Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2006 (18. évfolyam, 1-50. szám)
2006-11-17 / 45. szám
Figyelem! A CSÁRDÁSBAN naponta friss mákos és diós BEJGLI kapható! 72c ftáhadjcn otthon a AütóAAet - hÍA$sui nálunk msujkapivalja kéA$enf (fukosi nélkülit La kóAgítünk! (323) 962-6434 Dobay Artwork Exhibit in New Brunswick Hungarian - American Artist Susan Dobay’s Oil Painting Memories of 1956 will be part of an exhibit of Remembering the 50th Anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Hope, Despair and Triumph MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN HUNGARIAN FOUNDATION 300 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08903 October 21, 2006 - February 25, 2007 MEMORIES OF 1956 The Hungarian Revolution against the Soviet Occupation. 10 years after leaving Hungary, in one of my nostalgic and reminiscing paintings, Memories of 1956, I tried to capture the moment when a young couple (my husband and myself) are escaping from their beloved country after the mighty superpower of the Soviet army quashed the Revolution. In my memory, I recalled the most dramatic and disturbing part, when the young students, workers, and sometimes-even children were fighting with Molotov cocktails against tanks and trained soldiers. The fruits of this fight were only 10 days of freedom. October 23, 1956 the Hungarian people overthrow the Soviet controlled puppet government. On November 4th,new Soviet tanks went into Budapest to restore their occupation and they acted with immense brutality, even killing wounded people. Tanks dragged bodies through the streets of Budapest as a warning to others who were still protesting. There was no mercy, and many of these young people and workers were called “hooligans” by Moscow and probably 30.000 people were killed. In 1945, the Soviets came to Hungary as “LIBERATORS,” but all wealth of any kind was taken from Hungary. Looking back from 50 years of distance, it is still amazing to realize how the little Hungary had the courage to stand up against the giant oppressor. Throughout history, Hungarians have been freedom-loving people who resented OCCUPATION of any foreign powers. DUNA Travel 8530 Holloway Dr. #102 W. Hollywood, CA 90069 SPECIÁLIS ÁR LAX-BUD-LAX $566.-tól +TX. az ár szeptember 3-tól érvényes Információért hívják ZSUZSÁT TEL: (310) 652-5294 FAX: (310) 652-5287 1-888-532-0168 November 17, 2006 ONLY IN AMERICA! LOS ANGELES - A black firefighter who was served dog food in his spaghetti by fellow firefighters will be paid more than $2.7 million to settle a lawsuit alleging racial harassment within the Los Angeles Fire Department. The award, approved on an 11-1 vote Wednesday by the Los Angeles City Council, is the latest in a recent string of settlements of lawsuits by firefighters claiming discrimination It is believed to be the largest payout for misconduct in the department’s history, which was long considered among the nation’s finest, but has often been the target of complaints about hostility toward African-American and female firefighters. Firefighter Tennie Pierce, 51, alleged in his lawsuit that Firefighter Jorge Arevalo mixed canned dog food into Pierce’s dinner at their Westchester Photo: L.A. TIMES From station two years ago; that Capt. John Tohill purchased the dog food; and left, Steve Bressler, Capt. Jerry that Capt. Chris Burton knew about the prank but didn’t warn Pierce. All Thomas, Tennie E. Pierce three men were present when Pierce ate the dog food. Pierce “took a large bite, at which time he noticed the other firefighters were laughing and making noises,” the lawsuit says. He took a second bite, then demanded to know what was in his food, “but no one would tell him.” Pierce then left the kitchen “with his co-workers laughing at him.” A Fire Department investigation suggested the incident was intended to “humble” Pierce - who stands 6 feet 5 - after his team won a fire station volleyball game. A lawyer for one of the defendants initially called the incident “a good-natured prank ... (not) in any way motivated by race.” But a UC Santa Cruz professor who was hired by Pierce’s attorney to review department records of discrimination complaints said the prank was cleárly intended to “humiliate and dehumanize” Pierce. “It’s not just silly stuff. It’s racially motivated.... The organization labels it as macho, ‘boys will be boys’ behavior,” said sociologist David Wellman, co-author of “Whitewashing Race: Colorblind Policies in a Color Conscious America”. “I think it’s more about keeping Blacks out by making their lives so miserable that they don’t want to stay.” The lawsuit also named the city as a defendant because the fire captains allegedly allowed a hostile workplace to exist in violation of department policies forbidding harassment. The two captains were given one month off without pay as punishment. Arevalo was ordered off work for three days without pay. As part of the settlement, they were dismissed from the lawsuit, so they are not liable financially. Fire Chief William Bamattre admitted the incident was “intolerable” and violates department “guidelines on what’s professional performance.... That type of harassment or prank or whatever you call it is not consistent with what the public expects from the Fire Department, the confidence the public has in us.” Still, Dennis Zine, a police officer for 38 years and the lone vote against the settlement, said he thought the $2.7-million award was “outrageous for something that caused no serious injury, no permanent harm.“ The lawsuit states that for more than a year after the October 2004 incident Pierce was subjected to “verbal slurs, insults (and) derogatory remarks” - including taunting by firefighters “barking like dogs (and) asking him how dog food tasted” - in the presence of supervisors. In addition to the payout, the settlement provides for Pierce to remain on fully paid administrative leave until April, when he reaches his 20-year service anniversary. Then he can retire with ah annual pension amounting to half of his salary for life. “He was targeted by people he considered brothers and then was mercilessly harassed out of the job that meant so much to him,” said Genie Harrison, attorney for Pierce. “Now he’s calling for the public’s help to change the working environment for African Americans who remain on the department.” The department hired its first Black firefighter in 1897, but for almost 60 years Blacks were assigned only to segregated stations in Black neighborhoods. As the city’s Black population grew, all-Black crews began displacing white firefighters, who often responded with animosity. In 1936, white firefighters at a Central Avenue station who were forced to move to accommodate a Black crew responded by trashing the station with garbage and human waste. The Philadelphia Tribune DIFFERENT OPINIONS “This was a prank that I’m not justifying, not saying it was right, but it was not an attempt to discriminate in any way, shape or form against this firefighter,” said Councilman Dennis Zine, who cast the lone vote against settling the case. “I think it’s a rip-off of the taxpayers.” Zine, a veteran of the Police Department and chairman of the council’s personnel committee, pointed to allegations that Pierce took part in pranks himself. “I’ve had a number of pranks played on me during my law enforcement career, and if I didn’t have principles, values or scruples, I could probably have made off with millions,” Zine said. Only radio commentators dare give voice to their real feelings toward this whole farcical event, which should not have been taken seriously in the first place. For nobody else dares to challenge the claim because the alleged “victim” is black. Playing the race card has become a very lucrative pastime in California. ^ MEGHÍVÓ! A LOS ANGELES-i ELSŐ MAGYAR REFORMÁTUS EGYHÁZ 2006. november 26-án, Vasárnap, ünnepli fennállásának 80. évfordulóját Erre az alkalomra tisztelettel és szeretettel hívjuk és várjuk magyar testvéreinket, hogy Isten iránti hálával együtt ünnepeljünk. Gyülekezetünk tagsága és a magyarság hálaadó Istentisztelet és ünnepi műsor keretében emlékezik egyházunk történetének elmúlt szakaszára. Hálaadó Istentiszteletünk a templomban délután 2:30 órakor kezdődik, melyet ünnepi ebéd követ a Kossuth teremben. 12717 York Avenue, Hawthorne, California 90250 , Telephone: 310.355.1475 L.A. Firefighter Wins $2.7 Million Bias Sui AMERICAN Hungarian Journal
