| The Ominous Lesson of Tet
Next week marks the 40th anniversary of an event that seemed to turn the world upside down. In the early hours of January 31 1968, soldiers of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the army of North Vietnam launched what came to be known as the Tet offensive (it coincided with Tet Nguyen Dan, the lunar new year) against the US military and its local allies. The insurgents struck simultaneously across the country, targeting more than 100 cities and towns in what the historian Stanley Karnow describes as an offensive "of extraordinary intensity and astonishing scope … audaciously shifting the war for the first time from its rural setting to a new arena - South Vietnam's supposedly impregnable urban areas". Military installations, police stations, prisons, government offices and radio stations came under attack.
Why Salmond laughed all the way to the Budget
Yet no part of that knowledge softened the blow. The party that had endured through the Tory years, Scotland's natural party of government, had been rejected. Post-traumatic symptoms followed: excuses, anger, recriminations, denial, then a kind of baffled self-pity. Most observers agree that Labour has yet to recover. For nine months, its confidence has been fragile, its sense of direction absent. But somehow, this week, things went from bad to worse. The proximate cause was supposed to be the curious tale of Wendy Alexander's unopposed leadership campaign and its "impermissible" funding. The Electoral Commission and procurators-fiscal, said received wisdom, would be her undoing. All the talk of "renewal" was about to sound silly indeed as another Labour politician was hooked, gutted and grilled.
Rapidly growing cooking-themed social networking website takes Web 2.0 ...
FoodPals.com strives to provide a unique social networking community aimed at bringing together food lovers and cooking enthusiasts world-wide. Kew Gardens Hills, NY: January 15, 2008 Anyone who is looking for a place to interact with other cooking enthusiasts and share real homemade recipes should jump at the chance to join FoodPals.com. Food Pals is a new Web 2.0-driven social networking website that caters specifically to people interested in sharing information related to food and cooking. Food Pals is a rapidly expanding community that is fast becoming a massive network of food lovers and home cooks. Ever since MySpace became a mainstream means for communicating on the Internet, social networking websites like it and many others have proliferated across the Internet as a new wave of Web 2.0 usability.
MARTIN YAN'S CAN-DO ATTITUDE
I always tell people," he says, "that if I didn't have crisis or need in my life, I never would have learned to survive." He's done more than just survive. As the first Asian TV cooking show host in the United States, he has never let up; this year marks the 30th anniversary of his original PBS-TV, "Yan Can Cook." His animated and wacky demeanor has garnered him both a devoted following and a fair share of sarcastic criticism. But his passion, wealth of knowledge and desire for a humble lifestyle has protected him from the fickle, inconsistent nature that afflicts today's generation of food TV personalities. Not all of Yan's projects have met with success - his Yan Can fast-casual restaurants never fully got off the ground. But with his newest PBS series, "Martin Yan's China," a companion cookbook (his 27th) out this year, a series of shows targeted to the Chinese population, and this month's opening of his cooking school in Shenzhen, China, this multifaceted man has come full circle, not only keeping up with the changing culinary landscape in America, but also catering to the masses in his native China.
Cook It: Dungeness Crab Cazuela
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Saut the onion for about 6 minutes, or until softened. While onions are cooking, give mushrooms a quick rinse and place on paper towels. Use damp towel to rub off grit. Slice the mushrooms thickly. Remove onions to a small bowl, add another tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan and saut mushrooms for about 3 minutes, or just until barely golden on each side. Set aside. For the tortillas: Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Place a raw tortilla on the hot surface and cook without turning until you see bubbles. Cook until it has light brown spots on both sides and it is no longer forming bubbles, about 2 minutes. Stack tortillas as you cook them. They do not have to be covered. For the sauce: Place sour cream in a large bowl.
Scalloped potatoes for cooks in a hurry
It's very saucy with a moist, velvety texture that doesn't taste of flour," said one judge. "It also has a faint onion flavor." Another judge detected a smoky flavor in the Betty Crocker brand. "Small potatoes, but big taste," he said. The Classic Casserole mix from GFS (Gordon Food Service) Marketplace was the next selection, receiving 54 points from panelists. Again, two said they would buy the brand. Mostly, they liked the size of the thinly sliced potatoes. "These have a soft, buttery cream taste and nice flecks of herbs," said one judge. Another compared the flavoring to onion soup mix, but said she liked the texture nevertheless. Also sampled were scalloped potatoes byPublix ($1.19 for 5 ounces); Idahoan ($1.50 for 1.5 ounces from Publix); Kraft Velveeta ($1.76 for 10.52 ounces from Wal-Mart); Albertsons ($1.89 for 5.25 ounces); and Hannaford ($1.19 for 5.25 ounces from Sweetbay).
Outdoors by the book means touring by foot and paddle
Tennessean Johnny Molloy likely has a greater appreciation for wild Florida than most Floridians. It's because the Johnson City outdoors writer has traveled the Sunshine State's backwaters and woods by the most primitive means: foot and paddle. Molloy's sense of wonder and marvel at Florida's natural treasures reverberates through the pages of his new book, Hiking the Florida Trail (University Press of Florida, $19.95). From the first chapter, titled "Let It Rip!," the author easily draws readers into his 78-day, 1,100-mile exploration of a raw and beautiful landscape unseen by many living nearby in packed urban centers. Carrying his food and supplies on his back, Molloy, 46, explored the state's longest continuous hiking path much in the way of early native Americans - cooking over a fire, drinking unfiltered water out of lakes and swamps, and enduring rain, bugs and obstructions wrought by the numerous hurricanes of 2005.
Violence Strangles Party-Town Spirit
It's the bloody battles between police and organized crime that make headlines. Since Jan. 1, more than 50 people have been killed in the city, some in wild shootouts that terrified bystanders. In January, police discovered an organized-crime hideout near downtown that included a training center for hit men complete with a soundproofed basement shooting range. Recently, Hacienda Cien Anos, the upscale restaurant that once drew tourists, was identified by U.S. authorities as a front for money laundering. Downtown has been flooded with police and has been largely free of the violence. No bystanders have been killed in the shootouts. A crackdown on corrupt transit cops has resulted in fewer reports of extortion, and merchants immediately report officers who stop tourists without reason, according to police.
Men: Your Valentine's gift guide
We know you'd rather not have to worry about whether your material token of love will be deemed thoughtful enough or expensive enough or "meaningful" enough to satiate our long-held Valentine's Day expectations. And, we know that the whole Valentine's Day thing is a consumer-fueled, mass-marketed tradition that has as much to do with love as a lap dance and four strippers at a bachelor party have to do with marriage. But we can't help it. Just like you guys get all orgasmic at the thought of college football season, we girls get all wistful the moment you hand us a dozen roses and a Hallmark card on Feb. 14. "Had guys their druthers, there would be no Valentine's Day," says Jordan Burchette, executive editor of Maxim magazine online, which has a Valentine's Day gift guide for its readers.
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