Switzerland: Model of political wisdom for the whole world

reply to post by Skyfloating


i love it...

anything is better than what we have over here..lol

Originally posted by Skyfloating
reply to post by Anonymous ATS

 

You say they can become swiss if they are swiss enough. What are the criteria?

And: Your Englilsh is fine. Im always impressed how the swiss habitually speak 2,3 or even 4 languages.

[edit on 2-6-2008 by Skyfloating]

(The post was by me. I registered since.)

I don't know exactly the criteria. It depends in which town and canton you live in, so it's complicated. But basically, you must speak one of the national language, respect the law, know things about the country, etc. Sometimes, the criteria are so tought swiss people would fail the test.

Hey guys, just seeing if anybody has seen the latest Swiss Government campaign for re-election? It contains pictures of a white ship kicking a black sheep of the Swiss flag!

Well, that was the pictures for one of the party, which is well-known for its xenophobia.

I agree with you that it stinks, but on the other hand, the system handled very well the excess of the UDC and its leader Christoph Blocher. After this stupid campaign, Blocher was kicked out of the Federal Council (executive) by the parliament that was re-ellected at the end of this campaign.

Now, the UDC has lost the last votation about its favorite subject, and it is going through bad time : Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf and the branch of the UDC she's from have been expelled of the party (because Widmer-Schlumpf replace Blocher in the Federal Council) and now, the other federal councellor who is member of the UDC warned he could leave his party if his branch of the party didn't leave UDC's national branch (or something like that, I don't know exactly how the UDC works - it looks like it is not working at this moment.)

reply to post by Kromsson


Welcome to ATS.

Out of curiosity: Are there areas where there are towns in which it is undecided which language-area it belongs to? When taking the car around Switzerland Ive always wondered for example where exactly german turns into french or into italian.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
reply to post by felipecb

 

Then name countries in which things are going better

Nowhere actually, we are currently living in a highly controlled planet, either coverlty like the USA and Western Europe or overtly like China, Cuba etc etc etc....to believe that we live in an open, free democracy is pure naïvitè... we are heading towards a World divided first into several "blocks" like the European Union, The North American Union (that is currently being implemented under the noses of the American people) The South American Union (Mercosul) then an African and an Asian Union.....after that we shall have a one world government by 2014....it is very clear what is really going on!!!!

reply to post by felipecb


Well, in the conspiracy-forum Id accept those ideas. But in the political forum, from this angle, since you cannot name a better place, the OP is still somewhat valid for people who dont believe in the NWO-Conspiracy-Theory.

(In another Forum Id also ask you why its now 2014 and not 2012?)

Wow, lots of questions to answer.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
1. In some cities there are a lot of drug addicts, junkies

2. There is some racism from older generations that is accepted by society at large. For instance, An apartment is for rent and the advertisement will read CH only.

Our "junkies" are a part of an ongoing problem. Several measures were taken to prevent an "open drug scene" but they simply scattered and reassembled elsewhere. Our latest policy seems to be pretty successful, so I hope for the best.

The "CH only" has become a widespread policy after another phenomenon had been perceived: Mietnomaden or renting-nomads. They move into an apartment and when rent is due, they simply move on, without ever paying anything. This has been observed to be used to some extent by immigrants from the Balkans and thus that reaction by the landlords. Other factors include the fact that Swiss families usually have less kids than foreign families and are therefore bound to be less noisy. This is a consideration that is brought forward pretty often.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
So to those who agree that Switzerland is somewhat preferrable to many other nations...

...what is in the mentality / upbringing of swiss people that might cause this?

Also asking the swiss people here.

I have no definite answer to this.
However, I try to fool myself into thinking that this has to do with the military service we have to do. This might push some sense of reason and responsibility into our collective heads.
If I stumble on a better answer to this question, I'll share it.

Originally posted by khunmoon
reply to post by Anonymous ATS
Isn't that against the law? I mean most Western countries have anti-discreminations laws today, uhh..?

Don't they have that it Switzerland too?

We DO have laws that deal with racism and discrimination. This however is kind of a loophole; if the landlords would write "no blacks" or "no Americans" it would be illegal since it would discriminate a specific group of people. "CH only" states a mere preference of the landlords and is legally acceptable since it's the landlords private property and he can rent it to whomever he wants. It may be morally objectionable but it's not illegal.

Originally posted by Straight Razor
reply to post by Swordbeast
Giving women the vote is a mistake. Countries that have done that are going down hill. Countries that have not -- regardless of whether we agree with them or not -- are vigorous. As for food, I once read only countries that have lost a war have good food. Perhaps that is why the French are so good at it and the British so lousy.

You know, in view of one particular recent political initiative (Initative gegen Waffengewalt / initiative against gun violence) that was submitted by a woman, I tend to somewhat agree with you. But overall, I think it gave us a slightly more balanced political environment. Besides, as long as most women prefer to go shopping rather than going to vote, our "patriarchy" isn't in danger
As for the food issue, I hereby officially invite to my home to a dinner prepared by me. If you should find ANY reason to complain, I'll invite you to the closest Mc Donalds.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
Hey guys, just seeing if anybody has seen the latest Swiss Government campaign for re-election? It contains pictures of a white ship kicking a black sheep of the Swiss flag! A lot of people in Geneva and other parts highly regard Blocher and his party to be the new Nazis. *Snip*

Having just come back from living 5 years over there, i can confirm that the people may be nice but the politics there is very scary.

You know, the party that is responsible for those posters had their faces slapped big time in the latest votes/elections. Also, this very party is currently breaking apart after Mrs. Widmer-Schlumpf has replaced Mr. Blocher in the federal council. They both are, or better were, from this party (the SVP). Some of our politics may indeed be scary, but we the people realize this as well and react accordingly at the ballots. So, no need to worry about us becoming the fourth Reich.

reply to post by bovarcher and
post by bovarcher
Thanks for the praise. Yeah, I agree, I think "an armed society is a polite society". As for the happenings during WW2, I recently visited some old artillery bunkers (details here, although in German. But check the pictures). Quite impressive, especially the fact that the bunkers had to be built in a hurry. Our tour guide lived in the area during WW2 and had some interesting stories to tell.

Originally posted by Dillons
*snip*
I would like to ask a question about the media in Switzerland.........
How free is it?........and how informed are the people?

We have the newspapers that cover the whole political and ideological spectrum. TV/Radio news seem to be pretty neutral, this is supported by the fact that people from left to right complain about the bullpoop that is being transmitted. I'll become cautious as soon as one faction is actually happy by the way the news is spread, but so far, it seems to be pretty balanced.

The people are as informed as they choose to be, simple as that. Some actually check and track everything they hear or see, others read only the humor pages of the newspapers. Its hard to make any generalizations, as it actually boils down to the individuals choice.

reply to post by menguard
We are aware of the Bilderbergers and some of their dealings are reported in our media. They recently wanted to establish a seat in Zürich but this plan somehow failed. Last thing I heard was that they planned something in Winterthur, a city right next to Zürich. I'll have to check this further.

Continued in next post.

reply to post by Kromsson
Yeah, that whole circus was pure irony. Populism backfiring at its best. Actually a sad state of affairs, because the SVP could contribute a lot to the overall wellbeing of Switzerland, if they wanted to. But if they prefer to spend their money on a stupid poster and let the party be ripped apart by unsound political tactics, then so be it. It's a shame, really.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
Out of curiosity: Are there areas where there are towns in which it is undecided which language-area it belongs to? When taking the car around Switzerland I've always wondered for example where exactly german turns into french or into italian.

We do have some cities that are bilangual, for example in the canton of Freiburg. The German/Italian parts are separated by the alps, so there is a quite physical barrier.

reply to post by Skyfloating


I beleve this is a political question indeed. To deem this issue a "conspiracy theory" is ludicrous for it is not a theory, it is a fact, current situation and politcal trend....do the research, it is all crystal clear.....

Originally posted by menguard

Thats funny you just made a thread about this place, I just read Behold A Pale Horse, by William Cooper. He addreses that this place is where the Bilderberg group makes all the worlds secret arrangements. Interesting enough it would make sense to make it a paradise, you wouldn't want to crap in your own backyard.

"The Illuminati are extremely powerful, very wealthy men. They believe that they are the guardians of the secrets of the ages.... "

-William Cooper

Bill Cooper?

www.intrudersfoundation.org...

Oh, THAT Bill Cooper. The "inveterate liar" who "had a real love for booze and firearms," whose paranoia led him to maliciously stalk and threaten people and who "had a difficult time telling truth from fantasy."

Well if Bill Cooper claimed the "Illuminati" run the world from Switzerland, then it MUST be true.



[edit on 3/6/2008 by bovarcher]

sodom
e be italiäner u e läbe ir schwiz

(i am Italian and i am living in Switzerland)

mini frou esch spanierin

(my wife is Spanish)

mini Kollege se Schwizer, Italos, Spaniogle, Jugos, Türke ....

(my friends are Swiss, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Yugoslavian....)

darom esch d`schwiz es geils Land, wäg de Kulturelle vielfallt

(Switzerland is a cool country because it has a cultural diversity)

ssodom

Sodom, din schriibstil tönt, als wärsch Du us dä Region Bern, gsehn ich das richtig?

Sodom, your writing stile seems to indicate that you are in the region of Bern, am I right?

Originally posted by Skyfloating
reply to post by Kromsson

 

Welcome to ATS.

Thanks!

Out of curiosity: Are there areas where there are towns in which it is undecided which language-area it belongs to? When taking the car around Switzerland Ive always wondered for example where exactly german turns into french or into italian.

Huh, good question.

There are places where about every one speaks 2 national languages, but I don't how it works from an administrative point of view.

But there is a pretty cool map in Wikipedia about the question and it seems there are towns and cantons with two official language. We handle this stuff a lot better than in Belgium.

reply to post by Swordbeast

reply to post by menguard
We are aware of the Bilderbergers ...

Correction, its the Club of Rome, not the Bilderbergers. But they seem to be conected anyway.

reply to post by Kromsson


Interesting Map, want to post it here.

Originally posted by bovarcher

Originally posted by menguard

Thats funny you just made a thread about this place, I just read Behold A Pale Horse, by William Cooper. He addreses that this place is where the Bilderberg group makes all the worlds secret arrangements. Interesting enough it would make sense to make it a paradise, you wouldn't want to crap in your own backyard.

"The Illuminati are extremely powerful, very wealthy men. They believe that they are the guardians of the secrets of the ages.... "

-William Cooper

Bill Cooper?

www.intrudersfoundation.org...

Oh, THAT Bill Cooper. The "inveterate liar" who "had a real love for booze and firearms," whose paranoia led him to maliciously stalk and threaten people and who "had a difficult time telling truth from fantasy."

Well if Bill Cooper claimed the "Illuminati" run the world from Switzerland, then it MUST be true.

[edit on 3/6/2008 by bovarcher]

If you would research what he writes you will see what he says has much validation behind it, Ask yourself whY he died to cover-up a lie, or a truth.

You apparentely haven't read his Book "Behold A Pale Horse"", because if you did, you wouldn't be such a smart a$$ about it. Guess what I am a GUARDIAN but on the other side of the fence, and the only wealth I have is plenty spirit remember that. Ask yourself this how easy is it to keep the balance in the world today behind the scenes.



[edit on 3-6-2008 by menguard]

reply to post by menguard


I read "Behold a Pale Horse" too, but that doesnt mean I agree with it

Anyway...Im sure Bilderberger, Club of Rome, etc. love to hang out in Switzerland.

[edit on 3-6-2008 by Skyfloating]

Originally posted by menguard or a truth.

You apparentely haven't read his Book "Behold A Pale Horse"", because if you did, you wouldn't be such a smart a$$ about it.

I bought 'Behold a Pale Horse' in 1992 and read it the same year. It's still here on my bookshelf. IMHO it's one of the more far-out publications on the subject, largely a re-hash of the usual tired old paranoia about the powerful and secret NWO government but supported by a raft of known fake documents and fantasies. Though interesting from a historic viewpoint it should not be taken seriously.

For many of us, Cooper lost all credibility when he started to get up at UFO conferences, slurring his words and reeking of alcohol at 11am, and launch into his fantasies about breaking into underground alien bases and having gun battles with extraterrestrials, in which he was (according to Cooper) always victorious.

In the opinion of many, Cooper did have a serious paranoid mental disorder and his unbelievable claims and stories make more sense when seen from that perspective. It's really not a good idea to take any of his ridiculous claims seriously, unless you want to ewnd up living in fantasy land.

RIP Bill Cooper, deluded psychotic.

(Apologies to the OP for briefly straying off topic, but it's relevant to Cooper's claims about the Swiss location of 'The Illuminati' and their evil doings.)

Peace.

[edit on 3/6/2008 by bovarcher]

Here's a link to Moritz Leuenberger's blog (in german and french.) Moritz Leuenberger is one of the 7 members of our Federal Council. He's from the Socialist Party.

Here's a picture of him :

sodom

Swordbeast, das esch genau eso.
be z burgdorf am bögle.ond du?

(Swordbeast, that's correct. i am at work in burgdorf. and you?)

sodom