Medical Alert: Put Your 'ICE' Number On Your Cell Phone

In case you have not heard of your ICE number (In Case Of Emergency)  this might be of importance.

Since most of us carry cell phones also please include in your phone telephone directory an ICE number. This is an internationally recognized emergency identification symbol known to global emergency services/ambulances/police/hospitals,  as to who needs to be called if you are in a critical emergency situation and need to have a  family or friend alerted. 

With your ICE number listed on your phone the emergency services do not need to do any guess-work as to who to contact if you get involved in an emergency or life threatening situation. 

It will take you only a few minutes to put your ICE number in your cell phone but could save you and your loved ones lots of trauma.

EU-Digest

EU Presidency: Herman Van Rompuy: ‘A huge majority want to stay in the union and the eurozone’

The eurosceptic backlash in the recent European elections was a major shock to the EU establishment.

Large numbers of people voted for anti-European parties across the bloc. In France Marine Le Pen’s Front National won 25 percent of the ballot, while in Britain the UK Independence Party (UKIP) bettered that still, with 27 percent of the poll.

Against that backdrop euronews’ Isabelle Kumar spoke to Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council . In addition to discussing the political ramifications of the EU election result and what it means for Europe, Rompuy also spoke about the crisis between the EU, Ukraine and Russia, his future plans, and his love for Haiku poetry.

Play the video ( click on link below)  to watch the full interview

Press: Alternative Resources: Browsers - Search Engines - E-Mail Servers - News: Print, Radio and TV Services - by RM

There are other alternatives if you are you concerned about getting one-sided or doctored news from corporate owned or state controlled censored publications, radio and TV stations  ---- or that you are using search engines and e-mail services where you  really don't know what happens to your private and personal information.

Following below is a listing of alternative on-line services which provide you with more freedom of choice and where your personal data and privacy rights are presently not compromised.   

E-Mail Services
NEOMAILBOX
ECLIPSO

Search Engines 
Ixquick 

Browsers
Open source Tor Project

Alternative (unadulterated) News - Print, Radio, and TV

Aljazeera  (also in languages other than English)
BBC         (also in languages  other than English)
Deutsche Welle
EuroNews (also in languages other than English)
France24   (also in languages other than English)
LinkTV

Most of the above mentioned resources can also be downloaded as an APP for your smart-phone or computer.

In some countries where there is censorship some of these services won't work. In that case it is recommended to try using the Tor Browser to connect with them.

EU-Digest

The World's Most Competitive Countries

The United States is holding its own in first place. For the past 26 years, IMD, an international business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, has issued a list of the countries it says are the world’s most competitive.

\The U.S. had been in the No. 1 slot for more than a dozen years until the great recession knocked it from the top rung, in 2010. Though it regained the No. 1 slot in 2011, the hangover from the recession nudged it out of the top spot again in 2012. Once American financial markets recovered and business efficiency and profitability revived, it regained its dominant position last year. It’s in the No. 1 slot again this year.

IMD ranks 60 countries across the world, measuring a staggering 338 criteria in four broad categories—economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure. For one third of the ranking, IMD uses a survey of more than 4,300 international executives.

For the rest, it relies on hard statistical data from institutions like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which keep track of measures like direct investment, budget surpluses, revenues from tourism, and unemployment.

IMD also takes advantage of 55 “partner institutes” around the world, like Ireland’s development agency IDA Ireland, the Federation of German Industries, and the Mitsubishi Research Institute in Japan, who help gather statistics from national sources and distribute the executive surveys, which ran from January through March of this year.  (For more on IMD’s methodology, click here.)

Read more: The World's Most Competitive Countries

The Netherlands: Almere Municipality ends up with a budget surplus of euro 300.000 in 2013

Kings Birthday Almere

Almere's city council and their civil servants spent 10 percent less in 2013 than was budgeted for that year The Almere annual report shows that just over 300.000 euros were saved. That money now goes back to the general funds of the municipality..

In total, the city council spent 2.8 million euros last year. Of this total, EUR 1 million was spent on the salaries of civil servants working for the municipality. The elected councilors received almost 1.4 million in salaries and fees for their work during that period.

The Almere municipal council met 36 times last year.

Almere is considered the newest  (became a municipality in 1976)  and  most modern city in Europe and presently has about 200.000 inhabitants

Gemeenteraad Almere houdt 3 ton over - Nieuws

Tourism: Maine the closest US state to Europe offers many attractions and opportrunities for European businesses and tourists

Maine: a new found gem for European tourists

Maine, a favorite summer and autumn vacation spot for US tourist wanting to escape their own hot and humid summers elsewhere in the country, is also becoming more and more of a tourist and business location for Europeans

The new 'Nova Star' ferry service, recently starting its operations between Yarmouth Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada and Portland, Main,  now makes it far easier for European tourists who fly into Halifax and rent a car, to also in include Maine into their itinerary.

Nova Star Cruises said they expect to reach a goal of 100,000 passengers this season.

Another potential tourist booster is the fact that among a dozen or so airports in the US, the state of Maine is sharing  more than $4 million in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to carry out various modernization projects, according to reports.

Bangor International Airport reportedly will be getting the biggest share of this grant amounting to $1.4 million mainly to install runway sensors, replace the public address system, improve the taxiway and repave the apron.

This airport modernization project has the potential to eventually turn Bangor airport into a so-called "hub" airport for passengers and freight, providing European and other aircraft a quicker turn-around  time and passengers the possibility to connect with local flights to any US destination,

"Freight handling, warehousing and transportation logistics from Bangor could become a very profitable proposition to foreign freight companies, who presently are faced with high costs and major congestion in the heavily populated, more southern located East Coast areas", say Earl and Carolyn Hamm, Galt Block Warehouse Owners in Bangor,

But there is also good news coming out of Eastport - the closest US Eastern Seaboard port to Europe, This historic Maine coastal town will host a U.S. Navy vessel during the Fourth of July and "Old Home Week".

In the wake of an earlier decision by the Navy to deny the Fourth of July Committee's request for a ship, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King of Maine announced that the USS Anzio (CG-68) will visit Eastport during the city's Independence Day festivities.

 "The Fourth of July, Old Home Week celebration is an iconic destination for Mainers and visitors alike," they said in a joint release. "We are pleased that the Navy will honor our state with a port visit, allowing those who serve in the U.S. Navy and the citizens they protect an opportunity to come together."

The ship is scheduled to arrive on Thursday, July 3, and depart on Monday, July 7. Two cruise ships are also expected to visit Eastport during the same time period, but the schedule should work so that they can all be accommodated. The 210-passenger Pearl Mist is stopping by on July 2, and the 88-passenger Grande Caribe will visit on July 6 but can dock at the fish pier. The USS Anzio will be at the breakwater.

  "It looks like we've pulled off all three," says Eastport Port Director Chris Gardner of the ability to juggle facilities and host three large vessels during the first week of July.

Almere-Digest

European Banking Industry: the Netherlands-Depositing cash into your account is not free at major Dutch banks

Depositing cash into their own  bank accounts is costing Dutch Citizens approximately €5 ($6.82) at a time - after they have done six free deposits -

Dutch banks says it had to introduce these charges and fees because "processing cash is expensive". Children and students, they say  will not have to pay a fee.

As unbelievable as this may sound it is true and worse is that the Dutch center right coalition Government of Rutte and Samson has not taken any action against this disguised form of pure " robbery",

Cash still has a "dominant role" when it comes to small-value transactions. It also remains essential form of payment for lower-income consumers who may not have access to alternative payment options, and it is widely used for retail sector payments.

"Small folks" have made businesses, including banks, who they are, and many companies can collapse as a result of the same "little people" united strength. It's really sad that in 2014 - people still constantly need to fight for what is theirs instead of sharing what we have, so we all can gain.

EU-Digest