__________________________________________________________________________
The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 14 September 2001
Vol. 5, Number 73 (#599)
__________________________________________________________________________
Action Alerts:
New York City: 23 Sep -- Learn the Truth about Palestine ....
Obituaries:
Ed Johnson (AP), "Alleged War Criminal Gecas Dies," 12 Sep 01
Fascism In the News:
Keith Regan (E-Commerce Times), "eBay Bans All World Trade Center,
Pentagon Items," 12 Sep 01
Tim McDonald (NewsFactor), "France, U.S. Tangle Over Internet Censorship
Issues," 5 Sep 01
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACTION ALERTS:
New York City -- Sun., Sept. 23
Indoor Rally: Learn the Truth about Palestine, Stand United with Arab and
Muslim Sisters and Brothers,
Sun., Noon to 3PM, Pier 63 Maritime 12th Ave. at West 23rd Street (One pier
north of Chelsea pier sports, behind basketball city)
Sponsors:
September 23 Coalition
Al-Awda Right to Return Coalition: www.al-awda.org
International Action Center: www.iacenter.org , 212 633-6646
Free Mumia Coalition: www.freemumia.com , 212 330-8029
http://palfrente.tripod.com 212 677-0619, 718 601-4751
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
OBITUARIES:
Alleged War Criminal Gecas Dies
Ed Johnson (AP)
12 Sep 01
LONDON -- Anton Gecas, wanted in Lithuania on charges of war crimes against
Jews during World War II, died Wednesday in a Scottish hospital before he
could be brought to trial.
The 85-year-old Gecas, who moved to Britain in 1947, had earlier suffered
two strokes and died Wednesday morning at Liberton Hospital in Edinburgh, a
hospital spokeswoman said.
Lithuania formally asked Scotland in March to extradite the Lithuanian-born
Gecas, who has been living in the Scottish capital.
Scottish authorities refused to arrest him a week ago, saying his poor
health made it impossible to carry out the extradition request.
Lithuania has accused him of taking part in executing Jews in Lithuania and
neighboring Belarus during the 1941-44 Nazi occupation, when he allegedly
was a lieutenant in the 12th police battalion.
Gecas denied the charges.
Efraim Zuroff, head of Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center's Jerusalem
office, said Wednesday that the failure to bring Gecas to trial was "a
terrible travesty of justice and that the blame for this very sad result
lies primarily on the British authorities who for more than four decades
did so little to bring him to justice."
"Men like Gecas who served as an officer in one of the worst murder squads
of local Nazi collaborators in Eastern Europe do not deserve to die
unprosecuted in their bed in Edinburgh," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
FASCISM IN THE NEWS:
eBay Bans All World Trade Center, Pentagon Items
Keith Regan (E-Commerce Times)
12 Sep 01
Internet auction leader eBay said late Tuesday it had temporarily halted
trading in all items related to the World Trade Center or the Pentagon
(news - web sites), the scenes of devastating terrorist attacks earlier in
the day.
The ban on items relating to the attacked locations is an extra measure
that San Jose, California-based eBay said it was taking "out of respect for
the victims, their family members and the survivors."
eBay already has a standing policy giving it the ability to stop trade of
"offensive" items, including those related directly to crimes. But the
temporary policy, which eBay said will last until October 1st, covers all
items relating to the two sites, whether or not they refer to the apparent
terrorist attacks on September 11th.
"This is an extraordinary measure that we feel is appropriate considering
the extraordinary nature of [Tuesday's] events and its direct affect on so
many members of our community," eBay said in an announcement to its
members. "Many of our users have asked that we take this step, and we
believe that the eBay community will understand and support this decision."
All Items Covered
The ban covers anything bearing the name or image of the two sites where
tragedy struck. Both of the 110-story World Trade Center towers crumbled to
the ground Tuesday morning about an hour after two hijacked commercial
airlines were crashed into the structures. Thousands, including scores of
police officers and firefighters, are missing and feared dead.
In Washington, D.C., the Pentagon suffered extensive damage when a plane
crashed into the west wing of the headquarters of the U.S. military.
"We understand the strain that the sale of items relating to those events
and the locations where they took place may place on those affected," eBay
said. "Our thoughts remain with the victims and their families during this
terrible time."
Policy in Place
eBay's policy against listing offensive items has allowed it to largely
steer clear of a legal and public relations mess that has ensnared Yahoo!
Auctions. Yahoo! has been sued for allowing sale of Nazi-related items.
eBay's offensive items policy, which does not mention terrorism directly
but gives eBay discretion to ban items it deems "offensive" to its
community, was put into effect in February 2000.
"Listings that promote hate, violence or racial intolerance have no place
in a true community," the policy states.
- - - - -
France, U.S. Tangle Over Internet Censorship Issues
Tim McDonald (NewsFactor)
5 Sep 01
A court in France is weighing whether to force ISPs to block U.S. sites
containing content sympathetic to Nazis and other hate groups.
A court in France is considering whether to force that country's Internet
service providers (ISPs) to block access to U.S. sites that contain "hate
material," particularly those featuring content sympathetic to Nazis.
The proceedings are being presided over by the same judge who last year
ordered U.S. portal Yahoo! to block French citizens from gaining access to
auction sites that featured Nazi memorabilia. Yahoo! last year banned all
hate-related material from its auction sites, a policy emulated earlier
this year by rival eBay.
The trial, which began Tuesday, marks the latest conflict between the
global nature of the Internet and the rights of sovereign countries to
impose laws over their own citizens and the foreign companies that provide
Net access.
ISPs Fight lawsuit
The trial is also being seen as a major test of free speech on the Web, and
once again, elements in France and the U.S. are at odds. The judge, Jean-
Jacques Gomez, will decide if foreign companies that do business in France
can be forced by the government to censor portals to which they provide
access. French law prohibits the exhibit or sale of objects that incite
racial hatred.
The trial is the result of a lawsuit brought by several anti-racist groups,
including France's International Action for Justice, against 13 French
ISPs, including AOL France.
The groups are suing to force the ISPs to censor U.S. portal Front14.org,
which hosts Web sites for roughly 400 organizations. Some of the groups
hosted by the portal are based in Europe and post racist and anti-Semitic
content.
No First Amendment?
As in the Yahoo! case, the judge is expected to determine whether such
censorship is technically feasible. The Yahoo! trial was interrupted for
weeks while court-appointed technicians tried to determine whether
censorship technology was practical.
Yahoo! complied with the decision and banned auctions of Nazi items, but is
challenging the decision in a U.S. court. Experts view the appeal as a
legal showdown over whether foreign courts can be used to influence
publishing law in the U.S.
The French ISPs maintain that they should not be forced to act as online
censors. Lawyers for the plaintiffs are expected to argue that the U.S.
First Amendment isn't applicable in France. A ruling isn't expected for
months.
More Nazi-Related Concerns
The tensions in the Internet trial are being underlined by yet another case
involving the U.S., France and Nazi-era events. A group of Holocaust
survivors is suing the state-owned French railway in a U.S. court.
The plaintiffs, according to court documents, are French Jews who were
deported to Nazi death camps before and during World War II. They claim the
railway, SNCF, deported the refugees on its own, without orders from the
Nazi hierarchy, and that the railroad profited financially from doing so.
Political parties with Nazi ties have experienced a resurgence in recent
years in Europe and the U.S. In the United Kingdom, a political party that
allegedly has Nazi ties, the British National Party, has been accused by
British authorities of inciting race riots in three northern England towns
earlier this year.
The party, which accepts no non-white members, has gained a significant
following and has alarmed anti-racist groups.
In the U.S. earlier this week, a hacker disabled a site called "Whitepower
American Skinheads" for three days. The hacker allegedly breached the
site's security and destroyed critical files.
* * * * *
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and
educational purposes only.
__________________________________________________________________________
FASCISM:
We have no ethical right to forgive, no historical right to forget.
(No permission required for noncommercial reproduction)
- - - - -
back issues archived via:
<ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/tinaf/>
