The Logic Off Topic list

Thoughts from the mind of GAmoore@..., 9/24/01:

>Lets just drop the argument.

Fine.

>I respect Hendrik as someone with
>intelligence and conscience, even I don't agree.

Now _that's_ making sense.

>Maybe  you will turn out to be right, and the US will overreact, but 
>lets just wait to see before assuming it to be true.

I didn't say the US will overreact.  I only warned for possible 
overreactions, esp. after hearing Bush talk.  But even sounding a 
word of warning apparently is enough nowadays to "set the house on 
fire".

>Europe could help, according Bush's speech this morning, by making it
>easier to seize terroist's money.

If the terrorists have money in Europe, then they'll surely have it 
in Swiss bank-accounts, and not in e.g. Holland or Germany. 
Switzerland is not part of the EU (as far as I know), and they keep 
very much to themselves.  I don't think they will change their laws 
(something quite fundamental) to accomodate Bush's request, and the 
EU will not have sufficient influence to convince them otherwise, I 
suspect.

Apart from that...  I can see the logic behind Bush's idea, but 
wonder how realistic it is.  First of all, he implicitly requests a 
_lot_ of countries to change their laws.  I don't know how viable or 
reasonable that is in itself.  And: such a change of laws would mean 
that governments have easy access to privacy-sensitive information -- 
a very hot item this last decennium, with technology progressing, 
large databases being set up, and the general feeling among the 
public that "big brother slowly starts watching you".

So I would really be amazed if the money-seizing-tactic would 
actually have a deep effect.  But who knows...?


cheers,
HJ
-- 
     Hendrik Jan Veenstra
     email: mailto:h@...
     www:   http://www.ision.nl/users/h/index.html