Trees, humans, dogs: Lake Geneva Switzerland 19 November 2008

Quick quiz, not too tough: are there more tree trunks or human legs or dog paws here?

And while you’re reflecting on it, check out the GenevaLunch photo albums, including the newest, Lake Geneva collection.

As with most GenevaLunch photos, you can view it larger by clicking on the image.

Zimmer told GenevaLunch that “comedy is hard work,” and no, he’s not yet too worried that people will  expect Jerry Senfield when they meet him.

“I consider myself a funny person but I’m not sure I’m the funniest person in Europe,” he says of the title the Toastmasters gave him. Speeches had to be under 7.5 minutes and were judged on several criteria including speech development and value, physical movements, vocal variety and audience response.

The winner and his 13-year-old daughter Kristen, who accompanied him as his coach, spent two months researching and rehearsing before the big night. When the awards were handed out, the winner was invited to step up to the stage with his hard-working coach. “On the train back to Geneva afterwards, I asked Kristen if she could remember what I had said. It did not surprise me one bit that she could repeat the whole speech verbatim. When we got home, she delivered it again to her mother over supper,” says Zimmer.

Zimmer is a member of the Geneva Toastmasters Club and he is also an active member of the Geneva Writers Group.

Ed. note: International Geneva Toastmasters is one of more than 8,600 Toastmasters clubs worldwide affiliated with Toastmasters International, which promotes excellence in all areas of public speaking. Meetings are held at the International School of Geneva (Nations Campus in Geneva) every first and third Wednesday of the month.

Swiss National Bank, 2008

Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Household wealth, measured in terms of assets, grew more slowly in 2007 than in 2006, Swiss National Bank figures released this week show. Net financial assets per capita amounted to roughly
CHF171,000.

The total amount for Swiss households was CH1.3 billion, up CHF24b, but in 2006 they rose CHF106b. The difference was due to a slight loss of capital, a CHF9 billion drop in 2007, with households affected by falling prices of domestic shares and Swiss franc bonds. The 2007 weakening of the US dollar against the Swiss franc also hurt them.

Households sold more shares than they bought in 2007 and  made contributions to pension schemes through their jobs. As a result “insurance technical reserves” recorded the steepest rise among households’ assets, growing by CHF20b to CHF813b.

About 90% of Swiss households’ financial liabilities took the form of mortgages, which in 2007 rose by CHF17b to CHF565b. Other types of loans rose by CHF1b to
CHF48b.

Total Swiss household net liabilities rose by CHF19b to CHF620b.

Diplomats say that the talks are progressing well, although the thorny issue of status has been set aside for now, and the eight individuals participating in the session did not wear any country identification.

US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried saying that “It was agreed by all parties that the security situation is not satisfactory. There were some areas of common ground that were developed including the need to facilitate [displaced persons] returns.  There was a good and productive discussion about a mechanism for settlement of disputes and management and containment of incidents.  There was a discussion of increasing the international community’s capabilities of monitoring.”

Talks in Geneva are expected to continue in the period before the next formal session, with agreement reached to hold it 17-18 December. The European Union and the United Nations are acting as mediators, along with the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe).

Related story, BBC

The request was made during the second day of Ki-Moon’s official visit to Geneva. The money will be used  in “the struggle with long-running conflicts, natural disasters, the effects of climate change, and high food prices,” says UN Under-Secretary General, John Holmes, who notes that this money equates to only a few cents for every 100 dollars of income in rich nations.

The Humanitarian Appeal comprises 12 consolidated appeals for the Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and region, Kenya, the occupied Palestinian territory, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, the West African region, and Zimbabwe.

The young man managed to escape the vehicle he was taken in, which had been driven several kilometres in the area. Shortly afterwards police stopped it and arrested two men and a woman, one Swedish and the other two Swiss. They are now behind bars and police are trying to see what, if any connection, the three had with the young man, who was not injured.