Marietta Le

Latest posts by Marietta Le

Hungary: For Gyöngyöspata's Roma, Evacuation – or an Easter Excursion?

  24 April 2011

First, there were the rumors of a right-wing paramilitary group's plans to hold training in the village of Gyöngyöspata. Then came the local mayor's resignation. Then on April 22, some 300 Roma women and children left the village. While media used the word 'evacuation' to describe what happened, government officials claimed the Roma had been taken on an Easter weekend holiday trip.

Hungary: A Medical Doctor on Twitter

  18 April 2011

Debrecen-based Bertalan Meskó, a medical doctor who tweets under the name @Berci and has more than 6,000 followers, reported on his blog [en] that he was listed among the Top 10 Medical Tweeters on Project IVLine. He wrote this about his Twitter experience: “Whenever I have a question about my...

Hungary: Fear of Pushing Copyright Term Extension Proposal

Kluwer Copyright Blog writes: “According to an official press release, the Danish government has changed its position and now endorses the European Commission’s proposal to extend the term of protection for sound recordings. Since Denmark was part of a fragile blocking minority in the European Council, there is a danger...

Hungary: Waiting for the Hungarian Guard

  19 March 2011

The conflict between the Roma and the Hungarian community of Gyöngyöspata, a village north of Budapest, escalated drastically when paramilitary organizations appeared in the settlement some two weeks ago, after the far-right Hungarian political party's rally. Marietta Le reports on the online response to the situation.

Hungary: New Blog on Arts and Culture

  10 January 2011

A new blog called Hungarian Watch is trying to help “media outlets, journalists, and concerned citizens” to find information on the deteriorating situation in arts and culture in Hungary. They are sharing notes from Hungarian citizens who work in the media and cultural sector as well.

Hungary: International Blackout Campaign

  7 January 2011

Citizens advocating freedom of speech are also trying to keep up the volume of the international coverage by means of communication on the internet. A group called Blackout for Hungary started a campaign for 24 hours beginning on Jan. 5 against the new media law introduced on Jan. 1. Marietta Le reports.

Hungary: The Story of an Investigative Journalist

Investigative journalist Tamás Bodoky resigned from index.hu because of a debate on whether it was appropriate to delete a paragraph from one of his stories after it had already been published. The Hungarian media are still discussing the issue which he covered, and this case has also inspired a public conversation about investigative journalism in the country.

Hungary: Students Have Had Enough of Bomb Alerts

  27 February 2010

There have been three bomb alerts in the three weeks of the second semester at Corvinus University of Budapest. After the third one this week, students started to campaign against the unknown person blocking the university's life with calls reporting a bomb was placed somewhere on campus.

Hungary: The Invisible Marsh

  26 January 2010

Marietta Le reports on the story of one of Hungary's most successful citizen campaigns, whose goal is to save an endangered marsh by preventing an allegedly illegal expansion of a shopping center.

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