NODE 01a88923Return of the Living Zundel, from The Netly News
Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>Sat, 8 Nov 1997 03:10:34 +0800
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http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/editorial/0,1012,1561,00.html
The Netly News Network (http://netlynews.com/)
November 6, 1997
Return of the Living Zundel
by Chris Stamper (cstamper@pathfinder.com)
Does Ernst Zundel have the right to deny the Holocaust and brag
about it on the Net? In the U.S. the answer is unequivocally yes. But
in Canada, where Zundel resides, the Human Rights Commission has been
holding hearings on whether the "Zundelsite" violates the country's
hate speech laws. If Zundel loses the case, he'll be asked to pay
damages and take any offending articles off the web site.
"A lot of people think this case is about censoring the Net,"
said Bernie Farber, national director of community relations for the
Canadian Jewish Congress. "It isn't. It's about a Canadian violating
Canadian law. In Canada and in every other Western democracy but the
U.S., there are limits to free speech and one of those points is
vilification. I should feel I have as much right to get on the Net and
not feel demeaned because I'm a part of a particular group."
A simple enough concept, except that the Canadian tribunal has no
explicit jurisdiction over the Internet. However, it can regulate the
phone system, and if the commission can equate Zundel's modems with
answering machines and voice mail, it could set a precedent for
regulating speech on the Net.
Zundel claims that the whole case is simply an attempt by the
commission to expand its powers into the realm of cyberspace. But then
Zundel also claims that Hitler maintained a secret UFO base in
Antarctica.
The only certain truth about Zundel's case is that he's basking
in free publicity as a result of the flap. "I was a nobody before they
started hounding me," he told The Netly News. "Now everyone spells my
name right. Every Canadian knows I think the Holocaust is a racket."
[...]
NODE f4da74b0Re: Return of the Living Zundel, from The Netly News
TruthMonger <tm@dev.null>Sat, 8 Nov 1997 08:55:59 +0800
Declan McCullagh wrote:
> http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/editorial/0,1012,1561,00.html
>
> The Netly News Network (http://netlynews.com/)
> November 6, 1997
>
> Return of the Living Zundel
> by Chris Stamper (cstamper@pathfinder.com)
>
> Does Ernst Zundel have the right to deny the Holocaust and brag
> about it on the Net? In the U.S. the answer is unequivocally yes. But
> in Canada, where Zundel resides, the Human Rights Commission has been
> holding hearings on whether the "Zundelsite" violates the country's
> hate speech laws.
Zundel's web site contains pointers to the sites of those who disagree
with him. The Holocaust promotion web sites, however, contain pointers
only to sites which are in agreement with their views.
e.g. - At Zundel's site:
> For relentless Holocaust promotion, on the other hand, contact Nizkor.
> For another Jewish point of view, contact the Simon Wiesenthal Center (tm)
Thus, the Canadian Human Rights Commission's primary goal seems to
be to limit Canadian's access to infomation to only that which is in
alignment with the goals of those holding the reins of power.
TruthMunger