That's because it doesn't have any friends and allies, or enemies for that matter. All Switzerland has are CUSTOMERS.
No the Swiss were the only SURVIVING part of the NAZI Regime. The Swiss Bankers survived and lived to finance other Dictators another day. Switzerland helped Hilter and Saddam, the gold from teeth of the six million still resides in Swiss Vaults.
well let's see which 20th century rapists, mass murderers and thieves there were: - rapists: "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his son "Baby Doc" of Haiti. Sure, the European, especially Switzerland, made sure that that country did not develop into a democratic nation. Or was that not someone closer like the US? - mass murderer: well, the bad guy whom the US is now trying to corner is one of their own, the president of a country which itself is the side-effect of British war diplomacy. - stealing money: if I am not mistaken, President Marcos of the Philippines was one very close friend of the US. His zillions are sitting somewhere he has hidden it with the help of his American friends Actually Saddam qualifies for all three counts. Well done, USA!
Well, yes they (Swiss) actually do: http://www.canada.com/national/story.asp?id={E5434CD0-BCE8-4B36-BDB1-22E89F331DAE}
Bush fiddles with economy while Baghdad burns Could a faltering dollar and global rebellion against its values presage the decline, and eventual fall, of the American empire, asks Mark Tran Wednesday March 26, 2003 The war in Iraq is not going as smoothly as the Bush administration would like and the conflict is looking less and less like a walkover by the day. Yet there can be little doubt that the US, backed by Britain, its loyal junior ally, will eventually prevail. The conflict will bring the US little glory, pitting the world's most powerful military machine against a dilapidated army, but when American and British troops enter Baghdad, the US will surely cement its status as a hyperpower. But does the US colossus have feet of clay? It takes a brave soul to argue that America, the world's largest economy and by far its most potent military power, is about to go into decline, when it is widely perceived as a hyperpower. But Independent Strategy, a financial research company for institutional investors, has made the case in a paper that is making the rounds of big investment banks such as Goldman Sachs. Independent Strategy believes that the US shows many symptoms of an empire that is cresting. First, it sees deepening mistrust of the US and predicts a rise in terrorism in reaction to US unilateralism. That is certainly the case with the Bush administration, which has made a habit of tearing up international treaties from Kyoto to the anti-ballistic missile treaty. Iraq is the culmination of the Bush administration's unilateralist streak, as the White House plunges into an unpopular war in disregard of the UN security council. Second, Independent Strategy sees trouble ahead for US economic policy. It notes that Mr Bush has boosted discretionary government spending more than at any time since the Vietnam war. Inheriting big budgetary surpluses from the Clinton administration, the Bush White House is heading for record deficits. True, budget deficits were probably unavoidable as a 10-year economic expansion ran out of steam. But Mr Bush is not helping matters with a $726bn (£462bn) tax cut that, even though reduced by the senate to $350bn, benefits mostly the rich and a war that will add at least $74bn to the books, and probably considerably more. Third, what was known as the Washington consensus - free market economics and deregulation - has broken down. As Bob McKee, chief economist with Independent Strategy, notes, a populist reaction has taken hold in Latin America, while in Asia, Malaysia has gone its own way economically. Moreover, South Korea and Taiwan never really bought into supply side reform. "Empires work best when they project power through the successful export of a social model or ideology," argues Independent Strategy. "The rot started when the US failed to project its economic ideology and social model globally. Japan and Europe have long rejected both, at least implicitly, as inimical to their culture and alien to their social contract." Independent Strategy sees the weakening dollar as the fourth strand in the decline of empire. "The dollar will go on down because the good empire has the same faultlines as many other empires: unsustainable living standards at the core depend on flows of wealth from the periphery," says Independent Strategy in terms that would not be out of a place in a Marxist textbook. "The US no longer earns the return needed to sustain these flows. The costs of war and unilateralism will increase the thirst for capital, but reduce the return earned by it." In plain English, America relies on the rest of the world to finance its deficits. The rest of the world was happy to do so when the US economy was strong and returns were high, but investors will put their cash elsewhere if America looks weak economically. America borrows hundreds of millions of dollars from the rest of the world each day to cover its savings gap and, under George Bush, US dependence on foreign capital is set to increase. The decline of empire thesis is not exactly new. Paul Kennedy, the British historian, wrote the best-selling The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers back in 1988, where he coined the phrase "imperial overstretch". It was a great read, but then the US embarked on a record-breaking expansion that lasted 10 years and saw Wall Street shoot up to over 11,000 points. But that great economic expansion turned out not to be so great after all, culminating in a wave of financial misreporting and outright fraud at Enron and WorldCom. The twilight of empires can last a long time, but judging from his reckless unilateralism and his economic vandalism, George Bush seems to be determined to do his level best to hasten that decline.
Some Europeans Boycotting American Goods Monday March 31, 2003 10:00 PM FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Some European restaurants are halting sales of Coca-Cola, Marlboro cigarettes and other U.S. brands in boycotts spurred by anti-war sentiment. In the northern port city of Hamburg, 10 owners of French restaurants decided last week to strike spirits, tobacco and other goods with U.S. brand names from their menus. Jean-Yves Mabileau from L'Auberge Francaise said he was happy to take part in the action, partly out of retaliation against the boycott of French products in the United States and partly to protest the war. He threatened to take things a step further if the war did not end soon. ``If the Americans won't calm down, I'll start refusing to accept American Express and other U.S. credit cards,'' said Mabileau, adding he didn't think the move would hurt business. The movement is not confined to Germany. Several Web sites call for Europeans to stop consuming leading U.S. products and other countries have seen similar calls to reject of American goods. Greek filmmakers, including award-winning director Theo Angelopoulos, have called for a boycott of U.S. movies to protest the war in Iraq. In the southeastern French city of Bayonne, the staff of a bar run by anti-militarists dumped their Coca-Cola stocks into the sewers. The head of a leading German-American trade association warned that such efforts to punish the United States could backfire, hurting the local economy far more than U.S. multinationals. ``The Coca-Cola drunk in Germany is manufactured in Germany with German employees and they only hurt themselves,'' said Fred Irwin, head of the Frankfurt-based American Chamber of Commerce. The sentiment was echoed by Ricarda Ruecker, a spokeswoman for McDonald's Germany, who said the company has seen no decline in its sales. She added that the company has worked hard to put across the message that it was German. ``The name doesn't really tell you anything,'' Ruecker said. ``A boycott in Germany would only damage the economy here.'' Stefan Bielmeier, an economist and trade specialist at Deutsche Bank, said such boycotts wouldn't have much impact: ``I expect no visible effects here.'' Recent polls have shown that more than 80 percent of Germans are against the war in Iraq and fully stand behind Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's tough stance against President Bush's war in Iraq. While many of the actions are aimed at galvanizing larger boycotts of U.S. companies, others, like a doctor in the northern German town of Rendsburg, are making more personal anti-war statements. A sign on the door to 61-year-old Eberhard Hoffmann's dermatology practice warns anyone from countries belonging to the U.S.-led alliance against seeking treatment from him. ``I forbid Americans and Britons, as well as anyone else who supports the war to enter my practice,'' he said. ``The war in Iraq is a crime.'' Hoffmann acknowledged he has no U.S. or British patients and said the action was largely symbolic.
I think they are right to have fired him. After all, he is not even a native American, and that is bad enough. And here is a question to Optional777: doesn't the name Arnett sound French? No wonder the Brits welcomed him "with open arms and open legs". Strange though, that he couldn't find a job in France. Hmmm, what could be the reason? My guess is they have enough reporters themselves in France to tell their readers what is really going on in Iraq and they do not need one who only satisfied the bloodthirst of those "small-town America" Super Vixen assholes who enjoyed his closing words "This is Peter Arnett live from Bagdad" in 1991, while the cruise missiles were only just missing the kindergartens there.
MSFE, ROFL, those Krauts are great. I like that doctor who doesn't even have American patients to look after. But seriously: boycotts never achieved anything. I remember when there were calls to boycott South African goods to bring down the apartheid regime. Well-intentioned but useless. What brought them down was not the boycott of some do-gooders in the US but Nelson and his boys and girls. Likewise those pinbrains in the US who now call for a boycott of French or German goods will not get anything out of that: they will still drink Mouton Rothschild and Loewenbraeu, and if they would really stop it, the same products would quickly reappear under a new name. Only the smelly cheese: aren't they ever so glad that now they have an excuse not to eat it? What a waste it would be to feed them that stuff: pearls before swine