Author: Serkadis

We can’t think of a better green to welcome in spring than one with an adorable name like Lamb’s Lettuce. Of course, this green has many identities and what you call it depends a lot on where you buy it. In France and in most American grocery stores it goes by the name mâche (pronounced mahsh), in Germany it’s called Rapunzel and in some parts of this country it’s called field greens or corn salad, because it’s known to grow wild in corn fields. But today, since we’re feeling in a spring mood, we’re calling it Lamb’s Lettuce and giving reader Richard Freund credit for reminding us how much we love this green in salad. Lamb’s Lettuce (or mâche, or field greens, or Rapunzel…) is unique not only for its delicate rosette shape, but also for its buttery texture.  It’s usually served in salads, but can also be thrown into soup or wilted slightly in a quick sauté with oil.

Richard’s Lamb’s Lettuce and Spinach Salad recipe (submitted for the Primal Blueprint Cookbook Contest) has such a vibrant, green color that we feel healthy just looking at it. In both color and nutrients, Lamb’s Lettuce gives spinach a run for its money. Not only is it loaded with iron and B vitamins, it also contains omega-3 fatty acids. Where raw spinach is slightly astringent and coarse, Lamb’s Lettuce is nutty and velvety. The two balance each other out nicely in a salad, and the addition of bright purple cabbage lends an added boost of color and antioxidants. Richard cuts up thin slices of green apple to give his salad a little sweetness and crunch, which together with the Lamb’s Lettuce, spinach and cabbage creates a new flavor combination that will pull you out of a salad rut.

Lastly, Richard picks a protein to make this salad recipe a full meal. A fillet of wild salmon will further enhance the omega-3s, but grilled chicken will taste great with the greens, too. Richard finishes off this mild and versatile salad with any dressing he has on hand, but walnut oil vinaigrette is our favorite since it enhances the sweet, nutty qualities of Lamb’s Lettuce.

As with most salads, simply add more or less greens depending on how many servings you want. In grocery stores, Lamb’s Lettuce (or mâche) is often sold in 4-ounce bags. It’s delicate and wilts easily, so plan to use it soon after you buy it. This time of year, keep your eye open for Lamb’s Lettuce at farmers’ markets as well.

Lamb’s Lettuce and Spinach Salad

Ingredients (for approximately 1 serving):

• 1-2 cups Lamb’s Lettuce
• 1-2 cups raw spinach
• 1/2-1 cup grated red cabbage
• one quarter of a green apple (skin on), cut into matchsticks
• 1/2 pound wild salmon fillet

Instructions:

Although the salmon can be cooked any way you like, poaching is a quick and easy method. Preheat the oven to 350 degress Fahrenheit. Place the salmon in a baking pan with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.

Cover with foil and bake until done, approx. 10 minutes for a 1/2 pound fillet.

Mix together the greens and apple* (see below), top with protein and drizzle dressing on top.

Walnut Oil Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons minced shallot
• 1/3 cup walnut oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Mix together vinegar and shallot, then whisk in oil until well-blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.

*For a flavorful twist on this salad dressing, omit the sliced apple from the salad and add it to the dressing instead.

Apple Walnut Oil Dressing

Ingredients:

• one quarter of a green apple, cut into matchsticks (skin on)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons minced shallot
• 1/3 cup walnut oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Put apple slices in a blender and pulse a few times to break them up. Add vinegar and shallot, then drizzle in oil with the blender running. Blend until the dressing has a thick, but smooth consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Related posts:

1. 10 Classic DIY Salad Creations
2. Choose Your Own Salad Adventure
3. 10 Delicious DIY Salad Dressings

The Google Apps Marketplace launched a few weeks ago to showcase and sell web applications designed to integrate with the Google suite. There are quite a few interesting apps in there and Google is hoping to reiterate the success others (Apple) have had with app stores. In an effort to bring more exposure to the apps and the Marketplace i… (read more)

Asi es, la escudería Red Bull ha conseguido su peculiar doblete en la sesión de clasificación siendo el piloto alemán Sebastian Vettel el que ha logrado la pole y su compañero de equipo Mark Webber se ha tenido que conformar con la segunda posición apesar de correr en casa.

Justo por detrás de los dos Red Bull nos encontramos al Ferrari de Fernando Alonso que saldrá por la parte limpia de la pista. A la derecha del piloto español nos encontramos con el vigente campeón del mundo, Jenson Button quién estará en la cuarta posición de salida en la parrilla.

En lo que respecta al compañero de Alonso, Felipe Massa saldrá desde una cómoda quinta posición justo por delante de los dos Mercedes Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg y Michael Schumacher. Por otra parte, la depeción del día nos la encontramos en Lewis Hamilton quién no ha podido pasar de la Q2 quedando en la décimoprimera posición (es posible que sus peculiares diversiones nocturnas le pasen factura).

Para completar la lista de los diez pilotos más rápidos del día, nos encontramos a un sorprendente Rubens Barrichello y su Williams F1 en la octava posición y a Robert Kubica y Adrian Sutil en la novena y décima posición respectivamente.

En lo que respecta al resto de pilotos españoles, Pedro de la Rosa ha conseguido la décimocuarta posición, algo muy a destacar teniendo en cuenta que su Sauber no es igual de rápido que durante la pretemporada, y a Jaime Alguersuari en la décimoseptima posición que finalmente ha conseguido entrar en la Q2 y mañana luchará por los puntos y por quedar delante de su compañero de escudería.

A continuación os dejo con los tiempos de clasificación de cada piloto:

1. 5 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:24.774 1:24.096 1:23.919 19
2. 6 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:25.286 1:24.276 1:24.035 20
3. 8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:25.082 1:24.335 1:24.111 22
4. 1 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:24.897 1:24.531 1:24.675 19
5. 7 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:25.548 1:25.010 1:24.837 24
6. 4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes Benz GP Ltd 1:24.788 1:24.788 1:24.884 26
7. 3 Michael Schumacher Mercedes Benz GP Ltd 1:25.351 1:24.871 1:24.927 24
8. 9 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:25.702 1:25.085 1:25.217 20
9. 11 Robert Kubica Renault 1:25.588 1:25.122 1:25.372 23
10. 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:25.504 1:25.046 1:26.036 24
11. 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.046 1:25.184 13
12. 16 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:26.061 1:25.638 17
13. 15 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:26.170 1:25.743 19
14. 22 Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:26.089 1:25.747 15
15. 10 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:25.866 1:25.748 17
16. 23 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:26.251 1:25.777 16
17. 17 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:26.095 1:26.089 16
18. 12 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:26.471 10
19. 19 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:28.797 9
20. 18 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:29.111 8
21. 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:29.592 8
22. 25 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:30.185 8
23. 21 Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:30.526 10
24. 20 Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:30.613 10

Related posts:

1. Jenson Button ganador del GP de Australia 2010 y carrerón de Fernando Alonso
2. Sebastian Vettel consigue la pole en el GP de Japón
3. Sebastian Vettel consigue la pole en el GP de Bahrain

See, you can believe 100% in the absolute exceptionalism of The United States of America AND also care about the fate of the rest of the world. It doesn’t have to be either or…

You are a Model Citizen of the World

You care deeply about the world, and you do everything you can to help. You feel like the injustices in the world are your injustices, and you fight to fix them. You have a deep appreciation for the differences that make up the world. You feel like you have something to gain from every culture and country.

document downloads Courtesy of American Securitization Forum: 

1.  Fact sheet on HAMP changes

2.  Housing rollout examples

3.  FHA refinancing changes fact sheet 

4.  Administration’s housing policy overview

5.  Set of consumer frequently asked questions (FAQs) 

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White House to announce housing aid: sources – Corbett B. Daly – The White House plans to announce on Friday that it will require lenders to lower the mortgage payments of some unemployed workers and encourage lenders to eliminate some principal debt of homeowners who owe more than their home is worth, sources familiar with the plan said on Thursday – Reuters

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U.S. Said to Widen Homeowner Aid, Subsidize Mortgage Reductions – By Rebecca Christie and Kate Andersen Brower – The Obama administration plans to announce programs to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, including subsidies for borrowers who owe more than their home is worth.  The plan, to be unveiled tomorrow, would expand Treasury Department and Federal Housing Administration programs and use funds from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to two administration officials. – Bloomberg BusinessWeek

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Treasury Prepares Principal Reduction Initiative under HAMP – by DIANA GOLOBAY – HousingWire

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read both of these – Larry Doyle at Sense on Cents Blog is not happy about principal forgiveness – 2 interesting posts:
1.  Socialized Housing Manifesto      2.  Barack Really is Going to Pay Her Mortgage

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Principal forgiveness program may offer relief for underwater homeowners – Kenneth R. Harney – has summary of B of A program and administration’s program – Washington Post

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Should Taxpayers Subsidize Underwater Homeowners? – KeithHennessey.com

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Here’s Why Obama’s New Mortgage Forgiveness Push Still Isn’t Going To Work – Megan McArdle – Borrowers in the hardest hit areas won’t get any help – has 6 points – Clusterstock at Business Insider

BANK OF AMERICA SECTION

has details – BofA Principal Forgiveness Plan Bad for Junior Bondholders: BarCap – by DIANA GOLOBAY – …The earned principal forgiveness program announced today by Bank of America bears adverse implications for the payout of certain non-agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), according to commentary by Barclays Capital.  In particular, the program presents a “clear negative” for junior mezzanine and subordinate debt holders, as well as moral hazard risk as borrowers intentionally default to receive principal forgiveness. … – HousingWire

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Bank of America to Reduce Mortgage Balances – By DAVID STREITFELD and LOUISE STORY – … Bank of America officials said the maximum reduction would be 30 percent of the value of the loan. They said the program would work this way: A borrower might owe, say, $250,000 on a house whose value has fallen to $200,000. Fifty thousand dollars of that balance would be moved into a special interest-free account.  As long as the owner continued to make payments on the $200,000, $10,000 in the special account would be forgiven each year until either the balance was zero or the housing market had recovered and the borrower once again had positive equity. … – NY Times

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Bank of America’s New Foreclosure Program is a Start; Now Do More – By Alain Sherter – … Initially, however, the program will cover only two kinds of loans — pay-option and hybrid ARMs. … or now, B of A expects to be able to offer principal reductions to only 45,000 customers nationwide. … – Bnet.com 

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has letter – Loan Modifications Are Evil – A reader explains why – Thomas Brown – After news emerged yesterday that Bank of America will modify delinquent borrowers’ loans via forgiveness of principal, a reader forwarded me this open letter to CEO Bryan Moynihan. I agree with every word. –TKB -  Bankstocks.com

This was from one of David Rosenberg’s daily notes earlier in the week. (Thanks to PragCap for reminding us to run it)

—–

    A good friend, and long-time reader, was kind enough to pass along these thoughts yesterday.  Basically, the stars are starting to align for something really big to happen.

    First, the Shanghai index peaked in August 2009 and had a secondary top in December 2009 (global demand slowing?).  Many emerging markets are all negative year to date.

    Second, gold peaked in the first week of December 2009 (and now breaking down) while the U.S. dollar index (the DXY) is breaking higher (Greece has not been resolved).

    Third, TIPs (ETF) peaked the first week of December 2009 (and just broke to a new four month low).

    Fourth, commodity prices peaked in the first week of January and appear to be rolling over.  Head-and-shoulders top from October 2009 peak?

    Fifth, could we be in for a March peak in equities?  The NYSE new high list peaked six trading days ago.  Recall that a market correction followed in October of last year and January of 2010 following similar peak in new highs.

    Sixth, despite signs of economic cooling in Q1 (around 2.5% growth and half the Q4 pace) and lower inflation expectations, the 10-year Treasury note yield is ratcheting up (in a destabilizing fashion) and devoid of any bearish economic data (for a range of technical/fund flow reasons as was the case in the summer of 2007 — we never said at the Grant’s conference in New York that it was going to be a straight line down).  But in technical lingo, it does look as though the yield is breaking out from a triangle since the December 31, 2009 yield peak — go back to that period in December and January, 3.85% on the 10-year Treasury- note served at least three times to be major technical support — a break of that this time around would mean some serious near-term trouble (the nearby high closing level was 3.98% back on June 10,2009).

Join the conversation about this story »

Heading into the final few days of March, it’s become widely accepted that now the European crisis (which started as an economic crisis in Greece, but which morphed into a political crisis in Germany) is over. For now.

Cumberland Advisors Chief Global Economist Bill Witherell shares the firms thoughts on the matter, and is encouraging investors to realize that things there (economically) are actually looking up:

—–

Of future importance to the long-term strength of the euro is the apparent commitment to form an “economic government” for the Monetary Union, which would promote stronger coordination of economic policy. Should this come to pass and involve effective coordination of fiscal policy and of action to reduce structural impediments to adjustment, it would address the most important shortcomings in the structure of the Monetary Union.
 
Ms. Merkel is leading this drive, pushing for new measures for disciplining countries that persistently run excessive deficits. French President Nicolas Sarkozy seems to be putting the emphasis more on cooperation and coordination. He and all other eurozone leaders except Merkel will resist very strongly any steps that would require renegotiating the Lisbon Treaty. Progress on this issue will not be achieved rapidly, but we are optimistic that the eventual outcome will be a plus for the single currency.
 
One investment implication of these developments is that the headwinds for eurozone equities resulting from the Greek sovereign-debt crisis should no longer be a significant factor going forward. The strength of those headwinds can be hinted at by comparing the year-to-date (March 25th) performance of the MSCI Index for Germany, a -4.29% total return, with the +8.14% total return for the MSCI Index for Sweden, a somewhat similar European country not within the eurozone.  We anticipate the performance of German equities will improve in the coming months.
 
Recent economic data for Germany have been encouraging. Manufacturing orders are strong. The current-conditions index registered in March the largest rise ever (4.6 index points). While the March ZEW investor confidence index eased slightly, it suggests the recovery is intact. Domestic retail sales remain depressed. Fortunately, the main driving force in the German economy is exports, for which the prospects, on balance, look good. While fiscal consolidation in its eurozone partners will depress their demand for German exports, the strengthening global economic recovery and the recent weakness of the euro should be more than offsetting positive factors. The World Trade Organization just released its projection of a strong rebound in international commerce, a 9.5% advance in global trade in 2010, following a 12% drop last year.
 
Our International and Global Multi-Asset Class all-ETF Portfolios get exposure to the German equity market with the iShares MSCI Germany Index ETF, EWG.  The index tracked by this ETF seeks to capture 85% of the publically available total capitalization of the German market. Its largest  holdings  are Siemens (9.62%), the major energy firm E.ON (9.36%), Bayer (7.35%), Allianz (7.11%), BASF (6.94%), Daimler (5.03%), SAP (4.95%), and Deutsche Bank (4.78%).  These are firms that can take advantage of the expected strong advance in world trade.
 

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Is Angela Merkel Motivated By Politics, Selfishness, or Stupidity?
• Merkel’s Killer Poker Game Has Shown How, In The End, The Eurozone Is Simply Run By Germany
• 15 Gold Hoarding Countries That Could Flood The World With Their Reserves

Filed under: China, Etc., Ford

Looks like all kinds of companies are getting into delivering the personal touch – General Motors is actively looking for unhappy customers, Steve Jobs is personally replying to e-mails from Apple users, and now Ford CEO Alan Mulally is delivering a car to a customer in China. To be completely fair, this isn’t the first time Mulally’s trekked from the tower to the front lines with a set of car keys: he delivered the one-millionth SYNC-equipped car to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

This time, however, the recipient was Jane Q. Citizen, otherwise known as a Chinese Ford Focus buyer by the name of Harriet Luo. You can read the tale of Mulally and the far-reaching Focus in Ford’s press release after the jump. Anyone want to place bets on how soon we’ll see Whitacre tossing the keys to a CTS-V Sport Wagon?

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Alan Mulally makes surprise visit to Chinese Ford dealership, delivers car to customer personally

Alan Mulally makes surprise visit to Chinese Ford dealership, delivers car to customer personally originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Mar 2010 08:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article Tags: Headline Story, John McLean

The latest debate on climate science to emerge centres on a paper that suggests humans played no role in the recent warming trend and that El Nino activity is mostly to blame.

But a group of climate scientists say that is false, misleading and that the data has been manipulated by climate deniers.

Central to the paper, published in the journal of Geophysical Research last July, was that the southern oscillation index, which is a measure of El Nino activity, was the most likely influence on global temperatures changing.

The senior author of the report, IT analyst John Mclean, says man has had little impact on global warming.

“The major force seems to be probably the southern oscillation, though you’ve also got to think that maybe that is just an indicator of something else. Whatever’s driving the southern oscillation therefore drives temperature,” he said.

“Figure seven from our original paper showed there’s really not much room in there for man to do anything about it.

Source: abc.net.au

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Google finally updated the Chrome beta channel on Windows after both the Mac and the Linux builds had come out. Google Chrome 5.0.342.8 Beta is the first beta from the 5.x series for Windows. The version number is now in line with the releases on the other platforms. Most of the new features, like the auto translation toolbar, had already been a… (read more)

Article Tags: Alan Caruba

For all those Green morons calling on us to turn off our lights Saturday evening from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM to celebrate “Earth Hour”, this is what it looks like every night in North and South Korea. The North is in the grip of a Stalinist dictator and the South is a thriving democracy.

Like fire, electricity is truly a gift of the gods. It is the difference between the Dark Age and the present age…but not for everyone. Much of Africa is in darkness. too. People who hate civilization and the humans who created it are welcome to live out in the wilderness or in some primitive backward country where they burn dung to cook their meals.

If America doesn’t start building more coal-fired plants, nuclear plants, and other generators of electricity, we too shall live in darkness when the sun goes down. Be warned, the present administration is doing everything possible to make that future happen.

Source: factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com

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Article Tags: Richard North

Click for bigger image
In the wake of the Prefero report, we now have Greenpeace weighing in with a report headed: “Dealing in Doubt: The Climate Denial Industry and Climate Science. A Brief History of Attacks on Climate Science, Climate Scientists and the IPCC.”

It would seem from the warmist obsession with such events that they are hurting grievously. They seem to be devoting far more attention to this issue than on the other side of the fence, where the debate is still largely on the science and related matters.

However, despite our criticisms of the Prefero report (what we know of it), it shines out as a paragon of virtue compared with the Greenpeace effort, which could best be described as a lengthy rant against the Machiavellian machinations of “Big Oil”.

Source: eureferendum.blogspot.com

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It looks like Facebook is looking to do some spring cleaning and is tweaking the language of its privacy policy, yet again. And, yet again, some changes are a bit worrying as Facebooks seems determined to make you forgo any sort of online privacy you’d expect. There are plenty of changes and small tweaks but a couple of big ones have most people talking about, notably enabling third-party sites to access your Facebook data without your expressed consent. Hints of an upcoming location feature,… (read more)

More details are coming out on the rumored Google TV offering. It looks like Google is trying hard not to threaten TV and cable providers and is doing all it can avoid competing with them. This makes a lot of sense: a Google TV device which played online video along with the regular TV channels could prove disruptive for the entire cable and satellite indu… (read more)

The first stage of Google’s ultra high-speed broadband roll out plan is over with the application period for the 1 Gbps fiber-to-home infrastructure project now closed. The company has tallied the final results and the response from communities across the US was very positive, as expected. 1,100 cities and towns applied for the Google exper… (read more)

More and more cities around the world, well, mostly in Europe, are now available in full 3D splendor in Google Earth. The latest to get spotlighted it the German city of Dortmund, which has been recreated faithfully in 3D by volunteers for potential tourists and proud citizens alike. Most of its buildings have been modeled from the city center to the outskirts.read more)

Google has released the latest update to dev channel build of its increasingly popular web browser, Google Chrome 5.0.360.0 dev. The release fixes several bugs but also comes with a brand-new bookmark manager, which is now integrated with the browser rather than opening up in its own window. The dev channel build has also recently gotten a couple of interest… (read more)

Dylan Bickerstaffe’s Exploring Ancient Lands

Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

Daily Mail (Bettany Hughes)

There is not, and has never been, another city to match it. It was a glittering metropolis, home to the most sexually charismatic queen of all time, founded by a man whose megalomaniac ambitions knew no bounds.

It was a buzzing hub that boasted one of the seven wonders of the world, where intellectual geniuses from both East and West met to tussle and debate in a library containing all the knowledge on the planet.

Founded more than 2,300 years ago, and in its hey-day one of the most powerful places in the world, this is now a lost city, most of it buried beneath waves off the coast of modern Egypt.
Alexander the Great: The Greek leader made Alexandria a place of knowledge, discovery and sexual intrigues

Alexander the Great: The Greek leader made Alexandria a place of knowledge, discovery and sexual intrigues

This is the city of Alexandria. By rights, Alexandria should be a household name, as famous as Athens or Rome. Make no mistake, this was a metropolis as beautiful as Paris, as creative as London, as hip as New York and more learned than Harvard.

And yet, as I discovered while researching a new documentary, somehow this amazing urban experiment is just a footnote in history.

Luckily for us, the secrets of this wonder of the ancient world are being unearthed, as archaeologists uncover more and more from its lost treasures.

Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

Egyptological Magazine Site Status

Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes