Swiss Army plans for economic collapse, violent uprisings and mass refugee migrations

“For its credibility, the Swiss army must work

(to ward against) threats of the 21st century.”

Antoine Vielliard

Hauate-Savoie councilor

In the "Do they know something we don't department."

Switzerland has revealed that they, like the US government, have been simulating collapse fall-out scenarios that could stem from widespread economic collapse, violent uprisings and mass refugee migrations.

Carried out in August, the army exercise was based on the premise of an attack by a financially stricken France split into warring regions, according to Matin Dimanche, the Lausanne-based daily.

One of these, “Saônia,” corresponding to the existing Jura region, was preparing attacks on Switzerland to retrieve money it had apparently swiped from France reports the UK Telegraph.

Operation “Duplex-Barbara” went as far as imagining a three-pronged invasion from points near Neufchâtel, Lausanne and Geneva, according to a map published in the Swiss newspaper.
 

No, bikes are not funny.
In rugged country an infantry company can move rapidly on mountain trails
and roads with no need for gasoline.

Behind the raid was a paramilitary organization dubbed BLD, the Dijon Free Brigade bent on grabbing back “money that Switzerland had stolen from Saônia”.

“For its credibility, the Swiss army must work (to ward against) threats of the 21st century,” Antoine Vielliard, Hauate-Savoie councillor, told Matin Dimanche.

However, Daniel Berger, captain of the Swiss armored brigade, sought to play down the specificity of the threat.

"The exercise has strictly nothing to do with France, which we appreciate" he told the Swiss press. “It was prepared in 2012, when fiscal relations between both countries were less tense.” “French towns were cited to provide soldiers with a real scale,” he said.

Famous for its bank secrecy laws, Switzerland often comes under criticism for allowing foreign account holders to hide their wealth from tax officials at home.

But these opaque laws are coming under increasing fire as France and the US, among others, are cracking down on tax evasion during a period of economic hardship.

This is by no means the first imaginary scenario dreamed up by the Swiss army. Last year, it carried out an exercise based on the premise that a huge wave of refugees crossed into the country after the implosion of the European Single Currency and ensuing chaos across the continent.

“Stabilo Due” centered around a risk map created in 2010 and envisaged internal unrest between warring factions as well as the possibility of refugees from Greece, Spain, Italy, France, and Portugal.

Warning of an escalation of violence in Europe, defense minister Ueli Maurer said at the time: “I can’t exclude that in the coming years we may need the army.”

Protecting the Swiss mountain passes.

Publicly funded drive-in "sex boxes" for prostitution

Zurich's drive-in ‘sex boxes’ enjoy

a ‘promising’ first night

Zurich has launched a novel experiment to make prostitution safer: publicly funded drive-in "sex boxes".

The teak-coloured wooden garages will be open for business from Monday for drive-in customers in a country where prostitution has been legal since 1942 on the outskirts of the Swiss city. The several dozen sex workers who are expected to use them can stand along a short road in a small, circular park where they can negotiate with clients. The park was built in a former industrial area between a rail yard and the fence along a major highway.

The publicly funded facilities – away from the city centre and open all night – include bathrooms, lockers, small cafe tables, a laundry and shower. Men won't have to worry about video surveillance cameras, but the sex workers – who will need a permit and pay tax – will have a panic button and access to on-site social workers trained to look after them reports the UK Guardian.

Modelled after the drive-in brothels used in several cities in Germany and the Netherlands, which have had mixed success improving safety, the sex boxes will be open daily from 7pm to 5am. The city has painted the outdoor bathrooms in soft pink and blue, strung colourful light bulbs among the trees and posted creative signs encouraging the use of condoms to spruce the place up a little and make it seem more pleasant.

"We built the place to be secure for the sex workers. It also had to be discreet for the sex workers and the clientele," said Michael Herzig, of Zurich's social welfare department. "But we thought if we build the place, we can also make it look good."

Zurich requires that street sex workers register with city and health authorities, and it offers health checks and requires that sex workers be at least 18 years old, in keeping with a Council of Europe convention on protecting children from exploitation and abuse.

In Switzerland, anyone who works in the sex trade must be at least 16, the legal age of sexual maturity. The income is taxed and subject to social insurance like any other economic activity.

Zurich’s so-called drive-in ‘sex boxes’ opened for business on Monday and got off to a “promising start” according to Thomas Meier, a spokesman for the city’s social services.

Due to the large amount of public interest in the site Meier explained that “expectations were low for the first evening”. But, seemingly, not everyone was put off, with a few clients and around 30 prostitutes making use of the facilities on the first night.

The aim of the publicly funded experiment is to make prostitution safer. There are no surveillance cameras on site, although the sex workers do have a panic button and access to an on-site social worker.

Located in Altstetten in a former industrial area of the city, the project also hopes to take control of prostitution and move it out of the city centre.

The spokesman added that it could take weeks or months before the site is operational at the desired level because “prostitution is a business that requires a certain degree of confidentiality”. On the opening night only a handful of sex workers were seen in the first hour, likely intimidated by the presence of cameras and journalists.

The ‘sex-boxes’, which are accessible only to motorists, can accommodate up to 50 prostitutes and are open all night. There are also bathrooms, lockers, a laundry room and a shower available for use by the sex workers. They need a permit to use the facilities and will have to pay a small tax.

An organisation will also be on site daily to offer them counselling, medical advice and even German lessons.

Prostitution has been legal in Switzerland since 1942, but growing numbers of sex workers and violence attributed to the trade are beginning to cause problems in certain areas of the city, exasperating local residents.

Your tax dollars at work.
Or in this case, your Swiss Franc's at work.  The publicly funded facilities will
include bathrooms, lockers, small cafe tables and a laundry and shower.
Photograph: John Heilprin/AP