Even a 2007 calendar will be correct in 2035 and 2063:

You probably didn’t know about this: it hasn’t been a prominent issue in the Left press, and hasn’t gotten much coverage in the mainstream papers either. But for those of you who didn’t know, the Turkish airforce has been bombing Kurdistan for the past two days. Remarkable that nothing much has been said about it by the “left” (one can only imagine what would be said if the jets were flying from Israel rather than Turkey), but there we have it […] Why is it that people who will go charging into political battle behind so many groups in that region, will not do so for one of the most significant stateless nations in the world–even when it finds itself under attack from a regional superpower and NATO member?

What with the manoeuvres of the Western powers over the Treaty of Sèvres, and the more recent imperialism of the Kurds’ variously theocratic or fascist/militarist ‘host’ nations–and ‘anti-imperialist’ pin-ups du jour–selling-out the Kurdish people is an Olympic sport. Could it be that rights to self-determination are not absolute, but contingent on programmatic exactitudes–striking the correct anti-US poses and ritual denunciations of that wellspring of ineffable and malevolent power, the ‘Zionist entity’?

There won’t be any presents or carols tomorrow, but there will be food and a surfeit of fairylights …

Cranberry Sauce
300g cranberries
zest and juice of an orange
2 dessertspoons sugar

Put all ingredients in a pot, heat gently until the cranberries have burst and the sauce thickens.

Sausage Stuffing
6 large shallots
butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
450g pork sausages, skins removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sage, chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
30g soft white breadcrumbs
pepper

Caramelise the shallots with the butter, sugar and balsamic vinegar and leave to cool. Combine with the other ingredients and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes.

Turkey
Roastit Tatties
Roastit Parsnips
Red Cabbage

Pavlova

Invented in New Zealand, no Christmas lunch is complete without a Pav.

4 egg whites
1½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon cornflour
double cream, whipped
raspberries

Beat egg whites until stiff, then beat in the sugar a little at a time until you have a smooth and glossy meringue. Add the vanilla, vinegar and cornflour. Shape into a circle (about 20cm) on a cold, greaseproof paper-lined, baking tray and bake at 125°C for about an hour (the outside should be just crisp to the touch). Cool and cover with whipped cream and raspberries before serving.

Read this? — what a pile of offal.

Mike Hulme is a cunt who spends his time doing social science as director of the Tyndall Institute.

Hulme plays a media game, and is close to the RCP. Hulme is a regular speaker at RCP/IoI events.

Hulme brushes aside the fact that many of the grand claims made in respect of major climate change are actually plausible. Hundreds of millions could die as a result of global warming. He isn’t that arsed — it doesn’t fit into his ideological framework - so is ignored — he couldn’t give a fuck…

The interesting thinkers and writers are those who can address these issues seriously, assess the risks, look at alternative scenarios, and still come away with some sense of hope. Risk assessment does not equate to determinism. Thus Hulme can fuck off and then come back and fuck off again.

Hulme is following a media/ideological agenda, and his arguments rely on straw men (or Worzel Gummidge). He’s also utterly fucking dull. Dull, dull dull.

Hulme is repellent to the point of repugnance. I would ignore him and find something more interesting to read and comment on if it were there.*

* Obviously, it is if I looked hard enough, but I have not got the time nor patience to do so.

P.S. ‘Open Democracy’ sucks big time. Wank big time. Complete shit.