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Expires 12/7- http://click.topica.com/aaaaWrbz8SnrbAjwjxa/mall_com ------------------------------------------------------------ __________________________________________________________________________ The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 1 December 2000 Vol. 4, Number 97 (#493) __________________________________________________________________________ Continuing Coverage of Yahoo and Nazi Material Rick Perera (IDG News Service), "Germany's Yahoo Bans Auction of Nazi Items: France wants to regulate U.S. site, but German subsidiary enforces national prohibition on some goods," 29 Nov 00 Continuing Coverage: Matt Hale and the World Church of the Creator Michael Greenwood (Hartford Courant), "With the Web, Midwest minister of hate gains a global reach: Unlike many white supremacists, Hale reaches out to women and youth," 4 Dec 00 Continuing Coverage: Roten Murder Trial William R. Levesque (St. Petersberg Times), "A lifetime to think about hate: His rage roared from a rifle barrel as a little girl slept. That night of anger costs him his freedom," 1 Dec 00 Continuing Coverage: Compensation For Victims of the Holocaust AA News, "Vatican Asks Court, U.S. Government to Dismiss Lawsuit Over Nazi Gold: Church Evades Responsibility For Clerical Fascism," 26 Nov 00 Rightwing Web Site of Interest: Nationalsozialistische Japanische Arbeiterpartei / National Socialist Japanese Workers Party / Kokka Shakaishugi Nippon Rodosha To Real Political Correctness: ACLU News, "Setting Limits on Drug War Tactics: High Court Rejects Drug Roadblocks," 28 Nov 00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTINUING COVERAGE OF YAHOO AND NAZI MATERIAL Germany's Yahoo Bans Auction of Nazi Items: France wants to regulate U.S. site, but German subsidiary enforces national prohibition on some goods Rick Perera (IDG News Service) 29 Nov 00 BERLIN -- Yahoo Deutschland, the German subsidiary of Yahoo, says it is confident an investigation into an alleged online auction of banned Nazi propaganda will be dismissed. Yahoo's legal adviser has assured the company that the investigation, announced Monday by Munich state prosecutor Manfred Wick, will be called off, says Claudia Strixner, Yahoo Deutschland spokesperson. Wick opened the investigation after allegations that a copy of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf had been listed on Yahoo Deutschland's auction site on February 1. The book is illegal under German laws banning Nazi propaganda. "We first found out about [the auction listing] in November," Strixner says. "Our position is that of course we absolutely refuse to have Nazi material on our Web pages. Here in Germany we support actions and movements against right-wing radicalism." The company conducts regular controls of its pages and removes any illegal items posted by customers, Strixner says. Differs From French Feud Last week, a French judge ruled that Yahoo must install filters to prevent French users from taking part in auctions of Nazi memorabilia on the U.S. site. The decision has drawn international interest because of its potential ramifications for national laws regulating cross-border Internet transactions. (See "Judge to Yahoo: Block Nazi Goods From French" and "Yahoo Wins Reprieve in Nazi Sales Case.") But Strixner says the Munich investigation can't be compared to the French case. "In France we had a case against Yahoo, our parent company, for selling things that are legal in the U.S. but illegal in France. Here it's a completely different matter, in that it's about allegedly having something on Yahoo Deutschland that's illegal under German law," she says. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTINUING COVERAGE: MATT HALE AND THE WORLD CHURCH OF THE CREATOR With the Web, Midwest minister of hate gains a global reach: Unlike many white supremacists, Hale reaches out to women and youth Michael Greenwood (Hartford Courant) 4 Dec 00 EAST PEORIA, Ill. - At the headquarters of the World Church of the Creator, Matt Hale is hard at work on the white revolution, organizing his soldiers for the final struggle: RAHOWA, or Racial Holy War. Hale has been preaching the gospel of hate for more than a decade and recently extended it via cable-access television, confident he will snap people out of their complacency and eventually turn America into a bastion of whiteness. His vision for the future includes mass deportations of minorities, the execution of interracial couples, and strict loyalty to an all-white government. On the television screen and over the Internet, his stern, angular face takes on a sinister quality. His diatribes evoke Nazi Germany. But here, amid the cornfields of central Illinois, Hale has found little support for his grand schemes and few people to listen. There is no church, only a cluttered office on the second floor of his modest home. Except for a few wayward souls, there are no minions. And after one spends a little time with Hale, the cultivated image of a messianic leader bent on remaking the world starts to crack. With a hint of acne still clinging to his 29-year-old face, the high priest, or "Pontifex Maximus," as he calls himself, still lives with his father. Racism is his profession; otherwise, he is unemployed. And in his largely white, largely blue-collar town on the muddy banks of the Illinois River, he is viewed pretty much as a flake. It is only technology - along with a dash of media savvy and a penchant for self-promotion - that has snatched Hale and his tiny band of bigots from complete obscurity. With the click of a mouse, he casts for converts and spreads his racist vision from coast to coast. It is through the Web that this digital David Duke resurrected an organization that almost vanished before he picked up the mantle in 1996. The group has produced one of the slickest pages on the Internet devoted to white supremacy. It is a racist's delight: women with flowing blond hair, crude smears against every group, and even a children's page with bigoted crossword puzzles. Unlike most of his competitors in the supremacist movement, Hale has used the medium to reach out to women and youth. Viewers who e-mail Hale receive a prompt response. Teenagers starting to dabble in racial politics can pick up a copy of the White Man's Bible, or read reams of "facts" the government and media allegedly do not want anyone to know. Hale applauds the Web's effectiveness. "We wouldn't be as known as we are without it," he said. "It's very important. It's allowing us to bring the message to the people." The actual strength of the World Church is almost impossible to gauge. Hale claims to have several dozen chapters worldwide, including at least five in prisons. He estimates that 30,000 people in the United States agree with the teachings, but he declines to say how many actually belong. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, says only 203 copies of the church's monthly newsletter, the Struggle, are mailed to members. And many of the chapters that Hale touts as evidence of growing support consist of a "lonely kid" at the post office. "Essentially, it is an Internet group. It doesn't really exist in reality," said Mark Potok, a spokesman for the center. "It's a personality cult centered around Matt Hale." The World Church is not a "church" in any sense that most people understand. Members do not believe in God. Hale lumps Jesus in with a host of other international conspiracies. Their creed is simply white superiority. They worship the white race. The church was founded in 1973 by Ben Klassen, who committed suicide 20 years later. Like Klassen, Hale is the truest of believers. He chuckles as he wipes his polished brown shoes on the Israeli flag that serves as the doormat to his office. The room is painted blood red, the color of his church, and adorned with enough racist propaganda to put Joseph Goebbels at ease. "We believe the white race is the elite of the world," he said as if he were talking about last night's ball game. "I'm 100 percent confident we are right. We have the most just cause in history." He talks about a looming civil war in America that will make the first one look like a playground scuffle. And although "the church" publicly disavows violence, some of its members have shattered that commandment. Last year, Benjamin Smith, a zealot for the cause and a former confidant of Hale's, went on a shooting rampage in Illinois and neighboring Indiana. By the time he was done, Smith had killed two people and wounded nine. All his victims were minorities. Smith then killed himself. Hale has summed up the killings this way: "As far as we're concerned, the loss is one white man." His first cable show was devoted to Smith and setting the record straight on his killing rampage. The shows are pretty much alike. With the group's white-power flag as a backdrop, Hale stares straight into the camera and ad-libs for nearly 30 minutes. As offensive as he might be, there is another side to Hale that peeks through from time to time. It leaves one wondering how he preaches what he does. Before he starts droning on about race and politics, Matt Hale seems normal, even likable. Polite to a fault and dressed like a successful yuppie in his well-pressed suit, starchy white shirt and conservative tie, Hale greets visitors to his gray two-story home with a firm handshake and a gentle "hello." One of the nation's most strident white supremacists is also a strict vegetarian, fueling his 145-pound body with fruit, vegetables and nuts. "I'm a big avocado fan," he volunteered. And Hale is educated. He has a bachelor's degree and a law degree from a state university, although he has not been admitted to the bar because of his views. He is widely read and aware of global events. When he is not preaching white superiority, Hale plays the violin. He picked up the instrument at age 10 and can do justice to Mozart. It is the only thing he has been doing longer than racism. But those who know Hale are not buying any hints at moderation. He gives lip service to nonviolence because he has to. He has a law degree, and he is smart enough to back down when necessary. "He's slicker than slick," said Ted Miller, deputy chief of police in Pekin. Miller has arrested Hale before and has watched his career unfold. "He's going to tell you that he doesn't advocate violence, but we all know what has been done. He's definitely an intelligent individual and is dedicated to his mission." Hale's days in Illinois are probably numbered. He cannot practice law here. Other than his family, there is not much to keep him here. His father, a retired East Peoria policeman, shares the house with Hale. The home has been in the family for nearly 100 years. It looks like a bachelor's pad, dimly lit and decorated with a hodgepodge of old furniture that gives it a 1950s feel. His three brothers have moved on, and his mother left a long time ago after a divorce. There is no Mrs. Matt Hale, and no immediate prospects for one. Hale readily agrees to a request to play his violin. He touches the bow to the strings and plays a mournful tune. Hale fiddles away, but the sparks from his words and his actions have not yet caused East Peoria to burn, even smolder. Peoria is fine, too, just across the river. In fact, his message is lost to almost everybody in America. He is largely playing to an empty stadium. But Hale doesn't seem to notice, or he doesn't mind. He is dreaming of future glory. "I'm a soldier," he said. "I'm in the trenches for my people. I want to make you see what I see. The truth is the truth. I don't care if I'm outnumbered six billion to one. I'm going to do what is right, even if nobody's with me." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTINUING COVERAGE: ROTEN MURDER TRIAL A lifetime to think about hate: His rage roared from a rifle barrel as a little girl slept. That night of anger costs him his freedom William R. Levesque (St. Petersberg Times) 1 Dec 00 LARGO, Fl. -- Yahaira Carattini wants the neo-Nazi skinhead who killed her 6-year-old daughter with a shot from an assault rifle to sit behind bars for the rest of his life thinking about a simple truth: Her dead daughter's blood is the same color as his own. "Maybe God will open your mind and clean your mind," Carattini told Jessy Joe Roten on Thursday as she wiped tears from her eyes. "Everybody is equal." Roten's attorney says the 19-year-old now sees the error of his prejudiced ways. But for Roten and Ashley Mance, the girl he killed, it's far too late. A Pinellas circuit judge sentenced Roten to three concurrent life terms for the April 3, 1999, shooting that killed Ashley and wounded her twin sister, Aleesha, and her half-sister, 4-year-old Jailene Jones. The children were sleeping in the home north of St. Petersburg that their father, Terry Mance, shared with his fiancee, Tracy Townsend. The couple has since married. Prosecutors say Roten, then 17, was drunk and angry after a fight with his girlfriend when he fired into the house, knowing Townsend and Mance were a biracial couple. A jury convicted Roten last month of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder for the shooting, which jurors also deemed hate crimes. Under state law, he faced anywhere from 29 years to life in prison. Roten also pleaded no contest to possessing materials to make a bomb after police found gunpowder and other bomb-making materials in his room at his parents' house. He was sentenced to five years on that charge, which also is concurrent. Circuit Judge Nancy Moate Ley told Roten that he could easily have killed all three children, who were sharing a bed. The same bullet that killed Ashley drove straight through Aleesha's chest and nicked Jailene's ear. "No parent should have to suffer what you and your daughters have had to suffer," the judge told Carattini and Mance. "Your lives have been violated and will never be the same." Roten, his hateful skinhead tattoos mostly hidden by a jail uniform, offered a soft apology to the family before he was sentenced. His lawyer, Buck Blankner, said he wrote out his words the night of his conviction, before jurors returned their guilty verdict. Roten, who does not deny he fired the fatal shot, instead said he didn't mean to harm anyone, denying that what he did was motivated by racial hatred. "I never wanted any of this to happen," Roten told Ashley's parents. "I was blinded by alcohol and adolescent frustrations, things I was too weak to deal with at the time. "I am sorry. Every waking hour of every day for the past 20 months and for the rest of my life, I will be sorry. Not because of the responsibility I must take. That is something I am accepting. I am sorry because of what I cannot change for you. I cannot imagine the pain this has caused you, and if I could relieve you of it, I would." Roten displayed no emotion when the judge sentenced him. Blankner, asking for leniency, noted that Roten had no prior criminal record. He noted that Roten's father was once a member of the Ku Klux Klan and may have introduced him to neo-Nazi literature. He said Roten was guilty only of manslaughter for recklessly firing a shot he said wasn't intended to kill. But the judge didn't buy it, saying, "How could anyone hate like this and decide to act out on that hate?" As she spoke, Jailene, now 6, and Aleesha, 8, sat with family members in the courtroom, sometimes playing with stuffed toys or giggling among themselves, unsure of what was going on around them. Prosecutors Lydia Wardell and Bill Loughery said that Roten expressed homicidal thoughts to a therapist in 1994 and 1996. Roten said in 1996 that he was going to kill himself or others, Wardell said. "Hate was his way of life," Wardell told the judge. "Jessy Roten was a walking, talking time bomb. . . . It's time for him to accept responsibility for the hateful thoughts and the hateful actions that bring us here today." The prosecutor contrasted the written bomb instructions police found in Roten's room with the written notes found on Ashley after her death. In one, Ashley wrote a note to a friend. In another, she played tick-tack- toe. "He's writing bomb instructions," said Wardell, nearly breaking into tears as she spoke. "And she's doing what a little girl should do." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTINUING COVERAGE: COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST Vatican Asks Court, U.S. Government to Dismiss Lawsuit Over Nazi Gold: Church Evades Responsibility For Clerical Fascism AA News 26 Nov 00 The Institute for Religious Works -- the cover name for the Vatican bank -- has asked a U.S. District Court in San Francisco to dismiss a lawsuit charging the Holy See with laundering gold expropriated from Holocaust and other victims during W.W.II. A class action filed in November, 1999 accuses the Vatican of colluding with the Swiss National Bank and the Franciscan Order in concealing hundreds of millions of dollars in gold and assets stolen by the Croatian Nazi Ustashi (Ustasha) regime between 1941-1945. A San Francisco law firm headed by Jonathan Levy and Thomas Dewey Easton represents 28 plaintiffs in ALPERIN v. VATICAN BANK. The suit deals with atrocities carried by the Nazi puppet government of Ante (Anton) Pavelic, head of the "Catholic State of Croatia." The Pavelic regime was typical of political movements which had sprung up throughout Europe and supported "Clerical Fascism" -- an amalgam of orthodox Catholic doctrine, Anti-Semitism and authoritarian politics. These groups enjoyed the assistance of both the Fascist government in Italy under Mussolini and Nazi Germany's "Ausland" department which assisted like-minded movements outside of Hitler's state. In Croatia, Pavelic's Roman Catholic terrorists received critical funding in 1939 from Mussolini, and with the help of Archbishop A. Stepanic helped establish the Croat Separatist Movement and eventually seized power. Under the Ustashi, a virtual reign of terror descended upon Jews, Orthodox Serbs who refused to convert to Catholicism, and political dissidents. Pavelic's government operated death camps, and extorted a fortune in gold and other valuables, much from Jews who were shipped to work and extermination camps in Germany. The Ustashi had the support of the Catholic Church (Archbishop Stepanic was the group's official "chaplain" and gave his blessing to the Pavelic regime), and especially the Croatian Franciscans. The San Francisco lawsuit charges that the Catholic order "engaged in far ranging crimes including genocide, funding the reestablishment of the Croatian Nazi movement in South America in the 1950s, and setting up a false Marian religious shrine in Medjugorje, Bosnia in 1981 to bilk pilgrims of funds." The money from this "miracles on demand" scam was then "combined with the remnants of the Croatian Nazi Treasury to fund a second round of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Kreanjina in the 1990s." The latest battle in the lawsuit comes after several interesting developments... * On October 11, 2000, Levy and Easton announced that the plaintiffs were asking a Federal Magistrate to order the Institute for Religious Works (the Vatican Bank) to divulge information about itself "including its ownership." At issue was who actually owned the bank. "There may be certain defenses available to the bank if it is owned by the Vatican City state but if it owned by an individual or individuals the situation is completely different." * This past Friday, October 24, Reuters news service revealed that the Vatican was asking that the suit against IOR and the Franciscan Order be dismissed. The plaintiffs have been unable to successfully serve legal notice on the Swiss National Bank. In a 41-page filing, Vatican attorneys charged that the Holocaust-Ustashi victims "lack standing to bring a general challenge to the wartime political decisions of a foreign sovereign (state)." Supporting the Vatican's filing is a "Verbal Note" from the Holy See's Secretary of State posted at http://www.vaticanbankclaims.com/vatsec.htm which acknowledges the San Francisco case and a similar suit in Los Angeles, and cites diplomatic immunity. "Basing itself upon the diplomatic relations which exist between the United States of America and the Holy See, as well as the recognition which the Government of the United States has accorded to the sovereignty of the Holy See and of Vatican City State, the Secretariat of State requests the intervention of the Federal Government of the United States of America..." * The suit draws upon a treasure trove of historical documents, including declassified CIA files, a 1998 U.S. Department of State Report, and revelations made by researchers Mark Aarons and John Loftus in their book "Unholy Trinity." These and other materials describe the role of the Vatican and the Franciscan group in providing passports via a "ratline" run by the Holy See for former fascist officials, including Adolph Eichmann, Gestapo official Klaus Barbie, and Ustashi dictator Pavelic. One 1946 U.S. Treasury document, for instance, indicates that the Vatican served as a repository for more than 200 million Swiss francs. Catholic officials linked to the "ratline" operation include Bishop Alois Mudal and Giovanni Montini (who became Pope Paul VI). * The Los Angeles suit, NAUMOVIC v. SWISS NATIONAL BANK, has sought restitution from Swiss banks on behalf of the survivors of over 12 million non-Jewish victims of the Nazis in Yugoslavia and Russia. There is also LEVY v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY which involves a Freedom of Information request for files regarding the activities of the Vatican spymaster, Fr. Krusnoslav Draganovic. Draganovic was part of a cadre of high Catholic officials who were indicted for war crimes, including Fr. Dragutin Kamber; Bishop Ivan Saric ("Hangman of the Serbs"); Bishop Gregory Rozman; and Franciscan Fr. Miroslam Filipovic-Majstorovic, a commandant of a Ustashi torture camp where hundreds of thousands of victims (Jewish and non-Jewish) were slaughtered with a degree of brutality that shocked even the Nazi SS. Draganovic was a Franciscan and senior Ustashi official in charge of the forced "conversion" of Serb Orthodox believers to Catholicism. In 1943, he gained an appointment in Vatican City where he operated an Ustashi cell housed in a seminary of Croatian monks. He and another priest identified as Golik helped operate the Vatican "ratline" to obtain forged documents, including Red Cross passports, for a number of Croatian fascists. Draganovic came to be known as "The Golden Priest," since he ended up with at least some of the gold smuggled out of Croatia when the Germans retreated. He was never charged for his crimes, and returned to Yugoslavia where he died in 1983. * The legacy of the "ratline" and other operations -- many of which involved the Holy See -- shaped the postwar era. Some Vatican-held gold made its way to Latin America where German and other Nazi expatriates found a warm welcome, and established economic combines and cultural/political groups. Klaus Barbie, the Gestapo chief of Lyons, used his influence to work with Bolivia drug lord Robert Suarez and pull off the notorious "Cocaine Coup" which placed the notorious Hugo Banzer Suarez in power in Bolivia. Another fascist operative who maintained close ties to the Vatican was the mysterious Liccio Gelli, a former Italian Black Shirt who after the war worked closely with the CIA in "Operation Gladio." Gelli was in charge of a renegade Masonic Lodge, P-2 or Propaganda Due which in the late 1970s and early 80s was linked to an attempted fascist coup in Italy. He was a close friend of Argentine President Juan Peron, and backed the dictator's return to power in 1973; he also was part of an arms-for- machinery deal involving Libya, Italy and Argentina. Gelli was a central player in the collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano and the mysterious 1982 death of banker Roberto Calvi; that story linked the Vatican Bank, then under the control of American monsignor Paul Marcinkus. Obfuscation, Denials From The Holy See The bloody history of the Catholic State of Croatia is emerging as part of a larger tapestry involving the role played by the Vatican in World War II, particularly in respect to the Jews. Recent books have explored the role played by Archbishop Pacelli, the papal nuncio in Munich, Germany who later became Pope Pius XII. Not only was Pacelli an anti-Semite, but he may well have found an accommodation with Hitler preferable to the specter of what he described as "Bolshevik atheism." Loftus and Aarons are among those who argue that Pacelli encourage the Church to invest large amounts of cash in the Germany economic recovery, and may have even personally handed Hitler a large amount of "church money." Other evidence points to an obscure group called the Intermarium, a Catholic laity organization that labored to establish "clerical fascist" regimes throughout Europe as a bulwark against the Soviets. Fr. Draganovic was allegedly linked to this group. The role played by Pius XII -- and the charge that he ignored the plight of European Jews -- is still debated by historians. Recently rediscovered cables from 1942, such as one sent from the U.S. Envoy to the Holy See, Harold Tittmann to Washington, paint a mixed if not disturbing picture. Tittmann suggests that Vatican leadership "did not (repeat 'not') believe that the Allies were in a position to win the war in Europe." This fueled Allied concerns that the Vatican would push for a "compromise" settlement, and that "the pope's peacemaking ambitions might be exploited for their own ends by the Axis powers." Pius' obsessive fears with Communism may well have led him into refusing to unequivocally condemn the slaughter of the Jews. The Vatican has steadfastly denied involvement in any this, including the acquisition of Ustashi gold and other pilfered assets. The Vatican Bank was "initialized" in 1929 Lateran Treaty or Concordant between the Holy See and the government of Benito Mussolini. This agreement established the Vatican as an independent city-state, declared Roman Catholicism as the "official" religion of the new Fascist order, and compensated the papacy for the earlier confiscation of papal lands. Along with an estimated $85 million contribution to establish the bank, the Mussolini government declared church properties outside of the Vatican City limits to be tax exempt; and all Vatican Bank investments were tax free as well, a practice which despite the efforts of subsequent Italian governments remains in force to this day. By the 1970s, the known holdings of the Vatican bank, and its investments in Italy, were of such enormous scale as to dissuade any talk of taxation. When faced with such a prospect, Fr. Marcinkus and other IOR officials merely threatened the possibility of selling off Vatican assets in Italy and moving the money off shore. Earlier this month, a number of financial and political institutions including Italy's largest insurance firm, Assicurazioni Generali, agreed to a final settlement with some surviving Holocaust victims and their relatives. The $100 million compensation has drawn praise from quarters; but the lack of participation and reparations from the Vatican continues to attract criticism. Another settlement, this one involving reparations for up to 12 million victims murdered by Nazis and their client regimes, including the Catholic Croatian State, has been criticized as too little, too late. Here, as well, the Vatican is not participating in the compensation program. Consecrating Clerical Thugs, Fascists Perhaps most disturbing, though, are Vatican denials over the role played by its stable of anti-Semitic popes and clerical officials, and attempts to even glorify their lives. A decision to move forward on the beatification of Pope Pius IX drew worldwide criticism this past August. In a letter to Archbishop Jose Martins, the papal chairman of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations noted that Pius "perpetuated centuries-old Church contempt and hatred of Jews, referring to them as 'dogs' and declaring that 'of these dogs, there are too many of them present in Rome.' " There was also the move by Pope John Paul II during his October, 1998 visit to Croatia, to announce the beatification of Cardinal Stepanic, elevating him to the last step before a declaration of sainthood. CNN noted that the announcement, made at a rally with 400,000 followers at Croatia's main shrine to the Virgin Mary, saw the pontiff hail Stepanic "as a hero by Catholics for his resistance to communism and his refusal to separate the Croatian church from the Vatican." Stepanic's fascist-era activities with the Ustashi has been continually downplayed or ignored by the Holy See; instead, a process of historical revision has been underway, complete with the confabulation of a cultish tale about the Cardinal's cape, which allegedly found its way to the Vatican after being smuggled out of Yugoslavia in 1954 by an American Roman Catholic housewife. Stepanic was also hailed as a "Martyr of Atheistic Communism,'" and in 1998, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley declared May 8 as an official "Cardinal Stepanic Day." The San Francisco suit may unearth even more details about the political and financial intrigues of the Vatican in connection with World War II. It is quite possible, though, that diplomatic "sovereign immunity" could serve as a legal shield in the Holy See's continued efforts to conceal its historical involvement in the rise of clerical fascism, the Holocaust and the atrocities of that period. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- RIGHTWING WEB SITE OF INTEREST: Nationalsozialistische Japanische Arbeiterpartei / National Socialist Japanese Workers Party / Kokka Shakaishugi Nippon Rodosha To <http://www.geocities.co.jp/WallStreet/1219/> "Our fight is principally dedicated to our fatherland (Japan) and Japanese- Turanian race. We also fight for the Freedom of Eurasia as well as that of Japan. And, we fight for the FREEDOM OF THE WORLD against Zionism and Marxism. We must establish the New Geopolitical Axis - as the World Union of National Socialists against ZOG in haste. We should expand our international cooperation with those who fighting against our common enemies. We always welcome everyone who has a will and are looking forward to hearing from you! The Victory shall be ours! " ---------------------------------------------------------------------- REAL POLITICAL CORRECTNESS: It's from the rightwing authoritarians and always has been Setting Limits on Drug War Tactics: High Court Rejects Drug Roadblocks ACLU News 28 Nov 00 WASHINGTON D.C. --In yet another sign that the government has overstepped its authority in the war on drugs, the Supreme Court today found unconstitutional the Indiana state police's practice of using roadblocks with drug-sniffing dogs. Today's decision, in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, marks the third recent ruling by the Justices to limit the search tactics used by the government. In 1999, the Court held that an anonymous tip that someone is carrying a gun is not enough to justify a stop-and-frisk and that immigration officials violated bus passengers' privacy rights when they squeezed the overhead luggage searching for drugs. "The court today affirmed the principle that government cannot cut constitutional corners even in pursuit of a goal it identifies as being for the public good, said Kenneth J. Falk, Legal Director of the Indiana affiliate of the ACLU, who argued the case before the Justices in October. At the Indiana roadblocks, police officers checked license and vehicle registrations, motorists were examined for any signs of drug use and a drug-sniffing dog walked around the outside of each stopped car. In an opinion written for the 6-3 majority, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said that the reasoning behind the Indianapolis roadblocks -- chiefly that the benefit to the public outweighs the inconvenience can not justify the use of unconstitutional methods by the police. "If this case were to rest on such a high level of generality, there would be little check on the authorities' ability to construct roadblocks for almost any conceivable law enforcement purpose," the opinion said. "Taken together with earlier rulings, today's decision sends a clear message that even a conservative Court is not willing to countenance the serious erosion of our basic constitutional rights in the name of the war on drugs," said ACLU National Legal Director Steven R. Shapiro. Today's case, City of Indianapolis v. Edmond, No. 99-1030, was brought as a class action by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two individuals and the citizens of Indiana, all of whom are subject to the random roadside searches. * * * * * 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/> ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A http://www.topica.com/t/17 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
