Retaliation

I only drink Italian bottled water.

A couple of days ago a new tax on goodies from the European Union went into effect, including a 100% tariff on Italian bottled water. According to Italymag.co.uk, the US buys 40% of Italy's bottled water (Panna, San Pellegrino) so the tax, which will effectively double the cost of Italian bottled waters, is a big problem. Apparently this tax was one of the last ideas George W. Bush had before surrendering the office, as retaliation for the EU not importing hormone-laden American beef, and the EU is hoping Obama will make it all go away. 

American Italian restaurants are not happy about the new tax either. What used to be a $3 bottle of water will now be $6, and no doubt some patrons will switch to free tap and cost restaurants a good portion of their profits. I'm not a drinker of bottled water, much less bottled water from Italy, so I'm entirely unaffected. However, my former employer made the switch to exclusively Italian bottled waters right before firing me, and I was the one to make all the written changes. They'll probably have to switch back to Fiji and who's gonna make those changes now, hm? Fuck you, Sammy's!

For the record, the hormones in American beef are not proven to be a danger to people. It's safe to consume beef and milk products (including cheese) from cows treated with rBGH(rBST). However, the cows develop all sorts of terrible conditions when injected with these hormones. Remember that video a couple years back of the cow being fork-lifted to the slaughterhouse because it couldn't walk? Yeah, that's what happens. Buy naturally raise beef, people. The Europeans have a good point.