Word: switzerland
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...plan does not go as far as other direct democracy systems in Switzerland or California, where citizens can pass regulations via ballot initiatives or referenda. But in some ways, it will likely be easier for E.U. residents to propose new laws. One million signatures sounds daunting, but that's just 0.2% of the E.U.'s total population. By contrast, Swiss initiatives require signatures from about 2% of the population to trigger a national vote. And in an age when musicians from Coldplay to Lily Allen have millions of followers on Twitter and Facebook, collecting 1 million names could...
...talk of stirring democracy, critics say the experience of such schemes in places like California and Switzerland shows that some initiatives fail to generate reasoned debate and open participation. Jean-Thomas Leseuer, head of the Thomas More Institute, a Paris-based think tank, says citizens' initiatives amount to mere democratic window dressing. "It is not with old tools that we will build Europe," he says. "This proposal is too heavy and complicated to impose on Europe before anything like a European consciousness exists. I bet that there will be very few initiatives." (See pictures of Paris expanding...
...learn history I go and read a history book. In fact, I read several books. In short, if Hanks wants to make movies about different periods of the past, great. They are good fun to watch. But to call them history lessons is, frankly, too much. Chris Wilkins, ZUG, SWITZERLAND...
...lifting of sanctions, Gaddafi's ban on things such as English signage remains. Even the street signs to Tripoli's international airport are in Arabic only. "In our cooperation with the U.S. and Europe, we are not serious enough, we send confusing messages," Saif says. (See "Gaddafi vs. Switzerland: The Leader's Son on What's Behind the Feud...
...Saif, nothing illustrates the divide with the West more starkly than Libya's bizarre feud with Switzerland. It began when Gaddafi's son (and Saif's half brother) Hannibal and his wife were arrested in July 2008 in Geneva for allegedly assaulting their servants. Charges were dropped, but in the tit-for-tat battle that has run ever since, a Swiss businessman has been jailed in Tripoli, Libya has pulled billions from Swiss banks, and Switzerland has barred Gaddafi and other top Libyans from entering its country. In January, Libya blocked access to YouTube and several websites run by Libyan...