Tag Archives: Politics

At the end of September, a very interesting story made the rounds in the media and caught my attention. Apparently, the US big box giant Costco added one rather surprising product to its range and it proved immensely popular. Next to humongous multipacks of cereal, buckets of peanut butter, mattresses and air fryers, customers were offered the opportunity to throw a gold bar in their carts as well.  Selling like hotcakes  According to a recent CBS report: “The discount retailer...

At the end of September, a very interesting story made the rounds in the media and caught my attention. Apparently, the US big box giant Costco added one rather surprising product to its range and it proved immensely popular. Next to humongous multipacks of cereal, buckets of peanut butter, mattresses and air fryers, customers were offered the opportunity to throw a gold bar in their carts as well.  Selling like hotcakes  According to a recent CBS...

After the United States, Switzerland has the world’s second most costly healthcare. Cost-saving reforms put forward by the health minister over many years have yielded little. Last week, average compulsory health insurance premiums rose the most in more than a decade. This week, an investigation by the newspaper SonntagsZeitung (NZZ), revealed 90 parliamentarians working as lobbyists for the healthcare sector, reported RTS. Photo by Louis on Pexels.comIn addition to widespread...

Part II of II by Claudio Grass, Switzerland Over the last couple of years, we saw countless examples of free speech suppression and of the steep price paid by those who chose to exercise that right. Divergent ideas and thoughts contradicting the government narrative were silenced and often punished in ways that would have been entirely unimaginable before the covid outbreak.  No matter what one thinks about the pandemic, about the policies and the...

Part II of II by Claudio Grass, Switzerland Over the last couple of years, we saw countless examples of free speech suppression and of the steep price paid by those who chose to exercise that right. Divergent ideas and thoughts contradicting the government narrative were silenced and often punished in ways that would have been entirely unimaginable before the covid outbreak.  No matter what one thinks about the pandemic, about the policies and the measures that were imposed and...

Part I of II by Claudio Grass, Switzerland The struggle and rivalry between the “West and the rest” might be grabbing news headlines due to the Ukraine war these days, but in truth, it is anything but newsworthy. This antagonism, this battle for geopolitical, physical dominance, for moral supremacy, and this clash of ideas and fundamental values has been raging for much longer than that, perhaps longer than most of us can recall.  It sowed the seeds of...

Part I of II by Claudio Grass, Switzerland The struggle and rivalry between the “West and the rest” might be grabbing news headlines due to the Ukraine war these days, but in truth, it is anything but newsworthy. This antagonism, this battle for geopolitical, physical dominance, for moral supremacy, and this clash of ideas and fundamental values has been raging for much longer than that, perhaps longer than most of us can recall.  It sowed the seeds of bloody and even genocidal...

The strength of the Swiss franc (CHF) has been the topic of countless “expert” analyses for over a year and it has received considerable coverage in the mainstream financial press. In fact, the last time the currency garnered this much interest was probably in 2011, when its celebrated “safe haven” status backfired, as investors fled to it in droves and pushed the price to levels that forced the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to intervene and peg it to the euro....

The strength of the Swiss franc (CHF) has been the topic of countless “expert” analyses for over a year and it has received considerable coverage in the mainstream financial press. In fact, the last time the currency garnered this much interest was probably in 2011, when its celebrated “safe haven” status backfired, as investors fled to it in droves and pushed the price to levels that forced the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to intervene and peg it to the euro. Or perhaps it was when...

Part II of II The big shift  Of course, this is the Left, but also the Right, of the good old days. The days of gentlemanly conduct and of real sportsmanship during a debate. These were the days when cultivated, curious and humble people argued passionately, but honourably. These were the days of decency, of common courtesy and civility.  But also these were the days of ideological integrity and consistency. For example, the arguments and the sentiments that were employed by...