October 3, 2019

The New WFWA (World Feline Wrestling Association) Champion has been crowned

https://twitter.com/i/status/1164933627001671682

In an amazing take down, Muffin the Mauler has ended the reign of the Macho Cat

October 2, 2019

Discover the art of the surimi masters

Odawara is nestled between the mountains and the great Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo.

At the Suzuhiro Kamaboko Village, visitors can experience how the flagship product, Kamaboko, is made.

"Kamaboko, just like judo, is an art. It is of exceptional nobility. A way to value fish." says French Michelin-starred chef, Thierry Voisin, who lives in Japan.

Traditional kamaboko is made of fresh fish. In a few precise movements, the fillets are moved, ready for transformation.

"Working by hand allows us to check the quality of the fish one by one and adjust the cooking temperature and other parameters. The dough will be lighter, which is very important for the texture," explains Kamaboko master, Takashi Nakano.

https://www.euronews.com/2019/09/30/discover-the-art-of-the-surimi-masters-the-chopped-fish-that-s-produced-in-odawara-for-cen

There's a video at the link

October 2, 2019

132,000 descendants of expelled Jews apply for Spanish citizenship

More than 132,000 descendants of the Jews expelled from Spain in the late 15th century have applied for Spanish citizenship under a law intended to make amends for the mass exile.

The law, introduced four years ago, was designed to atone for the “historical wrong” that saw the country’s Jewish community expelled, forced to convert to Catholicism or burned at the stake.

After being extended for a year, the law lapsed on 1 October. According to the justice ministry, 132,226 people of Sephardic descent applied for Spanish citizenship before the deadline, with a huge rise in applications in the past month.

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As well as taking tests in Spanish language and culture, applicants needed to prove their Sephardic heritage, establish or prove a special connection with Spain, and then pay a designated notary to certify their documents.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/02/132000-sephardic-jews-apply-for-spanish-citizenship

October 2, 2019

5 Stories from Europe You May Have Missed

1. Face Off: Local Council In St. Petersburg Replaces Putin Portrait With Sakharov

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That's the situation at a St. Petersburg district council whose deputies, at their first meeting following controversial September 8 elections, voted to ban the hanging of portraits of "active politicians" in their meeting room.

The new rule apparently rules out pictures of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin-backed city governor, Aleksandr Beglov.

"Instead of Putin, they hung a portrait of human rights activist Andrei Sakharov," the liberal Yabloko party proclaimed in a post on Twitter after the September 30 decision.

The party won a majority on the Liteiny district council in the recent elections, in which the increasingly unpopular ruling United Russia party suffered notable setbacks in many races. The decision to remove Putin's portrait was adopted unanimously, as the United Russia members boycotted the opening session.

https://www.rferl.org/a/local-council-st-petersburg-replaces-putin-portrait-with-sakharov/30195174.html


2. Turkmen President Dismisses Once-Powerful Interior Minister

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has fired Interior Minister Isgender Mulikov amid allegations of abuse of power and corruption.

Berdymukhammedov fired Mulikov, who had served since May 2009, during a cabinet meeting on October 1.

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Mulikov's driver was immediately arrested and some of the minister's business interests, which include several restaurants, cafes, and shops in Ashgabat, were confiscated.

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Mammetkhan Chakiyev, a deputy chair of the cabinet, was appointed as Mulikov's replacement.

https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmen-interior-minister-isgender-mulikov/30195163.html


3. Beloved European horse chestnut tree 'close to extinction' warns report

Europe's beloved horse chestnut tree is officially considered vulnerable to extinction, according to a new report.

The tree is among more than 400 native European tree species evaluated for their risk of extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The study found that two fifths (42%) are threatened with extinction and that among endemic trees — those that don't exist anywhere else except Europe — it is 58%.

Pests and diseases are the main threat to these European trees, with the iconic horse chestnut tree being particularly ravaged by the leaf-miner moth — an invasive species from the Balkans.

https://www.euronews.com/2019/09/27/beloved-european-horse-chestnut-tree-close-to-extinction-warns-report


4. 132,000 descendants of expelled Jews apply for Spanish citizenship

More than 132,000 descendants of the Jews expelled from Spain in the late 15th century have applied for Spanish citizenship under a law intended to make amends for the mass exile.

The law, introduced four years ago, was designed to atone for the “historical wrong” that saw the country’s Jewish community expelled, forced to convert to Catholicism or burned at the stake.

After being extended for a year, the law lapsed on 1 October. According to the justice ministry, 132,226 people of Sephardic descent applied for Spanish citizenship before the deadline, with a huge rise in applications in the past month.

snip

As well as taking tests in Spanish language and culture, applicants needed to prove their Sephardic heritage, establish or prove a special connection with Spain, and then pay a designated notary to certify their documents.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/02/132000-sephardic-jews-apply-for-spanish-citizenship


5. Staff At Russia's Main Cancer Center Quit En Masse, Citing Low Wages And Dire Conditions

Russia’s main cancer treatment center has been rocked by a wave of resignations amid complaints about low wages and deteriorating conditions at its wards, in the latest indication of what medical professionals say is a systemic crisis that is endangering the quality and availability of critical care in the country.

At least 10 doctors have resigned over the past two days from the N.N. Blokhin Cancer Research Center, which bills itself as the biggest oncology clinic in Europe, following the publication of a video address from 26 staff members of its childhood cancer institute calling for the institution to reform its management and improve conditions for employees.

In the clip, which was posted to YouTube on September 30, four doctors from the institute decry falling salaries and alleged intimidation on the part of management, and paint a picture of a health-care center that has fallen into serious disrepair.

snip

According to Maksim Rykov, deputy director of the childhood cancer institute and one of the doctors who features in the video, at least 12 of his staff handed in their resignations on October 1 and dozens more are set to follow. He told RFE/RL the walkout may ultimately result in a loss of more than half the entire cancer center’s workforce, which amounts to over 3,500 people.


https://www.rferl.org/a/staff-at-russia-s-main-cancer-center-quit-en-masse-citing-low-wages-and-dire-conditions/30193826.html

October 1, 2019

Naga Munchetty: BBC reverses decision to censure presenter

The BBC has reversed its decision to sanction BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty for breaking impartiality guidelines with her comments about Donald Trump, following a staff uprising against the ruling and enormous political pressure.

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Asked about Trump’s comments on BBC Breakfast, Munchetty said: “Every time I have been told, as a woman of colour, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism.”

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The U-turn over censuring her came after the Guardian obtained leaked internal correspondence casting doubts on public claims about the complaints process made by a senior BBC executive, as he attempted to explain why Munchetty’s co-host Dan Walker had escaped punishment, despite taking part in the same discussion.

The BBC’s editorial standards director, David Jordan, said Walker could not have been investigated because the single viewer complaint which led to the ruling did not mention the male presenter. “The simple fact is we haven’t had a complaint about Dan Walker’s role,” he said in one interview. “The complaint was about Naga Munchetty.”

snip

The original complaint from a member of the public was titled “Blatant political bias from both presenters” and described Walker as “very unprofessional”, with the member of the public making clear that they blamed the male presenter for leading Munchetty into making the comments.

link
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/sep/30/naga-munchetty-bbc-reverses-decision-to-censure-presenter