Crowds formed long lines outside the UN building in Geneva to hear Gorbachev

The world missed a great opportunity to dismantle nuclear arsenals and rid the world of this danger when the Soviet Union collapsed, Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, told a Geneva audience Monday 5 October.  “We let slip a major opportunity. Too many thought it was a victory of the West in the Cold War. This was a distortion of things”, he said.

Some in the US misinterpreted the events surrounding the disintegration of the USSR as a victory for the West and especially for its one remaining superpower, he said, rather than as an opportunity to think boldly about doing away with the Cold War mentality and institutions such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato). “We looked beyond the horizon” in Reykjavik , he said, referring to his 1986 meetings with then US President Ronald Reagan that resulted in serious cuts in both countries’ nuclear weaponry.

Resetting the nuclear disarmament agenda

Both Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the United Nations, and Gorbachev made strong cases for giving new impetus to the task of removing nuclear weapons from the world, addressing an audience of diplomats, UN employees and the general public at the third of a series of lectures on nuclear disarmament at the UN’s European headquarters in Geneva.

Ban called on the world’s nations to find the political will essential to create a nuclear-free world, and cited last September’s UN Security Council meeting of heads of state which called for just such a ban, “a world without nuclear weapons”. Ban was optimistic, and pointed out that there is unprecedented agreement by the nuclear powers on issues such as Iran and North Korea, and that the US had promised to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, CTBT.

Gorbachev’s pessimism

The keynote speaker at the event, Gorbachev cited a number of reasons why things were not going so well: despite the efforts of the last years, there is a real risk of a renewed arms race (in the Middle East and in East Asia) and of the weaponization of space. He said that the weakening of the verification process over the past few years contributes to the increased risks. Short and intermediate nuclear-armed missiles increase the dangers of an accident, or that these may fall into terrorist hands. He said it was an illusion to believe that deterrence was anything but an invitation to disaster.

The clarity of Gorbachev’s main message was unfortunately a little obscured by its delivery. He may have star drawing power in the West, but he is irrelevant in his own country now. Yet a quarter of a century ago he was very important in making the world safer when he and Ronald Reagan sat down together to reduce each country’s nuclear arsenals.

Gorbachev quoted Reagan: “Trust, but verify” as the basis for their understanding, which reduced tensions between the two countries and in the world at large.

Suzy

Last night was by far the best of the week. Arriving early we went off to La Ruche where I wanted to watch my friend in a circus show. Ecole Atelier Shanju is a circus/horse riding/theatre school based in Ecublens, and they put on a fantastic spectacle at 4pm yesterday in the circus part of the Paleo. Juggling whilst standing on horses, drumming, balancing off hoops and acting, they pulled off an impressive show in the late afternoon heat.

We then went for a wander “to Brazil” where we finally came across the Amazonian Indian tribe selling jewelery and fried insects; I opted for a ring rather than a bug. We passed by the Plage for under 18 year olds and bought incredibly cheap soft drinks.

The next concert that we caught was the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève in the Chapiteau. We lay on the floor beside the tent, eating fajitas, noodles, empanadas and feijoada, and listening to the beautiful classical music. I have to say that I prefered the classical concert on the main stage last year, with more room to relax on the hill.

After catching some of Yael Naim‘s funky version of Britney Spear’s “Toxic” in the Chapiteau, we went to buy some beer and noodles before the fireworks. As usual, it was a great experience to stand in a muddy field with thousands of people watching the sky and listening to the tunes of the week blasting out through speakers.

At midnight, Lotta and I found a miracle at the Paleo. Fleeing from R.E.M. as I am not the biggest fan, we waited for the Gypsy Sound System at the Detour stage. Dj Olga and Dj Schnapps pulled off an hour and half of “electro-gypsy , ragga-klezmer, balkanic-fire, oriental-triphop, indian-drum-and-bass, spanish-rumba, popular-drunk-songs”. We danced, jumped, removed our boots, watched the dancers onstage, wondered how the rest of the Paleo could be missing such a concert and had an incredible time burning off the beer calories we had gained from the week.

We then went down to the FC Gingins bar were I made some new friends from England, did a few silly things to commemorate the end of Paleo, such as run up the side of the Bacardi tent and surf down, and get thrown into the fountain at the entrance. Sometimes, these kind of things just have to happen…

Carolyn

So the last night of Paleo has been and gone. Endeavouring to make the most of it, we headed up early on the little train so as not to miss out on anything. Venturing into the Ruche in the far corner of the festival, an area no doubt forgotten by many, I was amazed to discover such a great little area. For children at Paleo, the Ruche is their own corner of fun and excitement, and there seems to have been so many things I missed out on this week. Next year, next year.

Again venturing through the Village du Monde, and sweltering in the heat we sat and drank cold, icy drinks from the Plage, another fantastic place for younger people to hang out at the Paleo.

For the second time in the three years that I`ve been coming to Paleo I saw Dionysos play on the Grande Scene. Once again they put on an excellent performance, fun filled and energetic. Moving away to something more sedate, I lay by the Chapiteau with a friend listening to Yael Naim and just chilling out.

One thing I adore about the last night of Paleo is the fireworks: standing gazing in awe of the beautiful display, cosy, cuddled up and making appropriate “oo” and “ah” noises. Beautiful.

R.E.M concluded the line up for the Grande Scene, timeless tracks from over the years…many of which before I was even born! I recognised a few their bigger hits when they returned for their encore and despite being quite far back in the crowd, I could still see the large screens and flashy special effects.

So, Paleo 2008 is over. Smelly campers and exhaused party animals awaken bleery eyed to the disappointment that there will be no festival tonight. Still, only around 358 days till it all begins again.

Suzy

Friday night at the Paleo always has certain characteristics, such as first timers relaxing after a long week of work, the lack of sleep taking its toll on the campers, the wildness and the heat all combine, and we realise that we are over halfway through the week. What I’m trying to say is that on Friday nights, we party, hard.

Around 20.15 I disappeared off to the Dome with my friend Rosanne. We shimmied our way to the front of the crowd and began to watch the hip-hop that was playing on the stage. As the show went on, the better the music got, the happier the crowd got, the more we shaked our hips, the more eye contact we established with the musicians onstage, we began to realise that the a group of topless fit Brazilian men were surrounding us. I struck up conversation with one of them;

“What is he saying?”

“I want to party, I’m going to the beach, no one will stop my fun tonight.”

“Is he famous in Brazil?” (referring to the charismatic samba/bossa nova/hip hop rapper onstage)

“Marcelo D2?!? He is massive in Brazil! Never would you be able to see him like this, with so much space in the crowd, room to dance, he very very famous in Brazil!”

And so we danced, we threw our hands in the air, we smiled and felt proud to be watching a Brazilian star. The music varied from hip hop, to samba, to rap, even to a round of the Seven Nations Army and Sweet Dreams beatboxed by one of the rappers onstage.

I spent the rest of the night by the fire and at the FC Gingins bar, listening to Massive Attack from the side and catching up with friends.

Carolyn

Last night was all about chilling, meeting people and Massive Attack. The night was relatively calm leading up to Massive Attack at midnight, which I suppose was appropriate in relation to the fact that they are such a soporific band.

There was no pushing and shoving, no invasion of personal space but space to breathe and to enjoy the music. With strange and mesmirising lyrics enveloping me, standing alone for the majority of the concert, I was waiting for one song in particular: Teardrops, arguably one of their greatest hits. Joined on stage by numerous different singers for numerous different songs, the powerful and entrancing rhythms captivated the audience. Hard hitting slogans and quotes lit up the backdrop to the band, sending messages in both French and English to the crowd. Similar to Justice earlier in the week, Massive Attack created an aura not dissimilar to some sort of enchanting cult experience.

“We are the first band opening the Paleo. Obviously, this is all wrong, it’s like having dessert before dinner, the orgasm before sex, but anyway, we say good morning to you paleo, ARE YOU READY?!”

And so we quote The Hives, the first band to hit the big stage of Paleo. The Swedish boys in matching suits were the perfect start to our favourite week of the year. With hits such as “Walk Idiot Walk” and “Tick Tick Boom”, the singer knew how to get the crowd as excited as he was. We thoroughly enjoyed our first sweaty moshing and jiving concert of the week and from the size and noise of the crowd, we weren’t the only ones.

We then dashed off to the Dome, were Vanessa da Mata was singing. Having grown up with South American music playing loud in my house all the time, I felt right at home listening to the tall stunning Brazilian singing in Portuguese. As we were quite content at watching the Brazilian guitarist and keyboard player, all the men in the crowd had their eyes fixed on Vanessa; talled, tanned and young (whether she was from Ipanema, I cannot say).

The first day of Paleo always involves a necessary check out of the art-work. This year a large ramp has been built at the back, providing a fantastic view over the festival and the Alps. We found the large swinging iron rabbits in speedos quite amusing, but were not so impressed with the lack of trunks/sofas/recycled bottles to sit on. The Village du Monde is vibrant and the hill near the quartier des alpes is once again covered with fires, which were very useful last night as it got quite chilly when the sun went down.

Photo: Carolyn and Suzy, Paleo 2008 fans and GenevaLunch Paleo bloggers! Click on images to view them larger.

Carolyn:

Pink wrist bands; I’ve got mine, have you got yours? In exchange for a abonnement (week pass) I was excited to discover that this summer I was going to be able to get a wrist band that I could casually flash at my friends in the UK as an excuse to tell them all about Paleo (as I do every year).

After taking the little red train up to the Paleo sight, practically skipping with glee on our way down to the entrance we joined the masses equally excited for what was awaiting us inside. First up, The Young Knives, a British band who have been around since the late 1980′s. With catchy tunes and fun lyrics, having only heard of the group a few weeks ago, I enjoyed their set though was slightly disappointed by their stage presence. The same can not be said for The Hives.

What can I add to what Suzy has said? The Hives were superbe. Literally strutting across the stage in suave tailored black suits, whole-heartedly throwing themselves into their music, the crowd lapped up every song as we jostled boisterously infront of le Grand Scene.

The sun was shining and South American vibes encapsulated the Village du Monde. Vanessa da Mata put on an excellent performance, shaking her hips and clearly enjoying herself on stage. No one can do Paleo justice in just one night so I will explore more of the Brazilian corner in due course.

As for this evening, I cannot wait for Justice who will be headlining le Grand Scene at 9pm. If you too like dancing to dj’s and clubbing your feet off the I’ll see you there. And, of course, who can forget Mika of whom I have heard much about! Check it out tonight and see what you think.

Catch you on the flip side!

So why are Bhutanese so
happy?

Professor White suggests that Bhutan’s strong national identity, their beautiful scenery and intact culture explains their
high level of happiness.

Bhutan’s national identity is fiercely protected by the government, which is famous for
it’s Gross National Happiness policy.

Bhutan strictly enforces annual
limits to the number of tourists who can visit. In 2007, about 21,000 tourists
entered the Kingdom and the government sees little reason to increase this
number. The stated reason for this, according to a  tourist website is to “avoid the negative impacts of
tourism on the culture and the environment.” Tourists need to be on a guided
tour for the duration of their visit.

The tiny kingdom, about the size of Switzerland is surrounded by the beautiful Himalayan mountains which both isolates and protects it from the outside world and makes travel difficult at best. Television and
internet was only allowed throughout the country starting in 1999 and is government controlled. Television program are allowed based on what increases a person’s happiness. The government recently decided that watching MTV and World Wide Wrestling do not make people happier so they were taken off the air.

Buddhism has been the dominant religion in Bhutan since the 7th century. The Bhutan Tourism Corporation Ltd.
website states that Buddhism “has inculcated deeply the value that all forms of
sentient life, not just human life, are precious and sacred.” This statement
conflicts drastically with the government’s expulsion of over 100,000
Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas in the early 1990’s. The Lhotshampas practice the
Hindu religion. The 1988 census revealed that the Nepali’s constituted 45% of
the population  in Bhutan,
threatening to become the majority. The Lhotshampas have been exiled in Nepal and
confined into seven refugee camps for the past 15 years. A detailed history of
their situation is found on the UNHCR site.

Hindus are not the only devalued religious group in Bhutan. Bhutan4Christ is a website
which details the struggles that Christians have experienced in Bhutan.

Yesterday the BBC reported that the first group of
Bhutanese refugees were being resettled in the US and New Zealand.

Perhaps they will find freedom to practice the religion of their choice in
these countries.

After 15 years in a refugee camp, perhaps they will finally find
happiness.

1) accept
yourself for who you are, after you figure out who you are
2) manage your
emotions, especially the negative ones, and
3) frequently
express your gratitude for all the wonderful things around you.

Well that sounds like pretty good advice to
me, and there are plenty of psychological theories to back me up on each of
those points.

Adrian White, an analytic social
psychologist at the University of Leicester in the UK has discovered three more components of happiness or as he calls it subjective well-being:
health, wealth and education. He studied data from 80,000 people in 178
countries to gage their overall well-being and life satisfaction.

Based on the results of his surveys and
research, he has ranked the countries of the world and has produced a Global Projection of Subjective Well-being. Denmark and Switzerland came out on top, tied for first place. The top 12 happiest countries are:

1) Denmark
1) Switzerland
2) Austria
2) Iceland
3) Bahamas
3) Finland
3) Sweden
4) Bhutan
4) Brunei
4) Canada
4) Ireland
4) Luxembourg

Most of these countries have life
expectancies between 65 and 80 years old, most closer to 80, as evidence of
excellent health care. Wealth was measured by per capita GDP which averages
around $30,000 in the top 12. Luxembourg
is the highest at $55,600. Education was measured by access to affordable quality
education and the literacy rate. Most of the countries on the list are over 90%
literacy with Finland and Luxembourg at 100%.

However, there is one striking exception
that begs for an explanation. Bhutan, tied for 4th happiest country in the world has a life expectancy of 55
years, a per capita GDP of $1400 and a literacy rate of 47%! White argues that Bhutan‘s strong national identity,
their beautiful scenery and intact culture explains their high level of
happiness. So maybe there is more to happiness than good health, sufficient wealth
and quality education.

In my next blog, I’ll explore in more detail Bhutan’s secret
to happiness.

David Schiesher is a psychotherapist practicing in Geneva.