“We fear something is wrong in the state of Europe”

While the EU is burning, its lawmakers have found time to make it illegal to claim that water can prevent dehydration. I would claim to be left speechless about this, but of course, dear readers, you all know that would be a lie!

However, I let the stupidity speak for itself, lest I not do it justice by giving it a rant!  I found that in order to categorize this post I needed to create a new category for it.  So I created two.  This is the official first post categorized under “Lou Rants” and also “headdesk”.

EU bans claim that water can prevent dehydration

Brussels bureaucrats were ridiculed yesterday after banning drink manufacturers from claiming that water can prevent dehydration.

NHS health guidelines state clearly that drinking water helps avoid dehydration, and that Britons should drink at least 1.2 litres per day.

By Victoria Ward and Nick Collins

6:20AM GMT 18 Nov 2011

EU officials concluded that, following a three-year investigation, there was no evidence to prove the previously undisputed fact.

Producers of bottled water are now forbidden by law from making the claim and will face a two-year jail sentence if they defy the edict, which comes into force in the UK next month.

Last night, critics claimed the EU was at odds with both science and common sense. Conservative MEP Roger Helmer said: “This is stupidity writ large.

“The euro is burning, the EU is falling apart and yet here they are: highly-paid, highly-pensioned officials worrying about the obvious qualities of water and trying to deny us the right to say what is patently true.

“If ever there were an episode which demonstrates the folly of the great European project then this is it.”

NHS health guidelines state clearly that drinking water helps avoid dehydration, and that Britons should drink at least 1.2 litres per day.

The Department for Health disputed the wisdom of the new law. A spokesman said: “Of course water hydrates. While we support the EU in preventing false claims about products, we need to exercise common sense as far as possible.”

German professors Dr Andreas Hahn and Dr Moritz Hagenmeyer, who advise food manufacturers on how to advertise their products, asked the European Commission if the claim could be made on labels.

They compiled what they assumed was an uncontroversial statement in order to test new laws which allow products to claim they can reduce the risk of disease, subject to EU approval.

They applied for the right to state that “regular consumption of significant amounts of water can reduce the risk of development of dehydration” as well as preventing a decrease in performance.

However, last February, the European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) refused to approve the statement.

A meeting of 21 scientists in Parma, Italy, concluded that reduced water content in the body was a symptom of dehydration and not something that drinking water could subsequently control.

Now the EFSA verdict has been turned into an EU directive which was issued on Wednesday.

Ukip MEP Paul Nuttall said the ruling made the “bendy banana law” look “positively sane”.

He said: “I had to read this four or five times before I believed it. It is a perfect example of what Brussels does best. Spend three years, with 20 separate pieces of correspondence before summoning 21 professors to Parma where they decide with great solemnity that drinking water cannot be sold as a way to combat dehydration.

“Then they make this judgment law and make it clear that if anybody dares sell water claiming that it is effective against dehydration they could get into serious legal bother.

EU regulations, which aim to uphold food standards across member states, are frequently criticised.

Rules banning bent bananas and curved cucumbers were scrapped in 2008 after causing international ridicule.

Prof Hahn, from the Institute for Food Science and Human Nutrition at Hanover Leibniz University, said the European Commission had made another mistake with its latest ruling.

“What is our reaction to the outcome? Let us put it this way: We are neither surprised nor delighted.

“The European Commission is wrong; it should have authorised the claim. That should be more than clear to anyone who has consumed water in the past, and who has not? We fear there is something wrong in the state of Europe.”

Prof Brian Ratcliffe, spokesman for the Nutrition Society, said dehydration was usually caused by a clinical condition and that one could remain adequately hydrated without drinking water.

He said: “The EU is saying that this does not reduce the risk of dehydration and that is correct.

“This claim is trying to imply that there is something special about bottled water which is not a reasonable claim.”

Link to original article HERE.

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La Mort En Rose

Some Parisian cemeteries are destinations.  We (okay, it was me, not we) picked Cimetière du Père Lachaise because it is where Edith Piaf (singer of La Vie En Rose) is buried.  Also, it’s famed for its beauty in all of Paris.

We went on Halloween, just because, well, why not?  This was part of the decoration of one of the “sepulcres”, and seemed appropriate for the day:

There were many other visitors to the cemetary.  And lots of chrysanthemums, which I learned after returning home is the flower best known for remembering the dead (the article pointed out that mums should never be taken as a hostess gift).  So, there were not just touristy types at the cemetery that day, but people coming (often with mums in tow) to honor loved ones and notables who had passed.

I was expecting a large and beautiful gravesite for Edith Piaf.  But it was small and simple.  In fact, if not for the other people visiting the site, we might not have found it.  Edith Piaf was not her given name.

Fittingly, those visiting her grave brought roses…

The cemetery was laid out much like a randomly plotted city.  There were winding cobblestone roads marked with street signs.

In a number of strategic locations there were “roadmaps” to assist in the location of gravesites.

This “city” is also the final resting place of Modigliani, Molière, and Jim Morrison.

The “notable” M’s

We didn’t look for Modigliani’s or Molière’s graves, but we did seek out Jim Morrison’s.  I also expected somewhat of a spectacle for his grave.  But it was even more simple than Edith Piaf’s.  His was, however, surrounded by a low fence to keep his fans from getting too close.

Nearby trees and light standards have been turned into message boards of a sort for those who come to visit.

Even the wads of gum stuck to the tree have messages written on them.

There is no shortage of beautiful art or architecture in this city within a city.

As it was late fall, the leaves had mostly turned color and many had fallen.

Those that remained in the trees lining the cobbled streets made the place just a little bit golden, and a whole lot beautiful.

This trailing vine was hanging on to its smashing color and looking mighty fashionable as it decorated a grave largely forgotten over time…

While it was not in the least a creepy place, I don’t think I’d want to be there during the night time.  But if you ever are lucky enough to get to go to Paris, add “visit the Cimetière du Père Lachaise” to your “must do” list.

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God has responded…

Prayer.

There was a time, a handful of years ago, that I sat in my car with my little brother discussing our frustrating and failing romantic relationships.  I purposed in my heart to begin to regularly ask God to bring my brother a life mate and to bless him with the children he so very much wanted to bring into this world with that life mate.  At that time, it seemed like his “getting” these things was so terribly far in the future.  He had invested much time and energy and love into a relationship he thought would be the one.  But it wasn’t.  He would have to end that relationship, grieve the loss of that relationship, evaluate the changes he need to make in his life, meet and date and woo a new woman, and THEN finally get married.  This is not a process that generally happens overnight!

Heck, I’d been praying for a life mate for myself since I was 16 and hadn’t gotten a “yes” answer from God yet, and I am ten years older than my little brother!  But God answers prayers in many different ways.  Sometimes the answer is “no”, but it is wrapped in a million gifts we never thought to ask for.

God answered my prayer for Low (my “baby” brother) with a resounding “YES!”.  God has answered my own prayer for me with “<silence> “, and with those million gifts I never even thought to ask for, as I wouldn’t have had any idea that they were things I’d even want.

Two years ago, after being introduced by a mutual friend on facebook, my brother married Kristine.  Two weeks ago, they were blessed with a beautiful baby girl.  Her name, Elianna, means “God has responded”.  He most certainly has.

I can’t even look at Elianna’s picture without tears coming to my eyes.  She is amazingly tangible and living proof of God’s love for my brother.  But she is also the same thing for me.  I. LOVE. my. nieces. and. nephews.  They are each God’s special gift to me, not just to their parents.  It has been ten years since one of my siblings had a child and I’d forgotten, just a little bit, how wonderful it is to have a new baby in the family.  I have another niece to love.  :-)

Over the past six years I have slowly come to the place where I realize that the best thing for me, the most generous thing that God could do for me, is to give me other people’s children to love.

And I am looking forward to loving this new niece of mine with all of my heart.  My baby brother has a baby.  God has responded…

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La Toussaint: Sur Le Coin

We decided to save Les Catacombes (the catacombs) for our last day in Paris.

November 1st.

Bad decision.

In France, November 1st is called La Toussaint, or All Saints Day, and it is a national holiday.  Which means the catacombs were fermés , closed.  Daaaaaaaaaaang.  Being a national holiday, pretty much everything “touristy” was closed.

It was a gray and darkish overcast day, our day for the catacombs.  It would have been PERFECT!  But, c’est la vie (c’est la mort??), our plans for the day required reworking.  As we had not had breakfast we decided to eat at a corner cafe called Café Du Rendez-Vous, which was right down the street from the catacombs…and it was open!  We picked a place outside so we could observe the bustle of the corner from a close perspective.

We settled in under the white and red striped awning and ordered the not so very frenchy sounding “Breakfast” from our waitress who spoke absolutely lovely English.  :-)

It started with a generous basket of fresh breads with butter, jams, and Nutella.  My choice was the croissant which I smeared with Nutella and would have died a very happy woman, had I died that is.  Orange juice, café crème, water basted eggs, and a little glass pot of plain yogurt (into which I stirred just enough apricot jam to make it a wee bit fruity) rounded out the meal.  I could have had bacon with it, too, but I passed on that.  When the plates of food were brought out, another small pail of bread joined the jumble of dishes, and glasses, and cups filling two small round cafe tables.

As we dined, the rain started.  And it was a GOOD rain, too!  So, in sight of the closed entrance to the catacombs, we sat, and talked, and watched…and I took pictures!

And while we sat and just enjoyed being in Paris, others who planned their day around Les Catacombes came and went away disappointed…

I allowed myself to be disappointed as I really wanted to see this bizarre sight.  But the rain and clouds lifted after a few hours and the rest of the day was spent enjoying long walks down broad boulevards, coffee on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, window shopping at Cartier and Louis-Vuitton, and a walk along the Seine to watch the lights of the Eiffel Tower ignite for the last time.  We came across a photography exhibit and river house boats.  And the smell of something sweet and delicate wafted through the air.  We followed our noses to a street creperie where ordered crêpes chocolat.  The guy making the crêpes was an artist.  So cool to watch him fry up those delicate circles.  And the final result was even better than the my earlier “could have died happy” croissant with Nutella.  After one last look at the preposterously gorgeous Eiffel Tower, we made our way back to the 2nd arrondissemont and our apartment where we packed to get ready for an early leave back to the Charles de Gaulle airport the following morning.

Paris far exceeded my expectations.

“Go to Paris” was never on my list…but I daresay “Go back to Paris” is.

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Plastic Bottle Lights

This is one of those ideas that makes you wonder “what took so long to think of it!”.

Brilliant.  Seriously brilliant.  A great and super cheap solution to homes that are dark during the day for those (primarily, anyway) in third world countries.

http://www.wimp.com/lightenup/

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