Thanks to Jameson Fink and Food and Wine Online for the Headline
I love my Aeropress and I just can’t believe that the “trendies” and apparently trendy chefs have hijacked the simple design and suggested that you get a better cup of coffee if you basically do the process upside down( at great risk of scalding yourself with hot coffee).
Like the journalist who wrote the article I basically make a strong double espresso and then add hot water to it to make it into a “long black”. I love the suction sound, which the Aeropress makes when you push the plunger down. It’s like you are pressing every ounce of flavour and goodness out of the ground coffee beans.
The tinkerers are wasting their time. Aeropress is perfection personified.
Thanks to CNN Staff and CNN World for the Headline.
Zhu Ronguji served as premier of China from 1998 to 2003 has died aged 97 due to a short illness.
As a young man he was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party in the 1950’s for criticising the economic policies of the Mao Zedong era and then again purged during Mao’s Cultural Revolution a decade later.
In other words he was a survivor, many others didn’t make it. However with his degree in Electrical Engineering and a strong work ethic, as well as an extreme focus on his task, he progressed through the ranks and after acting as the Mayor of Shangai he was spotted for his approach and recruited by Deng Xiaoping.
Zhu tackled corruption and lethargy in the unwieldly Chinese Centralised Command Economy and introduced China to Global Markets. Perhaps he is the reason we can now buy Chinese Garlic and also Chinese Tomatoes are now used even by the Italians.
The reforms he introduced led to a better standard of living for many Chinese and the growth of middle class aspirations for much of the labour market. He took a lot of Chinese out of poverty.
Modern China as with any Country who concentrates on growth has hit the “wall” just like an elite Marathon Runner. Growth has expanded the economy and perhaps the people are struggling to adjust to it. Certainly entrepreneurship and China’s workforce perhaps hasn’t grown together, Competitive Advantage leaves some behind and leads to jealousy.
China is adjusting and no longer thinks that external growth is the key, nor do they want galloping inflation or a population that cannot feed itself. It would be nice if China still was outward looking and wants to work with other Countries to promote harmony and health for the whole World.
Given the hardships and the difficulties Zhu had to face I think he put China in a position where it can contribute and also work with the West to ensure that Global Peace and Wealth is maintained.
Thanks to Usaid Siddiqui and Aljazeera for the Headline
The new Syrian Government which has been in place now for about eighteen months have been in talks with Russia and have announced a memorandum of understanding regarding Moscow’s Hmiemim airbase and Tartus naval base.
Syria has taken some Civilian and Commercial Control over both military bases and the consensus is that neither Syria or Russia wish to break relations. Although , as Russia was a major backer of the previous regime and the local Syrian population suffered tremendously during the Civil War, there was significant resentment from the people about the Russian role.
However, the political premise “of there are no permanent enemies , only permanent interests is ensuring that the lines of communication are kept open with the Russians. Russia on their part have invested heavily in Syria , so they wish to keep good relations too.
Russia has helped the current Syrian Government by vetoing at the UN Security Council’s designation of the new Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa as a “terrorist”. Russia also supplies subsidised oil and grain to Syria and has important debt and reconstruction projects with the Syrians.
Putin has welcomed al Sharaa and signalled support for Syria’s territorial Integrity.
Thanks to Sam Stockard of the Tennessee Lookout Online for the Headline
A death sentence is so final I am convinced that no human has the right to decide the end of another human’s life for criminal offences no matter how heinous. My reasoning is , one mistake is one mistake too many.
To sit in an office , any office and sign a piece of paper which continues with the process of taking the life of another person does not seem right. It seems detached from the reality of the situation.
The lawyers in this case will keep arguing until the end, their reasoning is that the method of execution is barbaric and cruel as the state has not employed a doctor qualified to implement the procedure competently.( I won’t go into details , but a previous attempt with another death row inmate went terribly wrong).
No you can’t detach yourself and sit in an office and sign off on something like this as if signing off building regulations, it’s barbaric to do so.
As I’m really not much of a talker and wouldn’t just like to talk about writing, I’d have to invite a few to watch them interact with each other. (They are in no particular order) Sylvia Plath, Victor Hugo, George Orwell, Thomas Hardy, Mark Twain ,Douglas Adams, Stieg Larsson, James Baldwin, Daphne du Maurier, Ian Fleming Herman Melville. That would be a start and I’d have to check what they all enjoyed to eat and drink.
Ah a “good” billionaire story. Ian Wace is a very successful hedge fund manager who bought an 800 acre remote Scottish Island in 2017 called Tanera Mor and has turned it back into the thriving community it once was.
How did he do it and more importantly why did he do it? They why was basically he saw that the Island was dying.
The how is by investing money to restore old buildings, planting trees ,reviving traditional crafts, rebuilding farmland and creating new communal spaces. The project is also designed to support the wider Scottish Highlands Community.4.5 miles of roads along with paths and other infrastructure needed to reconnect different parts of the island and support the growing number of people working and staying there.
Also eight fresh water ponds have been creating with the planting of hundreds of native and aquatic plants creating around 1.5million litres of freshwater pond habitat. Also about 28 acres of historic agricultural land have also been reclaimed with orchards pastures and other areas of the island being restored.
There has also been an attempt to regenerate traditional skills such as boatbuilding (relating to the Island’s History of Herring Fishing), A restored loom is being used to weave Tanera tweed, there are workshops including sailmaking, breadmaking , art , writing , flower arranging and land management.
A former quarry has been transformed into an operational centre containing offices , accomodation and workshops , while other facilities include a pub, chapel, art studio , cinema, gym and sauna. The idea is not separate private residences but shared space.
One particularly innovative idea , is to offer restorative breaks to Public-Sector workers in front-line demanding roles such as the NHS, Police and Army given them time away from their normal working environments. Around 150 people can be working and staying on the island at a given time.
The innovative nature of the project has led to a wider involvement in the “Highlands Community” with 8000 acres of maniland land gifted to the Coigach Community Development Company with a wider programme to restore properties including Achnahaird Farm and the Summer Isles Hotel(planned opening in 2027).
Tanera was transferred into a charitable trust in 2020 to continue it’s objectives of invigorating community life in the Scottish Islands .
I delved into seeing if any of this land would be used for Grouse Shooting and I could see no evidence of it. I suppose there must be good billionaire’s after all.
Thanks to Hugo Rojas and The Pulse Online for the headline
Oh joy, I can feel the tiny threads of fibre glass impregnating my soul and causing eternal pain. The good news is that they are now making Wind Turbine Blades out of more recyclable materials , so that should stop them having to put the out of life Wind Turbine Blades in landfill or for them to be a component in recycled cement. How much more cement do we need?
In the meantime cutting them up into three pieces on site and nesting the smaller girth pieces inside the larger girth pieces and putting them in landfill is the only way to dispose of them. Each blade takes the space of about three cement mixer trucks.
The science of landfill is that everything on a tip works by crushing, compacting or shredding whatever arrives, however a cured composite cannot be unmade . So landfill it is.
An alternative use for the redundant turbine blades are to crush them into it’s components which are 75% silica and can be used to make cement and the rest of the material can be burnt for heat.
Another option is to make small sturdy pedestrian bridges out of the turbines. (Frankly I’m feeling very dusty and gritty now)
So there you have it the afterlife of a wind turbine. And if anyone has cared to cost those options and add it to the energy generated by wind-power and the cost of maintenance and disposal then I think this must be considered when looking at the benefits of wind power.
Perhaps I’m being morbid, but I think the prompt is really being polite, what it really wants to ask is what message would you write on your grave stone? I probably won’t be able to afford one never mind get it engraved.
If I was unlucky enough to be in one of those graveyards where Council’s are laying grave stones flat as they are loose or unsteady and therefore a health and safety risk then this is the message I would hope to say.
“Please Leave No Stone Unturned.”
Whether I was dead or alive it would seem appropriate.
Thanks to Al Jazeera Staff and Al Jazeera Online for the Headline
There are recurring outbreaks of diseases like Cholera and Diptheria in Yemen. Over 50% of the medical centres that were set up, are now non- functioning due to years of conflict, lack of funding and the collapse of the Yemen Health Care System.
The only option for people who cannot afford treatment abroad is to turn to alternative traditional medicine. Frankly , this will not work, it didn’t work in medieval times and it won’t work now. Alternative medicine is an aid not a treatment.
Why have we invested money both from the Public, Private and Charitable Sectors and we still can’t fund access to Health Care all over the World? Why will a child catch diptheria because he/she is not innoculated, how can a woman who is pregnant not be diagnosed with anemia. We have the knowledge but not the will.
The situation is complicated by the fact that these alternative medicines come from practitioners who link their services to belief mechanisms and the historical dissemination of training and information in herbalism. The reality now is that it also comes down to accessibility and cost for the population.
thenotsomightyom 