Free Republic

Swiss voters rejected a measure on Sunday that would have capped executive pay to no more than 12 times that of the company's lowest paid worker. As NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reported, the ballot initiative was driven by the youth wing of the Social Democratic Party, which said that CEO pay has been increasing at an alarming rate. Twenty-five years ago, David Roth, head of the party's youth wing, told Eleanor, Swiss CEOs made six times more than the average worker. Today they earn 40 times as much. The Swiss, however, voted against the measure in large numbers — 65.3 percent...

Two-thirds of Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a referendum to cap executive pay at 12 times the wage of a firm's lowest earner ... Switzerland, which has long boasted a business-friendly climate coupled with one of the highest average salaries in the world, has largely avoided the economic crisis dogging the European Union, of which it is a staunch non-member. The referendum campaign was spearheaded by the Socialist Party, plus the Greens and trade unions.

Switzerland will vote on Sunday on whether to limit the salaries of top executives so they don't earn more in a month than the lowest paid workers earn in a year, a move that could mean big pay cuts for business leaders earning millions. The so-called 1:12 initiative for Fair Pay, the latest attempt to narrow a growing wage gap in one of the world's wealthiest nations, was brought about by the youth wing of the Social Democrats (JUSO), who gathered the 100,000 signatures needed to force a nationwide vote. Despite its high standard of living, Switzerland is a generally...

The green eyed monster, envy, is inflaming people all around the world, even in usually sensible, pro-business, rich Switzerland. The Swiss, great believers in direct democracy, are going to the polls this week to vote on a referendum that would limit executive pay to a multiple of 12 times the pay of the lowest-salaried worker in an enterprise. Neil Maclucas of the Wall Street Journal writes: On Nov. 24, voters will be asked to approve or reject the 1:12 Initiative for Fair Pay, which organizers say would address a growing wealth gap in Switzerland. The initiative is premised on the...

People constantly ask me what it would take for me to abandon my stance that "hyperinflation is not going to happen in the US". My answer has always been "free money" (not credit), on a big enough scale. Note that QE causes huge economic distortions but it is not "free money". Free Money Proposal In Switzerland, enough signatures have been gathered to put a "free money" proposal on the ballot. To collect, all you have to do is breathe. Rich and poor alike would get the money. New York Times economic-writer Annie Lowrie discusses the idea in Switzerland’s Proposal to...

<p>This item just in via an “activity” report from the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, headlined “Soul Legend Relinquishes U.S. Citizenship.”</p> <p>“Long-time Swiss resident Tina Turner” was in the embassy Oct. 24 to sign her “Statement of Voluntary Relinquishment of U.S. Citizenship under Section 349 (a)(1) of the INA” — the Immigration and Naturalization Act.</p>

<p>This item just in via an “activity report” from the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, headlined “Soul Legend Relinquishes U.S. Citizenship.”</p> <p>“Long-time Swiss resident Tina Turner” was in the embassy Oct. 24 to sign her “Statement of Voluntary Relinquishment of U.S. Citizenship under Section 349 (a)(1) of the INA” — the Immigration and Naturalization Act.</p>

A treasure trove of artworks worth almost £1billion seized by the Nazis and reportedly destroyed in RAF bombing raids during WW2 has been found behind rotting food in shabby apartment in Munich. Experts have hailed the discovery of the 1,500 pictures, thought to have been lost or bombed, as a sensational find. The story of the lost masterpieces of such painters as Pablo Picasso, Renoir, Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall is revealed in this week's edition of Germany's Focus magazine which broke the story of the incredible find by customs officials. Art historians examining the collection claim up to 300...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - Two Decades of “Negotiations” and “Talks” with IranPosted By Majid Rafizadeh On October 18, 2013 @ 12:10 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 3 Comments The two-day nuclear talks between Iran and the West, which are the first formal negotiations since the election of Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, resumed this week in Geneva. The talks in Geneva, which were held on Tuesday and Wednesday, involved representatives of Iran (primarily  Including  Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi) and the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, plus Germany –...

White House 'considering unfreezing Iranian funds' Barack Obama is considering ways to keep up the diplomatic momentum with Iran. By Raf Sanchez, Washington 6:52PM BST 18 Oct 2013 The White House is reportedly considering a plan to unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets if Tehran is prepared to show it is taking credible steps to dismantle its nuclear programme. The plan would not scale back the international sanctions regime designed to strangle Iran's oil industry but would allow for money to be returned to ease the sanctions' economic damage. A senior White House official briefed the New York Times...

UN hides naked male sculpture to please Iranians A relief carving of a naked man at the UN's Geneva headquarters was covered up on Monday, apparently to spare the blushes of Iranian diplomats ahead of fresh talks on the country's nuclear drive. UN officials would not comment on why the wall relief, inspired by Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam", had been masked by a large white screen, referring questions to the Swiss authorities. But Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve claimed that the aim was to avoid offending the Islamic republic's delegation for the talks taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Iranian...

More than 100,000 residents in Switzerland have signed a petition demanding that the government ensure a minimum monthly income of nearly $2,800 (2,500 Swiss francs) for all adults in the country. The 120,000 signatures are enough to formally call a vote in the government over whether or not to approve the “CHF 2,500 monthly for everyone" (Grundeinkommen)” funding proposal. Funding for the proposed measure would come out of the Swiss social insurance system, which already guarantees universal health care coverage for its citizens, along with other benefits designed to uphold the country’s social safety net.

Switzerland will hold a vote on whether to introduce a basic income for all adults, in a further sign of growing public activism over pay inequality since the financial crisis. A grassroots committee is calling for all adults in Switzerland to receive an unconditional income of 2,500 Swiss francs — about $2,800 — per month from the state, with the aim of providing a financial safety net for the population. Organizers submitted more than the 100,000 signatures needed to call a referendum on Friday and tipped a truckload of 8 million five-cent coins outside the parliament building in Bern, one...

Operation “Duplex-Barbara” went as far as imagining a three-pronged invasion from points near Neufchâtel, Lausanne and Geneva, according to a map published in the Swiss newspaper. Behind the dastardly raid was a paramilitary organisation dubbed BLD, the Dijon Free Brigade bent on grabbing back “money that Switzerland had stolen from Saônia”. “For its credibility, the Swiss army must work (to ward against) threats of the 21st century,” Antoine Vielliard, Hauate-Savoie councillor, told Matin Dimanche. This is by no means the first imaginary scenario dreamed up by the Swiss army. Last year, it carried out an exercise based on the premise...

United States residents have an extra reason to smile according to a recent report released by Columbia University's Earth Institute. According to their findings, northern Europe received the highest satisfaction and happiness ranking in life, while Egypt and a few others hit the lowest since the Eurozone crisis via background information from the 2013 World Happiness Report released Monday. When looking at a survey of over 156 countries, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden were ranked as the happiest places, and regions in Sub-Saharan Africa were noted as being the least likely places for overall life satisfaction, according to...

As of Tuesday, the Earth's ecological budget for the year has maxed out. For the rest of the year the planet will operate on an ecological deficit. And it's only August. So claims the Global Footprint Network, which calls today "Earth Overshoot Day," its annual estimate of when human consumption exceeds the planet's ability to regenerate its resources for the year. "It's a bit of a gimmick, I admit," said the group's president Mathis Wankernagel,in a phone interview from Switzerland. "It's not that tomorrow I won't be able to eat potatoes anymore." But, he said, it's meant to make a...

They look like shelters for hikers in a national park, but these wooden sheds in Switzerland have a rather less innocent purpose – they provide a discreet location for men to have sex with prostitutes. The drive-in "sex boxes" as they are being called, will be officially opened on August 26, as part of a drive by authorities in Zurich to regulate prostitution, combat pimping and improve security for sex workers. The nine garage-style structures, located in a former industrial zone in the west of the city, have been organised with typically Swiss precision. Drivers will have to follow a...

They look like shelters for hikers in a national park, but these wooden sheds in Switzerland have a rather less innocent purpose—they provide a discreet location for men to have sex with prostitutes. The drive-in “sex boxes”, as they are being called, will be officially opened on August 26, as part of a drive by authorities in Zürich to regulate prostitution, combat pimping and improve security for sex workers. … The site is only open to drivers of cars—pedestrians and men on motorbikes are not allowed—and will operate from early evening until 5 a.m. each day. …

SNIPPET: "Mullah Krekar, the Norway-based Islamic extremist, is under investigation by German police for seeking to establish a Europe-wide terror network, Sweden's Expo magazine has reported.   The Germans have asked Sweden to interrogate a 28-year-old man from Västerås, who was in contact with Krekar in 2010.    "The German police have requested that we interrogate him, and they want it done in a court of law," Prosecutor Ronnie Jakobsson told the magazine.    Although the man is not suspected of any crime, German police believe that he has information about an Islamist terror network they suspect Krekar and another...

The poor hostess told a very different story. Winfrey was browsing through some purses, and when she inquired about one particular model, the hostess suggested another, almost identical model, saying that while the other one would cost around 35k euros, the alternative one would cost much less and it's practically the same object, same model and material. Standard polite and helpful salesman behavior.