Let There Be Art ...
Again it is time to speak out and up for freedom of expression, artistic expression, even satire, even if someone claims to be or is insulted by a work of art, as long, at least, as it is not personally libellous or slanderous.
In this case, a Berlin art gallery
has temporarily, we trust, been forced to close its exhibition opened on February 22 entitled
because six neighborhood thugs stormed in and threatened to return with stones and more if they didn't remove one of the works, a poster of the Kaaba with the title (in German) "Stupid Stone", an insult to their religion, a poster, it must be added, hanging next to one of an orthodox Jew wearing what in the title is called a "Stupid Hat". The entire exhibition is to lay bare the absurdity of neo-Nazi claims of Zionist Occupied Governments, a claim also widespread in the Arab world.
All authorities have agreed to reopen the exhibition on Monday after speaking with law enforcement agencies about measures to protect the exhibition and its visitors and staff.
It is time to put an end to all these iconoclast ravings and be sure we protect and promote the only thing that makes us human: the ability to speak and think freely, even of the uncomfortable and disturbing.
Here, a photo of the corpus delicti from Der Spiegel 
and the link to their article with more photos; next, the article in Berlin's alternative newspaper TAZ Die Tageszeitung reminding us that this is the sort of thing Putin attempts to do in his "managed Russian democracy" to protect his and his cronies' status and prevent the spread and usage of rights; and finally, the New York Times article from an AP report summarizing the whole situation in English.
and the link to their article with more photos; next, the article in Berlin's alternative newspaper TAZ Die Tageszeitung reminding us that this is the sort of thing Putin attempts to do in his "managed Russian democracy" to protect his and his cronies' status and prevent the spread and usage of rights; and finally, the New York Times article from an AP report summarizing the whole situation in English.
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