Tim May wrote:

I try to deconstruct events, to determine what the real issues are.

Take the case of the ongoing flap over Switzerland and claims that Swiss banks hid gold, jewels, and other forms of money for high-ranking Nazis. Adding to the flap--actually, making it a newsworthy event--is the allegation, probably true, that some of the gold was taken from Jews and others sent to extermination camps.

When I caught this on the news I immediately shifted my attention to viewing the announcement from the perspective of the people involved not really giving a rat's ass about the Jews. What was left of the announcement once the banner of "mom's apple pie and freedom and justice for all" was removed was a shallow justification of a mugging technique I call "extortion by guilt."

the notion that "Switzerland must do something!" is pernicious and inimical to banking secrecy and basic privacy issues. A drumbeat is building which will serve to undermine banking secrecy around the world.

I suspect the U.S. pressure on Swiss banks has a political dimension related to forcing a New World Order on international banking. The clamor to break banking secrecy and "force" the banks to disclose all records is part of a larger political game.

It's a muscle job designed to weaken the mark for the next level of extortion. Today the Swiss are guilty of collusion in the holocaust and tomorrow they will be guilty of collusion with drug dealers and pornographers. Only next time the Swiss will fold their hand behind closed doors in order to save themselves the global embarassment that has so sleazily been heaped on them. {Somewhere deep in the bowels of D.C. there is someone working late into the night in an attempt to link the holocaust to cryptography. Headline: DEATH CAMP TATTOOS PROVEN TO BE EARLY FORM OF 128 BIT ENCRYPTION } What I find frightening is a sudden rise of obvious power plays by government without bothering any longer with the formality of engaging in a lengthy campaign to create a threat to the citizens in the minds of the public. It's no wonder that the list conspiracy theorists have been quiet as of late. Once the power mongers are kicking in your door, then it's rather late to wonder if they are tapping your phone as well. How long can it be before the government no longer feels the need to inform us about the details of who they are saving us from, and why? I am worried about falling asleep tonight. I fear that I will go to sleep in my bed and wake up in a prison cell, with a jackbooted guard informing me, "It's OK. You're safe now." (.)(.)