Reminder for die Einwohnergemeindeversammlung
About twice a year there's a village meeting. One of the items under discussion and up for voting is approval of citizenship of foreign residents (Ausländer, like me). In Switzerland, things are organized at a very local level, and for the most part, foreigners become citizens through the community in which they live. Exceptions include citizenship through marriage, in which case the community that confers citizenship would most likely be the community of the spouse rather than the community in which the couple might reside in at the time of application. Switzerland doesn't grant citizenship jus soli, so there are many individuals who, although they were born here, have to meet certain requirements (of residency, etc) and then apply for citizenship if they so desire. These laws are under frequent revision and also vary from locality to locality, so things are always changing as they are in many countries around the world.
The Village Council recommended several individuals for approval at yesterday's meeting. I hope it went well for them -- I'll find out in the monthly village newsletter.
Addendum 1 Jun: The newsletter arrived today and all the people applying for citizenship were approved.
20070530
8 comments:
That's very efficient system...clear and easy to find!
I think the pin which can magnet on refrigerator gave as a present from my friends could be right,check this out I quote what written on it
"Heaven is where the police are British,the cooks Spanish,the mechanics German,the lovers Italian and it is organized by the Swiss"
"Hell is where the cooks are British,the mechanics Spanish,the lovers Swiss,the police German and it is all organized by the Italians" ;o) LOL
This system has alot to commned it, I feel. (Might be wrong).
Your're right about the butlers. Only the other day I was saying to my wife................
:) that was a great piece of Information......I have never been to Switzerland but have two of my childhood friends studying there...Hope to visit the place sometime in near future....
I found your photograph unique and eye-catching but your explanation of citizenship requirements and how it is conferred was excellent. I liked that a lot.
I also came to thank you for visiting my blog. And for your comments and questions there.
Yes, I put suet out in the winter and also in the summer. Some birds have to have it so I put it out for an hour or two and then put it back in the freezer for two or more hours before putting it back out again. Birds and all wildlife feed heavily in the early morning and again in the late afternoon or evening. So you can just about tell when it is time to put it out.
The birds, like robins, who are meat eaters also migrate. So they are supposed to go south where it is warmer over the winter months. Sometimes one will stay here where it is cold. they can usually survive the cold if they have meat. Well the meat of choice is worms and those are not up close to the surface so I put suet out for them in the winter and they appreciate that and eat the suet.
They will eat frozen seeds and small crabapples left on the trees in the winter. They will also eat sunflower chips in the winter in a pinch but I don't think robins like it that much.
The other birds you asked about and wondered if they become vegetarians...yes, they seldom eat meat of anykind. Although the larger ones will steal a new baby bird and eat that or a baby squirrel or a baby anything. Usually they don't finish them but they do make a meal of meat and they normally eat seeds.
I hope this answers your questions.
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The Swiss system is a good role model. You have to be integrated into the society to get citizenship, and you're tested by your peers rather than by some bureaucratic rules. Having said that you can enjoy most of the benefits of living in Switzerland without gaining citizenship
I imagine this kind of grass-roots government could work well in a small village. How do they manage in Geneva?
Chuckeroon: As with most things, there are positives and negatives. There have been instances of discrimination, and now there's the option of an appeal to the federal government in such cases. That ruling would override the local ruling *as far as I understand it*.
Per: I mentioned in the post that the laws vary with locality. I can't stress that enough. Everything from school curricula to public holidays to recycling rules can be, and are, decided on a local level (beyond some commonalities, obviously). The big cities like Geneva, Bern, Zürich also have Gemeinden, but they have their own rules. In certain places like Geneva, foreigners have certain voting rights at the local level (but they can't vote in the federal elections), but in others like Bern, such a proposal was up for a referendum in January 2007 and was denied. Here's a link to one article (in English) about this, with selective information about the history of voting rights (I've inserted line breaks):
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/
swissinfo.html?siteSect=881&sid=
7457135
The most shocking and unbelievable thing of all for me is that Swiss women didn't get the vote until 17 February 1971! I like to think, that in the political sphere, they're making up the lost time.
A common urban myth has it that when women were given the vote the press rushed out to ask them how they were going to exercise their new privilege. "Well it depends what my husband says" was the consensus.... However I for one don't believe it
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