I know what they mean, about children keeping you young: every day, I’m sounding more and more like a toddler. ‘My shoes,’ I find myself saying, firmly, pointing to the object in question. ‘My bed. My phone. Mine!’ It started innocuously enough: one bored afternoon the older child nicked a pair of my shoes to […]
Archives for 2015
Tax and the Swiss National Bank in 2014
To the joy of taxpayers, every year the Swiss National Bank (SNB) pays dividends to the cantons as well as the Confederation. At least this is what happened for every year from 1907 until 2012. In 2013 the SNB made a loss of CHF 9 billion and was in no position to pay. Payments were […]
Former Swiss president Didier Burkhalter wins a second vote
Last weekend the former Swiss president was elected Swiss of the year in an RTS Two Swiss television broadcast on Saturday. According to RTS he received 46% of the public votes made by the public by telephone and SMS. Last year’s winner was the Swiss tennis star Stan Wawrinka.
PEGIDA expands to Switzerland in the wake of Charlie Hebdo attack
The German PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) movement is using the outrage following the Charlie Hebdo attacks to further its cause. It was founded in October 2014 in Dresden, Germany and its Facebook page now has over 140,000 likes. It is difficult to ascertain the group’s objectives. The German news service […]
The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo hits the streets
Today, one week after the appalling attack on Charlie Hebdo’s office in Paris the weekly satirical magazine published its regular weekly edition. According to the Swiss newspaper the NZZ it will be translated into 16 languages (including Arabic) and be available in Switzerland in German on Friday. The French version is expected to arrive tonight […]
Solar Impulse 2: going to sleep at the wheel
A few years back, two pilots, Bertrand Piccard, the famed Swiss balloonist and André Borschberg, a businessman and former Swiss Air Force pilot, presented the world with the first ultra long distance solar aircraft: Solar Impulse 1. Following the record breaking 26-hour non-stop trip of Solar Impulse 1 in 2010, the Swiss pair and […]
Let us laugh together, on principle
The tragic events in Paris tug at our hearts and pose questions to our heads. Our deepest sympathies go to the families and friends of the victims. While we mourn the deaths of the cartoonists and police and are revolted by people being gunned down in premeditated murder, we are led to reflect on what […]
Stepping over the line
In 1979, I happened to run across Georges Bernier, the creator of the bitingly satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo. The motto was “Bête et Méchant,” which translates roughly as “stupid and nasty.” It had started in 1969 as Hara Kiri, but had only lasted a year before it was closed on orders from Charles de Gaulle, […]
Gamay, Abbaye de Mont, Mont-sur-Rolle 2013
Gamay Vieilles Vignes, Abbaye de Mont, Mont-sur-Rolle 2013, Ville de Lausanne Vieilles vignes means old vines, well, how old? You may ask. In this case between twenty to thirty years. Vines can continue to produce winemaking grapes for about 200 years. The older the vine, the better the wine. But the older the vines, the smaller […]
Nous sommes Charlie
Editorial comment The New Year started quietly. Then barbarity struck the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris. While the slaughter was concentrated in Paris the resonance was global. The world rapidly came together in condemnation of this cowardly and atrocious act. Le News joins the world in condemning this barbarous act and offers its condolences to […]
