Free Republic

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has fractured a bone in her pelvis in a cross-country skiing accident in Switzerland, her spokesman says. She will have to remain lying down as much as possible in the next three weeks and several visits will be cancelled, Steffen Seibert said. She also suffered heavy bruising in the accident, in the alpine Engadine region of eastern Switzerland. Ms Merkel was not skiing fast at the time, the spokesman added. He called the injury "severe bruising linked with a partial fracture on the left, rear part of the pelvis". Immediately after the accident, during the Christmas......

January 6, 2014 Group Run by al Qaeda Terrorist Invited to Brief Dems on Drone Policy Alana Goodman The representative of a human rights group headed by a designated al Qaeda terrorist was denied a visa by the State Department after being invited by congressional Democrats to discuss drone strikes.Mohammad Al Ahmady, the Yemen director for Geneva-based NGO Al Karama, was expected to brief Reps. Alan Grayson (D., Fla.), Barbara Lee (D., Calif.), and Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.) the morning of the Nov. 19, according to press release from Grayson’s office.Ahmady, who also serves as a top official in an...

MURRIETA (CBSLA.com) — It’s the time of the year when Christmas decorations adorn houses for blocks in communities throughout the Southland. But one entry in the Annual Holiday Home Decorating Contest in Murrieta that features a mythical creature from European folklore has sparked complaints from residents. The house in the 37000 block of Floral Creek Circle features a large handcrafted Krampus, who is sometimes referred to as “evil Santa” or the “Christmas devil” and dates back to pre-Christian Germanic traditions. With a doll on its back and a broomstick in its hand, the clawed black creature is perched on the...

My gifts are "ALIVE" in you though some have forgotten, They have not died with the Apostles For My Fruit can not rotten, "My Spirit is Eternal " and Desires to renew ( ( ) ) ~ ( ( ) ), The Day of Pentecost to "ARISE IN YOU" \!/ So raise up your hands \o/ and begin to receive ! You Shall do greater things if you just believe , I AM "HAS" sent you so will you stand up and go ?! For I AM your Talent so let my freedom within you Flow ~ ~ ~ I...

A local deputy from Switzerland’s populist Geneva Citizens’ Movement (MCG) was excluded from the regional party on Friday for supporting Israel’s destruction, AFP reports. Denis Menoud wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday that following Iran’s historic nuclear deal with the West, “the key thing is that Israel is on the path to being incinerated.” … Menoud, who later deleted the post from the page, told the Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève his remarks had been taken out of context. “The point was the agreement with Iran… Israel is the loser, strategically and politically, from this plan. Anything else is a...

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...