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On-site investigations in Syria

by Karin Leukefeld, Damascus*

(9 January 2025) (cm.) In Syria, almost everything is different from one day to the next. A new order? It’s more of a new situation. Everyone is doing what they can and as they please. Above all, however, many prices, especially for essential foodstuffs, have risen dramatically. For large sections of the population, survival is not easy – while clever companies, including foreign ones, are already present with completely new offers. Karin Leukefeld sent us a brief report on the atmosphere from Damascus.
Germany

The sad truth behind the ePR hack – our health data is to fall into the wrong hands

by Norbert Häring*

(9 January 2025) The author clearly identifies the dangers that have proven to be unavoidable in Germany with the forced digitisation of highly sensitive patient data. The Swiss equivalent of the German “electronic patient record” (ePR), the “electronic patient dossier” (EPD), was based on the principle of “double voluntariness” in 2017: both the patient and the outpatient practitioner were free to open or maintain an EPD. It has been in place in inpatient facilities since 2020. The Swiss national parliament is now discussing whether to make it mandatory for all outpatient healthcare facilities. However, patients are still free to open an EPD – or not.

Sex education for babies and toddlers?

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”.

America’s long war against Syria

by Professor Glenn Diesen,* Norway

(2 January 2025) Over the years, the US and NATO have developed a template for regime change under the guise of defending liberal democratic values. Initially, there are efforts to sow divisions within the targeted state and then provide political, economic and military support to opposition groups. If the opposition groups can topple the government, then the US and NATO celebrate it as a “democratic revolution” over an authoritarian government. If the government defeats the opposition groups, the US or NATO can intervene militarily under the justification of preventing the government from “killing its own people”. This model was also applied to Syria in what became a long war.

“Power requires control”

Political party scientist Hans Herbert von Arnim takes stock – and explains why Switzerland is doing better

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.

The charade with the EU continues

Swiss chief negotiator produces fake news – federal councillors allow themselves to be patronised

by Carl Baudenbacher*

(2 January 2025) In Switzerland, the year 2024 will go down in the history books. The federal councillors, the country’s directorate government consisting of seven members with equal rights, approved a framework agreement with the European Union without knowing its exact content.