Alistair has gone, but the stench of spin still lingers

Weapons report justifies war

"UK British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says a first progress report to the US Congress on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq justifies the US-led military invasion to oust former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

After the publication of his report, US inspector David Kay said in Washington that no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq yet, but there is "substantial evidence" that Iraq planned to make chemical and biological arms.

Mr Kay is a US weapons expert who heads the 1,200-strong Iraq Survey Group (ISG) sent to the country after the war that brought down Saddam.

"Kay's report confirms how dangerous and deceitful the regime was, and how the military action was indeed both justified and essential to remove the dangers," Mr Straw said in a statement in London."

Errrrr ... Jack the lad, which "dangerous and deceitful" regimes are we talking about here. Perhaps the ones that mentioned that the sky was due to fall in within 45 minutes? 45 minutes presumably being the time frame in which that Saddam chap could unpack and turn all that nukular material from Niger into chemical arms headed towards Washington, London and Canberra.

Hasn't this 1,200-strong Iraq Survey Group reached the same conclusion the Ambassador for Cuckoo Clocks was already flagging before he was "untimely ripped" from Iraq? Guess it's all in the timing. George, Tony and John needed to get their war on first.

Serious "pants on fire" territory here methinks.

NUDE MESSENGER

NUDEMESSENGER (Flash required ... no pun intended.)

Hi, I was away some weeks and I see the Rants has become a bizarre mix of restaurants and some herobuilders. (No problem, I like this, especially the french fries ones.)

Money makes the world go around, the world go around, the world go around.

Both delicious and healthy

FRIED-EGG SUNDAE

INGREDIENTS:
Ice cream
Marshmallow fluff
Lemon pudding/pie filling (an instant mix works fine)

Scoop ice cream into a dish, then spoon on a generous blob of marshmallow fluff (it will smooth out and resemble an egg white as the air escapes).

For a yolk, add a rounded blob of lemon pudding. Makes one sundae.

Simply Delightful

Hummus-Couscous Loaf

Serves 4

15 minutes preparation time, 1 hour baking time

* 1 cup couscous
* 2 1/2 cups water

* 1/4 cup water
* about 1 teaspoon olive oil
* 1 small eggplant, cut into french-fry sized strips
* 2 carrots, chopped into very small pieces(minced)
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* freshly ground black pepper, to taste

* 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
* 1 tablespoon sesame tahini paste
* Freshly squeezed lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, or 1 1/2 cups water mixed with 1 tablespoon vegetable broth seasoning
* 2 tablespoons egg replacer or potato starch
* 2 tablespoons wheat flour

* paprika, freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

In a saucepan, add the couscous and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover. Cook until all the water is gone, about 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat.

While the couscous is cooking, saute the vegetables. On a large saucepan, spray the olive oil on the pan or brush with a pastry brush. Add the water and heat over moderate heat until the water starts to simmer. Add the eggplant strips, carrots, garlic, salt and pepper. Saute until soft, adding a little more water if too dry. Then turn off the heat.

In a mixing bowl or blender, mix the chickpeas, tahini paste, lemon juice, and vegetable broth. Using a hand blender or blender, blend into a smooth paste. Then add the egg replacer or potato starch, and the flour. Blend until smooth.

With the heat turned off on the large saucepan, add the chickpea (hummus) mixture to the vegetables and coat well. Then add the couscous and mix the vegetable/hummus mixture into the couscous.

Lightly grease a glass bread loaf pan with olive oil. Add the couscous/vegetable/hummus mixture. Press into the loaf pan. Dust the top of the loaf with paprika and black pepper.

Bake 50-55 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve in thick slices with a green vegetable such as cooked spinach, a salad such as lettuce topped with fresh orange slices, and if desired, a bread such as warm whole-wheat pita bread.

Hmm, hmm, good!

"GOTCHA!"

Continuing the new ROTW culinary theme, I note that a new book has just been released.

"How I cooked the books, over-egged the pudding and learned to love Bombe Alaska Iraq", by Tony "Two Hats" Blair.

Here's something he hastily prepared earlier.


The large black border is entirely appropriate.
Expect to see more Ministers in the frame.