was enlivened by hunting and target practice, the goals of which were, first, still more food, and second, impressing the native-born guests (Indians) with their superior weaponry. Today many Americans shoot each other. And lacing sermons and proclamations with presumptions of God’s political and military support was a Thanksgiving tradition even before the Civil War and in the wars of this century too by some of our leaders. For others, Thanksgiving simply marks the opening of the Christmas shopping season (although that, too, now seems to have moved to Halloween). Anyhow, it’s easy to take note of the blessings we can see / the loved ones gathered around, the roof over our heads, the food on our table. But sometimes, it’s hard to remember to be grateful for what we don’t see - terrorist attacks (like in 2001) that have not happened, the tragedies averted, the loved ones not lost. Chief among them are the men and women in our armed forces, many of whom are about to miss their second Thanksgiving in a row, valiantly serving their country. It’s important, too, that they - the emergency-room workers the paramedics, the nurses and many more, many of whom must work on November 27 - are not forgotten either. The practice of giving thanks was observed at various times in different communities until 1863 when by presidential decree, the last Thursday in November was declared a national holiday. Regardless of race, religious beliefs, station in life, or personal preferences, we can all be thankful for living in this great country. But freedom does not come without price, so it is only fitting that we offer special thanks and prayers, for those who go in harm’s way, and hopefully also remember those who are less fortunate than ourselves. The feast is a symbol, even as the day is symbolic. One day is not enough, nor ever will be. One season,, one year is not enough. It must endure! Happy Thanksgiving, and reach out to someone in need. Béla Dániel Bónis, Ph.D. Emeritus Prof, of Philosophy California State University, Long Beach Economics Minister Urges Invest ment Incentives to Businesses BUDAPEST - The government’s main task is to steer the Hungarian economy back to the macroeconomic track it followed from 1995-2000, Minister of Economic Affairs and Transport István- Csillag said at a conference for Hungarian venture capitalists. A sound economy relies on investment and exports for its growth, he said. Accordingly, the government must encourage businesses to invest by providing tax concessions and other development incentives and by improving competitiveness, Csillag added. As Hungary is committed to join the euro zone' in 2008, the budget deficit will have to be cut to 3.8pc of GDP next year and to 2.5pc of GDP by 2006, while inflation will have to be reduced to below 3pc by the same deadline, he said. Data Protection Agreement ’'4SHINGTON - The United States Holocaust Museum will be to receive copies of confidential documents containing personal data kept by Hungarian archives under a data reement reached by the two countries in Washington. Smoking Ban at the United Nations? At the U.N., delegates have grown accustomed after almost 60 years to a lot of useless debate and discussion. Not that the diplomats haven’t done a lot of good over the years, but the U.N. is a place where demands, edicts, bulletins, resolutions — you name it — are issued, then promptly ignored by everybody on the planet. Now that they’ve put weapons of mass destruction on the back burner, though, the 191 members of the General Assembly have something new to fret about: a ban oa smoking in the landmark U.N. building. In September, Secretary- General Kofi Annan issued a bulletin asking diplomats and staffers to refrain from lighting up. Annan had several reasons. The first one was to comply with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “draconian edict” against smoking in all offices and indoor public places in New York City. The second: it hadn’t gone unnoticed at the U.N.’s own World Health Organization that puffing delegates were not displaying the spirit of the agency’s global campaign against tobacco. And the third: the fire insurance premiums for the U.N., which lacks a sprinkler system, have gone through the roof. So Annan ordered ashtrays unbolted from the walls, antismoking signs every few feet in the halls and security guards to confront violators. Of course, the world’s chief diplomat was roundly ignored. Smoking continues — in the corridors, delegate lounge and, most conspicuously, in the basement Vienna Café, where fuming functionaries huddle under no-smoking signs. The Russians, Mexicans, Czechs and Syrians have also taken official umbrage over the ban in several committee meetings, nitpicking over its legality and the cost of cleaning ashes off the carpets now that the trays are gone. It all comes down to the power of the secretary-general. Some believe he is not really in charge. An aide told New York reporter Geraldine Baum: - They give him a free hand unless he runs up against something the diplomats really care about, say, their immunity against paying parking tickets. Shashi Tharoor, a U.N. spokesman, recalls once bringing Annan the WHO’s "Tobacco Free Day" proclamation to sign. Annan . was behind his desk, smoking a cigar. She asked his boss if it was a good idea for cigar smoke to swirl around his face as he signed the WHO ban. The diplomat calmly replied that he saw no ptoblem: After all, Annan explained, “I know the evil of which I speak.” On the 50th anniversay of their triumph, the Hungarian Mint is issuing two versions of a celebratory medal. The first is a one ounce 42.5 mm pure silver medal, plated in gold and in proof quality with a serial number from 1 to 3000 embossed on the edge. It is priced at $59.50.The second, while of pon-precjous metal, and also gold plated, has an additional feature: in the middle of the medal there is a movable silver-plated soccer ball. Order it today for just $45.00. 2. 150th Anniversary of the Founding of the BUDAPEST PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Founded in 1853 by Ferenc Erkel, it has been a home to the works and performances of music’s greats: Liszt, Mahler, Brahms, Goldmark, Bartók, Kodály, Dohnányi and others. The orchestra’s home, the Budapest Opera House is one of the best known symbols of Hungarian culture. The four portraits are of Erkel, Bartók, Kodály and Dohnányi-all leaders of the orchestra. Designer: Emma SZ. EGYED Mintage: 4000 pcs BU / 4000 pcs Proof TO ORDER, or to be placed on the mailing list for all Hungarian coins, contact The Coin & Currency Institute, Inc.; P.O. Box 1057, Clifton, NJ 07014. Toll free 1-800-421-1866. Fax (973) 471-1062. E-mail: mail@coin-currency.com . New Jersey residents should add 6% sales tax. Major credit cards are accepted. Add $4.50 to each order for shipping and handling. These and other coins of Hungary may be seen on the Institute's website, www.coin-currency.com/hungary.html . . li/JITY T1I4NKS
