Word: berlin
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...Buddhism to come from the east, while Hellenistic and even Egyptian influences flowed the other way. Alexander the Great's eastward conquest essentially ended there in the 4th century B.C., and Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang passed through in the 7th century A.D. on his quest for Buddhist texts. "Amsterdam, Berlin and London today are the Afghanistan of 2,000 years ago," says Khalid Siddiqi, a former Afghan refugee who is on the advisory committee for the exhibit. "It was a crucible of different cultures that came together and melded, showing the enrichment - not impoverishment - of different cultures...
...stems in part from the high ticket prices commanded by international groups. Despite burgeoning enrollment at classical-music conservatories and an expanding market for classical music countrywide, many music lovers in China are priced out of performances by top-tier musicians. Tickets to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic this month start at 280 renminbi (about $38). Such pricey seats, particularly when filled by unappreciative listeners, could prevent the growth of a broader concertgoing culture...
...name. "People think of classical music lovers as pretentious dabblers," says Liu. Successful ticket sales for performances by international groups in China are hardly based on the audience's passion and understanding of music - just on the prestige of the performers. Tickets to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic in January were snatched up as soon as they became available. In fact, the high cost of tickets for top-quality concerts keep many music lovers away - and encourage the nouveau riche to attend and yawn in their expensive seats...
...says the official. Moreover, even if courts could uncover illegal behavior, it's a long step to banning the group altogether. "There are a lot of pedophiles in the Catholic Church, but no one is talking about outlawing" the church, notes Ulrich Battis, professor of constitutional law at Berlin's Humboldt University. And bringing the full weight of the federal government to bear on an organization that officials say has only 6,000 members in Germany would be seen as a disproportionate response given the political cost - Germany has already been criticized by the U.S. State Department for restrictions...
...including Dustin Hoffman and Goldie Hawn, to sign an advertisement printed in German newspapers comparing the move to the repression of Jews under Nazism. Writing in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, religion commentator Matthias Drobinski said that Scientology is actually in decline in Germany and that its gleaming new Berlin headquarters site is a "shimmering façade." Drobinsksi credited its decline to anti-Scientology monitoring and educational efforts by "the state, political parties, the established church and trade unions." Banning the group would simply give it an undeserved boost, he said, writing, "The demonization of the flagging troupe...