This is why the European laws against Holocaust denial are completely counter-productive. They just provide a media spotlight (and therefore a voice) to these sinister charlatans—and worse, allow them to legitimately accuse the establishment of silencing them. Every turn in David Irving's legal fortunes has provided another opportunity for him to play the victim and spew his filth into extended microphones. From The Australian, Dec. 21, emphasis added (superfluously, we hope):

This Dec. 22 account from the Russian daily Kommersant reveals another recent win for Moscow in its bid to rebuild influence in the "near abroad" of Central Asia, and beat the American and European competition to the punch in securing strategic control of its hydrocarbon resources. This ups the ante on the US to exploit that passing of Turkmenistan's wacky despot Saparmurat "Turkmenbashi" Niyazov to effect another pro-West "revolution" in the region. We will be watching Turkmenistan closely in the weeks to come:

Iraq's government is drafting a new hydrocarbons law that will chart the course for the country's oil sector and determine how its revenues will be apportioned. The law would put much of Iraqi oil into the hands of foreign companies, allowing "production sharing agreements" (PSAs) between the Iraqi state and the multinationals. OPEC estimates Iraq has some 115 billion barrels of reserves, and only a small fraction of its oil fields are in use. Writes Joshua Gallu for Der Spiegel: "By signing oil deals with Iraq, oil companies could account for those reserves in their books without setting foot in the country—that alone is enough to boost the company's stock. And, by negotiating deals while Iraq is unstable, companies could lock in a risk premium that may be much lower five or ten years from now."

The quaint traditions of Saddam's Iaq survive in the US-created new order. From Los Angeles Times, Dec. 15:

NAJAF — The audience knew what to expect when Iraqi commandos took the stage at the stadium here Wednesday with frogs and a rabbit in hand, preparing to celebrate with a bloody flourish the transfer of local authority from U.S. to Iraqi troops.

But the Americans were in for a surprise.

Nine years after the Dec. 22, 1997 massacre of 45 unarmed Maya Indians at the Chiapas highland hamlet of Acteal, Chiapas, the confessed intellectual author of the attack, Antonio Vazquez Secum, remains free and was never called to testify in the still-open judicial investigation. He is among six who confessed to being the athors of the crime, but whose confessions were rejected by the Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR). Amid mounting charges of irregularities in the case, Ricardo Raphael, leader of an association of Mexican jurors, is calling for the intervention of the Supreme Court of the Nation. (El Universal, Dec. 21) More than 60 have been sentenced in connection with the massacre, but deny their involvement. 38 remain at Chiapas' harsh Cerro Hueco prison. (El Universal, Dec. 18)

Subcommander Marcos of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) is back on the rebels' home turf of southern Chiapas state after a months-long tour of Mexico, known as the "Other Campaign" in reference to this year's presidential campaigns. Marcos arrived in the highland city of San Cristobal de Las Casas Dec. 19, with patrols of the Federal Preventative Police escorting his caravan. Before returning to the Lacandon Selva, the EZLN's jungle stronghold, Marcos toured Zapatista support bases in the highlands, such as Oventic. The rebel group is preparing to mark the 13th anniversary of the New Years 1994 uprising with an international gathering entitled the "First Encounter of the Zapatista Pueblos with the People of the World." (APRO, Dec. 19; La Jornada, Dec. 20)

Even as the Mexican federal government is starting to release some of the hundreds detained during the Oaxaca protests, new harassment and repression is reported from the conflicted state. On Dec. 18, Florentino Lopez Marti'nez, spokesman of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO), and two other members of the organization were seized by local police as they left a meeting in Oaxaca City. They were released after several hours, apparently following intervention by the Federal Preventative Police who remain in the city. They reported that they were beaten in custody. (La Jornada, Dec. 19) Meanwhile, APPO director Flavio Sosa, who remains at the top-security Altiplano federal prison at La Palma, Mexico state, was formally charged with "sedition," "criminal association" and "property damage" on Dec. 19. (La Jornada, Dec. 20)

Salvatore Mancuso, top chieftan of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) began testimony Dec. 19 before a special tribunal about the paramilitary newtwork's role in massacres and assassinations. Under a peace deal with the government, the AUC leaders will serve limited prison sentences and receive protection from extradition to the US on drug charges. Some 30,000 fighters have officially laid down arms. (VOA, Dec. 19)