Text 21732, 85 rader
Skriven 2009-03-09 08:48:00 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Dale Shipp
Ärende: BULK FOODS 319 90309
============================
 -=> Quoting Dale Shipp to Glen Jamieson <=-

 GJ> Setting acceptable margins of excess can be difficult in many fields.
 GJ> Is a politician allowed to accept a free lunch from a lobbyist?  A
 GJ> free tour?  A million dollars?

 DS> I used to work for the government.  We often had meetings with
 DS> contractors.  In the business world it is common for the host of a
 DS> meeting to pay for lunch and other similar things.  It is forbidden
 DS> for government employees to accept any sort of gift from a contractor. 
 DS> BUT -- if they supply coffee and donuts, the government employee is
 DS> allowed to eat the donut.  But, should pay for sandwiches or anything
 DS> more substantial.

I used to work for the Australian, and then the PNG governments.  In
PNG we mainly dealt with Japanese vehicle manufacturers who were quite
generous in their gifts.  Their culture was such that whenever a
delegation from Toyota, Nissan etc visited PNG, all the top government
people they dealt with were given presents as a matter of course -
watches and other high-tech symbols of Japanese expertise.  Acceptance
of such gifts was sanctioned by the PNG government.  From time to time
vehicle manufacturers sent prototype 4-WD vehicles and trucks to PNG
for testing, as they said the country provided the most severe test
conditions of anywhere, and if a fault was going to appear, it would
revealed in PNG before anywhere else.  As Regional Mechanical Engineer
I was invited to travel with the test engineers on several occasions,
when I coordinated their test program with departmental activities.
Naturally my travel costs were paid for by the Japanese.

On one occasion the local Mercedes dealer came to the party with a
truck that he claimed would be more cost-effective than the Isuzus we
were using.  I put that to the test and it failed dismally.

My personal attitude when offered such largess from commercial sources
was to be polite and accept gifts and travel, but make it quite clear
to the contractors that my recommendations and decisions on acceptance
of supply contracts were based entirely on technical quality, and would
not be affected by any gifts, of whatever type.  That attitude was
accepted by both the Japanese businessmen and the PNG government heads.

 ML> I met someone who admitted that he used the computerized checkouts
 DS> I refuse to use computerized checkouts.

That is something that hasn't appeared here - yet.  Fortunately.
 
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
 
      Title: Hichimi Togarashi (Japanese Spice)
 Categories: Mix, Spice, Japanese
      Yield: 1 Batch
 
      2 ts White sesame seeds
      3 ts Sansho
      1 ts Small pieces of dried nori
           -(laver, a seaweed)
      3 ts Flakes of dried tangerine
           -peel
      3 ts Chili powder (togarashi)
      1 ts Black sesame seeds
      1 ts Poppy seeds
 
  Sansho is Zanthoxylum piperitum, a close relative of Sichuan pepper.
  
  This popular Japanese spice mixture translates as seven-flavor or
  seven-spice mix. It is used in the kitchen and as a table condiment to
  flavor soups, noodles and grilled meats. Proportions can be varied.
  The aroma is of the dried tangerine peel, with a hint of iodine from
  the nori: the taste is somewhat dominated by the chili, but not
  overwhelmingly; and the texture is gritty. Sometimes rape seeds are
  substituted for the poppy seeds.
  
  Grind the white sesame seeds and sansho coarsely. Add the laver and
  dried tangerine peel and grind again briefly. Stir in the remaining
  spices and blend well. In an airtight container, the mixture will
  keep for 3-4 months.
  
  Source: Jill Norman "The Complete Book of Spices"
 
MMMMM
 

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 * Origin: Braintap BBS Adelaide Australia (3:800/449)