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To: Maurice Winn who wrote (55068)	10/29/2004 1:19:33 AM
From: Elroy Jetson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Everyone in Switzerland can spot at a distance whether a military rifle is loaded or not. Part of the copper shell is visible in a slot on the top or side of the barrel of the gun. Everyone has exactly the same gun, so they're all familiar with it. You should see two empty black slots. Basically, people in Switzerland expect to see guns carried only by uniformed military people and only on Friday and Saturday evenings. You can't hide these rifles under clothes, and very few people are officers permitted/required to own hand guns. In the rare instances where there is a problem with a gun, (say a person who is drunk or psychotic) the other members of their unit (usually your neighbors) are alerted/ordered by a commander (usually a policeman) who slip on their military jackets and bring their guns to help the police contain the problem. You don't see people in Switzerland being robbed with guns. That just doesn't happen. Belgium is very much like Switzerland in many ways. Though Belgians seem to have some "extra special need" to make sure everyone in their extended community does everything the "right way", the "customary way". Many Belgians annoy other Europeans by driving their car in the fast lane - at the speed which is the maximum in Belgium, regardless of the fact they're driving in Germany or France. The first time I ran into this, I asked a Dutch friend, "who is required to have silver and black number plates that drive so slow in the fast lane?" She laughed so hard she could barely speak. She said, "Oh don't you you know, the Belgians are insane." .

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (55068)	10/29/2004 2:02:11 AM
From: Elroy Jetson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

I might add that you do frequently see Swiss police stopping uniformed people with guns, asking to see their orders. Which for Americans look something like a computer generated "Jury Summons" with a red border. A lot of the people going to their weekend training center carry the orders in their jacket breast pocket with part of the form showing. I think very few outsiders realize how armed Switzerland is. It looks like New Zealand, except that every tenth farm shed is actually an armored gun emplacement designed to look like it's built out of wood rather than steel and concrete. Their air bases are built into the mountains. Only a runway which extends from the blast-proof doors out into the forest hints at what can't be seen. Every home or apartment building is required to have a bomb shelter with serious 1.5 ton steel doors. It's a unique place with odd cultural contrasts that are unlike any other nation. .