for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11635418
Cape Town opera snubs Tutu plea to cancel Israel tour
Desmond Tutu was an outspoken critic of apartheid and was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1984
South Africa's Cape Town Opera has turned down an appeal from Nobel peace prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu to call off a tour of Israel.
He said it would be as inappropriate as it had been for international firms to visit South Africa during apartheid.
But Cape Town Opera's managing director said the company was reluctant to take the political stand of shunning cultural ties with Israel.
It hopes to negotiate a later tour which might include Palestinian venues.
The opera's production of Porgy and Bess will be performed in Tel Aviv next month.
In his letter the archbishop, who retired from public life earlier this month, said it would be wrong for the Cape Town singers to perform "in a society founded on discriminatory laws and racial exclusivity".
'Food for thought'He said the tour should be postponed "until both Israeli and Palestinian opera lovers of the region have equal opportunity and unfettered access to attend performances".
"Only the thickest-skinned South Africans would be comfortable performing before an audience that excluded residents living, for example, in an occupied West Bank village 30 minutes from Tel Aviv.
"To perform Porgy and Bess, with its universal message of non-discrimination, in the present state of Israel, is unconscionable."
But Cape Town Opera's managing director said he believed in the "transformative power of the arts".
"I am proud that our artists, when travelling abroad, act as ambassadors and exemplars of the free society that has been achieved in democratic South Africa," Michael Williams said in a statement.
He said the company was "reluctant to adopt the essentially political position of disengagement from cultural ties with Israel or with Palestine".
Mr Williams said was aware of the possibility of being seen as partisan, so has ongoing negotiations to perform within the Arab world.
"In particular, Cape Town Opera welcomes the opportunity to perform within Palestine as well," he said.
The production of the Gershwin opera has "much which should provide food for thought for audiences in Israel", he added.
capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I
agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe
it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or
do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our
philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian
fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader
was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the
weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic,
anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or
religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It
just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common
sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to
understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it
is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very
clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed
and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin
their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change
to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for
medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be
absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews,
antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies
or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love
and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher
Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it".
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"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.
There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.
On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.
Rael
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