The Austrian flag has been around for 800 years, with the white standing for peace and honesty, and red for hardiness, bravery, strength and valour.
The Republic of Austria is slightly smaller than Maine, with 8.3 million people. More correctly, it is a federal parliamentary democracy, and voting begins at the age of 16. The capital is Vienna. Ninety percent speak German and about a quarter is Roman Catholic.
The GDP/capita is $39,200 (or as high as $45,000, depending on source). Austria actually has proven oil and natural gas reserves, but imports almost ten times more oil than it exports and five times more natural gas.
The Federal President is Heinz Fischer. As it is part of the European Union, the Euro is used. The internet country code is “at.” Both genders serve for 6 months of active duty and 8 years of reserve service. Drug transshipment is a concern.
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Austrian history dates back to 976, when Leopold von Babenberg became the ruler of much of present-day Austria. In 1276 Rudolf I became the first Habsburg to ascend to the throne, and the Habsburgs ruled Austria for nearly 750 years.
In 1938 Germany sent its military forces into Austria and annexed the country, an action that received enthusiastic support among most Austrians. The great majority of the 200,000 Jewish population of the country was murdered or forced into exile. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, greater attention was given in many countries to unresolved issues from World War II, such as this one. Since 1994, Austria has committed to providing victims and heirs some $1 billion in total compensation.
Last year, the far right gained 29% of the vote, and the most charismatic of the lot is 39-year old Heinz-Christian Strache, the leader of the Freedom party. Perhaps a Neo-Nazi, Islam, he says, is the fascism of the 21st century, that many immigrants need to be deported and is known to mock gays. A former dental technician, he is the new poster boy of Europe's extreme right. Oh, Hitler was born in Austria, but the country is also famous for apfelstrudel, Pez candy, Red Bull, Mozart, Strauss, Freud and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrials went up 1; today, it dropped 1, to 8763. World markets were mixed. Gold rose $1/toz to $955. Oil finally finished the day above $70/barrel. Well, Fereidun’s $40/bbl prognostication might fall short by a factor of two.
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Oh, I must report on my GM adventure. To recap, I bought GM at $1.38/share a week before bankruptcy. I held it to the bitter end, hoping something would happen. Well, the company went bankrupt and I thought I got wiped out. But, to my shock, the stock became GMGMQ, and just today, shot up to $1.50/share. I thus sold, and made a few bucks in the process, because I had only bought it as a hedge against my Ford shares. But, primarily to maintain a sense of idiocy, I equally converted the resultant GMGMQ funds into SIRI, FRE and FNM, for this Ameritrade account is mostly to take ridiculous gambles...and, after nearly a decade, it is plus 20% or so, not much of an annual return, but better than the 20-40% loss many are experiencing.
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