Like so many debacles in the EU, it started with the unelected European Commission. It’s immune to voters, but not to lobbyists and corporations. Under the guise of “consumer protection” or “food safety” or some other harmless moniker, it generates zany laws that tend to benefit large corporations. But last week, it went too far, even for Europeans – not that they don’t already have enough crises on their [...]]]> Wolf Richter   www.testosteronepit.com   www.amazon.com/author/wolfrichter

Like so many debacles in the EU, it started with the unelected European Commission. It’s immune to voters, but not to lobbyists and corporations. Under the guise of “consumer protection” or “food safety” or some other harmless moniker, it generates zany laws that tend to benefit large corporations. But last week, it went too far, even for Europeans – not that they don’t already have enough crises on their hands. It passed a law that banned restaurants from serving olive oil in refillable containers, such as cruets or dipping bowls.

On January 1, 2014, their use would become illegal. Instead, olive oil would have to be served in a one-use-only bottle, labeled in accordance with EU standards, and equipped with a tamper-proof “hygienic” spout. A restaurant owner in Germany, for example, who buys his special olive oil from an artisan producer in Southern France, would be out of luck; that small producer wouldn’t be able to comply with the costly stipulations. The restaurant would have to switch to an industrial supplier that can ship the special restaurant bottles with their tamper-proof spout and EU label. The small producer would be cut out.

The Commission’s decision was made under a Eurocrat procedure, called comitology – though it sounds like it,I’m not making this up! It allows for legislation that is binding for all 27 Member States to be passed into law automatically, without majority support from those Member States.

Exactly! The evil that this new law was supposed to cure: olive oil fraud. Admittedly, it’s a big issue in Europe, in the US, and elsewhere, and some of the largest industrial brands, such as Bertolli, have gotten caught with their pants down. But this law wasn’t going after fraud at the corporate level. On the contrary. It was passed under heavy lobbying from corporate producers.

The law targeted restaurateurs trying to make their own decisions about olive oil. Ostensibly it aimed to protect consumers and their taste buds from cruets or dipping bowls that had been refilled with low-quality or adulterated olive oil … the kind maybe that big brands like Bertolli and others were sued for selling in California. But when asked if they’d seen any evidence of adulterated olive oil on restaurant tables, an official told the Daily Telegraph, “We don’t have any evidence; it is anecdotal and that was enough for the committee.”

The decision exemplified what’s wrong with EU governance. But there were other issues with the harebrained law. It would create a cesspool of bureaucracy and mountains of additional trash, including the small one-use-only tamper-proof bottles with their spouts, boxes, and containers. And more oil would be wasted as the bottles – much like Ketchup bottles – would be designed to make it impossible to get all the oil out of them.

But this time, the Commission and its process of comitology were greeted with an outburst of loathing and mockery. Criticism was “universal and came from consumers and restaurant owners in all EU countries,” an EU official told the Telegraph. And it came from the very top. “This is exactly the sort of thing that Europe shouldn’t even be discussing,” explained UK Prime Minster David Cameron, with an eye on the real problems that are currently dogging Europe. “It shouldn’t even be on the table, to force a pun – so to speak,” he said. And Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told his parliament, “I think it is too bizarre for words and incomprehensible to come with this sort of proposal at a time like this.”

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, son of a small olive oil producer, apparently intervened, and on Thursday, European Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos threw in the towel. The law provoked some “misunderstanding,” though it was “intended to help consumers, to protect and inform them,” he said. But now that it was “clear that it cannot attract consumer support,” he’d withdraw it.

Not everyone jubilated. “It is totally ludicrous that the commission just withdraws this measure due to political pressure,” said Pekka Pesonen, general secretary of COPA-COGECA, a lobbying group representing industrial producers, and one of the forces behind the law. “Perhaps it wasn’t explained well enough. But it was necessary to ban refillable bottles and the traditional aceiteras found on restaurant tables….” etc. etc.

The thing isn’t dead yet. Ciolos said that he’d have a huddle with opponents and critics of the law in order to somehow resuscitate it – because it’s just too good to let die. So this law about olive oil in restaurants has morphed into a symbol of governance by Eurocrats – and their raggedy efforts to manage the economy of the EU.

As bank lending has dried up in Spain, the government has apparently made it its mission to make the working lives of self-employed workers and small enterprises as difficult as possible by ramping up their tax burden to historic highs. Read…. Black Market or Bust: The Stark Choice Facing Many of Spain’s Self-Employed.

They are in such a danger zone, they don’t know what to do. Deutsche Bank’s derivative debt is greater than the global economy. That is one bank. $72 trillion in derivative exposure. The entire global economy, [...]]]> Deutsche Bank. Big bank. Biggest bank in Germany, and one of the biggest banks in the Euro Zone… they’re going to go belly up. Watch it. Watch it, I said it, it’s going to happen.

They are in such a danger zone, they don’t know what to do. Deutsche Bank’s derivative debt is greater than the global economy. That is one bank. $72 trillion in derivative exposure. The entire global economy, all the countries in the world is only $66 trillion GDP.

http://www.examiner.com/article/banking-insider-deutsche-bank-danger-zone-and-will-go-belly-up

Many veterans who were gathered at the Herman A. Spear American Legion Post on Friday night are upset by the decision.

“It’s not right to [...]]]> BEVERLY (CBS) – This Sunday, the streets of Beverly will look just like they always do. And that’s the problem, some veterans say. The city has cancelled its annual Memorial Day parade for what’s believed to be the first time since the end of the Civil War.

Many veterans who were gathered at the Herman A. Spear American Legion Post on Friday night are upset by the decision.

“It’s not right to me,” says Ron Innocenti. He is a Vietnam veteran who has not only marched in the city’s Memorial Day parade in the past, he says he has also been its grand marshal.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/05/24/beverly-cancels-memorial-day-parade-due-to-lack-of-veterans/

http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news/Drug-tests-for-unemployment-benefits-approved-208955991.html

How the handmade, penny-sized amulet got there is a riddle. One theory is it could have been aboard a ValuJet plane that crashed nearby in May 1996 – or that perhaps it was part of the debris field from an Eastern Airlines [...]]]> A Florida man who went hunting for pythons in Florida’s Everglades returned instead with a mysterious treasure: an antique, diamond-studded gold medallion that could date back to the 17th century.

How the handmade, penny-sized amulet got there is a riddle. One theory is it could have been aboard a ValuJet plane that crashed nearby in May 1996 – or that perhaps it was part of the debris field from an Eastern Airlines crash in the same area in 1972. The fact that it is partially melted on one side could support that idea.

But wherever it came from, Mark Rubinstein, the eagle-eyed snake hunter who found it, is determined to get it back home.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/24/florida-man-finds-gold-instead-snakes-in-everglade-python-hunt/#ixzz2UMh4bNEn

- Locally heavy rain possible Sunday for northern New England.

- The Mid-Atlantic will be mostly sunny.

- Gusty northwest winds will continue, especially from the Delaware and Hudson Valleys to New England.

- Temperatures will be 5 to [...]]]> Exiting Northeast storm, Midwest t-storms

Northeast | View Regional Video

http://vortex.plymouth.edu/uschill.gif

Among items transfered to local law enforcement agencies have been assault rifles and grenade launchers, even Blackhawk helicopters and .50 caliber machine guns ; In fiscal year 2011 alone, the Pentagon transferred almost $500 million worth of materials to domestic law enforcement — near double the previous year’s total

Far from a new beginning, Yasunari Ueno, Mizuho’s chief market economist, says that those who believe in Abenomics are suffering from a bout of amnesia. The FT’s Ben McLannahan reports from Tokyo.

For more video content from the Financial Times, visithttp://www.FT.com/video

http://www.soundmoneycampaign.com The Fiat End Game: Preparing For A Way Forward, is a our latest micro-documentary focused on solutions to our current economic problems. Our current fiat currency standard is terminal, nations around the world are dropping the U.S. dollar as a medium of exchange, central banks are buying gold, and Americans are seeing price inflation during an economic downturn. In order to avoid a systemic financial crisis here in the U.S., [...]]]>

http://www.soundmoneycampaign.com The Fiat End Game: Preparing For A Way Forward, is a our latest micro-documentary focused on solutions to our current economic problems. Our current fiat currency standard is terminal, nations around the world are dropping the U.S. dollar as a medium of exchange, central banks are buying gold, and Americans are seeing price inflation during an economic downturn. In order to avoid a systemic financial crisis here in the U.S., we need to focus on solutions. Please watch this important video and join us in a new financial awakening happening right now all across America.

A flood watch issued by the National Weather Service remained in effect for most of the state through Sunday afternoon.

“Widespread moderate to locally heavy rainfall will continue through tonight,” the agency stated Saturday morning. “Storm total rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches can be expected. These amounts will likely push small streams back to bankfull [...]]]> JERICHO — More rain, and even some snow, was in the forecast for Vermont Saturday morning.

A flood watch issued by the National Weather Service remained in effect for most of the state through Sunday afternoon.

“Widespread moderate to locally heavy rainfall will continue through tonight,” the agency stated Saturday morning. “Storm total rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches can be expected. These amounts will likely push small streams back to bankfull by this afternoon, and several mainstem rivers into flood.”

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20130524/NEWS02/305240020/Pounding-rain-brings-100-year-flood-Jericho-twice-3-?nclick_check=1

The portion of Interstate 5 in Washington that runs over the Skagit Rivercollapsed on Thursday after a truck hit an overhead support structure, but Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) cited the incident in an interview as proof Republicans were blocking infrastructure investment to hurt President Obama politically.

“Well, they have clearly spent [...]]]> A Washington state Democrat is accusing Republicans of “throwing American infrastructure … under the bus” after a bridge collapse there this week.

The portion of Interstate 5 in Washington that runs over the Skagit Rivercollapsed on Thursday after a truck hit an overhead support structure, but Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) cited the incident in an interview as proof Republicans were blocking infrastructure investment to hurt President Obama politically.

“Well, they have clearly spent the whole last five years trying to tear the president down, but they have done it by throwing the American infrastructure and the society under the bus,” McDermott said in an interview with MSNBC host Al Sharpton.

http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/highways-bridges-and-roads/301977-washington-state-democrat-gop-throwing-american-infrastructureunder-the-bus

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/24/Axelrod-blames-Republicans

SPAIN STUDY CONFIRMS HEMP OIL CURES CANCER WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS

The International Medical Veritas Association (IMVA) is putting hemp oil on its cancer protocol. It is a prioritized protocol list whose top five items are magnesium chloride, iodine, selenium, Alpha Lipoic Acid and sodium bicarbonate. It makes perfect sense to drop hemp oil right into the middle of this nutritional crossfire of anti cancer medicines, which are all available without [...]]]> Last news,confirmed:

SPAIN STUDY CONFIRMS HEMP OIL CURES CANCER WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS

The International Medical Veritas Association (IMVA) is putting hemp oil on its cancer protocol. It is a prioritized protocol list whose top five items are magnesium chloride, iodine, selenium, Alpha Lipoic Acid and sodium bicarbonate. It makes perfect sense to drop hemp oil right into the middle of this nutritional crossfire of anti cancer medicines, which are all available without prescription.

Hemp oil has long been recognised as one of the most versatile and beneficial substances known to man. Derived from hemp seeds (a member of the achene family of fruits) it has been regarded as a superfood due to its high essential fatty acid content and the unique ratio of omega3 to omega6 and gamma linolenic acid (GLA) – 2:5:1. Hemp oil, is known to contain up to 5% of pure GLA, a much higher concentration than any other plant, even higher than spirulina. For thousands of years, the hemp plant has been used in elixirs and medicinal teas because of its healing properties and now medical science is zeroing in on the properties of its active substances.

http://www.endalldisease.com/spain-study-confirms-hemp-oil-cures-cancer-without-side-effects/

Read more:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/25/18490608-seven-injured-in-missouri-as-trains-collide-trigger-highway-bridge-collapse?lite

According to Jeffrey Berman, University of Washington civil engineering professor, 40 percent of our nation’s bridges are what they call “fracture critical”. This means that any damage to ONE support structure of the bridge will bring it down.

“Once one element is damaged or [...]]]> “Two freight trains collided and derailed early Saturday in southeast Missouri, then triggered the collapse of a highway overpass when several rail cars struck a support pillar.”

Read more:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/25/18490608-seven-injured-in-missouri-as-trains-collide-trigger-highway-bridge-collapse?lite

According to Jeffrey Berman, University of Washington civil engineering professor, 40 percent of our nation’s bridges are what they call “fracture critical”. This means that any damage to ONE support structure of the bridge will bring it down.

“Once one element is damaged or destroyed, the bridge essentially collapses because it cannot redistribute those loads”

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/experts-skagit-river-bridge-considered-fracture-cr/nX3Sz/

global coastal event update – Saturday May 25th