fyrom, kfor or wag-the-dog

Veteran reporter and author, Masha Gessen writing for Slate, shares her warzone coverage memories on the anniversary, nearly fifteen years ago to the day, when in 1999 NATO forces, under US leadership, began the intervention in Kosovo, and their presence remains today.

Gessen poses an interesting theory regarding the first bombing campaign within the former Soviet sphere of influence that came as a surprise to the old guard, a grave slight with no private warning of NATO's encroachment and roundly reenforced the idea that Russia no longer held super-power status (the wounded egos sound already smack eerily similar to the current reaction of America, taken by surprise by Russia's maneuvers in the Crimea): that the affront—then matched with an accelerated conflict in Chechnya, over Serbia and the splintered Yugoslav states made a lasting impression on the once and future king, Vladimir Putin, made heir-apparent later that same year by a retiring Boris Yeltsin. I admit that I did think that this sort of patient revenge was rather a reach initially, even considering the mention of the actions by the West in his speech, until fully reading the analysis and comparisons drawn. After the spate of over-throws of the Arab Spring, I think the West became dangerously inured to a revolutionary template, and even despite hard lessons, excepted Ukraine to proceed according to certain protocols and there's no real appetite or wherewithal for more.

toraberuposutā

Collectors' Weekly has a brilliant gallery of previously unknown Japanese deco-era travel posters, from a forgotten lot printed in the 1930s when Japan was beginning to expand its railway network and promote domestic tourism. These works of art had very limited circulation and the collection was an interpretation of the style that I had never seen before that seem equally rooted in traditional art—neither had the experts who brought the rarities to auction.

flatfish or here's mud in your eye

We experimented with a nice recipe calling for halibut served on a bed of fennel slaw with mustard sauce. The fish's scientific name is hippoglossus from the Greek for horse-tongue, referring to the shape of the fish's body and not to its more distinctive, I think, feature of having one of its eyes migrate over to the other side of its head as it flounders its adult life on the sea floor. The common name, halibut, means holy-flatfish, as it is very popular for feast days of obligation during Lent.

For two to three portions, one will need:

• 500 – 600 grams of Halibut (fresh or fully thawed)
• 100 ml of cream
• 2 stalks of leek 
• 1 good sized fennel root
• 1 small onion
• 1 large carrot 
• Four to six small potatoes
• 1 glass of dry white wine
• Aluminum foil, Salt, butter, and one tablespoon of Dijon Mustard

First, divide the fish into serving sizes and briefly fry them, just browning the surface but not cooked thoroughly as it will be steamed later, in a pan with butter and then set aside. Pulse the leeks, fennel and carrot in a food-processor into a fine and thin slaw. Meanwhile, pre-heat your oven to about 180°C and make little pouches out of the foil, one for each portion of the Halibut and divide the slaw among them. Douse each pouch with the white wine and fold and pouch so they don't leak. Place the pouches back in the oven and allow to steam for around fifteen minutes (depending on the type of potato), while boiling the potatoes, peeled and in lightly salted water. Cube the onion and introduce it to a pan with some butter. Remove the foil pouches from the oven and carefully empty the liquid, fond (stock) into the frying pan and stir in the cream and mustard, with a little sauce to taste. Allow the fond to thicken a bit, only frying it for a minute or so, to use as a zesty sauce for the fish and bed of slaw.

conqueror worm

Wired Magazine reports on how a genetically engineered variety of maize designed specifically to kill one of the crop's biggest plagues, the corn root-worm (a beetle belonging to the genus appropriately named Diabrotica), has lost its efficacy. Accounting currently for some seventy-five percent of the US, the bio-tech harvest has been a casualty of its own success and wide-spread adoption, which in a text-book demonstration of accelerated natural selection, caused the pest to evolve by making dominate the mutation that accorded a small population of the worms resistance to the targeted toxin.

Now the majority of the worms are immune and poised to lay waste to the farmers' fields. Surely, there were more hard-nosed tactics in turning growers towards these patented seeds, forcing a whole lifestyle and licensing agreement on the farmers along with the crops, as well, but one other selling-point was that by not having to use chemical pesticides, there would be less negative environmental impact—without considering the effects that mono-culturing and cross-contamination might pose for the ecology. The industry could do without this sort of publicity, which forebodes a food-supply more vulnerable than it was before and evaporating benefits from all their research and government lobbying. Researchers are urging more refuges of natural corn be mingled in the huge tracts of GM crops, sort of as firebreaks to attract pests, as they originally urged, but I think its probably too late for containment and such a practise what have over unforeseen consequences besides. I suspect that human tinkering with genes, especially when it comes to food, has other chinks in its armour that no one in the business want to go public.

selected images oder farbe für die republik

There is a cheerful exhibit of everyday examples, not of propa- ganda—but rather of putting ones best foot forward of images of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) on display in Berlin, captured by a pair of freelance photographers, who found themselves sponsored not only by the patronage of businesses and catalog and cookbook publishers but also by the State, in order to promote optimism and efficiency. The documentation, in some instances, departed somewhat from reality, like showing a happy couple enjoying a repast of herring and pineapple cooked on a table-top grill with red wine. The exhibition seems to be an interesting if unintentional commentary on make-believe and GDR-chic.

better mousetrap oder nachgestellt

Though not quite on the frontier of forensic science as the technical capabilities have been explored for a decade and longer, genetic researchers are just discovering now the score or so of genomes from a sample that determine ones outward appearance, forehead, chin, ears, eyes, nose, lips, etc. (excluding nurture, vanity and lifestyle) that could be quickly scanned and extrapolated to produce police-sketches of suspects, possible even creating a visual match—for those populations not already in a registry.

Witnesses could of course tweak the profile returned to account for things that are not necessarily in ones genes, even with the possibility for a computer-generated crime scene reenactment with avatars. These new degrees of accuracy won't only be used to catch criminals, however, and the potential for abuse remains great since all ones predispositions and proclivities are all laid out there in same snatch of human detritus. Insurers, pharmaceutical companies, lenders and employers would certainly be eager to project their profits, gains and losses against each individual on these threads spindled by the Fates (Moirai). A burgeoning discussion has developed in response as to how to protect elements of this data, to encrypt ones DNA after it leaves ones body and go into the wilds—or into the lab. I don't know what form this practise might ultimately take, but I imagine once the public realises the implications it's going to be hygiene that everyone will be interested in.

satrap

While the US, in its usually cheeky fashion, is dismissive of the counter-sanctions of the Russian government, declaring senior members of the Senate as personae non grata—as EU and US authorities are freezing the bank-accounts of certain Russian nationals and imposing travel-restrictions, canceling debit cards, and believe their ribald attitude has dissuaded Russia from pursuing this tactic. Russia, however, I am certain is more than a few moves ahead of the parties that would boycott and blackball Russia for its posture in the Crimea and other satellites in its orbit, trying in fact to counter perceived or real expansionist's ambitions with appeasement (even though it is never presented openly).

Russia has its own infrastructure, independent of anything that the US delivers and officials can make due without the redundant systems. Western Europe is trying to levy more meaningful commendations by pursuing measures to relieve itself from dependence on Russian fuel delivery, but that will be very difficult to accomplish without much austerity, like Norwegian petroleum, re-routing pipelines to the Middle East or at unacceptably high environmental costs, such as a creeping acceptance of fracking or re-thinking the moth-balling of nuclear reactors. While the stance of the EU is a noble one, it is also untenable since if the valves were to be closed for just one day, which is certainly a possibility and not without precedence, panic would break out—though Germany has worked up some heady sense of security due to the warm Winter. Russia also, I believe, would have little trouble finding other customers. China's voracious appetite would certainly make a good match, I think. It is a dangerous thing to underestimate different cultural-norms, especially when shared among compatriots with an underestimated might.