121–130 of 423 posts
"... almost no government has the IT capacity and resources to single-handedly develop an eID quickly and to the appropriate standards." Bullshit. We're talking identity management here. Any government that can't handle that internally doesn't deserve to exist. What that's really about is feathering the nests of tech industry donors (and/or the non-tech middlemen or middlewomen who seem to grow like weeds around the…
There is no way it could be done in 6 months given any reasonable parameters you care to throw at it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Calling them xenophobic is bizarre. You don't think the referendums on banning minarets and burqas are... Xenophobic in any form?
Xenophobia is a loaded term. There could be any number of reasons why they're voting against those things. And so what if they dislike certain foreign cultures? It's their country, and they can accept who they want, or not. Or is Democracy suddenly not okay if the will of the people is misaligned with the "greater" society's views? Which, I would also argue, isn't conclusively in the camp that "xenophobia = bad". If…
Sure, but they are what we define as unambiguously xenophobic policies, even if it is a broad term which can include much more than that and were democratically enacted.
Whether xenophobia is bad is another story - I'm not really sure anyone would find much insight from a discussion about it.
They are also incredibly xenophobic (i.e. Japanese levels).
Very few countries are ahead of this. Even Australia is only 30%, and Canada (which has often led the world in immigration statistics) is 21.3%.
Perhaps you can provide some evidence for your statement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_d...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I really admire the swiss political system & culture. It's has all the modern postulates of liberty & governance that most countries are striving for without the "scam orchestration"
The banning of minarets is a data point against this liberty.
They are also incredibly xenophobic (i.e. Japanese levels).
Their economy is humming along without immigration, so why would they open it? I would have a hard time believing I'm in a minority of people who think immigration is not an economic consideration before a social one in western countries right now. I'm not saying I disagree with it at all, though.
There are certainly some xenophobic people in Switzerland, and the SVP is certainly a party that uses xenophobic rhetoric to get attention, but our economy is the opposite of xenophobic.
"... almost no government has the IT capacity and resources to single-handedly develop an eID quickly and to the appropriate standards." Bullshit. We're talking identity management here. Any government that can't handle that internally doesn't deserve to exist. What that's really about is feathering the nests of tech industry donors (and/or the non-tech middlemen or middlewomen who seem to grow like weeds around the…
This. In Europe you'll find the likes of Capgemini, Accenture, Cognizant, etc. hovering like flies around government IT projects.
They are also incredibly xenophobic (i.e. Japanese levels).
They is a over generalization. I’m American and black and my wife is Swiss and I have plenty of friends who are also Swiss and nothing but welcoming. Also xenophobic is unclear. Having a strict immigration policy is not xenophobic. You should be more precise.
Also, the biggest party (SVP) often uses very controversial advertisement, which I can easily imagine to be interpreted as xenophobic by foreigners (I'm Swiss myself).
Glad to hear your positive experience in Switzerland - especially now with the passing of the 'Burka ban', seeing Switzerland as xenophobic isn't something that would surprise me too much.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> They are also incredibly xenophobic The Swiss are xenophobic? Eh? They welcome people from all over the world to come together to work towards peace and humanitarianism in their country. They host the only truly international humanitarian organisation in the world. They helped build many of the institutions that try to reduce conflict. Calling them xenophobic is bizarre.
The SVP is a very strong party in Switzerland. It is not a stretch to call it xenophobic. Switzerland - like any place - has many faces. It hosts great institutions but yes, it also has its share of societal xenophobia.
Switzerland has an awesome electoral system [1]. Instead of being ruled by a president or a prime minister who can be polarising, divisive, or selective, Switzerland has an Executive Council. The 7 member Executive Council is composed of the top 7 candidates from each election. The chairperson of the executive council rotates each year, so that the top 4 vote winners each get a turn at being chairperson. This means t…