Real Democracy in Switzerland - First time voter

After residing in Switzerland for almost 11 years as well as working and paying my share of taxes, I finally obtained Swiss citizenship as well as the right to vote.

For those of you unfamilliar with the Swiss system, I believe it to be one of the best systems in the world (if not THE best).
Switzerland holds votations and referendums every few months. The people take this very seriously and in the weeks and days leading up to the votation one cannot flick on the TV without seeing and hearing debate regarding the issues surrounding the topic at hand.

On Sunday March 11th the main topic was concerning health care--mainly if medical care should be completely subsidised or remain as it is (privatized). In Switzerland, health care is mandatory and privatized. On average, an adult pays approximately $2000 per year (minimum) for medical insurance. Some people (mainly the crazy socialists) think this is a very big amount and believe that it would be better if the government should foot the bill (tax payers).

This idea makes the hair on my head go frizzy. As a Canadian citizen, I know full well about the pros and cons of living in such a system where medical treatment is "FREE!", a term widely used by Canadians gone blind. Such a "FREE" system taxes the working population beyond belief and the results are nothing but crowded waiting rooms, a band-aid, and a long waiting period before treatment even begins. Often patients who are seriously ill are forced to wait so long before getting treated that they either head down to the USA to pay for their own treatment out of their own pocket or risk dying. It's a known fact that Canadians run to the doctor for every little sniffle and pseudo-ailment simply because it is "FREE".

Luckily for Switzerland, the people have alot to say and most of the folks who do, normally have more common sense than the government. The results of this votation were as clear as water: 75% in favor of the status-quo and against the whining-jealousy-driven socialists that came up with such a stupid idea in the first place.

The following pictures are of me placing my vote in the ballots. This is a historical moment for the Müller-Jennings family.


Ich bin eine Schweizerin! :-)

Miles and the Tank

Mat bought a R/C Tank on an online auction. The tank, a fantasy model, is 82 cm long, can shoot and looks quite cool. The only problem was, that the whole fun lasted only about ten minutes... After rolling up and down the hill a couple times the wheels on the left side stopped turning... Miles was very disappointed after the tank was broken. Well, I guess you can't ask for too much quality when an article is pretty cheap and made in China... The solution to the problem is to buy another tank ...only a more expensive one...

Miles's multiple facets...

Miles in action as always!

Mat's instructing future company commanders

For the first time since we are back from the USA, Mat is a small group instructor at the Swiss Armed Forces Leadership Course I. This course is designed to teach tactics and leadership to future company commanders .

The course is very intense. The students have classes from 0700 till 2230 for almost every day for a duration of four weeks. After this course the candidates have the mission to lead a recruit school company for 8 weeks. Once this is completed, they may lead a real company.

Mat has nine students including an officer from Latvia in his group. Three infantrymen, 1 tanker, 1 military police, 2 Logistics- and two Signal-Officers.

Following are some pictures taken during the first week: