THE VEST-POCKET PRINCIPALITY OF LIECHTENSTEIN HAS WHAT MAY PERHAPS BE THE STRICTEST LAWS ON BANKING SECRECY ... laws which turn out to be rather appealing to the likes of "the Four Hundred" needing "to protect [their] wealth from undue and onerous taxation" and others weird and unwholesome needing to avoid detection by the Long Arm of the Law--terrorists and swindlers in particular.

Such laws, in fact, putting Liechtenstein right there with Andorra and Monaco on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) blacklist of soverign states deemed Uncooperative Tax Havens.

And which are being tested by tax authorities in ten countries--Germany, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden and the Czech Republic--after an employee of the Liechtensteiner "brassplate" bank LGT Treuhand turned over CD-ROM's containing sensitive information on 1,400 accountholders seeing in Liechtenstein a cheap and cheerful place to protect their fortunes from tax collectors to German authorities in exchange for €5 million.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, the British tax agency, confirmed that it had received similar information, but would not disclose how much was paid.

Which the Principality (and its ruler, Crown Prince Alois--who, it turns out, owns LGT in part) contends is "blood money" and is asking German authorities to stop the investigation on the grounds that such is an illegal intrusion of privacy cherished by the Principality (never mind where German tax authorities have located 163 customers on the list and collected some €27 million in past-due taxes therefrom--an average of €165,644.17/customer, by my calculations), let alone its "antient and pecuilar" soverignty.

Let's just hope where some of the American names on the "little list" turn out to include major GOP supporters from the ranks of "the Four Hundred," especially where pre-1929 Crash "old money" comes into the equation.

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IT SEEMS RATHER IRONIC THAT SOME OF THE MORE BLATANT SPECIMENS OF RACISM, WHITE SUPREMACY AND ANTI-SEMITISM would turn out to be supporting the Palestinian side of the Israeli issue, based on the rather illogical argument that "the enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine."

Notwithstanding where Palestinians would technically be considered by such unlikely supporters to be "inferior peoples" practicing a "heathen" religion (Islam) for the most part.

And all the more likely to support a Palestinian National Fund modelled on the Jewish National Fund, responsible for the economic and infrastructural development of Israel even before the State of Israel came about in 1948--until it turns out that the Palestinian National Fund was channelling donations towards terrorist movements rather than developing the Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank through projects of infrastructural development.

Speaking of Palestinian infrastructure, the Israeli blockade of Gaza has prevented shipments of chlorine, fluoride and water-treatment chemicals from reaching the water-treatment centres there in the interim, prompting a Boil Order being issued for drinking water supplies until further notice.

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IN RESPONSE TO THE MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE'S VETO OVERRIDE OF TRANSPORTATION-FUNDING LEGISLATION AS RELIES ON FUEL EXCISE INCREASES, Governor Pawlenty went into paranoia mode warning about "a major taxpayers' protest" ensuing as a result.

How do we know it won't be Governor Pawlenty "himself" leading the "spontaneous and wholehearted popular protest," thereby raising questions of possible abuse of power--not to mention further raising the likelihood of his being mentally incapable?

Besides:

How many of you Minnesota readers to this blog would be the sort to protest what may be essential and necessary (if painful) tax increases to maintain roads, bridges and transportation infrastructure generally, even if the Governor were to invoke the majesty and authority of his office in so leading? (Leave your comments in the relevant section.)