In this article, Jeff slams the Federal Council and proposes some fun exercises for Brockers…
Gentle readers beware.
I could not help but be upset at these smiling buffoons preparing their jolly good summer while we’re mucking about with all of this FATBARDT stuff that they’ve acquiesced to.
Look at our wonderful Federal Counselors, and sing it Brockers “They don’t really care about us…”
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Update 14 August 2015 https://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/6997814-une-demission-d-eveline-widmer-schlumpf-n-est-plus-un-tabou-au-pbd.html
Le président du PBD Martin Landolt estime qu’Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf pourrait ne pas être candidate à sa propre succession si ses chances de réélection sont trop faibles… le président du PBD ajoute que même si Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf réussissait mathématiquement à se maintenir au Conseil fédéral, il faudrait se demander s’il serait bien raisonnable de s’accrocher au pouvoir…
Martin Landolt a certainement la volonté de créer un électrochoc pour mobiliser les troupes et rappeler que lors des élections fédérales il y aura bel et bien un enjeu, celui de décider de l’orientation politique du pays.
Cet électrochoc est une arme à double tranchant. Il vise à mobiliser l’électorat du centre, qui comprend qu’il devra se déplacer aux urnes s’il entend sauver Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. Mais il est également rassembleur pour tous ceux qui rêvent de voir l’UDC reconquérir le second siège perdu en 2007 avec l’éviction de Christoph Blocher.
Well, my message during this federal election season is: let Widmer-Schlumpf take a permanent vacation. Write to your incumbents and candidates for Parliament: tell them not to reelect this traitor to the Constitution. I don’t care who replaces her, except it must be someone who will defend the true sovereignty and autonomy of Switzerland and the Swiss People.
Update 4 July 2015: As I implied in my 2 July comment to this same thread, please don’t take this as a post bashing only the Federal Council, but as a criticism of every government who didn’t say no. I am equally upset at a lot of governments, especially ones in our region of the world whose countries I frequented in the past. And I am disappointed in Canada, because I thought they would stand fast.
My criticism of the Federal Council applies to every government that accepted an IGA and did not protect its bone fide residents and citizens. Protection of fundamental rights for minorities even in a majority-rule democratic system is part and parcel of modern democracy. These leaders shirked their responsibility, and that goes for all of the countries. And it goes for the entire government. For example, even if it was Widmer-Schlumpf who was in charge of the negotiations, it was up to the entire Council to ensure that what she did would not violate constitutional rights. We can sing “They don’t really care about us” referring to all the other governments as well. We’re too risky to stand up for, so they think, but if many of them had, it would have held.
Locarno, l’Oberland ou l’Argovie, les conseillers fédéraux resteront majoritairement en Suisse durant l’été, selon un tour d’horizon de l’ats. Des voyages de travail à l’étranger sont également prévus.
Locarno, Berner Oberland, Argovia, the Federal Conselors shall stay in Switzerland for the most part this summer… Some business trips abroad are also planned.
Simonetta Sommaruga effectuera des randonnées en montagne et ira en Espagne et Pologne pour des visites de travail. Le 1er août, elle parlera au Grütli (UR).
Simonetta Sommaruga will go hiking in the mountains and will go to Spain and Poland for business trips. She will speak at Grütli for National Day.
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf célébrera la Fête nationale à Titterten (BL) et s’octroiera quelques jours de repos en Suisse.
[Schlumpfette… this writer’s personal favorite] will celebrate National Day at Titterten, Basel Land.
Alain Berset passera ses vacances en Suisse et en France. Pour la fête nationale, il sera à Lindau (ZH) et Sierre (VS), puis se rendra à l’Expo universelle de Milan et au Festival de Locarno.
Alain Berset will spend his vacation in Switzerland and France. For National Day, he will be at Lindau (Zürich) and Sierre (Canton of Wallis), then will make his way to the Milan Exposition and Locano Festival [film?].
Doris Leuthard effectuera une visite de travail à Singapour et en Corée et prendra quelques jours de repos en Suisse. Le 1er août, elle sera à Ottenbach (ZH) et Bad Zurzach (AG).
Doris Leuthard will undertake a business trip to Singapore and Korea and spend a few days relaxing in Switzerland. On Natinal Day, she will be at Ottenbach (Zürich) and Bad Zurzach (Argovia).
Ueli Maurer ne s’est pas exprimé sur ses vacances. Pour la Fête nationale, il sera à Grosswangen (LU) et Nottwil (LU).
Ueli Maurer hasn’t said anything about his holidays. For National Day, he will be at Grosswangen and Nottwil (Luzern).
Johann Schneider-Ammann ira à Allschwil (BL) le 31 juillet et à Milan le lendemain. Il passera quelques jours dans l’Oberland bernois.
Johann Schneider-Ammann goes to Allschwil (Basel Land) on 31 July and to Milan the next morning. He will spend a few days in Berner Oberland.
Didier Burkhalter, pas fixé sur ses vacances, sera à Sumiswald (BE) et Zurich le 1er août.
Didier Burkhalter, undecided about his vacation, will be at Sumiswald (Bern) and Zürich on National Day.
Please, any of you that can make it to their public appearances, do go and boo these weak “potentates” who lack discernment and the guts to protect the rights of those living in their nation.
Ask me this: Who do you think the real FATCAts are in the story of the oppression against us?
I think that another possible reason behind which Parliament and the Federal Council bent over to blackmail and accepted an unconstitutional IGA treasonous to the rights and interests of the Sovereign People has to do with the massive investment in the US.
Please see (French) : Apple, Exxon, l’industrie d’armement, la BNS investit des milliards aux USA
Translation of the title and subtitle:
Apple, Exxon, arms industry, the BNS invests billions in the USA… The Swiss National Bank holds a portfolio of American stocks worth almost 38 billion Dollars.
In the footnote block second from the bottom of the article entitled “Des investissements dans les armes”, the article says that the BNS assures us that it abstains from purchasing stocks of companies who produce weapons prohibited by the international community. I would hope so.
The last footnote block says that the strong franc boosts the investments, first paragraph thereof:
The strong growth of the investments between last quarter 2014 and the first quarter of 2015 corresponds to the appreciation of the franc following the abandonment of the floor exchange-rate”
[BNS had blocked the EUR = 1.2 CHF until beginning of the year by massively purchasing EUR currency, and after the end of this intervention, the rate fell to parity]
What? If the franc increased in foreign exchange value wouldn’t the value of US investments go down? What do they mean?
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Would all Brockers (Authors, commentators, lurkers, who live in CH or know enough about Switzerland to form an opinion –whether you are Swiss or not–) please vote:
Who is your least favorite Federal Conselor?
…
Parliamentary Elections are to be held this Fall , and the Federal Council will need to be reelected by Parliament thereafter:
https://www.ch.ch/en/elections2015/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Federal_Council_election
Personally, I would vote for ZERO INCUMBENTS. Throw them all out!!! Anybody like to propose some exceptions to that rule and why??? Please comment to this article.
We need to start lobbying our neighbors in the lead-up to this election. It is still possible To Stand For Election to the National Council, the delay for the deposit of signatures is in August in some Cantons. The parties have probably all already decided who is on their lists, and it is unlikely that an independent would be elected.
And to the smiling Federal Counselors: all we need to enable a safe harbor rule while we’re waiting for our lawsuits to get moving is for you to issue an edict “Emergency law” blocking application for bone fide residents.
A la “Spitting Images” – british TV with puppets. Classic!
I also expected the Swiss to defend their bona fide residents but it seems even their citizens who were working temporarily in the US had their accounts closed even when they had mortgages to pay. It seems that the economy relys so heavily on US markets that the banks can dictate the policy to the politicians.
I mourn for the country I thought I knew. The one whose humanitarian internment program took my British Grandfather from a WW1 German prison camp and nursed him back to health in a Swiss Sanitorium (by my Swiss Grandma.)
A country who also did the same for the German and French pow’s. I guess the financial gorilla is more of a threat than the one with a gun.
@Heidi
I mourn for the WORLD I once knew!!!
@Jefferson Thomas and @Heidi, “I also expected the Swiss to defend their bona fide residents”
Along these lines I go slightly off the IBS reservation………
I also expected the Canadian Government to defend Canadian Residents who were bona fide residents in Canada. (Note, substitute country name as needed.)
To be honest, I can “understand” if the USG demands and an applicable government does throw USC under the bus who are residents in _________ . I do NOT like that idea but it is at least understandable.
What is not understandable is a Nation not protecting its own Nationals from a FOREIGN POWER!!!
Ginny and Gwen are perfect plaintiffs in this regard as 1. I would love for a domestic Court to flat out state Foreign Nationality Law has no standing in Canada. The IGA that allows the US to define nationality in Canada is ultra vires.
But 2. It is far easier to explain to a Homelander how assinine the situation is that their Govt thinks it can tax individuals in Canada who are Canadian Citizens that have earned money in Canada and have no trappings of US Citizenship.
I think we muddle the water and take a step too far when we go beyond protecting citizens and try to protect US Citizens who are resident. But I do believe they will gain in the end if we can win the battle protecting citizens.
@George
Sometimes I wonder if the fear of 30%withholding etc was enough to get them all to fold. For Switzerland – yes. But what about Germany and France? China? I think perhaps the fact that everybody is trying to prop up America and the dollar might be more of a reason.
@ George
How is it understandable?
We have some close British/American friends who work in the US but own a small ski apt in Switzerland. They have always declared their swiss post office account to the us and have been completely compliant. They showed the bank their fbars but the account was still closed. They had no way to psy their utility bills, they could not sell the apt even if they wanted to as in Swit all proceeds from a property sale have to be placed first in a Swiss bank. They were lucky to find someone who would pay their bills for them. They are furious, they felt like non persons in swit. They retire this year and had intended living in the US but spending time in Europe but their plans have changed. They are moving back to Europe and will renounce, stating “We will not become prisoners of the USA”
That is effectively what US citizens will become if their residents are not allowed bank accounts outside the US. They are successful people and now the US will lose them as taxable citizens. I wonder how many other prisoners will break out?!
I cannot help but see the double standard as the US encourages foreigners to buy Florida real estate and permits those foreigners to have US bank accounts.
Despite all that I have said about my disgust for the Federal Council, if they would only listen and apply the Constitution, they could get into the IBS Hall of Fame. We have always been rather generous when people start getting our drift !