A warm welcome!

You have our trilingual online publication in front of you. We hope you will take your time to read it and recommend us further. We are happy to inform you about new publications with our newsletter.

“A turning point in education – the courage to change course”

Back to the core mission of the school

by Philipp Loretz*

(22 May 2026) (CH-S) It’s common knowledge: schools in German-speaking countries are on a downward trajectory that threatens to turn into a nosedive. Warnings from the field have so far gone unheeded by the self-referential education bureaucracy. That is set to change soon.

On 27 April 2026 an inter-cantonal group comprising teachers, school leaders, experts in educational science, child and adolescent psychology, and politics presented a manifestoA and invited the public to the press conference “Turning point in education – the courage to change course.B

Below you will find the statement from Philipp Loretz, President of the Baselland Teachers’ Association (LVB). As a practitioner, he presents seven proposals for a change of course.

Neutrality: a service to others – not merely a form of protection

by Colonel Jacques Baud,* Brussels

(22 May 2026) (CH-S) Switzerland has lost credibility as a mediator. On 25 April, in an opening address delivered online to the general meeting of the association “bene.swiss.ch”,1 Jacques Baud called for a return to an active neutrality that serves others.

EU Commission wants to end the right of veto

by Thomas Oysmüller*

(15 May 2026) (CH-S) Through the rose-tinted glasses of the Swiss media, the EU appears as a harmless but agreeable “partner” which, whilst having its minor issues, is on the whole reliable. Unfortunately, this picture does not correspond with the rapid developments taking place in Brussels.

The track record of the collective West in regard to human rights and international law

by Alfred de Zayas,* Geneva

(15 May 2026) A detached observer who wants to assess where countries stand on fundamental issues of human rights, international law, peace, development and multilateralism need only look at the voting record of States at the United Nations Security Council, General Assembly, Human Rights Council and other international agencies.
Commentary

“Epstein countries” and “Mullah state”

Why the world labels us “Epstein countries”

by Robert Seidel*

(8 May 2026) Should we regard it as pure propaganda when the “West of values” is denounced as “Epstein countries” in other parts of the world? – Of course it is propaganda. – Just as it is propaganda to refer to Iran as a “Mullah State”. Whilst a form of theocracy does indeed prevail in Iran, the informed reader finds it difficult to make sense of the term “Epstein countries”. Why “Epstein countries”? What do we have to do with Epstein? In the countries of the Middle East and the South, they evidently see things differently.

What I saw in Cuba was resilience

by Gerargo Delgado*

(8 May 2026) (CH-S) For 66 years, the island nation of Cuba, located in the Caribbean to the south-east of Mexico, with its 11 million inhabitants, has been subject to severe US sanctions. All sectors of the Cuban economy are affected.

Furthermore, since February 2026, the US under President Donald Trump has been threatening to impose high tariffs on all countries that supply Cuba with crude oil or derivatives – a further tightening of sanctions aimed at regime change was introduced on 2 May this year.

For 33 years, the overwhelming majority of UN member states have voted to end the US embargo against Cuba. However, the US has ignored these resolutions. – The author has visited the island nation.