I didn't know about the German~USA biz before WWII

[Galmin]

Hitler invented the VW just as much as Roosevelt invented the atomic bomb.

[MIKE BURN]

Quote:

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Gypsies to sue IBM on '@#%$ link'



Tuesday, June 22, 2004 Posted: 1136 GMT (1936 HKT)



GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) -- A Swiss court has cleared the way for Gypsy campaigners to sue IBM over allegations that the computer company's expertise helped the @#%$ commit mass murder more efficiently, the plaintiffs' lawyer said Tuesday.



The Geneva appeals court threw out an earlier decision by a lower tribunal which last year said it lacked jurisdiction, said the Gypsies' lawyer, Henri-Philippe Sambuc.



The Gypsies filed the lawsuit in Geneva because IBM's wartime European headquarters was in the city. They claim the office was the information technology multinational's hub for trade with the @#%$.



"IBM's complicity through material or intellectual assistance to the criminal acts of the @#%$ during World War II via its Geneva office cannot be ruled out," said the appeals court ruling. It cited "a significant body of evidence indicating that the Geneva office could have been aware that it was assisting these acts."



In June 2003, the lower court said IBM only had an "antenna" in the Swiss city, but the Geneva official archives contain documents showing that in 1936 IBM opened an office under the name "International Business Machines Corporation New York, European Headquarters."



No immediate reaction to the ruling was available from IBM's Geneva lawyers, who have previously referred requests for comment to the company's U.S. headquarters. The news of the ruling came before business hours at the IBM's New York base.



The company has said its German subsidiary, Deutsche Hollerith Maschinen GmbH -- or Dehomag -- was taken over by the @#%$ before World War II, and it had no control over operations there or how IBM machines were used by the @#%$.



Sambuc maintains that the company's Geneva office continued to coordinate Europe-wide trade with the @#%$, acting on clear instructions from world headquarters in New York.



The group represented by Sambuc -- Gypsy International Recognition and Compensation Action -- sued IBM for "moral reparation" and US$20,000 each in damages on behalf of four Gypsies from Germany and France and one Polish-born Swedish Gypsy. All five plaintiffs were orphaned in the Holocaust.



The campaigners began planning the lawsuit after U.S. author Edwin Black claimed in a book published in February 2001 that IBM punch-card machines enabled the @#%$ to make their killing operations more efficient.





@#%$ dictator Adolf Hitler meets IBM founder

Thomas J. Watson in 1937.





Black said the punch-card machines were used to codify information about people sent to concentration camps. The number 12 represented a Gypsy inmate, while Jews were recorded with the number 8. The code D4 meant a prisoner had been killed.



The @#%$ are believed to have killed around 600,000 Gypsies along with 6 million Jews. Although Gypsy groups say the number of Gypsies killed could have been as high as 1.5 million.



"It does not appear inconsistent to conclude that the respondent (IBM) facilitated the task of the @#%$ in their committing of crimes against humanity -- acts which were counted and codified by IBM machines," said the court ruling.



IBM's German division has paid into Germany's government-industry initiative to compensate people forced to work for the @#%$ during the war.



In April 2001, a class action lawsuit against IBM in New York was dropped after lawyers said they feared it would slow down payments from the German Holocaust fund. German companies had sought freedom from legal actions before committing to the fund.



The Geneva case is the first Holocaust-related action against IBM in Europe, said Sambuc. A city court will likely hear the lawsuit in the fall, unless IBM lodges an appeal at the Federal Tribunal, Switzerland's supreme court.

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[Seismic Anamoly]

"Let Us show you how to do it faster and better".....



The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh??



Money IS the root of ALL Evil.

[DreamTone7]

Not trying to be a wiseacre, but it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. I think the Swiss just might have more of it headed their way than most.



Let's not forget that the picture of the man that Hitler was has been brought to light only long after his death. In 1937, he was just another dictator...he had not yet committed most of the atrocities that he is now well known for. Interesting how time has a way of shedding light on the truth.

[Seismic Anamoly]

Quote:

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...the love of money that is the root of all evil.

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You're right on....no doubt.



And everyone.........EVERYONE.........has their price.



Bob Dylan nailed it in "Gotta Serve Somebody":



"You may be an ambassador to England or France,

You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,

You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,

You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls



But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You're gonna have to serve somebody,

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody.



You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage,

You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage,

You may be a business man or some high degree thief,

They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief



But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You're gonna have to serve somebody,

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody.



You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk,

You may be the head of some big TV network,

You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame,

You may be living in another country under another name



But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You're gonna have to serve somebody,

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody.



You may be a construction worker working on a home,

You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome,

You might own guns and you might even own tanks,

You might be somebody's landlord, you might even own banks



But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You're gonna have to serve somebody,

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody.



You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride,

You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side,

You may be workin' in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair,

You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir



But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You're gonna have to serve somebody,

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody.



Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk,

Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk,

You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread,

You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed



But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You're gonna have to serve somebody,

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody.



You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy,

You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy,

You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray,

You may call me anything but no matter what you say



You're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You're gonna have to serve somebody.

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody."



One of my favorites.