About 120,000 people in colorful clothes took part in Vienna’s annual Rainbow Parade on Saturday to call for equal rights for gays, lesbians and transvestites. I must add that to be transvestite does not necessarily mean to be homosexual. Some transvestites are fascinated with women’s clothes only, and want to feel themselves, at least temporarily, the object of passionate desire. Some quite normal from traditional point of view heterosexual relationships may lack real intimacy. When I was looking at gays and lesbians, especially those ones who not only demonstrated presence of homo feelings, but obviously had them – tenderly holding their partner’s hand, I knew to be really intimate with somebody and to be understood, you can be of any gender you feel yourself comfortable with. Person posing for photo and person depicted in his natural environment or unaware have different energetic levels and expressiveness, why I am still devoted to street photography. From my point of view many shows, manifestations and demonstrations have zero expressive value
Alfred Gusenbauer, the tenth chancellor in the history of the Second Austrian Republic, will be remembered for his short time in that position.
Gusenbauer has been Chancellor for 545 days. With an early general election likely to be held by the end of September, he will have been Chancellor for slightly more than 700 days before stepping down.
Austrian Times, 08.07.08
We were waiting for a long time outside of social democrats party quarters. It rained.
When at last we were let in, it was hard to find the place to photograph, as reporters and TV operators stood like a wall. One of securities shoved me, when I tried to cross the room behind the backs of three party leaders.
Gusenbauer looked much older than two month before when I last photographed him, and he was throwing nervous side-long glances at journalists. Everybody who takes position of responsibility must be prepared his achievement and smallest failures will be equally magnified, when he gains power and loses it.
Only one snapshot of these smiling Austrian girls handing out Mars chocolates in Mariahilfer Strasse was made by me, and in spite of desire to proceed, my camera stopped clicking because card was over
Информация о жизни в Австрии, об обычаях, национальном характере австрийцев, свежие новости о политических и культурных событиях, размышления, заметки, интервью – всё это на русском языке. Желающие посодействовать в создании русскоязычных медиа, фотографы и авторы-энтузиасты, буду вам рада.
(Девушки, раздающие батончики “Марс” на одной из центральных улиц Вены)
Галина Токталиева
Rudolf Hundstorfer, President of Austrian Federation of Trade Unions (OeGB)
In October 2003 Rudolf Hundstorfer became vice president of the OeGB (Austrian Federation of Trade Unions). After resignation of Fritz Verzetnisch as president of this organization in March 2006 because of the BAWAG scandal, Hundstorfer took the presidency provisionally. On September, 8th 2005 as a representative of all BAWAG stockholders he signed an agreement, that the OeGB will adopt the BAWAGs debts of 1.53 billion Euros. Hundstorfer kept this fact in secret until June 2006. When he was asked by journalists for reason doing so, he told he did not know, what he had signed. Translated by G.T
Managers found guilty in Austrian BAWAG trial (Vienna) All nine defendants in the BAWAG bank were found guilty on Friday in the trial on Austria’s biggest banking scandal on Friday, as the bank managers were held responsible for high losses arising from speculative investments. Former BAWAG CEO Helmut Elsner, 73, and other bank managers were deemed guilty of having hidden losses around 1.7 billion euros (2.7 billion dollars) from off-shore investments between 1995 and 2000. US-based investor Wolfgang Floettl, 52, had carried out the unsuccessful financial deals in the Caribbean on behalf of Austria’s fourth largest bank. The scandal reverberated beyond the financial sector as the losses of Austria’s fourth-biggest bank severely weakened one of its former owners, the Austrian Trade Union Federation.
In December 2006 the ailing BAWAG was sold off to the US-based hedge fund Cerberus. All nine defendants face prison sentences of up to 10 years, as most of them were accused of breach of confidence and balance sheet fraud. DPA
Governor Franz Voves drinking Styrian wine
In politics one holds no promises
“The head of Styrian government Voves can not be surpassed in incredibility”, told OeVP family speaker Ridi Steibl commenting SPOe-forcingup of prices in Steiermark. On the 1st of July the electricity prices will be raised by 15 percent.
OeVP-family speaker reminded to audience the fact of numerous election campaign pledges given by Voves. Before the elections Voves had promised , in particular, that electricity price would not be raised. Steibl told: “You failed, Mr.Governor! With all your broken promises. Voves is fully responsible for the antisocial SPOe politics and it is incomprehensible why he demands SPOe at the national level to be the other, when his own local policy does not correspond to this fundamental principle.” ots.at
Electricity price increases, the trust to politicians decreases
From the 1st of July the Energy Styria raises the electricity price. It means a rise by 4 percent for average household. As the KPOe has already stated before, every rise digs deep in population pockets. This is the third rise since 2006.
Ernest Kaltenegger, club chef of the KPOe issued critical comments on this fact in the Styrian Landtag:� “Other local enterprises who manage to go on without nuclear power are definitely cheaper than the Energy Stieremark. The last one seems to obtain tactics to put stress on population at regular intervals. At the same time, the politicians of OeVP and SPOe at the local level intend to increase their own salaries up to 1000 euros monthly. In this way the trust to politicians is systematically destroyed.” KPÖ Continue reading Austria news: games at higher level →
Young female beggar in one of Vienna streets listening to arguments of older woman who suddenly stopped to express her opinion on beggary.
For the first time in my life, I was brought at the place against my will and kept there shut. I felt shaken and thought it must be mistake and soon they would let me go.
At the same time, I knew in my heart that the world where I lived before would never be the same again. On incomprehensible reasons, I became outcast, object of persecution; I broke certain rules and revealed my alien nature to others. I failed to act in reality that all others people except of me shared. So albino crow in flock of black birds is hit by beaks of others till it is dead. I had feeling that all others shared knowledge I had no access to. Continue reading Red Phantoms:Individual versus Group →