Germany's Kampf Furor Renews Country Watch: Germany12/1/2000; 12:05:15 PM 'News this week that a Munich state prosecutor was investigating allegations that Yahoo Deutschland had sold copies of Mein Kampf could help build momentum in Germany for more sweeping restrictions on such material....'The German case differs in that it concerns a German company doing business via the Internet in Germany, as opposed to an American company doing business internationally via the Internet....'But contrary to some press accounts, Mein Kampf is not illegal per se in Germany -- what's illegal is the sort of unrestricted sales that can take place via the Internet....'As a German Justice Ministry spokesman explained at the time: "If you go to a bookshop, the bookseller can have a look at you and decide if you are really interested, like if you are a student. It's not the book that's forbidden, it's selling it to everyone. If you sell it through the Internet, you don't know who wants to buy the book; you give it to everybody, and that's forbidden."'I think I like the idea of flatly banning the book better. Still, I wanted to 'blog this because it's an interesting issue in places like Germany where intent can matter. (I'd submit that a person in a store can't truly do a heck of a lot better then a website, but it at least makes people feel better, right?)