Several weeks ago, I travelled to Basel with my wife and 14-year-old son to see an old family friend, Buddy Elias, now 88 and the last living relative of Anne Frank. The first cousin of Anne, Buddy had emigrated to Switzerland in 1931 with his family from Frankfurt, two years prior to the Nazi takeover. […]
The United Nations: more consultants, fewer rights
Cash loans online easy approval. GENEVA The United Nations both here in Geneva and worldwide is relying increasingly on consultants with short-term contracts to do its work, seriously hampering the organization’s overall professionalism. Consultants, many who have come to Switzerland with their families from other countries, or may be on mission elsewhere in the world, […]
Wikipedia to hold Swiss fundraiser throughout December
Every time you access Wikipedia from a computer in Switzerland during the month of December you can expect to see a banner asking you to help fund projects in Switzerland. The online fundraising campaign aims to raise $50 million worldwide primarily from individual readers. Last year, Swiss donors gave an average of CHF 43. Wikipedia […]
Destroy mode!
“Nothing,” said my younger daughter when I walked past her last week, and my blood froze in my veins. As any parent knows, a child’s protest of innocence usually means that they have done something naughty. And if that protest comes before they’ve even been accused of anything, then they’ve done something really naughty. Luckily […]
Impressions from Kiev: Russia and Ukraine fighting an identity war
Membership in the European Union is sometimes referred to as a “géométrie variable,” member countries have different obligations; the United Kingdom is a full member but retains its own currency, the Pound and not the Euro. On a recent visit to Kiev, I was impressed by how my comments on the need for international cooperation […]
Manor in Chavannes reopens
After spending CHF 15 million on the refit of one of its key stores, Manor Chavannes reopens on 20 November. The main renovations and changes include the modernisation of and upgrade of all the departments “to reflect latest concepts”; a significant enlargement of the shop’s already pretty impressive food hall (as well as the enlargement […]
Swiss don’t speak English very well according to new study
How well do the Swiss speak English? Not as well as most of their counterparts in other European countries according to a study released Wednesday by EF Education First. The 4th edition of the EF English Proficiency Index ranked the English skills of 750,000 non-native speakers around the world. Switzerland placed 18th out of 63 […]
Vitamins. Are they always a good thing?
To understand why we need vitamins, it is better to figure out what vitamins really are. Vitamins are small molecules that our body requires to perform certain biochemical reactions in our cells. The human body has no way to produce vitamin molecules itself, so the vitamins must come from the food that we eat. Inside […]
Champagne, art gallery and fantasising
Last week I spent a happy hour or so strolling around the Montreux Art Gallery, fantasising about what it would be like to a) have enough money to buy whatever I liked and b) have a big enough house to hang it all in. On my second lap of the place, and a few complimentary […]
Swiss want yodelling on UNESCO heritage list
Argentina has Tango, Portugal has Fado, China has the Beijing Opera, and Austria has Viennese coffeehouse tradition recognized by UNESCO on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Switzerland announced last month that it wants the international body to give yodelling protective status as well. Yodelling started as a way of communicating from mountain to mountain, eventually […]