Twenty years after the wall

[Hosakawa Tito]

Yes, the wall's demise began with the removal of miles of barbed wire separating Hungary from Austria.

[Vuk]

Yes, the wall's demise began with the removal of miles of barbed wire separating Hungary from Austria.

But after that at a 'PanEuropean picnic' several EGs escaped. When EGs still in East Germany heard about this they flocked to the West German embassy in Budapest and eventually camped out in Buda being fed by charity. The Hungarian government ended up opening the border for them and letting them leave without exit visas or any proper documentation. When EGs still in EG heard about this, even more came and there was a mass exodus.

EDIT: oh yeah, and not just barbed wire, but mines as well.

[CountArach]

This is yet another example of the triumph of the people over their governments who would wish to keep them in their place. We should not forget those in the East who risked everything to fight for their right to free movement and simple, basic human rights.

[Incongruous]

This is yet another example of the triumph of the people over their governments who would wish to keep them in their place. We should not forget those in the East who risked everything to fight for their right to free movement and simple, basic human rights.

Well, perhaps, but simple people power does not work, as those who were brave enough to pick up a gun in '56 know...

The entire world watched as the Hungarian people rose up against communism, did nothing and let them get crushed by the furious Russian response. People power can not ever do anything alone, people power had to wait decades before the idiocy of soviet communism became hard reality and the entire joke came tumbling down.

I had quote in my sig sometime time ago, went something like

"the first crack in the Berlin wall, began with a hole in a flag in Hungary"

Much good the end of communism has done, well there is no more torture I think, but the country is still nothing but a sink hole, pathetic how improvement seems to have left Hungary behind.

[Vuk]

Well, perhaps, but simple people power does not work, as those who were brave enough to pick up a gun in '56 know...

The entire world watched as the Hungarian people rose up against communism, did nothing and let them get crushed by the furious Russian response. People power can not ever do anything alone, people power had to wait decades before the idiocy of soviet communism became hard reality and the entire joke came tumbling down.

I had quote in my sig sometime time ago, went something like

"the first crack in the Berlin wall, began with a hole in a flag in Hungary"

Much good the end of communism has done, well there is no more torture I think, but the country is still nothing but a sink hole, pathetic how improvement seems to have left Hungary behind.

The problem is that when Hungary transitioned it allowed direct foriegn investment and lost everything. They should have used indirect foriegn investment so that everything stayed in Hungarian hands. Also, there are so many socialist elements left over.

[Incongruous]

Indeed, commies are everywhere and the place is run by idotic scumbags...

[Sarmatian]

The problem is that when Hungary transitioned it allowed direct foriegn investment and lost everything. They should have used indirect foriegn investment so that everything stayed in Hungarian hands. Also, there are so many socialist elements left over.

I don' think that's the problem. The problem is that Hungary doesn't have any industry to speak of and has a considerable debt...

You can't build economy on shopping malls and banks...

[Vuk]

I don' think that's the problem. The problem is that Hungary doesn't have any industry to speak of and has a considerable debt...

You can't build economy on shopping malls and banks...

Sure, Szeged lost its industry with Trianon, but that does not mean that it could not make more. In fact, it started to develop industry under the socialist regime, but the socialism just was not sustainable and the country got into huge debt. The problem is then that it opened its assets to direct foriegn investment and a lot of investors bought the industry up just to close it down to make sure that it did not become competition. The country was hungry for its own industry and plenty of investors would have been willing to invest MONEY in Hungarian businesses through bonds and such (as no Hungarians had money of their own after years of socialism). Right now foriegn companies are not going to build industry to compete with their own and there are more profitable places for them to build branches, that is why industry is not developing. The mistake was using direct foriegn investment instead of indirect foriegn investment. The socialism elements left over in society now are making sure that no one has enough money to start their own up, which is why I mentioned them.

EDIT: and where did the debt come from BTW?

[Caius]

was opened on 9 November 1989.

It was in November or May?

[Fragony]

Kinda funny that this hardly gets any attention here. Not very surprising though, people could get reservations about socialism.

[CountArach]

Kinda funny that this hardly gets any attention here. Not very surprising though, people could get reservations about socialism.

Errr, in the rather Conservative country of Australia we get no coverage either...