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Some odds and ends from the news…

“Right-wing British historian David Irving was sentenced to three years in prison Monday after admitting to an Austrian court that he denied the Holocaust; a crime in the country where Hitler was born.”

Try as I might, I don’t understand a law that punishes people for simple idiocy. So he denied that Holocaust occurred? And I can’t find the crime in that. Some people believe that the world is flat. Some believe that the lunar landing was a hoax. Are those crimes as well? And does this mean that I’m a criminal as well, because I can’t see the crime?

If he truly believed that the Holocaust didn’t happen, the greatest punishment would have been to ignore him. All that the Austrians have done has given his odd reasoning some sort of validation…

And this one…

“Administration Critics Chafe at State Dept Shuffle
A State Department reorganization of analysts involved in preventing the spread of deadly weapons has spawned internal turmoil, with more than half a dozen career employees alleging in interviews that political appointees sought to punish long-term employees whose views they considered suspect.”

Heavens! We certainly don’t want suspect views. We want everyone to think the same thoughts at all times. In Austria, they put people in prison for an odd thought.

Another…

Lockheed Martin Corp., the biggest U.S. defense contractor, on Tuesday downplayed the potential effect of Washington's political influence on India's planned purchase of 126 new fighter jets… Lockheed believes its multi-role F-16 Fighting Falcon would "offer a tremendous capability to the Indian Air Force,"

126 fighter jets for India. This is the same India that will not sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty. The same India that is in a constant state of tension with its neighbor, Pakistan. Pakistan won’t sign that treaty either and buys fighter jets from us. Why do we sell these weapons to them? I could have sworn that we were supposed to be spreading peace and democracy in the Middle East? Or is this something from Orwell’s book, 1984…remember “New speak”? War is peace.