Wednesday, October 17, 2018

20: Cool weather brings out the love...


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16 comments:

  1. listener10/17/2018 01:35:00 AM

    As to that last note...
    But since our President has business dealings in Saudi Arabia that he cannot jeopardize, the best interests of America can take a back seat.


    Ah, but the Saudi king earnestly assured Dear Leader that his government had nothing to do with the murder and that, further, he himself knew nothing about it. And naturally Dear Leader, being so pure of heart and trusting, took him at his word. So, there's nothing more to be said. < < heavy irony > >

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    1. It's believable that Kin Salman knew nothing of the matter. It's the Crown Prince who runs things. Evidence says that he wanted the journalist kidnapped and returned to Saudi Arabia. Something went wrong with that plan. Is it possible that the people sent to do the kidnapping turned into rogue killers?

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    2. It doesn't seem likely to me, Bill. Why would it take 15 people to kidnap one person? Why would they need to bring along the tools to dismember the person, and how could they get such devices through customs? No, it seems to have been sanctioned from a high hand.

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    3. The "rogue killers" bit was on the ironical side, of course. These were the people sent by the Saudi government. But to answer your questions, the only thing it takes to dismember a body is the sort of sharp butcher knife you find in almost any kitchen. And as for the 15 people, Kidnapping is likely to take more people than murder.

      But the Turks claim to have evidence that the journalist was brutally interrogated before his death. *Somebody* ordered that, although we don't know who. But a felony (kidnapping) was ordered at the very highest levels. And under US law, if somebody dies as the result of a felony, it's murder.

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  2. And don't forget, Cat, that the big US-Saudi arms sale that Dear Leader is all the time touting does not actually exist. Certainly we don't want to break off an imaginary deal.

    On a happier note, we gathered ginko nuts yesterday; this year's crop is abundant, and the nuts definitely bigger than last year. Preparing them is both laborious and unpleasant, and we won't be sharing them any more with people who don't appreciate the work that is required.

    --Alan

    P.S.: I just priced ginko nuts on Amazon--$18 per pound in the shell (after cleaning), $21 per pound shelled (and probably boiled, from the looks of it).

    And ginko nuts are not completely off topic—when ready to harvest, the fruit outside the nuts is soft, corrosive (ferocious enzymes—wear gloves) and smells like dog poop.

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    1. Heaven forfend we upset an imaginary arms deal!

      Re your P.S.: LOL Completely on topic.

      But, gosh, if they're as bad as that, someone must have had to have been *mighty hungry* to think of eating them for the first time! And I thought artichokes were intimidating!

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    2. The "business" that I was referring to was more related DT's personal business(es). As with Russia, he wants a future there, and they probably have more dirt on him than he has on them.

      Great response about the Ginko nuts, Cat!! :-D

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    3. Cleaned up, the ginko nuts look somewhat like a pistachio nut. I suppose folks way back when were not likely to overlook a potential source of food. One shouldn't eat a lot of them a sitting--they are slightly toxic. But they are a nice little addition to the gruel or porridge. Or soup. To process a lot of them, I suppose they were stirred with a paddle in a loosely-made basket and repeatedly rinsed in a stream. I remember when I was a kid people made the observation that it must have been an awfully hungry Indian who first ate an abalone. And how about sea slugs? Or sea cucumbers? Or dormice (a roman delicacy)?

      Alan

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    4. And have you seen a lobster?!!

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    5. Yes--and they are much more difficult to harvest than ginko nuts!

      Alan

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  3. Science story of the day:

    Meet the Endoterrestrials [Click] “They live thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface. They eat hydrogen and exhale methane. And they may shape our world more profoundly than we can imagine.” So that’s what is going on in that exposure in Oman—I remember hearing about it being used to research sequestration of carbon dioxide.

    —Alan

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