May 22, 1996
Canada: (in reference to the "Zundelgate" that is beginning to take shape) "After reading the May 11 Zundelgram I was reminded of something Solzhenitsyn said in the early '70s, after KGB agents seized a copy of Gulag Archipelago from one of his samisdat helpers.
When they (i.e., the KGB agents) read it, he said, "their fingertips must have sizzled" just holding and reading the content of the Gulag manuscript.
I bet the CSIS spooks who are monitoring Zundel's mail must have had a similar experience today while reading the latest Zundelgram."
Meanwhile, the moral, political, social and economic decline and dissolution of Canada continues apace. There is evidence each day that Canada is sliding into an ever-deepening malaise and mediocrity.
Nearly 30 years (ago), while contesting the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, Ernst offered the party, and by extension Canadians, a vision of a new social contract. Had the Liberal Party followed his lead, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in now. Turning into a kind of Los Angeles North.
As I write, our deputy prime minister has resigned after being exposed as a demonstrable liar and dyed-in-the-wool political cynic; the chief of staff of the Canadian army will likewise soon resign after likewise being put in a situation which reveals his cynical, deceitful character.
In Quebec, the heart of French-speaking Canada, franco-nationalism is growing day-by-day by leaps and bounds. We can boast a political scandal and an outrage for every day of the year, just about. And the Quebecois want no part of it, obviously.
Meanwhile, there's not one cultural institution in Canada that is not currently "controversial," suspect or under fire for one reason or another. It is against this sordid, chaotic backdrop that Zundelgate will be played out in the weeks and months ahead. . . "
Germany:
BONN, GERMANY, 1996 MAY 15 (NB) -- Possibly as a result of the current furor surrounding sexually explicit images on the Internet in France, the German government has announced that it does not intend to implement Internet-specific legislation.
What is the reason for such a laid-back approach to the problem of pornography and other files on the Internet? According to Juergen Ruettgers, the popular German research and technology minister, the Internet service provider (ISP) industry in Germany should be able to regulate its own affairs, rather than rely on the government for stringent controls.
Interestingly, Ruettgers said that the government would not tolerate the distribution of neo-Nazi propaganda, child pornography or other such information in the Internet. He told journalists that such information distribution is already outlawed under German law, so there is no need for Internet-specific legislation.
Ruettgers admitted, however, that the current mood in the US surrounding the Internet is such that the German government is under pressure to act on the perceived problem. He also noted that the various state governments could use the issue to strengthen their own legislation, and so damage the expansion of the Internet in Germany.
According to Ruettgers, the best way to encourage the creation of new jobs in the fledgling ISP industry in Germany is to leave it well alone as regards regulation. Any legislation that is required, he said, could be integrated fairly easily into the current crop of laws being introduced this year in preparation for the open competition rules mandated by the European Commission (EC) for January, 1998, introduction.
* Ireland:
". . . Thanks once again for your tireless work in making sure the people are informed. For the past six months I have enjoyed, without exception, every single ZGRAM.
The catalogue of injustice and Stalinist information restriction acts, adopted by so many countries, makes terrifying reading. Here in Ireland, similar measures were proposed by a government minister, but I'm pleased to say, the Irish media were disgusted by the idea, and have since forced him to retract his idiotic plans.
Might I suggest that the persons behind such recent crackdowns are very likely the same persons that stand in direct opposition to the good work that both yourself and Ernst have been doing. If there is going to be an increase in net-censorship laws, we all know who is going to lose out; the people who have been brave enough to tell the truth in times of world-wide opposition . . ."
So far the reportage from the countries selected at random. From everywhere,
similar sentiment is being expressed.
A widely used advertising slogan has it that "Before you can be healthy,
you must know what makes you sick." Let that be your "Thought
for the Day"!
Ingrid