Miklos Vamos at PostGlobal

Miklos Vamos

Budapest, Hungary

Miklós Vámos is a Hungarian novelist, screenwriter and talk show host. He is one of the most read and respected writers in his native Hungary. He has taught at Yale University on a Fulbright fellowship, served as The Nation’s East European correspondent, worked as consultant on the Oscar-winning film Mephisto, and presented Hungary’s most-watched cultural television show. Vámos has received numerous awards for his plays, screenplays, novels and short stories, including the Hungarian Merit Award for lifetime achievement. The Book of Fathers is considered his most accomplished novel and has sold 200,000 copies in Hungary. Close.

Miklos Vamos

Budapest, Hungary

Miklós Vámos is a Hungarian novelist, screenwriter and talk show host. more »

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Security and Terrorism Archives



February 22, 2007 9:45 AM

Stop Worrying So Much

Russia’s weird mixture of feudalism and capitalism is worrying, along with its dizzying array of legal restrictions. Compared to its strange institutional arrangements, the words of Russia’s politicians are less important.

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March 19, 2007 7:36 PM

The Ease of Misunderstanding

I think people hate and kill each other simply because they do not know each other. The root of ethnic hatred is always a lack of understanding. Palestinians accuse Jews of committing many wrongs, and vice versa. I am sure that if a Jew and a Palestinian had to work together to achieve something they both required and could not do so effectively without the other, they would quickly grow to empathize with each other.

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July 5, 2007 10:00 AM

I Worry for All of Us

London has no problems that are entirely London’s alone. Neither has New York, Paris, Berlin, Budapest or any other city in the world. No man or woman with a working brain would think that the latest bomb threats are only worrisome for the people who actually live in London.

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November 2, 2007 10:13 AM

Worry About People, Not Countries

There are no dangerous countries, only dangerous people. Who are these dangerous people? Those who hold powerful offices. The higher the post, the more dangerous they are.

Unfortunately, I have no specific knowledge of the people who lead Pakistan, so I cannot agree or disagree. But what’s the point? What if we dubbed Pakistan the newest Evil Empire? What would that achieve?

If we must stick to the notion that countries themselves are dangerous, I believe superpowers always represent a greater danger than smaller countries. There are a great number of those ahead of Pakistan on the Dangerous list.




June 23, 2008 11:07 AM

Taliban Truce Discussion Too Late

The Current Discussion: The Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan. Rather than sending more troops, is it time to negotiate a truce there?

Why have my answers been so short lately?

There is an old saying in Hungarian: Please, don’t ask any questions if you are really sure you have the right answer.

Do you have a similar saying in English? I think this question should have been asked a few years earlier. The truce (pun) is that negotiating a truce is the only valid way to solve serious problems in the chaotic global village. God only knows why any super power decides to send troops anywhere.

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