The Swiss had a vote today....kind of an interesting vote. It concerned the continued building or banning of Islamic Minarets.
Fifty-eight percent of the vote today....said to ban further construction of Minarets. You can still build a Mosque but the tower-like Minarets are now out.
It was a shocker. On Friday....it was pretty much settled with pre-polling data that this wouldn't take more than twenty-five percent of the national vote. Somewhere in their analysis...the poll guys screwed by over thirty percent. Typically....that would be impossible.
The Swiss...for those pondering the situation....are a fairly relaxed, calm and conservative crowd. They have national health care, lots of free education, and some of the best roads in Europe.
Lately...there's been this fear amongst the Swiss that Muslims are taking a strong bit of control over local events. Over the past decade...construction of Mosques over all of Europe has been on the rise. Currently, there are four of these Minarets in Switzerland and I'm guessing they probably had plans for another dozen.
Do you absolutely need a Minaret? No....a Mosque could be built without the tower-like building out front. If you go and check out the rules for Minarets...there are at least ten different styles that various Muslims consider "official".
The curious thing...almost five percent of the 7.8 million folks in Switzerland....are Muslims. This adds up to almost 400,000 Islamic folks.
The vote has unsettled a number of folks there. There were a couple of folks out there commenting on their blog sites that the EU courts would take up this matter quickly and settle it. The curious thing...is that Switzerland never approved the EU application. So there's no court action to occur here...it's basically final.
Muslim feelings? Well...they probably are wondering what the big deal is and why they are being picked on. If I were a Muslim sitting in Switzerland...I might start pondering about relations with my neighbors and what kind of problems exist.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
A Gun Story
It is a short note here...prosecutors down in the German state of Baden-Württemberg...have finally decided to put manslaughter charges against the father of a 17-year-old boy who killed 15 people earlier this year.
The father had a gun collection....which was all kept locked and secure (as the law mandates)...except for one pistol...which he kept in the open area of the house. We can only imagine that it was for protection.
The problem here...is that the law is very clear...ALL weapons are supposed to be locked and secured. As you take the class on weapons...it's spelled out very clearly. No one else in the house is supposed to have access to your weapons...not even your wife...unless they go through the same course.
If the cops ever suspect you are being stupid on gun control...they merely show up and ask to see all of your registered weapons. You will take the key from your pocket (you must have full control of that key)...and take them to the gun cabinet. All of your weapons must be inside of the cabinet...no exception.
The general feeling is that this charge is a pretty drastic episode to take...considering the guy's own son...the shooter...is dead. Punishment, if convicted...probably around two or three years in prison. Remember this is Germany, where murder barely gets you twenty years.
I paused over this argument here. I feel sorry for the guy and certainly hate to see him punished in this fashion. But the problem is...he contributed to the entire act by failing to control his gun collection. The kid only needed one weapon...and that was the one kept out in the open.
So I'm guessing the court case will proceed....the guy will be declared guilty...and my best guess is that he barely gets twelve months in jail. The relatives of those killed will be furious...but this is the German way of punishing folks. In the end....it may not have really mattered. A year or two in the future, had none of this occurred in 2009....his son would have taken the same gun control course....acquired his own weapons....and done the same act anyway.
The father had a gun collection....which was all kept locked and secure (as the law mandates)...except for one pistol...which he kept in the open area of the house. We can only imagine that it was for protection.
The problem here...is that the law is very clear...ALL weapons are supposed to be locked and secured. As you take the class on weapons...it's spelled out very clearly. No one else in the house is supposed to have access to your weapons...not even your wife...unless they go through the same course.
If the cops ever suspect you are being stupid on gun control...they merely show up and ask to see all of your registered weapons. You will take the key from your pocket (you must have full control of that key)...and take them to the gun cabinet. All of your weapons must be inside of the cabinet...no exception.
The general feeling is that this charge is a pretty drastic episode to take...considering the guy's own son...the shooter...is dead. Punishment, if convicted...probably around two or three years in prison. Remember this is Germany, where murder barely gets you twenty years.
I paused over this argument here. I feel sorry for the guy and certainly hate to see him punished in this fashion. But the problem is...he contributed to the entire act by failing to control his gun collection. The kid only needed one weapon...and that was the one kept out in the open.
So I'm guessing the court case will proceed....the guy will be declared guilty...and my best guess is that he barely gets twelve months in jail. The relatives of those killed will be furious...but this is the German way of punishing folks. In the end....it may not have really mattered. A year or two in the future, had none of this occurred in 2009....his son would have taken the same gun control course....acquired his own weapons....and done the same act anyway.
A Guy Lost in Frankfurt
So this is what we know. Devon Hollahan is a young gentleman who is a English instructor in Prague. Devon came up to Frankfurt a week ago...to attend a concert. Somewhere, after the concert, near 3AM and a couple of beers...he and a friend ended up over near the Hotel Luxor and were walking toward the Taunusalange metro station. The friend stopped to ask directions and turned away from Devon for about two minutes. When he turned back around....Devon was gone. Seven days have passed now...and Davon hasn't shown up anywhere.
Devon's dad....Jeff Hollahan, a respected stock analyst out in Arizona is pretty concerned over the situation...even possibly thinking it was a kidnapping.
The family has now gone into turbo...trying to generate media attention in Frankfurt to get people out looking for Devon.
It is curious to note that Devon had a cellphone...and none of the text messages or phone calls have been answered since that evening.
I sat there....pondering over the episode. I know Frankfurt. I was stationed there in 1978/1979. I even went back a few times in the 1984 and 1985 period.
Frankfurt is a metropolitan city with several dimensions.
First, up until the mid-1980s...it was completely safe to walk around the middle of town at night. The drug scene in the midst of town....down around the train station...now makes it a bit questionable to walk there after dark unless with a group.
Second...the real party district of Frankfurt...is just across the river in Sachsenhausen. Typically...this is where folks go to party and get drunk. The trolley cars run just by the area up until 1AM and then shuts down until around 4:30AM. This explains why the guys were using a taxi at 3AM in the morning.
The Hotel Luxor? It's just about 1,500 feet from the river...where three bridges lie within easy walking distance of each other. It would have taken less than twenty minutes for some drunk guy to walk the 1,500 feet and end up at the river's edge.
The redlight district angle to this story? Well....the guys are at least fifteen minutes walking from beginnings of the zone. I would probably relabel the redlight district as the heroin/redlight district because of the significant amount of drugs in the zone. The weirdos though....would have been much closer to the train station, and not 6,000 feet away at the Hotel Luxor area.
I don't buy the kidnapping story because the kidnappers would have reacted quickly and made the parents aware of not involving the cops. Seven days have passed....nothing in the way of a note from any kidnappers. So I'm discarding this threat.
My belief? If the locals are searching for this kid....get the friend to point out the last spot he remembered seeing him and then identify every construction site within 1,000 feet in any direction. Go through all of the construction sites...especially in basements or pits. The guy was drunk, and he could have easily fallen into a hidden place.
The other likelihood is the river. He might have made it to the river and simply fallen in. Eventually...his body would turn up somewhere...down the river.
Here's the thing about Frankfurt. At one point, there were around 10,000 American GI's who lived within easy distance of the city and partied every Friday and Saturday night there. No one ever disappeared. It's not one of those cities where you'd expect a guy to just totally disappear (Moscow, Rio, Chicago). There's bad things that happen in the city...that's the sad advancing truth of the town.
Finally...alot of guys go and get drunk in Frankfurt....and then end up doing some drugs...of a more drastic nature. The friend's story is limited...he has no one to really back up portions of it. It may be in the end...that the two were partying with another group...drugs came out...the two were drunk enough to do some....Devon reacted badly...and died there. The body got dumped somewhere else....not to raise suspicions. I say this....only because of the Aruba episode and the Bama gal.
So this weekend...there will likely be a effort taken to find Devon. I wish the group luck in this endeavor...but I think it's probably too late.
Devon's dad....Jeff Hollahan, a respected stock analyst out in Arizona is pretty concerned over the situation...even possibly thinking it was a kidnapping.
The family has now gone into turbo...trying to generate media attention in Frankfurt to get people out looking for Devon.
It is curious to note that Devon had a cellphone...and none of the text messages or phone calls have been answered since that evening.
I sat there....pondering over the episode. I know Frankfurt. I was stationed there in 1978/1979. I even went back a few times in the 1984 and 1985 period.
Frankfurt is a metropolitan city with several dimensions.
First, up until the mid-1980s...it was completely safe to walk around the middle of town at night. The drug scene in the midst of town....down around the train station...now makes it a bit questionable to walk there after dark unless with a group.
Second...the real party district of Frankfurt...is just across the river in Sachsenhausen. Typically...this is where folks go to party and get drunk. The trolley cars run just by the area up until 1AM and then shuts down until around 4:30AM. This explains why the guys were using a taxi at 3AM in the morning.
The Hotel Luxor? It's just about 1,500 feet from the river...where three bridges lie within easy walking distance of each other. It would have taken less than twenty minutes for some drunk guy to walk the 1,500 feet and end up at the river's edge.
The redlight district angle to this story? Well....the guys are at least fifteen minutes walking from beginnings of the zone. I would probably relabel the redlight district as the heroin/redlight district because of the significant amount of drugs in the zone. The weirdos though....would have been much closer to the train station, and not 6,000 feet away at the Hotel Luxor area.
I don't buy the kidnapping story because the kidnappers would have reacted quickly and made the parents aware of not involving the cops. Seven days have passed....nothing in the way of a note from any kidnappers. So I'm discarding this threat.
My belief? If the locals are searching for this kid....get the friend to point out the last spot he remembered seeing him and then identify every construction site within 1,000 feet in any direction. Go through all of the construction sites...especially in basements or pits. The guy was drunk, and he could have easily fallen into a hidden place.
The other likelihood is the river. He might have made it to the river and simply fallen in. Eventually...his body would turn up somewhere...down the river.
Here's the thing about Frankfurt. At one point, there were around 10,000 American GI's who lived within easy distance of the city and partied every Friday and Saturday night there. No one ever disappeared. It's not one of those cities where you'd expect a guy to just totally disappear (Moscow, Rio, Chicago). There's bad things that happen in the city...that's the sad advancing truth of the town.
Finally...alot of guys go and get drunk in Frankfurt....and then end up doing some drugs...of a more drastic nature. The friend's story is limited...he has no one to really back up portions of it. It may be in the end...that the two were partying with another group...drugs came out...the two were drunk enough to do some....Devon reacted badly...and died there. The body got dumped somewhere else....not to raise suspicions. I say this....only because of the Aruba episode and the Bama gal.
So this weekend...there will likely be a effort taken to find Devon. I wish the group luck in this endeavor...but I think it's probably too late.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
GM's Stumble
The GM dudes have been busy for the past week in Germany....trying to mend fences with Opel and the German government. Things haven't worked that well.
There was this 1-star press conference yesterday. The GM guy was gushing and acting like a hooker at a VFW convention....everything is working out and GM is surging ahead. He wanted everyone to know that the Kaiserslautern plant is to absolutely stay open....and to become a state-of-the-art complex....worldly development.....blah...blah....blah.
I sat there laughing. It was the crap you'd hear in Detroit and Newsweek would report it with a fantastic car in the background.
No one is truly believing much of anything that GM says.
Today, we learn that the Saab deal....a core part of GM in Europe.....has fallen through. The Saab guys.....losing money left and right because of the high cost of building the typical cars they make.....were supposed to be sold off to a Swedish company that makes luxury cars. This company....Koenigsegg.....is apparently backed by China's Beijing Automotive Industrial Holding Ltd (BAIC). It would be safe to say that BAIC has the real money in this deal and wants technology from SAAB. Apparently, the safe view of SAAB surviving is zero.
A basic word on SAABs....for those of you who've never driven the vehicle. It is a high-class car, with great handling in snow and ice. You can't find a single model for less than $25k....which tends to make this unaffordable for the common guy. In my entire village....there might be one. I worked with a guy who bought one....took out the rear seat entirely.....and basically had this huge tank-like vehicle with tons of room for taking cargo. The neat thing is that they make diesel versions and the car can last forever....but when it does break....where the heck do you get parts? Sweden?
So sit back and watch GM sweat in Europe.
There was this 1-star press conference yesterday. The GM guy was gushing and acting like a hooker at a VFW convention....everything is working out and GM is surging ahead. He wanted everyone to know that the Kaiserslautern plant is to absolutely stay open....and to become a state-of-the-art complex....worldly development.....blah...blah....blah.
I sat there laughing. It was the crap you'd hear in Detroit and Newsweek would report it with a fantastic car in the background.
No one is truly believing much of anything that GM says.
Today, we learn that the Saab deal....a core part of GM in Europe.....has fallen through. The Saab guys.....losing money left and right because of the high cost of building the typical cars they make.....were supposed to be sold off to a Swedish company that makes luxury cars. This company....Koenigsegg.....is apparently backed by China's Beijing Automotive Industrial Holding Ltd (BAIC). It would be safe to say that BAIC has the real money in this deal and wants technology from SAAB. Apparently, the safe view of SAAB surviving is zero.
A basic word on SAABs....for those of you who've never driven the vehicle. It is a high-class car, with great handling in snow and ice. You can't find a single model for less than $25k....which tends to make this unaffordable for the common guy. In my entire village....there might be one. I worked with a guy who bought one....took out the rear seat entirely.....and basically had this huge tank-like vehicle with tons of room for taking cargo. The neat thing is that they make diesel versions and the car can last forever....but when it does break....where the heck do you get parts? Sweden?
So sit back and watch GM sweat in Europe.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Brits Out
There are twenty-five thousand British soldiers in Germany today.....all in the region around Dusseldorf. It's part of the effort left over from the cold war.
Today, the right-wing folks in the UK.....said in the run-up of the election....where Gordon Brown is expected to lose....that they intend to draw down all of the twenty-five thousand troops. Altogether....with their families....it's maybe forty thousand Brits in the region.....and another fifteen thousand retirees.
For the region....it's a major financial loss. The Germans will sit there and fret over this for the next year or two....until it finally occurs. It'll likely take four years for the Brits to figure out where to put these guys and build the barracks.
The question will be if the Obama administration views this in some downsizing fashion as well....by 2012....announces it's own version of this....to pull out of Germany finally.
Today, the right-wing folks in the UK.....said in the run-up of the election....where Gordon Brown is expected to lose....that they intend to draw down all of the twenty-five thousand troops. Altogether....with their families....it's maybe forty thousand Brits in the region.....and another fifteen thousand retirees.
For the region....it's a major financial loss. The Germans will sit there and fret over this for the next year or two....until it finally occurs. It'll likely take four years for the Brits to figure out where to put these guys and build the barracks.
The question will be if the Obama administration views this in some downsizing fashion as well....by 2012....announces it's own version of this....to pull out of Germany finally.
Monday, November 16, 2009
An Undeserving Bill
So, last summer, in Berlin….a fair came to town. Naturally, they had some outstanding rides…..which one was identified as the “Star Gate”.
At some point in the ride….it suddenly stopped, and got stuck.
Folks got fearful, and then called the fire department….who naturally came out within twenty minutes….and over the next half-an-hour…..brought down all of the participants in the ride. The folks were upside down, and you can imagine your stress level at that point….asking for help and just thanking God for those great firemen.
Well…time has passed, and the fire department sent out bills. Yep….281 Euro or $420 for each person rescued.
The Star Gate ride folks said that they were fully capable of rescuing the folks and were in the process of doing so…when these firemen arrived and barged right in. So they’ve declined paying.
So the fire department went to the obvious number two choice….the riders. So these folks are getting their bills, and it’s pretty much a “don’t you dare bill me for this” routine.
The fire department isn’t sorry at all….they just want their money. They claim that the riders can sue the operator or their own insurance companies for the rescue.
I sat there for a while….looking at this. The idea of being upside down for forty-five minutes….just ain’t exciting for me at all. I would have wanted the rescue by anyone….even midget firemen from Red Bay or female wrestlers from Montgomery. But you know….as soon as I got off the dang ride….I would have ran as fast as possible to my car and driven away. I wouldn’t have given these idiots my name or address.
The minute you start to hand rescue folks your name, your address, your phone, your email address….you more or less just start inviting trouble down the line.
The curious thing is that the fire department will hand this over to a collection company after a couple of months of effort….and they will come to your house to collect a TV, a stero, a computer….or whatever it takes….to render the $420 back to the fire department. That’s the German way.
So what those pitiful folks do now? If I were a rescued guy….I’d park my car in front of the fire department with a bucket and a sign (“Rescue me from these fools”). I’d let the local newspaper know and ask for donations. Every time a fire occurs….go behind the guys and sit up another bucket donation with the sign out in front of the whole operation. I’d make the fire department feel like “whores” in this whole episode.
The funny thing? The state pays them every single minute they are on duty. They get paid to sit around the fire department, and they get paid to put out fires. It’s the same pay…every single day. If they rescue forty folks in one month or one dog in one month….it’s the same pay. So where exactly does this $420 fit into this? Yes…..that would be a curious question to pose.
At some point in the ride….it suddenly stopped, and got stuck.
Folks got fearful, and then called the fire department….who naturally came out within twenty minutes….and over the next half-an-hour…..brought down all of the participants in the ride. The folks were upside down, and you can imagine your stress level at that point….asking for help and just thanking God for those great firemen.
Well…time has passed, and the fire department sent out bills. Yep….281 Euro or $420 for each person rescued.
The Star Gate ride folks said that they were fully capable of rescuing the folks and were in the process of doing so…when these firemen arrived and barged right in. So they’ve declined paying.
So the fire department went to the obvious number two choice….the riders. So these folks are getting their bills, and it’s pretty much a “don’t you dare bill me for this” routine.
The fire department isn’t sorry at all….they just want their money. They claim that the riders can sue the operator or their own insurance companies for the rescue.
I sat there for a while….looking at this. The idea of being upside down for forty-five minutes….just ain’t exciting for me at all. I would have wanted the rescue by anyone….even midget firemen from Red Bay or female wrestlers from Montgomery. But you know….as soon as I got off the dang ride….I would have ran as fast as possible to my car and driven away. I wouldn’t have given these idiots my name or address.
The minute you start to hand rescue folks your name, your address, your phone, your email address….you more or less just start inviting trouble down the line.
The curious thing is that the fire department will hand this over to a collection company after a couple of months of effort….and they will come to your house to collect a TV, a stero, a computer….or whatever it takes….to render the $420 back to the fire department. That’s the German way.
So what those pitiful folks do now? If I were a rescued guy….I’d park my car in front of the fire department with a bucket and a sign (“Rescue me from these fools”). I’d let the local newspaper know and ask for donations. Every time a fire occurs….go behind the guys and sit up another bucket donation with the sign out in front of the whole operation. I’d make the fire department feel like “whores” in this whole episode.
The funny thing? The state pays them every single minute they are on duty. They get paid to sit around the fire department, and they get paid to put out fires. It’s the same pay…every single day. If they rescue forty folks in one month or one dog in one month….it’s the same pay. So where exactly does this $420 fit into this? Yes…..that would be a curious question to pose.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
To Forget or Not
To lay out this story....two German guys...were in Canada...and at some point in 1990...they killed a guy (he was an actor, if it matters).
The two German guys end up in court....get sentenced....and then get released by 2008.
Someone out there....decided to write up a Wiki article, and they created this entire event. They wrote the two names, and gave all the facts.
This past week...the two German guys...now free men and out of jail....set up a lawsuit against the "charity" behind Wikipedia....saying that its inclusion of detail of their life and crime infringes upon their right to privacy.
It is a test of sorts.
"He who controls the past, controls the future"....is a wonderful quote to toss into this mess.
If the case concludes and Wiki has to delete the entire record or at least delete their names....then the entire value of Wiki comes into play. (Frankly, the value of Wiki is currently marginal and barely a plus-point, but that's an entirely different story to write).
Lots of folks could come up and claim that their privacy has been messed with and then demand Wiki remove them. Why not the Google guys next, or newspapers?
The court is given a juicy case in this episode. The guys are afforded certain rights....erasing history on their event is what makes this different from previous cases.
I hate to defend Wiki....because their incompetence in general....but I'd like to see history remain available for folks. Erasing history...brings up lots of potential episodes...all to be forgotten in a decade or two.
The two German guys end up in court....get sentenced....and then get released by 2008.
Someone out there....decided to write up a Wiki article, and they created this entire event. They wrote the two names, and gave all the facts.
This past week...the two German guys...now free men and out of jail....set up a lawsuit against the "charity" behind Wikipedia....saying that its inclusion of detail of their life and crime infringes upon their right to privacy.
It is a test of sorts.
"He who controls the past, controls the future"....is a wonderful quote to toss into this mess.
If the case concludes and Wiki has to delete the entire record or at least delete their names....then the entire value of Wiki comes into play. (Frankly, the value of Wiki is currently marginal and barely a plus-point, but that's an entirely different story to write).
Lots of folks could come up and claim that their privacy has been messed with and then demand Wiki remove them. Why not the Google guys next, or newspapers?
The court is given a juicy case in this episode. The guys are afforded certain rights....erasing history on their event is what makes this different from previous cases.
I hate to defend Wiki....because their incompetence in general....but I'd like to see history remain available for folks. Erasing history...brings up lots of potential episodes...all to be forgotten in a decade or two.
The Dresden Case
A number of months ago...over in Dresden....there was a court case. Basically, some Russian-German guy had charges laid up against him and the chief witness was an Egyptian woman. At some point in the trial....the Russian-German guy....in court...pulls out a knife and begins stabbing the Egyptian woman. Don't ask how he got into the courthouse with the knife or his rational.....none of that matters now.
The husband of the Egyptian woman came to her aide. He gets stabbed a time or two. Meanwhile, a cop or two arrive....in the midst of this entire mess....they end up shooting the husband in the leg severely. The mess stops at this point. The Russian-German guy who started this mess....never got shot, interestingly enough. The Egyptian wife? Dead.
Alot of Muslims in Germany got all upset over this. They blamed the German government for the entire event.
The murder case took a very short period of time to rig up and concluded this past week. The Russian-German will spend most of his life behind bars.
What now develops are two interesting episodes. One, the family is now suing the judge of the original episode for not providing adequate protection in his courtroom. They want the German government to compensate them for a death that was unnecessary. The second part of this.....is that the husband who was shot.....was a compensation. We are likely talking about a lifetime retirement deal via the German government.
Frankly, it'll be hard to see how these will develop. There are so few cases like this to compare against. Normally, once you get into a German courthouse, it's fairly safe. In most court cases, there's always a cop in the court room.
I've come to agree about the husband and the compensation. The cops owe this guy something. Whether it's a simple "gift" of $250k or a yearly pension of $30k....doesn't matter. They basically shot him while he was defending his wife in their courtroom. He maintains that he's crippled for life, and his doctor agrees that he will never walk correctly again. Based on videos I've seen....he walks with an extreme limp and a cane.
It's a weird case....even for Germany.
The husband of the Egyptian woman came to her aide. He gets stabbed a time or two. Meanwhile, a cop or two arrive....in the midst of this entire mess....they end up shooting the husband in the leg severely. The mess stops at this point. The Russian-German guy who started this mess....never got shot, interestingly enough. The Egyptian wife? Dead.
Alot of Muslims in Germany got all upset over this. They blamed the German government for the entire event.
The murder case took a very short period of time to rig up and concluded this past week. The Russian-German will spend most of his life behind bars.
What now develops are two interesting episodes. One, the family is now suing the judge of the original episode for not providing adequate protection in his courtroom. They want the German government to compensate them for a death that was unnecessary. The second part of this.....is that the husband who was shot.....was a compensation. We are likely talking about a lifetime retirement deal via the German government.
Frankly, it'll be hard to see how these will develop. There are so few cases like this to compare against. Normally, once you get into a German courthouse, it's fairly safe. In most court cases, there's always a cop in the court room.
I've come to agree about the husband and the compensation. The cops owe this guy something. Whether it's a simple "gift" of $250k or a yearly pension of $30k....doesn't matter. They basically shot him while he was defending his wife in their courtroom. He maintains that he's crippled for life, and his doctor agrees that he will never walk correctly again. Based on videos I've seen....he walks with an extreme limp and a cane.
It's a weird case....even for Germany.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The Panther
Somewhere, along the German-Belgium border....there is a panther on the loose. Well....folks think....there's a panther on the loose.
The thing is....several residents have seen the big cat...which they described as black and huge....and then a couple of hikers said the same thing.
The odds? I'm betting on some guy in the area who got into exotic cats....bought some panther kitten and tried raising it in his basement or garage. The cat eventually attacked him and escaped via a door....and has been on the run ever since. The guy won't dare admit this in public, and he probably got the cat from some Russian mafia guy or circus owner.
The thing is....everyone wants the cat caught alive. This kinda puts a crimp into any type of logical planning. Some folks are a bit scared now in this region....because this is the one animal that could hunt humans. The thing is...without any mate...it won't reproduce and we might just be talking about a twelve year period of activity.
The odds of catching it alive? I'd say less than ten percent chance. Most hunters are going to be more prone to use a real rifle and not take chances on being attacked.
The thing is....several residents have seen the big cat...which they described as black and huge....and then a couple of hikers said the same thing.
The odds? I'm betting on some guy in the area who got into exotic cats....bought some panther kitten and tried raising it in his basement or garage. The cat eventually attacked him and escaped via a door....and has been on the run ever since. The guy won't dare admit this in public, and he probably got the cat from some Russian mafia guy or circus owner.
The thing is....everyone wants the cat caught alive. This kinda puts a crimp into any type of logical planning. Some folks are a bit scared now in this region....because this is the one animal that could hunt humans. The thing is...without any mate...it won't reproduce and we might just be talking about a twelve year period of activity.
The odds of catching it alive? I'd say less than ten percent chance. Most hunters are going to be more prone to use a real rifle and not take chances on being attacked.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
The Cross Episode
Ever since the European Union came along...things have kinda come down from the EU...on individual countries...and they tended to just accept what was handed down. There is some ability to challenge....but rarely have countries taken any big actions.
This week...things changed.
Some folks in Italy....got a bit upset over a ruling by the European Human Rights Court. The court ordered schools in Italy to remove crucifixes from the classrooms. This was supposed to level the playing field and give the impression that schools were totally neutral.
Folks have taken this in a very negative fashion. Pier Luigi Arnera....mayor of a small town by the name of Sezzadio....came out with a fine...for anyone in the village who removes a cross from any municipal building....to includes schools. The fine? $700.
The logic of the mayor? He says displaying of the cross in “places other than churches does not affect the dignity of anyone, because it is one of our cultural references.”
The thing about Italy....once one mayor does something like this....a bunch of small town mayors get the same ideas.
With Christmas coming up...I'd wager that nativity scenes will be doubling up and folks will carry crosses on their person...and openly display them.
I've spent around a month of my life in Italy. Italians are a different breed. First....no matter what they say....they are absolutely Catholic in nature. They might bend here and there with what the Pope says....but the bottom line is a belief in Christian values. Whatever attitude that Baptists think they have....Italians can carry a fifty pound bag of religious sand a mile further.
As you look around Europe today....various Islamic groups have been successful in different European countries. The one exception? Italy.
The odds of this cross episode being forced down on Italians? I'd give it zero chance. Italians know in the end....they are absolutely right...whether they are or not.
This week...things changed.
Some folks in Italy....got a bit upset over a ruling by the European Human Rights Court. The court ordered schools in Italy to remove crucifixes from the classrooms. This was supposed to level the playing field and give the impression that schools were totally neutral.
Folks have taken this in a very negative fashion. Pier Luigi Arnera....mayor of a small town by the name of Sezzadio....came out with a fine...for anyone in the village who removes a cross from any municipal building....to includes schools. The fine? $700.
The logic of the mayor? He says displaying of the cross in “places other than churches does not affect the dignity of anyone, because it is one of our cultural references.”
The thing about Italy....once one mayor does something like this....a bunch of small town mayors get the same ideas.
With Christmas coming up...I'd wager that nativity scenes will be doubling up and folks will carry crosses on their person...and openly display them.
I've spent around a month of my life in Italy. Italians are a different breed. First....no matter what they say....they are absolutely Catholic in nature. They might bend here and there with what the Pope says....but the bottom line is a belief in Christian values. Whatever attitude that Baptists think they have....Italians can carry a fifty pound bag of religious sand a mile further.
As you look around Europe today....various Islamic groups have been successful in different European countries. The one exception? Italy.
The odds of this cross episode being forced down on Italians? I'd give it zero chance. Italians know in the end....they are absolutely right...whether they are or not.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Simon Polt
There's a terrific Austrian series of movies (not a TV show, as you might hope)....which feature the character Simon Polt. If you were ever looking for a under-played cop movie.....with a four-star script....then these four movies would be a great choice. The movies?
Polt muss weinen (1998)
Blumen für Polt (2000)
Himmel, Polt und Hölle(2001)
Polterabend (2003)
Polt is the "Andy" of a small Austrian town....managing crimes and murder. No police car....he rides the bike everywhere. As of yet, I've never seen him pull a pistol and I don't think he ever would. He arrives at his cottage each evening....sits quietly looking out the window....petting his cat....and simply thinking. If you ever wanted a Austrian Andy Griffith show....this is it.
The catch to this is that he uses the art of persuasion on just about everyone he meets that needs it. He presents flowers to ladies. He sips a beer quietly and pondering. He's the cop that states the obvious and then gives you a slight grin.
The chance of catching this? You might have one of these show up once a year, if you were lucky. They ran all four a few weeks ago on 3SAT.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Maut (The Road Tax) Episode
I was kinda waiting for this…..the new government (the righty crowd)….had the transportation chief come out last week....and announce they are renewing a review of the introduction of road tolls in German autobahns. About twelve hours later...he came out and said it was a mis-statement and backtracked.
This is one of those ideas that revenue guys have been hyping on for a decade now. They know the invention of new methods of collecting taxes has to be extended....and this is the best “hidden” method they know of. The majority of Germans though....are against it.
About ten years ago…..the new government came in (the lefty crowd)….and decided that folks in trucks ought to pay a road toll and then determined that a technology concept of “black boxes” and satellites would be the answer. Naturally, this answer left the door open for car inclusion later.
So the boys jumped in….got around six major companies involved and figured in eighteen months they could crank up this massive program across the whole nation. The simple deal? You had a card that you “charged” up at some gas station ATM-like machine. You put the card into a “black box” within the truck….that had antenna. As the truck passed under a steel structure on the autobahn….it reads the account and then deducts the money from the account.
How far apart are these structures? It could be five miles….it could twenty miles. Each one is a different charge. You could enter one end of a town like Frankfurt….travel the entire distance on the autobahn to the other end…and never cross a single one of these readers. In my case, if I take the long route on the autobahn….I will pass one reader before I get to the base. The likely charge? Unknown at this point, but I’d guess on 50 cents….so it’d likely run a buck a day to drive quickly to work.
This charge….the “maut”….is an amusing subject. If you ask Germans who pays the charge…they tell you the trucker. Then you ask if the trucker assumes the entire burden…or passes it along to the consumer buying the item off the truck? Then they start to realize that they quietly pass this charge or tax themselves.
The selling point is that other nations that transit Germany….pay their fair share….and that’s all foreign income unrelated to Germany.
There are folks who oppose this entire idea….like the German Federation of Taxpayers….who referred to this road toll idea as "a scam."
The current selling point on this deal is that foreign cars transit the country….on vacation or business….and they could improve the current tax revenue bucket by 20 percent.
Having been in Germany for fifteen years….I can tell you a simple fact….folks will work hard to avoid paying this tax. If they find that it costs $40 a month to use the autobahn to drive to work….they will find the county or city roads to avoid the scam….and crowd up the current access roads by two hundred percent. The advantage of using the fee? Out the back door rather quickly.
Would I pay the $1 a day? I laughed as I considered this idea. I would burn up an extra twenty minutes a day if I avoid the autobahn, and probably burn an extra three gallons of gas per week….but you have to analyze this problem carefully. I work with people who would have to transit five of these readers….and maybe pay $40 a week….which would be a silly expense.
Would the current gas tax be deleted? No….the odds are zero on that. The government guy’s won’t even discuss that idea. So basically….an entire new tax would be levied across German society….emptying out another $500 a year or more….on the common guy. The bulk of folks won’t be getting a pay raise…just like last year….so they are all digging in and tossing more money to the government.
So, everyone is hoping the mis-statement made....was just that...and that these idiots won't bring this up again. My guess? Give it six months....and it'll be brought up again....just when they need more taxes.
This is one of those ideas that revenue guys have been hyping on for a decade now. They know the invention of new methods of collecting taxes has to be extended....and this is the best “hidden” method they know of. The majority of Germans though....are against it.
About ten years ago…..the new government came in (the lefty crowd)….and decided that folks in trucks ought to pay a road toll and then determined that a technology concept of “black boxes” and satellites would be the answer. Naturally, this answer left the door open for car inclusion later.
So the boys jumped in….got around six major companies involved and figured in eighteen months they could crank up this massive program across the whole nation. The simple deal? You had a card that you “charged” up at some gas station ATM-like machine. You put the card into a “black box” within the truck….that had antenna. As the truck passed under a steel structure on the autobahn….it reads the account and then deducts the money from the account.
How far apart are these structures? It could be five miles….it could twenty miles. Each one is a different charge. You could enter one end of a town like Frankfurt….travel the entire distance on the autobahn to the other end…and never cross a single one of these readers. In my case, if I take the long route on the autobahn….I will pass one reader before I get to the base. The likely charge? Unknown at this point, but I’d guess on 50 cents….so it’d likely run a buck a day to drive quickly to work.
This charge….the “maut”….is an amusing subject. If you ask Germans who pays the charge…they tell you the trucker. Then you ask if the trucker assumes the entire burden…or passes it along to the consumer buying the item off the truck? Then they start to realize that they quietly pass this charge or tax themselves.
The selling point is that other nations that transit Germany….pay their fair share….and that’s all foreign income unrelated to Germany.
There are folks who oppose this entire idea….like the German Federation of Taxpayers….who referred to this road toll idea as "a scam."
The current selling point on this deal is that foreign cars transit the country….on vacation or business….and they could improve the current tax revenue bucket by 20 percent.
Having been in Germany for fifteen years….I can tell you a simple fact….folks will work hard to avoid paying this tax. If they find that it costs $40 a month to use the autobahn to drive to work….they will find the county or city roads to avoid the scam….and crowd up the current access roads by two hundred percent. The advantage of using the fee? Out the back door rather quickly.
Would I pay the $1 a day? I laughed as I considered this idea. I would burn up an extra twenty minutes a day if I avoid the autobahn, and probably burn an extra three gallons of gas per week….but you have to analyze this problem carefully. I work with people who would have to transit five of these readers….and maybe pay $40 a week….which would be a silly expense.
Would the current gas tax be deleted? No….the odds are zero on that. The government guy’s won’t even discuss that idea. So basically….an entire new tax would be levied across German society….emptying out another $500 a year or more….on the common guy. The bulk of folks won’t be getting a pay raise…just like last year….so they are all digging in and tossing more money to the government.
So, everyone is hoping the mis-statement made....was just that...and that these idiots won't bring this up again. My guess? Give it six months....and it'll be brought up again....just when they need more taxes.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Geothermal Story
So this is what happened. Some folks were digging a geothermal heat source in Wiesbaden (downtown). Basically, you are digging at a significant dept....and hoping to find that pocket of warm springs. The boys were down to 300 feet or so....when it erupted. So water started spewing out of the ground at the drilling site. The boys were kinda surprised. They figured it'd just be water....not under any pressure.
This started on Thursday. It spewed all night, then through most of Friday. We've likely gone from the tens of thousands of gallons scenario to the hundreds of thousand of gallons scenario by this point.
The neat thing here...is that it's right by the Finance Ministry and some fancy hotel downtown. So both have some minor flood issues.
Based on some reports....they were apparently able on Saturday to plug this to some degree but folks still aren't one hundred percent on this plug business. It could be....that it's simply contained and the water is flowing somewhere else right now. The closeness of the hotel and Ministry buildings....makes you wonder if ground strength is now being disrupted and maybe a pit might be opening up sooner or later to swallow up things.
Naturally, you can envision this scenario. Here's Schmidt arriving at his lowly finazamt office building on Monday over at the Finance Ministry. Schmidt is amongst the lowest of the low on the management pole.....number 44 out of 52 leaders in the building. Schmidt passes a stairway, and observes this crack in the wall. He stands there....eyeballing this for a full minute. He turns around and walks out....goes home....and calls in sick (saying he has the Swine Flu).
Hours pass at the ministry building....and then.....the whole thing caves into a 300 foot pit. Everyone in the building is wiped out. The next day.....Schmidt shows up at the emergency finance headquarters to find that he's moved up 43 places and is now judged to be the next chief of the Finance Ministry....by mere survival. All due....to a crack in the wall.
Stranger things have happened....you know.
Friday, November 6, 2009
ZDFneo
There's a legendary fact about state-run TV in Germany....nobody under the age of 30 really watches it. The state TV guys may argue about this and get all pumped up over sports on their channel which might attract guys....but beyond that....it's a big zero.
So the boys woke up...in the new digital era....and created another channel (yet another expense on the TV audience via taxes).....and created ZDFneo.....a channel for the "hip" generation of Germany.
So, the ZDFneo management team went out to find really hot shows that German youth would watch....to get them addicted and willing to help continue on this TV tax game.
The boys bought the rights to broadcast 30 Rock.
Last week....with its first broadcast....they got 5,000 or less folks in Germany to watch. It was mostly a joke....and they really needed more folks to make this pay off. Well...this week....they got up to 30,000 viewers....out of 80 million folks. It would be a safe bet to say this was awful marginal and if they can't get past 250,000 viewers....they might as well give up on this idea of "hot" shows to draw new viewers.
The sad thing....is that I have to pay for this stupidity with my TV tax.
So the boys woke up...in the new digital era....and created another channel (yet another expense on the TV audience via taxes).....and created ZDFneo.....a channel for the "hip" generation of Germany.
So, the ZDFneo management team went out to find really hot shows that German youth would watch....to get them addicted and willing to help continue on this TV tax game.
The boys bought the rights to broadcast 30 Rock.
Last week....with its first broadcast....they got 5,000 or less folks in Germany to watch. It was mostly a joke....and they really needed more folks to make this pay off. Well...this week....they got up to 30,000 viewers....out of 80 million folks. It would be a safe bet to say this was awful marginal and if they can't get past 250,000 viewers....they might as well give up on this idea of "hot" shows to draw new viewers.
The sad thing....is that I have to pay for this stupidity with my TV tax.
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