Roasted Eggplant Soup

1. Start with The Stock.

2. Cut 1 or 2 eggplants (~1.5 lbs) in half, brush with oil, 450 deg. oven 20 minutes w/cut side up. 1 large red pepper (halved & seeded), 1 spanish or vidalia onion (halved, not peeled), brush with oil, add to oven at that 20 minute mark. Continue to roast all for another 20 minutes. Peel the onion, chop all veggies coarsely & throw into the stock. (Leave the skin on the eggplant.)

3. Cook it all for an hour, partially covered, low simmer, with a fresh sprig of thyme. Process in batches in blender or processor, until you see fine speckles (not completely smooth)

4. serve with fresh croutons & a dollop of homemade garlic mayo (standard or vegan).

YUM. Eat it and be transported.

Adapted from The Greens veggie cookbook.

Soup Stock

onion, black beans, garlic, chard stems & leaves, carrots, 8 c water, sauteed & then simmered to reduce to 6 c water, then smooshed in a sieve, stock retained & veggies headed for Staten Island Landfill (if no composting garden nearby).

Bush v. Cheney

Sherlyn Gay Stolberg has drawn an interesting juxtaposition of the differences between Bush's brand-new reflective, candid mood and Cheney's unflagging bombast.

The difference in tone, friends and advisers say, reflects a split over Mr. Bush’s second-term foreign policy, which Mr. Cheney resisted as too dovish. It also reveals their divergent approaches to post-White House life. Mr. Bush, who is planning a public policy center in Dallas, is trying to shape his legacy by offering historians a glimpse of his thinking, while Mr. Cheney, primarily concerned about the terrorist threat, is setting the stage for a role as a standard-bearer for conservatives on national security.

I wonder whether Cheney will find many adherents in the post-Bush/Cheney era. From what I've gleaned in my readings of Conservative analysis, well, "I don't really think many Conservatives are hitching their wagon to your star, Dick."

Let's see: Spend a trillion dollars fighting a war for the past six years (a war whose very premise collapsed within the first few months), engender a heretofore unknown depth of hatred towards our country making it difficult to negotiate any issue to our advantage, give no-bid contracts in the most astounding act of cronyism and insider illegality ever to companies to which you have strong ties only to have it uncovered that they are defrauding our country and wasting our money and doing a really bad job in many cases, and spread our troops so thin and abuse their willingness to serve to such a degree that our military power is teetering. And, a full seven years after 9/11, only a miniscule percentage of incoming shipping containers are inspected, the Federal budget is so shot they're gonna have to take police back off the streets and defund Homeland Security programs, and that immensely sad gaping hole in my beloved downtown Manhattan, a site that was an engine of American competitiveness, profitability, and power -- well, today, seven years later, it is .... a sad gaping hole!

Pardon me for shouting, but WHAT DID ANY ACTION CHENEY TRUMPETED AND INFLUENCED HAVE TO DO WITH (1) CONSERVATIVISM, OR (2) NATIONAL SECURITY?

Most Chilling Quote of 2008 Award: Dick Cheney

In an exit interview, when asked to reflect back on the decisions of the Bush/Cheney administration (starting the war in Iraq, using waterboarding on detainees, holding persons not charged with any crime in Guantánamo, and I'd use up all the space on the World Wide Web if I attempted to complete my list), our soon to be Ex Veep said:

“I feel very good about what we did,” the vice president told The Washington Times, adding, “If I was faced with those circumstances again, I’d do exactly the same thing.”

Man on Wire!!

If you don't know who Philippe Petit is, you should. If you know who he is and why he became quite well known 24 years ago, but you have never seen the story of how the hell he accomplished his brilliant "art crime", and/or have never seen the footage of that remarkable morning, see Man On Wire.

Preferably see it on the big screen while you can if you live within feasible distance of the two (yes, only two) theaters in the country where it is now playing. In downtown Manhattan, it's playing thru Thurs 12/25 several times a day at the Sunshine Cinema, and then through the 1st there will be two showings per day around lunchtime. It's also playing at the Opera Plaza Cinema in San Francisco.

Philippe Petit is my hero and that is not a facile declaration. When it comes to naming heros, I heed the Grail Knight telling me, "Choose wisely." Petit is a special soul on earth at this time. I speak not only of the dazzling beauty of his artform and his sheer guts and willingness to live life instead of simply attempting to avoid death for a bunch of decades. I am in awe of the sheer poetry of his beauty, his speech, his bearing, his being.

Quote of the day: What's Hard

From an interview in May 2008, "Tom Waits True Confessions":

Q: What’s hard for you?

A: Mostly I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane. Math is hard. Reading a map. Following orders. Carpentry. Electronics. Plumbing. Remembering things correctly. Straight lines. Sheet rock. Finding a safety pin. Patience with others. Ordering in Chinese. Stereo instructions in German.

Historical Figures: Edward Cave

An early bootstrapping publisher who, it seems, invented the periodical magazine format for distributing information. . From Wikipedia ...

The son of a cobbler, Cave was born in Newton near Rugby, Warwickshire and attended the grammar school there, but was expelled after being accused of stealing from the headmaster. He worked at a variety of jobs, including timber merchant, reporter and printer. He conceived the idea of a periodical that would cover every topic the educated public was interested in, from commerce to poetry, and tried to convince several London printers and booksellers to take up the idea. When no one showed any interest, Cave took on the task by himself. The Gentleman's Magazine was launched in 1731 and soon became the most influential and most imitated periodical of its time. It also made Cave wealthy.

Some info on The Gentleman's Magazine:

The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January, 1731. The original complete title was The Gentleman's Magazine: or, Trader's monthly intelligencer. Cave's innovation was to create a monthly digest of news and commentary on any topic the educated public might be interested in, from commodity prices to Latin poetry. It carried original content from a stable of regular contributors, as well as extensive quotes and extracts from other periodicals and books. Cave, who edited The Gentleman's Magazine under the pen name "Sylvanus Urban", was the first to use the term "magazine" (meaning "storehouse") for a periodical. The iconic illustration of St John's Gate on the front of each issue (occasionally updated over the years) depicted Cave's home, in effect, the magazine's 'office'.

Cave also had an eye for talent: he hired the young Samuel Johnson as a writer after Johnson had to drop out of Oxford (for lack of money).

Arabama

The NY Times today published a collection of blog entries from Arab countries:

The Skeptic, Egypt (elijahzarwan.net/blog)

A new day dawned in Cairo today. As it does every day.

And it started as it always does: with birds, schoolchildren and car horns. No national holiday here.

I’m looking forward to going out in the streets to hear the reaction. The best reaction I’ve heard so far: “Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job.”

Bah humbug. I confess I’m moved.

Journalist of the Week Award:Pat Buchanan

Yup, you heard me right. Pat Buchanan . Here are some snips from "Where Did Bush Go Wrong?:

After losing control of the Senate and 30 House seats in 2006, the GOP is bracing for losses of six to nine in the Senate, and two dozen to three dozen additional seats in the House.

If the party “were a dog food,” says Rep. Tom Davis, “they would take us off the shelf.”

... Two-thirds of Americans now believe the Iraq war a mistake. Yet, all but a few Republicans backed the war. At the time of “Mission Accomplished!” in May 2003, the nation gave Bush a 90 percent approval rating, as his father had after Desert Storm.

... How many Republicans have repudiated the Bush Doctrine that got us into Iraq—the belief that only by making the world democratic can we keep America secure and free?

... In Afghanistan, we are entering the eighth year of war with victory further away than ever.

... These two wars helped to cripple the Bush presidency and end the GOP ascendancy. Yet, at the highest levels of the party, one hears no serious questioning of the ideology that produced these wars. McCain has pledged to stay in Iraq until “victory” and send 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

Nor have Republicans objected to the U.S. air strikes that have killed hundreds of Afghans, or the Predator strikes that have inflamed Pakistan or the helicopter raid into Syria that humiliated Damascus and enraged the population. If Republicans disagree with these policies and actions, their voices are muted.

... The GOP needs to confront the truth: The failure of the Bush presidency lies not in a failed execution of policy but in the policies themselves and the neoconservative ideology that informed them.

Yet, still, the party remains in denial, refusing to come to terms with the causes of its misfortune. One expects they will be given the time and opportunity for reflection soon.

“The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars but in ourselves.”

Battling our U.S.olipsism

Let us not forget: there is a rest-of-the-world, including places our country has made a mess of.... meanwhile the news today and tomorrow and next week will be only a slicing and dicing our own election results. Evening news anchors had nothing to say about any other part of the world the past few days... meanwhile a young Somalian girl was stoned to death for being raped!!!!, and children live like this in Sadr City (pic above is taken from this LA Times slideshow).

My Fellow Americans --
Everything Obama said on election night about unity, about the health of the whole depending on the health of its parts, applies to our entire human race. A quick check of an image of our Earth as seen from space will verify that, yup, still no lines are actually drawn on it dividing us from any other humans except in our own convenient way of thinking about things.

Let's work to stay informed about the condition of beings on the whole planet. And let's care about it. And do something about it. And talk about it. And insist it is taught in our schools, and sees some exposure in our television programming.

Kudos to Michigan Voters

The results are in. Michigan voters support Proposal 1—which would legalize the use of medical marijuana—by a margin of almost two-to-one.

63% of Michigan's voters say they supported the proposal, while 37% opposed.

Michigan will join 12 other states which have already legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The proposal was supported by several organizations, including the Michigan Nurses Association. It was opposed by many health and law enforcement groups, such Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

Police Lied about London's Sean Bell

From BBC News:

Police misled a pathologist into thinking Jean Charles de Menezes "vaulted" over a Tube barrier before being shot dead, an inquest has heard.

Dr Kenneth Shorrock was told the Brazilian jumped over a barrier before "stumbling" down an escalator.

The pathologist said he was given the wrong information during a "walk-through" with officers.

Mr de Menezes was killed in 2005 in south London by police who mistook him for a failed 21 July suicide bomber.

The Brazilian was shot seven times in the head at close range on 22 July 2005...

RIP Madelyn!!

Barack's grandma Madelyn Dunham passed yesterday, made my heart physically hurt for Obama. Can you imagine, losing the last caretaker of your youth, effectively he was orphaned YESTERDAY, and will likely be elected President of the United States TODAY.

I cannot fathom this. What a convergence of events. Big things happening in the Universe. He may be about to become OUR caretaker of sorts. Wow.

This is his grandma hugging him on his H.S. graduation. Grandpa Stanley standing next to him:



I know they're all cheering him from Heaven! I know they're surrounding him in an orb of incredible light. Mama Ann, Grandma and Grandpa are all fine, I just feel so RAW for the load Barack himself is called upon to carry at the moment. Perhaps one of those Purifying moments in life.

Millions and millions of just such loving hugs from all of us.

Let it come down, No, Wait

HuffPost has a great slideshow up called Tears for Obama (click on photo), tears of joy, awe, grief and relief over the course of this campaign. My heart anticipates rushing out in the streets some time around midnight, shouting with elation together with my fellow Manhattanites (probably 80% Pro-O). My head, though, admonishes me to be neutral, that anything can happen, to disengage the heart...

"Watching Obama accept the Democratic nomination, Times Square, August 28th"

London's Sean Bell

From BBC News:

A commuter who was sitting near Jean Charles de Menezes on a Tube train has told his inquest that police gave no warning before killing him.

Anna Dunwoodie said she believed officers were "out of control" and gave off a "sense of panic" before shooting.

She claimed that the innocent 27-year-old appeared calm as a gun was held to his head.

Mr de Menezes was killed in 2005 in south London by police who mistook him for a failed 21 July suicide bomber.

Ms Dunwoodie was sitting two or three seats to the left of Mr de Menezes when he boarded the train at Stockwell Tube Station, south London on 22 July 2005.

She told the inquest that, at the time, she thought the firearms officers pursuing Mr de Menezes were members of a gang.

He was shot seven times in the head at point-blank range after being mistaken for failed bomber Hussain Osman.

(Italics added.) Wow. I would think parents in families with Muslim-looking genealogy and Mulsim-sounding last names might identify enormously, these days, with parents of Black youth in the U.S. of A.

Kudos to Obama's staff AND ALL THOSE VOLUNTEERS!

The Washington Post reports today:

With one day to go, Democrat Barack Obama appears to have rebuffed recent GOP efforts to label him as "too liberal" or too big a gamble.

The new Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll puts Obama well out in front over Republican John McCain and finds that Obama has firmly reestablished his advantage on handling the economy, beaten back a challenge on taxes and has an edge in terms of perceptions about which candidate would better deal with an unexpected major crisis.

Job well done, y'all! Thanks from the rest of us who did not have the time or resources!

Yes on Prop. 1 in Michigan

Heart wrenching testimony to the need for legal medical marijuana:


TAH! to The Daily Dish

Syrian Raid Ripples

While the media feeds us a one-course meal of election news, over and over and over, who's minding the "Impact of US Policies" shop around the rest of the planet? Almost nobody. So between now and perhaps a week from now when election and post-election fervor finally starts to simmer down, I'll be sharing some spicy international dishes on this blog:

Dateline Nov 2, 2008, Damascus:

(Summary from the front page of Asia Times) The United States raid into Syria has upset every key actor in Iraq. The government, beyond being embarrassed at not being consulted, has come under even more pressure from Shi'ite parties not to sign a security agreement with the United States. The Sunni Awakening Councils are reconsidering their cooperation in fighting insurgents, while powerful tribes which virtually control the border are overnight turning anti-American. As for Syria, it has the power to cause havoc in Iraq.

Read Sami Moubayed's full article.

Obama and McCain Share a Hero

From David Margolick in today's NYT, Papa’s Gift to the Fire-in-the-Belly Crowd:

Robert Jordan is a left-wing radical, or was modeled after several of them. He palled around with terrorists, or at least people whom many Americans, of his era and beyond, so thought. His specialty is blowing things up for a cause. He is at minimum a socialist, someone so eager to spread wealth around that he’d lose his life to do it.

Robert Jordan is also honorable, steadfast, selfless, determined, stoic, generous, tolerant, courageous, conscientious, forgiving, altruistic, tender, wise, loyal, independent, taciturn, disciplined, dutiful, patient, exacting, empathetic, idealistic, introspective, charismatic and handsome. No wonder the beautiful Maria falls for him the first time she sees him, and the earth moves beneath the two the first time they make love.

Robert Jordan is the hero of Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” an American fighting Franco’s Fascists in the Spanish Civil War. And despite his radical roots, he’s a literary sensation during this election season. Senator Barack Obama told Rolling Stone that Hemingway’s novel, published in 1940, is one of the three books that most inspired him. As for Senator John McCain, few men, real or fictional, have influenced him as much as Jordan.

Iran and our next Pres

World Press points to an article, "US blowback in Iran's elections" by Hossein Askari in Asia Times that analyzes the possible influence of our Presidential election outcome on Iran's next election. *

In Iranian eyes, one candidate, Democratic Senator Barack Obama, believes in dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts. While the other, Republican Senator John McCain, is belligerent and endorses the military option. The leaders in Tehran see Ahmadinejad better positioned to tackle a president McCain, while a total break from Ahmadinejad would afford Iran the best opportunity for rapprochement with a president Obama. It is that clear cut.

... If there is a president McCain, there will be a second term for Ahmadinejad. If there is a president Obama, the next Iranian president will be a moderate, soft-spoken and Western-appealing individual, one who is not weighed down by Ahmadinejad's baggage and who can start afresh with the US and achieve favorable results for Iran with an Obama administration. In that event, the leader would come from Qalibaf, Najafi, Aref and Nahavandian.

The Supreme Leader and leading contenders in Iran will be watching the US presidential results as never before.

* Note: While the dateline of the article is Hong Kong, Askari is "professor of international business and international affairs at George Washington University" as noted at the end of the article.