by Marita Brune-Koch
(9 January 2025) Kindergartens offer rooms for children to masturbate undisturbed. Such reports keep appearing in the press. The kindergartens did not come up with such methods of early sexualisation themselves. Rather, they are based on the WHO guidelines “Standards for Health Education in Europe”. According to these, parents and teachers should be encouraged to explore sexuality with children “from birth”.
by Robert Seidel
(2 January 2025)The quarterly votes are a matter of course for the Swiss, they are part of everyday life. They are not only important in terms of content but are also an extremely valuable corrective against political solo efforts, cronyism and megalomania.
The German constitutional expert Hans Herbert von Arnim has spent decades investigating the problems in the German party state – and this is also of interest to Swiss readers.
by Leo Ensel*
(20 December 2024) Even if Donald Trump should stop the war in Ukraine, under the given conditions we can at best expect a new Cold War for the next few decades. There will only be real peace in Europe when all the actors involved return to a European security order based on the principles of the “Charter of Paris”. Above all, this requires a fundamental change in thinking. The maxims were formulated long ago, and it is time to rediscover them.
by Ursula Cross
(20 December 2024) In the future, an ever-increasing share of our growing energy needs is to be covered by electricity. But where is the required energy going to come from? Dark and windless skies, energy fluctuations, a lack of electricity storage options, unresolved grid problems and security of supply, environmental issues and, last but not least, speculative prices caused by the stock market also raise justified doubts about so-called green technologies. A comprehensive analysis of all options, beyond ideology, is needed as a basis for long-term planning. This article takes a closer look at the unresolved issues surrounding nuclear energy.
by Oren Ziv*
(6 December 2024) (Ed.) After 7 October, many Israelis have given up hope of a political solution. There is an unprecedented desire for revenge in broad sections of society. Only a few have the courage to stand up to the social pressure. One of them is Sofia Orr, who refuses to do military service in the Israeli army out of political conviction.
by Karin Leukefeld,* Germany, Beirut
(29 November 2024) (Edit.) Middle East correspondent Karin Leukefeld is back in Lebanon. In her latest article, “reflections during the flight”, she deals with the impact of the Middle East conflict on Lebanon. Through the perspective of a traveller, the destruction, the suffering of the people and the background to decades of conflict are described. This creates room for reflections on the responsibility of international politics and the consequences of colonial power structures.