They should be excellent waffles with fresh ground flour.
see what Atlanta thinks about last night's “performance” /s
[From my emails]
23.03.2009
Eurasian Secret Services Daily Review
AIA
Russian secret services linked to cyber-attacks against Georgia
Security researchers from Greylogic published a report which concluded
that the Main Intelligence Directorate of Armed Foces of the Russian
Federation (GRU) and the Federal Security Service (FSB), rather than
patriotic hackers, were likely to have played a key role in
co-ordinating and organising the attacks, The Register writes. More
circumstantial evidence has emerged linking the Russian authorities to
cyber-attacks on Georgia that coincided with a ground war between the
two countries in July and August last year.
The Stopgeorgia.ru forum, which became a fulcrum for attacks of key
Georgian websites last year, uses an ISP located a few doors down from
GRU headquarters. Greylogic reckons the site was added as a front for
state-backed cyber-attacks under the cover of cybercrime.
The StopGeorgia.ru forum was part of a bulletproofed network that relied
on shell companies and false WHOIS data to (a) prevent its closure
through Terms of Service violations, and (b) to mask the involvement of
the Russian FSB/GRU. By mimicking the structure of the Russian Business
Network, a cyber criminal enterprise, it creates plausible deniability
that it is a Kremlin-funded Information Operation.
Greylogic’s study concludes: “The available evidence supports a strong
likelihood of GRU/FSB planning and direction at a high level while
relying on Nashi intermediaries and the phenomenon of crowdsourcing to
obfuscate their involvement and implement their strategy.”
Nashi is a youth group in Russia founded four years ago to counter
anti-Russian and fascist tendencies in the country. The group is
supposedly funded by Russian businessmen, but a pipeline from the
Kremlin is suspected, The Register says.
Long-standing rumours that Russia was behind cyber-attacks on
neighbouring countries were recently fuelled when State Duma Deputy
Sergei Markov claimed that one of his assistants was responsible for
instigating cyber-attacks against Estonia in 2007. Shortly after this,
Konstantin Goloskokov, a “commissar” in Nashi, claimed he and other
associates were responsible for the month-long cyber-assault on Estonia.
The Project Grey Goose Phase II report is a follow-up to an October
report by the same group of security researchers on the Georgian cyber war.
http://axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1784
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/default.stm
Sir Fred Goodwin’s home attacked
The Edinburgh home of former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Sir Fred Goodwin has been attacked by vandals.
Windows were smashed and a Mercedes S600 car parked in the driveway was vandalised.
A group angry at bank executives’ pay contacted a newspaper claiming to be behind the early morning attack.
Police said they were investigating these claims as part of their inquiry, adding that they took planned attacks “very seriously”.
There has been widespread public and political anger over a pension payout worth about £700,000 a year to the 50-year-old former chief executive.
Sir Fred took early retirement from RBS last year after the bank needed a £20bn bailout from the government.
Last month, RBS reported that it made a loss of £24.1bn in 2008 - the largest annual loss in UK corporate history.
snipped
A statement was issued to Edinburgh’s Evening News newspaper on Wednesday morning by a group which claimed it was behind the attack.
It said: “We are angry that rich people, like him, are paying themselves a huge amount of money, and living in luxury, while ordinary people are made unemployed, destitute and homeless.
“This is a crime. Bank bosses should be jailed. This is just the beginning.”
continued.
Bees and ants ‘operate in teams’
Bees and ants are true team players unlike other creatures who seek safety in numbers for selfish reasons, according to researchers.
Scientists from Edinburgh and Oxford Universities used mathematical models to study “swarm behaviour”.
They found that bison or fish want to get to the centre of large groups to keep themselves safe from predators.
Ants and bees worked together as a single unit, and were prepared to die for the greater good of the colony.
The study’s findings appear to echo the insect worlds portrayed in the animated films Antz and Bee Movie, in which the characters live in rigidly conformist societies.
“ In a beehive, the workers are happy to help the community, even to die, because the queen carries and passes on their genes ”
Dr Andy Gardner
In some co-operative groups of animals - known as superorganisms - members are closely related, and work together to ensure their shared genetic material is passed on, the researchers concluded.
In other groups they perform a policing role, for instance in honey bee hives where worker bees destroy any eggs not laid by the queen to ensure the queen’s offspring survive.
Dr Andy Gardner, from the University of Edinburgh, said: “We often see animals appearing to move in unison, such as bison or fish.
“However, what looks like a team effort is in fact each animal jostling to get to the middle of the group to evade predators.
“By contrast, an ant nest or a beehive can behave as a united organism in its own right. In a beehive, the workers are happy to help the community, even to die, because the queen carries and passes on their genes.
“However, superorganisms are quite rare, and only exist when the internal conflict within a social group is suppressed - so we cannot use this term, for example, to describe human societies.”
The findings, funded by the Royal Society, are published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7957834.stm
Published: 2009/03/23 00:06:01 GMT
© BBC MMIX
Chinese use pills to curb gerbils
Chinese authorities are using contraceptive pills to cut down the number of gerbils in a north-western province plagued by the rodents.
Forestry officials are leaving pills by the gerbils’ burrows to try to cut back the rodents’ exploding numbers.
The gerbils, officials say, are threatening the fragile desert ecosystem in the vast Xinjiang region.
Their burrowing in the Gurbantunggut Desert damages roots of the few plants that thrive there, officials say.
Authorities are using the pellets - which prevent females getting pregnant and cause abortion in those already pregnant - disguised as bran feed, the state news agency Xinhua said.
“ It’s a good way to tackle the desert rat plague ”
Du Yuefei forestry official
Use of the contraceptive pills is deemed to be more humane than killing the rodents and, according to officials, have little effect on other animals.
“It’s a good way to tackle the desert rat plague,” local forestry official Du Yuefei said.
More than 180kg (400 lb) of the tainted feed has so far been spread across an area of about 49,000 hectares in the arid region.
Officials had previously installed hundreds of perches for the gerbils’ natural predators - eagles and owls - but the move failed to halt the rodents’ rising numbers.
The scheme has already caused a slight drop in gerbil numbers, Mr Du said, with 11 gerbils caught in every 100 traps laid out for them. Previously an average of 12 were caught in the traps, the AP news agency reports.
If it continues to be successful, other regions in an increasingly arid China may adopt the scheme.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7963836.stm
Published: 2009/03/25 16:21:31 GMT
© BBC MMIX
{I couldn’t help thinking “the communist way, cure any problem with an abortion!!!
Sorry, plain old murder suits me fine, or is it that I am surprised they have not caught and shipped them to us for pets....
granny}
In This Issue:
1. ) Publishers Desk For March 25th
2. ) News From The Home Office: Snow-Capped Mountains...
and a Water Park?!
3. ) AngelaHoy.com: “BEST PRACTICES” FOR THE POD INDUSTRY - Part I
4. ) Letters To The Editor: What Recession?! - Part II
5. ) Feature Article: Use Your Day Job to Break into Trade Journals
By Diane Stark
6. ) Ask The Expert: Ask the Expert will return next week.
7. ) Success Story: It Never Hurts to Ask By Lisa Tiffin
8. ) Whispers And Warnings For March 25th
9. ) Paying Markets And Jobs For March 25th
10. ) FreeBookExcerpts.com For March 25th
11. ) Interview Requests For March 25th
For easier clicking, read this issue online at:
http://www.writersweekly.com/
Back issues:
http://www.writersweekly.com/backissues.html
[Note check #9, several subjects and areas all over the country....
I have read this list about 10 years, for the fun of it.
granny]
Sustainable Agriculture News Briefs - March 25, 2009
Weekly sustainable agriculture news and resources gleaned from the Internet by NCAT staff for the ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service Web site. The Weekly Harvest Newsletter is also available online (http://attra.ncat.org/newsletter/archives.html#wh).
Share The Harvest: Please forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues who might be interested in the latest sustainable agriculture news, funding opportunities, and events.
News & Resources
* Fishermen Create Seafood CSA
* Researchers Evaluate No-till Production for Carbon Sequestration
* Online Training for Food Safety and Marketing of Local Foods
* New Meat Marketing Resources Available
* Video Series to Help Beginning Farmers
* Researchers Study Biomass Crops
Funding Opportunities
* New Ranch Network Grant
* Pennsylvania Dairy Business Budgeting Grant
* Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program
Coming Events
* Hydroponic Growers Conference
* Eat Local Expo
* Illinois Farmers’ Market Conference
News & Resources
Fishermen Create Seafood CSA
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2009/03/18/economy_of_scales/?page=full
Fishermen in Maine have created Port Clyde Fresh Catch, which is a community-supported fishery (CSF). The Boston Globe reports participants sign up, pay a lump sum for the season, then receive a weekly share of seafood caught by the members of the Midcoast Fishermen’s Cooperative. CSFs work in much the same way for fishermen as CSAs (community-supported agriculture) do for farmers, with many of the same benefits. Consumers get the freshest local food, and the money goes straight to producers, with no middleman.
Related ATTRA Publication: Community Supported Agriculture
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/csa.html
Researchers Evaluate No-till Production for Carbon Sequestration
http://www.extension.org/pages/No-Till_Works,_But_Not_Always_Applicable_for_Storing_Carbon
No-till is recognized globally as an ideal means of conserving soil and water while also storing soil carbon, but the agricultural practice may not be applicable under all environmental conditions. Ohio State University soil scientists measured carbon levels in no-till fields throughout seven states and found that soil texture, moisture, temperature, and terrain parameters affected the amount of carbon stored on the soil surface. ‘The message here is that no-till is not applicable everywhere as a means of practicing carbon sequestration. There are situations where other carbon sequestration methods would be more effective,’ said Rattan Lal, a soil scientist with Ohio State’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.
Related ATTRA Publication: Agriculture, Climate Change and Carbon Sequestration
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/carbonsequestration.pdf
Online Training For Food Safety and Marketing of Local Foods
http://www.extension.org/pages/Local_Foods:_Food_Safety_and_Marketing_Strategies
A South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service Web site offers online training (http://extfcs.sdstate.edu/foodsafetysite/onLineTraining/) in food safety and marketing strategies for foods that are grown and marketed locally. The training is a self-paced study that provides content along with follow-up questions to assess what participants have learned. One module addresses critical safe food handling practices from planting to market, and the other concentrates on the organization of a farmers’ market. Anyone interested in learning more about safely growing, producing and harvesting fruits and vegetables and organizing local farmers’ markets can benefit from the information.
New Meat Marketing Resources Available
http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/projects/workteams/LP/livestock.cfm
The New York Small Farms Livestock Processing Work Team announced two new publications. ‘Meat and Poultry at the Market: What a Farmers’ Market Manager Needs to Know’ and ‘Meat and Poultry at the Market: What a Farmer Needs to Know’ cover many specific details on what is required of farmers in order to sell at the farmers’ market.
Video Series to Help Beginning Farmers
http://www.nybeginningfarmers.org/
The New York Beginning Farmer Project, led by a team of Cornell Cooperative Extension Educators in partnership with the Cornell Small Farms Program has released a new video series. The ‘Voices of Experience’ (http://www.nybeginningfarmers.org/index.php?page=goodadvice) series features experienced farmers and their advice to beginning farmers. Topics covered include setting goals, choosing an enterprise, and profitability.
Researchers Study Biomass Crops
http://www.illinoisagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=246&yr=2009
On the University of Illinois South Farms, 320 acres are devoted to the largest biofuels research farm in the U.S., growing crops that could be used to produce renewable energy. Last year the farm planted miscanthus, switchgrass, corn, and restored prairie as bioenergy crops. The goal is to compare insect and disease challenges, environmental benefits, economic opportunities and potential energy per acre of each. Long term, the Energy Farm will conduct research projects on many more potential biofuel crops, reports Illinois Ag Connection.
Related ATTRA Publication: Switchgrass as a Bioenergy Crop
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/switchgrass.html
More Breaking News (http://attra.ncat.org/news/)
Funding Opportunities
New Ranch Network Grant
http://newranch.net/NRN_Small_Grants/index.html
The New Ranch Network Small Grants Program provides assistance to landowners, associations and communities in making changes through collaboration. The project or activity must involve Forest Service permittees or Forest Service lands, or involve water related projects east of the Rio Grande in NM or TX. Grants range in size from $1,000 to $5,000.
Pennsylvania Dairy Business Budgeting Grant
http://www.centerfordairyexcellence.org/index.php/business-budgeting-grants.html
To assist dairy farms struggling to manage cash flow in a cash-negative milk sales environment, the Center for Dairy Excellence is offering forty $1,500 “Cash Projection and Business Budgeting” grants. The grants were made available as an initiative of the Pennsylvania Dairy Task Force’s Business Management Committee. Any Pennsylvania dairy farm that is not already doing comprehensive cash projection and business budgeting can apply to receive the grants.
Proposals are due May 1, 2009.
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/beginningfarmerandrancher.cfm
The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) provides resources to support the development of education, outreach, curricula, workshops, educational teams, training, and technical assistance programs to assist beginning farmers and ranchers in the United States and its territories in entering, establishing, building and managing successful farm and ranch enterprises. This program will also provide a cooperative agreement to an online electronic and library clearinghouse to provide associated support to individually funded projects, educational enhancement projects and the overall BFRDP program.
Proposals are due May 13, 2009.
More Funding Opportunities (http://attra.ncat.org/funding/)
Coming Events
Hydroponic Grower’s Conference
http://www.cropking.com/conference.shtml
April 2-4, 2009
Dover, Delaware
Through a series of specifically-focused seminar tracks, this 25th anniversary conference will present the information that you need, no matter where you are on the growing learning curve. This Conference is designed to present you with new technology, as well as acquaint you with the fundamental basics of controlled environmental growing.
Eat Local Expo
http://www.kcfoodcircle.org/events/
April 4, 2009
Independence, Missouri
Kansas City Food Circle presents its 11th annual exhibition of farmers. The event, which is being held in two different locations on consecutive weeks, includes a free workshop on how to buy local, and the opportunity to enroll in CSA programs and buy local produce, meat, eggs and garden seedlings.
Illinois Farmers’ Market Conference
http://www.agr.state.il.us/marketing/reservations/
March 31, April 7, & April 9, 2009
Springfield, Mt. Vernon & Sycamore, Illinois
A series of three meetings are being offered to individuals involved with specialty crop production and farmers’ markets. Topics will include market issues and resources for market managers and vendors.
More Events (http://attra.ncat.org/calendar/)
New & Updated Publications
Agriculture, Climate Change and Carbon Sequestration
http://attra.ncat.org/calendar/new_pubs.php/2009/01/27/agriculture_climate_change_and_carbon_se
Equipo para Producción Aviar Alternativa
http://attra.ncat.org/calendar/new_pubs.php/2009/01/09/equipo_para_produccion_aviar_alternativa
Organic Poultry Production in the United States
http://attra.ncat.org/calendar/new_pubs.php/2008/12/31/organic_poultry_production_in_the_united
Question of the Week
What are some resources for spelt production?
http://attra.ncat.org/calendar/question.php/2009/03/23/what_are_some_resources_for_spelt_produc
Website of the Week
Farm Aid’s Farmer Resource Network Web
http://attra.ncat.org/wow/
Ask a Sustainable Agriculture Expert
Submit questions to our professional staff online
http://attra.ncat.org/ask.php
ATTRA Spanish Newsletter
Subscribe to Cosecha Mensual (http://attra.ncat.org/espanol/boletin.php)
(Monthly Harvest), ATTRA’s Spanish-language e-newsletter
Subscribe to the Weekly Harvest
(http://visitor.roving.com/optin.jsp?m=1011223551022&ea=)
Comments? Questions? Go to http://www.attra.ncat.org/management/contact.html.
Weekly Harvest and ATTRAnews Archives Available Online
(http://attra.ncat.org/newsletter/archives.html)
Digital versions of recent Weekly Harvest and ATTRAnews newsletters are available online. ATTRAnews is the newsletter of ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
(http://attra.ncat.org/)
ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service (http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/index.html). Visit the NCAT Web site (http://www.ncat.org/sarc_current.php) for more information on our sustainable agriculture projects.
Copyright 2009 NCAT
EARLY BLIGHT, POTATO - CANADA: NEW STRAINS
******************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Tue 17 Mar 2009
Source: Manitoba Co-operator [edited]
http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=97433&PC=FBC&issue=03172009
Potato blight develops fungicide resistance
“Initial results confirm that mutant strains are widespread in
Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario, which is not surprising given the
widespread distribution of mutants in the United States,” said Rick
Peters, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. “To date, PEI is the only
area that we’ve surveyed where all samples were still sensitive to
strobilurins, likely due to the less frequent use of strobilurins in
this province.”
“We’re putting our heads in the sand if we ignore this growing
issue,” said potato pest specialist Tracy Shinners-Carnelley of
Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. “When the risk for
early blight is high, use the available tools appropriately in a
planned program. And if strobilurins are part of that program, they
must be tank mixed with a protectant fungicide.”
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
promed@promedmail.org
[Early blight of potato and tomato is caused by the fungus
_Alternaria solani_. It causes leaf spots and tuber blight on potato,
and leaf spots, fruit rot, and stem lesions on tomato. The disease
can occur over a wide range of climatic conditions and can result in
complete defoliation and severe yield losses. The pathogen often
causes no visible symptoms until plants approach maturity. It is
spread with infected plant material (including tubers, transplants
and seed), by mechanical means, wind, and rain. Solanaceous weeds and
volunteer crop plants may serve as pathogen reservoirs. Disease
management includes use of certified clean propagation material,
fungicides, crop rotation, and use of cultivars with reduced
susceptibility.
Strobilurins are strongly antifungal agents produced by fungi. Being
derived from natural products, strobilurins are considered
environmentally safe. Like several other fungicide classes, they have
single-site activity and therefore pathogens must be expected to
develop resistance or tolerance over time.
The finding that many strains of _A. solani_ with increased tolerance
levels to this important group of fungal control agents have emerged
is of major concern to potato and tomato industries worldwide.
Furthermore, it highlights the importance of rotating or mixing
chemical classes for management of all fungal pathogens, as suggested
above, to reduce the risk of resistant strains emerging.
Maps
Canada:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/canada_pol_1986.gif and
http://healthmap.org/promed/en?v=55.4,-101.9,4
Pictures of early blight
On potato leaf:
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/plantsci/hortcrop/pp1084-4.gif
On potato tubers:
On tomato fruit:
Links
Early blight fact sheets (with pictures):
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Potato_EarlyBlt.htm
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1052/ANR-1052.pdf
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3101.html and
http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/gudmesta/lateblight/basic_frame3.htm
Management of potato diseases including early blight:
http://archives.eppo.org/EPPOStandards/PP2_GPP/pp2-02-e.doc
_A. solani_ taxonomy:
http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=444460
Information on strobilurins:
http://www.answers.com/topic/strobilurin
http://grounds-mag.com/mag/grounds_maintenance_strobilurin_fungicides_natures/index.html
and
http://www.ibwf.de/ibwf_his&act_en.htm
- Mod.DHA]
[see also:
Blight & undiagnosed disease, potato, chilli - Bhutan 20090211.0612
Leaf blight, potato - Bangladesh: (KH) 20090121.0255
2008
HEPTACHLOR CONTAMINATION, FRUIT - CHINA
***************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Mon 23 Mar 2009
Source: FreshPlaza, Central Asian News report [edited]
http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=40487
Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture: Chinese fruits contain heptachlor
The ministry ordered state inspectors to tighten phytosanitary
quarantine control over Chinese products, to take action in order to
secure the Kazakh market from such products.
The reason for such measures is detection of heptachlor, a health
damaging pesticide, in fruits such as lemons, mandarins, nuts, and
oranges imported from China. This pesticide is used in agriculture
for insect pest control and can cause serious damage to human health.
Heptachlor is a manufactured chemical and doesn’t occur naturally.
Heptachlor was used extensively in the past for killing insects in
homes, buildings, and on food crops. These uses stopped in 1988.
Currently it can only be used for fire ant control in underground
power transformers. Products with heptachlor should be destroyed.
Maral Rakhimzhanova, expert of Sanitary and Epidemiological
Inspection of Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan, said: “Last year
[2008], when heptachlor was detected in Chinese fruits, they were
sent to Health Inspection Services, which confirmed the fact. All
regions were required to check all production coming from China.
Chief sanitary officer sent a letter to all regions with request to
forbid import of Chinese fruits, and 25 tons of Chinese fruits were
sent back to China.”
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Susan Baekeland
[Heptachlor is an insecticide similar to chlordane. However there is
no reliable information on human exposure. In animals there is
evidence of liver damage, hyperexcitability, and fertility decreases.
Lifetime exposures and very high levels have shown liver failure in
animals, but similar evidence does not exist in humans. - Mod.TG]
........................................tg/mj/jw
Speaking of fresh ground flour.....
I wanted to post a review of a whole wheat bread recipe. I am SO happy with the results - both loaves are now gone and I only made them the day before yesterday!
I believe this recipe was posted here, by granny of couse! But I cannot find the post to link to, so I’ll include the recipe here. It’s a long one, but a lot of it is an explanation of the process.
RECIPE:
The key to really great 100% whole wheat bread is to extract the best flavors from the whole wheat and temper the harsh tones that sometimes accompany whole wheat flour. Good whole wheat bread has an almost nutty taste without a bitter aftertaste. A long fermentation gives the yeast a chance to produce its own flavors and convert the starch to sugar. By refrigerating the dough overnight, you can make excellent 100% whole wheat bread.
This is one of our favorite bread recipes. Yeasts perform differently at low temperatures. In this recipe, the dough is mixed the day before and refrigerated. The acids and enzymes produced by the yeast at lower temperatures temper the harshness of the whole wheat and develop wonderfully complex bread flavors. It’s no more work than other recipes; you just mix the dough the day before.
Bakers note: This bread should be very light and fluffy, not dense. The secret of making it so is to make sure that the dough rises fully both in the first rise and in the pans. The dough will fill two 5 x 9-inch loaf pans and should be very soft and puffy before baking. If you let it over-rise, you may see a blister or two in the dough. Poke the blisters with the point of a knife and hurry the bread into the hot oven.
Ingredients 5 to 6 cups fine-ground whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat gluten (optional)
1 teaspoon dough conditioner
1 seven gram packet of instant yeast (or two teaspoons) 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons melted and slightly cooled butter
Directions
1. Place about three cups of the flour in the bowl of your stand-type mixer. Add the yeast. Carefully measure 2 cups room temperature (80 degrees) water. The water should feel cool to the touch. Mix the water with the flour with a dough hook for 30 seconds or until the yeast is dissolved and the ingredients begin to combine.
2. Add the salt, sugar, and butter and continue mixing. Add most of the remaining flour, the wheat gluten, and dough conditioner and continue mixing at a medium speed for at least four minutes adding more flour as needed to reach a soft dough consistency. (It is important that the dough be mixed for at least four minutes to develop the gluten.) The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but will be soft, not firm, to the touch.
3. Once the dough is mixed, place it in a large greased bowl, turning once to coat both sides, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or for up to three days.
4. On the day that you would like to bake your bread, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature—about three hours. The dough should rise to nearly double in size.
5. Once the dough has risen, form the loaves. Coat your hands with flour and gently form a loaf by pulling the dough around itself to create a slightly stretched skin. You may need to coat your hands several times if the dough is sticky. If necessary, pinch the seams together on the bottom of the loaf. Lay the loaf gently in a well-greased loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with the second loaf. Let double again in size, about 11/2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the dough has doubled (the loaf should be very puffy), place the two loaves on a shelf in the top half of the oven, well-spaced so that air can circulate between the loaves. Bake for thirty minutes or until done. The interior of the loaves should register at least 185 degrees when an insta-read thermometer is inserted through the bottom crust. Remove the bread from the pans and cool on wire racks. Let it cool completely before cutting.
REVIEW:
yummmmmm. It’s the lightest whole wheat bread I’ve made yet. The tops were nice and cruncy and the inside was light and fluffy (amazing for 100% whole wheat!) - with a mild wheat taste. Even my son, who much prefers white bread, ate it and loved it. I made toast out of it the next day, and the lightly crispy edges with the still soft center was heavenly! I don’t think I need to practice with whole wheat recipes any longer (other than for other types of bread items, like rolls) - this is the ONE for bread for me.
BTW, the 2 loaves mentioned are probably tiny ones. I’d use small loaf pans or put all the bread dough into one larger pan - might have a little left over. I’m going to experiment to get the right amounts of ingredients to make 2 full loaves. That’s my only negative comment!
California’s State Capitol to get Edible Garden says wife of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Just days after Michelle Obama broke ground for a vegetable garden on the White
House lawn, California’s first lady announced that Sacramento is getting a public
edible garden too.
Maria Shriver announced Monday that a garden will be planted in May in a flower
bed on the east end of Capitol Park in Sacramento.
City Farmer News - Now an Apple Webapp
City Farmer’s webapp can be placed on an iPhone or iPodTouch. Presently Apple has
sold over 30 million of these devices. City Farmer’s webapp is a RRS reader, which
allows readers to keep up with the latest headlines from City Farmer News.
“Web applications - or web apps - combine the power of the Internet with the simplicity
of Multi-Touch technology, all on a 3.5-inch screen. iPhone and iPod touch let you
easily flick through news on Digg, play Sudoku or Bejeweled with a finger tap, and
quickly check movie times, train schedules, and favorite blogs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Complete stories here:
City Farmer News [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102525262230&e=001y6vI-E_m4cGTNhWKKcZhJUTwWZuj8Z63QCIXXnvisEfMBwQ0_6Hh5rpPXODA1ouz7BVd9ZAC6pZJjmqJOHV2rC2sZNmTx7fn34557oU-JTmLQ3Q0NyrmuA==]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Levenston
City Farmer - Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture
Extremist Attacks on Global Food Chain Increase 42%
March 26, 2009
Attacks on the global food chain from animal rights and environmental extremists jumped 42%—from 155 in 2007 to 220 in 2008—according to Arlington, Virginia-based Animal Agriculture Alliance ( Alliance ).
‘Worse yet, claimed attacks on food retailers in the USA from groups like the Animal Liberation Front exploded 377%,’ according to the Alliance news release.
The Alliance indicated that Bite Back magazine was its main source for compiling data on terrorist acts claimed by Animal Liberation Front (ALF), Earth Liberation Front (ELF), DBF, a branch of ALF found in Sweden and the Netherlands, and other animal rights terrorist groups. But independent media reports and state agriculture groups also provided critical information.
The information compiled by the Alliance showed that ALF, ELF, DBF and related groups claimed a total of 640 acts of sabotage, vandalism and arson in 2008, up from 467 in 2007, an increase of over 35%. The overall level of animal rights extremist attacks in the USA on businesses that use animals—including medical research, consumer product safety, pets, circuses, rodeos, fur shops, hunting stores, farmers, ranchers, food retailers—surged nearly 40%.
An even more troubling development is the massive expansion of damages inflicted upon food retailers. Claimed attacks on food retailers in the USA, especially the brand names of McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC and Hardee’s, increased from 9 in 2007 to 34 in 2008, an increase of 377%.
Extremist Attacks on Global Food Chain Increase 42% in 2008
Attacks on Food Retailers in USA Show Triple Digit Jump
http://www.animalagalliance.org/current/home.cfm?Section=2009_0225_Extremist&Category=Press_Releases
February 25, 2009 - Attacks on the global food chain from animal rights and environmental extremists jumped 42% - from 155 in 2007 to 220 in 2008 - according to Arlington, Virginia-based Animal Agriculture Alliance ( Alliance ). Worse yet, claimed attacks on food retailers in the USA from groups like the Animal Liberation Front exploded 377%.
The Alliance indicated that Bite Back magazine was its main source for compiling data on terrorist acts claimed by Animal Liberation Front (ALF), Earth Liberation Front (ELF), DBF, a branch of ALF found in Sweden and the Netherlands, and other animal rights terrorist groups. But independent media reports and state agriculture groups also provided critical information.
The information compiled by the Alliance showed that ALF, ELF, DBF and related groups claimed a total of 640 acts of sabotage, vandalism and arson in 2008, up from 467 in 2007, an increase of over 35%. The overall level of animal rights extremist attacks in the USA on businesses that use animals - including medical research, consumer product safety, pets, circuses, rodeos, fur shops, hunting stores, farmers, ranchers, food retailers - surged nearly 40%. An even more troubling development is the massive expansion of damages inflicted upon food retailers. Claimed attacks on food retailers in the USA , especially the brand names of McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC and Hardee’s, increased from 9 in 2007 to 34 in 2008, an increase of 377%.
Destruction or defacement of property - especially smashing windows, etching windows, and painting (or paint bombing) windows, buildings, vans and billboards - were the most frequently used techniques used by extremist groups in their attempts to intimidate food chain businesses to shut down. The groups also adopted a new unsavory technique this year, using sponges to block toilets and urinals to cause expensive flooding and extensive clean-up.
In terms of terrorist activities, global animal rights extremist groups combined to claim over 600 separate terrorist acts, including:
* arson;
* firebombing autos and trucks;
* paint bombs;
* death threats;
* theft;
* issuing bomb threats;
* product tampering hoaxes;
* vandalizing grave sites;
* acid etching windows;
* gluing locks;
* paint stripping cars;
* slashing tires;
* flooding facilities;
* cutting off utilities to restaurants;
* hacking web sites; and
* damaging equipment.
Extremists claimed responsibility for the ‘liberation’ of thousands of animals during the year, and millions of dollars in damage. Mexico appears to be an emerging center for animal rights terrorism. In 2008, extremist groups in Mexico claimed more than double the amount of attacks than were claimed in the USA .
As disturbing as this news might be, the geographic array of attacks in the USA is equally disturbing. ‘We have seen a significant change in extremist activity directed against the food chain,’ said Kay Johnson Smith, Executive Vice President of the Animal Agriculture Alliance. ‘The numbers of attacks against food retailers in hotbeds of extremism like California and New York were noticeably lower, while attacks in other areas not widely associated with animal rights extremism increased markedly. For instance, the greater Kansas City , KS area appears to be the new home of an ALF cell, with two attacks having been claimed in the second half of 2008, one in Lenexa and the other in Overland Park . An ALF cell in Georgia claimed five actions. One targeted a butcher shop, another hit a meat company and three more were aimed at quick serve restaurants. Further, ALF cells in North Carolina , South Carolina , Utah and Texas all claimed actions.’
‘The message is loud and clear that the agenda of these groups is focused solely on advancing a vegan agenda through destruction and intimidation,’ said Johnson Smith. ‘The fact that extremists are willing to massively increase their attacks on the food chain during a serious economic downturn should cause major alarm for all companies and organizations responsible for feeding people. The exponential escalation of attacks is shocking and disturbing. All companies in the food chain need to be vigilant, enhance their security efforts and be sure to report all incidents to their local police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).’
For more information on securing your facilities, contact the Animal Agriculture Alliance at info@animalagalliance.org or visit the website at http://www.animalagalliance.org.
The Animal Agriculture Alliance, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, is a broad-based coalition of individual producers, producer organizations, suppliers, packer-processors, private industry and retailers. The Alliance’s mission is to communicate the important role of animal agriculture to our nation’s economy, productivity, vitality, security and that animal well-being is central to producing safe, high-quality, affordable food and other products essential to our daily lives.
Source: http://www.agweb.com/Get_Article.aspx?source=RSS&pageid=149362
Dirty Bomb Warning Ahead of G-20 Summit
March 27, 2009
by Ben Quinn
A new government report says that a terrorist attack is now more likely than ever.
After decades of campaigns by Irish Republicans and, most recently, Islamist militants, Britons have become used to the daily threat of terrorism.
But in a warning that the stakes have been raised – and just days before world leaders gather here for the Group of 20 meeting – a warning was given this week that a so-called dirty bomb on a British city is more likely than ever.
The government alert accompanied the launch of a major new antiterrorist strategy that encourages ordinary citizens to offer Britain an additional layer of security.
The new approach aims to train some 60,000 retail, hotel, and service industry staff to recognize terrorist threats. In addition, more resources will go into blocking access to information posted online on how to stage terror attacks.
Most significant, as part of a broader ideological offensive against terrorism and amid growing concern that alienated Muslim youths are being recruited by terror groups, the government will allocate funds for influential groups and individuals in Britain’s Muslim community who speak out against extremism.
The 167-page document, regarded as the frankest assessment yet of the threat facing Britain , asserts that there is a need to ‘challenge those who reject the rights to which we are committed, scorn the institutions and values of our parliamentary democracy, dismiss the rule of law, and promote intolerance.’
The document made headlines with a stark warning that changing technology and increased illegal transportation of chemical, radiological, and biological materials make the prospect of terrorists assembling and exploding a dirty bomb more realistic.
Currently, the risk of a terrorist attack taking place in Britain is said by the authorities to be ‘severe’ – meaning that an attack is highly likely.
Continued and keep in mind, a thereat to Britan is also a threat to the U.S., for the jihadi consider us equally evil.
granny
Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0327/p04s01-woeu.html
Border Patrol Battles Influx of Dangerous Criminals
March 24, 2009
Convicted criminals with various tattoos showing their particular gang affiliation.
New technology helps Border Patrol agents see places they normally couldn’t.
Border Patrol agents are arresting an increased number of dangerous criminals at the border, officials say.
‘We’re talking about major things. Homicides, sex offenders, big robberies, armed robberies—things to that degree,’ says agent Mike Scioli.
Scioli says more dangerous criminals are trying to enter the U.S. — a disturbing yet growing trend along the southern border.
This past weekend, a group of 34 illegals were apprehended by agents near Ajo. Two of them were members of a notorious and ruthless gang known as MS-13. How did agents find out? Finger prints and tattoos were a dead-giveaway.
‘These two individuals, not only did their criminal record prove they were gang members, but also their tattoo affiliations,’ Agent Scioli says. ‘They’re all under 13 as the 13th letter in the English alphabet which links them to the Mexican Mafia, the largest gang running in the US right now.’
Authorities say the gang has at least 850,000 members. Many of them have drug and human smuggling ties, great contacts to have when trying to enter the U.S. under the radar.
In response to this, local, state and federal officials have beefed up security significantly. Just last week, we got a look at what’s essentially an X-ray machine on wheels, which can detect virtually anything that anybody’s trying to hide or bring in illegally.
But these people aren’t coming in through checkpoints and other ports of entry. Many of them are military trained, organized crime members. Last fiscal year, the Border Patrol apprehended at least 60 hardened gangsters in the Tucson Sector. So far this year, they’ve already arrested 25 and the number is only growing.
Says Agent Scioli, ‘It just proves again that these aren’t people coming over for jobs, these aren’t people trying to take care of their families back in Mexico , they’re coming over to cause havoc.’
Source: http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=10057569
Italy Arrests 5 Bomb-makers
March 25, 2009
Italy’s telecommunications police have arrested five people in the southern city of Catania for distributing bomb-making instructions on Internet websites.
The probe originated during a routine monitoring of Internet services by telecommunications police, who found websites alleged to have been illegally distributing information for the building and use of explosive devices.
During the probe, police said they found audiovisual manuals for the building of rudimentary explosive devices, ‘war’ weapons, chemicals, dangerous bacteriological agents and other lethal devices.
The investigations were carried out with assistance from Italy’s Division of General Investigations and Special Operations (Digos) charged with investigating terrorism and organised crime.
The probe extended from the north to the south of Italy and several cities including Rome , Bergamo , Terni and Salerno .
During the searches, lethal and non-lethal ammunition was seized, including two rifles and seven handguns as well as extensive information about how to build explosives and how to tamper with telephone booths.
Source: http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.3139425527
G20 anarchists plan wave of strikes against Canary Wharf and BT Tower
Posted on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 4:03pm
An anarchist group is planning to “switch off the lights” at some of London’s most iconic buildings, including Canary Wharf and the BT Tower, in the run up to the G20 summit in the capital next week, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
Full Story
10 Odd Superstitions About Food
Posted: 25 Mar 2009 09:57 PM PDT
Superstitions can fill peoples lives with a bit of innocent fun, but they can also be incredibly crippling. This is a list of some of the more unusual superstitions that surround food. Many of these superstitions derive from Great Britain, and therefore ultimately found their way around the world through colonization.
10
Hollow Bread
Easy White Bread 1.Jpg
It was once (and perhaps still is) a superstition that if you found a hole in a loaf of bread you cut, it symbolized a coffin and meant that someone was soon to die. If a person found a loaf in this state, there would be days of discussion to guess who it might be that would be stricken down. Of course, these days we are less likely to cut our own loaves of bread, so this one is likely to die into obscurity.
9
Egg shells
Shells 5.Jpg
It was once a superstition that if you did not crush the ends of an egg after eating it, a witch would gather the shells and use them to craft a boat that she could use to sail out to sea to raise storms. This is a very ancient superstition which seems to originate in the 1580s. If you shattered the end of the shell, it would create enough holes to make it useless as a boat. We won’t even go into the logic of how a full-sized human might be able to stand in an egg shell - that was obviously not on the minds of our superstitious forebears.
8
Crossed Bread
Michael Pacher 004.Jpg
This innocent old superstition dictated that all loaves of bread must be marked with a sign of the cross before baking. The idea was that the cross would prevent the devil from sitting on the loaf - and thereby prevent him from cursing or spoiling the bread. The upside to this superstition is that bread rises much better in the oven when crossed - though obviously not from the influence (or lack thereof) of the wicked one.
7
Salt
Salt1.Jpg
We all know of the superstition surrounding the spilling of salt, but here is a slightly more unusual one. It used to be considered bad if you helped another person to the salt - there was even a little phrase that evolved from the superstition: “help to salt, help to sorry.” Salt is such an important part of human life that it is no wonder that it appears so frequently in the history of superstition.
6
Tea Rituals
Tea-8.Jpg
It used to be considered bad luck for two people to pour tea from the same pot. In addition, if you left the lid off the teapot while brewing tea, it was meant to mean that a stranger would visit soon. There were even a series of small rituals you could perform to determine the exact day, hour, and gender of the visitor by means of tapping the wrist.
5
Christmas Cake
Gb Christmas Cake
Superstitions surrounding Christmas are as numerous as Elizabeth Taylor’s husbands. One such superstition says that all members of a family must have a turn stirring the Christmas cake mixture or else bad luck will befall them. Young unmarried girls were especially supposed to have a turn - otherwise they would remain alone for another year.
4
Eggy Luck
P8130013.Jpg
In many parts of Europe, farmers would take a fresh egg into the fields in the hopes that it would bring a good healthy crop. Eggs were also used to tell fortunes - two yolks would mean a marriage was coming up soon, a black spot on a yolk was a bad omen - and an egg with no yolk at all was just about as bad as you could get.
3
Garlic
Garlic02.Jpg
In Greece there is an ancient superstition called the Evil Eye. It is believed that when someone gives you the evil eye, bad luck (usually minor) will befall you. Now you may be wondering why this is on a food superstitions list; the reason is that the way to prevent the evil eye from affecting you is to carry around a piece of garlic. This is unlikely to help you when you are having a night out looking for a date!
2
The Wishbone
Picture 5-11
Before we all sit back on our laurels and laugh at the superstitions around the world that would never afflict us; let us remember one of our own most revered superstitions, the pulling of the wishbone. In Western (especially American and British) tradition, two people use their pinky finger to break the wishbone. The person who wins the longest piece gets good luck and usually makes a wish. We may all say we aren’t superstitious - but this is something we have all done at one time or another which leads us to our last (and equally common) superstition:
1
Wedding Rice
Wedding-Picture-Photo-Shower-Of-Rice-Jurvetson-Pic.Jpg
Throwing rice at a wedding is such a common event that we don’t even bat an eyelid when we see it happening. But what most of us don’t realize is that this a very superstitious tradition with a very long history. The throwing of rice is meant to bring prosperity, wealth, and happiness to the couple. Frankly though, with the amount of money people spend on weddings these days, it would be more useful to throw wads of cash rather than rice.
From:
[This is what you get, with a bargain on baby formula at the little corner grocery, there have been several cases of the stolen formula, involving terrorism funding.
granny]
=== Google Blogs Alert for: stolen baby formula ===
Leader-Telegram Online
The food is in storage while the New Berlin wholesaler is defending a
federal lawsuit that it knowingly bought more than $4 million worth of
stolen baby formula with the intent to resell it. Kaloti’s attorney
Raymond
Dall’Osto of ...
http://www.leadertelegram.com/story-news.asp?id=BJIC03QMJ0V
Leadertelegram.com Front Page News
http://www.leadertelegram.com/
First Impressions » Cat paws & baby formula
By jmehalik
The case itself involves a February 2007 warehouse raid that uncovered
the
many thousands of cans of powered baby formula, which agents believed
were
stolen from retailers. Labels with the “use by” date were stripped off
or altered. ...
http://firstimpressions.theindianalawyer.com/content/?p=165
First Impressions
http://firstimpressions.theindianalawyer.com/content/
ANGIOSTRONGYLUS MENINGITIS - USA (02): (HAWAII)
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sun 22 Mar 2009
Source: KPUA Hawaii News, Associated Press (AP) report [edited]
http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=17462
Rat lungworm patients recovering
[The 38-year-old woman] has come out of the coma caused by rat
lungworm disease enough to respond to friends and her parents. She
has been hospitalized since 8 Dec 2008. [The 24-year-old man] is now
conscious and able to track people with his eyes. He was put in
intensive care in January [2009].
Both remain at Hilo Medical Center, where they are breathing with the
assistance of a machine. The disease is spread through vegetables
containing larvae of a slug that carries the rat lungworm. A 3rd
person who contracted rat lungworm disease has recovered enough to
walk and live at home.
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Brent Barrett
[ProMED-mail thanks Brent Barrett for the follow up report on the 3
patients. The CDC fact sheet on angiostrongyliasis can be found at
http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/angiostrongyliasis.htm
The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Hawaii is available at
http://healthmap.org/r/007B
- Mod.EP]
[see also:
Angiostrongylus meningitis - USA: (HI) 20090106.0046
2008
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