CRAX Mix Rax

European Commission Moves To Stamp Out Racism On Internet
     
Burssels, 31 Jan 1996 -- The European Commission (EC) has
formed a pan-European group to "encourage the mixing of
people of different cultures" from both inside and
outside Europe.  

According to EC officials, the first task of the
Consultative Commission on Racism and Xenophobia (CRAX),
as it is called, will be to investigate and, using legal
means, stamp out the current wave of racism on the
Internet.  

In a prepared statement, CRAX said that it hopes that the
EC "will take all needed measures to prevent the Internet
from becoming a vehicle for the incitement of racist
hatred."  

EC officials are soft-peddling on what legislation they
plan to enact to back up the investigations of CRAX.
Currently, apart from France and Germany, there is no
specific anti-racist legislation.

The laws of France and Germany were created in the
aftermath of the Second World War in order to prevent the
rising of the so-called "Fourth Reich," an extremist
group which posts messages on the Internet, as well as
running Thule bulletin board systems (BBSs) in Germany. 

According to EC officials, the Thule BBSs, which first
appeared in 1991, started spreading the Neo-Nazi word on
the Internet in late 1994, having established themselves
as a means of information exchange in Germany and, to a
limited extent, in France.

As reported previously, the "Thule Network" first came 
to the public's attention when the January, 1994, issue
of Chip magazine (a popular computer monthly in Germany)
claimed to have unearthed eight Thule BBSs.  

According to Chip magazine at the time, "The (Thule)
network distributes information on demonstrations and
invitations to meetings, addresses for contacting parties
and groups, and it reviews and offers books and
magazines. One of the mail-boxes contained instructions
for producing military explosives and letter bombs. A
great deal of space is taken up by 'political
discussions' among the users."

Thule is Norse or Viking terminology for "top of the
world." The Thule Network's name actually derives from
the small, elitist 1920s movement which was considered to
be the Nazi vanguard. Thule movement leaders included
Rudolf Hess. Some BBSs on the Thule network have names
such as "Wolf Box" and "Resistance," while many Internet
messages are signed by people calling themselves "The
Wolf," among other names.

--

Dude, while these subject lines are very quaint, given the level of
traffic, I would really appreciate more descriptive subject headings. You
may use any official UN language that can be written in 8-bit characters. 

On Thu, 1 Feb 1996, Anonymous wrote:

> European Commission Moves To Stamp Out Racism On Internet
>      
> Burssels, 31 Jan 1996 -- The European Commission (EC) has
> formed a pan-European group to "encourage the mixing of
> people of different cultures" from both inside and
> outside Europe.  

I knew Euro-Disneyland was going to catch on some time.
 
> According to EC officials, the first task of the
> Consultative Commission on Racism and Xenophobia (CRAX),

Geez, so that wasn't a joke.

> as it is called, will be to investigate and, using legal
> means, stamp out the current wave of racism on the
> Internet.  

OK, then maybe it is a joke.
 
> In a prepared statement, CRAX said that it hopes that the
> EC "will take all needed measures to prevent the Internet
> from becoming a vehicle for the incitement of racist
> hatred."  

Prevent? How about "Band-Aid?"

Recall that in many cases, Band-Aids actually promote infection by 
providing a dark, humid place for growth.
 
> As reported previously, the "Thule Network" first came 
> to the public's attention when the January, 1994, issue
> of Chip magazine (a popular computer monthly in Germany)
> claimed to have unearthed eight Thule BBSs.  
> 
> According to Chip magazine at the time, "The (Thule)
> network distributes information on demonstrations and
> invitations to meetings, addresses for contacting parties
> and groups, and it reviews and offers books and
> magazines. One of the mail-boxes contained instructions
> for producing military explosives and letter bombs. A
> great deal of space is taken up by 'political
> discussions' among the users."

Um, OK. So force these people above ground, and they will need to 
restrict their activities to political discussions.

> Thule is Norse or Viking terminology for "top of the
> world." The Thule Network's name actually derives from
> the small, elitist 1920s movement which was considered to
> be the Nazi vanguard.

Read: a bunch of stupid thugs who don't want to be seen in daylight.

> Thule movement leaders included
> Rudolf Hess. Some BBSs on the Thule network have names
> such as "Wolf Box" and "Resistance," while many Internet
> messages are signed by people calling themselves "The
> Wolf," among other names.

What's the matter? Their mothers didn't like them or something? Just try 
holding a debate with a person with a handle like that. The audience 
would just crack up.

-rich