The Austrian News Watcher

[Ed Anger]

I bet the one on the left is bi-curious.

[Syt]

A screenshot from the movie. I presume they just discovere TEH PRON on the internets.

[Winkelried]

Considering the lenience towards Nazi fanbois in Austria after 1945 I think that the Habsburgs have every right to run for any office if they fulfill all other criteria.

What could possibly go wrong with electing a member of an imperial dynasty to the presidency?

Absolutely nothing, ask the French.

[Syt]

Yay National Holiday!

[Alatriste]

Considering the lenience towards Nazi fanbois in Austria after 1945 I think that the Habsburgs have every right to run for any office if they fulfill all other criteria.

What could possibly go wrong with electing a member of an imperial dynasty to the presidency?

Absolutely nothing, ask the French.

Well, some would say the Second Empire wasn't that bad until those uppity Prussians put an end to the play.  Anyway we have the modern example of Simeon of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, ex-Simeon II of Bulgaria. He was prime minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005 and afterwards returned to private life.

And IMHO if ex-kings are citizens like any other, they ought to possess the same rights than them. Applying special laws against them - and their descendants too - is quite unfair.

[Winkelried]

Considering the lenience towards Nazi fanbois in Austria after 1945 I think that the Habsburgs have every right to run for any office if they fulfill all other criteria.

What could possibly go wrong with electing a member of an imperial dynasty to the presidency?

Absolutely nothing, ask the French.

Well, some would say the Second Empire wasn't that bad until those uppity Prussians put an end to the play.  Anyway we have the modern example of Simeon of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, ex-Simeon II of Bulgaria. He was prime minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005 and afterwards returned to private life.

And IMHO if ex-kings are citizens like any other, they ought to possess the same rights than them. Applying special laws against them - and their descendants too - is quite unfair.

AFAIK the crimean war was of Nappy 3's own making. A totally pointless and avoidable war. But I agree with you about ex-kings being citizens and having the same rights, besides nowadays things seem to be somewhat more stable than in the 19th century.

[Malthus]

A screenshot from the movie. I presume they just discovere TEH PRON on the internets.

Suggested caption:

"I don't believe you can fit that in there."

[jimmy olsen]

Lol. 

[Syt]

After getting kicked by the EU courts, Austria is forced to introduce a law about telecommunications data retention.

The guideline of the EU:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_data_retention#European_Union

On 15 March 2006 the European Union formally adopted Directive 2006/24/EC, on "the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks and amending Directive 2002/58/EC" [1][2]

The Directive requires Member States to ensure that communications providers must retain, for a period of between 6 months and 2 years, necessary data as specified in the Directive

    * to trace and identify the source of a communication;
    * to trace and identify the destination of a communication;
    * to identify the date, time and duration of a communication;
    * to identify the type of communication;
    * to identify the communication device;
    * to identify the location of mobile communication equipment.

The data is required to be available to competent national authorities in specific cases, "for the purpose of the investigation, detection and prosecution of serious crime, as defined by each Member State in its national law".

[...]

The Directive as adopted covers fixed telephony, mobile telephony, Internet access, Internet email and Internet telephony. Member States are required to transpose it into national law within 18 months - ie no later than September 2007. However, they may if they wish postpone the application of the Directive to Internet access, Internet email and Internet telephony for a further 18 months after this date. A majority of Member States have indicated that they will indeed exercise this option.

Austria's government has handed the job of drafting the bill to a human rights group with the aim of making the minimal possible implementation of the law.

[Syt]

Today the Burschenschaft Olympia is celebrating its 150 years anniversary in the Imperial Hofburg Palace (they congregate there every year).

Police is on high alert because usually there's demonstrations by far left wingers against them. Olympia has rather, uhm, conservative ideas, as outlined in their current "News" segment:
http://olympia2.burschenschaft.at/aktuell/

My translation:

The Time of Upheaval approaches...

It's nearly upon us: the 9th November comes closer. Occasionally called "Day of Fate of the Germans", several more or less important historical events [1918 revolution, 1923 Hitler putsch, 1938 pogroms, 1989 fall of the Belin wall] occured on the date. Should it be celebrated? Should it be ignored? Neither one nor the other, this is about actively building the future and not reviving the past.

Many Germans (and that includes the Austrians) are fed up: of politicians, bureaucracy, media, Political Correctness etc. Overall, however, this can be summed up as people not silently accepting being branded xenophobe, racist, nazistic, fascistoid, sexist etc. On the one hand it's welcome, that many re-think. After all, it's not fun in the long run to be categorized as mucky pup all the time. Nevertheless, the realiziation that the fish stinks from its head is not enough. The thought process which has begun some while ago can only be the beginning. Slowly but surely we are put into a spot to finally set actions to correct the mistakes of the past years and decades. Let's first sum up a few of the truths, however, which are a necessary basis for honest and upstanding politics but are hardly ever mentioned in public discourse:

1. Humans are not equal, except with regards to dignity.
2. Being part of a certain people is not constituted by acquiring citizen rights.
3. It's not a form of "discrimination" if unequals are treated unequally.
4. In most areas (e.g. Intelligence, Medicine, Sports, etc.) the biological ancestry is relevant.
5. The amount of immigration of the past decades is not an enrichment.
6. The "import" of strange people does not solve the financial problems of the social nets (e.g. health insurance, pensions).
7. There is not collective guilt or shame.
8. The history of the German group of peoples and cultures is significantly longer than the period 1933-1945 and should not constantly circle around that time.
9. Neither the FRG [Federal Republic of Germany] not the Republic of Austria have any special historical responsibility towards the rest of humanity or towards a certain people.
10. Freedom of opinion means being able to speak one's mind without fear of prosecution, even if the majority doesn't share or even opposes it.

Some of these 10 Points have recently been mentioned by Mr Thilo Sarrazin [sacked head of Federal Reserve in Germany, made remarks about the lack of economic usefulness of procreating unemployed Turkish families], an ideologically inconspicuous Social Democrat, who was "thanked" by being almost stoned to death by large parts of "the public". Finally he was "punished" for his openness by being removed from his duties which shall obviously coincide with the "condemnation" of his "deed".

But for what has he been punished? For speaking what every thinking person can see for himself? It's puzzling, but he is but an example among many who often fare worse (real threat of existence).

Be it as it may. Crying over spilled milk won't get us forward. It's much more important to know the past in order to learn from it. Only then it's possible to take the future in one's own hand. Everyone can do their small share, as not all of us are able to do grand things.

The following ten sentences and suggestions for action should be an incentive to think about matters and be creative:

1. Everything people have created can be reversed again.
2. Everybody who has immigrated can also emigrate again.
3. We were not asked at any point if we would agree with immigration, naturalization, opening of welfare etc.
4. Everything that happens does so because it's at least largely covered by laws, ordinances etc.
5. Laws, ordinances, etc. can also be changed, procided there's the required majorities.
6. All general conditions for a higher birth rate would be affordable if would start saving on the bottomless pits.
7. The usual media and their selected coverage should be consumed with special care or for pure amusement.
8. We as (Volks-)gemeinschaft [Volksgemeinschaft being a term used by Nazis a lot, trasnslating roughly as "ethnic community"] should declare the common, not the dividing our maxim and live our natural cohesion.
9. Nobody has forbidden us to treat people who share our heritage with preference in daily life.
10. Nobody has forbidden us to act as multiplicator within the family, among our friends or at the workplace and raise awareness. Raise awareness (and not convince) because there's more like-minded people that one would think.

Free after Ludwig van Beethoven: Let's reach into the jaws of fate not only on fate's day!

In that past they garnered reknown for supporting the 1960s South Tyrol bombers, or inviting David Irving over for a speech.

[Scipio]

Today the Burschenschaft Olympia is celebrating its 150 years anniversary in the Imperial Hofburg Palace (they congregate there every year).

Police is on high alert because usually there's demonstrations by far left wingers against them. Olympia has rather, uhm, conservative ideas, as outlined in their current "News" segment:
http://olympia2.burschenschaft.at/aktuell/

My translation:

The Time of Upheaval approaches...

It's nearly upon us: the 9th November comes closer. Occasionally called "Day of Fate of the Germans", several more or less important historical events [1918 revolution, 1923 Hitler putsch, 1938 pogroms, 1989 fall of the Belin wall] occured on the date. Should it be celebrated? Should it be ignored? Neither one nor the other, this is about actively building the future and not reviving the past.

Many Germans (and that includes the Austrians) are fed up: of politicians, bureaucracy, media, Political Correctness etc. Overall, however, this can be summed up as people not silently accepting being branded xenophobe, racist, nazistic, fascistoid, sexist etc. On the one hand it's welcome, that many re-think. After all, it's not fun in the long run to be categorized as mucky pup all the time. Nevertheless, the realiziation that the fish stinks from its head is not enough. The thought process which has begun some while ago can only be the beginning. Slowly but surely we are put into a spot to finally set actions to correct the mistakes of the past years and decades. Let's first sum up a few of the truths, however, which are a necessary basis for honest and upstanding politics but are hardly ever mentioned in public discourse:

1. Humans are not equal, except with regards to dignity.
2. Being part of a certain people is not constituted by acquiring citizen rights.
3. It's not a form of "discrimination" if unequals are treated unequally.
4. In most areas (e.g. Intelligence, Medicine, Sports, etc.) the biological ancestry is relevant.
5. The amount of immigration of the past decades is not an enrichment.
6. The "import" of strange people does not solve the financial problems of the social nets (e.g. health insurance, pensions).
7. There is not collective guilt or shame.
8. The history of the German group of peoples and cultures is significantly longer than the period 1933-1945 and should not constantly circle around that time.
9. Neither the FRG [Federal Republic of Germany] not the Republic of Austria have any special historical responsibility towards the rest of humanity or towards a certain people.
10. Freedom of opinion means being able to speak one's mind without fear of prosecution, even if the majority doesn't share or even opposes it.

Some of these 10 Points have recently been mentioned by Mr Thilo Sarrazin [sacked head of Federal Reserve in Germany, made remarks about the lack of economic usefulness of procreating unemployed Turkish families], an ideologically inconspicuous Social Democrat, who was "thanked" by being almost stoned to death by large parts of "the public". Finally he was "punished" for his openness by being removed from his duties which shall obviously coincide with the "condemnation" of his "deed".

But for what has he been punished? For speaking what every thinking person can see for himself? It's puzzling, but he is but an example among many who often fare worse (real threat of existence).

Be it as it may. Crying over spilled milk won't get us forward. It's much more important to know the past in order to learn from it. Only then it's possible to take the future in one's own hand. Everyone can do their small share, as not all of us are able to do grand things.

The following ten sentences and suggestions for action should be an incentive to think about matters and be creative:

1. Everything people have created can be reversed again.
2. Everybody who has immigrated can also emigrate again.
3. We were not asked at any point if we would agree with immigration, naturalization, opening of welfare etc.
4. Everything that happens does so because it's at least largely covered by laws, ordinances etc.
5. Laws, ordinances, etc. can also be changed, procided there's the required majorities.
6. All general conditions for a higher birth rate would be affordable if would start saving on the bottomless pits.
7. The usual media and their selected coverage should be consumed with special care or for pure amusement.
8. We as (Volks-)gemeinschaft [Volksgemeinschaft being a term used by Nazis a lot, trasnslating roughly as "ethnic community"] should declare the common, not the dividing our maxim and live our natural cohesion.
9. Nobody has forbidden us to treat people who share our heritage with preference in daily life.
10. Nobody has forbidden us to act as multiplicator within the family, among our friends or at the workplace and raise awareness. Raise awareness (and not convince) because there's more like-minded people that one would think.

Free after Ludwig van Beethoven: Let's reach into the jaws of fate not only on fate's day!

In that past they garnered reknown for supporting the 1960s South Tyrol bombers, or inviting John Irving over for a speech.

John Irving or David Irving?

[Syt]

John Irving or David Irving?

David. Brain fart there.

[Syt]

Story in German:

http://kurier.at/nachrichten/wien/1969705.php


A female medicine student fell in love with a doctor during her working at a hospital. Over the course of 2 years she sent him 30,000 anonymous SMS, up to 140 per day. He keeps ignoring/deleting them. Eventually, she sends him worn underwear, sex toys and letters along the lines "You better not have someone else!"

She was dragged to criminal court, but the (female) judge says while she massively harassed the doctor this does not qualify as stalking, because it didn't damage his life in an unacceptable manner (the latter being part of the legal definition of stalking in Austria).

I wonder, though, what the ruling would have been if the roles had been reversed, with him sending all those SMS and packages.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Story in German:

http://kurier.at/nachrichten/wien/1969705.php


A female medicine student fell in love with a doctor during her working at a hospital. Over the course of 2 years she sent him 30,000 anonymous SMS, up to 140 per day. He keeps ignoring/deleting them. Eventually, she sends him worn underwear, sex toys and letters along the lines "You better not have someone else!"

She was dragged to criminal court, but the (female) judge says while she massively harassed the doctor this does not qualify as stalking, because it didn't damage his life in an unacceptable manner (the latter being part of the legal definition of stalking in Austria).

I wonder, though, what the ruling would have been if the roles had been reversed, with him sending all those SMS and packages.

Maybe this should be included in a new episode of "Sex We Can"

[Syt]

Tomorrow marks the official high point of the Vienna ball season, the annual Opernball, a tradition loved and reviled at the same time. The high society (or rather those who believe themselves to be) will gather to celebrate themselves.

Every year, real estate tycoon Lugner (77) invited a "special guest". In the past those were Paris Hilton, Dita von Teese, Nicolette Sheridan, Terri Hatcher or Dolly Buster.

This year he invited Lindsey Lohan. "Unfortunately" she'll probably not make it because supposedly she can't leave the U.S. due to a parole violation. Lugner's new 20 year old girlfriend "Katzi" (kitten - she was these found to have been working for an escort agency until pretty recently) will be delighted.

Unrelated to Lugner, however, Katie Price will be present.