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Post by Charlene on Dec 26, 2005 15:00:56 GMT -6
Schwarzenegger’s name removed from stadium Death penalty, illegal in governor’s native Austria, led to bitter dispute www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10607371/ The stadium at Graz, Austria, seen on Monday, was renamed overnight following a dispute over California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to execute Stanley Tookie Williams. Markus Leodolter / AP Updated: 11:16 a.m. ET Dec. 26, 2005 VIENNA, Austria - Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s hometown quietly removed his name from a soccer stadium overnight, complying with the California governor’s demand in a bitter dispute over his death penalty stance. By early Monday, the large metal letters spelling out the action star-turned-politician’s name were gone from the 15,300-seat stadium in the southern city of Graz. Schwarzenegger had written to the mayor of Graz a week ago asking that his name be removed after local activists called for the stadium to be renamed because of Schwarzenegger’s refusal to block the Dec. 13 execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. Capital punishment is illegal in Schwarzenegger’s native Austria, where many people consider it barbaric. Opposition had run especially high in Graz, whose official slogan is “City of Human Rights.” The governor, turning the tables on his critics, ordered his name removed and returned a ring of honor that Graz officials gave him in 1999. With the Hollywood star’s name gone, the sign atop the stadium in Graz, about 120 miles south of Vienna, read simply: “Stadium Graz Liebenau.” Officials had renamed the arena in Schwarzenegger’s honor in 1997. Calls to the city hall in Graz went unanswered Monday, a national holiday in Austria. Schwarzenegger still admired Last week, Graz Mayor Siegfried Nagl wrote to Schwarzenegger urging him to reconsider his decision to cut ties to the city and to keep the ring. Nagl said he reassured Schwarzenegger that he remains admired by most local residents. Nagl said he was worried that severing ties to Schwarzenegger, one of Austria’s most famous sons, potentially could cost the city millions in tourist revenue. But a movement to scrap Schwarzenegger’s name from the stadium had gained momentum in recent weeks, and a majority of the city council in Graz was said to support the idea — even before Schwarzenegger’s demand. The ring arrived at Graz’s city hall late last week, and officials were considering displaying it at a local museum, Nagl told the weekly newspaper Die Woche. Many Europeans have scorned the United States’ use of capital punishment in general, and Schwarzenegger’s refusal to grant clemency in particular. They are now waiting to see how Schwarzenegger deals with the scheduled Jan. 17 execution of a 75-year-old inmate. Schwarzenegger was born in 1947 in the village of Thal just outside Graz, where he began his bodybuilding career. He immigrated to the United States in 1968 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1984, but has retained his Austrian citizenship. He remained popular in Austria, enjoying a surge of celebrity after his 2003 election as governor. In July 2004, when Austria’s post office issued a postage stamp in his honor to coincide with his 57th birthday, the 600,000 stamps bearing his likeness sold out within a few days. But many Austrians began to sour on him last January after he allowed California’s first execution in three years to take place.
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Post by happygrandmab on Dec 26, 2005 15:07:19 GMT -6
i agree with arnold's decision to remove his name. that makes 2 good decisions in that many weeks. i am proud of him.
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Post by blakely on Dec 26, 2005 15:20:53 GMT -6
I hereby declare the stadium to be known herein out as the Tookie Williams Racist Mass Murderer Stadium. :)
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Post by californian on Dec 26, 2005 15:31:54 GMT -6
I hereby declare the stadium to be known herein out as the Tookie Williams Racist Mass Murderer Stadium. :) Who? :)
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Post by RickZ on Dec 26, 2005 17:12:55 GMT -6
i agree with arnold's decision to remove his name. that makes 2 good decisions in that many weeks. i am proud of him. Yeppers. I concur. He is his own man.
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Post by Woody on Dec 27, 2005 1:05:57 GMT -6
I hereby declare the stadium to be known herein out as the Tookie Williams Racist Mass Murderer Stadium. :) Well, the Styrians are said to be a little dumb, but they would not substitute the name of one violent bastard for another. :)
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Post by Donnie on Dec 27, 2005 5:49:56 GMT -6
I hereby declare the stadium to be known herein out as the Tookie Williams Racist Mass Murderer Stadium. :) Well, the Styrians are said to be a little dumb, but they would not substitute the name of one violent bastard for another. :) So you are another person who doesn't know the fundamental difference between a person who murders people and a person who does not.
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Post by sweethonesty on Dec 27, 2005 22:17:06 GMT -6
LOL! I think its funny! Go Arnold!!
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Post by RickZ on Dec 28, 2005 10:16:36 GMT -6
The last line in an Op-Ed in today's NYPost pretty much gives the verbal finger to Graz. www.nypost.com/postopinion/editorial/60415.htmIt's too bad that Arnold's hometown thinks so little of all the attention it has gotten thanks to his celebrity. But, hey, now they can rename the stadium for another Austrian hero — someone they'll feel a bit more pride in. They can always call it Kurt Waldheim Stadium.
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Post by GlennF on Dec 28, 2005 15:16:32 GMT -6
How about a "Jack Unterweger" Stadium, that would also go well with the murderer loving crowd!
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Post by sweethonesty on Dec 29, 2005 19:41:00 GMT -6
Too bad ole Arnold wasnt born in the USA, he would make a great President lol!!!!!!!!! wouldnt that p!ss off the liberals!!
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Post by chazz on Dec 31, 2005 10:11:22 GMT -6
You can't be serious SH.... another chump voted in as President based solely upon his Hollywood status?
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Post by blakely on Dec 31, 2005 10:45:59 GMT -6
And if you weren't such an asshat you would realize it was that "chump" who freed millions from tyranny. Not that you really care about the suffering of innocent people. You've demonstrated that for us time and time again.
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Post by RickZ on Dec 31, 2005 11:05:15 GMT -6
You can't be serious SH.... another chump voted in as President based solely upon his Hollywood status? Solely? Maybe former athletes shouldn't run for office, either, like Jack kemp did. I grant you that actors, athletes, and the like have built in name recognition when to comes to running for political office. Yet they are voted into office for what they say and stand for, not just their face. Let's take those typical limousine liberal Hollyweird lefties who pontificate blithely to us all on how we should be, how we should act. They are so proud of their 'opinions' that they fear running for office and being soundly rejected. Safer to keep pontificating without risking a ballot box bashing. I guess the concept of 'putting one's money where one's mouth is', like Schwarzenegger did, is unheard of in your Liliputian world.
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Post by sweethonesty on Dec 31, 2005 15:00:32 GMT -6
You can't be serious SH.... another chump voted in as President based solely upon his Hollywood status? Has nothing to do with Hollywood!
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Post by Dea on Jan 1, 2006 14:43:27 GMT -6
Too bad ole Arnold wasnt born in the USA, he would make a great President lol!!!!!!!!! wouldnt that p!ss off the liberals!! I guess I'm a liberal, but it wouldn't bother me a bit. Anything is better than our current mistake.
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Post by Currywurst on Jan 3, 2006 7:45:46 GMT -6
Well, the Styrians are said to be a little dumb, but they would not substitute the name of one violent bastard for another. :) Well, being from Vienna, one has to excuse your not knowing the difference between both individuals. BTW, Styrians are not that unintelligent as you might suspect. Styrians like to relate to the following joke when talking about Viennese: A Styrian gets into a discussion with a Viennese regarding Austrian license plates... Styrian: What's Austria's favorite city code on license plates? Viennese: I have no idea. Styrian: The letter "M" Viennese: You stupid, there is no such city code as "M" on Austrian license plates. Styrian: Yes there is... A car with Viennese license plate (Vienna=Wien=W) on its roof...
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Post by Woody on Jan 5, 2006 6:47:09 GMT -6
I heard that story long ago.But in that case it was "M" turned upside down. ;D
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