The Finnish newspaper points out that the controversial Mozart production had already premiered in Berlin in 2003 and that this was just to be a continuation. "Director Hans Neuenfels has always given new meaning to old operas with his provocative productions. Now the director of the Deutsche Oper has made the production much more provocative than anyone could have dreamed. Religious extremists are fuelling fears and intolerance, but the Deutsche Oper's decision to strike one of its own productions is evidence of a rash attempt to restrict its own freedom of expression." (28/09/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Muzyka, » Scena, » Niemcy

In light of the wave of indignation caused by the cancellation of the Mozart opera "Idomeneo", German-Turkish writer Feridun Zaimoglu calls on people to "keep things in perspective". "It's as if half of Germany had just been waiting for the opportunity to pounce on someone. Ms. Harms made a carefully weighed decision which I very much respect... Nowadays, it seems, one day we're offending the Christians and the next it's the Muslims. However I also want to make one thing very clear: there can and should be no external censorship. But it's also unacceptable that a director who was acting to protect the safety of her audience and actors be accused of self-censorship... On the one hand I see the usual suspects, those who are constantly on the look-out for any excuse to act offended. On the other I see the narrow-minded critics who have it very easy and are now condemning the cancellation as an act of submission to the Islamists. That's absolute nonsense." (28/09/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Muzyka, » Scena, » Niemcy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Feridun Zaimoglu

The daily considers that by withdrawing "Idomeneo" from its program, the director of Deutsche Oper, Kirstin Harms, has merely managed to, "indignate free and democratic societies and to worry those who are struggling all over the world to obtain more freedom of expression, similar to that which exists in Europe today. This freedom of expression is the fruit of centuries of continuous struggle along with endless sacrifices and setbacks ... . These are conquests that cannot be given up and nobody should expect free societies to take a step backwards. ... This is one more incident to add to the debate which, as the caricature crisis and Benedict XVI's Regensburg statements have shown, demands more frankness and good will from all sides every time. It also requires mutual respect and, obviously, courage and correctness to defend culture, dignity and freedom. The director of the theatre in Berlin has lacked all of this." (28/09/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Kultura, » Niemcy

The newspaper comments on the cancellation of Mozart's opera, "Idomeneo", in Berlin with reference to the cartoon debate which broke out roughly a year ago in Denmark. "By now all critics must be able to see that the cartoon debate was not specific to the Danish context. We must act against this intimidation of democratic societies – today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes. We must do this with words, but also with specific policies and courage – and it's the latter that was obviously lacking in the case of the Berlin opera. Who knows what the director was thinking, but her justification is an admission of defeat... Withdrawing the opera from the programme was a ridiculous, objectionable and cowardly move which deserves the criticism of the German government. But it would be even worse if the opera's decision were to set a precedent within Europe." (28/09/2006)

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The editorialist Laurent Wolf chooses to draw a parallel between the "Idomeneo" scandal and the experience of the eminent Islam specialist Bassam Tibi, born in Damas and of German nationality. Judging his integration on European turf impossible, he chose to go and teach in The United States. "Self-censorship of a work of art and the disgust that lead Bassam Tibi to leave have something in common. On one hand fear and anticipation of a possible reaction, the legitimacy of which is no longer even up for discussion, but which is imposed by force of it's capacity to harm- One simply does not criticise a religion, least of all this one, right? On the other hand, the impossibility of being seen and treated with respect, that is to say, for what you are. Because Bassam Tibi and most Muslims say nothing and do nothing to bring about the suspicion that that is directed towards them.' (28/09/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Muzyka, » Scena, » Niemcy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Laurent Wolf

The editorialist Magdi Allam was very shocked by the declarations of Father Thomas Michel, a Jesuit who is a specialist on Islam and the president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. The council has firmly condemned Benedict XVI's statements, judging that the Christians owe an apology to Muslims. "Father Michel is the emblem of the 'Islamically correct' within the Church. A new life philosophy that urges the West to self-censor its own freedom of expression for fear of reaction from Islamists, as the Berlin opera scandal has shown by choosing to follow the decision, just like Geneva concerning the Voltaire's 'Mahomet' [the play was banned in Geneva in 1993 upon the demand of representatives of the Muslim community] London's censoring of Christopher Marlowe's play 'Tamburlaine the Great'. (28/09/2006)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Corriere della Sera)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Muzyka, » Scena, » Niemcy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Magdi Allam

Bert Rebhandl examines the connection between culture and religion in Western society and concludes that artistic freedom should always be given priority. "Hans Neuenfels' concept is typical of the kind of theatre that has a relatively open approach to ideas. You can like it or not like it, but you can't prohibit it without good reason. Politicians like to back those who take the common sense approach. They condemn the extreme, yet it's precisely the extremely wide spectrum of opinion in an open society that culture should reflect... Many Muslims perceive the West as a cultural diaspora that offers too many options, and they're not drawn to it. They find their own form of culture in their religion. However, it would be wrong to try to impose restrictions on the unrestricted culture of liberal societies or to try to make it more compatible with religion. The question of the admissibility of an idea can only be decided within the free democratic context: producers, sponsors, critics and audiences must be left to sort it out among themselves." (28/09/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Muzyka, » Scena, » Niemcy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Bert Rebhandl

As the International Organisation for French Speaking Communities (OIF) opens its summit conference in Bucharest this Thursday, September 28th, the linguist Bernard Cerquiglini notes that the French 'no' to the referendum on the European Constitution is in part attributable to the relationship the French maintain with their own language. "Despite their official multilingualism, political Europe seems to have chosen English. Most French people find the idea of an English-speaking Europe revolting, they consider it, not without reason, the allegiance to a certain European policy, with the importation of anglo-saxon judicial and economic concepts. Liberalism begins with lexical Atlantism. The French distress can be measured with the referendum. The oppression of its language's universalism, is a blow to the national identity. And European desire is waning." (28/09/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Społeczeństwo, » Francja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Bernard Cerquiglini

"The category of evil is a result, not a cause. There is no such thing as a person who is naturally evil in themself". 'The Well-Wishers', written in French, relates the daily life of a Nazi executioner. In an interview with Guy Duplat, the author of this book, that has had a great success, explains his approach. "What interested me was the question of executioners, of State murder. ... What is true for individual evil remains so for collective evil, when the executioner is surrounded by people telling him that he is doing good. All communities have the power to do evil. The famous Milgram experiment, where people were asked to press a button that could inflict suffering on others, showed that anyone indeed can cause harm in a certain context." (28/09/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Literatura, » Historia, » Niemcy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Jonathan Littell

"Europe is embellished by its diversity", states the journalist Maroun Labaki the day after the official announcement of entry into the EU of Bulgaria and Romania due to take place on January 1st, 2007. "With the 30 million Bulgarians and Romanians, we are approaching a half-billion citizens. So many people! So many destinies! So much human wealth! We are also adding a new alphabet, Cyrillic, to our bubbling cultural test-tube. For lack of agreement on a new mode of practice, on a new 'Constitution', it was not working well with twenty-five. Twenty-seven will not make things any better. It is therefore essential to start everything from scratch, to set things straight. What is it that we want to do together? And who wants to go further, at the cost of again transferring sovereignty for the benefit of the Union?" (28/09/2006)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Le Soir)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Rozszerzenie UE, » Polityka UE, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Maroun Labaki

The secretly filmed video of one of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's close confidants offering a Samoobrona MP a government post and money in exchange for switching her allegiance to the prime minister's 'Law and Justice Party' (PiS) has sparked a major scandal. In a television speech broadcast on September 27, Kaczynski declared that "to describe this as corruption was deceitful and hypocritical." His party is portraying the affair as a conspiracy orchestrated by journalists, secret services and what they call an "old network". Warsaw-based sociologist Ireneusz Krzeminski comments: "The PiS's reaction is scandalous. But the real tragedy is that the majority of citizens accept this reaction. From the very start of its term in office, the PiS has addressed a group of citizens with a certain mentality... Conspiracy theories have become part of popular sociology and are continually used to redefine the world. This attitude is central to the current Polish government's socio-political way of thinking." (28/09/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Polska

Gabor Miklos draws parallels between the video scandal in Poland and the dishonesty scandal involving Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany. "In both countries politicians talk about morals and truth, democracy and sovereignty while disgusting political pornography is going on behind the scenes... In Poland, too, society is aware of the major problems – unemployment, disparate regional development, too much agriculture, energy policy problems and an aging society. But the political elite is focussed on internal power struggles and outdated conspiracy theories and looking for new bogeymen." (28/09/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, węgierski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Polska
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Gábor Miklós

The Irish daily castigates Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern for his alleged corruption and his disdain for the press."When the story of Mr Ahern receiving payments first broke, he was patently disingenuous in refuting suggestions that he had received between €50,000 and €100,000. If he answered the questions truthfully in the first place, reporters would not have had to dig for that information. Instead, he talked about dirty, scurrilous and unjust insinuations. Mr Ahern said those who gave him the money neither sought nor received any political favours, but he did appoint five of them to State boards. 'I appointed them because they were friends, not because of anything they had given to me,' he said. ... For Mr Ahern to suggest now that his friends would not accept repayment is a cop out. Surely he would have had no problem in convincing them of the political necessity of accepting repayment." (28/09/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Irlandia

"The battle for the Spanish energy company Endesa is a test of power for the EU," Alexander Hagelüken announces. The Spanish government initially tried to prevent German energy giant Eon from acquiring the Spanish company by imposing additional conditions. After the European Commission ruled that the conditions were unlawful, Spanish construction firm Acciona put in a bid for the company. Hagelüken comments, "Regardless of national pride, takeovers should not be allowed to be one-sided. The German government had to sit and watch while major companies like the Hypovereinsbank and Aventis were taken over by foreign competitors; therefore the Spanish government should not be allowed to prevent Eon from acquiring a Spanish company. Otherwise this would upset the balance between the states... When jobs are cut in the process of a merger, it's usually jobs at the company that is being taken over. This is why it's so important that not just Spanish companies are allowed to take over German companies but also that German companies can take over Spanish ones. Only in this way can the impact on the labour market be equally distributed between states." (28/09/2006)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Energia, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Alexander Hagelüken

Agnes Poirier, a former UK correspondent for Libération, deplores the demise of the left-wing daily in serious danger of disappearing from news stands: "Imagine a Britain where readers such as you have to choose between the Times or the Daily Telegraph. That is the nightmare France is soon going to face... Founded in 1973 by angry young men who had embraced politics in the tumultuous year of 1968, Libération became the quintessence of the French left and was long revered throughout the world for its innovative take on news, criticism and photojournalism. ...So, eight months before the presidential elections, who today caters for the French left? Who dissects and analyses facts and news for the voters of the left? ... So best be a daily like Le Monde, seeking out the middle ground by constantly oscillating between the laissez-faire left and the liberal right? Why shouldn't there be room for enlightened and well-articulated radical views, for complex opinions rather than simplistic analyses?" (28/09/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Francja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Agnès Poirier

The Polish ministry of culture's "Patriotism of Tomorrow" programme sponsors social initiatives that deal with historical-national themes. The programme sponsors events like patriotic song competitions and a motorbike rally in Katyn. Roman Pawlowski welcomes initiatives aimed at raising historical awareness but points out critically that "the point is that in the context of 'historical politics' history often becomes an object of adulation rather than an object of authentic research and discussion. In the 1990s, a brand of patriotism aimed at founding and strengthening democratic institutions became popular. This has now been replaced by a brand of patriotism that focuses on origins and has taken on militant and martyr-like features. There isn't one project on the ministry of culture's list that promotes the culture of national minorities. It's as if Belarusians and Ukrainians weren't patriotic. This is not the patriotism of tomorrow but the patriotism of yesterday." (27/09/2006)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, polski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Kultura, » Polska
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Roman Pawlowski

Louise Jury comments on Kevin Spacey's direction of a key theatre in London: "He has been condemned for choosing the wrong plays and berated for failing to take as many starring roles as he might. But Kevin Spacey last night responded to critics of his artistic leadership of the Old Vic in London by stepping out in a production of a classic American play [A Moon for the Misbegotten] with a barnstorming leading role.... Bill Clinton, a friend of Spacey's, is among those who have already seen the new production. But it will be the critical reaction that will be important for the start of Spacey's third season in charge of the historic venue, where Laurence Olivier once led the incipient National Theatre. Despite positive reviews for his Richard II directed by Trevor Nunn and strong public support for nearly all of his productions - except Resurrection Blues, Arthur Miller's final play, clunkily directed by the Hollywood legend Robert Altman -Spacey's leadership of the Old Vic has faced some serious questions." (28/09/2006)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Scena, » Wielka Brytania
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Louise Jury