kitchen-witch or jahresendflügelfigur

We have a pretty papier-mâché angel hanging up for Christmas time. Last year, we had it up as well and H's father asked if she was a witch. H was a little embarrassed, but H's parents lived in East Germany, and as H once explained to me, Christmas and all the seasonal trappings were tolerated during the DDR-Zeit, only the idea of angels was secularized in the form of their official catalogue designation: ein Jahresendflügelfigur, basically an end-of-the-year-figure-with-wings. Maybe angels, regaled not as a Guardian Angel (Schutzengel), and such would not be instantly recognizable.  I thought it was sweet what H's father said and having a Christmas witch is certainly something to hang with the mistletoe.

show-boat diplomacy

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced, with the support of the administration, that the US diplomatic machine will no longer suffer the bigotry, discrimination and violence of other nations in regard to gay rights and freedoms.

Stance and human-rights records on the treatment of gay people will be taken into consideration when granting asylum and as factors when figuring foreign aid, just as fundamental rights for women and minority groups have been factored into the equation. I am proud that America came forward with that position but it is a delicate matter. Clinton readily admits that the US does not have the best track-record in civil-rights in general but has made strides, like with the revocation of her husband's compromised Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell policy and though gay people are living and being born all over the world and in some places shunned for it, it is going to be difficult to manage this embassy without appearing to promote cultural imperialism or chauvinism, imposing American norms and values on others. Such fears, though never to be dismissed, are a distant, academic excuse--considering all the other direct and indirect American ambassadors and peddlers of influence. Life isn't easy for anyone and no one can indoctrinate whole nations with the tools of statecraft, nor is anyone trying to--only that countries tolerating or persecuting injustice in its most awful forms not be given equal footing with the rest of civil society. It is noteworthy that just on principle, opponents and detractors of everything the current US administration does or fakes or contemplates, is as shrill and vocal about this change in policy as those few nations that find any degree of support or acknowledgement of gay rights surpassingly objectionable. The German Foreign Minister (Clinton's counterpart) is openly-gay and travels unaccompanied by his husband when his job takes him to lands where this practice is not accepted. I don't know that his husband's absence sends a stronger message to international foils, and personal choice, respected, does not become official position and vice-versa. Not to diminish Clinton's bold work, but maybe first the US as a whole needs to become more tolerant and inclusive, to the point where they too could be represented by such an individual and that nobody knows and nobody cares whom he or she loves.

top bonität oder ansteckungsgefahr

The bullying, nannying antics of the credit-rating agencies have threatened to downgrade (toppling the Top Bonität, rating, of some 15 euro zone members) en masse the core countries of the shared-currency, not that Greece and others are peripheral but the financial machinery has already dismissed them. I kept belabouring these rather predictable developments, in hopes, that the insanity of it all is just a bit more apparent or, if already manifest, at least not taken as custom or as inescapable. The machinations of the confidence tricksters and assessors of gullibility, however, are forcing one's hand, perhaps too hastily down one strait, which removes serious deliberation to the speculators that would gamble on the failure of the whole enterprise. Collectively, we are leaning on France and Germany for leadership but the characteristics of good and effective governance did not suddenly become important commodities only when the monetary wherewithal of Europe was thrown into question.   It is extortion and it seems as if the credit-rating agencies and the markets have already made up their minds.  There's no honour in kow-towing to the bullies and taking their remedies without question, but maybe the menace of higher interest-rates, usury for past borrowing, might change the way people owe and how they owe--after all, too much easy credit and thoughtless debt helped create this mess to begin with--and that discipline, not austerity, might not be such a welcome shift for the lenders.

vindaloo

This picture was not properly setup, but I wanted to capture the latest chef-surprise in case it turned out good and my camera has a setting specifically to capture images of food, "Saturation is higher to make food look more appetizing," which is an under-utilized feature. I tried making a broccoli curry and improvised a little and voila:

Broccoli Curry with Garbanzo Beans and Cranberries

• One small bunch of broccoli chopped into small pieces (about 2 cups)
• 2 tea-spoons Hot Madras Curry Powder (or less to taste)
• 1 can of Garbanzo Beans
• A few handfuls of dried cranberries or raisins
• 1 ⅔ cups of couscous

For four servings, cook the broccoli in a large sauce pan (big enough for all the ingredients) over medium heat in olive oil for approximately five minutes, tossing and then add curry powder. After mixing, combine the garbanzo beans and the cranberries. Continue stirring when adding 2 cups of water or vegetable broth and about a teaspoon of salt. Cover but stir occasionally until the mixture comes to a boil. Then pour in the couscous and stir until the dish just reaches boiling again, then cover and remove from heat. Wait five minutes for the couscous to absorb the water, then fluff with a fork and serve.

• für 4 Personen, Etwa 500 gram Brokkoli, fein geschnittenen
• mit 2 Teelöffel scharfes Currypulver abschmecken
• 1 Dose Kichererbsen
• einige Handvolle getrockneten Preiselbeeren oder Rosinen
• 400 mL Kuskus (und 500 mL Wasser oder Gemüsebrühe dafür)

Der Brokkoli kochen in Öl in der Pfanne für etwa 5 Minuten und mit Currypulver würzen. Alles erhitzen und zum Schluss die Kichererbsen und die Preiselbeeren dazugeben. Anschließend die Wasser oder Brühe mite in bissen Salz hineingeben. Die Pfanne zudecken und einmal aufkochen lassen. Nun den Kuskus hinzugeben und vom Feuer nehmen. Das Kuskus kocht (unter dem Deckel) für etwa 5 Minuten. Wenn das Essen fertig ist, vorsichtig mit einer Gabel durchziehen, servieren und genießen.

sopapilla oder net neutralität

Though SOPA, the bill in the US Congress that would outlaw parody, sampling and originality has nothing to do with anti-piracy measures and the opponents of the bill certainly are not endorsing common-sense copyright infringement and respect intellectual property and artistic integrity, a Swiss government commissioned study (auf Deutsch, en français, in Italiano, ed tar la rumantscha but with the story and analysis on the excellent and astonishing Boing Boing) is providing a refreshing counterpoint to the dishonest hysterics and censorship budding up elsewhere. Our friends in Switzerland discovered that casual downloading was not harming the industry and actually spurred sales for movie and concert tickets and well as media in many cases. The results of this study actually are helping to enforce the framework of laws safe-guarding individual privacy in the Confederation, including limiting internet service providers' ability to keep logs on users' activity and other questionable forms of tattling.