Thanks to the tremendous support of so many people from all over the world as well as all the publicty my case received, I am a free person once more – and, boy, does that feel wonderful!
Today I collected a letter from Judge Hannes Winge of Vienna’s Döbling Court informing me that he has stopped the court guardianship procedure initiated by Judge Michaela Lauer of Hietzing court on June 29th, 2010.
Judge Winge examined the reasons given to justify a court guardianship and found they were not at all credible although he appeared to be under great external pressure to impose a guardianship on me.
Filed under Mind, Soul by on Sep 8th, 2010. Comment. 
In one week, the International Whaling Commission will hold its final vote on a proposal to legalize commercial whale hunting for the first time in a generation.
The outcome rests on whose voices are heard most clearly in the final hours: the pro-whaling lobby — or the world’s people?
More than 650,000 of us have signed the petition to protect whales — it’s time to reach 1 million! At the whale summit in Morocco, an Avaaz team is setting up billboards, front-page newspaper ads, and a giant, constantly-updating petition counter — all to ensure that delegates, from the moment they step off the plane until they cast their votes, will see from our explosive numbers that the world will not accept legal whale slaughter.
Filed under Body, Mind, Soul by on Jun 17th, 2010. Comment.
Staff and volunteers from the American animal rights organisation FARM held a protest outside the Austrian Embassy in Washington DC this week. For an hour activists gathered and marched in front of the Austrian Embassy chanting messages and carrying large signs reading “Stop Austrian Repression”, “Activism is NOT a crime”, “Protect Free Speech” and “Drop all Charges – Shame on Austria!”. During the demonstration activists approached the embassy to deliver a letter to the embassy’s public information officer, Wolfgang Renezeder. Friendly and understanding, Mr Renezeder was aware of the worldwide protests and agreed to make sure that the letter was delivered to the Ministry of Justice in Vienna.
Filed under Body, Mind, Soul by on Jun 15th, 2010. Comment.
Germany’s biggest newspaper, BILD, reported about the preparations NASA is making to monitor the higher levels of solar activity expected in the next few years, predicted to reach a maximum in 2012. The subject of the sun, its increased activity and its possible impact on us is finally entering the mainstream media also in Europe.
BILD emphasises the potential disruption that a gigantic solar storm could cause. It describes a “horror scenario” of “silence, darkness, chaos” as electricity grids, mobile phones, GPS navigation systems, TV and radio cease to function.
But there is scientific evidence that the increase in the solar activity could give a significant boost to human consciousness and to spiritual evolution.
Filed under Mind, Soul, Ultra by on Jun 10th, 2010. 1 Comment.
This week saw three detectives from the special commission testifying in court. What they told the judge revealed many shocking inconsistencies which the defence attempted to address in their questioning. However, the judge prevented this by not allowing many of the defences’ questions.
It transpired that in October 2007 police were already planning home raids and remand prison for a number of activists. The police reports show that Dr Balluch and VGT were the main suspects. However, this was based on nothing more than the assumption that VGT possibly provided a cover for people committing offences, there was no proof or any evidence. And Dr Balluch was considered the main suspect only because he was president of VGT.
Asked about investigative results, such as DNA tests and Mobile phone and vehicle tracking, which would clear the defendants of any involvement in offences, the detectives claimed that the results were in their reports but not in the final police reports, since evidence was only considered relevant, if it provided evidence for guilt.
Filed under Body, Mind, Soul by on Jun 8th, 2010. Comment.
This Memorial Day, while we’re celebrating our freedom—and paying tribute to the men and women who died while fighting for our freedom—let’s also take a moment to think about all the animals who are not free, and consider what we can do to help them. From factory farms to zoos, aquariums, and circuses to puppy mills and pet stores, countless animals are confined in deplorable conditions; exploited, abused, and even killed to satisfy many American’s way of life.
Many people barbecue beef, pork, and poultry on Memorial Day, the unofficial start of the cookout season. To me, it seems more fitting to hold a vegetarian cookout in commemoration of all the animals who suffer and die in slaughterhouses. Each year in the U.S., about 10 billion cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and other animals are raised and killed for food. They are made of flesh, bone, and blood, just as you and I are. They yearn to be with their loved ones, feel the warmth of the sun, breathe fresh air, and feel grass beneath their feet. Yet, before they are killed, they’re packed in filthy, dark cages, crates, warehouses, or sheds. They are debeaked, castrated, branded, or tortured in a variety of other ways. All to satisfy people’s taste for flesh.
Filed under Mind, Soul by on Jun 2nd, 2010. 1 Comment.
After almost all of last week and most of this week’s trial dates being taken up by questioning witnesses about legal anti fur demonstrations the defence made an objection to the judge on the grounds that the demonstrations under discussion were legally registered, not forbidden by the police and had no relevance to any crimes. The judge overruled the objection stating that those demonstrations were incriminated as part of a double strategy of legal protests and illegal activity. The two days in court this week were taken up with shop assistants and store managers being asked to describe the anti fur demonstrations in front of their stores and the behaviour of the protesters taking part.
Filed under Body, Mind, Soul by on May 20th, 2010. 2 Comments.
Under a relatively new law called the “Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act” (A.E.T.A.), activists engaged in efforts to bring needless suffering to an end for non-human animals inside factory farms, vivisection labs, circuses and the like, now potentially face charges as “terrorists” in federal courts even if their actions are peaceful and First Amendment protected.
Although a pre-existing law from 1992 known as the “Animal Enterprise Protection Act” was initially created to further prosecute and create harsher penalties for activists who use illegal tactics to save lives, such as liberating animals from abusive situations and causing economic damage to industries that profit from suffering, the A.E.T.A. has taken it one step further and tacked on the label of “terrorism” for such activities.
Filed under Body, Mind, Soul by on May 14th, 2010. 1 Comment.
The press this week have reported on the long drawn out nature of the trial and the distinct lack of any evidence against the defendants coming to light. Reports also reminded the public of the tax payers’ money which has been and continues to be sunk into this case. Other reports focused on the bizarre and often deeply worrying happenings inside the courtroom. One journalist compiled a list of quotes and events – the majority of which appear in these and preceding notes. This week also saw the head of Amnesty International Austria criticising the trial in an online interview with one of the country’s leading newspapers.
Filed under Body, Mind, Soul by on May 12th, 2010. Comment.
The leading edge of a vast oil slick started to come ashore in Louisiana on Thursday night, a shroud of devastation falling on America’s coastline even as the blown-out BP oil well that produced it continues to belch millions of gallons of thick crude into the Gulf of Mexico for a third straight week.
At moments like this, it’s hard to see any silver lining here at all. But it’s possible there is one. Many environmentalists say that the wrenching and omnipresent images of filth and death are at last providing Americans with visible, visceral and possibly mobilizing evidence of the effects that fossil fuels are having on our environment every day.
Rick Steiner is horrified at the damage. A University of Alaska marine specialist, he’s watched cleanup efforts ever since the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, and has learned some bitter lessons.
Filed under Body, Soul, Ultra by on May 7th, 2010. Comment.
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