Text 27054, 99 rader
Skriven 2009-08-05 21:05:00 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Michael Loo
Ärende: GOVTS 969  90805
========================
 -=> Quoting Michael Loo to Glen Jamieson <=-

 GJ> It is very tempting to suggest that the Mafiosi would not allow the
 GJ> government to horn in on their most profitable business, as I have
 GJ> read that the Mafia has, or used to have such power.

 ML> I'd be surprised if the Mafia had a great hand in the marijuana
 ML> traffic, as there seems to be so much amateur presence. Hard
 ML> drugs, yes; weed, no. Anyway, the Federal government has some
 ML> animus against the Mafia, so though the municipalities may be
 ML> ineffective, it is by no means a piece of cake for the bad guys.

The weed is illegal, and profitable, so I would expect the Mafia to
have an interest in it, in spite of the efforts of the home gardeners.
I hear about quite large, commercial truckloads of the stuff being
picked up coming across the US borders, so much more must be making it
over safely.  According to a recent "disclosure" I heard, it was the
Mafia that did in the Kennedys, and allegedly H Hoover was under their
thumb, so at least some years ago they had the power.
 
 GJ> These days South Australia is the main marijuana
 GJ> growing state in the country, with the growers easily identified by a
 GJ> dead Ford station wagon parked in an overgrown front yard, and wires
 GJ> by-passing the electricity meter to avoid the huge electricity bill
 GJ> resulting from 24 hour bright lighting for the hydroponic rooms.

 ML> So why aren't they prosecuted for fraud against the
 ML> electricity provider?

They are, of course, when found!  In fact one way of locating these
hot houses is from the police helicopter equipped with infra-red
cameras - when they bother.  The cops then have to pull out all the
plants and take them back to the station for evidence.  When Rudy was
stationed in Adelaide, they took so much stuff from one house that the
Police Evidence Room was filled, and they had to leave it under the
counter.  Visitors to that police station tended to look at the cops
sideways after taking a surprised sniff of the atmosphere.  Some of
the growers act a bit stupidly when indulging in their own weed, doing
things like phoning the police to report that a burgler had broken in
and stolen all the best plants.
 
 GJ> When that "dangerous liquids" rule started, I was in Singapore, and
 GJ> passengers were told that we could buy bottles, etc at the Singapore
 GJ> duty free before flying to other countries, _except_ to USA, India and
 GJ> Israel.  Soon afterwards, India was taken off the banned list.  I

 ML> USA and Israel would have a secondary security screening within
 ML> the sterile area, for reasons unknown to me. I used to have to
 ML> go through up to 4 security screenings to get from the Schengen
 ML> area at Frankfurt to the Red Carpet Club then back to the

I have always found Frankfurt easy, but then I have never left from
there to go to USA.

 ML> Singapore is easier to deal with: the USA-level security is
 ML> just at the gate entrance.

Quick and efficient.
 
 GJ> I think at that last Salem picnic we managed to smuggle some bottles

 ML> Thanksgiving and Christmas, the New Hampshire state stores do
 ML> a great business, and the staties do a great business, and I
 ML> don't know where the confiscated booze goes. Back to the New
 ML> Hampshire stores or into the great maws of the police? It's

How else are the cops going to have a decent celebration at those
times?!

 ML> entrapment on the part of the state and stupidity on the part
 ML> of the customers. But the risk may be worth it now: a 6.25%
 ML> surtax is now levied on alcohol in Massachusetts, effective a
 ML> couple days ago: the tax used to be included in the price; now
 ML> we have to pay that older tax plus the regular state sales tax.

And I suppose the state fathers refuse to listen to your logical
argument that wine is an essential food item, or that you have been
prescribed it for the good of your arteries.
 
 GJ> What is tarhonya?
 ML> It's a noodle dough cut or sieved into little irregular bits
 ML> that are sometimes likened to barley. Partway between orzo
 ML> (KJCJDS thinks they are interchangeable) and spaetzle.
 GJ> Perhaps like risoni, some of which I have?

 ML> I presume risoni are big orzo? Tarhonya are actually a
 ML> bit more irregular than any of the extruded pastas, as
 ML> they're made by rubbing through a coarse sieve or in
 ML> the fingers.

The risoni I have looks very much like long-grain rice (thus the
name, I suppose), and all grains are uniform, slightly flattened, with
tapered ends, 8 x 2 x 1.5mm.  The Italian language recipe on the
packet shows it being cooked as a sort of rissoto.

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