Oranges and Tangerines
These sweet citrus fruits are described exhaustively by Tony Tantillo. I was going to do some research and write a whole article here a la my Red Velvet Cake investigation, but Tony's already done the hard work. (Unless he's cribbing some uncredited reference...)
In any case, the important thing today is the Clementine. Clementines (Algerian tangerines, if you like to be redundant) are a cross between a Mandarin and a Seville orange. They are small, usually seedless with an intense sweetness and delicate texture. Most are imported from North Africa and Spain. Like Mandarins, they are easy to peel and divide by hand and you don't get your hands all sticky dealing with them. Along with spice cookies and chocolate, they are emblematic of the gifts given to good children of the Netherlands on Sint-Niklaas Day.
Nicholas was a Bishop of Myra, in Fourth Century Asia Minor (modern Turkey). He is the patron of gift-givers (as well as sailors, pawn-brokers and brewers). According to the Dutch story he arrives each year on the night before his feast day (December 6) by steamship via Spain to the port of Antwerpen. He is accompanied by his young assistants, Zwarte-Pieten (Black Petes) who used to be African slaves, but modern theory has it that he is one normal (white) boy who has gotten covered in soot from sleeping by the fireplace. Not sure which is better. Anyway, Sint and Piet(en) embark from their steamer and ride across the lowlands filling up the shoes of good little children with gifts. Among these, of course, are the clementines, chocolates, and speculoos (spice cookies) recalling the biggest-ticket colonial imports (which took basically the same route with the same help).
Of course, Sint-Niklaas or Sinterklaas became, in Niewe Amsterdam, Santa Claus - and the rest is history. Happy Feestdagen!
5.12.02
4.12.02
Of Course the People Don't Want War
"Why, of course, the people don't want war," Goering shrugged. "Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."
"There is one difference," I pointed out. "In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."
"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
- Hermann Goering to Gustave Gilbert during the Nuremburg Trials in 1946. Goering was found guilty of crimes against humanity and killed himself hours before his scheduled execution. Gilbert was an Allied intelligence officer given free access to the accused. The above is quoted from his book, based on notes taken during the trials.
Found on Invisible City (Source reported by the oft-useful debunkers at Snope's)
"Why, of course, the people don't want war," Goering shrugged. "Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."
"There is one difference," I pointed out. "In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."
"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
- Hermann Goering to Gustave Gilbert during the Nuremburg Trials in 1946. Goering was found guilty of crimes against humanity and killed himself hours before his scheduled execution. Gilbert was an Allied intelligence officer given free access to the accused. The above is quoted from his book, based on notes taken during the trials.
Found on Invisible City (Source reported by the oft-useful debunkers at Snope's)
1.12.02
Today is World Aids Day
And also my 30th birthday. I've had a really wonderful weekend. Thanks to all involved. I love you very much.
(And now back to my new toys)
And also my 30th birthday. I've had a really wonderful weekend. Thanks to all involved. I love you very much.
(And now back to my new toys)
30.11.02
"We have ordained phases for the moon, which daily wanes and end the end appears like a bent old twig -Holy Koran 36:39
Eid-al-Fitr is the celebration marking the end of the Holy month of Ramadan, when fasting gives way to feasting and the inner prayers of the faithful are made manifest in fellowship and forgiveness of grudges. The official passing of Ramadan relies on a sighting of the crescent moon, which can vary depending on your location (as well as weather conditions). This year, you can expect to break your fast on December 6. MoonCalc 5.2 is the program you will need in order to determine in advance when exactly Eid-al-Fitr should be celebrated in your locality. Be prepared.
Eid-al-Fitr is the celebration marking the end of the Holy month of Ramadan, when fasting gives way to feasting and the inner prayers of the faithful are made manifest in fellowship and forgiveness of grudges. The official passing of Ramadan relies on a sighting of the crescent moon, which can vary depending on your location (as well as weather conditions). This year, you can expect to break your fast on December 6. MoonCalc 5.2 is the program you will need in order to determine in advance when exactly Eid-al-Fitr should be celebrated in your locality. Be prepared.
29.11.02
Dr. Joy, 'shroom angel
Visit the Mushroom Cloud Gallery and think about prophecy. Link courtesy of Mr. Pants.
Visit the Mushroom Cloud Gallery and think about prophecy. Link courtesy of Mr. Pants.
23.11.02
Make Your Own Grail Diary
IndyGear is your source for all the accessories you will need to transform yourself into Indiana Jones.
Thanks to Dave Smith for the link.
IndyGear is your source for all the accessories you will need to transform yourself into Indiana Jones.
Thanks to Dave Smith for the link.
18.11.02
Secret Court Permits Secret Spying on US Residents
A court which holds private hearings with only one side of the argument petitioning has ruled in a classified decision that the justice department can secretly tap your phone or monitor the activities in your home without a criminal warrant and without judicial review.
Attorney General John Ashcroft hailed the decision as a revolution in the way domestic surveillance operations are conducted and promised to waste no time in hooking up your house with all sorts of high-tech audio-video equipment.
More reaction in a report by the AP's Gina Holland:
Viet Dinh, a special assistant attorney general, said last week that the government would not be heavy-handed. "We have absolutely no interest in gathering information simply for the sake of gathering information," he said. But Michael Greenberger, who worked on counterterrorism projects in the Clinton administration's Justice Department, said, "The minute you start hearing prosecutors say `I'm not going to abuse the right,' citizens' ears ought to perk up." Greenbeger, who now teaches law at the University of Maryland, said he was concerned that Americans will be monitored with little evidence they are tied to terrorists. "The first response would be `That couldn't happen in America.' Under this court's decision, it could happen."
A court which holds private hearings with only one side of the argument petitioning has ruled in a classified decision that the justice department can secretly tap your phone or monitor the activities in your home without a criminal warrant and without judicial review.
Attorney General John Ashcroft hailed the decision as a revolution in the way domestic surveillance operations are conducted and promised to waste no time in hooking up your house with all sorts of high-tech audio-video equipment.
More reaction in a report by the AP's Gina Holland:
Viet Dinh, a special assistant attorney general, said last week that the government would not be heavy-handed. "We have absolutely no interest in gathering information simply for the sake of gathering information," he said. But Michael Greenberger, who worked on counterterrorism projects in the Clinton administration's Justice Department, said, "The minute you start hearing prosecutors say `I'm not going to abuse the right,' citizens' ears ought to perk up." Greenbeger, who now teaches law at the University of Maryland, said he was concerned that Americans will be monitored with little evidence they are tied to terrorists. "The first response would be `That couldn't happen in America.' Under this court's decision, it could happen."
16.11.02
The Pentagon routinely lies to Congress, and to us, to get its way.
The operations of private P.R. firms hired by the CIA and the Pentagon to manage Psy-Ops operations at home and abroad are revealed in this story reported in the Asia Times. The fabricated stories of baby-killing and troops massing against Kuwait as a run-up to Congressional action on the Gulf War is absolutely horrifying, and the bungling efforts of these firms makes "Wag the Dog" seem much more documentary than spoof.
The operations of private P.R. firms hired by the CIA and the Pentagon to manage Psy-Ops operations at home and abroad are revealed in this story reported in the Asia Times. The fabricated stories of baby-killing and troops massing against Kuwait as a run-up to Congressional action on the Gulf War is absolutely horrifying, and the bungling efforts of these firms makes "Wag the Dog" seem much more documentary than spoof.
11.11.02
5.11.02
Rumsfeld Plans to Encourage Terror Attacks
This article from the Los Angeles Times describes the activities of the P2OG, a proposed new "Super-Intelligence Support Activity" force:
"Among other things, this body would launch secret operations aimed at "stimulating reactions" among terrorists and states possessing weapons of mass destruction -- that is, for instance, prodding terrorist cells into action and exposing themselves to "quick-response" attacks by U.S. forces."
Anybody remember Operation Northwoods? This was a plan presented by the Joint Chiefs to the Kennedy Administration in 1963 to stage some terrorism, providing a "helpful wave of national indignation," and thereby justify an invasion of Cuba. "The whole point of a democracy is to have leaders responding to the public will, and here this is the complete reverse, the military trying to trick the American people into a war that they want but that nobody else wants," writes James Bamford, whose book Body of Secrets revealed the 40 year old plan.
This article from the Los Angeles Times describes the activities of the P2OG, a proposed new "Super-Intelligence Support Activity" force:
"Among other things, this body would launch secret operations aimed at "stimulating reactions" among terrorists and states possessing weapons of mass destruction -- that is, for instance, prodding terrorist cells into action and exposing themselves to "quick-response" attacks by U.S. forces."
Anybody remember Operation Northwoods? This was a plan presented by the Joint Chiefs to the Kennedy Administration in 1963 to stage some terrorism, providing a "helpful wave of national indignation," and thereby justify an invasion of Cuba. "The whole point of a democracy is to have leaders responding to the public will, and here this is the complete reverse, the military trying to trick the American people into a war that they want but that nobody else wants," writes James Bamford, whose book Body of Secrets revealed the 40 year old plan.
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