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From Jobbik rallies to Southern California churches

Historica is a popular Hungarian rock band. They play “national rock” which is a mixture a hard rock and even harder-core Hungarian nationalism. One of their songs is about the heroism of Mr. Albert Wass, a fascist and a convicted World War II criminal, who received the death sentence in absentia for murdering Jews and Romanian peasants. (Historica’s Albert Wass […]

by · October 24, 2014 · Diaspora
Canadian civil rights group urges Prime Minister Harper to take a tough stand on Hungary’s anti-democratic government

Canadian civil rights group urges Prime Minister Harper to take a tough stand on Hungary’s anti-democratic government

Montreal: October 23, 2014: The Canadian Hungarian Democratic Charter, which is a non-partisan civil-rights group registered in Montreal, addressed a detailed memorandum today to the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr. Stephen Harper and to Canadian Foreign Minister, Mr.John Baird, about the flagrant rule of law violations committed by the Hungarian government of Viktor Orbán. The memorandum comes on the eve of […]

by · October 23, 2014 · Focus
András B. Göllner

András Göllner to speak in Montreal about Hungary’s anti-democratic revolution

Concordia’s Journalists for Human rights group will be hosting their first speaker series of the year on Thursday, Oct. 23 by Concordia Political Science Professor Emeritus András B. Göllner. Entitled “Rules for Civil Rights Activism”, the talk will look at what it takes to be a human rights activist and the dangers of the role by drawing largely from Göllner’s […]

by · October 22, 2014 · Politics
AFP file photo. US President Barack Obama (R) greets Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orb·n at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, during the NATO 2012 Summit May 20, 2012 . AFP PHOTO Jim WATSON.

Zsolt Németh had warned Orbán that trouble was brewing with the US

Zsolt Németh, the chair of the Hungarian Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee, first realized the real extent of troubles surrounding Hungary’s relationship with the United States when he presented at a conference in Washington D.C. earlier this fall. Mr. Németh spoke fairly candidly with the right-wing Válasz.hu website on Tuesday (the online presence of the Heti Válasz weekly, which was founded under […]

by · October 21, 2014 · Politics
Pulaski parade in New York City

Hungarian Americans marched at the Pulaski Day Parade

The Pulaski Day Parade is an annual event in New York City to commemorate Kazimierz Pulaski, a hero of the American Revolutionary War. Pułaski was a Polish nobleman, a soldier and military commander, and “father of the American cavalry”. Born in Warsaw, he came to America to help in the cause of the Revolutionary War. He saved the life of […]

by · October 20, 2014 · Diaspora
MKB Bank

Banking in the dark: MKB Bank comes under supervision of Prime Minister’s Office

János Lázár, the minister in charge of Viktor Orbán’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), can count yet another feather in his cap. MKB Bank, previously owned by Germany’s BayernLB (the Bavarian State Bank), was recently nationalized. While the nationalization wasn’t a surprise, most of the press raised its collective eyebrow when at 6:30PM on Thursday, they read in the freshly published […]

by · October 17, 2014 · Focus
Tokaji Aszu

Letter to the Editor: Tokaj wines are unique and incomparable

Sir: With reference to your article published in the Hungarian Free Press with the title “A Question of Authenticity: Hungary’s Tokaj Wines,” let us inform you about the following: – Vinum Tokaj Canada Inc. has never purchased, distributed or sold any of the wines produced by the state-owned Tokaj Kereskedőház Zrt. – the wineries and wines that we represent and […]

by · October 16, 2014 · Focus
Cigánykerék/Cartwheel: a musical at Budapest's József Attila Színház. Photo: Bea Gergely.

A theatrical journey into a Gypsy-majority neighbourhood in Budapest

Józsefváros, otherwise known as Budapest’s 8th district, has long been one of the most multicultural boroughs in the Hungarian capital. In the early twentieth century, it was home to thousands of rural Jews who moved to Budapest and tried to make a living at the Teleki Square fruit and vegetable market. It has also long boasted a large Gypsy (Roma) […]

by · October 15, 2014 · Culture
North American wine lovers, beware! Can you spot the fake Tokaj? Photo: Zsolt Revicky, Népszabadság.

A Question of Authenticity: Hungary’s Tokaj Wines

One of the treasured Hungaricums of my birth country is a special Tokaj wine called aszú, a sweet, topaz-colored wine. Aszú means “dried”, and the complex winemaking process uses botrytised (“nobly” rotten) grapes. This unique, special quality wine is cherished by millions all over the world, but I must confess, I never liked it. It is a bit too heavy, […]

by · October 13, 2014 · Focus
Democratic Charter thanks President Obama for speaking out on Hungary

Democratic Charter thanks President Obama for speaking out on Hungary

President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500 Washington, DC October 10, 2014 Dear President Obama: As Founders and Spokespersons of the Canadian civil rights organization, – The Canadian Hungarian Democratic Charter – we would like to take this opportunity to thank and to congratulate you and those in your Administration (in particular, Victoria Nuland, […]

by · October 10, 2014 · Focus