instead of pictures, actually writing that life for Dutch cartoonists was made too easy in a world with absolute freedom of speech. Also he believed they used too many words in their cartoons and should concentrate on the drawing, being less explicit. Cyprian Koscielniak, a Pole by birth, drew on his fifteen years of experience as an illustrator in a country with a communist regime. Naturally, he said, he was not in favor of censorship. de Volkskrant on May 28, 2008, informed us that the liberal VVD party would be turning its parliament offices into an art gallery for 'freethinkers'. Gregorius Nekschot had agreed to an exhibition. Weekly magazines (2) In Out of range, a supposedly new series about censorship, Rudi Kagie reveals a name that may be the real identity of Gregorius Nekschot. He considers the dilemma that this name had asked him not even to quote him as 'not being Gregorius Nekschot'. But Kagie points out his own freedom of speech to share with us the name, which is not repeated here. (Vrij Nederland, May 31, 2008). Becoming rich in Dubai is the cover story of HP/De Tijd of May 30, 2008 in which two articles deal with the arrested critic of Muslims trying their luck in the Netherlands. One is an interview with Esther Gasseling of Nekschots publisher Xtra telling us which bookshops are, and which are not selling his books. The other is an interview with influential philosopher Paul Cliteur. He thinks the cartoons ask legitimate questions. He objects to the 'blaming ourselves' habit of the Dutch, even quoting the queen's Christmas message after the Van Gogh murder in which she said on equal terms that 'extremism in both word and deed' was dividing the country. As long as people didn't call for violence you should allow them their speech. He agreed however with interviewer Boudewijn Geels that one could expect politicians to be a little more careful. Geert Wilders, he believed, was learning. The real problem was that the MP could not live without security measures. Political reactions Immediately after the arrest, justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin, a Christian-Democrat, was criticized by a large part of parliament for the arrest. He also found opposition from within his own Christian community. In an emergency debate in parliament on May 20, 2008, Hirsch Ballin expressed his support for the prosecutor but criticized the lengthy detention of the