Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band - Merry Christmas Baby

For most people in France who celebrate Christmas, this evening is the big event. We're laying low ourselves as Jojo is rebounding from a nasty bug that left her in bed sleeping for half of the week. Tomorrow (Christmas day) we're having some guests over and I'll be cooking a big goose. It will be a first for me so let's hope it works. I even went out to buy a new roasting pan for the event only to discover that my typical French Betty Crocker Easy Bake Oven is only 42cm wide. The pan itself is 40cm but with the handles, it's closer to 44cm wide. This means I need to get creative with a stove top pan that will barely hold the goose for the first step (steaming) that will occur later today. Tomorrow I'll add in the potatoes to cook in the goose fat along with some chestnuts and green beans on the side.

What's everyone else have on the menu for the big meal? Read the rest of this post...

Online holiday says jump 15.4%

It is such a nightmare to shop during the busy season, so this isn't too surprising. Will it be enough to give the economy a solid boost? Probably not, but excessively high sales increases might suggest another credit problem. Read the rest of this post...

Its Christmas cookie time

As we do every year, I oversee the annual making of the Christmas cookies to be decorated, then hung on the tree. As I've explained in previous years (2006, 2007, 2009) mom got the recipe from an old neighbor, I think, back on the south side of Chicago, and we've made them ever since. They're great cookies, kind of a shortbread, and they last forever - they can hang for weeks on the tree and still taste quite yummy. I discovered a while back that the Germans apparently hang cookies on Christmas trees, and according to the Rick Steeve's show I just saw, the English do too.



Here's the recipe, that I posted a few years ago. You need to find some good cookie cutters too, there are lots of old ones, like the ones we use, on eBay for cheap.

cream together:
1 c butter or margarine
1 c sugar (regular old granulated sugar)

to the creamed butter and sugar add:
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

in separate bowl, mix well:
2 1/4 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cream of tartar

Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients, blend well (on low mixer speed, otherwise it's a mess).

Now comes the hard part. Telling when you have enough flour. Some years, I've had to add a good extra cup (or more) of flour to make the dough the right consistency. Basically, and this is difficult to describe, but the dough should be a nice thick consistency, almost like play-dough (but not as thick as that). It should not be super soft and gooey, it shouldn't really be sticky at all. You want something that you're going to mold into cookies, so it has to be pretty firm to start with.

Once you get the right consistency, chill the dough in the fridge a good hour, to thicken it. Then take it out, spread some flour on your counter or wherever, roll the dough flat and thin (hard to say how thing, really depends on your cookie cutters, but don't go too thin - you really need a rolling pin to do it right), then cut out your cookies. Transfer them to a baking pan (spray the pan), decorate them with colored sugar, chocolate chips, chocolate ants (as we call them), etc. Move any excess sugar away from the side of the cookies, or it will melt and stick the cookie to the pan. Use a toothpick to poke a hole in the top of each cookie (and once it comes out of the oven, poke the hole again) - you'll use the hole to string thread through them, and then hang them from the tree (hopefully above dog's reach).

Then bake 8 to 10 minutes at 375F until slightly brown (possibly longer). Take out, let them cool a good ten or 15 minutes before you try to move them, after several minutes, try jiggling them a bit with your hand so they don't stick to the pan. These cookies last for literally weeks, no kidding. And they won't get gross on the tree.

Read the rest of this post...

The Swedish Yule goat lives!

You'll be glad to know that unlike last year, this year's Swedish Yule Goat in the town of Gävle, Sweden has not been burnt to a crisp. The Yule Goat is a long-time Christmas tradition in Scandinavia (it looks like a bit like a huge Trojan Goat). But another tradition has developed of late where someone secretly sets the giant goat aflame. This year, so far, the goat live. The pic to the left is from Gävle's live goat cam.

UPDATE: I just check out the cam, and check out the guy in the yellow right to the right of the goat. I think they have security there to protect the goat from being burnt! Read the rest of this post...

Wikileaks releases SECRET State Dept cable on Santa's midnight ride

VZCZCXYZ0003
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #9224 1832255
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O P 242233Z DEC 10
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE 4232
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID IMMEDIATE 1978
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME IMMEDIATE 1344
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN IMMEDIATE 7376
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA IMMEDIATE 5616
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD IMMEDIATE 0911
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO IMMEDIATE 3702
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON IMMEDIATE 0440
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW IMMEDIATE 0781
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS IMMEDIATE 0441
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM IMMEDIATE 1599
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL IMMEDIATE
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 WASHINGTON 000541

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ELA
NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH

EO 12958 DECL: 08/03/2028
TAGS PGOV, PTER, SY, LE, IS
SUBJECT: HOW NORAD TRACKS SANTA

Classified By: Pol/Econ Counselor Tim Pounds for reasons 1.4(b,d)

-------
Summary
-------

¶1. (S/NF) Annual yuletide visitor Saint Nicholas (aka Santa Claus) has been spotted in the Far East cities of Tokyo, Manila, Jakarta, and Sydney. According to the radar array at Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Claus is currently traveling across China, and was last seen heading west towards Kazahkstan. HUMINT and ELINT reveal for the first time ever just how the United States NORAD facility tracks Santa's Christmas eve ride. End summary.

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Norad's Silent Night
----------------------------

¶2. The North American Aerospace Command, NORAD, has been tracking Santa's Christmas eve ride for 55 years. While NORAD is silent about just how it tracks jolly old Saint Nick, inside sources report to the Associated Press that the American military agency uses a combination of "ultra-cool, high-tech, high-speed digital cameras," radar, satellites and Canadian Forces fighter jets.

----------------------------
Radar
----------------------------

¶3. (S/NF) HUMINT reveals that the tracking of Santa begins with the NORAD radar system called the North Warning System. This powerful radar system consists of 47 installations strung across the northern border of North America. On December 24th, NORAD monitors the radar systems continuously for indications that Santa Claus has left the North Pole.

------------------------
Satellites
------------------------

¶4. (S/NF) ELINT reveals that the third tracking system is the Santa Cam network. Pentagon sources report that NORAD began using it in 1998, which is the year the put its Santa Tracking program on the internet. Santa Cams are reportedly ultra-cool, high-tech, high-speed digital cameras that are pre-positioned at many locations around the world. NORAD only uses these cameras once a year in order to avoid running afoul of strict European privacy laws. The cameras capture images and videos of Santa and his reindeer as they make their journey around the world.

---------------------------------
Fighter Jets
---------------------------------

¶5. (S/NF) The fourth system is made up of fighter jets. Canadian NORAD fighter pilots flying the CF-18 intercept and welcome Santa to North America. In the United States, American NORAD fighter pilots in either the F-15 or the F-16 get the thrill of flying alongside Santa and his famous reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and, of course, Rudolph.

----------------------------
Probable Short-term Reaction
----------------------------

¶6. (S/NF) The most likely default reaction from the world's children will be one of awe and wonder.

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Comment
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¶7. (S/NF) As press in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere in the region and the world report on NORAD's surveillance of Santa, it will be increasingly difficult for the North American agency to keep a lid on its wintery high-tech surveillance means.

Read the rest of this post...

NORAD is tracking Santa live across the world today

NORAD is tracking Santa, live!



Santa flies over the Great Wall of China, courtesy of NORAD.



And here is NORAD Santa Tracker's Facebook page.

And AP reports that NORAD is refusing to say just how it tracks Santa. Read the rest of this post...

Christmas bonus time

If the spirit moves you, we'd welcome your donation for Christmas bonuses for all of us who write on the blog, and for the moderators (you can use the link below - donations are not tax deductible). As I've been doing every Christmas, I divvy up the holiday donations to all those who help us on the blog. Thanks so much, from me, Joe, Chris and the rest of the gang at AMERICAblog and AMERICAblog Gay. Hope you have a nice holidays.

Read the rest of this post...

Scientists say extreme winter a result of climate change

Yesterday I met a friend who grew up in Paris and I asked him about the crazy winter weather. He said the last time he experienced so much cold and so much snow was back in the 1950s but even then, it didn't arrive until late December if not January. This year, the weather began dropping below freezing in late November. If the scientists are correct, we will be experiencing a lot more extreme weather in years to come.

Meanwhile, it looks like it will be a white Christmas in Paris. We received more snow last night and it's snowing again today.

Some climate scientists believe that the dramatic retreat of the Arctic sea ice over the past 30 years has begun to change the wind patterns over much of the northern hemisphere, causing cold, Arctic air to be funnelled over Britain during winter, replacing the mild westerly airstream that normally dominates the UK's weather.

The study was carried out in 2009, before last year's harsh winter started to bite, and is all the more prescient because of its prediction that cold, snowy winters will be about three times more frequent in the coming years compared to previous decades.

The researchers used computer models to assess the impact of the disappearing Arctic sea ice, particularly in the area of the Barents and Kara seas north of Scandinavia and Russia, which have experienced unprecedented losses of sea ice during summer.

Read the rest of this post...

Google continues with WikiLeaks Android app

Glad to see Google is not backing down the way the cowards at Apple did earlier this week. There's a problem in corporate America if they are going to decide what's legal or not. Maybe consumers and voters can make their own conclusions about politics instead of letting the corporate world dictate what is right or wrong. And again, WikiLeaks has yet to be charged with doing anything wrong.

While Apple severed ties with WikiLeaks, removing an application from its online store that gave users access to the controversial website's content, Google which operates the second-largest online mobile applications store, has kept more than half a dozen apps available on its Android Marketplace that make it easier to access the confidential U.S. government documents WikiLeaks had released on its site.

The two distinct approaches highlight how it is far tougher for developers to get on the iPhone's platform than Android's. Some of the Android programs provide direct access to the WikiLeaks cables, and one of them even alerts users whenever a new leaked document from the WikiLeaks repository is made public.

Read the rest of this post...