Prosecutors Say [Holocaust Denier] Irving Jail Term Should Be Longer

Times Online UK ^ | 02/21/2006 | Phillippe Naughton

[kjo]

This is a pretty typical leftist response to an obviously silly point of view. This man is to be pitied. Thowing him in jail for three years because he's stupid is a wrong move. Can see where this is going. In a few years many kinds of speech will be "crimes".

[Tim Long]

"Flapjack" Corrie.

?

[Daytyn71]

Whatever happened to Free Speech!? I think the guy's statements are repugnant and outright disgusting but I find it more abhorrent to jail him for speaking his mind no matter how offensively ridiculous the statements are. I thought Free Speech laws protected not the speech the public necessary agrees with but the speech that may be unpopular or offensive. What's next- jailing someone for thinking a certain way.

Big Brother is watching you!!!

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

For those whose memories fail them in this matter, let me refresh things. Rachel Corrie was a young fanatic college student from Washington State, who decided she could make the world a better place by showing her solidarity with Middle East terrorism and Palestinian mass murderers. She joined the International Solidarity Movement, a communist-anarchist group who openly support Palestinian terrorism. Corrie set up shop in the Gaza Strip, where she and her ISM comrades spent their days trying to harass and provoke Israeli troops and interfere with Israel's anti-terrorist military operations. They would set up obstacles on roads to prevent Israeli troops and otherwise assist and defend the terrorists. The ISM is probably the campus organization most upfront about its support for the Palestinian “right” to engage in terrorism, and that is saying quite a lot these days!

In one confrontation with the Israelis, Corrie was trying to block an army bulldozer that was knocking down homes of terrorists and buildings hiding tunnels through which weapons and explosives were being smuggled into Israel. These tunnels brought weapons from Egypt to the Gaza city of Rafiah. One of these homes might have been that which Corrie's parents describe as that of an “innocent pharmacist.” Corrie and her ISM comrades wanted to help protect the Gaza smuggling tunnels. Rachel Corrie put herself in a position where the bulldozer driver could not see her, and she was dragged under the heavy machine. She died in a PLO ambulance or hospital shortly thereafter. The ISM then issued a host of "eyewitness" reports about the accident, which turned out to be fabrications. The simple fact of the matter was that Corrie had figured the Israeli bulldozer driver could be cowed into backing off if he saw her blocking his access to the terrorist house; she probably figured correctly, except that he did not see her from his limited-visibility window in the rig.

[cpdiii]

Why have not many many many of the Imams that preach hate daily in their mosques been brought up on charges and put in jail. They not only participate in hate speech but daily call for violence against The West, Christians, Jews, Israel, newspapers that print what the dislike etc. Not only do they preach this, their followers actively and aggressively carry out the orders in the hate speech and fatwas that are given out.

[SJackson]

In his early days when he was more concerned about the Jewish threat, he was pro Algerian immigrant. He's politically astute, my guess guess he's on to a base of support to be tapped. As to the accuracy of the articles, or the success he'll have, we'll see.

France's Le Pen To Strike a Deal With Muslims

[A. Pole]

The reason is that Europeans are still Nazis at heart and haven't figured out that free speech means free speech.

Yeah, and according to you the Poles, Serbs and Greeks (who are Europeans) fought first against Hitler out of stupidity. Maybe if they joined him, their Nazi cause would win.

And Hitler was defeated by the American soldiers who went to Europe.

[A. Pole]

European elites have this thing about what they call "hate speech".

Most of the "hate laws" are recent (with the exception of Germany/Austria) and they are spreading to Canada and USA too.

[muawiyah]

It suits the European elites to leave the mullahs alone. After all, they are much more busy with suppressing the massive Nazi movement at their door.

[SJackson]

SO I'll just stick to his calls for continued funding of Hamas in Palestine.

Rather ironic, in view of the busting of a Hamas financing group in Toledo over the weekend, coupled with the arrest of three terrorists in Toledo today. Toledo, Ohio, not Spain.

[Nonstatist]

the massive Nazi movement at their door

Not Europe so much , but Austria, actually does have a "Nazi " problem. If they didnt drag some of the thugs into the woodshed every few years, it could end up being even more destabilizing than the Muslim slums around Paris, IMO.

[popdonnelly]

He shouldn't be serving any term at all. He's an author who wrote a book. Who's writings are we going to condemn next?

[doggieboy]

If this guy can be arrested, Jimmy Carter & Al Gore had better watch out. I didn't know it was against the law to be stupid.

[.cnI redruM]

Maybe Pat and his buddies at ANTIWAR.COM would like to fund Hamas in Toledo, Ohio as well.

[Jonah Johansen]

For the sake of clarity. In no way to be construed as a defense of the indefensible. "Holocaust denial" is really a misnomer.

Irving and the other historical "revisionists" do not dispute the fact that large numbers of Jews were killed by the Nazis, what they dispute is the actual number of killed. They claim the 6 million number is a greatly inflated number.

They do not dispute the fact that there were large numbers of Jews, who were held in concentration camps and that many Jews died in these camps. In the past they attributed these deaths to disease. (It sounds now like Irving is willing to admit there was an extermination program)
If Irving has made a genuine historical contribution, it is in helping historians understand the thinking and workings of the German leadership in WWII based on his research into the Nazi archives.
In his major works "Hitler's War" and "Churchill's War" his wrongheaded speculations about the Holocaust are only a very minor part of either book.

[muawiyah]

Then they should drag the thugs in and thump them ~ This, on the other hand, looks more like a "message" to foreign nazis to stay out of Austria.

[Tim Long]

Oh. Thanks for that. I had never heard of the incident.

[rcocean]

Amazing.

A thread about Free Speech, Austria, Holocaust Denial, and David Irving.

Somehow Pat Buchanan gets mentioned. Strange.

Do you know they are discussing cookie recipes in General Chat AND NO ONE has brought up how much they hate Pat Buchanan?

Better hurry over there.