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Tuesday, March 25, 2003 |
More Than 2,000 Bombs Dropped in Iraq. U.S. aircraft have dropped more than 2,000 precision-guided bombs on Iraq since the war's start, a feat possible in part because the "smart" bombs now are produced for a relatively cheap $20,000 each. [Associated Press war headlines via GoUpstate.com]
Hey, Mike doesn't this make you feel better about that bill you got from the IRS for your 1981 taxes? Your $1300 will pay for 1/8th of one of those bombs. Good to know you're doing your part.
9:05:21 PM Permalink
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I can not believe I have just read this. I can not believe I have just read this
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Marines losing the battle for hearts and minds
A few miles from the bridge to the south lie the ruins of the ancient city of Ur, founded 8,000 years ago, the birth place of Abraham and a flourishing metropolis at a time when the inhabitants of north-west Europe were still walking round in animal skins.
Sgt Sprague, from White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia, passed it on his way north, but he never knew it was there.
"I've been all the way through this desert from Basra to here and I ain't seen one shopping mall or fast food restaurant," he said. "These people got nothing. Even in a little town like ours of twenty five hundred people you got a McDonald's at one end and a Hardee's at the other." [Brain Off]
6:28:50 PM Permalink
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Clear Channel organizing pro-war rallies. Paul Krugman wrote in today's New York Times:
"Most of the pro-war demonstrations around the country have, however, been organized by [radio] stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, a behemoth based in San Antonio that controls more than 1,200 stations and increasingly dominates the airwaves.
"The company claims that the demonstrations, which go under the name Rally for America, reflect the initiative of individual stations. But this is unlikely: according to Eric Boehlert, who has written revelatory articles about Clear Channel in Salon, the company is notorious ? and widely hated ? for its iron-fisted centralized control...
"...The vice chairman of Clear Channel is Tom Hicks, whose name may be familiar to readers of this column. When Mr. Bush was governor of Texas, Mr. Hicks was chairman of the University of Texas Investment Management Company, called Utimco, and Clear Channel's chairman, Lowry Mays, was on its board. Under Mr. Hicks, Utimco placed much of the university's endowment under the management of companies with strong Republican Party or Bush family ties. In 1998 Mr. Hicks purchased the Texas Rangers in a deal that made Mr. Bush a multimillionaire."
Dang that liberal media!
3:07:47 PM Permalink
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Al Jazeera
Here's Al Jazeera's rudimentary but interesting web site for news. If we expected the Iraqi's to come running to U.S. troops with open arms waving American flags, I think we're going to be disappointed.
10:32:40 AM Permalink
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David Sedaris on the French-American Thing
Here's David Sedaris' excellent commentary from Morning Edition yestrday. France has not retitled videos to "Liberty Gigolo," or "Freedom Grafitti."
While in the United States President Bush may make a certain kind of sense to the rest of the world he sounds like a bully or a braggart.
10:27:37 AM Permalink
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Onion Mush: Better than Pork Fat?
Well, maybe not that good, but danged close. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned Nigella Lawson's How to Eat, and her recipe for Onion Mush. Sometimes called Jam or Relish, Onion Mush is basically a bunch of thinly sliced onions cooked at very low with some Marsala (I've also used vermouth) for a very long time. You end up with a dark brown mass of onions, rich in flavor, that can be used most anywhere. Here's Lawson's recipe:
1 heaping teaspoon lard or butter
3-5 tablespoons olive oil
2 lbs onions, very thinly sliced
salt
1/2 cup Marsala
Put a very large, heavy-bottomed frying pan (I use a cast iron frying pan or Dutch Oven) over low heat, using a heat diffuser if you have one (I don't). You may need a couple of pans. Put in the lard or butter and oil and when it starts melting and warmig up, but before any heat emanates or any sizzles an be heard, add the onions, press down with a wooden spooon, then sprngkle some salt over. Add to the Marsala in its measuring cup enough boiling water to bring the liquid up to the 3/4-cup mark, then pour over the onions. Cut out some foil and press it down over the onions, shiny side down, to form a tight, low lid. then put on the pan's real lid and cook, over very low heat, for a good 2 hours. Check after an hour; the misture shouldn't be hot enough for any burning or sticking. If using a heat diffuser and a sound heavy-bottomed pan, you may want to give it a third hour (I usually do). When the onion tastes completely cooked, very soft, take the lid and foil off and turn the heat up high to let all the liquid bubble and burn off. When it's reduced and evaporated, youshould have a soft, thick, caramel-colored mush. That's it.
Yes, that, as she says, is it. You can refrigerate it, she says, for 2 weeks (though for me it doesn't last that long), and freeze it in small porions. A quarter cup equals about one onion, so you can use it in place of one onion in soups. It's great plain, fantastic on sandwiches. Mix some with ground beef for great hamburgers. It's really great in a frittata. While it's cooking, it fills your house with the wonderful aroma of onions, and it's hard to not just eat it right away.
(By the way, this slicer is a great tool for slicing the onions. Only $4.99 now at Amazon, it got a great review in the current Cook's Illustrated.)
Something so simple is so good. I'm making some now. I'll use some of it in a bean soup this afternoon, refrigerate some, and freeze some.
10:06:35 AM Permalink
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© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.
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