It might seem odd to put solar panels on the side of walls in a region with mountains, but that’s exactly what’s happening in Switzerland. One of the cantons in the country is looking to be powered by at least 40% renewables by 2035 (which is quite achievable); with terrain
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The Disaffected Lib: Well, We Know How They Feel About Trump
Donald Trump has nations a bit on edge, even America’s friends. Take the Swedes for example. Sweden is a country with Cold War memories. During those dark years when the Soviet Union vied with the United States, Sweden constructed 65,000 nuclear bomb shelters. That’s a lot. Today, of course, the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: It’s time for a national postal bank in both Canada and the United States
PHOTOS: The little Post Office in downtown St. Albert, where your blogger lives, which Canada Post is anxious to close as soon as possible. Below: The U.S. Post Office in Fallon, Montana, the Canadian Post Office in Dewberry, Alberta (villageofdewberry…
Continue readingThings Are Good: Will Iceland be the “Switzerland of Data”?
Iceland is the de facto home of Wikileaks and is also a country concerned with privacy issues. The country is now considering leveraging their experience and reputation of being digital-data friendly to the next level. Presently, the country is considering branding itself as the “Switzerland of Data.” If Iceland does
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Cancelled: Alison Redford’s expensive Afghanistan photo-op
TweetAlbertans discovered this week that Premier Alison Redford cancelled a secretly planned trip to war-torn Afghanistan after suicide bomber blew herself up in a Kabul restaurant , killing twenty-one people, including two Canadians. Ms. Redford was leading a trade mission through India last week and had secretly planned to stop
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Josh Eidelson and John Schmitt take a look at the guaranteed annual income which will be voted on in Switzerland – and the sole barrier to a similar discussion in the U.S. (and likely in Canada): What is a universal basic income, and
Continue readingParchment in the Fire: Rather than savage cuts, Switzerland considers “Star Trek” economics – Salon.com
Rather than savage cuts, Switzerland considers “Star Trek” economics – Salon.com. By gathering over 100,000 signatures – which they delivered last Friday along with 8 million 5-cent coins representing the country’s population – activists have secured a vote by Switzerland’s parliament on an audacious proposal: providing a basic monthly income
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Swiss Inmates Going to Pot
Swiss prisons have a marijuana problem and Swiss prison guards like it that way. A recent study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy estimates that 50 to 80 percent of inmates in Swiss prisons use marijuana. Prison staff told researchers they found marijuana to be a relatively safe drug
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: What Paulo Coelho and other global leaders tweeted about at World Economic Forum in Davos
by Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive, Jan. 31, 2013: Let’s agree in one point: we can have anything, but we CAN’T have everything #wef — Paulo Coelho (@paulocoelho) January 25, 2013 The tweet by Paulo Coelho, the world-renowned Brazilian author of The Alchemist, was one of the most popular of world leaders’ reflections during last week’s World
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: America the Not-So-Beautiful: God Shat His Grace On Thee
Close your eyes, and conjure up a mental image of the stereotype of the Ugly American. Loud. Large. Willfully ignorant of customs and countries that lie beyond the border of the US -of- A. Rabidly proselytizing the gospel of liberty, freedom and patriotism bestowed unto their nation via God and
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Referendums: The Perils and the Possibilities
Direct democracy is to representative democracy what extra-virgin olive oil is to refined olive oil. The latter is more cost effective and, perhaps according to some, just as good. But to the connoisseur, there is no substitute for the real stuff. In the fourth article of his ongoing series on
Continue readingmark a rayner | scribblings, squibs & sundry monkey joys: Byron’s Epic Swims: Leaving England
Though most famous for his poetry, war heroics, and womanizing, Lord Byron’s greatest achievements all took place in the water. He was born with a deformity in his right foot, or as it was so sensitively known in the 18th … Continue reading →
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Switzerland: Swiss Franc -ly Under Attack
Separate reports this week in the Swiss newspaper Neue Zuericher Zeitung (NZZ) are highlighting the difficult choices Switzerland, and by extension other nations, are facing in the continued onslaught of effective currency devaluation by US and Eurozone officials. The Greenback and the Euro have fallen significantly against the Franc and
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