The spouses of Councillors do not play an official part in the business of government, apart from accompanying the Councillors to official receptions.
Federal Councillors draw a yearly remuneration of about CHF 400,000 (circa EUR 256,000 / USD 404,000). After completing a full term of office, they are entitled to a perennial yearly pension of half that amount after leaving office.
While Councillors are forbidden by law to hold any other post during their term of office, it is not unusual for them to accept lucrative business engagements after leaving office, e.g., on the board of directors of major Swiss corporations.
Federal Councillors, like Members of Parliament, enjoy absolute legal immunity for all statements made in their official capacity.
For crimes not relating to their official capacity, they can be prosecuted only with the permission of the Federal Council as a whole while in office. The prosecutor can appeal a refusal to grant permission to the Federal Assembly.
Prosecution for crimes and misdemeanors that do relate to the Councillors' official capacity requires the assent of the Federal Assembly. In such cases, Parliament can also suspend the Councillor in office (but not actually remove her or him).
According to statements to the media by a Federal Chancellory official, in none of the few cases of accusations against a Federal Councillor has the permission to prosecute ever been granted. Such cases usually involved statements considered offensive by members of the public. However, one unnamed Councillor involved in a traffic accident immediately prior to his date of resignation was reported to have voluntarily waived his immunity, and Councillor Elisabeth Kopp decided to resign upon facing an inquiry over allegations of secrecy violations.
Historically, the collegial government of Switzerland has been assessed both internationally and nationally as exceptionally competent and stable. The Federal Council as a whole (although not individual members) has consistently maintained public approval and confidence rates in excess of sixty percent, possibly also because under the Swiss system of direct democracy, voters can vent their displeasure with government decisions when deciding individual issues at the ballot box.
However, lately there has been a growing contention that the Federal Council is often too slow to respond to the needs of the moment, too resistant to change and too weak to lead the powerful federal bureaucracy. Various changes have been proposed to address these issues, including expanding the powers of the presidency, expanding the Federal Council itself or adding a second layer of ministers between the Council and the departments. None of these proposals has yet borne fruit, however.
Zurich (disambiguation)
Zürich is a city in Switzerland. It may also mean:
Bengal
Bengal is a divided region in South Asia that is split between two countries - Bangladesh and India. Both parts used to be united, although historically part of British India; today West Bengal is part of India and "East Bengal" is Bangladesh.
Colloquy
Colloquy could mean:
World Wrestling Entertainment programs
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has a wide range of shows all over the world, including television, movies, online, video on demand and pay-per-views.
WWE currently runs with three major shows on television. They are: "Raw", "Friday Night SmackDown!", "WWE Superstars" and "ECW". WWE also airs recap shows: "A.M. Raw" (not in UK), "The WWE Experience", "Bottom Line", and "Afterburn".
Since WWE's departure from Spike TV in the United States, WWE has moved "Heat" on to their website as a webcast, while overseas it is still shown as a regular television program. The latest episode of Heat is put up on WWE.com every Friday afternoon. Other webcasts such as "WWE Rollin", "WWE Sidesplitters" and "WWE Uncut" can be found in the "All Videos" section of WWE.com.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has had a large Web presence for years. In 1996 it was nominated for a Streaming Media Award and in 1999 for its online content.
FOX8 is currently the only network to air all televised shows in Australia. Times for programmes are as follows and are in EST:
WWE programming on Brazil is shown on FX Latin America, and later on, in December of 2007, by SBT (Brazilian Television System.)
WWE Programming shows on FX Latin America are not scheduled here, Raw and SmackDown! airs trough national aircasting station Repretel Canal 11 (Repretel channel 11)
The BOX is currently the only network to air all television shows in New Zealand.
WWE Programming shows on FX Latin America and ATV Andina de Radio Difusión in Peru.
In the Philippines, WWE programming is shown on Jack TV, and Associated Broadcasting Company (ABC). All times are in Philippine Standard Time
In Portugal, WWE programming is shown on SIC Radical, and on TVI
TEN Sports airs WWE programs in South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bhutan, etc.
Most of WWE's programs are shown on Sky Sports 3 apart from "WWE Experience", "Saturday Night's Main Event" and pay-per-views.
Since 2003, WWE has produced its own movie productions. Instead of focusing on wrestling movies, WWE produces movies that are non-wrestling related. WWE and Vince McMahon were credited for production of the movies "The Scorpion King", "The Rundown" and "Walking Tall" all starring The Rock (Dwayne Johnson).
WWE movies has since ventured in on their own, releasing, "See No Evil", a horror movie, starring Kane and also "The Marine", an action movie starring John Cena. WWE has also noted that Steve Austin has agreed to star in three movie deals, the first being "The Condemned".
In 2004, WWE announced a new video on demand service for digital cable users, allowing subscribers to the service access to matches in the promotion's extensive video library. The programming is broken into six sections and features classic shows, matches, and features highlighting legends of wrestling.
WWE is currently one of the leaders in pay-per-view content for cable and satellite television. Pay-per-views account for approximately 25% of WWE revenues. There are fourteen live shows for North America, four for United Kingdom, four for Australia and two for Japan. The pay-per-view events WWE hold currently are:
Borat
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is a 2006 British-American mockumentary (comedy movie) by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. The main character, Borat, is a rude, stupid reporter who interviews famous people and ordinary people. The movie was very popular, but also seen as wrong and offensive by some people. This is because it was seen as anti-semitic (against Jews) and racist (against black people). Sacha Baron Cohen says this is wrong and he is Jewish himself.
The movie received negative reactions of Kazakh people and the government, whereas the latter banned actor Sacha Baron Cohen from entering to Kazakhstan for his lifetime.
The plot of the movie is about Borat and his friend going to America from Kazakhstan to make a movie about America. Borat looks very stupid and ignorant in America. Borat falls in love with Pamela Anderson after seeing her on television in his hotel. He decides to go to see her while making the movie. He meets many people along the way, interviewing them.
Miley Stewart
Miley Ray Stewart, or Hannah Montana is a fictional character played by Miley Cyrus on the Disney Channel television show "Hannah Montana". She is the main character in the series. Hannah Montana is about Miley Stewart, a teenage school girl who, at night, lives as a pop star, Hannah Montana.