At 11:03 AM 5/21/97 -0400, Eva Balogh  wrote:

>At 10:24 PM 5/20/97 -0400, Joe Szalai wrote:
>
>>And now I'm puzzled why you and Amos J. Danube think that my comments about
>>banning tobacco are out in left field.
>
>
>        I guess, because it is so impractical. ESB

Well, your "practical" suggestion of "launching an anti-smoking campaign"
will ensure that many more will die of lung cancer and other ills related
to smoking.  Perhaps you agree with Amos, that tobacco doesn't cause anything.

Smoking has become a class issue in North America.  Today, most smokers are
less educated and make less money than those who don't.  In Hungary this
isn't the case, ... yet.

The tobacco industry is predatory.  It offers the user very little but,
potentially, takes a lot - like the users health and life.

The tobacco industry uses millions of acres of prime farmland to produce
something that nobody really 'needs', while millions go hungry each day.

Who's being impractical, Eva?

Joe Szalai

E.S. Balogh wrote:
>
> At 06:14 PM 5/21/97 +0200, Miklos Hoffmann wrote:
>
> >I do second this. [To praise the BLA news summaries.] ( Maybe not the 10
> minutes, inspite of "dynamic
> >reading" ;-) )
>
>         I think it is called "speed reading." I do everything terribly fast
> and therefore occasionally sloppily. ESB
It seems to me that you do everything ( or, more safely, many things )
terribly fast. It4s hazardouos for your health;-). I donn4t argue about
sloppiness...everybody is sloppy to a certain degree.
Back in the days of JFK and thereafter, it was called Dynamic Reading
( was it Evelyn Wood? ). But that was mor ethorough than normal reading.
This is what I remeber. But it was rather exhausting.
MKH

I really suggest you to read BLA. It is an excellent daily
summary
>> (exception is Saturday and Sunday but on Monday you get a double
issue) of
>> the Hungarian press. It is divided into three sections: domestic news,
>> economy, and foreign affairs. The summaries are succinct and it takes
no
>> more than 10 minutes to go through the whole thing. To subscribe:
>> .
>>
>>         Best, ESB
>I do second this. ( Maybe not the 10 minutes, inspite of "dynamic
>reading" ;-) )
>Miklos

Thanks - I shall try.  Agnes

Yes, Janka, I remember discussing it.  And I also heard story all my
life, as a child way back in Hungary.  I am sorry that it turned out to
be just an anecdote.

Agnes

Some additional information on smoking in Eastern Europe and Hungary:

The following is quoted from an article, "Tobacco Abroad: infiltrating foreign
markets", which appeared in Volume 105, Number 2, Environmental health
Perspectives, February, 1997.

 ..."Although China is the number one cigarette-concuming country, Poland claim
s
the highest per capita use at 3,620 cigarettes per year; an increase from 3,010
in the early 1970s...High smoking rates in Poland and throughout Eastern Europe
are a legacy of the communist system, according to Eric LeGresley, legal
counsel for the Nonsmokers' Rights Association in Ottawa, Ontario, who aserts
that such governments 'pacifie[d] the population by providing cheap
cigarettes.'"

"In general, Eastern Europeans are among the most avid smokers, a fact that is
reflected in death rates. In the early 1990s Hungarians were the number-three
smokers in the world at 3,260 cigarettes per capita, according to WHO; in the
mid-1980s, the death rate from smoking-related illnesses in both Hungary and
Poland was climbing steadily in both males and females even while deaths from
other causes were declining slightly."

"By 1993, 23% of all international cigarettes sold were in Eastern Europe, more
than in Asia, the Middle East, or Africa."

Are there any comments from list members about Mr. LeGresley's assertions that
the high smoking rates in Eastern Europe were a legacy of the communist system?

As a non-smoker I'm curious to know about your opinions.

Bob Hosh
Library of Science and Medicine
Rutgers University

****************** CALL FOR ACTION ****************

Priority:     normal

Background:
  During the sessions of the International Court of Justice Hungary's
position shifted between "the whole construction has to be torn off"
and "under certain conditions we can accept the divertion of the
Danube". Such contradictory statements will not do.
 The International Court of Justice in the Hague as well as the public
opinion of the world can support the Hungarian position in the Danube
lawsuit only if this position is univocal.

What to do:
  Please help to persuade the foreign minister of Hungary, Laszlo
Kovacs, to initiate or at least support an integrative resolution
concerning the Danube dispute in the Hungarian parliament.
  Feel free to use the attached form letter. Letter #1 is written in
English, letter #2 in Hungarian.

e-mail address of Foreign Minister Kovacs:


*************************************************************

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
letter in English:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<date>

The Honorable Laszlo Kovacs
Foreign Minister of Hungary
(E-mail: )

Dear Sir:

The International Court of Justice in the Hague as well as the public
opinion of the world can support the Hungarian position in the Danube
lawsuit only if this position is univocal. Unfortunately the
statements of the Hungarian delegation shift between "the whole
construction has to be torn off" and "under certain conditions we can
accept the divertion of the Danube". In my opinion such contradictory
statements will not do.

Hungary needs to take a position which is supported by the Hungarian
parliament and all political parties. This position has to be worked
out before the 15 judges have formed their final opinion. The
Hungarian position has to include the following basic demands:
Slovakia must return the Danube to its original riverbed and the
C-variant has to be torn off. It should also be made clear that
Hungary will apply all means at her disposal in order to reach reach
these goals.

If the Hungarian parliament passes such a resolution, this will be
supported by the International Court of Justice and the public opinion
of the world. The continuation of the currently fuzzy politics can
only lead to the petrification of the present disastrous situation.

Dear Mr. Kovacs, please initiate and support the composition of an
integrative resolution in the Hungarian parliament.

Respectfully,

<name, title, address>

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
letter in Hungarian:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<datum>

Kovács László
Magyarország Külügyminisztere
(E-mail: )

Tisztelt Külügyminiszter Úr!

A Hágai Nemzetkozi Bíróság, akár a világ közvéleménye csak akkor
támogathatja a Duna kérdésében a magyar álláspontot, ha ez világos
szamara. Sajnos a hagai per folyamán nem kristalyosodott ki egy
egységes vonal a figyelo szamara. A magyar delegáció kijelentéseinek
skálája a "mindent le kell bontani" állásponttól "a Duna elterelése (a
C-variáns) véglegesitése is szóba jöhet" álláspontig, mindent
magábafoglalt. Ez a magatartas szamomra ertelmetlen.

Tisztelt Külügyminiszter Úr! A tetovazas helyett egy olyan
"összmagyar" álláspont kidolgozasara van szukseg,  melyet az
Orszaggyules és annak minden pártja támogat. Ezt az egyseges
álláspontot meg kell fogalmazni meg mielott a 15 hagai biro
kialakitja velemenyet.  Az ország integritásának es Szigetköz
megvédését nem szabad pártérdekeknek alárendelni. Joggal várja el
Önöktöl a magyar nép, hogy a Duna védelmében képesek legyenek egyet
érteni.

Egy országgyülési hatarozatnak az alapelveket kell kimondania: Le kell
szögeznie, hogy a Duna visszaterelése, a C-variáns lebontása nem alku
tárgya, annak elérésére minden eszközt, beleértve az ENSZ Biztonsági
Tanácsának összehivását is, igénybe vesszük.

Ha a Magyar Képviselöház az elkövetkezö hetekben elfogad egy ilyen
határozatot, akkor azt a Hágai Bíróság, a világ közvélemenye és az
ENSZ Duna Rehabilitációs Alapja (anyagilag is) támogatni fogja. A
jelenlegi homalyos politika folytatasa azonban a mai áldatlan állapot
tartositasat eredmenyezheti. Kérem Külügyminiszter urat, hogy
figyelmeztesse az Országgyülés tagjait történelmi felelösségükre és
kezdeményezze az összmagyar állaspont meghatározását, megszavazását és
nyilvánosságra hozatalát.

Öszinte Tisztelettel:

<nev, cim>

At 08:27 AM 5/21/97 -0400, Amos wrote:

>Smoking doesn't  cause anything,
>genetic propensity  and smoking may.  And as soon as  medical sience is
>ready to admit that, the tenor of the anti-smoking campaign can change.

        I used to think that this was the case but more and more research
results seem to indicate that smoking by itself is "hazardous for your
health." ESB

At 06:14 PM 5/21/97 +0200, Miklos Hoffmann wrote:

>I do second this. [To praise the BLA news summaries.] ( Maybe not the 10
minutes, inspite of "dynamic
>reading" ;-) )

        I think it is called "speed reading." I do everything terribly fast
and therefore occasionally sloppily. ESB