The Freedom Watch

Austrian brewer revives 300-year-old beer

"An Austrian brewery is offering beer lovers a trip back in time by reviving a 300-year-old recipe it found in the town archives. The family-owned Hofstetten brewery in the Upper Austrian town of Saint Martin recreated the 'Neuhauser Herrschafts Pier' from ingredients listed in an invoice for the local Neuhaus castle in 1720, when Austria was one of Europe’s big powers. Using small crops of emmer and malting barley grown from ancient seed varieties agricultural historians had preserved, owner Peter Krammer was able to reproduce the mix of barley, wheat and hops that marked the brew made three centuries ago." Continue reading →

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Finally…a beer that won’t give you a hangover

"Scientists have created a beer which could finally put an end to the dreaded hangover. The beer has been created by a team of researchers in Australia who say it prevents drinkers from becoming dehydrated. They have added electrolytes - an ingredient in sports drinks - which helps to keep them refreshed. However, inevitably, some may feel there is a downside to the new drink. In order to create it, they have had to reduce the alcohol content. The team also said that despite adding the electrolytes, it did not effect the taste of the drinks. Hangovers are caused by several factors but dehydration is known to be one of the biggest causes." Continue reading →

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What five beers account for most emergency room visits?

"The New York Times reported on a study at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, analyzing how many patients in the emergency room had been drinking and what they had been drinking. Not surprising, the top five were Budweiser, Steel Reserve, Colt 45, Bud Ice and Bud Light." Continue reading →

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UK: Fire chief told policeman to leave ‘drowning’ man in 3ft deep lake [2012]

"The father of a man who drowned in 3ft of water after emergency crews were ordered not to rescue him has hit out at health and safety rules that ‘hinder’ the 999 services. David Burgess, whose son Simon lay floating face down in a lake for more than half an hour while firemen, police and paramedics watched, said it was impossible to ‘eliminate all risk’ for the emergency services. A fire crew claimed safety rules stopped them from going more than ‘ankle-deep’ into the water [..] And a policeman and a paramedic who both volunteered to jump in were given orders not to do so by a fire station watch manager." Continue reading →

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Spanish banks’ bad loan ratio rises to record in June

"The overall bad debt ratio for Spanish banks was up from 11.2 percent in May and has been steadily increasing since a drop-off at the end of last year when rescued lenders transferred toxic property assets to Spain's so-called bad bank. Spanish lenders' earnings were gutted last year by steep government-enforced provisions on properties and loans to developers, in the wake of a 2008 real estate crash. Those unable to cope were bailed-out with European funds, and most of their real estate loans were transferred to a government-backed bad bank." Continue reading →

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Germany Fights Population Drop

"There is perhaps nowhere better than the German countryside to see the dawning impact of Europe’s plunge in fertility rates over the decades, a problem that has frightening implications for the economy and the psyche of the Continent. In some areas, there are now abundant overgrown yards, boarded-up windows and concerns about sewage systems too empty to work properly. The work force is rapidly graying, and assembly lines are being redesigned to minimize bending and lifting. Raising fertility levels in Germany has not proved easy, even while spending $265 billion a year on family subsidies." Continue reading →

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School Has Become Too Hostile to Boys

"As school begins in the coming weeks, parents of boys should ask themselves a question: Is my son really welcome? A flurry of incidents last spring suggests that the answer is no. In all these cases, school officials found the children to be in violation of the school’s zero-tolerance policies for firearms, which is clearly a ludicrous application of the rule. But common sense isn’t the only thing at stake here. In the name of zero tolerance, our schools are becoming hostile environments for young boys. As our schools become more risk averse, the gender gap favoring girls is threatening to become a chasm." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: The world’s fattest army

"Yes, dear reader, times have changed. But humans have not. Give them the opportunity, and they will turn into zombies. The late Colonel John Boyd of the US Air Force, observed that, 'It is not true the Pentagon has no strategy. It has a strategy, and once you understand what that strategy is, everything the Pentagon does makes sense. The strategy is, don’t interrupt the money flow, add to it.' Boyd was a strategist. He observed that wars were won by lean and agile fighters, who were able to improvise and innovate quickly as needs and opportunities arose. Bureaucracy does not support such warriors; it tries to get rid of them." Continue reading →

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300 tonnes of radioactive water is worst leak yet at Japan’s Fukushima

"Some 300 tonnes of radioactive water is believed to have leaked from a tank at Japan’s crippled nuclear plant, the worst such leak since the crisis began, the operator said Tuesday. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said the leak was believed to be continuing Tuesday at Fukushima and it had not yet pinpointed the source of it. The company later said it had identified which tank was faulty but had yet to find the spot from where it was leaking. TEPCO admitted the toxic water might contaminate groundwater and flow into the Pacific Ocean 'in the longer term', but said it was working to avoid such a situation." Continue reading →

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Texas begins replacing paved roads with gravel due to lack of funding

"The Texas Department of Transportation began converting more than 80 miles of paved roads to gravel on Monday, according to the Texas Tribune. The speed limit on the new gravel roads will be reduced to 30 mph. Texas lawmakers approved $225 million for the repair of roadways and bridges within the state highway system this year. Texas lawmakers also approved a ballot measure that would provide $1.2 billion a year for state transportation projects. But the Texas Department of Transportation said $400 million was needed to repair immediate damage caused by energy sector traffic across the state." Continue reading →

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