Cyberbullied Politicos Want to Bomb Syria without Getting their Feelings Hurt

 British ministers of parliament are complaining of Internet trolling in the wake of their votes to escalate military action in Syria  http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/20/chuka-umunna-labour-mps-being-trolled-and-threatened-over-security

"It's just hurtful"  A senior British MP said.

 At least that is apparently how a constituency expessing it's disapproval and anger is now being defined. Showing it, by the way, over the same social media these politicians used to attract voter attention in the first place; the same Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram channels which these MPs  themselves use to cyber-blurt their every vapid sound byte to the millions of "trolls" who elected these carnival barkers in the first place.

Poor babies,  just wanting to be left to bomb in peace. Let's have a moment of silence for them. Remember, the first priority of post-Bush government is that these delicate hothouse orchids "keep the people safe."  In order to do that, they increasingly need to feel safe from the people.

But first let us not fail to notice where the culture of victimization has brought us.  Free-speech has always been dangerous; now it's being classified as predatory, abusive.

There oughtta be a law.

Latest Episode: "Why are we only Hearing about this Now?"

A massive toxic damn collapse which destroyed the town of  Rio Doce Brazil on November 5 has now reached the Southern Atlantic Ocean and is dumping millions of gallons of waste laced with arsenic and other toxins into what will soon be a sprawling 200 mi.² dead zone in already polluted coastal fisheries.

 http://www.mining.com/toxic-elements-found-in-water-weeks-after-brazils-mine-disaster-vale/

Why again has the U.S. media ignored what has been called "Brazil's Fukoshima" and its "worst environmental catasrophe in history?"

Why havent we seen this on the news before now, or heard of the U.N report which found levels of toxins in high "multiples" of survivable concentrations, and criticized both the company and the Brazilian government for a "defensive" coverup? http://www.mining.com/bhp-questions-un-probe-that-said-samarco-spill-toxic/

Yahoo news finally did a report yesterday when the Brazilian government sued BHP Brillion S.A., the mining company, for the equivalent of USD 5 Billion. http://news.yahoo.com/brazil-sues-bhp-vale-5-billion-damages-mine-034850784--finance.html

Potential big money trial...now we're interested.

Mia Acción de Gracias Borinqueña: A Puerto Rican Thanksgiving Menu

Frituras de Coles de Bruselas
Fried Brussels Spouts with Roasted Red Pepper Aioli

For all your guests, especially kids, who say "I hate Brussels sprouts." A good way to win a bet.

 

Ingredients:

 

2 1/2 pounds small Brussels sprouts - smaller the better, preferably still on the stem.

1/2 cup flour

5 eggs beaten 

1 cup Panko breadcrumbs

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 tsp dried wasabi powder (trust me)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper


Make the Roasted Red Pepper Aioli:

1/2 cup mayo (preferably home-made)

1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream
1 large roasted red pepper, skinned
2 TBS Roasted Garlic Confit (see below)
Pinch Cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 TBS apricot jam
Salt to taste

• Combine all in food processor, funnel into squeeze bottle.

Make the Spouts: 

• Blanche sprouts in boiling water until green and just tender (4 to 6 minutes), shock in ice water, dry well.
• Shake together Panko crumbs, Parmesan and wasabi powder.
• Coat in egg, then flour, then Panko mixture, fry in small batches at 375 until golden brown (2-4 minutes)
• Drain on paper towels, keep in warm oven until ready to serve.
• Serve over salad greens or kale chips, squeeze Roasted Red Pepper Aioli over all.

Fideos de Alcayota con Hongos Silvestres
Spaghetti Squash Nests with Wild Mushrooms

 

A delicate and elegant starter, topped with poached eggs, or truffle cream and fresh herbs.

8 to 12 servings

Ingredients:

2 large spaghetti squash (about 2-1/2 pounds), halved length-wise, seeds and excess threads removed

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

2 pounds mixed mushrooms, suggest hen of the wood, cremini, murataki

4 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, sage and basel
8 large egg whites, beaten.
1/4 cup white wine
Salt and white pepper to taste
Annatto oil

• Place rack in the upper third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F. Brush cut sides of squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, then place cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes until easily pierced with a fork. Do not overcook.
• Saute mushrooms until dry, deglaze with white wine (letting it cook off), salt and pepper to taste
• Meanwhile, remove the squash from the oven and scrape with a fork. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Generously grease a 12-cup standard muffin tin with Annatto Oil
• Make a bed of squash in each muffin tin, and then gently press a well in the center to create a “nest” for the mushrooms. Spoon equal portions into each well until just overflowing
• Drizzle beaten egg whites over the entire top of each squash and mushroom cup. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the egg is completely cooked through.
• Unmold and serve warm topped with poached quail eggs, or truffle crème (1cup crème fraiche to 2 TB truffle oil, 1 tsp lemon juice); sprinkle with minced herbs

Arroz con Gandules y Mollejitas de Pavo

Rice with Pigeon Peas, Crispy Turkey Giblets and Roasted Peppers

A festive take on Puerto Rico's signature rice dish

 

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

 

For Recaito:

• 1 Cubanelle pepper (Italian frying pepper), seeded and chopped
• 5 fresh ají dulce (small sweet chiles), halved and seeded
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 3 fresh recao leaves (culantro), chopped

For rice:

• 1/4-pound good chorizo, diced
• One turkey gizzard, heart and liver, blanched in boiling water, rinsed and small diced
• 3 TBS annatto oil (a little more if chorizo is lean)
• 1/4 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
• 2 large roasted red peppers, skinned and sliced in strips
• 1 tablespoon drained bottled capers
• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• 1 (15-ounce) can pigeon peas, rinsed and drained, or half pound fresh if available
• 3 1/2 cups turkey stock
• Pinch saffron

 Purée all recaito ingredients in a food processor.                                    

 

1. Cut out a round of parchment or wax paper slightly larger than diameter of a wide 4- to 5-quart pot.
2. Pat chorizo and giblets dry and cook in annatto oil in pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until starting to crisp, about 4 minutes. Add recaito, olives, and capers and cook, stirring, until liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add rice and saffron and cook, stirring, until it sizzles, about 2 minutes.
3. Stir in peas, red peppers, water, and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and bring to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-high heat until almost all of liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes, reducing heat to medium once water is below level of rice.
4. Gently stir from bottom to top, then smooth top of rice. Place parchment round directly over rice and cover pot with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce heat to low and cook, undisturbed, 30 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, then discard parchment, drizzle with lemon and gently fluff rice with a fork. Cover with lid and let stand 10 minutes.

 

 

 

Mofongo con Chicharrónes de Pavo
Mashed plantains with turkey cracklings

Another Borinqueño classico, with "Dia del Pavo" touches

Ingredients:

1 head garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 lb slab applewood-smoked bacon, cut into small dice

1 cup turkey fat and skin trimmings

Canola oil, for deep-frying

8 green plantains, peeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick on the bias

1/4 cup chopped fresh culantro

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions

Juice of 1 lime

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Make the Garlic Confit:

• Slice off the top of the garlic head, cutting away just enough to expose the cloves. Set the garlic on a double layer of aluminum foil and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Close the foil tightly to create a pouch, and transfer it to a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the cloves turn golden brown. Let rest until cool enough to handle. Working over a bowl, squeeze the bottom of the garlic head to release the cloves. Set aside.

Make the Cracklings:

• Saute the turkey fat and skin trimmings over medium heat until all fat is liquid and rendered and trimmings are crispy brown. Strain and reserve fat. Set cracklings aside.
• Set a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy and well browned. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.

Make the Mofongo:

• Boil plantains until fork tender 15-20 mins. Pat dry
• In a deep pot or Dutch oven, heat 3 inches of oil to 325 degrees F. Working in batches, fry the plantains in the oil until golden brown and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes.  Drain on paper towels and season with salt as the plantains come out of the oil.

• To assemble: In a large, heavy metal mixing bowl or mortar, combine the fried plantains, the roasted garlic, the bacon, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper,the culantro, half the scallions and lime juice. Grind to a loose mash with a pestle or potato masher. Toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper. Scoop out individual portions of mofongo using a ladle or cup mold and  make a deep hole in each (OPTIONAL - flash fry the mofongo balls again one at a time for 1 min at 375F), sprinkle in the turkey cracklings and garnish with reserved scallions. Serve with turkey gravy.

  

Pavachon Ahumado

Smoked Turkey Pernil Style

 Spatchcocked, smoked and packed with el sabor criollo

 Serves 10-12

 

Ingredients:

1 12 to 14 pound free range fresh turkey, unprocessed

1 head of elephant garlic roasted in olive oil until soft and green (see mofongo recipe above) or half cup garlic confit

1 whole orange (preferably a little sour), zested and juiced, both reserved
5 large sprigs of fresh oregano
3 TBS kosher salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 TBS brown sugar

For Glaze (combine over low heat):
2 TBS Annatto oil4 TBS orange marmalade
1 TBS smoked paprika

1. Spatchcock Turkey:
Rinse your bird off and place it breast side down on your cutting board. Using a knife or kitchen shears cut along the sides of the backbone and remove it. (I used tin snips or a sturdy kitchen shears.)

Turn breast side up, folding out the sides. Using both of your hands press down on the bird and pound with fist to flatten it out. Reserve backbone for stock.

2. Dry Brine Three Days in Advance:
Mix salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, and brown sugar. Gently separate skin from breast and rub dry brine mixture into breast and leg meat, then on top of skin and over entire bird. Place bird, uncovered, in refrigerator for 3 days.

3. Season, Slow Smoke and Glaze:
Light one side of grill on low to medium, with wet apple woods chips directly in the flame, and a pan of water over it. Set grill temp to 225 degrees (110c). Grind roast garlic and olive oil with half the orange zest, orange juice and fresh oregano (stems discarded) and slather mixture under and over skin, coating entire bird. Insert meat thermometer or probe into the thickest part of the thigh. Place bird on opposite side of grill from flame for indirect heat. Slow smoke for about 4-5 hours, to an internal temp of 170 degrees F., adding more apple wood and water to the pan as needed, and coating with glaze every half hour or so. When temperature is reached, glaze again, turn turkey skin side down on grill, remove water pan, and raise temp to 450F for 15 to 20 mins to crisp skin. Let rest for 30 mins before carving, uncovered. Give a final glaze before serving.
  

 

20,000 Houstonion's placed under permanent house arrest without charges this morning

Transgender persons in Houston Texas this morning have three options if they choose to leave their home and face the unavoidable human need to relieve themselves while out, whether at their workplace, a public shopping mall, a church or sporting event. The options now are:

Option 1: Get immediately assaulted. This is called "Using the Mens Room" by cis-gendered people.

Option 2: Get jailed for public indecency, and then assaulted. "Using the Ladies Room."

Option 3: Get jailed for public indecency and creating a sanitary nuisance, and then assaulted. "Peeing Behind a Bush" in civil vernacular.

For losing it and peeing yourself, see Option 3.

The figure of 20,000 affected people is based on the minimum estimate of .3 percent of greater Houston's 6.3 million population who identify as transgender. The number is likely much higher.
http://www.livescience.com/50635-bruce-jenner-transgender-prevalence.html

This effective mass house arrest was done extrajudicially, without due process of law. A deprivation of liberty expressly prohibited by the Fifth Amendment.

This due to the repeal of  HERO by Proposition 1, a previously passed bill which merely brought Houston in line with the same protections of basic human rights already extended by every other major city in America, prohibiting discrimation in employment and public resources on the basis of sexual orientation or gender expression. Evangelical right wing republications turned out in droves, all whipped up by their pastors and Fox News to believe the bill was designed to permit male pedophiles to share bathroom stalls with their 7 year old daughters by simply slipping on a sun dress.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/04/houston-decided-it-had-a-problem-its-lgbt-nondiscrimination-law/

Now, make no mistake. The right KNOW this is illogical. This was a ploy to scare church moms into voting the bill down, by making them believe that the only thing stopping criminals from raping young females in public bathrooms is that little sign on the door that says “Ladies.”

Their ACTUAL logic is much scarier, and has much further reaching implications. The right has always classified homosexuality as fundamentally predatory. They have always accused gay men and women of seeking to seduce, drug, groom and rape godfearing straight folks, above all kids. http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/anti-gay-documentary-gays-grooming-kids-public-schools

The cultural segregation of men and women in locker rooms and public facilities is largely an American obsession.  Go to a nude beach in Spain, or a public sauna in Finland or Japan. The recent hysteria proves the point.  It’s about sexuality, people – specifically fear of sexuality – and not mainly about privacy.  But here’s the rub.

The Right have proven themselves willing to strip an entire group of citizens of their basic human rights;  transfolk – a population by the way far, far more likely to be the victims of sexual assault and violence than perpetrators (most Male to Female transsexuals have already voluntarily undergone the same chemical castration to which convicted sex offenders are still subjected in many states). They justify this solely because such people may feel sexual attraction toward whoever is doing her business in the next bathroom stall.  Can gays or lesbians be far behind?  The Right knows lesbians are attracted to women, and believes they go after young girls. They have said so, publically and for decades. Ditto for gay men and little boys.  Gay guys are already beaten up in men’s rooms.  How long before it’s a cop doing it instead of a trucker? How long before a law is passed prohibiting lesbian women from using the ladies bathroom?  That, to the Right Wing mind, is the more compelling logic.

We can no longer afford to pick our battles, to make some gains in exchange for compromise. Either rights are universal or they are no rights at all. Enough is enough. 

 

If a nightstick falls, and there's no iPhone there to film it, is it still police abuse?

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/562b7ea9e4b0ec0a3894a8ec

FBI DIRECTOR SAYS CITIZENS WHO FILM POLICE CONDUCT ARE THE CAUSE OF THE RISE IN VIOLENT CRIME

CHICAGO (AP) — Police anxiety in the era of ever-present cellphone cameras and viral videos partly explains why violent crime has risen in several large U.S. cities this year, FBI Director James Comey said Friday.

Comey told several hundred students during a forum at the University of Chicago Law School that it's critical to do more to address a widening gulf between law enforcement and citizens in many communities, particularly African-Americans.

He said while there likely are multiple factors behind the spike in violence in cities, including Chicago, officers and others nationwide have told him they see "the era of viral videos" as a link.

"I don't know whether this explains it entirely, but I do have a strong sense that some part of the explanation is a chill wind blowing through American law enforcement over the last year, and that wind is surely changing behavior," Comey said.

He added that some of the behavioral change in police officers has been for the good "as we continue to have important discussions about police conduct and de-escalation and the use of deadly force."

Comey likened the strain between law enforcement and local communities to two lines diverging, saying repeatedly that authorities must continue to work at improving their relationships with citizens. But he added: "I actually feel the lines continuing to arc away from each other, incident by incident, video by video."

The New York Times reported that Comey's remarks "caught officials by surprise at the Justice Department," where many do not agree with his explanation. Several officials there "privately fumed" over his opinion, according to the paper.

Most of the country's 50 largest cities have seen an increase in shootings and killings, he said, citing Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas and others. In Washington, D.C., he said homicides are up more than 20 percent. And he added that Baltimore is averaging more than one homicide a day — a rate higher than New York City, which has 13 times the people.

"Why is it happening ... all over and all of a sudden?" he asked. "I've heard a lot of theories — reasonable theories."

He suggested other factors, including the availability of cheaper heroin, guns getting into the wrong hands for wrongdoing, and street gangs becoming smaller and more territorial.

But he said his conversations with officers often come back to cellphones. He said they describe encounters with young people and their cellphone cameras "taunting" them "the moment they get out of their cars."

"They told me, 'We feel like we're under siege and we don't feel much like getting out of our cars,'" Comey said.

He said he has been told about higher-ranking police telling officers "to remember that their political leadership has no tolerance for a viral video."

A spokesman for the ACLU of Illinois, Ed Yohnka, said later Friday he disagreed with Comey's assessment.

"Police officers who respect civilians and the law will only enhance the reputation of their departments when recorded by civilians," Yohnka said. "And officers should be trained to conduct themselves with professionalism regardless of whether a camera is recording them."

From the "Why are we only Learning About This Now?" File

SUBURBAN NUCLEAR DUMP FIRE HAS BURNED FOR YEARS. GOVERNMENT "NOT CONCERNED," BUT KEPT MASSIVE EMERGENCY EVACUATION PLAN SECRET UNTIL LAST WEEK.

St. Louis, MO – According to an emergency plan recently distributed by St. Louis County officials, a fire at the Bridgeton Landfill is now within 1,000 feet of a nuclear waste dump. The landfill fire has actually been burning for over 5 years, and they have been unable to contain it thus far.

There are clouds of smoke that have been billowing from the site, making the air in parts of St. Louis heavily polluted. In 2013, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster sued Republic Services, the company responsible for the landfill, charging the company with neglecting the site and harming the local environment.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-nuclear-fire-20151020-story.html

Last year, city officials became concerned that the fire may reach the nearby West Lake Landfill, which is littered with decades worth of nuclear waste from government projects and weapons manufacturing. Remnants from the Manhattan Project and the cold war have been stuffed there for generations. The site has been under the control of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since 1990, but they have not made any significant effort to clean up the waste.

Although the fire has been burning for over 5 years and the city began making evacuation plans last year, they didn’t tell the public until this past week, when they leaked the emergency plans to local news station KMOX.

BUT THEY HAVE BEEN BEEN FINDING  RADIOACTIVE THORIUM IN RESIDENTIAL BACK YARDS AS EARLY AS TWO YEARS AGO
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/8/27/radioactive-waste-found-in-st-louis-suburbs.html

However, this week Koster told the Associated Press that the fire is even closer to the contamination zone than the city officials have even estimated because the radiation extends beyond the walls of the site.

The emergency plan provides very basic options for people to either evacuate the city or stay sheltered in their houses. Aside from saying that nuclear contamination can spread through the area in plumes of smoke, there was little mention in the report about what they actually expect to happen. Also alarming, is the fact that while there is an evacuation plan, there has been no plan proposed to actually stop this, or clean the mess up. It seems that the local government and the EPA are just hoping for the best as the fire continues to spread.

SEE VIDEO OF RECENT TOWN HALL MEETING
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.liveleak.com/ll_embed?f=8f57ab300e26" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/st-louis-preparing-nuclear-disaster-landfill-fire-nears-radioactive-waste-site/#poD22kULU0PrhmLY.99