--- Sponsor's Message -------------------------------------- Gator is FREE software that fills in forms and remembers passwords with NO TYPING. Plus Gator comes with $100 in coupons just for trying it! Fast download. Grab the Gator. http://click.topica.com/aaaavlbz8SnrbAjwjxa/Gator ------------------------------------------------------------ __________________________________________________________________________ The Internet Anti-Fascist: Friday, 11 August 2000 Vol. 4, Number 65 (#450) __________________________________________________________________________ Reader Feedback: Jamie McCarthy, "... the antithesis of public discussion would be ... repression," 8 Aug 00 tallpaul, "A QUick, Brief Response On A Theme By McCarthy" Web Sites of Interest: Ireland and the Spanish Civil War -- No Pasaran! Real Political Correctness: People For the American Way, "Federal Court Enjoins Virginia Internet Censorship Law: 'Harmful To Juveniles' Law Ruled Harmful to Free Speech," 9 Aug 00 Rightwing Rightwing Quote of the Week: Anonymous, "... = CHILD MOLESTER??" Usenet post to: <alt.politics.nationalism.white>, 29 Jul BadJuJu. "A multiple choice test for ...," Usenet post to <alt.revisionism>, 12 Aug 00 What's Worth Checking: 20 stories -------------------------------------------------------------------------- READER FEEDBACK: ... the antithesis of public discussion would be ... repression Jamie McCarthy 8 Aug 00 [In TINAF 4:63 of Friday, 4 August, 2000, tallpaul wrote] "Those who see some all-encompassing right of 'free speech' for fascists might ask if Kykekillers triple anonymity is a contribution to public discussion over the Concorde crash or the antithesis of such discussion." How can any statement, placed in the public sphere, be the "antithesis" of public discussion? It seems obvious to me that what _would_ be the antithesis of public discussion would be the repression of such an anonymous statement. -- Jamie McCarthy - - - - - A QUICK, BRIEF RESPONSE ON A THEME BY McCARTHY tallpaul This post, coming from someone like J. McCarthy with a long activist history opposing Holocaust Deniers, shows that anti-fascists can disagree among themselves over many issues. My response below should be seen more as "comments on a theme" proposed by McCarthy, not a assertion of his particular beliefs. (Let us hope that he writes more on these topics.) Let me divide my comments into two groups: "repression" and "public debate." Of course we want to repress the type of anti-Semitic libel that blamed the Concorde crash on the Jews. The question is merely how we will go about it. We may pick methods that are principled and unprincipled, legal or extra- legal or illegal, tactically wise or foolish. We repress all of the time. We repress murderers by depriving them of their "freedom of movement" and in so doing we repress murder. We similarly repress con artists by forcing them to return the money, thus depriving them of "their" property. In a different context we repressed fascism with military force during World War II and the hangman's noose afterward. We did not support a military advance up to the border of pre-war Germany and then stop. We did not liberate the death camps outside Germany and permit those inside on the guise that to remove all the camps would repress actions. Nor did we support the existence of fascist publications immediately after the war. In each case we chose to repress. There exists a mistaken view that "free speech" is *the* fundamental right, standing above all others, absolute and inalienable. It is not, as is shown by various national and international laws on defamation. "Free speech" like all other rights may be alienated or violated or both. Only the violation is illegal or unethical. A lawful[1] alienation of the defamers speech is not a violation of "free speech" anymore than a lawful alienation of the con man's money or the murderers freedom violates the rights of property and movement. A think a similar confusion exists among anti-fascists over "opinion" and "fact." As numerous judges have maintained "there is no such thing as a false opinion." Opinions are a-factual and thus beyond the normal forms of reality testing. Fact -- at least since Zinger -- is a defense. But false allegations of fact add nothing to the specific debate[2] There are areas outside this dispute where false allegations of fact are actionable. Forgery constitutes one such crime. In the civil area, some citizens have a legal obligation to make true statements of fact. The accountant who certifies the accuracy of a set of financial books can be sued if the books are inaccurate. And of course perjury is perhaps the best example after defamation. Where then is the real contribution to public discourse in libel. Why way of example we reprint two recent examples of fascist defamation. In the "Rightwing Quote" section below are "contributions" to a discussion on topics like child molestation, human sexuality, prohibition, save travel, tax law, the history of international intelligence operations, and the use of pen names. Where in these posts is there any contribution to public discussion on these issues? - - - - - [1] Some anti-fascists may object to my use of the word "lawful." They can substitute some other similar term, like "ethical" or "proper." Thus a group of good anarchist citizens of some future society might witness a rape in progress and ethically act to stop it. In doing so they would alienate the criminal's (hypothetical) right of "free sexual expression" without violating it. [2] The key is "specific." False allegations of fact are excellent at providing examples of false allegations of fact. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEB SITES OF INTEREST: Ireland and the Spanish Civil War -- No Pasaran! <http://members.tripod.co.uk/spanishcivilwar/> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- REAL POLITICAL CORRECTNESS: It's from the rightwing authoritarians and always has been Federal Court Enjoins Virginia Internet Censorship Law: 'Harmful To Juveniles' Law Ruled Harmful to Free Speech People For the American Way 9 Aug 00 WASHINGTON, D.C.--In a ruling that recognizes the constitutional protection of free speech on the Internet, a federal court has issued a preliminary injunction against a new Virginia law that would have imposed severe restrictions on Internet content by criminalizing information that is constitutionally protected but deemed "harmful to minors." The challenge to the law, in PSINet, Inc. v. Chapman, was brought by People For the American Way Foundation, Internet service provider PSINet Inc., sixteen "e- businesses" and others in an effort to halt what amounts to a back-door attempt to censor the Internet's free flow of protected information. The Virginia law at issue purports to outlaw materials that are "harmful to juveniles" on the Internet. Due to the nature of the online medium, however, the law has the effect of banning valuable communications, such as business transactions and the dissemination of health information, for adults, as well as children, inside and outside of Virginia. "We've fought mandatory Internet censorship before," stated Ralph G. Neas, president of People For the American Way Foundation. "There are many voluntary options available to parents who worry about the Internet content available to their children. The important word missing from the language of this law is: voluntary." People For the American Way Foundation has previously advocated voluntary methods that put control over what minors can and cannot access on the Internet in the hands of parents — not the government. Judge James Michael of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia has followed several recent decisions upholding the constitutionality of free speech on the Internet. Similar attempts to censor Internet content in New York, New Mexico, Michigan and by the U.S. Congress have all been struck down in federal court. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- RIGHTWING QUOTE OF THE WEEK: For those who believe that fascism is only a thing of the past [For obvious reasons I have deleted the name of the individual anti-fascist libeled in the post below. -- tallpaul] From: Anonymous <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 29 Jul 00 Subject: ... = CHILD MOLESTER?? Usenet post to: <alt.politics.nationalism.white> ..., SOBC the well-known fag in Canada, Fag ... of Vancouver, also a convicted car thief and all round molester, and unemployed gas pump boy, wants all to know about all the Jew criminals reported weekly in Canadian Jew News. Here is the latest....... Over the past while, many people have stated that ... does not exist in the records of the US military, as he claims. One must then wonder, is ... his real name, or is he really a JEW KGB mole, infiltrated into the USA for sabotage purposes? Is it true that ... has been convicted 3 times in the US for molesting infants? Is that why he supports the Cambodian child rapist? Is ... such a disgusting criminal, that he supports the kiddie porn distributor from the Halifax synagogue? What other crimes, besides Income Tax Fraud in both the US and Canada has ... been convicted of, besides criminal car theft? Is ..., like the Rabbis in the US, another drug dealer? These are some of the questions ... needs to answer. Obviously his former employers have some of the answers, which is why the former gas station attendant is no longer getting paid by jew organisations since January. Even respectable jews don't want to be associated with filth like ..., ..., or whatever his real name is. Telephone late nights to ... in California @: ... If you enjoy profanity then call late nights to ... a soon to be disbarred lawyer at: ... Posted courtesy of : ... who likes late night discussions, even from Christian Identity. Call ..., or even VISIT him at: ... - - - - - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> [sic] Date: 12 Aug 00 Subject: A multiple choice test for ... Usenet post to: <alt.revisionism> A multiple choice test for .... I will make it simple, simply put an x in the correct box. 1)How many drunk driving arrest have you had in the last 20 years? [ ] one [ ] two [ ] three [ ] four or more. 2) What is your sexual orientation (choose all that apply) [ ] homosexual [ ] bisexual [ ] pedophile [ ] asexual [ ] Jeffrey G Brownism (very perverted) [ ] other (fill in blank) _____________________________ 3) Why did you flee to Canada [ ] to avoid the draft [ ] to avoid a felony arrest [ ] to be able to jerk off in public and get away with it 4) What is the truth about you and the Marines? [ ] I lied about joining [ ] Flunked pre-medical [ ] Fled to Canada after burning draft card [ ] Was tossed for homosexual activity. [ ] Failed basic training 5) What is the truth about the 50,000 bucks you recieved from a group in San Antonio? [ ] took the money and ran [ ] lied about having a San Antonio operation -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S WORTH CHECKING stories via <ftp://ftp.nyct.net/pub/users/tallpaul/publish/story6/> Amnesty International, "USA: An appeal to decency," 15 Jun 00, "Using the death penalty against children flies in the face of basic standards of decency and justice, Amnesty International said today as it appealed to President Clinton, Vice-President Gore and Governor Bush of Texas to take a stand against this internationally illegal punishment." <1601.txt> Germany Alert (editorial), "Denying Danger," 22 June 00, "Alarms should have been sounding throughout Germany long before Nazi apologist Ernst Nolte was given the Konrad Adenauer Prize, one of the country's highest honors. Thick file folders and burgeoning computer databases have for years been accumulating piles of facts that demonstrate the German extreme right's increasing control over the former political 'center'." <1602.txt> Zenit/Vatican, "No Killing In the Name of Religion': Pope Calls for Halt in Confrontations in India and Indonesia," 28 Jun 00, "'There can be no killing in the name of religion,' John Paul II said this morning, at the end of the general audience. He appealed for an immediate halt to the confrontations taking place against Christians in Indonesia and India." <1603.txt> AP, "Advocates say armed protest will hurt cause," 15 Jun 00, "Gun rights advocates say militia leader Dan Shoemaker could be shooting their cause in the foot. 'This guy is going to be the poster boy for more gun laws,' said Sierra Times editor J.J. Johnson. An editorial on Johnson's pro-gun Pahrump, Nev.-based Web site is one of a chorus of voices calling on Shoemaker to abandon his plans for an armed Saturday morning protest against gun laws. Carrying a weapon within an Illinois city is a felony, and authorities say they'll stop the demonstration. Shoemaker says he'll resist 'immediately and violently' if that happens." <1604.txt> Joseph D. Wilcox (Tribune Review), "Pa. ranks 6th in U.S. for hate groups," 26 June 00, "Pennsylvania ranks sixth in the nation in the number of hate groups, according to a recent report from the Southern Poverty Law Center. But experts say that does not translate directly into a high rate of racially motivated violence. In fact, hate crimes in the state have dropped steadily since 1993, according to figures from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission." <1605.txt> Iva Kay Horner ([Monmouth, Illinois] Review Atlas), "Shoemaker jailed; Bond set at $2 million on intimidation charges," 15 Jun 00, "Citing an incident that occurred on June 3, local law enforcement agencies arrested Dan W. Shoemaker early this morning. Shoemaker, stated Warren County State's Attorney Chip Algren, was taken into custody at 6 a.m. this morning by Knox County law enforcement, as he got out of his vehicle in the parking lot at Abingdon School." <1606.txt> Child Labour News Service (press release), "Child Labour Convention Set Ratification Record," 15 Jun 00, "The world's international standard on the worst forms of child labour, ILO Convention 182 (1999) has been ratified by 27 governments in its first year, racking up more ratifications than any other ILO Convention during a comparable period, the International Labour Office announced. The Convention will come into force on November 19 of this year. For Juan Somavia, the Director-General of the ILO, the nods of approval are a reason to celebrate. They reflect the prevailing spirit among ILO member states to quicken the global effort to protect children forced into the worst forms of child labour." <1607.txt> Catherine Feher (Navajo-Hopi Observer News), "United Nations testimony says discrimination rampant," 12 Jun 00, "Testimony presented in Geneva before the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance alleges that racism and the denial of religious rights to American Indians remains rampant in the United States. In testimony before the world conference, Indian rights advocate Lenny Foster said that not only does racism exist, it is actually endorsed by state and federal governments, especially in the American prison systems. Foster is Dineh, and founded the Navajo Prison Project in an attempt to ensure religious rights of Indian prisoner in the United States." <1608.txt> Katherine Stapp (IPS), "Popular Tribunal Charges NATO with War Crimes," 13 Jun 00, "A 'people's court' has found North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) leaders guilty of serious war crimes for last spring's 78-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. The 16-member tribunal, organised by anti-war activists of the New York-based International Action Centre, examined evidence of 19 violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and associated protocols of 1977, the United Nations Charter and other international agreements. Deirdre Sinnot of the Action Centre said they formed their own tribunals because official venues like the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTFY) were biased in NATO's favour." <1609.txt> Ginger Rutland (Sacramento Bee), "Murray's racial profiling bill falls woefully short," 13 Jun 00, "Two years ago, when he first introduced a bill to require police officers in California to record the race and ethnicity of the people they stop, Sen. Kevin Murray became an instant hero. He'd tapped into the dark core of anger, fear and frustration felt by every black man in America who's ever been stopped, searched and humiliated by police. There are very few adult male African Americans who cannot tell you a traumatic story of a police stop. After negotiations with Gov. Gray Davis, Murray last month stripped from his bill its most meaningful provision: mandatory data collection. He argued that his amended bill was a pragmatic compromise, something Davis -- who had vetoed Murray's previous measure -- would sign. Progress, he called it." <1610.txt.txt> International Action Center (press release), "War Crimes Tribunal Finds U.S. and NATO Guilty, 13 Jun 00, "A panel of 16 judges from 11 countries at a people's tribunal meeting in New York June 10 before 500 people found U.S. and NATO political and military leaders guilty of war crimes against Yugoslavia in the March 24-June 10, 1999 assault on that country. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, the lead prosecutor at the International Tribunal on U.S./NATO War Crimes Against Yugoslavia, urged those present and those they represented from the 21 countries participating to carry out a sentence of organizing a campaign to abolish the NATO military pact." <1611.txt> Alan Feuer (AP), "An Officer Testifies He Lied To F.B.I. in Louima Inquiry," 14 Jun 00, "Describing himself as frightened and self-absorbed, a Brooklyn police officer testified yesterday that he was thinking about protecting his career, his family's future and his fellow officers when he lied to federal agents about what he saw in a Flatbush station house on the night that Abner Louima was savagely assaulted there three years ago. In a full day of testimony in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, the officer, Francisco Rosario, was by turns flustered and calm as he admitted that he gave a false account to federal prosecutors." <1612.txt> Denver Post, "Activist's jury leaflets delay trial," 15 Jun 00, "Tax limitation advocate and state Senate candidate Douglas Bruce distributed brochures to potential jurors this week urging them to 'judge the law itself and vote on the verdict according to conscience.' Bruce's actions prompted two judges to delay trials and dismiss an estimated 70 juror candidates. Bruce, author of the 1992 Taxpayer's Bill of Rights and a candidate for the Senate seat held by Ray Powers, R-Colorado Springs, was summoned to jury duty Tuesday for a civil trial involving a breach of lease agreement." <1613.txt.txt> CBC, "21 hurt as protesters, police clash in Toronto," 15 Jun 00, "About 1,000 demonstrators demanding the Ontario government do more to help the homeless clashed with riot police at the legislature Thursday afternoon. Protesters threw Molotov cocktails and heavy rocks from a garden as police in riot gear, some on horseback, charged repeatedly to disperse the angry crowd. " <1614.txt> Edward Cody (Washington Post), "Under Iraqi Skies, a Canvas of Death," 16 Jun 00, "Suddenly out of a clear blue sky, the forgotten war being waged by the United States and Britain over Iraq visited its lethal routine on the shepherds and farmers of Toq al-Ghazalat about 10:30 a.m. on May 17. Omran Harbi Jawair, 13, was squatting on his haunches at the time, watching the family sheep as they nosed the hard, flat ground in search of grass. He wore a white robe but was bareheaded in spite of an unforgiving sun. Omran, who liked to kick a soccer ball around this dusty village, had just finished fifth grade at the little school a 15-minute walk from his mud- brick home. A shepherd boy's summer vacation lay ahead. That is when the missile landed. Without warning, according to several youths standing nearby, the device came crashing down in an open field 200 yards from the dozen houses of Toq al-Ghazalat. A deafening explosion cracked across the silent land. Shrapnel flew in every direction. Four shepherds were wounded. And Omran, the others recalled, lay dead in the dirt, most of his head torn off, the white of his robe stained red. 'He was only 13 years old, but he was a good boy," sobbed Omran's father, Harbi Jawair, 61'." <1615.txt> Anti-Nazi League, "Anti Fascists In Margate," 16 Jun 00, "Some very exciting things have been happening in Thanet over the last ten days. Schools, workplaces and housing estates have been leafleted, petitioned, etc. One school head has agreed to hold a special assembly on the NF - based on material from the ANL. All this has met with a 99 per cent positive response. Whether it will result in a larger anti-fascist turn-out on Saturday is yet to be seen. The violence of the police and the NF puts many people off attending the counter demonstrations. The ANL now has a new membership of young activists which goes way beyond the established left in Thanet." <1616.txt> Mark Henderson (The Times [of London]), "Big Brother is reading you: Impending Internet legislation has grave implications for the privacy of journalists and their sources," 16 Jun 00, "Few journalists would dispute that the Internet has, in a short time, transformed their working environment. Not only must they deal with the new challenges of online publishing; they have also had to learn to use new technology that has become part of the newsroom furniture. Three years ago, The Times had only a handful of terminals linked to the Net, and few reporters who knew how to use them; the rest of Fleet Street was little different. Today, the Web has become a useful news-gathering tool. Many journalists now find it as valuable as their notebooks and mobile phones. Reporters, however, will soon have to exercise considerable caution when they take advantage of this technology. A new law proposed by the Government, which reached its House of Lords committee stage this week, is about to give State agents sweeping powers to intercept online communications in the fight against Internet crime; powers that have grave implications for the privacy of journalists and their sources." <1617.txt> via East Timor Action Network, "Catholics burn Protestant churches in E. Timor," 16 Jun 00, "Religious violence erupted last week in East Timor , with Catholic youths burning three Protestant churches and attacking a Protestant pastor, a U.N. spokeswoman said Friday. Spokeswoman Barbara Reis told reporters three Protestant churches were burned on separate days last week in three villages in the Lekidoe area of Aileu district, about two hours south of Dili, the capital. The Protestant pastor was physically assaulted and injured, and his motorbike burned as well, she said. Reis said the incident was apparently sparked off when Protestant youths jeered at a Catholic procession carrying a statue of Jesus. Nighttime processions by the territory's Catholics are a common occurrence in June." <1618.txt> Anti Nazi League, "NF abandons Margate marches: Victory for ANL," 17 Jun 00, "The National Front had their worst turnout yet for their third attempt to march in Margate today. Their national mobilisation managed a grand total of exactly 30 Nazis, who were given massive police protection. The road along the entire route from the station was completely barricaded, yet the ANL presence none the less stopped them reaching the Clock Tower again." <1619.txt> Knute Berger (Seattle Weekly), "You can't camouflage the military-cop convergence," 17 May 00, "The line between the police and the military has been blurring for years. Have you noticed how police SWAT teams have adopted US military-style helmets? Did you see the armored personnel carriers during the WTO protests?" <1620.txt> * * * * * 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/> --- Sponsor's Message -------------------------------------- TOO MUCH DEBT? Let this nonprofit help you lower your credit card interest charges and consolidate your payments without a loan. 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