Well, I read the CBC report on Rob Ford's alleged use of un-mayor-like language and I wrote a little comment about it. Then I read some more about it and things no longer seemed as clear. I therefore deleted my entry on the principle that "If you remain silent, you may be thought a fool, but if you open your mouth and talk nonsense you will remove all doubt."
Would anybody clear this up for me?
But before that: Hand me a ballot with a hanging ..... (what were they called? Chad??? )
bertstravels
Friday, October 28, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same....
One of the reasons why Martin Luther split from the Catholic Church, as I understand it, was this abominable practice of Blackmail practiced by the Church of Rome upon its downtrodden believers: For payment of sums of money it was possible to buy your way out of the fires of purgatory. The number of years "out of purgatory" was in direct relationship with the amount of money you gave. Some poor sods gave all they posessed, including the farm and lands in order to leave purgatory 100,000 years earlier. And the church, knowing full well that this was nonsense blackmailed its believers mercilessly.
It is common knowledge that many, if not most Catholic Priests break the law of celibacy on a daily basis.
The women with whom they share their beds are referred to as their "housekeeper".
Bishop Egon Kapellari of Graz now has come up with a truly Catholic solution to this problem:
Priests who break the law of celibacy should make a voluntary financial contribution, "maybe to the starving population of this world". Such a "voluntary contribution" should be of an amount which is "painful" to the individual Priest. The Bishop does not define the concept of "painful" since, I suppose, he understands that it is different for different Priests. A Priest who has five children to support needs more money than one who has only one child. Therefore the level of "pain" is reached sooner in one case than the other.
Egon expresses his belief that after such a voluntary contribution, the sinning Priest will be able "to breath freely again"... He does not say, however, how long such "freely breathing" may last. When the guilty conscience again weighs heavily upon the soul of the sinner, another "almost painful contribution" may become neccessary. Should this, maybe, become an annual payment, or should it be left to the individual Priest and his feeling of guilt? Probably, for simplicity's sake the payment could be made directly to the church who then may decide which of the world's starving population should be supported.
At the outset I said that Kapellari has come up with a truly Catholic solution.
Because since day One, the Catholic Church has played the game of "the guilty sinner". And a person who feels guilty can be easily controlled and blackmailed. And it truly was never an issue of "Souls and Forgiveness" but it was always an issue of "Control" and "Money"...
Our good Bishop assures us that he will not issue a table of "tariffs" and that he will not want to check into the amount an individual Priest has in fact paid. If, however, a promise is broken, there is one's own conscience to be dealt with.
Then, in true double speak fashion, he assures us that this payment has nothing to do with "indulgence", with paying your way out of Purgatory, but is only one step for the sinning Priest to be able to "breath freely" again.
What, dear Bishop, exactly is the difference between "Paying your way out of Purgatory" and "Breathing Freely Again" ?
If you would like to explain this to me, you may reach me under
bertstravels.
P.S. I have a better suggestion for the sinning Priest, than Bishop Kapellari.
Go to Confession.... it works and it's a lot cheaper...
It is common knowledge that many, if not most Catholic Priests break the law of celibacy on a daily basis.
The women with whom they share their beds are referred to as their "housekeeper".
Bishop Egon Kapellari of Graz now has come up with a truly Catholic solution to this problem:
Priests who break the law of celibacy should make a voluntary financial contribution, "maybe to the starving population of this world". Such a "voluntary contribution" should be of an amount which is "painful" to the individual Priest. The Bishop does not define the concept of "painful" since, I suppose, he understands that it is different for different Priests. A Priest who has five children to support needs more money than one who has only one child. Therefore the level of "pain" is reached sooner in one case than the other.
Egon expresses his belief that after such a voluntary contribution, the sinning Priest will be able "to breath freely again"... He does not say, however, how long such "freely breathing" may last. When the guilty conscience again weighs heavily upon the soul of the sinner, another "almost painful contribution" may become neccessary. Should this, maybe, become an annual payment, or should it be left to the individual Priest and his feeling of guilt? Probably, for simplicity's sake the payment could be made directly to the church who then may decide which of the world's starving population should be supported.
At the outset I said that Kapellari has come up with a truly Catholic solution.
Because since day One, the Catholic Church has played the game of "the guilty sinner". And a person who feels guilty can be easily controlled and blackmailed. And it truly was never an issue of "Souls and Forgiveness" but it was always an issue of "Control" and "Money"...
Our good Bishop assures us that he will not issue a table of "tariffs" and that he will not want to check into the amount an individual Priest has in fact paid. If, however, a promise is broken, there is one's own conscience to be dealt with.
Then, in true double speak fashion, he assures us that this payment has nothing to do with "indulgence", with paying your way out of Purgatory, but is only one step for the sinning Priest to be able to "breath freely" again.
What, dear Bishop, exactly is the difference between "Paying your way out of Purgatory" and "Breathing Freely Again" ?
If you would like to explain this to me, you may reach me under
bertstravels.
P.S. I have a better suggestion for the sinning Priest, than Bishop Kapellari.
Go to Confession.... it works and it's a lot cheaper...
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Turtle and the Duck
Every now and then I dig in my old pictures.
These two were taken in the Courtright Centre, just North of Toronto.
Says the turtle:
" Get off my log, you Mallard, you."
Says the Duck:
"I got time, I can sit here till the paint pales on you,
you Painted Turtle you."
The Reality of the Kyoto Protocol (as I see it )
The Kyoto Protocol, signed in 2005, is an effort to fight Global Warming.
37 countries have committed themselves to reduce emissions of "Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide and Sulphur Hexafluoride" to prescribed levels.
Only the USA have refused to sign this protocol. Asked for the reason for this refusal, President George W. Bush replied that, although he took global warming very seriously, he opposed the Kyoto Treaty because it excempts 80% of the world and had set goals, the achieving of which, if at all possible, would seriously damage the economy of the USA.
At this point it is interesting to note that not one of the 37 signatories to this laudable undertaking has achieved its goals, inspite of the possibility of "Credits". This means that if Country A invests money in the reduction efforts of country B, country A may take credit for the resulting reduction. This, on the surface is a good thing. "The World" according to Baha U' LLah "is but one country and mankind its citicens."
One has to accept that "Global Warming" is indeed a global problem and therefore the exact location where it is prevented is of no importance. If Austria, f.i. funds a change from a coal fired industry to a gas fired one in an African country, the subsequent reduction in emission of CO2 is of benefit to the global community. Therefore, Austria should receive the credit for it.
Inspite of all of this, not one country has achieved its objective.
What, if this sample African country has a corrupt government, (and we have heard of some) the question arises how much of the money is earmarked for the private pockets of its leadership? So, how do we control and account for the supposed "Credit"?
Each farmer's cow is a Methane production plant. How do we stop cows from farting? A cork in their rear end?
Hey, let's put on our collective thinking cap.
We have to come up with some workable idea.
bertstravels.
37 countries have committed themselves to reduce emissions of "Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide and Sulphur Hexafluoride" to prescribed levels.
Only the USA have refused to sign this protocol. Asked for the reason for this refusal, President George W. Bush replied that, although he took global warming very seriously, he opposed the Kyoto Treaty because it excempts 80% of the world and had set goals, the achieving of which, if at all possible, would seriously damage the economy of the USA.
At this point it is interesting to note that not one of the 37 signatories to this laudable undertaking has achieved its goals, inspite of the possibility of "Credits". This means that if Country A invests money in the reduction efforts of country B, country A may take credit for the resulting reduction. This, on the surface is a good thing. "The World" according to Baha U' LLah "is but one country and mankind its citicens."
One has to accept that "Global Warming" is indeed a global problem and therefore the exact location where it is prevented is of no importance. If Austria, f.i. funds a change from a coal fired industry to a gas fired one in an African country, the subsequent reduction in emission of CO2 is of benefit to the global community. Therefore, Austria should receive the credit for it.
Inspite of all of this, not one country has achieved its objective.
What, if this sample African country has a corrupt government, (and we have heard of some) the question arises how much of the money is earmarked for the private pockets of its leadership? So, how do we control and account for the supposed "Credit"?
Each farmer's cow is a Methane production plant. How do we stop cows from farting? A cork in their rear end?
Hey, let's put on our collective thinking cap.
We have to come up with some workable idea.
bertstravels.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Hi there, it's Barnie back again... you remember, Barnie from the E.U.
Remember some days ago I wrote about the E.U. Interior Trade Commissioner "Barnier" who along with the E.U. Finance Commissioner suggested that the American Rating Agencies must be "smashed" ?
Remember good old Barnie ? Well he's back again with another of his fabulous ideas:
This time these Rating Agencies must be "forbidden" to publish their ratings about any E.U. Country which is in difficulties. The Country may of course be permitted to get into financial difficulties by spending year after year after year more, much more money than they can raise through taxation of their poor citizens. That's Okay. But don't anybody dare to talk about it. Don't anybody dare to say: You keep amassing these deficits and subsequent debts, and your credit rating will suffer. Oh No, the "drunken sailor syndrome" must be hidden to make sure that international lenders don't know about it and keep on lending money to these spendthrifts who under no circumstances will be able to repay such a loan.
Barnie mellows his demand somewhat by suggesting that this reporting prohibition "could be temporary"...
Barnier suggests something which under any circumstance will be extremely difficult, if not impossible:
The European Union should, so he says, forbid an American private company to follow its legal undertaking.
Good Old Barnie, he must be the one with the Dunce Cap standing in the corner, has given us, once again, the benefit of his thoughtful mind.
Now a few observations about the circumstances in Greece.
If what I read in todays paper is true I can only shake my head and wonder how the leadership of a country can be so utterly stupid:
In order to increase its Income, the Greek Government has increased the income taxes of a family of five, earning a total of 25,000 Euros per annum from the earlier 390 Euros to a staggering 2,970 Euros. An increase of, get this, 661 %....
At the same time, the Income Taxes, payable by a married couple earning 100,000 Euros per annum, will increase from 31.600 to 32,420 Euros. An increase of a measly 2.6%.
How does anybody justify this? No wonder that in Athens the masses are on the streets again.
But something is curious about this whole "let's demonstrate and smash store windows and burn cars, even if we don't know whose store window it is or to whom the car belongs...... makes no difference, let's just riot...
and who is moving against each other more than anyone else? The Communist lead Labour Unions are battling agains the Anarchist Chaots.... Yes, you read this correctly: The Anarchists are fighting the Communists...
Only in Athens, you say ?
Bertstravels.
Remember good old Barnie ? Well he's back again with another of his fabulous ideas:
This time these Rating Agencies must be "forbidden" to publish their ratings about any E.U. Country which is in difficulties. The Country may of course be permitted to get into financial difficulties by spending year after year after year more, much more money than they can raise through taxation of their poor citizens. That's Okay. But don't anybody dare to talk about it. Don't anybody dare to say: You keep amassing these deficits and subsequent debts, and your credit rating will suffer. Oh No, the "drunken sailor syndrome" must be hidden to make sure that international lenders don't know about it and keep on lending money to these spendthrifts who under no circumstances will be able to repay such a loan.
Barnie mellows his demand somewhat by suggesting that this reporting prohibition "could be temporary"...
Barnier suggests something which under any circumstance will be extremely difficult, if not impossible:
The European Union should, so he says, forbid an American private company to follow its legal undertaking.
Good Old Barnie, he must be the one with the Dunce Cap standing in the corner, has given us, once again, the benefit of his thoughtful mind.
Now a few observations about the circumstances in Greece.
If what I read in todays paper is true I can only shake my head and wonder how the leadership of a country can be so utterly stupid:
In order to increase its Income, the Greek Government has increased the income taxes of a family of five, earning a total of 25,000 Euros per annum from the earlier 390 Euros to a staggering 2,970 Euros. An increase of, get this, 661 %....
At the same time, the Income Taxes, payable by a married couple earning 100,000 Euros per annum, will increase from 31.600 to 32,420 Euros. An increase of a measly 2.6%.
How does anybody justify this? No wonder that in Athens the masses are on the streets again.
But something is curious about this whole "let's demonstrate and smash store windows and burn cars, even if we don't know whose store window it is or to whom the car belongs...... makes no difference, let's just riot...
and who is moving against each other more than anyone else? The Communist lead Labour Unions are battling agains the Anarchist Chaots.... Yes, you read this correctly: The Anarchists are fighting the Communists...
Only in Athens, you say ?
Bertstravels.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Religious Dialog? or "The Fox is in the Hen house"
a few days ago i wrote about the "centre for religious dialog" planned for vienna and sponsored by the king of saudi arabia.
well, the official signing took place yesterday and the signatories were: Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, prince "saud al-faisal bin abdulaziz al-saud", the foreign minister of spain and austria's vice chancellor, michael spindelegger. everybody, who was anybody, held a speech in which the most often used words were: dialog, peace, tolerance, understanding.
it was almost a feeling of "alice in wonderland" to hear these very words out of the mouth of the saudi arabian prince.
the austrian journlists coul not be bamboozled this easily: samuel Laster asked the prince if he, as a jew could now come to saudi arabia, and have his wife drive him to a synagog. the prince's answer came quickly and tersly: "there are no jews in saudi arabia nor any synagogs." he neglected to mention that if his wife drove the car, she woul likely be arrested and whipped or jailed. he further made no mention of the fact that other religions, such as christianity could not be practiced, or that the death penalty loomed over any S.A. citizen, who changed from islam to another faith.
in his address mr. spindelegger spoke of the declaration of human rights and religious freedom,
the saudi prince allowed that he accepted the principles of the united nations.
another pesky journalist then asked how the prince could reconcile this acceptance with the fact that these fundamental rights are not present in saudi arabia.
the answer from the prince: "i hope that the centre for religious dialog will take leadership in this area."
well, we can all hope that this truly will foster tolerance and religious understanding all over the world, including Saudi Arabia.
(due to injury, typed with one hand )
well, the official signing took place yesterday and the signatories were: Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, prince "saud al-faisal bin abdulaziz al-saud", the foreign minister of spain and austria's vice chancellor, michael spindelegger. everybody, who was anybody, held a speech in which the most often used words were: dialog, peace, tolerance, understanding.
it was almost a feeling of "alice in wonderland" to hear these very words out of the mouth of the saudi arabian prince.
the austrian journlists coul not be bamboozled this easily: samuel Laster asked the prince if he, as a jew could now come to saudi arabia, and have his wife drive him to a synagog. the prince's answer came quickly and tersly: "there are no jews in saudi arabia nor any synagogs." he neglected to mention that if his wife drove the car, she woul likely be arrested and whipped or jailed. he further made no mention of the fact that other religions, such as christianity could not be practiced, or that the death penalty loomed over any S.A. citizen, who changed from islam to another faith.
in his address mr. spindelegger spoke of the declaration of human rights and religious freedom,
the saudi prince allowed that he accepted the principles of the united nations.
another pesky journalist then asked how the prince could reconcile this acceptance with the fact that these fundamental rights are not present in saudi arabia.
the answer from the prince: "i hope that the centre for religious dialog will take leadership in this area."
well, we can all hope that this truly will foster tolerance and religious understanding all over the world, including Saudi Arabia.
(due to injury, typed with one hand )
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
This is truly hard to believe !
Greece, the cradle of Democracy, the birth place of Socrates, Plato and many other important thinkers is broke. Yes, GREECE IS BROKE !!!
The other members of the European Union tried to avoid this disaster and gave Greece 65 Billion Euros.
Yes this is 65 BILLIONS OF EUROS, or about 91 Billion Dollars. Quite a chunck of money, wouldn't you say? None of it will ever likely be paid back.
This turned out was like pouring a bucket of water into the sands of the Sahara.
Now, one wonders, how can such a thing come about? There are, of course, a number of reasons: Not the least of which is the fact, that the Greek Government has been spending money like a shipload of drunken sailors: One Example:
This past June, the then Greek Minister of Labour, Louka Katseli, allowed that there are at minimum 4,500 Civil Servants receiving unjustified Pensions, although many of them have died several years ago.
Beginning this past July and until the end of September, the IKA, Greece's largest Government operated Pension Plan asked all recipients of Pension payments to re-register.
898,643 Pensioners did so.
109,421 Pensioners have disappeared without a trace, even though they collected their monthly payments faithfully. Are they dead? How long have they been dead?
At present a careful study is under way in respect of 9000 Pensioners, which, according to Government records would have to be over 100 years old, 500 of them in fact were borne more than 110 years ago.
In total it is estimated that about 110,000 Greeks collect pension payments without an entitlement.
If this estimate is correct, (some say it is the tip of the iceberg) the annual cost of this embezzelment amounts to about 1.5 Billion Euros annually.
It is staggering to think how many people, relatives and doctors must be in on this scam.
I am repeating this account from our normally very reliable newspaper. (Tuesday, 11th of October.)It is not based on my own research.
Hey, Buddy, will you cash my Pension check?
Bertstravels
The other members of the European Union tried to avoid this disaster and gave Greece 65 Billion Euros.
Yes this is 65 BILLIONS OF EUROS, or about 91 Billion Dollars. Quite a chunck of money, wouldn't you say? None of it will ever likely be paid back.
This turned out was like pouring a bucket of water into the sands of the Sahara.
Now, one wonders, how can such a thing come about? There are, of course, a number of reasons: Not the least of which is the fact, that the Greek Government has been spending money like a shipload of drunken sailors: One Example:
This past June, the then Greek Minister of Labour, Louka Katseli, allowed that there are at minimum 4,500 Civil Servants receiving unjustified Pensions, although many of them have died several years ago.
Beginning this past July and until the end of September, the IKA, Greece's largest Government operated Pension Plan asked all recipients of Pension payments to re-register.
898,643 Pensioners did so.
109,421 Pensioners have disappeared without a trace, even though they collected their monthly payments faithfully. Are they dead? How long have they been dead?
At present a careful study is under way in respect of 9000 Pensioners, which, according to Government records would have to be over 100 years old, 500 of them in fact were borne more than 110 years ago.
In total it is estimated that about 110,000 Greeks collect pension payments without an entitlement.
If this estimate is correct, (some say it is the tip of the iceberg) the annual cost of this embezzelment amounts to about 1.5 Billion Euros annually.
It is staggering to think how many people, relatives and doctors must be in on this scam.
I am repeating this account from our normally very reliable newspaper. (Tuesday, 11th of October.)It is not based on my own research.
Hey, Buddy, will you cash my Pension check?
Bertstravels
WELL, ACCIDENTS HAPPEN, DON'T THEY ?
This very old and quite valuable farmer's chest,
hand crafted and hand painted was placed outside
with the cover opened, in order to get some fresh air into it
and make it smell good again.
This is the old fashioned iron locking device.
I came from the garden to go into my studio,
when I slipped and fell.
My left elbow knocked off the lid support,
my left wrist, palm down, came to rest exactly on top of the iron lock.
The heavy lid came down upon my hand and drove it
into the lock. Numbed I lifted the lid off my hand.
For a moment I sat there, not believing the gaping look of my wrist,
or the puddle of blood which formed very quickly.
At the top of my voice I called for Christin.
She came at once, applied a tournique and called our neighbouring doctor.
He hooked me onto an infusion, and bandaged my arm.
An ambulance was called which took me, sirens blaring, to the hospital.
The operating doctor told me that I was a very lucky man:
The iron prong missed my artery by the width of a hair.
So, I sit here typing this with one hand.
What did the man say? "Accidents will happen."
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Along the "Wine Street" of Styria
A few weeks ago we took a leisurely trip
along the "Wine Street" (Weinstrasse)
of the Province of Styria.
Wonderful rolling hills and on every South slope
a vinyard.
some of the very best wines are grown right here....
and some of the prettiest country side can be found here too.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Roses and Jugs
Roses in my back garden.
*******
Yesterday we swam in our pool
today it snowed at -2 degrees.
Talk about a temperature swing.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Beauty and The Beast
Yesterday I showed you "The Beauty" in our Pool.
Today it's "The Beast"
Surely one of the last days of such brilliant sun shine
and warm temperatures.
22 Degrees in the Sun...
The water, a refreshing 15 degrees
The "Marathon swimmer"
Three length of our pool.
Then it gets too chilly.
It's the 5th of October, after all...
Is this "The Fox in the Hen House ?
Todays News Paper "Die Presse" reports that Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz al-Saud will finance a "Centre for Religious Dialog" in Vienna. This Centre will be served by a Board of Directors, consisting of members of all the world's great religions. The Vatican sends an Islam specialist, the Anglican church sends a high ranking member, so will the Jewish community, the Buddhists will appoint a member, and Islam will be represented by a Saudi Arabian Imam. The Centre, so the paper reports will be staffed by 30 to 35 employees. Who they are, how they will be organized is still not clear.
On the surface this sounds like a great idea. What a wonderful opportunity for the worlds great religions to talk to each other and maybe, just maybe understand each other a little better. Surely this is something we all must applaud.
Now lets examine some of the background:
King Abdullah is the absolute ruler of Saudi Arabia. And Saudi Arabia is an Islamic State, where there is no division between Religion and Government. Saudi Arabia's Islam is of the "Wahhabi" variety. A very very fundamental kind of Islam, which preaches that all "Non-Believers" (in Islam) must be hated as must be their Believes.
If in Saudi Arabia you were to attempt to discuss f.i. Monarchy vs Democracy, or Islam vs.Christianity, you would likely find yourself in Jail and not on a discussion forum.
During the past two decades, the Saudis have spent in excess of 90 Billions of Dollars, (yes, that's "Billions") in an effort to propagate Wahhabism through the building of mosques, madrasas and other religious institutions in the Americas and in Europe. In many of them, so I read, hatred of anything "Not-Islam" is preached.
The State of Saudi Arabia is governed by the King, but the King is governed by Shari'ah (or Sharia) law.
A body of Law, which among others demands penalties such as Whipping, Stoning and Amputation.
Not so long ago, a woman met a friend to collect some photographs. The couple were attacked by several men, the man beaten and the young woman raped several times. The Perpetrators were apprehended, charged with the crime of rape and sentenced to various numbers of years in jail.
Great you say! So say I!
What happened to the rape victim? She was charged with "meeting a man who was not a member of her family", convicted of this 'heinous crime'
and sentenced to 200 lashes with a whip and six months in jail.
Very recently a woman was arrested for driving an automobile: She was sentenced to 100 lashes with the whip. This punishment was suspended by the edict of the King.
The very few believers in Christianity, living in Saudi Arabia, have to celebrate their religion secretly, in private homes and woe be them if they are caught.
Now, back to the Dialogue Centre, to be established by the King of Saudi Arabia in Vienna.
You can now actually take one of two positions:
1.) This is a great idea: To establish, pay for and fund the operations of a 'Centre for Religious Understanding' can only be a desirable thing. Three cheers for the King.
2.) This is a terrible idea: To give a fanatical branch of Islam a foothold in Central Europe from which they can preach more of their intolerance toward any other set of believes and slowly attempt to introduce their Sharia Law certainly poses a danger to civilisation as it is known here.
So, here you have the alternatives: Take your pick.
Bertstravels.
Quick, give me a Shot of Brandy or a Scotch on the Rocks...
No, don't ! The penalty for consuming alcohol is time in jail and/or lashes with the whip.
On the surface this sounds like a great idea. What a wonderful opportunity for the worlds great religions to talk to each other and maybe, just maybe understand each other a little better. Surely this is something we all must applaud.
Now lets examine some of the background:
King Abdullah is the absolute ruler of Saudi Arabia. And Saudi Arabia is an Islamic State, where there is no division between Religion and Government. Saudi Arabia's Islam is of the "Wahhabi" variety. A very very fundamental kind of Islam, which preaches that all "Non-Believers" (in Islam) must be hated as must be their Believes.
If in Saudi Arabia you were to attempt to discuss f.i. Monarchy vs Democracy, or Islam vs.Christianity, you would likely find yourself in Jail and not on a discussion forum.
During the past two decades, the Saudis have spent in excess of 90 Billions of Dollars, (yes, that's "Billions") in an effort to propagate Wahhabism through the building of mosques, madrasas and other religious institutions in the Americas and in Europe. In many of them, so I read, hatred of anything "Not-Islam" is preached.
The State of Saudi Arabia is governed by the King, but the King is governed by Shari'ah (or Sharia) law.
A body of Law, which among others demands penalties such as Whipping, Stoning and Amputation.
Not so long ago, a woman met a friend to collect some photographs. The couple were attacked by several men, the man beaten and the young woman raped several times. The Perpetrators were apprehended, charged with the crime of rape and sentenced to various numbers of years in jail.
Great you say! So say I!
What happened to the rape victim? She was charged with "meeting a man who was not a member of her family", convicted of this 'heinous crime'
and sentenced to 200 lashes with a whip and six months in jail.
Very recently a woman was arrested for driving an automobile: She was sentenced to 100 lashes with the whip. This punishment was suspended by the edict of the King.
The very few believers in Christianity, living in Saudi Arabia, have to celebrate their religion secretly, in private homes and woe be them if they are caught.
Now, back to the Dialogue Centre, to be established by the King of Saudi Arabia in Vienna.
You can now actually take one of two positions:
1.) This is a great idea: To establish, pay for and fund the operations of a 'Centre for Religious Understanding' can only be a desirable thing. Three cheers for the King.
2.) This is a terrible idea: To give a fanatical branch of Islam a foothold in Central Europe from which they can preach more of their intolerance toward any other set of believes and slowly attempt to introduce their Sharia Law certainly poses a danger to civilisation as it is known here.
So, here you have the alternatives: Take your pick.
Bertstravels.
Quick, give me a Shot of Brandy or a Scotch on the Rocks...
No, don't ! The penalty for consuming alcohol is time in jail and/or lashes with the whip.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
THE BATHING BEAUTY !
Today is the 4th of October !
The nights are already getting chilly,
but the days....oh the days
a brilliant sun blazing from an absolutely cloudless sky.
The temperature in the mid 20s
day after day after day
one day more beautiful than the one before.
The water is about 15 degrees
(due to the cold nights)
but we went for a swim.
No, this is not Esther Williams
in "The Bathing Beauty"
This is "The Bathing Beauty"
in our swimming pool.
quick, somebody hand her a towel
Bertstravels.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Yeah !! Tax the Rich !!!
Like many other countries, Austria suffers from a "Cash Deficiency"....
In other words: The Government spends more than it takes in.
The simple solution: Spend a little less... sell some of the assets, particularly those which lose money by the fist full, mostly due to inefficient operations...
BUT: there is a better solution: Start a campaigne with the slogan: "Tax the Rich."
Establish a "temporary" Tax for those earning more than 200,000 Euros per annum.
What a genial stroke of good P.R.
In days gone by we could always look to the Socialist Parties to talk about "equal distribution by increasing the taxes payable by "the Rich". Now even the Conservative Party of Austria has adopted this slogan.
Since, as Stats Austria tells us, only about 3% of earners have an income in excess of 80,000 Euros p.a., those earning 200,000 must be an insignificantly small number. The political party which shouts: "Tax the Rich", can therefore count with some certainty to please over 97% of voters. What a hit!
Unfortunately I have no exact number of the amount of additional taxes the Government would raise but, considering the very small number of taxpayers in this income bracket, and, also considering that this additional tax would apply only to the amount earned 'over and above' the 200,000 limit, I believe it is fair to say that this additional income would scarcely put a scratch into Austria's financial problems.
Consider this: The annual Interest on Austria's Debtburden amounts to 7.8 Billion Euros. Together with Pension payments they swallow more than 30% of all Federal Expenditures.
And, so as not to panic those high income earners, the word "temporary" has been inserted in front of the word "Tax"... What a crock: Remember that the USA, for instance, introduced personal Income Tax as a "temporary measure" to finance World War 1. That war was over in 1918, but personal income taxes are still an everyday burden on every American Citizen. So much for the words "temporary tax". Once a Government has tasted from the chalice of Income Tax, it will never let go of it. It's like blood to a vampire.
And after considering all of this, please note that Austria is, per capita, among the richer Nations of the European Union.
This measure will not change by one iota the Debt shouldered by Austria.
But what a wonderful Election Gimmick it is.
Hey, quick, pay me back the buck you owe me.
Bertstravels.
In other words: The Government spends more than it takes in.
The simple solution: Spend a little less... sell some of the assets, particularly those which lose money by the fist full, mostly due to inefficient operations...
BUT: there is a better solution: Start a campaigne with the slogan: "Tax the Rich."
Establish a "temporary" Tax for those earning more than 200,000 Euros per annum.
What a genial stroke of good P.R.
In days gone by we could always look to the Socialist Parties to talk about "equal distribution by increasing the taxes payable by "the Rich". Now even the Conservative Party of Austria has adopted this slogan.
Since, as Stats Austria tells us, only about 3% of earners have an income in excess of 80,000 Euros p.a., those earning 200,000 must be an insignificantly small number. The political party which shouts: "Tax the Rich", can therefore count with some certainty to please over 97% of voters. What a hit!
Unfortunately I have no exact number of the amount of additional taxes the Government would raise but, considering the very small number of taxpayers in this income bracket, and, also considering that this additional tax would apply only to the amount earned 'over and above' the 200,000 limit, I believe it is fair to say that this additional income would scarcely put a scratch into Austria's financial problems.
Consider this: The annual Interest on Austria's Debtburden amounts to 7.8 Billion Euros. Together with Pension payments they swallow more than 30% of all Federal Expenditures.
And, so as not to panic those high income earners, the word "temporary" has been inserted in front of the word "Tax"... What a crock: Remember that the USA, for instance, introduced personal Income Tax as a "temporary measure" to finance World War 1. That war was over in 1918, but personal income taxes are still an everyday burden on every American Citizen. So much for the words "temporary tax". Once a Government has tasted from the chalice of Income Tax, it will never let go of it. It's like blood to a vampire.
And after considering all of this, please note that Austria is, per capita, among the richer Nations of the European Union.
This measure will not change by one iota the Debt shouldered by Austria.
But what a wonderful Election Gimmick it is.
Hey, quick, pay me back the buck you owe me.
Bertstravels.
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