Budapest's Szabadsag Hid engulfed in smog

When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, he had no idea that it could also be used for corruption purposes, so loud that it can be heard on the other side of the Atlantic.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Hungary’s telecommunications group Magyar Telekom (alias MATAV) of serious corruption, via its parent company – Germany’s Deutsche Telekom (DT).

SEC claims that MATAV was directly involved in a major corruption scandal in violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (bribing the governments to obtain a monopoly in Hungary, Macedonia and Serbia during the period 2005-2006). Officials at DT declined to directly comment on the accusations. In a parallel lawsuit three Hungarian nationals (namely former MATAV CEO Elek Straub, former Director Andras Balogh and former Director Tamas Morvai were personally also directly involved in the corruption scandal. MATAV had allegedly already earmarked some USD 48-mil to settle the penalty with SEC.

Hungarians love to celebrate and be jolly, but according to a recent study (asking 37,000 adults) carried out by opinion search company GfK Hungaria Piackutato Intezete, the majority of Hungarians prefer to stay at home. The study showed that less Hungarians are willing to turn time towards expanding the horizons in the area of entertainment, culture and arts.

The study was quick to touch on the fact that Hungarians have less dispensable income for such activities. They tend to stay at home and play video games (60%) and do gardening.

Office clerk Janos Szabo, 52, told Budapest Report that he had not been to a movie theatre or a play theatre for almost 15 years. “Prices are so expensive and our salaries have not followed the inflation of the forint,” he complained. Taxi driver Zoltan Toth, 47, says that about 20-25 years ago elderly people would flag a cab to go to the opera, coffee shop or even a museum. “Nowadays I have absolutely no elderly pensioners who want to go for a social fun ride for a few blocks in Budapest. I now exclusively have corporate clients who are working on contract with my company,” he said.

Only about 10% of Hungarians claimed to be theatre-goers, while only 7%claim to attend museums and art exhibitions in 2011

The GfK study reveals that 90% of those answering the survey said they prefer to stay at home and listen to music on the radio or simply watch television. About 70% (mostly men) prefer to read newspapers and 60% (mostly women) prefer to read magazines and books. Hungarians are allegedly also eating more at home, more than 60% in the survey said they have a passion for cooking at home instead of eating out at restaurants (only about 30% of Hungarians eat out at restaurants compared to about above 70% in Italy and Spain).

The survey however also revealed that less Hungarians are receiving party guests in their own homes, most likely because partying is an expensive past-time. Only about 40% said they invite friends and colleagues to party or dine with them (compare this to nearly 70% in Italy).

One of the world’s most famous teams, the UK-based Liverpool FC has broken ties with German sportswear manufacturer Adidas, the club confirmed Wednesday.

Adidas may have missed the fine print on the aborted contract which implies a very impressive track record. Liverpool FC have claimed 18 league titles, 5 European Cup titles and have an unconfirmed global supporter base of at least half a billion fans.

Adidas claims it had “walked away” after negotiations failed to renew their supplier agreement had stalled. Sources close to Liverpool revealed that Adidas was “unhappy with performance” by Liverpool, claiming that such a historically successful team had not performed “good enough” in the season. Some skeptics however claim that because Liverpool FC’s ownership is rather a patriotic North American one, they had always wanted their investment to have a US and not German-owned supplier and as the merchandising agreement was about to expire and as a result Adidas pulled a stunt announcing that it would pull out of the agreement. “Adidas knew that Liverpool had not performed as it should have for some 20-years, so why did they sign a six-year deal earlier,” said 49-year-old Paul Smith, who claims to be one of Liverpool’s most avid supporters.

The club says they signed the outgoing agreement in 2006 but millions of fans worldwide would be indifferent to whether Adidas was the supplier or not as the brand “Liverpool” is what they have devoted their time, energy and money to and not the German paraphernalia manufacturer.

In a press statement Adidas’ CEO Herbert Hainer claimed that his company had walked out on the British club sponsorship agreement due to an “imbalance” in performance numbers on the field.

A source at the US-based John W. Henry’s Fenway Sports Group (which acquired Liverpool FC in the year of the last FIFA World Cup) said that the club had been going through a dry spell, but hoped that as one of the most successful European clubs the tide would turn in the new season. However, they have not won the English league for more than two decades and have recently been eclipsed by north-west rivals Manchester United, who also have American owners in the shape of the Glazer family.

But the owners believe that Liverpool’s partnership would only benefit under a new 6-year deal with the US Boston-based supplier Warrior Sports (established in 1992, better known for their ice-hockey paraphernalia, but relatively unknown to the soccer world as yet).

This may be Warrior Sports’ big break into the multi-billion dollar sport and the springboard of their activities in European soccer. Fans and club executives are said to unanimously agree that Adidas will suffer a major loss by chickening out of their sponsorship with Liverpool, despite the fact that the English team has not won a home league for more than 20 years. Nevertheless the new American connection (soccer fans in the US are allegedly increasing 10-fold per year) could be Liverpool’s biggest stunt to win exposure on the 300-million strong US market and further boost Liverpool’s global awareness.

In a press statement Richard Wright, General Manager of Warrior Sports said that his company is about to rock the world of football by piggy-back riding on of the world’s most loved and most successful soccer clubs. No matter who comes and goes in the world of merchandising one thing for sure, fans will always continue to chant that their club will “never walk alone.”

Ironically Adidas is currently in a legal dispute in Budapest, where Hungarian inventor Laszlo Oroszi has sued the German giant for their infringement of his patent. Oroszi claims that he had shown and offered to sell a special patented idea to Adidas’s Netherlands-based development chief Herbert Galoke (who has since retired). Although Adidas had “rejected” Oroszi’s idea, they built it into their predator soccer shoe range, making millions (during and after the Asian world cup).

An alarming number of people continue to be arrested for drug trafficking in South Africa, despite the recent severe Chinese sanction, where a South African woman was executed for her alleged role as a drug mule in Beijing.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) on Thursday revealed that in 2011 in Cape Town International Airport alone 34 drug mules were arrested after search dogs detected their loads of illegal substances (like cocaine, tik and khat) estimated at street value of ZAR 7.5 million.

The general public are still questioning the government authorities role in cracking down on illegal drug trafficking after Sheryl Cwele (50), spouse of Siyabonga Cwele South Africa’s Minister of State Security, was received a 12-year jail sentence after a court convicted her for recruiting young women as drug mules to smuggle cocaine from South America into the South Africa. This has sparked calls for the minister’s resignation, but the government has swept the issue under the carpet, political experts said.

She has been let out on bail (ZAR 100,000) and is appealing her ruling, while South African Broadcasting Company (SABC) reported that a frantic mother is doing all she can to help free her duped drug mule daughter (31-year-old Tessa Beetge) who was arrested in Brasil after she was caught with 10kg of cocaine. Beetge received an 8-year jail sentence in Soa Paulo

The daughter claims that she was recruited by Sheryl Cwele. Ironically Sheryl Cwele was immediately suspended from her job as director of the health service of a local municipality, but nevertheless she is allegedly still receiving a hefty monthly salary (allegedly ZAR 30,000/month), after a labour court ruled in her favour and reinstated her full salary following her dismissal.

Independent weather soothsayers will allegedly be given a jail sentence under a new law amendment to be passed in the Republic of South Africa.

This was revealed by Gareth Morgan, spokesperson for the Democratic Alliance (DA) environmental faculty. He claims that the current government wishes to amend the South African Weather Service Law in an attempt to illegally gain an monopoly over other independent commercial weather services available to the population.

Morgan says that members of the general public and municipalities could also be threatened by the law amendment as it would be prohibited to issue warnings of thunderstorms or even air pollution unless they obtain permission in writing from the National Weather Service. Even if it is in the best interest of the population an “offender” could receive ZAR 10 million penalty or even up to 10 years jail. Morgan argues that the amendment is unclear as it doesn’t define certain definitions, like ‘severe weather event’.

So the national weather service is practically discouraging citizens who encounter natural phenomena like hurricanes to report them to public radio stations and other media for warning broadcasts. “Nobody, not even the Weather Service, has real time weather knowledge or knows what’s going to happen at a given moment as the weather changes,” he said. “We says the DA wants the offences clause, in the amendment, to be removed.”

It is an acceptable joke that people are dying to get into cemeteries, but it is no joke that just recently the late entry into a local university led to a stampede of students and caused the death of a person.

Police are still investigating the cause that led to a stampede ate the University of Johannesburg (UJ) causing the death of one person and the critical injury of 20 others during the late enrolment application on Monday (Jan 9, 2012). The UJ was draped in grief, flying a black flag of mourning, as the empty corridors revealed that late applications had been suspended due to the crisis.

Marie Muller, a spokesperson for UJ, said that contrary to general belief it was a parent (47-year-old Gloria Sekwena) and not a student who had died in the tragic incident. She explained that the mother had been killed after she was stampeded by thousands of other people wanting to arrange registration at the university for the new academic year.
Some student applicants, who preferred not to be named, claimed that UJ should have organised the application properly and more orderly and not just collect non-refundable application fees whether admittance was granted or not.

One student said that she believes the stampede took place after applicants at the entrance had heard that the UJ office was closing late applications because their 17,500 head-count annual quota had already been met. Allegedly 7,000 people had tried to submit their late applications on the day of the stampede.

“Many applicants disregarded security and simply bashed the gates open and everything and everybody was just pushed by the disorderly crowd,” she said.

Another witness claims that after the person had been announced dead, UJ called paramedics to remove the body, wrapped up in a blanket. It took more than an hour before authorities restored some order, another witness said.

The interest group Higher Education for South Africa (HESA) said it was sorry to hear of the tragedy. It claimed that the late application was most probably due to the fact that many high-school graduates may have opted for late application to the lower entrance requirement institution of UJ after realising that other tertiary options required much higher entrance prerequisites.

Engineering factory owner Johan Odendaal, says he is in general disgusted with the deteriorating low standard national curriculum and claims that since the African National Congress (ANC)-led government has ruled South Africa science and mathematics in higher education has been forced to give way to subjects like Marxism and other ideologies that do not require strong academic performances.

“Today any Tom, Dick and Harry can get into a university, especially if they are black.” Said Odendaal. “I struggle to find decent qualified engineers. When I applied to university some 30 years ago, I had to work hard and pay a fortune to complete my studies. Now quality has been diluted and the nation has a major shortage of quality engineer training.”

“Not all school leavers should be accommodated in the current public tertiary education system especially if their high school grades are low. South Africa’s dire national education system needs to a complete restructure if politicians want the economy to remain competitive in the new Millenium,” he said.

But the ANC Women’s League disagrees and says that even applicants who don’t have the required grades should be encouraged to apply to universities. It claims that the stampede at UJ was merely another manifestation of how desperate black youth are to obtain a higher education to secure better paying jobs. The league urged: “don’t give up, try again next year.”

Instead of waiting for legal action UJ came forward with a notion. Muller said that it would waive the tuition cost of the dead parent’s 19-year-old son, Kgositsile, should he win entrance.

Minister of Tertiary Education, Blade Nzimande, had promised to visit the family of the deceased mother to formally express his condolences. On the contrary the youth league of political party Pan African Congress (PAC) has called for the minister’s resignation due to the unnecessary demise. PAC also blames the current government for what it calls “shambles in the education system.”

In reply Nzimande said in the foreseeable future he hopes to see at least 4.5 million students studying in the nation’s tertiary education system by 2030. In a statement he said that in 2011 some 900,000 students were studying at 23 universities. He expects this to increase to at least 1.5 million by 2030.

The difference would be absorbed via 50 so-called Further Education and Training (FET) colleges after the merger of 152 technikons. FET colleges would be connected to the job market, while offer and demand would be based on market requirements.
Nzimande has asked for public debate on his so-called green paper before April 30, 2012.

An increasing number of beaches along the South African coastline are claimed to be unsafe – from uncontrolled dogs.

South African law enforcement and special services on Thursday warned that they will take stricter measures against dog owners walking their canines on the nation’s so-called ‘blue flag’ beaches.

Cape Town Assistant Police Chief Neil Arendse said that more stringent measures are now required as bathers on the nation’s beaches are not safe.

He said that the latest (Jan 11, 2012) incident of a toddler mauled by a Rottweiler was just the tip of the ice-berg.

Luckily the girl was rushed to hospital and after life-saving surgery is now in a satisfactory condition, police said.

This unfortunate incident was the “result of the dog being walked on Clifton (beach), a blue flag beach not intended for animals,” he said. The dog was impounded as soon as law enforcers arrived to the scene. It will be handed over to the SPCA animal shelter, until police investigations have been completed.

Arendse believes that several dog-owners suffering from what has been dubbed “main-man syndrome” are intentionally negligent, declining to accept the fact that their pets are prohibited from the nation’s blue flag beaches.

Surfer Richard van der Merver told Budapest Report that many surfers on Clifton Beach have had bad experiences with unruly dogs and claim to be more afraid of the treacherous dogs than a possible shark attack.

Arendse said that in his jurisdiction alone some two-dozen dogs have been impounded after members of the public on blue-flag beaches alerted police.

Based on a recent economic survey 85% of the Hungarians enjoy drinking tap water. At least 75% of all adults participating in the survey, carried out by order of the Hungarian Public Water Association (MAVIZ) claim to “love” the quality of their water.

However the survey failed to mention that bottled water costs an arm and a leg and many people wouldn’t bother buying water in retail outlets. Nevertheless Hungarians are more positive about their drinking water than its neighboring seven countries and most of the European Union peers.

MAVIZ claims that Hungary’s drinking water is considered the nation’s most prized asset and therefore undergoes stringent health and safety measures. The majority of the population answering the questionnaire said that the advantages of Hungarian drinking water lies in its “sustainability for the environment” and “affordability.”

MAVIZ now claims that it wishes to improve legislation for public water in 2012 following a bill that was enforced on Jan 1, 2012. The bill regulates the presence of some 200 components present in drinking water.

Experts agree that all public drinking water in Hungary satisfies legal requirements.

MAVIZ is a collective association for about 100 public water service companies who not only supervise the water industry and trade, but also provide 95% of all available drinking and public water.

Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi

Hungary refused to recall its Ambassador to Iran following a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on Thursday, news-wire MTI reported, saying it would cripple normal day-to-day operations due to its limited staff.

Despite this the Hungarian Government joins is European allies in utterly condemning the attack on the Iranian British Embassy, Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi told reporters in Brussels, after the meeting.

Iranian protesters on Wednesday stormed the British embassy in Tehran, smashing windows, hurling petrol bombs and burning the British flag in protest against sanctions imposed by London.

National Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy

Arriving on the heels of embarrassing news about Hungary’s ‘new’ relationship with the IMF and the Government’s confusing PR campaign about “this time being different,” the Orban-cabinet was dealt another crushing financial blow on Friday morning.

For the first time in 15 years, Hungary’s credit rating was downgraded to ‘junk’ (Ba1) status by Moody’s Investment Service. The agency said that faith in the Government’s ability to consolidate the Hungarian budget and cut state debt (on the medium term) has dwindled, and a further downgrade could come if there is a significant decline in government financial strength due to a lack of progress on structural reforms.

The National Economy Ministry labeled the move as being part of a series of financial attacks against the Hungarian government, saying the economy has improved in several key areas. “Budget deficit will be pushed below 3 percent for the first time in 7 years,” a statement revealed, adding that only 6 out of the 27 other EU member states will achieve this with their current budget.

Homeless shelter in Hungary. Photo by Boroka Feher

Cleared out of bridge underpasses, hiding in underground stations, finding refugein forests, the homeless people of Budapest feel they are being treated as fugitives onthe run. This has FEANSTA, the European Federation of Nation Organizations workingwith the homeless, expressing concerns over concerted attacks in Hungary. The countryis seeking punitive measures against dumpster-diving and street sleeping and FEANTSAforesees this leading to the criminalization of the homeless.

Most of the focus on the growing trend to enforce laws that will lead to theimprisonment of the homeless is falling on the shoulders of István Tarlós, mayor ofBudapest. Tarlós has said, “those who believe that all problems would be solved ifhomeless people were given housing […] are mistaken.”The Mayor of Budapest believes his city is following the strict regulations setforth by other European nations that include Austria, the United Kingdom, France,Spain, Germany, and Holland. FEANSTA has countered with evidence that eventhough many European nations apply strict rules for services that grant the homelessfunding and support, there are no laws in those countries that threaten significant fines orimprisonment as in Hungary.Boróka Fehér, Representative of Tizek Társasága, an umbrella organization ofBudapest homeless service providers, said that after his election last October Tarlós declared a “Program of Public Reconciliation.”

“Although the program was never fully developed in written form, its mostobvious element was the clearing of 13 of busiest inner city underpasses of roughsleepers,” said Fehér. “Without any additional financial support offered, he orderedthese underpasses to be cleared, meaning that after a period of 30 days, while outreachworkers tried to offer accommodation to the people they had registered as living in thoseunderpasses, the police moved in and sent rough sleepers outside.

Hundreds demonstrated against the growing criminalization of homelessness. Photo by Fuggetlen Hirugynokseg

”There was no legal framework to back up the clearing out of the underpasses.Some Hungarian human right watch groups and Fehér claimed it to be a violation andfelt it was propaganda, as only the underpasses most frequented by tourist were clearedout. Fehér’s main concern was that there was no viable solutions to the homeless that hadbeen displaced and left them to the limited option of moving on to the underpasses thathad yet to be raided.Part of problem is the opaqueness of an amendment passed by the HungarianParliament in the autumn of 2010, which defines the functions of public places andallows the municipalities to create a criminal offence for the use of public places ifthe use is not in line with its functions. Stefánia Kapronczay, of the Hungarian CivilLiberties Union, said, “The justification of the amendment revealed the real purposeof it, which is charging homeless people for sleeping in public places and usingthem “inappropriately”.”

“Before this amendment coming into force the Mayor of Budapest announced hisproject to clear the inner city of Budapest and terminated the contract with those NGOsinvolved in services provided for homeless people,” said Kapronczay. “The municipalityof Budapest introduced its decree on the non-conform use of public places anddefined “residing in public spaces” as a criminal offense. People who live on the publicplaces as a life style or to store their belongings used for living there can be charged witha fine up to 50,000 HUF (216 USD).”Tarlós confronts these allegations and claims Budapest is in accord with otherWestern European countries concerning issues of public space rules, homeless rights andregulations. “Even the liberal Netherlands has got more consistent and more explicit rulesthan Budapest,” said Tarlós.

“I think that the interests of the majority of the citizens of Budapest count morethan the opinion of various ill-informed organizations who are not aware of the realsituation or who are inaccurately informed.” He added, “They are not responsible for thiscity, while I am.”“We only criminalize what is criminal. Homeless people too have to abide bythe law and rules of human coexistence,” said Tarlós regarding on how his city treats thehomeless.Tarlós’s evaluation of Budapest’s homeless situation and solutions may bedistorted by comparing his tactics against those of other European nations. “I think Tarlósis not aware of what is happening in other European cities,” said Fehér.

“Some of hiscolleagues might have visited a huge shelter in London or Paris, and now think that this isall there is, but it is obviously not the case.”The homeless shelters in Budapest are overcrowded and dilapidated, according toFehér. “There are [shelters] where people have to sleep in huge dormitories of 12-20-50people. There are still some, where there are bugs that bite and carry infections.”Funding for homeless shelters has been going down in the past few years andmany shelters are struggling for survival and don’t have the money to offer moreattractive services, according to Fehér. “There is only one service in Budapest offeringindividual bedrooms, and there are only a few offering double rooms for couples. Theirmodernization would cost a considerable amount of money.”In October Tarlós proclaimed that Budapest would open new host sites andshelters for the homeless and would follow through on a proposal passed by the GeneralAssembly of Budapest in August to establish and renovate three shelters in the city’s 4th,1st, and 8th districts.“It is true that we build and establish new homeless shelters. We provide hundredsof millions for this,” said Tarlós.

“Furthermore, we also provide working opportunitiesfor the homeless through our public service companies who are already employing morethan 400 homeless people.”The mayor’s primary objective is to achieve a state where homeless people cansleep in human conditions and not out in the streets, and provide an opportunity so thatthe homeless can work, which he believes will promote their integration into society in asignificant way.The widespread affront against the homeless seems to be bottlenecking inBudapest’s notorious 8th district. The 8th district is traditionally the poorest district of thecity and heaviest hit by all kinds of social problems. The area has one of the highest ratesof unemployment and school dropouts.

There also a number of elderly people scraping byon meager pensions.Máté Kocsis is the mayor of the 8th district, a member of FIDEZ the samepolitical party as Tarlós, and Fehér sarcastically deems him “the party’s expert onhomelessness.”“Máté Kocsis would like to make the district a yuppie one, and is doing all hecan to ensure this,” said Fehér. New development projects in the 8th district are leadingto the displacement of homeless people, and instead of revitalizing neighborhoods andencouraging a social mix, Kocsis has tried to push poor people out of the center of thedistrict.The opening of a 24/7 booking center exclusively for the homeless in the 8thdistrict in October has riled many in the community. It has been set up to deliver peoplewho have been caught in the act of rough sleeping, or looking through the contents of agarbage bin, or who are caught smoking or drinking alcohol in a forbidden place.

Fehérsees this as hypocritical, “The 8th district has forbidden smoking in certain public placesin the district, mostly in the slum areas, while smoking in public is still allowed in theyuppie restaurant district and squares frequented by students.”The booking center is seen as a tool for penalizing and harassing thehomeless. “The booking center is a police station in reality, where police bring peoplefor ‘questioning’ and then either send them away with a warning, or give them a ticket.”Fehér added, “There have been people who were brought in for questioning every singleday, as they persisted in sleeping rough. Informally, the police were told to advisehomeless people to go and sleep in one of the other districts.

”Recently demonstrations have been held to oppose what people have deemed theunconstitutional and inhumane treatment of the homeless in their city. A group called TheCity is for All marched in the streets on 17, October to stop a government proposal toincrease fines and imprisonment on people who are found residing in public places. Up toa thousand people attended the demonstration, which ended dramatically when hundredsof people lay down on the street in front of the Parliament building, while other activistdressed as police officers tried to drag them off to jail. For the demonstrators, laws thatpunish the homeless for not having housing are not the solution.“I think it is shameful that the 8th district has spent much more on its campaignof criminalizing homeless people than what they spend on services for the homelessthemselves,” said Fehér.

Fehér believes Budapest can start reversing the trend of targeting the homeless bytaking a first step with a minimalist solution that would begin with affordable single unitoccupancies. “At the moment there are 300 plus such units in Budapest, and the waitinglist is more than a year long, for a small bedroom, with shared kitchen and bathroomfacilities.”Ending homelessness is the only solution for making sure mistreatment doesnot continue. “We urge the preparation of a strategy on homelessness. Such a strategyshall focus on prevention and provide effective ways out of homelessness,” saidKapronczay. “In our (Hungarian Civil Liberties Union) opinion staying at a shelter canonly be considered as temporary solution.”Meanwhile politicians have welcomed the homeless to shovel snow this winter inorder for them to earn some money to rent their own places.

“I think it is shameful thatyoung men who have been politicians and worn suits all their lives are running wholedistricts and evicting or harassing people much older than them who are down on theirluck,” said Fehér. “These young men call on the value of honest work, while they havebeen earning at least 10 times the minimal wage all their lives and have never knownwhat it is like to have no money or not be able to pay the rent.”Demonstrators will continue to protest the passing of bills that will further lead tothe criminalization of the homeless. They march carrying signs that read “Habitat Insteadof Prison” and “The Poor are not Criminals.”

Budapest's Szabadsag Hid engulfed in smog

A warning has been issued in Budapest, after a leading paediatric hospital (Svabhegyi Gyogyintezet) reported an alarming increase in the number of children with respiratory complaints due to excessive smog levels.

Patient numbers could double in the coming days, the center said in a press release, as even children with no previous history of respiratory disorders are affected.

According to Dr. Andrea Banfi, those suffering from symptoms are advised to remain indoors or visit high altitudes. A child showing early signs of respiratory illness should immediately be taken to the appropriate healthcare professional, she added.

The rich have grown richer and the poorer are even more poor, according to an independent survey carried out by South African street vendors to review one year after the 2010 South African Football World Cup, to which FIFA had all rights of sales and merchandise. Mpho Tshabalala, a street Vendor in Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD) says he had had high hopes of making some real money and help secure a prosperous a future for his family, via the football spectacle.

Through a translator the 55-year-old Tswana man said, “I have helped my three kids through high school and now they all want to go to college, but I can’t afford it. Local council members promised that we will be able to make some real money during the football spectacle, but then withdrew their promises saying that FIFA has all the rights to sales in the vicinity of the stadiums and other football related merchandise.” He added, “I am in a worse situation than before the world cup as South Africans have continuing inflation, high unemployment, increasing petrol prices. A year ago I purchased quality beef mince meat for ZAR 35 per kilo, now I’m paying ZAR 45 per kilo at the wholesaler.” He argues that while in the UK the minimum wages are about GBP 6 (or ZAR 60)/hour; his wife Themba- who has been working as a teller at a local Checkers retail supermarket for 20 years – is earning only ZAR 16/hour.

Mpho says that he is speaking for thousands of other street vendors who have all complained that the 2010 soccer spectacle did not help reduce poverty and was merely another FIFA stunt to make billions, by exploiting the good will of the South African nation. “I’m a local South African, but I couldn’t even afford a ticket to one of the 2010 matches, said Tshabalala, pointing towards the revamped Ellis Park football stadium, almost a stone’s throw from his struggling micro business.

Vendors like Mpho have questioned why their own government is capable of squandering billions for a sporting event, but unable to help micro businesses and alleviate poverty stricken South Africans, almost 20 years after the fall of the dreaded Apartheid regime. Another vendor Simphiwe Golele says, “We are reportedly sending millions of Rands in aid for Japan, one of the world’s richest countries, when we have millions of South Africa living in shanty towns that also look like they had been in an earthquake.” He added, “We can’t always use the Apartheid regime as an excuse for poverty in South Africa, when thousands of black politicians are living like the American and European elite neglecting the poor.” Golele was shocked to learn that despite the growing poverty in South Africa, the national government has done nothing to promote industry. He exclaimed “While there is high unemployment in the textile industry all South African national football jerseys for the 2010 FIFA World Cup were being made in China, while we had the means of producing them locally just as cheaply. Now I hear that all the Springbok rugby jerseys for our team in the 2011 Rugby World Cup are now also being manufactured in China.”

Some financial experts say that it may be too soon to say but the legacy of 2010 spectacle may easily contribute to South Africa becoming another “Greek tragedy” after the country’s economy collapsed in the aftermath of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Joe Public enjoyed no financial benefits of the hype that was marketed by FIFA, they said. It is believed that South Africa had estimated that the soccer spectacle would help create 400,000-700,000 new jobs and generate at least USD 6-bil for the local economy. But the political promises and ephemeral figures brought nothing for some 60% of the 49 million South Africans who are still living below the poverty line.

While the black government of South Africa is looking for a single insignia to unite all sports under one umbrella it is in fact causing a greater divide in the population, where Rugby players and supporters are allegedly boycotting the purchases of the overpriced (recomended retail price of ZAR 600!! -when the minimum monthly wage is about ZAR 1,600) IRB 2011 Rugby World Cup national “Springbok” jersey -simply because it does not have their beloved Springbok (national animal) emblem on the chest near the heart. Instead it now has the king protea (the national flower of South Africa).of their team.

“This is supposed to be the gear of our twice world champion Springbok team and instead only a klein springbok emblem has been placed on the left arm sleeve,” said 56-year-old Morne van der Merwe, who has supported the Springboks since he remembers. “It’s all about politics. The black government believes that the Springbok is the symbol of Apartheid, that utter rubbish.” He added, “Apartheid didn’t even exist when the Springbok name and emblem were embraced by captain Paul Roos (see black and white insert- with Springbok insignia on chest) and his boys in 1906 on tour of the British Isles.” He said that he has started a campaign to boycott purchases of the new rugby jersey, calling for real Springbok to don their old jerseys, where the Springbok is still located on the front. “The Protea has already been adopted by the cricket world but rugby is a different genre,” says van der Merwe.

The fate of the 2011 New Zealand Rugby World Cup (due in September this year) version of the myrtle green and gold collar South African jersey was decided by the South African Rugby Union (SARU). In a statement SARU said “Government guidelines determine that the official South African sports emblem – the protea (note there is no mention of the springbok!!!) – be placed on the left side of the chest on national sports jerseys. The decision pushed the beloved springbok away from the chest to the left arm sleeve (see picture.

SARU had the option from the International Rugby Board (IRB), to choose only one insignia as the IRB reserved the right side of the chest of the jersey for its own logo (almost sounds like FIFA) on all team jerseys at the 2011 games. The South African government reportedly found “no place” for the world’s allegedly most famous rugby badge, so they decided to reduce its size and send it to exile on the left arm.

In 1994 radical African National Congress party (ANC) members tried to convince President Nelson Mandela to abolish the Springbok because it “represents Apartheid.” The savvy Mandela declined their ridiculous request and by doing so helped build national unity in the newly established democratic South Africa where blacks and whites all supported the Springboks, who won the IRB World Cup in 1995. They repeated their victory in France in 2007 and are currently the reigning world champions.

Hungary are said to be a strange nation. Allegedly three Hungarians can run in four different directions, but when injustice hurts their dignity they become tight-knit, perhaps now more than any other nation in the 21st Century, even digging up skeletons of their past.

Magyars in Bratislava, Paris, Bucharest and Subotica on Saturday (June 4, 2011) were in full support of the Hungarian World Alliance’s (MVSz) visit to Paris, in commemorating the 91st anniversary of the infamous unjust Treaty of Trianon. The MVSz reportedly called on all Hungarians worldwide to unite and commemorate the day, now known as the “national day of unity.”

The Treaty of Trianon was the pseudo-peace agreement signed on June 4, 1920, following World War I. It re-drew the borders of former greater Hungary (that was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire) to deprive Hungary of some 70% of its land territory. Ironically Austrians -the rulers of the empire – were never really deprived of any of their national territory.

Decision makers stole some 230,000 sq km of Hungarian land, reducing the Magyar territory from 325,111 km sq (125,526 sq mi) to 93,073 sq km (35,936 sq mi). Above this more than 60% of the Magyar population were displaced, waking up in a new neighboring country to which they were allocated to overnight. It was also the founding of the Slovakian nation, which until then never existed historically.

Of the 20.9-mil Hungarians Hungary’s population was left with merely 7.6-mil. Greater Hungary was robbed of five of its ten biggest cities, access to the Mediterranean sea and man valuable natural resources. Nationalists now cry “Nem, nem, soha…” No, no, never…” when asked to forget the past ailments and move on in the 21st Century.

Many of the commemorating you arrived to various locations carrying the so-called Arpad striped banner, a horizontally striped red and white banned, which the American war of independence also used and latter integrated in their United States of America flag. One participant said, “This banner is our national legacy and unity of our nation.” He added, “Sadly radical fascist groups have also claim ownership of this banner.” True many so-called Nemzeti Garda (NG) members, in full dress (banned in Hungary) attended the events throughout Europe. One of the events was marred by NG leader Jozsef Inancsi who demanded a revision of the Treaty of Trianon, despite the fact that the Hungarian Government has finalised and registered that it has no territorial claims. Inancsi has vowed not to rest and is collecting signatures for a future referendum to review the infamous French decision.

On a more subtle note Miklos Patrubany, President of MVSz, said that Hungary belongs to everyone who considers themselves Hungarian, no matter where they may be living in the world. Ultimately he wanted all 15 million Hungarians world wide to have the right to cast their vote on Hungarian issues, whether they live in Hungary or not.

Academy award rap singer Eminem has reportedly sued German-owned car maker Audi for unlawfully using his song ‘Lose Yourself’ in an advertisement campaign planned for their 2012 Audi A6 Avant.

Eminem’s song was used in his movie titled ‘8 Mile.’ Ironically Audi claims that its video (referred to) was “not an advertisement.” However Eminem’s publishing company Eight Mile Style LLC believes otherwise and has filed suite in a court in Hamburg Germany.

In the ad, a professionally-dressed man drives the luxury vehicle through a city as the memorable guitar rift and snare taps from “Lose Yourself” play in the background.

Eminem’s legal team claims that not only did Audi use their client’s song in their commercial, but they allegedly took elements of another commercial from a Chrysler campaign. Chrysler is also expected to start legal proceedings against Audi.

Exactly how much the plagiarism will cost Audi is unclear, but it may just be another pay-out of lunch money as Audi is allegedly concentrating its interests on Hungary. The German car-maker is reportedly spending at least USD 1.2-bil on boosting its TT coupe and A3 cabriolet models’ production lines at their plant in Gyor (NW Hungary).

The up-grade will see Audi roll out 125,000 new cars and more than 1.38-mil engines each year by 2013. Last year Audi Hungaria saw production exceeding 32,600 cars. Reportedly Audi Hungaria is hiring some 1,800 more assembly workers and will have a workforce of 5,800 – the biggest employer in Hungary, after the public servant roll-call.

Audi Hungaria says their new expansion plans will help ‘rap’ up sales by 50% to see Audi produce 1.5-mil cars per year in 2015.

Some big things come in small packages, but the news that the Republic of South Africa’s Competition Office (aka Tribunal) approving the “merger” (actually a 51% acquisition) between America’s Walmart and Massmart Holdings comes in one of the biggest packages the southern African country has ever seen.

Much to the dissatisfaction of the American investors, the South African Trade Unions groups SACCAWU has twisted their arms before they could close the long-ongoing deal. Walmart will allegedly not be allowed to retrench any of Massmart’s employees for at least two years.

At the same time analysts say that the retail market has welcomed the pseudo-merger as retail prices in South Africa are higher than that of the UK, and need serious correcting. Wallmart has reportedly announced that it would establish a ZAR 1 million development fund and continue to accept the trade unions’ demands for at least three years following their merge. At least 500 Massmart workers, who were made redundant last year, will be re-employed, reports said. Walmart International CEO Doug McMillon, said he is pleased that South Africa’s competition office has finally “recognised the benefits” of their investments. He also promised that Walmart would help create new workplaces and help boost South African exports.

The late Ferenc Madl (President of Hungary between Aug 4, 2000 – Aug 5, 2005) has passed away at the ripe old age of 80 on May 29, 2011, based on a press release made by the State Presidency.

He was the President supervising the offices of three Hungarian Prime Ministers, namely Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Peter Medgyessy and Ferenc Gyurcsany. Madl’s voting into office in 2000 caused a major European scandal as the Hungarian Parliament, which had allegedly come to a consensus about his appointment was forced to vote three times as the majority socialist and free democratic alliance MPs declined his appointment twice. Eventually he was appointed as there was no other candidate available, political analysts said.

They added it was during Madl’s office (he was the second President of the third Republic of Hungary) domestic politics saw the most fanatic dog-fighting left and right of the regime. While the Socialist party (under the leadership of Laszlo Kovacs) were in a political fued against the centre-right opposition party Fidesz. They also staged a political coup and ousted legally elected PM Peter Medgyessy to replace him with illegal appointee and political playboy Ferenc Gyurcsany.

Political analysts agree that Gyurcsany caused the worst hostility, in-fighting and party corruption Hungarians had ever witnessed in living memory.

Despite the hardships and political challenges, Madl stood his ground and was even awarded the Gold Medal of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe (for his commitment to peace, liberty, justice and solidarity in Europe) on Nov 8, 2002. Madl was also an Honorary Co-Chair for the World Justice Project that leads a global, multi-disciplinary task force to strengthen the rule of law in the development of international communities.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is said to have made major preparations with a double whammy for his 48th birthday (he was allegedly born on May 31, 1963) in Budapest after his favourite team FC Barcelona won the 2010/2011 UEFA Champions League on Saturday (May 28), a source close to his government told Budapest Report on Sunday.

Orban was reportedly said to have commented that no club team had ever “given a hiding” to Manchester United FC like the one FC Barcelona did after it thrashed the Red Devils 3:1 at the New Wembley Stadium in London. Orban had allegedly received a complimentary ticket and was able to witness the match live.

He was also allowed to shake the hands of his icons alongside UEFA President Michel Platini, watched by hundreds of millions of football fans worldwide. Political anaysts say that he couldn’t have received better political advertising for his future ambitions as an EU politician as Hungary is currently heading the presidency of the European Union.

Orban, an avid footballer himself (having earlier officially played for Felcsut FC and the Hungarian Parliamentary government team, was said to have been mesmerized by the fact that his namesake countryman Viktor Kassai, was chosen to referee the 90+3 minute match, in which Argentine-born Lionel Messi was awarded the title, man of the match (scoring 53 goals in the season of which 12 were during the UEFA Championship league).

In Hungary PM Orban is referred to as the “Magyar Messi” of Hungarian politics after (as head of the centre-right party FIDESZ) he played tactically to sweep way the general elections last spring.

The Slovakian opposition parties continue to criticize the “restitutional foreign policy” of the Hungarian Government, according to official sources in Bratislava – the capital city that was once also the royal seat of the Hungarian people.

The opposition parties allegedly claim that the “revisionist” Hungarian Government wishes to review the past and demand compensation from the Slovaks.

On May 26, 2011 the Slovakian opposition SNS party was quoted saying that Hungary’s foreign policy is ” dangerous to the entire CE European region.”

The Hungarian right wing parties have always questioned what compensation Hungary should receive for the atrocities and pogroms carried out by the Czechoslovakian government – masterminded in London under then exiled President Edvard Benes (see attached picture), namesake of the infamous Benes decree, passed by parliament on March 28,1946.

Historians claim that the Benes decrees was merely a crime against humanity and responsible for the the forced deportation of some 3-million people from Czechoslovakia – mostly Germans and Hungarians who had lived there for centuries and had nothing to do with the outbreak of World War 2. Ironically the Slovak people never had a nation, no royal linage as they were always a part of greater Hungary until the end of World War 1, gaining independence as a sovereign state only on October 1918. Some historians argue that Hungarians (and Germans) had been living in the territory since King Bela IV (in Slovakia, he is referred to as Hungary’s King Bela IV – who reigned in the late 13th Century until 1270).

Some historians claim that before Czechoslovakia, and and the infamous decree, were even declared, only 16% of the population (on current day Slovakian soil as we know it today) were actually of Slovak ethnicity. At the same time 5% of the population were Hungarian and 22% were German ethnicity.

Historians say that in the decree ethnic Hungarians were considered traitors
- clause 5/1945 Sb. “Decree of the President of the Republic of May 19, 1945 concerning the invalidity of some transactions involving property rights from the time of lack of freedom and concerning the National Administration of property assets of Germans, Hungarians, traitors and collaborators and of certain organizations and associations”

– clause 12/1945 Sb.– “Decree of the President of the Republic on June 21, 1945 concerning the confiscation and expedited allotment of agricultural property of Germans, Hungarians, traitors and enemies of the Czech and Slovak nation.”

- clause 28/1945 Sb.– “Decree of the President of the Republic of July 20, 1945 concerning the settlement of Czech, Slovak or other Slavic farmers on the agricultural land of Germans, Hungarians and other enemies of the state.”

- clause 33/1945 Sb.– “Constitutional decree of the President of the Republic on August 2, 1945 concerning modification of Czechoslovak citizenship of persons of German and Hungarian ethnicity.”

Although the Czechoslovakian Republic has long disintegrated and are now separately the Czech and Slovak republics, the Slovakian nationalists continue to pursue Hungarians with Benes’ legacy, historians said.