Monthly Archives: December 2013

The poor in the Budapest Hilton

Posted on December 30, 2013 by ellenpolus

Somewhat belatedly I will spend some time today on a singularly distasteful event that took place on December 22, the fourth Sunday of Advent. Advent is now celebrated widely in Hungary. When I was growing up I never heard of … Continue reading →

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Der ungarische Edward Snowden

Posted on December 30, 2013 by ellenpolus

Keine Korruption, kein Steuerbetrug: Das haben Demonstranten im Zentrum von Budapest gefordert. Behörden setzen normalerweise alles daran, um Steuersünder zu erwischen. Anders in Ungarn: dort ist die Steuerbehörde anscheinend gar nicht so scharf darauf, den Betrug zu stoppen. Das brachte … Continue reading →

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EU rights agency decries ‘mainstreaming’ of extremism in Hungary, Greece

Posted on December 25, 2013 by ellenpolus

Greece’s Golden Dawn and Hungary’s Jobbik have both been termed neo-Nazi parties by the World Jewish Congress. The European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency issued a series of recommendations last week aimed at stemming the “mainstreaming of elements of extremist ideology … Continue reading →

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Antigovernment Activist Beaten in Ukraine

Posted on December 25, 2013 by ellenpolus

MOSCOW — A crusading antigovernment journalist and activist in Ukraine, who became famous last year after documenting the opulence of the heavily guarded residential compound of President Viktor F. Yanukovich, was savagely beaten early Wednesday morning. The assault on the … Continue reading →

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„Hungary persecutes those who fight against corruption”

Posted on December 25, 2013 by ellenpolus

Billions of euros-worth of tax is lost in Hungary each year because of VAT fraud. The tax authority suggests the issue is innate to the European tax system, and cannot be stopped. In November, a former analyst at Hungary’s National … Continue reading →

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Andras Schiff: Why I won’t perform in Hungary

Posted on December 23, 2013 by ellenpolus

One of the world’s greatest pianists, Andras Schiff, played his 60th birthday concert on Saturday – a hugely demanding programme of the Goldberg Variations by Bach and Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. Earlier he told the BBC’s Tim Franks why he gave … Continue reading →

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Reporters Without Borders: 2013 – “Great People” EN

Posted on December 23, 2013 by ellenpolus

Journalists killed, bloggers imprisoned, censorship…, the overall level of freedom of information violations continues to be very high and the situation is still worrying in 2013 as proved by the annual round-up published on December 13th, 2013 by Reporters Without … Continue reading →

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