My Life on this planet.

In the Guardian of 22/06/2013, I read that PM Merkel visited Russia, mainly to participate in an economic forum but her visit almost resulted in a diplomatic problem. Indeed, PM Angela Merkel and President Vladimir Putin were planning to visit the opening of an exhibition of Bronze Age treasures in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. But it seems PM Merkel prepared the wrong speech wherein she wanted to ask for the return of hundreds of pieces of art, looted (stolen) by the Russian army after the defeat of Germany at the end of WWII. In the end, being diplomatic softened the troubles. It is quite impressive someone from Germany wants to ask the return of its art from a country that suffered so severely from Germany during WWII. Millions of people in the USSR were killed by the Germans (although often President Stalin didn't mind as he was equal to Hitler in killing people but because of Hitler, Stalin was regarded as the saviour of his country against an evil German and thu...

Today, I have eaten pasta, more specifically with cheese sauce. Indeed, it doesn't need to be rice during each meal. But in my good tradition, it is vegetarian. While in the shop I saw some macaroni pasta and as a result I fancied macaroni with cheese sauce although that contains normally ham. I replaced the ham with peanuts and pine nuts, red peppers and courgette. I also used tagliatelle instead of macaroni but I kept the cheese sauce. I fried the peanuts, red pepper and courgette pieces in olive oil in such a way the vegetables got a light brown colour. Then I added some pine nuts. To improve flavour, I added a little salt and pepper, dried basil and some cayenne pepper and at the end some pieces of garlic to prevent it from burning too much. At the same time I prepared the cheese sauce (most people know how to do this better than me, thus I don't need to explain). At the end I mixed some pieces of fresh basil leaves and added the vegetables. In the meanwhile, the t...

Today, I like to share another vegetarian meal I eat based on a Palestinian receipt. I bought a can of Medammas, containing fava beans ( or Vicia faba, also known as the broad bean ) and garbanzo beans (or chick peas), water, salt, olive oil, lemon juice and as a secret natural spices (I think with curry as the sauce was yellowish and a little spicy). Can of Medammas Ingredients Can of Medammas, rice, potatoes, green lentils, onion, mushrooms, sprouted soy beans, peanuts, almond nuts and pine nuts, tomato herbs (e.g. pepper and salt, garlic, curry powder). Preparing the meal First, I cut garlic, fried them a little in olive oil before adding rice, some herbs and water to cook until ready. Of course, I also used other ingredients than only the beans in the can, partly because I don't want to cook tomorrow and thus needs a little more but also as a vegetarian I need a mixture of vegetables to be sure I have all necessary nutrients. I cut potatoes into small cubes tha...

In the UK, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists published a list informing pregnant women, their husbands and everyone who is interested what (not) to eat and which products to avoid to prevent harm to the unborn child. Of course, it is a noble thing to advice pregnant women against smoking or drinking (too much) or using pesticides or suggesting to see a doctor before taking medicines to be sure they can't harm the foetus, without exaggerating and refusing even life-saving medicines. The article starts with the notion that for a large part women determine the future of their unborn child and should be careful with certain molecules. They also mention it is a complex matter because often the effects of many individual molecules are not completely known or at what concentration they become dangerous, let alone the effect of the cocktail of chemicals we take in on a daily basis. The article recognises the effects are generally small while some cited studies s...

I return again to abortion using two recent examples to show why abortion can sometimes be merciful and why those against abortion will loose part of the argument if they don't accept reason although it may take a final struggle. First of all, I am against abortion as birth control and people should use contraceptives (such as condoms, the pill or the morning-after pill) if they don't want children, although contraceptives are also condemned by those who condemn abortion. In my two examples people wanted the child but still asked to terminate the pregnancy but the abortions were denied, causing at least one fatality. I hope this will be my last main article about abortion as I am only one person out of millions and billions worldwide who has not much influence and thus it is for society to choose and for more powerful scientists to speak so to educate people in a polite way (although it may further ang...