The EU Reduces Itself to Absurdity
[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here. Or by Twitter @AaronWorthing.]
What can you say about this, except to quote from the article?
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.”
Well, with respect to Mr. Helmer, I think this kind of idiocy is inherent in bureaucracies generally. I mean let’s not engage in selective realism where we pretend that only governmental bureaucracies are that stupid—and certainly it is not limited to the EU. No, stupidity, arbitrariness, unfairness, etc. appears in bureaucracies of all kinds, from the smallest small town government, to the largest corporations, and so on.
What makes the flaws of government bureaucracies worse than business bureaucracies is simply this: with a dumb business it is easy to go somewhere else. If you get bad service at a restaurant, go somewhere else. If your boss doesn’t appreciate your hard work, quit and go to a new company; or just start one of your own. I am not saying that all of these options are necessarily easy, but they are options.
Government, on the other hand, is hard to escape. And the bigger the government the harder it becomes. When the Federal Government takes over an area of life—like healthcare—and it stinks at it in some way, you have to actually leave the United States in order to get away from it. And if the EU puts out a pinheaded regulation, you have to just about leave the continent to get away from them. And while you hear of various companies supposedly being “too big to fail” those private companies have nothing on a government and the disruption they cause when they fail. Look at the global mess created by Greece, for instance.
By the way, in case you think this might be an isolated incident, there is this from the same article:
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.
Bureaucracies are stupid. A government bureaucracy should be kept small as small as reasonably possible, so the amount of stupid things it does and the damage it does can be minimized.
[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]
Where is their ‘proof’ for this?
MikeInOhio (6b83dd) — 11/21/2011 @ 5:35 amBtw, whenever a european snoots down at an american for refusing to accept “science” because we often don’t accept the theory of global warming, point to this.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 11/21/2011 @ 6:01 amReally was this, any more absurd;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w
narciso (ef1619) — 11/21/2011 @ 6:04 amWater is not wet.
JD (62da1e) — 11/21/2011 @ 6:39 amAnd air is for inflating futbols.
gary gulrud (d88477) — 11/21/2011 @ 6:41 amIt is very ‘not dry’,it’s just beyond parody,
narciso (ef1619) — 11/21/2011 @ 6:43 amNext the EU will make it illegal to say 9*9=81.
DohBiden (ef98f0) — 11/21/2011 @ 9:31 amAnother step down the staircase into irrelevance.
AD-RtR/OS! (db1e05) — 11/21/2011 @ 9:47 amThese kinds of “beyond stupid” stories usually are there to mask the government from ridicule that is usually deserved for something more significant.
#OccupyAnthonyWeinersShorts (d1c681) — 11/21/2011 @ 11:14 amBananas cannot be straight either. Cucumbers cannot be curved.
JD (b5260c) — 11/21/2011 @ 11:16 amGreece plans to fight its way back by marketing the dehydrated version.
Huey (4f7ef0) — 11/21/2011 @ 11:25 amGood point.
Too many politicians and bureaucrats on both sides of the pond see their special role as opening the door for them to intrude into every little problem. If they had a little humility, they would realize their special role, where citizens have difficultly escaping their mistakes, is why they shouldn’t bother with a matter unless society just plain can’t get along otherwise.
All the waste and stupidity of these nannies… I can barely imagine how much better our lives would be had the government here never decided to subsidize corn, or mandate health care, or impose social security. We should be able to get by with a federal government whose combined laws are shorter in length than a single novel, and for which entire years pass without news laws or regulations, and under which citizens know it is their responsibility to take care of their own problems.
But no, both political parties are addicted to abusing the role of government to prove how they are going to manage my life better than the other party does. Even the best candidates do it, to some extent. It’s mostly a matter of picking the least bad technocrat these days.
Dustin (cb3719) — 11/21/2011 @ 11:26 amAbout 10% of the water in the body comes from metabolizing food, besides the water in the food. But obviously something containing close to 100%water is the best source of water, unless it is salt water.
Could it be the issue was whether drinking water would “prevent” dehydration?”
Trying to do that, it has been discovered, is actually dangerous..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication
Water intoxication, also known as water poisoning, is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits by over-consumption of water.
If you get thirsty, it is no big problem, but loading up on water in advance and then exercising heavily could be fatal in some cases.
From the Wikipedia article:
Notable cases
Leah Betts died on November 16, 1995 as the result of drinking too much water, though in the media her death was initially attributed to taking an ecstasy tablet at her 18th birthday party.[11]
On September 12, 1999, US Air Force basic trainee Michael J. Schindler died of heat stroke, severely complicated by water intoxication, two days after becoming seriously ill during a 5.8 miles (9.3 km) march. The Air Force changed its recruit training procedures as a result.[12]
On June 9, 2002, 4-year-old Cassandra Killpack of Springville, Utah died as a result of water intoxication when her parents forcefully fed her as much as one gallon (3.8 liters) of water in a short period while she was being disciplined. Her mother, Jennette Killpack, was convicted in 2005 of child abuse homicide.[13]
On October 12, 2002, 3-year-old Rosita Gonzalez of Hollywood, Florida died of water intoxication when her babysitter Nancy Gayoso punished her by forcing her to drink three quarts (2.8 liters) of water in a four-hour period.[14][15] Gayoso was arrested and charged with murder in the first degree on March 10, 2003. After being declared incompetent to stand trial in 2004 and 2005,[16]
Gayoso was found competent on March 26, 2007.
In 2003, Walter Dean Jennings, a freshman history major at SUNY Plattsburgh, was pledging the Psi Epsilon Chi “when he was forced to drink urine, stay awake for days and consume vast amounts of alcohol during a 10-day initiation and hazing process.” According to PressRepublican.com, “On his last night of pledging the unrecognized fraternity, the 18-year-old was forced to drink gallons of water through a funnel, which caused his brain to swell from water intoxication and ultimately resulted in his death.”[17]
In a much-publicized case of fraternity hazing, four members of the Chi Tau House at California State University, Chico pleaded guilty to forcing 21-year-old student Matthew Carrington to drink excessive amounts of water while performing calisthenics in a frigid basement as part of initiation rites on February 2, 2005.[18] He collapsed and died of heart failure due to water intoxication.
On January 12, 2007, Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old woman and a mother of 3, from Rancho Cordova, California, was found dead in her home by her mother, hours after trying to win one of Nintendo’s Wii game consoles. KDND 107.9 “The End” radio station’s “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” contest, involved drinking large quantities of water without urinating. A nurse called the radio station to warn them about the danger in which they were putting people, but the disc jockeys were less than impressed. Lucy Davidson, the winner of the contest, was severely sickened while picking up her prize. Civil charges against the radio station were filed by Jennifer’s family,[19] and the family was eventually awarded $16.5 million in the ensuing wrongful death lawsuit.[20] The FCC launched its own investigation to determine if the station violated the terms of its operating license.
In 2008, Jacqueline Henson, a 40-year-old British woman, died after drinking four liters of water in under two hours as part of her LighterLife diet plan.[21]
Other notable fatalities due to water intoxication include Australian schoolgirl Anna Wood (although similar to Leah Betts, her death was incorrectly atrributed to ecstasy use),[22] 2002 Boston Marathon competitor Cynthia Lucero,[23] and Washington, D.C. police officer James McBride.[24]
British actor Anthony Andrews survived a case of water intoxication in 2003. He was performing as Henry Higgins in a revival of the musical My Fair Lady at the time, and consumed up to eight litres of water a day. He was unconscious and in intensive care for three days.[25][26]
Sammy Finkelman (d3daeb) — 11/21/2011 @ 11:35 amhttp://www.thebostonchannel.com/newscenter5/1610699/detail.html
Sammy Finkelman (d3daeb) — 11/21/2011 @ 11:36 amSammy, that is a very interesting collection of known cases of water intoxication, but I think you are giving those folks too much credit. If that was their reasoning, they would have regulated it and put on a black-box warning and a suggested maximum dose…
This is why “Gatoraide” was made for the “Gators” to drink…or pickle juice, in the case of the Philly Eagles.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 11/21/2011 @ 11:42 amComment by JD — 11/21/2011 @ 11:16 am
Chuckles and more chuckles…
You just have to wonder what the EU regs for dildo’s are like?
AD-RtR/OS! (db1e05) — 11/21/2011 @ 11:44 amI’m guessing it takes an absurd amount of water to actually kill yourself drinking it.
And still, if you want to prevent dehydration, you should drink water. The notion water can’t be said to do this is a mix of hilarious and frustrating.
Dustin (cb3719) — 11/21/2011 @ 11:45 amNow, Dustin, these people are (after all) highly credentialed.
AD-RtR/OS! (db1e05) — 11/21/2011 @ 11:47 amJust for clarity, if necessary. The problem with water intoxication is the amount of water in relation to salt, hence reducing the salt concentratrion outside of brain cells relative to inside the brain cells.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 11/21/2011 @ 11:53 amSo, if you tried to drink water with adequate “salts” in it, you wouldn’t be able to get water intoxication as a neurological condition, you would be fine until there was so much fluid in your system that it leaked into your lungs and you drowned.
Comment by MD in Philly — 11/21/2011 @ 11:42 am
Sammy, that is a very interesting collection of known cases of water intoxication, but I think you are giving those folks too much credit.
I think that quite possibly might be right: I am giving them far too much credit.
Actually I am not giving them anything. I just don’t know and I wonder how incredibly stupid people can be. I don’t know exactly what happened here. This is just being repeated and repeated with no more detail. What exactly did they say? What exactly did they forbid?
Oh, look at this now: Hypernatremia [Over concentration of soddium owing to having lost too much water]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypernatremia
However, overly rapid correction of hypernatremia is potentially very dangerous. The body (in particular the brain) adapts to the higher sodium concentration. Rapidly lowering the sodium concentration with free water, once this adaptation has occurred, causes water to flow into brain cells and causes them to swell. This can lead to cerebral edema, potentially resulting in seizures, permanent brain damage, or death.
Therefore, significant hypernatremia should be treated carefully by a physician or other medical professional with experience in treatment of electrolyte imbalances.[2]
Footnote 2 is: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200005183422006
Maybe water ought to be available only by prescription???
Was this based on something real, albeit an overregulation; or was this done on the grounds that the fact that water cures dehydration hadn’t been scientifically established by a published study in a medical journal?
I heard something about this being a test case.
About the bananas I can understand. The question would be what is the commercial definition of banana? What must a (non-special variety) banana be like in order to considered an ordinary banana. They said bananas couldn’t be bent. I would think if somebody tried to bend a banana, the insides would go out. I don’t know what they did there either.
Sammy Finkelman (d3daeb) — 11/21/2011 @ 12:05 pmDon’t give them any ideas.
MA liberals will require a $100 fee to register water bottles as lethal weapons
Dustin (cb3719) — 11/21/2011 @ 12:06 pmDamn, is there anything Dihydrogen Monoxide can’t do?
AD-RtR/OS! (db1e05) — 11/21/2011 @ 12:08 pmDoes the FDA know about this, and what do they plan to do to protect us?
THe science is settled. It’s time to ban DHMO.
http://dhmo.org/
malclave (4f3ec1) — 11/21/2011 @ 12:10 pmWell, as they used to say in the West:
Whiskey’s for drinkin’, water’s for fightin’ over!
AD-RtR/OS! (db1e05) — 11/21/2011 @ 12:12 pmMore than 75% of convicted murderers would test positive for dihydrogen monoxide in their system.
Over ninety percent of those infected with HIV also have dihydrogen monoxide in their systems.
Some say disease and crime would be greatly reduced if we eliminated this menace.
Dustin (cb3719) — 11/21/2011 @ 12:16 pmMy limited understanding of this hilarious consequence is that it was a test case, designed to point out some flaw in the process. It had been expected to result in a change in the process that would prevent such absurd rulings. Opps.
htom (412a17) — 11/21/2011 @ 1:26 pmCould it be the issue was whether drinking water would “prevent” dehydration?”
Trying to do that, it has been discovered, is actually dangerous..
The rest of the diatribe above is about a different idea. Drinking sane amounts of water is not the least bit dangerous. Consumption of water absolutely helps prevent dehydration. That we are even discussing this shows how insane this is.
JD (62da1e) — 11/21/2011 @ 2:01 pmDumbshats.
Honestly EU is the EUOS AKA the European Union Of Stupidity.
DohBiden (ef98f0) — 11/21/2011 @ 2:06 pmIf the Repubs can give up their insistance for the bush tax cuts Obama agreed to extend than we can all be happy.
/John Flip Flopper Kerry.
DohBiden (ef98f0) — 11/21/2011 @ 2:09 pmComment by JD — 11/21/2011 @ 2:01 pm
What’s the old saying:
AD-RtR/OS! (db1e05) — 11/21/2011 @ 2:27 pmThe poison is in the dosage!
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Bureaucracies are stupid.
Even more so those that are dominated by people of liberal persuasion. And government agencies, particularly in already greatly left-tilted Europe, are pretty much full of leftism. Hell, look at how the lunacy of something drenched with liberalism has infected even the US military, referring to political correctness, Nidal Hasan and the Fort Hood massacre.
I’d be very surprised if something as absurd and stupid as a ban on water being marketed in Europe to prevent dehydration wasn’t coaxed into being by primarily liberal researchers and bureaucrats.
Mark (411533) — 11/21/2011 @ 4:17 pmI doubt there was anything actually stupid about the water/dehydration rule, just like there was nothing stupid about the banana rule. The banana rule was intended to prevent non-EU banana-growers from importing and competing with the bananas grown by the colonies of EU members. It took 16 years to embarrass them enough to get rid of it.
I’ll bet if you look hard enough, you will find somebody who shouldn’t making a buck…err Euro… off of the water rule as well.
Eric (39ca26) — 11/21/2011 @ 4:25 pmI thought the Euros had left the Colonial Era behind them now that they had found enlightenment?
AD-RtR/OS! (db1e05) — 11/21/2011 @ 4:53 pmYou shittin me?
I’m sure the feminists will outstupid the European Union.
DohBiden (ef98f0) — 11/21/2011 @ 4:59 pmI think the EU people listened to Stephen Wright’s line a few times too many.
rp (226df8) — 11/21/2011 @ 7:21 pmWhat European country grows the most bananas, bent or not?- don’t look it up now.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 11/21/2011 @ 8:51 pm