bwah-ha-ha! Schwarzenegger Name Removed From Stadium in Austria

[kerry-is-my-prez]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051226/ap_on_re_eu/austria_schwarzenegger

Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz quietly and under cover of darkness removed giant metal letters spelling out his name on a soccer stadium.

The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month's execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams.

-snip-

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."

After Williams' Dec. 13 execution triggered a firestorm in Europe and reignited calls for Graz's stadium to be stripped of Schwarzenegger's name, the governor opted for a pre-emptive strike: A week ago, he dashed off a letter to local officials ordering his name to be removed and said he was returning an ornate ring of honor that Graz officials gave him in 1999.

[opihimoimoi]

1. He is on the Wrong side of the Fence....and he knows it but is in Denial

[Contrary1]

2. Talk about a girly man...

"You talked bad about me, so I'm giving you back your ring."

[nofurylike]

3. Graz had already decided that when he did his so-called pre-emptive

strike.

sick how the media coddles him - but no surprise, of course.

YAY Graz!!

thank you for posting this, kerry-is-my-prez!


peace!

[tularetom]

4. Austrians already had something big

to be embarassed about. They don't need another embarrassment. Look for Ahnuld to give up his Austrian citizenship just before they revoke it.

[GrumpyGreg]

5. I doubt that he cares---it's here that he made his fame and fortune.

[Cha]

6. It's comforting to know that

there are places in the world that are less "barbaric" than the USA.

Ol' swartzenshoveler and his "pre-emptive" strikes.

[laugle]

7. He doesn't care...after all he is not govenor of Austria! n/t

[Nutmegger]

8. HAHAHAHAHA

Too funny! Awwww, poor Arnold.

[AtomicKitten]

9. I think they were taking his name off BEFORE he "asked" them to.

Trying to save face. Ha, ha, ha. What an oaf.

[CountAllVotes]

10. more here on this link ...

Extensive story on this! :evilgrin:

Title: Schwarzenegger references terminated

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-12-27-schwarzenegger-stadium_x.htm?csp=27

:dem: :kick:

[guidod]

11. The worse Governor we've

ever had. I like Phil Angelides for 2006.

[mwooldri]

12. If he wants to cut all ties then perhaps he need to...

.... renounce his Austrian citizenship.

If I were him (well I'm a foreign national (British), I'm filing my N-400 soon btw) I wouldn't have acted so childish. I align myself with the majority of the citizens of Graz, because I find capital punishment abhorrent. However, if I were to believe in capital punishment and if I were in his shoes, then I should have been able to defend my reasons why I did what I did (if I were Schwarzenegger). However despite his amazing physique, I think Arnie wimped out at that point.

Besides anyone watching Larry King the last few nights would see a good number of reasons why the death penalty should go away.

Mark.