I just returned from an enjoyable visit to my birth country. Winter travel has its challenges and living in California made me forget Hungary’s often freezing winter weather. I was also annoyed with Budapest airport transportation, specifically the lack of comfortable and reasonably priced transportation between Budapest Airport and downtown. The airport recently reported that passenger numbers exceeded 12 million […]
Many of you may not have heard of the ManDoki Soulmates, a “concept group” led by 64-year-old Leslie Mandoki. Recently Mandoki announced the group’s ‘Wings of Freedom’ post-GRAMMY concert on January 29, 2018 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, saying “ManDoki Soulmates embody the creative spirit of the 1970’s, when artists were striving not only for individual virtuosity […]
Hungarian diplomats avoid talking about the uncomfortable subject of undocumented Hungarians living illegally in the US. Recently the Embassy of Hungary in Washington DC hosted all Honorary Consuls serving in the US and Ambassador László Szabó thanked them for their work and hoped for continued assistance in strengthening the ties between the two countries. For the first time six representatives […]
In a series of tweets Republican Congressman Steve King declared his desire to import Prime Minister Orbán’s ideas to the United States. “Diversity is not our strength,” King tweeted. “Assimilation has become a dirty word to the multiculturalist Left. Assimilation, not diversity, is our American strength.” Mr. King linked an article published by the Voice of Europe that quoted Hungarian […]
In September Christian Lüth, the press spokesman for the far right German parliamentary party, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), declared their candidate for the Charlemagne Prize to be Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s Prime Minister. The Charlemagne Prize is given for “Distinguished service on behalf of European unification.” How is it possible that the anti-Muslim, pro-Putin AfD party would give this European award […]
In February, the Hungarian Lobby, an on-line Hungarian American group run by Béla Lipták published a letter from 33-year-old Allison Pataki, the daughter of ex-Governor George Pataki. Lipták thought that Allison could make a viable candidate to serve as Trump’s future Ambassador to Hungary. Allison responded that she was „honored and humbled. Unfortunately at this time in my life with […]
I’m starting to think that Sir Roger Scruton, the highly regarded 73-year-old English philosopher and writer, has had some influence on the anti-Soros campaign in Hungary. Scruton’s primary interests are aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the “furtherance of traditionalist conservative views.” He is also a frequent visitor to Budapest and many of his articles and interviews are re-published in […]
Three years ago I wrote about a cherished Californian tradition; the Hungarian Film Festivals in Los Angeles and San Francisco. For many years these events were interesting and entertaining, and the organizers presented an array of films, features, documentaries and shorts. (Read here about past festivals.) The “father” of the Los Angeles Hungarian Film Festival is Béla Bunyik. He came […]
This past October Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, listed these mortal dangers facing the Hungarian nation: “assimilation, the adoption of other languages and mixed marriages.” (Read here.) Almost a century ago Hungarian nationalists thundered that Hungary was a lonely island in the “Slav Ocean” and warned that its unique language and culture would be swallowed by its neighbors. Now Budapest […]
Malcolm Turnbull, the Australian Prime Minister, is angry. He says those who accuse his energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, of being a dual Australian-Hungarian citizen just do not understand the history of the Hungarian Holocaust. Josh Frydenberg’s mother Erica Strauss was born in 1943 in the Budapest ghetto. That is where the fascists had pushed all the Jews in together, as […]
