WELL what do you know! Three years in jail for Prof. David Irving. One part of us wishes they would construct a little cell for him at Auschwitz. Been there, and know just where it should be placed. Just opposite the one (there were four) remaining crematorium where dead Jews were consumed at the rate of one every four minutes, dragged in 15 yards from the gas chamber. The remains were, for a while, dropped into the handy river a kilometer away, until the sheer bulk of human cinders brought complaints that touched the heart of the Gestapo, who found other means of disposal.
The other part of us has to say: What is going on-contemporaneous with the general indignation, in the educated set, over the publication of those cartoons in Denmark? Muhammad departed this earth 1,400 years ago but concern for his image extended to protests around the globe at mere caricatures in a small newspaper. One defender of the faith has offered a million dollar reward for anyone who kills one of the cartoonists. Not many people have applauded their publication-why do something that offends the faithful of another religion? But there has certainly been unanimity in Europe on what is thought the transcendent point, namely the right of several cartoonists, an editor, and a publisher to decide for themselves what taboos to observe, which to ignore.
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