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.
by Michael Felten,* Germany
(16 March 2024) In Germany, more and more voices are criticising the global school performance study PISA and its consequences. In February 2024, for example, the German Philologists’ Association suggested withdrawing from this process altogether. Among the well-known critics is Rainer Kaenders,** the top maths teacher trainer at the University of Bonn.
by Ueli Gubler,* Engineer, Stettfurt, Switzerland
(16 March 2024) The “Energy Concept 2050” adopted in 2017 provides for the phasing out of nuclear energy and the abandonment of fossil fuels. In the Federal Council’s dispatch, the costs for a household of four were estimated at CHF 40 ($45) per year.
In June 2021, Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga opened the referendum campaign on the CO2 Act with the remark that the energy transition would probably cost one hundred billion francs across Switzerland. That would be a total of CHF 48,000 per household for the conversion. It is to be feared that the federal government, and others as well, have no idea how great the technical costs of the energy transition will be.
by Ruy Barbosa
(9 March 2024) The “Julius-Nyerere-Dam” in Tanzania is practically completed and is due to start generating electricity these days. The new dam is a genuine pan-African project. The construction costs of 2.9 billion US dollars were financed entirely by the Tanzanian government, and the dam on the Rufiji River was built as part of a partnership between two Egyptian companies: the state-owned “Arab Contractors” and “El-Sewedy Electric”.
Speech by Jürgen Rose,* Germany
Dear participants,
dear friends of peace!
(9 March 2024) It is a great honour that so many of you have come here today to set an example for peace in the world, even though it takes a lot of energy and courage to stand up in these times of omnipresent and all-encompassing war and claims of victory and raise your voices against the mass murder on the “killing fields” of this world. Especially as people like us are often bluntly defamed as “shoddy pacifists” by numerous political and journalistic claqueurs of war, who conversely would probably be most aptly dubbed “rogue militants”.
by Rainer Schopf,* Germany
(9 March 2024) Fredrik Heffermehl was born in Norway and studied in Oslo and New York. As a lawyer and author, he has written numerous books, given lectures, and campaigned for the legacy of Alfred Nobel. He was a staunch critic of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which in his opinion often failed to fulfil Nobel’s will when awarding the Nobel Peace Prize.
by Shelly Steinberg, Germany
(9 March 2024) (Edit.) At this year’s Berlinale, an international film festival, the documentary film “No Other Land” was honoured with the Berlinale Documentary Film Award. The film deals with the expulsion of Palestinians in the West Bank. In his acceptance speech, the Palestinian co-director, Basel Adra, said: “It is very difficult for me to celebrate when tens of thousands of my people in Gaza are being slaughtered by Israel.” He demanded that Germany should not supply any more weapons to Israel. Israeli co-director Yuval Abraham spoke of “apartheid” in the West Bank. The audience applauded. Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) then raised the accusation of “disgusting open anti-Semitism”. In her letter to Mrs Roth, Shelly Steinberg rejects this accusation and characterises it.