This is the same country that stayed ‘neutral’ during the most significant war but in reality sided with the Nazis.
So I’ll take their privacy checks and balances with a pinch of salt.
Unless you’re using hand written post it notes and sticking them on the fridge. Assume whatever you email is going to be read or capable of being read.
Who is “We”?
If I look at most nations historically, I see genocide, invasions/war, colonialism, racism and all kinds of really bad behavior, even now. So, nobody is “clean”, really.
I do assume that, even in our beautiful EU.
My worries are mainly about rogue states switching off digital services. But of course I do trust EU services more than foreign services, as the system still works here, mostly.
It’s not perfect, but it’s at least rule based and not too erratic.
“We” started initially with my girlfriend and me … but now it’s friends, family, neighbors, colleagues and complete strangers (there is a developing movement here).
It’s a serious thing, growing, and - looking at the news - very important!
Look at AI companies (sans Anthropic) … they are happily working on projects for domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. This more than an ethical issue, as it has serious implications on how societies will function in the future, especially when (international) law means nothing anymore.
These companies - and others involved - don’t deserve our support. They deserve resistance!
True but ‘neutrality’ is the worst option.
For or against the Nazis?
Can we be indifferent to genocide?
No Switzerland you can’t. Pick a lane.
Of course, you need to be against the Nazis.
But some countries discovered that truth in ‘39 or ‘40, others very late in ‘41.
So: it might be complicated, in hindsight.
It’s like all those chaps that fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, and quite a few Asian and South American countries, killing lots of innocent people (that were “collateral damage” or fighting for their country or faith, ie “terrorists”???). I know quite a few of them, on both sides, so it’s a dilemma for me.
We might consider those guys heroes, but many locals say they were just genocidal murderers. And they were not wrong, from their perspective.
A notable exception would be Yugoslavia and Rwanda, as part of the UN. Though in Rwanda it was due to one person (Roméo Dallaire).
Switzerland stayed neutral - in most wars fought since WW2. This might have been the best option. So, I don’t judge them…
The Swiss acted as bankers for the Nazis. If you don’t know this or maybe weren’t taught it in school I understand. But there’s a lot of good information out there.
Start here.
Like I said. Pick a lane.
Hahaha!
First of all, we have a very good education here and second of all war/conflicts is kind of a hobby for me. I would consider myself well informed…
But: I think this is not a discussion for this thread. You can PN me anytime … I’m always eager to discuss stuff like that.
I might even have some good books for you to read…
Cool
In case you didn’t read the article, I’ll précis it for you.
Prior to WW2 the Swiss took cash, gold, valuables etc from Jews worried about the future.
Most of those Jews were killed in camps and after the war when the relatives came to claim the money the Swiss banks refused. Claiming they needed a proper death certificate!
Please don’t hold up the Swiss and Neutrality as some bastion / beacon of moral high ground.
Now back to IT dorky stuff. Carry on.
Dude, thanks for the book recommendation, goes on the list after I finish the one I’m on now!
This is actually a fair dig and yes, in fact some of the titans of our industries - in particular Henry Ford and Thomas Watson - were big fans of the Nazis up until more or less the last minute.
The next time you see a Fanta soda - Coke developed that to sell to the German market during the war.
However, we were also involved in the pacific theater slightly earlier, specifically in China, with stuff like the Flying Tigers. Might still have been 1941 though.
History is complicated!
I started digging into our own (Dutch) history long after school. In school we learned about the all the fantastic things we have done in the past 2000 years, and even the colonization seemed somehow ok. Mind you, I went to a NATO school and many of my friends were from the ex-colonies, so that was kind of cynical.
But due to a little conflict with the (now) King (Willem Alexander), I became really interested in Dutch history in addition to my general interest in wars and conflicts, as part of my family fought against the Nazis and the other part for the Nazis (well, they detested the Nazis too, but they fought for their country. Still sh#t, of course).
That was mind boggling to me, especially because both parts became friendly with each other after the war.
Getting into details will lead to a political discussion, but I can say that Holland s#cked in many respects. I was proud to be Dutch, but that got lost in the process.
So, before I point my fingers at the Swiss (which I find boring, and usually I make all jokes about them I can), I would look at my own national history.
We might find out that the Swiss s#ck less on the level of starting wars and killing lots of people (abroad or while taking their land to settle yourself), genocide, slavery, colonization, racism, lack of democracy, etc - even now.
Whoever reads this: just look closely at your own country, whatever that is. And while doing that: what does the historical guilt and responsibility really look like and how does your country see itself now? Are they proud to be XXX? Is dark history ignored or is it part of your culture, you know, to learn from the past and improve. Not start wars (it’s 2026!), not kill innocents, not be racist, be as democratic as can be, have a system that protects the weak of your society (like your God would want you to)?
And then back to the Swiss: I assume that their historical responsibility for innocent deaths in other countries is much less than many countries that are represented here.
Of course I agree, that they were absolutely wrong for what they did. But it puts things in perspective, at least for me. And I hate “defending” the Swiss, really!
Also: Charles Lindbergh
yup. Edison would have been too had he lived long enough
Don’t like Edison anyway, as he has stolen the invention of light bulbs from the Dutch 
Ok, I hope that @barney doesn’t mind - away from the evil of the world, back to dorky IT stuff
I have tested Thunderbird (Email Client) for some time now, and it’s ok, but I find it boring. It’s Switzerland as an app!
So, I tested a few email clients and found EM Client.
So far it’s very cool.
The UI looks modern and importing all data from my old accounts (even the f#cking AOL account) was a breeze. It just imported EVERYTHING from outlook (including PSTs), no hassle (it also takes care of login). Thunderbird migration also works and I’m sure others will work too. IMAP/Exchange is no problem anyway…
That was the easiest migration ever.
Of course it’s made in the best “country” of the world: Europe
So … GDPR galore!
Also, you can migrate all your email account easily from the desktop app to your mobile phone. Scan a QR code from the desktop app into your phone, and all accounts are being setup automatically. GREAT!
It’s only free for up to two accounts, otherwise you need to pay. You can test full functionality for 30 days though…
As I don’t want to sell my body at the local red light district (again), I’m using the old “set my VPN to Turkey” trick. It makes software and services almost always cheaper.
For non IT guys reading this - some hammer porn!
You’re welcome
Ok, if somebody has a lot of old PST/OST files with loads of duplicates (like me, having over 70 PSTs/OSTs), this is a great software to merge everything into one PST, and removing duplicates in the process.
It also opens password protected PSTs automatically, solving a lot of headache!
In some countries, it’s cheaper. Set you VPN to USA to get the best price.
Does it always work for you when you set the VPN to another country? Ages ago I was able to pay cheaper for something by using VPN this way, but nowadays, when we get to the payment, it often recognises that this ‘credit card is from this country’, or ‘this PayPal account holder is from this country’, and Finland’s VAT is higher than other countries, so in the end I have to pay the full VAT.
Yes!
I use VPN Unlimited since many years and it never failed me. It’s an Ukrainian service, so I would not use it to VPN to Russia
If a site requests an address, I use the address of a random hotel in Los Angeles, as California taxes are low or none.
Otherwise I try Ukraine, India or Turkey to get the best price.
I have to try that. Many webstores do recognise the country of origin of credit cards. I think. Next time I’ll try and see what happens.
I use Paypal (and set “my” address in the vendor site, if possible), my US Amazon account or my Lithuanian Revolut prepaid credit card.
One of those always works.
