Last summer our wood shed got a new roof.
Snow stops were installed to prevent avalanches
from cascading down onto unsuspecting pedestrians.
We had a melt lately and the snow stops
created a whole row of angels.
...so fly away with
Bertstravels.
Monday, December 24, 2012
SNOW ANGELS
Last summer our wood shed got a new roof.
Snow stops were installed to prevent avalanches
from cascading down onto unsuspecting pedestrians.
We had a melt lately and the snow stops
created a whole row of angels.
...so fly away with
Bertstravels.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
SALZBURG; WHERE GOEST THOU ???
I had honestly planned that the most recent entry about the "Zocking in Salzburg" was to be the last one on this subject.
Recent developments, however, make me break this vow and tell you about the latest 'shenanigans' happening in this beautiful Province:
You must know that Provinces here have no right to tax its citizens. Taxing is done by the Federal Government, who in turn hand over certain amounts to the Provinces, so they may discharge their responsibilities. They, in turn, fund Municipalities.
This is great for the Provincial Government, since it can never be blamed for 'raising taxes'.
Salzburg, so the Newspapers report, asked the Feds for (in round numbers) 445 Million Euros more than its budget called for. This money was to be used to assist in the erection of residential buildings. (Wohnbauförderung ).
The Feds paid up, but now the Province cannot find this money.
Get this: A Government gets 445 Million Euros, but, after having received this amount, cannot find it.
The suspicion exists that the good lady, Monica, who made so many bad investments with taxpayers money that the Province now shows an earlier mentioned paper loss of 340 Million Euros, has also got her sticky fingers on this amount and gambled it away.
No one suggests, by the way, that she enriched herself to any extent. She did all this in order to make money for the Province and its citizens.
Now what about the 'Auditor General's' claim that they were shown forged documents in order to hide the losses? There are, as is to be expected; denials on every front. The Chief of the office of the Auditor General, Mr. Josef Moser, however, repeated his clearly stated accusation that his auditors were shown forged documents. He said: "A large part of the documents we asked for, were forgeries."
Mr. David Brenner, a member of the Provincial Government and financial advisor to the Province ( Salzburg Finanzlandesrat) has now tendered his resignation. It is said that "he knew or should have known" of all these goings-on. The accusation stands that the Provincial Government of Salzburg deliberately mislead the Auditor General of the Federal Government. This is, of course, hotly denied by the leaders of the Province. In fact, Mr. Brenner claims to have heard about all of this for the first time, when it became public.
Mrs. Burgstaller, the Premier of Salzburg Province also claims not to have had any knowledge of this misuse of power by Mrs. Monica.
Out of all this mess comes, or seems to come, one benefit:
The Federal Government ( consisting of a coalition between the Socialist Party of Austria and the Austrian People's Party) has agreed to officially forbid the use of Taxpayers' money for high-risk investments.
Hurray !!!!!
says Bertstravels
on behalf of all taxpaying citizens
everywhere.
P.S. One Austrian reader of this Blog has chastised me, suggesting that I stop giving advise to Austria. I challenge this reader to show me one single line in anything I have written about this affair which could be interpreted as giving advise to anybody.
I have simply repeated, mostly in my own words, what the Newspapers and other Media report here about this peculiar issue.
Recent developments, however, make me break this vow and tell you about the latest 'shenanigans' happening in this beautiful Province:
You must know that Provinces here have no right to tax its citizens. Taxing is done by the Federal Government, who in turn hand over certain amounts to the Provinces, so they may discharge their responsibilities. They, in turn, fund Municipalities.
This is great for the Provincial Government, since it can never be blamed for 'raising taxes'.
Salzburg, so the Newspapers report, asked the Feds for (in round numbers) 445 Million Euros more than its budget called for. This money was to be used to assist in the erection of residential buildings. (Wohnbauförderung ).
The Feds paid up, but now the Province cannot find this money.
Get this: A Government gets 445 Million Euros, but, after having received this amount, cannot find it.
The suspicion exists that the good lady, Monica, who made so many bad investments with taxpayers money that the Province now shows an earlier mentioned paper loss of 340 Million Euros, has also got her sticky fingers on this amount and gambled it away.
No one suggests, by the way, that she enriched herself to any extent. She did all this in order to make money for the Province and its citizens.
Now what about the 'Auditor General's' claim that they were shown forged documents in order to hide the losses? There are, as is to be expected; denials on every front. The Chief of the office of the Auditor General, Mr. Josef Moser, however, repeated his clearly stated accusation that his auditors were shown forged documents. He said: "A large part of the documents we asked for, were forgeries."
Mr. David Brenner, a member of the Provincial Government and financial advisor to the Province ( Salzburg Finanzlandesrat) has now tendered his resignation. It is said that "he knew or should have known" of all these goings-on. The accusation stands that the Provincial Government of Salzburg deliberately mislead the Auditor General of the Federal Government. This is, of course, hotly denied by the leaders of the Province. In fact, Mr. Brenner claims to have heard about all of this for the first time, when it became public.
Mrs. Burgstaller, the Premier of Salzburg Province also claims not to have had any knowledge of this misuse of power by Mrs. Monica.
Out of all this mess comes, or seems to come, one benefit:
The Federal Government ( consisting of a coalition between the Socialist Party of Austria and the Austrian People's Party) has agreed to officially forbid the use of Taxpayers' money for high-risk investments.
Hurray !!!!!
says Bertstravels
on behalf of all taxpaying citizens
everywhere.
P.S. One Austrian reader of this Blog has chastised me, suggesting that I stop giving advise to Austria. I challenge this reader to show me one single line in anything I have written about this affair which could be interpreted as giving advise to anybody.
I have simply repeated, mostly in my own words, what the Newspapers and other Media report here about this peculiar issue.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
DISAPPOINTMENT WITH A CAPITAL "D"
This truly must be disappointment, spelled with a capital "D"...
There is the skiing downhill race, featuring all the aces...
There is Svindal, who is considered "unbeatable"..
there are all the Austrian, Swiss and other aces.
Down the hill comes a Canadian, Eric Guay, to whom very little chance is given to place in the top 10.
He tears down this slope at breathtaking speed and places "FIRST" ...
Now everybody has come down except some of the lower ranked racers.
Eric Guay is interviewed before everybody has come down.
It seems clear:
Eric is the winner.
Nobody is left up there, but some "also rans"...nobody who can threaten Eric's triumph.
Eric first speaks in reasonable, heavily accented German... then, in his excitement, switches to English and talks about his happiness about winning. " I've never won a race before" he bubbles. The interviewer smiles benevolently.
The race goes on, but has lost excitement. The First, Second and Third place racers are determined.
Now comes a Slovenian, named Rok Perko. I've never heard of Rok and barely glance at the screen.
What is this I see?
First intermediate time: Rok is leading Eric by 0.02 seconds. Second intermediate: Rok is even a little further up front. At the finishing line: Rok Perko, the Nobody from Slovenia has beaten Eric Guay's time by less than half a second.
Eric is now in Second Place.
Everybody pays attention again. Some more racers come down, placing in the mid teens, low twenties and even low thirties..
Now Steve Nyman, USA is on the course and...I won't keep you guessing:
Nyman has First, Rok is Second and Eric Guay, who had been celebrated as the victor is now only Third.
Eric may now repeat: "I've never won a race."
In my mind, everybody who makes it down this treacherous slope in one piece and standing up is a champion, even if not a winner.
Bertstravels doffs his hat at all of them.
There is the skiing downhill race, featuring all the aces...
There is Svindal, who is considered "unbeatable"..
there are all the Austrian, Swiss and other aces.
Down the hill comes a Canadian, Eric Guay, to whom very little chance is given to place in the top 10.
He tears down this slope at breathtaking speed and places "FIRST" ...
Now everybody has come down except some of the lower ranked racers.
Eric Guay is interviewed before everybody has come down.
It seems clear:
Eric is the winner.
Nobody is left up there, but some "also rans"...nobody who can threaten Eric's triumph.
Eric first speaks in reasonable, heavily accented German... then, in his excitement, switches to English and talks about his happiness about winning. " I've never won a race before" he bubbles. The interviewer smiles benevolently.
The race goes on, but has lost excitement. The First, Second and Third place racers are determined.
Now comes a Slovenian, named Rok Perko. I've never heard of Rok and barely glance at the screen.
What is this I see?
First intermediate time: Rok is leading Eric by 0.02 seconds. Second intermediate: Rok is even a little further up front. At the finishing line: Rok Perko, the Nobody from Slovenia has beaten Eric Guay's time by less than half a second.
Eric is now in Second Place.
Everybody pays attention again. Some more racers come down, placing in the mid teens, low twenties and even low thirties..
Now Steve Nyman, USA is on the course and...I won't keep you guessing:
Nyman has First, Rok is Second and Eric Guay, who had been celebrated as the victor is now only Third.
Eric may now repeat: "I've never won a race."
In my mind, everybody who makes it down this treacherous slope in one piece and standing up is a champion, even if not a winner.
Bertstravels doffs his hat at all of them.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
ZOCKEN IN SALZBURG
When you think of Salzburg, Austria, you think of Mozart,
Music Festivals, breathtaking Countryside,
"The Sound of Music" and many other things of Beauty.
Soon you may also think of "Zocken".. pronounced 'Tsocken'.....
Tsocken? you may ask.... yes: 'Zocken'... a word in the German language which means, among other meanings:
"Trading in high risk Investments"
A high ranking female Civil Servant, who was almost singularly in charge of the Province's financial affairs, and in an effort, I have no doubt, to make some money for her employer, the Province, started to place Tax-Euros in some high risk investments. Her first effort happened some 11 years ago. These gambles, unfortunately did not pay off. In fact, the original investments quickly showed losses, which prompted the good lady, to put some more Tax-Euros in some even riskier markets. She bet on the Mexican Peso, and Islandic Kronen. NO, she did not purchase Swiss Franks, or Japanese Yen, to re-sell them when these currencies fluctuate positively in relation to the Euro. She engaged in very complicated high risk transactions, with some inherently weak currencies, hoping that things would turn around, and she would eliminate the losses and show hefty profits.
She talked such a good talk, that large companies, including Germany's largest Bank, the Deutsche Bank, wooed her and tried to have her join their ranks. Fortunately for them, she turned down all such offers, and without a break, (she is said never to have taken vacations ) stuck to her office.
Several times the "Rechnungshof'', the Auditor General, ran routine checks and found nothing wrong. One wonders where they looked.
One financial expert claimed that the reason why nothing inappropriate was ever found was, that according to Austrian Law when, for instance, a share is purchased for 1000, it always shows on the book as 1000, irrespective of the fact, that these shares may now be worth 500, or in fact 1500.
In other words: The Government Auditors checked the Purchase Value against the physical presence of the share and never questioned if the 'Book Value' differed from the 'Market Value'...
This sounds like an absolutely unbelievable claim.
The LOSS, when the Market Value of today is compared to the Book Value amounts to a cool
340 Million Euros
The question is easy, the answer very difficult: When confronted with such a situation do you excercise patience, sit still, do nothing and wait until the Market Value rises to reduce the difference (Loss)...
but what happens if the Market Value falls further, thereby increasing the Loss ?
or do you simply sell the assets and cut your losses, fire everybody connected with this issue, including her boss, because she had a boss, and start from scratch.
Either way, it would be prudent to make it illigal for any Civil Servant and/or Politician to gamble with Taxpayers money.
The only reason why this lady will probably face a jail term is not because she 'zocked' with Taxpayers money, but because she allegedly forged documents and signatures to hide the disasterous state of affairs.
There are opinions that this case is but the tip of the iceberg and that other Provinces and Municipalities are in similar positions. Therefore one must ask: What is the real deficit of the country as a whole??
This is a truly bad deal
as Bertstravels sees it.
source documents: "Der Kurier"; Kleine Zeitung"
Music Festivals, breathtaking Countryside,
"The Sound of Music" and many other things of Beauty.
Soon you may also think of "Zocken".. pronounced 'Tsocken'.....
Tsocken? you may ask.... yes: 'Zocken'... a word in the German language which means, among other meanings:
"Trading in high risk Investments"
A high ranking female Civil Servant, who was almost singularly in charge of the Province's financial affairs, and in an effort, I have no doubt, to make some money for her employer, the Province, started to place Tax-Euros in some high risk investments. Her first effort happened some 11 years ago. These gambles, unfortunately did not pay off. In fact, the original investments quickly showed losses, which prompted the good lady, to put some more Tax-Euros in some even riskier markets. She bet on the Mexican Peso, and Islandic Kronen. NO, she did not purchase Swiss Franks, or Japanese Yen, to re-sell them when these currencies fluctuate positively in relation to the Euro. She engaged in very complicated high risk transactions, with some inherently weak currencies, hoping that things would turn around, and she would eliminate the losses and show hefty profits.
She talked such a good talk, that large companies, including Germany's largest Bank, the Deutsche Bank, wooed her and tried to have her join their ranks. Fortunately for them, she turned down all such offers, and without a break, (she is said never to have taken vacations ) stuck to her office.
Several times the "Rechnungshof'', the Auditor General, ran routine checks and found nothing wrong. One wonders where they looked.
One financial expert claimed that the reason why nothing inappropriate was ever found was, that according to Austrian Law when, for instance, a share is purchased for 1000, it always shows on the book as 1000, irrespective of the fact, that these shares may now be worth 500, or in fact 1500.
In other words: The Government Auditors checked the Purchase Value against the physical presence of the share and never questioned if the 'Book Value' differed from the 'Market Value'...
This sounds like an absolutely unbelievable claim.
The LOSS, when the Market Value of today is compared to the Book Value amounts to a cool
340 Million Euros
The question is easy, the answer very difficult: When confronted with such a situation do you excercise patience, sit still, do nothing and wait until the Market Value rises to reduce the difference (Loss)...
but what happens if the Market Value falls further, thereby increasing the Loss ?
or do you simply sell the assets and cut your losses, fire everybody connected with this issue, including her boss, because she had a boss, and start from scratch.
Either way, it would be prudent to make it illigal for any Civil Servant and/or Politician to gamble with Taxpayers money.
The only reason why this lady will probably face a jail term is not because she 'zocked' with Taxpayers money, but because she allegedly forged documents and signatures to hide the disasterous state of affairs.
There are opinions that this case is but the tip of the iceberg and that other Provinces and Municipalities are in similar positions. Therefore one must ask: What is the real deficit of the country as a whole??
This is a truly bad deal
as Bertstravels sees it.
source documents: "Der Kurier"; Kleine Zeitung"
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
LAST:::VERY LAST... "PENDLER" REPORT
I promise you this will be the very last report about the Pendlers. (communters)
This coming Tuesday the Austrian government expects to pass new, extended benefit regulations in Parliament. The details thereto are too ridiculous and probably boring to report here.
Let me just tell you that the 2013 Budget will provide a total of
530 Million Euros ( about Can$ 715.5 Millions)
that's about Can$89.00 per Austrian man, woman and child,
to support people for driving or bussing or railroading to work.
Why is
Bertstravels
not surprised ?
This coming Tuesday the Austrian government expects to pass new, extended benefit regulations in Parliament. The details thereto are too ridiculous and probably boring to report here.
Let me just tell you that the 2013 Budget will provide a total of
530 Million Euros ( about Can$ 715.5 Millions)
that's about Can$89.00 per Austrian man, woman and child,
to support people for driving or bussing or railroading to work.
Why is
Bertstravels
not surprised ?
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
This is truly "beyond belief"
Remember? A few days ago I wrote about the "Pendlerpauschale" (Commuter subsidy) which is being paid to any one who drives or takes public transportation from his/her home to work and back again. (Certain conditions apply)
What I will tell you now, I promise I did not make it up just to entertain you. This is really true:
In Austria, there are about 540,000 such Pendlers (commuters) daily going back and forth from home to work, using the Railroads.
If the train, any train, not only the trains of the ÖBB ( Austrian National Railroad) is late 10% of the time, or more often, within a given year, then a holder of an annual commuter ticket can expect a partial refund of the price of his ticket. All a Pendler has to do is to register once and his refund ticket will automatically be mailed to him/her.
There is now an 'improvement' planned whereby such refunds are issued if the train is late only 5% of the time.
In 2011, a total of 10,353 long distance Pendlers were paid 385,000 Euros, and 1,368 regional Pendlers together, received 29,200 Euros. All because the train was late.
I have yet to determine the interpretation of "late".
When is a train late? Five minutes after the time table? 10 minutes? Half an hour? I'll find out and don't be surprised if it is the shortest of the above suggestions.
There is another interesting item which I did not mention in my last posting about the "Pendlerpauschale". and that is, that it is being paid even while the commuter is on vacation and does not need to drive back and forth, or if he is home sick and for this very good reason does not drive to work. No matter... he/she still gets this "Pauschale" ( a fixed payment ).
So imagine this: This Austrian man enjoys the sun on the Italian Riviera, the waiter serves him a Gin and Tonic and a letter from the ÖBB with the refund cheque, because their trains ran late 18 days within the year... and another cheque in the amount of his Pendler Subsidy.
He goes home after his vacation and gets sick right away, because he got too much sun or drank too many Gin&Tonics.
Guess what! The cheques for the 'Pendler Subsidy' keep right on coming.
The ÖBB (Österreichische Bundes Bahn) the Austrian Federal Railway, runs an annual deficit, large enough to choke the proverbial horse. So, piddly amounts like the ones listed above make probably no difference to the overall disastrous manner in which this nationalized service is being run.
Hey, what's this I hear, coming down the tracks ?
Must be the train... late again... Next time I go to Klagenfurt (50km) I'll simply take my private jet.
It's always on time.
Bertstravels
What I will tell you now, I promise I did not make it up just to entertain you. This is really true:
In Austria, there are about 540,000 such Pendlers (commuters) daily going back and forth from home to work, using the Railroads.
If the train, any train, not only the trains of the ÖBB ( Austrian National Railroad) is late 10% of the time, or more often, within a given year, then a holder of an annual commuter ticket can expect a partial refund of the price of his ticket. All a Pendler has to do is to register once and his refund ticket will automatically be mailed to him/her.
There is now an 'improvement' planned whereby such refunds are issued if the train is late only 5% of the time.
In 2011, a total of 10,353 long distance Pendlers were paid 385,000 Euros, and 1,368 regional Pendlers together, received 29,200 Euros. All because the train was late.
I have yet to determine the interpretation of "late".
When is a train late? Five minutes after the time table? 10 minutes? Half an hour? I'll find out and don't be surprised if it is the shortest of the above suggestions.
There is another interesting item which I did not mention in my last posting about the "Pendlerpauschale". and that is, that it is being paid even while the commuter is on vacation and does not need to drive back and forth, or if he is home sick and for this very good reason does not drive to work. No matter... he/she still gets this "Pauschale" ( a fixed payment ).
So imagine this: This Austrian man enjoys the sun on the Italian Riviera, the waiter serves him a Gin and Tonic and a letter from the ÖBB with the refund cheque, because their trains ran late 18 days within the year... and another cheque in the amount of his Pendler Subsidy.
He goes home after his vacation and gets sick right away, because he got too much sun or drank too many Gin&Tonics.
Guess what! The cheques for the 'Pendler Subsidy' keep right on coming.
The ÖBB (Österreichische Bundes Bahn) the Austrian Federal Railway, runs an annual deficit, large enough to choke the proverbial horse. So, piddly amounts like the ones listed above make probably no difference to the overall disastrous manner in which this nationalized service is being run.
Hey, what's this I hear, coming down the tracks ?
Must be the train... late again... Next time I go to Klagenfurt (50km) I'll simply take my private jet.
It's always on time.
Bertstravels
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
NO NEWS ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Yes, it's quite true: There is no News hereabouts... at least none that I can think of, which might even remotely be interesting...
Yes it started to snow. In fact, it is snowing like crazy.. It's coming down as if it wanted to catch up with the warm temperatures of the last few weeks. The skiers are literally "frohlocking"... The snow cannons have put down a solid base and now it snows, beautiful large flakes down here and dry, small ones atop of "the Petzen"..
This wonderful mountain which, were I a skier, would be my "house mountain"...:
So that's the News about the weather..
I have not heard of anything particularly dumb spoken by the Pope,
I also haven't heard of anything particularly smart, spoken by any of the politicians, Austrians or Canadians.
So, let me tell you a little story, which harbours a great deal of funny philosophical insight:
(By the way: get yourself the booklet: "Plato and a Platypus walk into a Bar.")
Here's the tale:
An 85 year old man comes to his doctor and tells him, that his 25 year old wife is pregnant. He is overjoyed that, at his advanced years, he will be a father again.
The doctor quietly asks his friend to sit down, compose himself, because, he says, "I will tell you a little story: There was a man who wished to go bear hunting. He got all dressed up in his hunting outfit and on his way out of the house he intended to grab his heavy calibre gun, but, by mistake, he grabbed an umbrella.
He was no sooner in the forest, than a huge grizzly bear confronted him. The man raised his umbrella, squeezed off a shot and the Grizzly fell down... dead as a door nail..."
"But", says the old man, "that's impossible... somebody else must have had a gun of which he pulled the trigger and shot the bear"
"Precisely my point" says the doctor.
As I suggested: Go get this little booklet, along with two others:
"Aristotle and an Aardvark go to Washington" and Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates."
Three books, written by Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein, explaining Philosophy through Jokes. These publications will give you many hours of bed time reading, allowing you to fall asleep with a smile on your face. ... and that's always worth the price of admission.
that's the way that
Bertstravels
sees it.
Yes it started to snow. In fact, it is snowing like crazy.. It's coming down as if it wanted to catch up with the warm temperatures of the last few weeks. The skiers are literally "frohlocking"... The snow cannons have put down a solid base and now it snows, beautiful large flakes down here and dry, small ones atop of "the Petzen"..
This wonderful mountain which, were I a skier, would be my "house mountain"...:
So that's the News about the weather..
I have not heard of anything particularly dumb spoken by the Pope,
I also haven't heard of anything particularly smart, spoken by any of the politicians, Austrians or Canadians.
So, let me tell you a little story, which harbours a great deal of funny philosophical insight:
(By the way: get yourself the booklet: "Plato and a Platypus walk into a Bar.")
Here's the tale:
An 85 year old man comes to his doctor and tells him, that his 25 year old wife is pregnant. He is overjoyed that, at his advanced years, he will be a father again.
The doctor quietly asks his friend to sit down, compose himself, because, he says, "I will tell you a little story: There was a man who wished to go bear hunting. He got all dressed up in his hunting outfit and on his way out of the house he intended to grab his heavy calibre gun, but, by mistake, he grabbed an umbrella.
He was no sooner in the forest, than a huge grizzly bear confronted him. The man raised his umbrella, squeezed off a shot and the Grizzly fell down... dead as a door nail..."
"But", says the old man, "that's impossible... somebody else must have had a gun of which he pulled the trigger and shot the bear"
"Precisely my point" says the doctor.
As I suggested: Go get this little booklet, along with two others:
"Aristotle and an Aardvark go to Washington" and Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates."
Three books, written by Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein, explaining Philosophy through Jokes. These publications will give you many hours of bed time reading, allowing you to fall asleep with a smile on your face. ... and that's always worth the price of admission.
that's the way that
Bertstravels
sees it.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Pictures at an Exhibition
I was invited to exhibit 12 of my photographs.
I received many very positiv comments.
Even if no Sales resulted, I do not regret
having taken part in this effort.
As I said to Christin:
If I could take the compliments to the Bank,
I would be a rich man.
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