Nothing like a little make up hints from the World's Most Famous Austrian, Conchita Wurst, to help you look your best!
Showing posts with label austria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label austria. Show all posts
Monday, May 12, 2014
Sunday, May 11, 2014
The Eurovision Song Contest Winner!
The Winner is from Austria, home of the Glock Pistol: Conchita Wurst!
Now, go and play with your Glocks.
Now, go and play with your Glocks.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Josef Fritzl Sentenced to Life
CNN reports on the sentencing of Josef Fritzl.
One thing that stands out in this case is the speedy resolution they achieve in Austria. A high profile case in America takes longer, am I right?
I'm still curious about the wife and other relatives and friends. Not much has been written to explain their complicity except that he was an archetypical patriarch who invited no debate. Does that explain it to you? What do you think?
Under Austrian law, he'll be eligible for parole in 15 years at age 88. Does that sound right to you? Or, do you think it'll be like Charles Manson, whose picture we saw recently. Even though they are eligible, no parole board in the world would grant it, which makes it the same as life without the possibility of parole. What do you think?
"Mentally abnormal" is right, but does this mean he's in effect sentenced to the psychiatric hospital? Do we do this in the States too, sentence people to the hospital?It was the maximum sentence for the most serious charge Fritzl faced: one count of murder, for allowing one of the babies he fathered with his daughter to die shortly after birth.
The eight-member jury returned a unanimous verdict on all counts. Fritzl, dressed in a gray suit, blue shirt and dark tie, stared blankly ahead and showed no emotion as the jury delivered its verdict.
The 73-year-old had pleaded guilty to all charges on Wednesday, but Austrian law requires a jury to return a verdict as well.
Fritzl will soon be moved to a detention facility for mentally abnormal offenders, where psychiatrists will evaluate him and decide on therapy. Until then, he will remain in a two-person cell in St. Poelten.
One thing that stands out in this case is the speedy resolution they achieve in Austria. A high profile case in America takes longer, am I right?
I'm still curious about the wife and other relatives and friends. Not much has been written to explain their complicity except that he was an archetypical patriarch who invited no debate. Does that explain it to you? What do you think?
Under Austrian law, he'll be eligible for parole in 15 years at age 88. Does that sound right to you? Or, do you think it'll be like Charles Manson, whose picture we saw recently. Even though they are eligible, no parole board in the world would grant it, which makes it the same as life without the possibility of parole. What do you think?
Monday, March 16, 2009
Josef Fritzl Pleads Guilty
CNN reports on the Austrian man, Josef Fritzl, who, accused of imprisoning his daughter in a cellar for decades and fathering her seven children, pleaded guilty to incest, imprisonment and one charge of assault Monday at the opening of his trial in Austria.
He denied charges of murder and enslavement. When asked to enter a plea on a charge of rape, the 73-year-old replied: "Partly guilty."
Last October we discussed this case when it appeared in the international news. At that time there was much talk of his abused childhood, how he was the classic victim turned abuser. Psychiatrist Adelheid Kastner wrote a 130-page report in which she says Fritzl suffers from severe combined personality disorder and a serious sexual disorder. Kastner recommends that Fritzl remain in psychiatric care for the rest of his life, regardless of the outcome of his prosecution.
I don't know what happened since then, but it sure seems like they're trying him like any other "sane" criminal. I guess Austria has its own difficulties in delineating between those offenders who have diminished capacity and those who should be held fully responsible for their actions.
I can't help think that this is related to the vengeance factor which plays so heavily in the capital punishment debate. Those who favor the severest reading of the law always claim it's about justice, but to me it smacks of vengeance. Anyone else see it like that?
Please leave a comment.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Austria's Sex Slave Patriarch Talks
Time magazine reports today on the statements made public by the infamous Austrian man who'd imprisoned his daughter in the cellar.
Ever since Josef Fritzl, the authoritarian patriarch of a sprawling family in the north Austrian town of Amstetten, was discovered to have imprisoned his daughter as a sex slave in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her, Austria has been locked in an emotional debate over what could cause such a crime.
After considering several possibilities, the psychiatrists decided the explanation behind these crimes was personal rather than societal. Fritzl had been severely abused himself as a child. Consistent with the increasingly popular modern interpretation, the doctors in Austria concluded that in this case the victim became the perpetrator.
Fritzl himself has a different explanation.
Fritzl reportedly blamed his behavior not on his upbringing but on an innate "evil streak" that he battled against his whole life. "I was born to rape, and I held myself back for a relatively long time," Fritzl reportedly told Kastner. "I could have behaved a lot worse than locking up my daughter."
Psychiatrist Adelheid Kastner wrote a 130-page report in which she says Fritzl suffers from severe combined personality disorder and a serious sexual disorder. Kastner recommends that Fritzl remain in psychiatric care for the rest of his life, regardless of the outcome of his prosecution.
Austrian authorities meanwhile are focusing on the rehabilitation of Fritzl's 42-year-old daughter Elisabeth and her six children. Psychiatrists say the children are more likely to suffer from a range of psychological problems in adulthood, including becoming abusive themselves. As a nation obsesses over one man's evil, the challenge now is to help his children escape their dark past.
What's your opinion? Is he evil or damaged? Should he receive psychiatric treatment or plain old incarceration? Do you agree that victims of abuse often become abusers themselves, and they should receive leniency as a result?
Ever since Josef Fritzl, the authoritarian patriarch of a sprawling family in the north Austrian town of Amstetten, was discovered to have imprisoned his daughter as a sex slave in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her, Austria has been locked in an emotional debate over what could cause such a crime.
After considering several possibilities, the psychiatrists decided the explanation behind these crimes was personal rather than societal. Fritzl had been severely abused himself as a child. Consistent with the increasingly popular modern interpretation, the doctors in Austria concluded that in this case the victim became the perpetrator.
Fritzl himself has a different explanation.
Fritzl reportedly blamed his behavior not on his upbringing but on an innate "evil streak" that he battled against his whole life. "I was born to rape, and I held myself back for a relatively long time," Fritzl reportedly told Kastner. "I could have behaved a lot worse than locking up my daughter."
Psychiatrist Adelheid Kastner wrote a 130-page report in which she says Fritzl suffers from severe combined personality disorder and a serious sexual disorder. Kastner recommends that Fritzl remain in psychiatric care for the rest of his life, regardless of the outcome of his prosecution.
Austrian authorities meanwhile are focusing on the rehabilitation of Fritzl's 42-year-old daughter Elisabeth and her six children. Psychiatrists say the children are more likely to suffer from a range of psychological problems in adulthood, including becoming abusive themselves. As a nation obsesses over one man's evil, the challenge now is to help his children escape their dark past.
What's your opinion? Is he evil or damaged? Should he receive psychiatric treatment or plain old incarceration? Do you agree that victims of abuse often become abusers themselves, and they should receive leniency as a result?
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