Archive for March, 2010
03 27th, 2010
I am just back from New York where everything is possible and something sometimes happens, whereas in London, everything is difficult and something sometimes happens.
03 24th, 2010
The BBC has again exposed child slavery in the cocoa trade, this time on Panorama — http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8583000/8583499.stm
It’s ten years since I first investigated the story which makes up the first chapter of Democracy Kills.
03 23rd, 2010
Two superb, but totally different restaurants in Glasgow. The first I stumbled upon because the Blythswood Square Hotel room was not ready when I arrived.
So lunch at Two Fat Ladies at 118A Blythswood Street, swift, efficient service, the tables slightly too small for my liking, and an introduction into Cullen Skink – a delicious mix between a fish soup and stew, created apparently in the town of Cullen.
And dinner, hosted by the urbane and witty Andrew Kelly of the Aye Write book festival, at the boisterously elegant Osterio Piero at 111 West Regent Street. The Anti-Pasta was light, imaginative and plentiful and my steak was one of the finest I can remember on this side of the Atlantic. I am not sure what wine Andrew ordered, but a good time was had by many for many hours and no headache in the morning — except for one couple who had to slip off early.
03 22nd, 2010
I’ve finally worked out how to get Lisbeth Salander into my talk at the Royal Geographical Society tomorrow.
03 21st, 2010
It is 1868 — In Japan’s exotic pleasure quarters sex is for sale and the only forbidden fruit is love…..
Hana is just seventeen when her husband goes to war, leaving her alone and vulnerable…..
Lesley Downer’s stunning new epic from the Far East is totally superb.
03 19th, 2010
I was on a panel at an illuminating debate at Queen’s School, Bushey near Watford run by the Institute of Ideas and came away very depressed. It was dominated by ideologues seeking conflict. Old style socialists spoke of the British airways cabin crew as an oppressed class of workers fighting for justice. Young men shouted hate against Israel and America. The more hostile the rhetoric, the more applause came from the audience. I hope it didn’t reflect sentiment in most of our schools.
03 15th, 2010
Has anyone heard of Dowload Unlim. It seems they are charging a joining fee to give away copyrighted material.
| Joining Download Unlim is easy as can be with our two-step method. It’s completely secure, and gives you access to our efficient and top-quality download service right away |
03 14th, 2010
To serve between two and four people, have ready:-
A cup of Thai Sweet rice; a large cup of water, just under twice as much; two ripe mangos already cut up; a tablespoon of brown sugar; a can of coconut milk (not a cheap one) a small spoon of salt; two teaspoonful of coconut flavouring; one teaspoon of vanilla; two teaspoons of arrowroot powder dissolved in two tablespoons of water.
To prepare the rice :-
Soak the rice in 1 cup water for minimum of half an hour and maximum of four hours.
Add another ¾ cup of water plus ¼ can of coconut milk, ¼ teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Stir all into the rice.
Bring to a gentle boil, then partially cover with a lid.
Put in medium-low heat. Leave a gap for steam to escape under the saucepan lid. Simmer for in 20 minutes, or until the coconut-water has been absorbed by the rice.
Turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the burner with the lid on tight.
Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.
To prepare the sauce:-
Warm (do not boil) the rest of the can of coconut milk over medium-low heat for five minutes. Add three tablespoons of sugar, stirring to dissolve.
Taste the sauce for sweetness, adding more sugar if desired, remembering that the sweetness will dissolve when added to the rice.
Add scoops of rice directly to the sauce pot and stir over low heat, gently breaking apart large lumps, but leaving smaller lumps/chunks).
Add the mango pieces and gently stir until everything is warmed through.
To enjoy:-
Divide up equally and make sure everyone has plenty of mango and sauce.
03 13th, 2010
Heading for Canterbury to see if works as a location for a new thriller.
03 12th, 2010
I need to correct John Keane’s erroneous use of a section of my book Democracy Kills. In his review in International Affairs he claimed I wrote that since 1989 ‘around 10 million people have died as a consquence of American, British and allied efforts to introduce ‘Western-style democracy.’
This is wrong. That figure was attached to the estimated number that had died since 1989 ‘when Western-style democracy has had an almost free rein to prove its worth.’ I acknowledged it would only ever be a ‘rough guess because of overlaps between war, poverty and disease.’ I went on to say that the figure might not be the failure it first seems, given the numbers killed in the First and Second World Wars, Stalin’s Great Terror and Mao’s Great Leap Forward.
There is a substantive and important difference between what I wrote and how Keane presented it.
