Social issues

Open letter from the town of Königs Wusterhausen to the Federal Government

written by the town council

Esteemed Federal Chancellor Scholz,
Esteemed Ministers

As an organ of local self-government, our entire attention is focused on the living conditions of our citizens, on the provision of social, economic and cultural infrastructure.

The challenges of the past years, whether as a result of the so-called refugee crisis or the pandemic policy, have already overextended the personnel and financial capacity of the municipalities several times.

Letter to the editor

It takes everyone for peace

(7 November 2022) For months, our daily lives have been dominated by war and the way it is reported. The coverage is marked by war rhetoric that only adds to our alarm.

Vaccine lies

Pfizer admits: Vaccine was not tested

(7 November 2022) mb. Pfizer manager Janine Small admitted in the EU Parliament, when questioned by Dutch MEP Robert Roos, that the Pfizer vaccine was never tested for its effect on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

On the joy of being a (class) teacher

Is the shortage of teachers a result of the profession being made less attractive?

by Margrit Brügger*

(31 October 2022) Rebellious children, demanding parents threatening to sue, excessive administrative tasks, the curricula and official inspectors who often aren’t helpful at all to pedagogy – class teachers are confronted with all this and on top of that often massively hindered in their work. Alain Pichard has described the diverse, sometimes trying tasks of a class teacher.1 So, how can you speak of the joy of being a class teacher?

The energy crisis

Can sun and wind fix it? Is the trigger also the cause? Is the energy crisis turning into an existential crisis?

by Ueli Gubler*

(18 October 2022) The skyrocketing energy prices leave no doubt, we are in an energy crisis, even if electricity is (still) flowing. It is rare that the trigger of a crisis is also its cause. If snowfall brings down a roof top, it is usually a material or calculation error that is the cause, not the snow.

Demolition – to protect the climate?

by Martin Killias,* President Swiss Heritage Society

(18 October 2022) (Edit.) In September 2022, the Swiss Federal Council adopted its message on the revised CO2 Act, with which it aims to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieve the 2030 climate target.1 The author, a lawyer and president of “Schweizer Heimatschutz”, has scrutinised this draft law.