Swiss Identity

Lenin’s view of the July 1912 Zurich strike

This content was published on Jul 12, 2012 His three-page commentary, translated into English in Lenin Collected Works and available through the Marxists Internet Archive, provides an eyewitness account of Swiss society at the time. The July 12 strike was important because it was the biggest general strike up to that time, and not only a strike of one profession or one industry,…

Demographics

Former Fifa boss named in corruption case

This content was published on Jul 12, 2012 The names were revealed on Wednesday after the Federal Court lifted a gagging order imposed by a court in the canton of Zug in 2010. The Zug court had made the ruling as part of the settlement of a case examining allegations that officials of the world football governing body had taken unethical payments from ISL.…

Culture

Swiss sweetheart generates tourism cash

This content was published on Jul 12, 2012 If you want to find Heidi the obvious place to look is Heidiland – it’s not an amusement park, but a real place.

Culture

Heidi’s wholesome message still winning fans

This content was published on Jul 12, 2012 “If Heidi is so popular today, it is because it demonstrates an ecological sensibility, long before the term was coined, which chimes with current health trends,” according to Geneva literary professor Jean-Michel Wissmer. “Everywhere we turn someone is trying to sell us the mountains with the claim that the air is purer, the flowers more…

Culture

Heidi, a story retold and revived

This content was published on Jul 12, 2012 The first Swiss production was a black and white movie, Heidi, in 1952 by Luigi Comencini. During the late 1970s and 1980s Swiss children grew up with a Swiss and German television co-production which stayed true to the original story. Recent filmmakers have done new takes on the tale. In Thomas Imbach’s film from 2001…

Demographics

Fighting discrimination in colour, with a smile

This content was published on Jul 11, 2012 The rights of homosexual and transexual people are still not fully recognised by the authorities – the adoption of children by same sex couples is not permitted and Switzerland still lacks a law against discrimination, underlined the organisers of Zurich Pride Festival. The Festival also sought to draw attention to the intolerable plight of many…

Education

Helping teenagers understand sexual orientation

This content was published on Jul 11, 2012 “The first time I heard about homosexuality I was quite young; it was when an uncle of mine came to a family occasion accompanied by another man”, explained a girl to her classmates. “I must have been about ten, and it was with a schoolmate,” recalled another pupil. More dramatic is the story told by…

Demographics

Tax rates stay low despite rising costs

This content was published on Jul 10, 2012 Only three of the 19 cantons surveyed (out of 26) had raised income taxes for high income earners and just one has announced a hike in corporate levies. Some cantons even reduced taxes last year in the face of worsening economic conditions. Plunging stock markets and the increasingly volatile global economy have blown big holes…

Demographics

The changing face of German immigration

This content was published on Jul 10, 2012 Education and know-how are natural resources which have helped make Switzerland one of the foremost research centres in the world. Yet, the science community depends on foreigners to make up for the shortage of young academics with Swiss passports. Germany is the main reservoir for the necessary manpower, as official data confirms. The number of…

Culture

Germans in Switzerland: so near, and yet so far

This content was published on Jul 10, 2012 German residents have more than doubled their numbers in Switzerland in the past ten years, becoming the second largest group of foreigners in the country. Some Swiss are concerned about the influx. Highly qualified Germans are now able to compete directly with Swiss citizens for top jobs. Flare ups of “German bashing”, notably from the…

Swiss Identity

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