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Austrian report
by Euro Reporter
2008-02-16 09:49:54

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Poisoned Chocolates

The mayor of the little Lower Austrian of Spitz a der Donau was poisoned with chocolates which were filled with strychnine. The politician found a box with those chocolates on his car with the message “You are something special to me”.

I’m sorry but I cannot avoid it …cherchez la femme! Perhaps the mayor was not a …quiet mayor!

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Salzburg more expensive

Living in the city of Salzburg has its price. According to the latest news of the Austrian TV station, living in Salzburg is becoming more expensive again. Last year the rent in Salzburg increased by 5 percent. Salzburg is with Innsbruck and some districts of Vienna the most expensive place for living in Austria.

The president of the official representation of employees is upset about such a development. “Enough is enough! Now we have reached the acceptance limit”, he declares. The president sees only one alternative. “The people have to build their own houses”, he says. A new residential building program should motivate more people in apartments to build their own houses. Thousands of offices are empty in Salzburg. They could be also used as apartments, think Salzburg’s Social-democrats.

Unfortunately Salzburg follows the example of other big commercial centred European cities, becomes more and more expensive without a good reason.

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Gone a man returned a woman

A soldier of the Austrian army went into holiday as a man, and returned from holiday as a woman.
A sex transformation made this miracle possible. Now the female soldier wants to stay in the army as a woman. The incident of transsexuality happened in the barracks of the Styrian town Gratkorn. The soldier, who turned from a man into a woman, also changed his name from Gregor into Jasmin.

The former man was married to a woman and has two sons. The Austrian army accepts such kind of decisions. The soldier is allowed to stay in the army. Some years ago it was not allowed for women to join the army in Austria. The law was changed, and the soldier was able to change his sex.

From G.I. Joe to G.I. Jane! His or her colleagues must found it hard; from going to the pub for a pint spend your time in a beauty salon!

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Euros for the poor

The chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer from the Social-democrats wants to give a 100 Euro bank note to every poor Austrian.

His coalition partner “The Peoples Party” is against such plans. “100 Euro are two tank fillings of an average car. Austrians don’t need such kind of pittance”, said Peoples Party member Martin Bartenstein, who is the minister of economy and labor.

Perhaps some politicians understand that there are many dimension and too many needs in this society!

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Emanuel Paparella	2008-02-16 11:23:57
Whenever John Paul II would advocate distributive justice there was a man, who had made a career of caricaturing the Church, who would pen off an editorial letter to decry the Pope's wealth and to remind him that he ought to give the first example and share the artistic wealth of the Vatican with the poor of the world. A reader replied to the op ed piece asking the critic if he meant that the Pope ought to give a free admission ticket to the Vatican museum to the poor so that they could feast their soul on such aesthetic beauty. No, no, replied the inveterate caricaturist: I mean he ought to auction them off and give the proceedings to the poor. Everything has to go. The reader did some research on the total worth of those artistic treasures and how many poor there are in the world and further informed the caricaturist that if the Sistine Chapel and other valuables were auctioned off and the proceeding distributed, each poor of this world would get a Mac Donald hamburger. That sounded like an insult to the poor. Was it worth it? The caricaturist promptly replied: of course. It is the symbolism that counts and besides the poor don’t need treasures of the mind and the spirit, they need to fill their belly, period. That kind of logic can mean two things: 1) that the caricaturist was more interested in bashing the Pope than in helping the poor from their plight, or 2) that he is a materialistic cultural philistine.


Sand	2008-02-16 20:35:31
It's amazing how quickly someone starving becomes a materialist.


Emanuel Paparella	2008-02-16 23:51:27
There is actually a third option: both 1 and 2 may apply. Point well exemplified!


AP	2008-02-17 02:12:58
Well, I guess someone who's starving can't visit the Sistine Chapel either. The Pope could take pictures to send with the hamburgers before auctioning it... just joking.


Emanuel Paparella	2008-02-17 02:29:59
After World War II there were people in Vienna who'd rather deprive themselves of food than music. On the other hand, there were people who'd rather deprive themselves of food than cigarettes, which is pretty misguided. I suppose it all depends on one's values: we all act according to our belief system which we all have even when we deny it, as William James has well taught us in his pyschology.


AP	2008-02-17 02:42:20
I know what you mean, it's our option... So let the poor of the world vote then! naaaa... let's go there to take them food and pictures instead of silly referendums about the Sistine Chapel's destiny. It's easy to put a hamburger aside when you can have at least one per day, but when you are starving... it's how the old chinese proverb says: if you have money to buy 2 breads, buy a bread and a rose.


Emanuel Paparella	2008-02-17 11:23:39
What is depicted on that ceiling is nothing short than the destiny of Humankind and to sell it to barbarians for hamburgers is indeed to have caved in to the prevailing barbarism of the intellect which pretends it has a moral leg to stand on which allows it to strut around the globe peddling platitudes such as "the white man's burden." I am afraid that the poor of this world (the so called third world)are not buying them any longer.


Sand	2008-02-17 12:03:48
You have made your priorities obvious. A painted ceiling is more important to you than the lives of people in terrible trouble. The golden calf again.


Emanuel Paparella	2008-02-18 04:55:51
Since I never said that it must be what the visiting voices have been telling you lately. Don't believe them, they are sophists, liars and deceivers.


Sand	2008-02-18 06:52:38
Since what you proclaim has proven over and over and over again to be lies and propaganda why should your nonsense be considered worthwhile? Your continuous defense of the corrupt organized religions is, frankly, suspicious, to say the least.


Emanuel Paparella	2008-02-19 05:58:47
Is that waht the FSM of the incorruptible religion has been telling you lately? Suspicious, to say the least!


Sand	2008-02-19 06:54:23
Your continuous illusory assumption that I am as demented as you in requiring some sort of religious backup in my observations demonstrates a rigid mindset not worthy of consideration as indicating intelligence.