Text 20598, 115 rader
Skriven 2012-01-29 13:42:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av GLEN JAMIESON
Ärende: introduced species 146
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 GJ> of possible foreign pathogens.   That the lethal fungi were found near
 GJ> Canberra, where most embassies are located may be significant.
 ML> If the ambassadors were to blame, the fungi would have
 ML> been found along the new constructions of their quarters.
 GJ> My thoughts were that the fungi may have come in on cargoes with
 GJ> diplomatic immunity, and thus avoided the usual Quarantine inspection
 GJ> procedure.  (Visions of ambassadors dancing among the woods, gaily

I'm pretty certain that diplomatic immunity doesn't extend to
personal property or activities beyond what is necessary for an
embassy to function. And it would take more than a normal
examination to screen fungus spores on any sort of merchandise,
which would lead Occam (of whom I have only marginal respect)
to suggest that piggyback among normal articles of commerce
would be a far more likely method of transmission. 

 GJ> scattering their spores to the winds...)

Silly person. 

 ML> Lighters have been banned airside for quite a number of years.

I was wrong on this - the rules now vary considerably and, I
believe, irresponsibly, based on the strength of the tobacco
industry in the countries in question.

In flights in the jurisdiction of and to and from

- China, all lighters are forbidden.

- Japan, most lighters are forbidden, with exceptions.

- Australia, lighters come under the carry-on liquid allowance
and rules.

- the United States, most lighters are allowed, with exceptions.

It remains undocumented whether the lighter that started the
fire was of an allowed variety.

Interestingly, the airline lighter rules vary widely (all are of
course at least as restrictive as the country rules), the most
prominent discrepancy being that Continental allows them and
United forbids them, though they are parts of the same company.

 ML> Apparently not newsworthy. Pity, as the owner of the lighter
 ML> should be prosecuted - as should the security officials who
 ML> missed it.

I still think this, to the limits of Japanese law.

==

 ML> the outfit that was going to harvest cane toads and sell them
 ML> as Chinese medicine?
 GJ> All is quiet on that.  Perhaps a good idea in theory, but falls down
 GJ> on the practicality of harvesting them.
 ML> Unfortunate. But it strikes me that the harvesting should not
 ML> be so hugely difficult.
 GJ> If there were real medicinal properties resulting from the cane toads,
 GJ> the most logical way of obtaining them would by be breeding them.  As
 GJ> that has not been done, the inference is that there is no benefit.

The logical way would be to use up the supply that is
currently available, until it becomes depleted, meanwhile
figuring out what the active ingredients are and then learning
to synthesize them.

There are a number of chemicals that are currently harvested
from animals or plants in the wild. Horseshoe crab and
keyhole limpet hemocyanins are the ones that come immediately
to mind.

Juan's limpet stew
cat: shellfish
Serves: 4

2 Tb olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 lg onions, finely chopped
1 lg green pepper, deseeded and chopped
200 g cooking chorizo sausage, coarsely chopped
1 kg tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped
- or two 400 g tins chopped tomatoes 
3 oz white wine
48 medium-large limpets in their shells
- scrubbed well and purged
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based pan.

Add the garlic and onions and sweat gently for 10 min.
Add the green pepper and chorizo and cook for a few min.
Add the tomatoes and wine and bring to a simmer.

Let the stew bubble away gently for 30 min, stirring
from time to time, so it reduces and thickens and the
pepper softens.

Add the limpets and stir them into the stew. Keep the
whole thing simmering, stirring now and then, for about
2 min, until the limpets start to come free of their shells.

You now need to pick the limpets out with your fingers or
a fork and then toss them back into the stew, along with
any juices, discarding the shells.

Give the stew a final stir, season to taste, then ladle it
into warmed dishes and serve with chunks of bread for dipping.

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