Egyptian Culture Minister Talks with Prosecutors,

Compiled by DAVE ITZKOFF


Published: August 30, 2010

Farouk Hosni, Egypt’s minister of culture, said he had been questioned by prosecutors as an investigation continued into the theft of a van Gogh painting from a museum in Giza this month, The Associated Press reported. Mr. Hosni said he volunteered for the interrogation, which lasted more than three hours on Sunday night, to counter accusations that his negligence had led to the theft.

 

The van Gogh, known as “Poppy Flowers” or “Vase and Flowers” and valued at more than $50 million, was taken on Aug. 21 from the Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum, where it hung in a room with only some working cameras and no working alarms. Mr. Hosni said that day that the painting had been recovered at the Cairo airport, then had to retract that statement. In his interrogation, Mr. Hosni said, he told prosecutors he had delegated full responsibility for the museum to Mohsen Shaalan, a deputy culture minister. Mr. Shaalan and four museum guards were detained last week by Egyptian prosecutors.

Il mistero del Van Gogh rubato, arrestati i responsabili del museo,

di Pietro Piovani,
Messaggero.it,

ROMA (25 agosto) - Sabato scorso i siti internet di tutto il mondo hanno annunciato che in un museo egiziano era stato rubato il quadro I papaveri di Vincent Van Gogh, che gli autori del furto erano italiani e che il quadro era già stato ritrovato. Quattro giorni dopo, si comincia a capire che la notizia non era del tutto precisa. Nel senso che i ladri non sono italiani, il quadro rubato è un altro e non è affatto stato ritrovato. In pratica l’unica informazione corretta era il nome dell’autore.

La tela rubata pare sia quella chiamata Papaveri e margherite, un’opera meno conosciuta conservata fino alla settimana scorsa nel museo Mahmoud-Khalil del Cairo (al contrario dei Papaveri, che invece si trovano a Hartford, negli Stati Uniti). Il quadro è sparito sabato mattina, durante l’orario di apertura, senza che scattasse alcun allarme e senza che le telecamere interne riprendessero il momento del furto. Inevitabile che i responsabili del museo finissero fra i sospetti. Farouq al-Hosni, il ministro della Cultura, ha subito chiamato in causa il sottosegretario Mohses Shaalan, il direttore del museo e altri sette funzionari. A tutti e nove è stato in un primo tempo ritirato il passaporto. Ieri infine la procura ha ordinato l’arresto di Shaalan e di quattro addetti al museo. Sono accusati di «negligenza e mancato svolgimento dei propri compiti».

Il procuratore generale Abdel Meguid Mahmud ha sottolineato le «gravi carenze» del sistema di sicurezza. Tutti i quadri del museo sono protetti da un allarme, ma nessuno di questi è funzionante. Nelle sale sono installate ben 43 telecamere, ma soltanto 7 sono accese. Le telecamere in funzione hanno ripreso i (pochi) visitatori presenti nel museo al momento del furto: sono stati tutti rintracciati, interrogati, perquisiti, ma è stato escluso che qualcuno di loro potesse essere coinvolto nell’impresa. Pare ci fossero anche due turisti italiani, e forse da qui è nata la falsa notizia dell’arresto di due nostri connazionali. Oppure l’equivoco potrebbe essere stato generato da un controllo compiuto all’aeroporto su due cittadini statunitensi in partenza per Roma, che portavano con sé alcuni oggetti d’arte.

Sta di fatto che per ora, a parte l’arresto dei funzionari negligenti, le indagini non hanno portato grandi risultati. È un duro colpo per il ministro Hosni. Il quale si batte da anni per il ritorno in patria delle opere d’arte dell’antico Egitto custodite nei musei stranieri. Ora questo furto fa sorgere seri dubbi sulla capacità degli egiziani di difendere il loro patrimonio artistico.

C’è molta preoccupazione per le sorti del capolavoro rubato. La tela è stata staccata dalla sua cornice con un taglierino (anche se «in maniera professionale» precisano gli investigatori). Gli esperti avvertono che lo strato di colore steso da Van Gogh è molto fragile e potrebbe deteriorarsi. Il quadro oltretutto fu già stato rubato nel 1977, e venne ritrovato un anno dopo non senza aver subito diversi danni. C’è persino chi sostiene che il quadro recuperato sia una copia, e che l’originale ora si trovi chissà dove.

Papaveri e margherite ha un valore stimato intorno ai 40 milioni di euro. Come tutti i dipinti di questo livello, non può certo essere venduto sul mercato ufficiale. Il furto dunque potrebbe essere avvenuto su commissione di un collezionista, oppure potrebbe servire a chiedere un riscatto.

British Museum Reopens,

Arts, Briefly

The New York Times,

Compiled by DAVE ITZKOFF

Published: August 30, 2010

A cause has yet to be identified for an episode on Saturday at the British Museum that forced the evacuation of the building when several visitors said their eyes and throats had become irritated. BBC News reported that at least 8,000 people were evacuated from the museum on Saturday afternoon during what was described as a “gas incident.” A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police of London told The Daily Telegraph that visitors had “reported a funny smell on the premises and had mild irritation to the throat and eyes.” A museum spokeswoman told the BBC that firefighters had come to the scene and searched the building but “could not find anything.” A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade told the BBC that the museum had been checked for four hours but that nothing had been detected. He added, “People may well have smelled something, but it dispersed before we got there.” No injuries were reported, and the museum reopened on Sunday.

Exigen al INAH la devolución de Tláloc y otras piezas a las comunidades indígenas,

“Es de la mayor relevancia mostrar las piezas más emblemáticas”, respondió la dependencia

Carlos Paul

Periódico La Jornada

Lunes 30 de agosto de 2010, p. a13

Mandatados por el Encuentro Espiritual Indígena del Bicentenario, que concluyó ayer en Atlixco, Puebla, un grupo de alrededor de 20 personas se manifestó este domingo en el vestíbulo del Museo Nacional de Antropología (MNA), para solicitar la expropiación de “nuestro sagrado Mapa de Cuauhtlinchan a la familia Espinoza Iglesias, y la devolución del monolito de Tláloc a Cuauhtlinchan, municipio de Texcoco; así como los objetos sagrados que están en sus museos”.

Colhua Samuel Malpica, vocero de la “iniciativa de devolución de los pueblos originarios en defensa del patrimonio”, dijo en el acto de protesta que “Tláloc, para las comunidades indígenas, es como la Virgen de Guadalupe para los católicos”, y que dicho monolito no es una riqueza étnica arqueológica histórica o artística, como lo cataloga el Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) en la respuesta a su solicitud de devolución.

Malpica argumentó que “así como se respeta a la Virgen de Guadalupe, nuestros antiguos padres no hicieron el monolito de Tláloc para exhibirlo en un museo, sino para venerarlo”. El pasado 13 de agosto presentaron esta solicitud, y en respuesta, seis días después, Alfonso de Maria y Campos, titular de INAH, apuntó: “es importante recordar que el MNA, desde su apertura al público, en 1964, ha logrado convertirse en espacio privilegiado para exhibir la riqueza étnica, arqueológica, histórica y artística de nuestros pueblos originarios, en el que se incluye a Tláloc, al cual el INAH reconoce y respeta. Por consecuencia, consideramos de la mayor relevancia mostrar en este recinto de importancia internacional las piezas más emblemáticas que testimonian la grandeza del pasado de los acolhuas y los mexicanos”.

Asimismo, los inconformes convocaron a una marcha para el 15 de septiembre, a las 18 horas, que partiría del MNA al Zócalo de la capital.

Adelantaron que solicitarán a las autoridades federales que se construya una pirámide en el Zócalo.

Le Corbusier en BD.

30/08/2010 11:57


Le Corbusier, architecte parmi les hommes

de Frédéric Rébéna et Jean-Marc Thévenet, éd. Dupuis, 11,50 €

L’exposition « Architecture & BD » a suscité la naissance d’un album consacré à l’architecte le plus célèbre du XXe siècle, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret dit Le Corbusier (1887-1965). Le scénario a été conçu par Jean-Marc Thévenet, commissaire de l’exposition, les dessins sont dus à Frédéric Rébéna.

Par l’admiration qu’elle exprime pour le héros, cette BD n’est pas sans rappeler les vies de saints de notre enfance. Après tout, c’est justice s’agissant d’un homme qui a conçu d’inoubliables bâtiments religieux comme la chapelle de Ronchamp ou le couvent dominicain de La Tourette, près de Lyon (illustration ci-dessus). La bande dessinée est complétée par un remarquable dossier documentaire où figurent des documents fort rares issus des archives de la Fondation Le Corbusier.

Museum alert will remain mystery

29 August 2010 Last updated at 12:58 GMT

 The museum reopened on Sunday morning The British Museum has reopened after a suspected noxious substance left visitors with irritated eyes and throats, as managers admitted the cause of the scare will remain a mystery.

At least 8,000 people were evacuated from the British Museum on Saturday after what was described as a "gas" incident.

Police and the fire brigade moved in but have been unable to identify the cause.

Nobody was injured during the incident.

A British Museum spokeswoman said: "The fire brigade conducted a full search but could not find anything.

"They declared the site safe and handed back control of the museum at 5pm."

She continued: "The answer won't ever be known for sure.

"It was just a strange one-off incident."

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: "When we arrived we used our equipment to carry out very extensive checks.

"We were there for about four hours. But we did not get any readings."

The spokesman added: "People may well have smelt something but it dispersed before we got there."

Van Gogh sigue sin encontrarse...

Le Van Gogh volé au Caire reste introuvable


(AFP) – Il y a 5 heures


LE CAIRE — Le Van Gogh volé samedi en plein jour dans un musée du Caire où le système d'alarme était en panne, reste introuvable, a affirmé lundi à l'AFP le ministre égyptien de la Culture Farouk Hosni
"Les recherches sont en cours, nous n'avons toujours pas retrouvé le tableau", "Coquelicots", estimé à plus de 50 millions de dollars, a-t-il déclaré. "Les forces de l'ordre sont en alerte aux frontières et dans les aéroports", a-t-il ajouté.
Dans un entretien au quotidien gouvernemental Al-Ahram, M. Hosni affirme par ailleurs être sûr que le tableau, "Coquelicots", de 63 cm sur 57, ne pourra être vendu.
"Le voleur ne pourra pas vendre le tableau", assure-t-il, ajoutant qu'Interpol a été informé de l'affaire par le biais du ministère d

SOLO EL 30% DE LOS MEXICANOS SABEMOS DE QUIEN NOS INDEPENDIZAMOS

SANTANDER (Notimex).— El presidente del Colegio de México (Colmex), Javier Garciadiego, afirmó hoy aquí que es necesario impulsar el enfoque didáctico de la conmemoración del Bicentenario de la Independencia y así contribuir a mejorar la educación en el país.




Al participar en el encuentro ''México: a 200 años de su Independencia y 100 de su Revolución'', que organizan la Universidad Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP) y el Colegio de México en Santander, norte de España, el directivo se pronunció por aprovechar la efeméride para mejorar la calidad educativa.



Ante académicos y estudiantes españoles en la sede de la UIMP en el Palacio de la Magdalena de Santander, dijo que a diferencia del primer centenario de Independencia en 1910, en el Bicentenario ''la crisis económica ha impactado y eso hace que no haya construcciones''.



El historiador expuso que este año las celebraciones no tendrán monumentos y los que se programaron fueron aplazados debido a la crisis económica, lo cual ya marca una diferencia respecto de cómo se habían proyectado en un inicio.



Sostuvo que su interés por hacer que el festejo sea motivo para impulsar la calidad educativa parte de una reciente encuesta en la que sólo 30 por ciento de los mexicanos consultados conocía de qué país se independizó México.



''La verdadera reforma que necesita el país es hacer que los ciudadanos tengan mejor educación'', recalcó.



El académico indicó que en el último siglo se avanzó mucho en México en materia de cobertura ya que se pasó de un elevado analfabetismo a niveles ''en que la población que recibe educación en México es la suma de la totalidad de población de varios países centroamericanos''.



Garciadiego subrayó que hay un componente novedoso en la conmemoración que es la presencia en Internet y redes sociales, lo cual es una forma de hacer llegar el festejo a muchas personas dentro y fuera de México.



''Son formas que quizá para muchos lucen menos, pero han avanzado mucho más las conmemoraciones electrónicas de este tipo de medios novedosos y van más allá del festejo de la noche del 15 de septiembre'', subrayó.



Lamentó que para los festejos del Bicentenario de Independencia como del Centenario de la Revolución se haya optado contratar empresas internacionales en las que se invertirá mucho dinero para sólo unas cuantas horas de espectáculo.



El profesor Roberto Breña, investigador del Colegio de México, consideró por su parte que se trata de una conmemoración ''atribulada'', debido a que han pasado cuatro responsables de la organización en cuatro años y se comenzó a preparar tarde.



''La conmemoración en México tiene limitaciones porque no hicimos las cosas como se debían'', aseguró

GROUND ZERO MOSQUE OR ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER?

So is it a mosque or not? Depends on which news outlet you’re watching or reading, reports Yahoo media writer Michael Calderone.




The New York Times, Calderone reports, has consistently avoided the construction “Ground Zero mosque.”



CNN, he writes, advises its people to call it ”an Islamic center that includes a mosque that is near Ground Zero, or is two blocks from Ground Zero.” But CNN notes that its pundits may use other language.



The Associated Press only started using “Ground Zero mosque” in unofficial headlines in May, but hasn’t called it that in the body of a story. However, those headlines are often adopted by the newspapers and other outlets that use AP copy.



At its own Web site, the Park51 project is to be “dedicated to pluralism, service, arts and culture, education and empowerment, appreciation for our city and a deep respect for our planet.”



It will include a culinary school, gym and basketball court, swimming pool, a Sept. 11 memorial and contemplation space, and “a mosque, intended to be run separately from Park51 but open to and accessible to all members, visitors and our New York community.”



Lee Siegel of The New York Observer takes issue with some of the more critical descriptions of the Islamic cultural center and discusses the founders’ motivations in this post.



The StarNews used “Ground Zero mosque” in a headline over a letter to the editor critical of religion blogger Amanda Greene’s post about Ilario Pantano and the cultural center, or mosque (I’m struggling with the lingo myself here). Amanda’s post is headlined “What do Ilario Pantano and a mosque at Ground Zero have in common?” But in the body of her post, she calls it “the mosque that got approval this week to be built two blocks away from Ground Zero in New York City.”



The language news outlets adopt can help shape debate on a controversial subject.



It is a mosque, but it’s not just a mosque. It’s two blocks from Ground Zero, not at Ground Zero.



Headline writers are often torn between the need to communicate in few words and the desire for precision and accuracy. Reporters, on air and in print, can spend an extra few words to be accurate in their descriptions.

JACKSON MUSEUM

Jackson museum plan inches forward


Story Discussion By Christine Kraly christine.kraly@nwi.com, (219) 662-5335
Posted: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 12:00 am
(10) Comments



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GARY
A Las Vegas-based group, backed by Michael Jackson's family, is a step closer to building a multimillion-dollar shrine to the King of Pop and his family.



The Jackson Family Heritage Foundation Inc. has registered with the Indiana secretary of state as a nonprofit corporation.



Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson and Las Vegas-based developer Simon Sahouri are among those listed as group incorporators.



Sahouri and Jackson joined Gary Mayor Rudy Clay at the start of June in the Steel City to announce plans for a museum-anchored megaplex dedicated to the Jacksons, expected to cost at least $300 million.



The city signed a real estate agreement with Sahouri and Joe and Katherine Jackson to transfer -- under certain conditions -- more than 300 acres of city land to the group to develop. The agreement didn't call for the city to be paid any money for the land.



Gary Corporation Counsel Susan Severtson has said that, per Indiana law, the group also must establish itself as a tax-exempt charitable organization according to Internal Revenue Service guidelines before the transfer can be complete.



The first step in doing that is registering with the secretary of state, as the group did last week, spokesman Todd Darroca said.



An IRS spokeswoman Monday said the group does not yet have an approved tax-exempt application on file with the agency.



The real estate agreement completed in June was designated between the city of Gary and the Jackson Family Charitable Foundation.



Severtson did not return Times calls Monday seeking more information, including whether the agreement may need to be reworded to reflect the group's different registered name.



Gary attorney Kevin Relphorde is listed as the Jackson group's registered agent. Relphorde also has served as lawyer for Gary's Genesis Convention Center Board of Managers.



Relphorde did not return a Times call Monday.



Times staff writer Bowdeya Tweh contributed to this report.



Posted in Gary on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 12:00 am Updated: 11:55 pm.
Tags: Michael Jackson