Switzerland

Who’s training the career officers of the Swiss Armed Forces?

by Stefan Hofer,* Basel

(14 December 2023) Since January 2013, a man named Marcus Matthias Keupp has been working as a lecturer in military economics at the ETH Zurich Military Academy, where the career officers of the Swiss Armed Forces are trained. In November 2013, this PD Dr M. M. Keupp was awarded the ETH Zurich’s “Golden Owl” in recognition of outstanding achievements in teaching.

What about the ability of this “Golden Owl” decorated military academy lecturer to analytically assess the military balance of power, the opportunities and risks of military operations and the capacities of a defence industry?
WHO Reform

Swiss Federal Council without critical distance

mRNA vaccinations and WHO strategy unquestioned

by Dr med. Sabine Vuilleumier

It’s almost unbearable: The “European Medicines Agency” (EMA) admits that the mRNA coronavirus vaccine is not a proper vaccination. It prevents neither the passing on of the virus nor infection with it.

Nonetheless, the Federal Council announces a “vaccine strategy for times of crisis”, pointing out that the coronavirus pandemic has shown that these new technologies (mRNA technology as an example of next-gen technologies) have “produced very efficient vaccines at an early stage”. On the same day, 29 November 2023, the Federal Council starts the consultation on the partial revision of the existing “Epidemics Act” (including the “transfer of certain elements of the Covid-19 Act into the EpG”) and describes this as a “review of the Covid-19 epidemic”.
On Swiss neutrality

The new wars and neutrality

by Guy Mettan,* Geneva

(30 November 2023) Neutrality has always been a source of debate in Switzerland, and that’s a good thing. Two centuries after it was formalised by the Congress of Vienna, neutrality served us well during the two world wars and the Cold War. In the last three decades, which have been characterised by US hegemony, it has simply no longer served us, as Switzerland has adopted American views without any problems, as there was no alternative.
Switzerland

E-voting – a threat to democracy

Software glitch in the counting of votes in the National Council elections

by Marita Brune

(16 November 2023) On 22 October 2023, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office made a grave error that had serious consequences not so much for the results of the Swiss National Council elections but rather for citizens’ trust in democracy. This once again raises the fundamental question of the risks of e-voting. The incorrect result was caused by a software problem: three cantons were working with an older version and the error occurred when the results were transmitted to the federal government.

“The Covid-19 bioweapon and the planned dismantling of our direct democracy”

by Professor Paul R. Vogt

(9 November 2023) (Edit.) Today, it takes a lot of perseverance, courage, and straightforwardness to bring topics that have been avoided for various reasons to the public attention. Professor Paul R. Vogt, founder of the EurAsiaHeart-Foundation1 and former head of cardiac surgery at Zurich University Hospital, has written another thesis paper as a matter close to his heart.

Switzerland’s neutrality – a prerequisite for supply security

by Hans Bieri

(8 November 2023) (Ed.) Hans Bieri, Managing Director of the “Swiss Association Industry + Agriculture SVIL”, expertly describes the importance of neutrality for our country’s security of supply. As an export nation without its own raw materials, Switzerland’s very existence depends on open markets. Its neutral position offers advantages to its trading partners. If the country gives up its neutrality, it risks becoming a pawn in the hands of hegemonic powers and losing its independence.