by Wolfgang Bittner,* Germany
(21 March 2025) On 11 March, I read about war preparations in my local newspaper over breakfast and I almost choke on my food. “We are a hub for NATO”, it says. “In the event of defence, Lower Saxony would be a centre for the logistics of the Bundeswehr”, and with the “Germany Operation Plan”, the country is preparing for a “possible military conflict”.
Press release from the Cologne-based working group «AG Frieden dieBasis Köln» on the campaign it initiated
(28 February 2025) (CH-S) In Germany, too, more and more people are realising that a consistently neutral policy would protect the population from being drawn into the wars of foreign powers. The spectre of a war against Russia, which is being conjured up by European and Swiss media and Russophobic politicians, would see Germany as a battleground.
by Roland Wiesendanger,* Germany
(28 February 2025) (CH-S) Roland Wiesendanger is a professor of physics at the University of Hamburg and a member of numerous national and international science academies, including the “Leopoldina” and “acatech”. In the following article, he suggests – as he did four years ago – a public debate on the so-called “gain-of-function” research. Switzerland must not shirk this debate either.
by Daniel Wahl,* Switzerland
(28 February 2025) Countries that have pushed ahead with the digitalisation of schools are backpedalling. But not Switzerland, despite worrying indicators regarding the mental health of our children.
by Professor Glenn Diesen,* Norway
(21 February 2025) President Trump’s decision to cut funding to USAID revealed the extent to which the US government has been financing media, protests and other means to hijack civil society around the world. In Ukraine, USAID had a key role in toppling President Yanukovych in 2014 and has since financed between 85–90% of Ukrainian media to ensure narrative control. The Georgian Prime Minister has also been warning that Western NGOs have been activated to topple the government and convert Georgia into a second front against Russia.
by Ralph Bosshard,* Switzerland
(14 February 2025) On Monday, 27 January, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz was commemorated, but other places of horror must not be forgotten – or made to be forgotten. There are still many such places, especially on the map of Belarus, that remind us of the pain and horror of the terrible tragedies and cruel crimes of the Nazis during the Second World War, known as the Great Patriotic War. In addition to the Khatyn memorial, the village of Ozarichi in the Gomel region deserves a prominent mention.