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July 30, 2010
Potholes for sale in German village
Published: 3 Mar 10 16:07 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100303-25651.html
A cash-strapped village in eastern Germany has put its many potholes up for sale in a novel effort to finance the repair of its crumbling roads, the mayor of the Thuringia city said on Wednesday.
- Behemoth wine barrel to be tapped after 400 years - Society (29 Jul 10)
- Neo-Nazis hack into Buchenwald concentration camp website - Society (29 Jul 10)
- Police seize 'ancient' bus after 1.8 million kilometres - Society (28 Jul 10)
People can buy a hole in Niederzimmern near Leipzig for €50. In return the authorities will repair it - and put a personal message on top, Christoph Schmidt-Rose told local radio station MDR.
"It's about using a funny idea to find people prepared to help us sort out our roads" who can then "sort of feel like they own the hole in the road," Schmidt-Rose said.
He said that some potholes had already been snapped up by television channels and newspapers wanting to advertise.
Experts estimate that months of severe winter weather have left as many as 40 percent of Germany's roads badly damaged, while the recession has made it hard for local authorities to patch them up.
AFP (news@thelocal.de)
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Your comments about this article:
the point is that open markets provide the developed world with cheaper goods making everybody feel richer and the developing world with income making everybody feel richer - what's not to like?
sure, industry in the developed world has got to keep up with the times and make the things that it can do better - just like industry always has to - just like BMW in the u.s. today - the world turns and I for one would not like it to stand still
As for a Global Economy, such a system will never function well, as long as there are no laws in which everyone must follow. "Every man from himself and take as much as you can get", is a terrible thing for such an economy. Take a look around?
The truth is, a nation is much better of building a DOMESTIC based economy. This would shield it from a international downturn.
Believe it or not, there are volunteer groups who would do it for fun. Turn it into a party. Get a few Euros together to buy some asphalt. Someone get a keg of beer and a radio. Some volunteers could bring hand-held tampers. Bring everything to the pothole sites. Have a few hot girls in bikinis stop by. Every pothole in town would be filled by the end of the day. Write it down.
Oh, we stole the techology, OK. Sure it was worng then and prolly now too, but really who loast anything now because of it and who really cares? Now lets talk about Germany stealing Austria, Poland, France and most of Europe. It's in the past you might say. Well so is stealing something 300 years ago, so lets stick to the point, there is no money to fix German roads, selling a pothole is a good idea!
Get with the times man! Buy a pothole!!!!!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8556915.stm
Of course in the "Voralpenland" we don't have any of these problems. Our potholes are still full of bloody snow!