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A group of a half-dozen House members, equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, is nearing completion of wide-ranging immigration legislation similar to proposals by Senate negotiators and President Barack Obama, including a pathway to legal immigration status for 11 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S.
The group intends to unveil the legislation soon, perhaps around the time of Obama's State of the Union address Feb. 12, according to lawmakers and aides involved. It is likely to face strong resistance from many of the conservative Republicans who dominate the House.
Yet its mere existence is a sign of more interest in immigration legislation in the House than has been evident for some time. Group members and others say that, despite the discomfort of many House Republicans with any effort to adjust illegal immigrants' status, they see glimmers of hope for passage of some kind of immigration package during this session of Congress.
"I've felt a huge sea change, believe it or not, from both parties," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., a member of the group. "There are some who will criticize anything no matter what it is as amnesty. There are even some who will label anything as amnesty without even reading a bill or seeing a bill. It's their right to do so. But I think the majority of Republicans and the majority of Democrats want to get something done, want to fix it."
The group has been meeting in secret off and on for years in various permutations, beginning around the time of the last serious effort on immigration in Congress in 2007, which failed in the Senate. They've drafted legislative language in the past but without ever introducing a bill. They've largely kept their efforts quiet in part to shield members from the likely political blowback from conservatives were their efforts to become public, an aide said.
Indeed, the loudest voices from House Republicans decry any efforts aimed at the legal status issue.
"We've been down this road before with politicians promising to enforce the law in return for amnesty. … The American people should not be fooled," Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said this week after Obama and a bipartisan Senate group released proposals promising stronger border controls, a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, smoother legal immigration and tougher enforcement against employers hiring illegal immigrants.
For many House Republicans, supporting immigration legislation that gives a pathway to citizenship carries substantial political risks, since it's a position that would have to be defended to conservative voters come election time. But polls show Americans increasingly supportive of the approach at the same time many GOP leaders believe that the party should confront the immigration issue or risk continued losses in national elections. Obama won an overwhelming majority of Latino and Asian voters in November, which helped seal his victory.
"The immigration issue, it's time to deal with it. I said it the day after the election, I meant it. We're going to have to deal with it," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said last week while answering audience questions after a speech at the Ripon Society, a Republican public policy organization in Washington.
Boehner went on to mention the bipartisan working group, which until then was little known, adding he hadn't seen details. "My theory was if these folks could work this out, it would be a big step in the right direction, so I would think you're likely to hear a lot more on immigration reform on the House side soon," he said.
Democratic group members are Reps. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and Zoe Lofgren and Xavier Becerra of California. The Republicans are Diaz-Balart and Sam Johnson and John Carter of Texas.
"I am optimistic that there are new voices in the Republican Party that want to get this done in the House of Representatives," Gutierrez said.
Other lawmakers have also been in touch with group members, including Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who has embraced proposals put forth by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to offer a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants contingent on enacting strict border controls first.
"I personally believe we should have done this a long time ago. I really do believe it's doable this year," Ryan said in an interview this week with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board.
Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, said he was working to find a way to deal with illegal immigrants already in the country that would be acceptable to a majority of Republicans, such as allowing them a legal worker status without a special pathway to citizenship. "In the House you're going to have a hard time finding Republicans who can support a pathway to citizenship," Labrador said.
Ahead of the release of their bill, the group members are still trying to keep their efforts quiet and several declined to discuss their efforts or membership in detail. Aides said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has been supportive, but regardless of what the group proposes, Boehner is not expected take any steps on immigration until legislation passes the Senate.
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a member of the Senate negotiating group on immigration who was a House member until his election in November, said he's been in touch with former colleagues in the House on the issue.
"There are some who aren't wild about doing any of this, but even those that aren't wild about it are ready to see this in the rearview mirror," he said.
The House Judiciary Committee is to begin hearings next week, and Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said much work lies ahead before it will become clear what kind of immigration law changes the House might be able to support.
"I feel confident the House will pass immigration reform legislation, but whether it's individual pieces or something that fits together in a more comprehensive whole" remains to be seen, Goodlatte said Wednesday.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2013 Capitol Hill Blue


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Statement by the NATO Secretary General on events in Libya
I am shocked by the indiscriminate use of violence against peaceful protesters in Libya. I deplore the loss of life. I call on the Libyan authorities to stop the repression of unarmed civilians.
The people of Libya, like many others in the wider Middle East, have expressed a strong desire for democratic change. Their legitimate aspirations must be addressed. Freedom of expression and assembly are fundamental rights which cannot be denied.
As the Secretary General of an alliance of democracies, I strongly believe that democracy is the only solid basis for long-lasting stability. In the long run, no society can ignore the will of the people, because the desire for freedom resides in every human being.


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Helplessness! It's an awful feeling especially when you want nothing more to do than help a loved one or a special friend but can't. Every part of you yearns to simply reach out and take away the pain, the misery, the unhappiness and your mind screams "it's unfair!" over and over again.
By nature I am a friendly person and while I can hug the world, I tend to be careful who I call my friends and share my internal self. Just like wine friendships needs time to develop into a complementary harmony of flavors.
Once they do begin to develop, there are sure to be many sweet moments and fantastic times that are shared. However, as that famous saying goes "a friend in need is a friend indeed!" and while the sweet moments will guarantee laughter and fun, in my opinion it's the tears of the bitter moments that makes the friendship stronger and durable.
We people are funny beings. We so liberally share our joys and happy moments with the world, but why - oh why - do we hide the sad and bitter moments in a box, lock them up and try to throw away the key? I am guilty of that too. It's hard, I know that.
So when a friend simply shares a difficult moment with me I can relate to the effort they have made to not only share the bitter but to jump over their own shadow and show you that the world is not made of candy floss, jelly beans and dark chocolate.
My friend Barbara is one tough cookie and although we do not communicate day in and day out, I believe we both share a deep respect and understanding for each other. Recently she shared news with me that saddened and all I wanted to do was do something just for her.
The feeling of helplessness set in as I realized my limitations to actually help. I asked her "Barbara what can I do?" Her reply moved me to tears,
"If you lived closer to me I'd get you to cook for me!"
Help can be packaged so simply in theory but in practice, it can be an impossible feat to accomplish. With an ocean between us, not to mention a couple of continents I was not sure exactly how to go about making this wish come true. Well I decided to go with the next best thing and asked Barbara for her address. I'll surprise her one day when she least expects it.
Her words stayed with me the whole day though and I kept thinking what would I make if I Barbara were really here. That evening I prepared this simple and light yet, in my opinion, elegant meal. Just perfect for two friends and a bottle of wine!
The saffron coloring the sauce a vibrant yellow made me realize this was also the perfect dish for Barbara's A Taste of Yellow. I was so lost in my thoughts that day as I prepared the meal that I forgot to display my heart. If you are all wondering where my heart is - I wear it on my sleeve for my friends.
This is the third time I am taking part in Barbara's event A Taste of Yellow, which brings together bloggers to help raise awareness for cancer on a global level and support LiveStrong - Lance Armstrong Foundation.
I hope Barbara will forgive the lack of heart in my picture and still come around for dinner.
Tagliatelle in Creamy Saffron Sauce and Serrano Ham
Printable version of recipe here
400g fresh tagliatelle pasta
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 shallot, finely chopped
Glug of olive oil
1 teaspoon saffron strands, slightly crushed
100ml white wine
100ml vegetable or chicken broth
150ml cream
a few slices of Serrano ham, shredded.
- Soak the saffron strands in a tablespoon of warm broth. Leave to steep for approx. 15 minutes.
- Cook tagliatelle in a lot of salted water until al dente.
- In the meantime, heat a skillet on medium heat, add some olive oil and sauté the garlic and shallots until translucent and fragrant.
- Pour in wine and allow to boil, then add the remaining chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.
- Pour in the cream and the saffron mixture, stir to incorporate. Cook gently making sure the mixture does not boil for 3-4 minutes until it becomes creamy and thick. Toss in the pasta until it is completely with the creamy mixture.
- Serve in deep plates with some Serrano ham scattered over the time and a good sprinkling of fresh crushed black pepper.
The pasta with the creamy saffron sauce is a simple meal but with exquisite flavors. It's the type of meals I love to make when a girlfriend is visiting. A light and easy meal to prepare with a large salad so that there is more time to talk, eat and drink at the dinner table – that to me is a perfect evening. I did not use to many other flavors in the sauce so that the subtle flavors of saffron are not overcast by them. If you like you can grate some Pecorino Romana over the top before serving but in my opinion it's simply perfect the way it is.
Hope you are all having a grand weekend so far. I'm off to a dinner party tonight and will be taking a dessert along. I've been baking it this morning – sticky toffee pudding – and believe me when I tell you there is no better way to spend a Saturday morning. ;o) See you next week with a sweet dessert.
More pasta ideas from WFLH:
Spinach and Caramelized Onion Lasagna | Fettuccine with Spicy Lamb Sausage Meatballs in a Piquant Tomato Sauce | Spaghetti Alla Bolognese |
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2010 Meeta Khurana Wolff unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First


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Last week, when I received a call from the Chief Editor of our regional newspaper, the TLZ, I was fairly stumped to say the least. Stumped but also very pleased. My blog has been picking up a bit of attention in the German news lately and it's helped me land quite a few contract jobs and other interesting projects which are in the pipeline. However, a face to face interview is a first for me.
Thorsten Büker and I met on Thursday morning and we had a lovely and easy chat about how I came around to blogging. Thorsten is an easy-going person who made me feel comfortable the instant we met. Over coffee I told him all about how I combined my two passions – photography and food – into one hobby back in 2006 and how things just rolled on like a rollercoaster from then.
We chatted about my family, my background, how I came to Germany and about Indian food – how it plays a big role on my blog and how the Bollywood Cooking series gives a deeper insight into traditional home-cooked Indian food. I told him it's so different to what one eats in restaurants, especially here in Germany.
We talked about photography and what it means to me. It's more than just taking pictures, it's become a mode of expression for me. Through my eyes I am able to reach out and touch a deeper part of my readers and hopefully get them to "experience their senses". Still however, I am always amazed every time some one compliments my pictures.
I told him how this little space has opened all kinds of doors for me that I would not have imagined walking through four years ago. Writing assignments for magazines, photography jobs for varies Clients and selling my photos and recipes to renowned companies have become a part of life now.
Thorsten then asked me what my dream would be: To meet some of the fantastic friends I have made through blogging over the past three and a half years ago – was my answer. I mentioned a few names of bloggers I have come to love, admire and who inspire me. However, it seemed Thorsten could only remember one of them – Souvlaki for the Soul and mentioned Peter's lovely blog in the article.
So, I'll just make my mentions of those people I have come to respect, love and admire right here:
Saffron & Blueberry
Lucullian Delights
Indian Food Rocks
Passionate About Baking
Life's a Feast
Cream Puffs in Venice
Cannelle et Vanille
Tasty Palettes
La Tartine Gourmande
The list is longer – and space is too short. Each one has played a special role in my blogging life over the past few years. Be it a source of inspiration, learning new techniques and styling secrets or simply activating twin powers or motivation and friendship – blogging has really helped me grow a little more.
The entire article was on the title page of the Weimar section and can also be read online on the TLZ website. I know many are eagerly awaiting this article with their German dictionaries by their side. I have also uploaded a PDF version of the article as it was printed here.
That same evening a photographer from the paper came home to take pictures of me in my kitchen and studio. Trust me it's hard work being in front of the camera and I really prefer my place behind it.
My media page offers a selection of various press mentions, awards and assignments What's For Lunch, Honey? has received over the years.
Thanks to all my loyal readers – all who add a little spice to this blog and bring it to life.
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2009 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First


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Monday, October 17, 2011
Elastic Ice Cream? Yup! It's Called Dondurma
Turkish Orchid Ice Cream - Dondurma...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Nancy Gaifyllia
3 cups of double cream or whipping cream
3 cups of full fat milk
1 1/8 cups of sugar
3 teaspoons of salep (level)
7/8 - 1 teaspoon of golden gum mastic, ground (see below)
1) Grind the mastic: Mastic is usually sold in drops of resin which can stick to the mortar and pestle during grinding. To avoid, freeze mastic for 15 minutes before using and place it along with 1-2 tablespoons of the sugar in the mortar. Grind with the pestle.
2) In a mixing bowl, beat 1/2 cup of the milk with the ground mastic (and sugar used to grind) until completely blended. Dissolve the salep in 1/2 cup of cold milk. Warm the remaining milk in a saucepan over low heat. Beating the mastic mixture at high speed, add the warm milk, then the dissolved salep. Add remaining sugar and cream.
3) Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and boil over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking and clumping. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
4) When cooled, transfer to ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.
One Year Ago Today: Tomato Jam
Two Years Ago Today: Mile-High Apple Pie with Cranberries
Dondurma photos courtesy of Bambi Vincent
36 comments :
- Alicia Foodycat said...
I love that slight chewiness of Turkish icecream! This is a lovely post!
- October 17, 2011 at 1:54 AM
- Ellen Whyte said...
Orchids are lovely to look at and to eat. Love them!
- October 17, 2011 at 2:09 AM
- My Little Space said...
OMG, I can't believe it! Did you make this???? I saw this selling at one of the shopping mall in the city. Expensive but nice! The ice cream doesn't even drip! :o)
Thanks so much for sharing it. Hope you're having great fun. And no more green & blue head along the trip. hehe....
Best wishes, Kristy - October 17, 2011 at 3:55 AM
- A Spoonful of Yumm said...
this is so interesting. love all the information you posted :)
- October 17, 2011 at 3:56 AM
- Katarina said...
This was really interesting to read! Thanks for sharing!
- October 17, 2011 at 6:03 AM
- Kim said...
So interesting. I did not know about this elastic ice cream!
- October 17, 2011 at 7:30 AM
- Tanna said...
I KNEW I was going to love to hear all about your adventures!! Elastic ice cream! WOW! Loving my vicarious travels... tanna
- October 17, 2011 at 7:38 AM
- Rambling Tart said...
How fascinating!! I love quirky recipes like this. :-)
- October 17, 2011 at 7:39 AM
- The Blonde Duck said...
That pie looks so good!
- October 17, 2011 at 8:04 AM
- What's Baking?? said...
Sounds very interesting...if i ever go to turkey, is shall go look for it! lol
- October 17, 2011 at 8:16 AM
- Clint said...
Pretty funny video---but I would prolly slap that obnoxious server. Ha.
- October 17, 2011 at 8:17 AM
It always amazes me the unique foods all over the world -- interesting post, learn something new every day!
- October 17, 2011 at 8:36 AM
- Unknown said...
Oh, I would so eat that up!!
- October 17, 2011 at 8:42 AM
- Diane said...
Just popping in quickly to say hello. Great post I love it. Take care Diane
- October 17, 2011 at 9:30 AM
- Anna said...
Well I DO declare!!
- October 17, 2011 at 10:06 AM
- kitchen flavours said...
So interesting! Have never heard of this before! Would real love to try this! Thanks for sharing!
- October 17, 2011 at 10:07 AM
- That Girl said...
When I was in NYC in 2008 I wanted to try this Turkish ice cream, but we never got around to the restaurant that was selling it.
- October 17, 2011 at 10:23 AM
- Pondside said...
What a performance. I'm no sure that I'd enjoy the texture, but if I ever get a chance to taste it I'll do it!
- October 17, 2011 at 10:40 AM
- Lori E said...
How bizarre is that. I don't know if I want to eat anything with the name of mastic...sounds like something from the hardware store.
Oh there is so much out there that we don't know about isn't there. - October 17, 2011 at 11:06 AM
- David said...
Mary, Well this is something totally new to me! Interesting but I wouldn't have the patience for that 'show'. Just give me the ice cream please! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
- October 17, 2011 at 11:11 AM
- Akila said...
wow...really amazing... just love the post....
Dish Name Starts With K
Akila - October 17, 2011 at 11:29 AM
- Karen Harris said...
What a fun post. I've missed your last few posts due to a shake up over at my blog. Things are staightened up now and I'll have to spend some time over here catching up with you. I can't wait to hear more about your trip.
- October 17, 2011 at 11:37 AM
- Sue/the view from great island said...
Thanks Mary, that's the best laugh I've had all day. I love that you include the recipe. Did you like it?
- October 17, 2011 at 11:53 AM
- Pam said...
Strange - I've never heard of it before. It looks great.
- October 17, 2011 at 1:59 PM
- Juliana said...
Oh Mary! How come I did not have a chance to try this ice cream when in Turkey? So interesting this chewy texture.
Hope you have a wonderful week ahead and thank for this nice post :-) - October 17, 2011 at 3:57 PM
- Arlenesfelt said...
Isn't Turkey fantastic! I loved the post on Cappadocia. We did the balloon ride at dawn and it was unbelievable, just as you said. Never saw this Ice Cream. I do remember in Istanbul a fruity drink that is poured from samovars that the vendors wear strapped on their backs, tipping themselves forward to pour. Also wonderful round rolls with sesame seeds called simit( I think ?) You buy those from guys who have them on wood posts on their heads. I would go out in the morning and get them fresh from the bakery for our breakfast. I look forward to your next posts. Thank you!
Turkey is all around wonderful! - October 17, 2011 at 4:27 PM
- Chelsea said...
This is so incredible! I have never heard of this! Thank you for broadening my horizons.
- October 17, 2011 at 5:24 PM
Highly interesting! Thanks for sharing!
- October 17, 2011 at 9:59 PM
- Claudia said...
This is fascinating Mary. I wonder if I could even replicate this in MN. I do love and wonder at the idea of the wild orchids. MN actually has a wild orchid - showy Lady Slippers in June - but it's illegal to pick them and you wouldn't want to. Dondurma just looks so wonderfully thick.
- October 17, 2011 at 10:21 PM
- Shug said...
Very Interesting...I would love to try it! maybe someday...
shug - October 17, 2011 at 10:36 PM
- Bossy Chef said...
I one day hope to travel and experience the food you post about.... so fantastic!
- October 17, 2011 at 11:02 PM
- Alessandra said...
Wow, you came back from your travels with wonders!!!
Alessandra - October 18, 2011 at 3:51 AM
- Barbara said...
Amazing, Mary. Loved the video. It sure looks exactly like ice cream, doesn't it? I'm going to love reading all about your trip!
- October 18, 2011 at 7:28 AM
Who knew?? Certainly not me!! was it good? fun post :)
Mary x - October 18, 2011 at 7:54 AM
- mari carmen www.elhornodemaria.com said...
Muy bonito!!! me gustaría ir a Turquía un beso
- October 18, 2011 at 10:30 AM
If/when you're ever in NYC, stop by a restaurant called Illili and try their Turkish ice cream! I think you'd like it.
- October 21, 2011 at 8:02 AM


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In a perfect world, our most popular Twitterer might be a brilliant scientist, writer, philosopher or spiritual leader.
In this world, he is an 18-year-old pop star with famous hair.
On Monday night, Justin Bieber surpassed fellow singer Lady Gaga to become the most-followed person on Twitter. As of Tuesday morning, The Biebs had more than 33,333,000 followers, while Gaga was closing in on 33,329,000. Both numbers continued to creep up, but it appeared Bieber was gradually increasing his lead.
Neither had immediately acknowledged the milestone on Twitter. Gaga's latest tweet was a message to fans about her concert Monday night in Hollywood, California, while Bieber's was a plug for a recent Teen Vogue photo shoot.
Based on their respective rates of growth, Bieber and his hordes of Beliebers were projected to overtake Gaga on Sunday afternoon, according to Twitter Counter, but Gaga's Little Monsters put up a fight.
The coiffed Canadian crooner is Twitter's first new king or queen since Gaga dethroned Britney Spears in August 2010. But Gaga still has more fans on Facebook — almost 55 million, compared to Bieber's 50,666,000. (Rihanna tops both with 65 million.)
Twitter's top 10 users (seven of them are singers):
1. Justin Bieber — 33.333 million
2. Lady Gaga — 33.329 million
3. Katy Perry — 31.4 million
4. Rihanna — 27.9 million
5. Barack Obama — 26.1 million
6. Britney Spears — 23.3 million
7. Taylor Swift — 23.1 million
8. YouTube — 22.2 million
9. Shakira — 19.3 million
10. Kim Kardashian — 17.2 million


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By Amanda Lo
Intisar Al-Adhi is a former Leadership in Democracy Fellow at the Institute for Women's Policy Research. The competitive internship program was sponsored through an American university. Intisar assisted with IWPR's Status of Women in the Middle East and North Africa (SWMENA) project in the spring of 2009, helping to prepare for a SWMENA workshop in Lebanon. In an e-mail interview from Yemen, Intisar shared experiences as the founder of All Girls Society for Development, an organization that aims to educate and empower girls in her home country, as well as her views on how the Arab Spring has affected Yemeni women.
IWPR: What has been your experiences and background with women's issues?
Intisar Al-Adhi: I have been working with women in particular and young people since 2003 to plan and implement development programs of interest related to Yemeni women's issues. We also advocate socially and politically for educational issues.
IWPR: I know that you founded an organization in Yemen to help girls. Could you tell me why you started it, and what is the organization's goal and work?
Al-Adhi: I have a great interest and purpose in my life to be an effective leader in society and to do my best in women's development and serve as an advocate for women's issues. I had the opportunity to establish the All Girls Society for Development after receiving a diploma in Management of Non-Governmental Organizations. I am able to apply what I have studied to support development on the ground.
There is also a great need for Yemeni women in development and awareness programs to contribute to the development of personality of girls and increase girls' self-confidence.
All Girls Society for Development aims to cultivate the personality of the Yemeni girl with a desire to empower her and enable her to play her role in society in the most effective manner. This is achieved through programs and activities designed according to the inner potential of the girl. We are interested in education, community development, and youth and awareness.
IWPR: What is All Girls Society for Development's latest project?
Al-Adhi: All Girls Society for Development in cooperation with the Responsive Governance Program (RGP) funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and in partnership with the Ministry of Education, UNICEF, Save the Children, and CHF International, [implemented] the "Back to School Campaign" from August to September 2011. The campaign includes many activities and events to raise social and community awareness about the importance of education in general and girls' education in particular.
The "Back to School Campaign" outreach and awareness successes include:
[Producing] TV clips on girls' education and support from important Yemeni figures, distributing 435 banners (shown in photo above) in 11 governorates, [being featured] in 38 radio programs on 12 local radio stations, and producing a TV program session.
IWPR: How has the Arab Spring affected women's situation in Yemen? What kind of changes has happened?
Al-Adhi: The Arab Spring led to a large increase in awareness about women's issues in Yemen that has not occurred for 20 years. Despite what is known about Yemeni society as a traditional community, meaning the majority adhere to established customs and traditions when dealing with women's issues, the first result of this revolution is a shift in social awareness. We see a lot of men becoming more open-minded. Yemeni men did not find it problematic to encourage their wives and female relatives to go to [public] squares and participate in the demonstrations.
In the recent past, the role of women is beginning to emerge, regardless of the speed of its emergence or the quality. There are signs that women roles are changing. We see women currently leading and participating in the revolution. It is a sign of their ability to take high positions, which has enabled her to break the barrier that hinders equality with men in political life. I consider this as a good indicator that women will have the chance to take leadership positions in the future modern state of the Yemeni people.
Educated women have the most mature understanding of the revolution and are heavily involved in improving women's situations in their respective fields. Doctors work in the field hospital, human rights activists and lawyers work on human rights violations, and political activists work to raise political awareness in tents and through daily lectures.
The Arab Spring has led to positive changes in Yemeni society. It has opened up the horizon and gave an area for women to express her views. We have seen real participation of women in the revolution such as in the planning and implementation. There is a growing trend that men acknowledge the importance of women's involvement in various aspects of life.
However, the Arab Spring also has its downfalls with respect to women's plight. There are women who have lost their jobs because of the change in economic conditions and, as a result, their way of living has deteriorated. In addition, some families have lost their breadwinner due to violence in the demonstrations, such as being hurt by other demonstrators, the killing and indiscriminate shelling of civilians. Furthermore, the fear and anxiety of possible violence, both armed violence or collective punishment such as the interruption of electricity, water, and the insecurity and instability caused by oil scarcity, have worsened their present living conditions.
IWPR: How has your experience at IWPR in Washington, DC, been relevant in helping your work in Yemen?
Al-Adhi: During my time at IWPR, I benefited from the working environment and from working with employees. It helped me identify effective communication methods in a team. I had a wonderful and useful meeting with Heidi [Hartmann, president of IWPR,] who responded to my questions with support and patience. I will not forget when she encouraged me to continue working. I liked the attention towards research and I took advantage of this kind of research that seeks to improve the lives of women. I also learned about the relationship between research organizations and the media. Lastly, I try to add the internship component in most of the projects for All Girls Society programs. I believe that internship experiences are essential in building the capacity of girls and youth.
Amanda Lo is the Communications Intern at the Institute for Women's Policy Research.
To view more of IWPR's research, visit IWPR.org


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Introduction to Webcam Astrophotography
By Robert Reeves.
Product Information: Hardbound, 6 by 9-inches, 368 pages, 156 illustrations and 21 tables.
In the last few years webcam astrophotography has exploded onto the astronomy scene. It has rapidly evolved from short exposure six-bit black-and-white imagery into long-exposure full-color 16-bit per channel imagery of such quality that it rivals "conventional" means of astrophotography. Indeed, webcams have become the method of choice for planetary imaging.
The message of this book is that you too can participate in the digital astrophotography revolution without spending very much money. You do not need to invest $10,000 in a CCD camera, telescope and software. A basic webcam costs about the same as a ""so-so"" eyepiece. Software to control the camera and process the images that will get you going is free. If you have the telescope (practically any telescope that will track) and a computer you are ready. Since you see your results instantly the learning curve is much shorter.
Regardless of how you apply a webcam to astrophotography, you will derive a number of benefits. Working with them has been accurately described as interesting, challenging, and fulfilling. Webcams are capable of producing beautiful astrophotos that create a lasting record of your astronomical experience. The book will guide you into this fascinating topic and allow you to become a participant in this latest wave of astrophotography progress.


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Caroline Picard: This series started for me because I kept hearing the word hybridity — in multiple conversations about different art works or practices, hybridity started to sound like a buzzword. While on the one hand, I know what the word means of course, it also feels like a term that carries a certain amount of baggage. I was hoping to try and identify what that baggage was and, even, pin down (if possible) what hybridity means. Perhaps part of its intent is to remain fluid and unpinnable — as a kind of strategy resistant to traditional power structures — at least that seems to be an element that motivates your own work. Can you talk a little bit about more why hybridity is important to you? [As an aside, I'd add that this interview took place several months ago, at the inception of the Occupy Movement)
Gwenn-Aël Lynn: Hybrid is a word originating from the biological sciences. It indicates the cross breeding of different species or plants, often through human manipulation. However I am using it in the manner that Homi Bhabha defined in the 1990s. So, in my case, it is really a cultural term. I'm actually pushing this definition a little further, because what I'm really after is creolization, a term used, in particular, by Edouard Glissant, a Creole speaking Martinican poet, who, sadly, passed away recently. Where Hybridity is the offspring of two entities (in other words it hinges on a binary system), creolization allows for multplicity, a mixture where the different parts remain autonomous, a place of endless permutation. It speaks of a process, of something in constant flux, instead of just two parts synthesized into one. I'm actually looking for an appropriate translation of the French word métissage, and I think it is really interesting that there is no literal equivalent in English. There are many expressions like "mixed-race,†"bi-racial,†etc. but they all result from colonial racial ideologies, and I simply don't believe that these terms are relevant to today's society. Not that we should stop acknowledging "race†in America, but rather if our language is still predicated on colonial racial terms, we'll never move forward. The mere concept of race is very confining. Meanwhile. the global world is mutating. Therefore I settled on creolisation as the closest meaning to métissage, an intercultural process (and cross breeding by the same token), that granted is a by-product of colonialism, but also gave birth to new languages: Creole(s); new religions: Vodoo, Candomble, Santeria; new ways of cooking: Caribean, Reunionese, Mauritian, Brazilian, Mexican, etc. And indeed these cultural phenomena, over a long history, often occurred under complex power structures (whether under the European Colonial expansion, or the various invasions that have shaped modern day India, or even the succession of empires around the Mediterranean basin.)
CP:Â How does this subject resonate with you?
GAL: I guess I should also specify that I am a hybrid, but not in a racial term, because I have a french mother and an American father (from California) and I grew up between two households, over two continents, speaking two languages. So, I've always had, at least, a dual understanding of the world. In fact, one of the key moments I became aware that I was not simply "French†or "American†occurred while visiting my former in-laws on Reunion Island (A French "Over-Seas departmentâ€(1) in the Indian Ocean) where a local journalist asked me if I considered myself a métis [mixed race] because of my dual origins. I hesitated for a little while before answering "yes.†This answer would not be acceptable in a racially structured society like the United States (because I'm actually not the result of miscegenation, however I am culturally mixed), but on this island, where race relations are differently problematic, it was a possible answer, precisely because the Reunionese revel in creolisation. So when confronted with the North American way of dealing with race, creolization gives me a place that I can navigate, and more importantly where I can meet and share with other people, who are not like me, but who also possess this sense of belonging to a multiplicity rather than a single group or community. This creolized place is not only racially or visually motivated; it is linguistic (for people who command more than just English) transgender, and last but not least, political.
CP: It sounds like your understanding of creolization opens up at that point to include other kinds of mixes — like you say, mixes of sexual orientation, or gender etc.
GAL: Yes, I am naturally attracted towards other hybrids, and discourses, and practices, that embody such identity(ies). And, one of the things that have always disturbed me about the United States is that race theory, discourse, and emancipation has become very inward looking; we have all these very different hyphenated Americans (African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and the list is quasi infinite) but this hyphen does not provide any room for those who belong to more than just one ethnic community. And there are many historical reasons to account for these racial divides (like, for instance, the "One-drop ruleâ€)(2), it is a bit like, indeed we are a melting pot, but the content of the pot never melted. However, we tend to forget that the civil rights movement, for example, even though it started in the segregated South by those very people whose liberties had been restricted for so long. The civil rights movement had only been possible, and became successful by uniting across racial divides as "people.†If you look at pictures from those days you see people from all walks of life — there is a majority of Black folks of course, but you also see Jews, Whites, and in parallel you have Cesar Chavez uniting farm workers in California, and the formation of the American Indian Movement. As a matter of fact my father recalls participating in a protest against a segregated Woolworths in Santa Monica, CA, in the late fifties. Angry racist Whites were throwing stones at the protesters. Yet it's through efforts and sacrifices of this kind that change was enacted. And so, today, I feel that "We Americans,†unlike other cultures that have also felt the yoke of colonialism, like India, Brazil, or Mexico, we do not embrace our creolized nature. And we certainly don't give space to those who refuse to identify as belonging to a single racial, or cultural, and gender category.
 CP: Do you feel like we should try to shed identity altogether?
GAL: Of course not. It is not about: "let's all mingle and become so homogenous that there is no difference left.†Rather, it is about the possibility of having multiplicity within each of us, and to relate to each other while embracing our differences. I think, but I'm not sure, that this is one possible interpretation of what Antonio Negri calls the "multitude.†So it becomes a multitude of multiplicities, the ferment for new democracy. On a simpler level there is a gastronomic metaphor that, I find, illustrates multiplicity very well:
Our preference, for miscegenation as thought, will go to the soup, for it is respectful of its components leaving them intact in a sober and tolerant broth.3
[From the Dictionnaire du Métissage
by Francois Laplantine and Alexis Nouss,
Paris, Pauvert Editions 2001]
CP:Â Where does that leave us now? And why do you think people are so interested in hybridity?
GAL: You know, there are moments when, I feel we are where we are, in the middle of the Great Recession, with a Black president, who is actually a "hybrid,†but who campaigned as a "black†candidate (instead of a mixed-race candidate, because of the "One-drop rule†I was speaking of earlier) and decided to show his birth certificate to answer pressure from the Republicans, because it is in the interest of Capitalism to have us divided like this. Divide and Conquer is an old colonial strategy to gain the upper hand. So if the American people is divided along ethnic classes that makes more cheap labour for Capitalism, because we are not going to get together to fight back. It's easier to blame the Mexican immigrant worker because he is supposedly taking our jobs, or vice-versa to blame the Black worker, or the Unemployed because, as a citizen, he has access to what's left of the welfare system, medicaid, etc. It's easier to blame each other for the situation we are in than to reach out, and try to organize each other across divides, to actually take control and decide for our own fate. It's a lot easier to let a bunch of flunkies on Capitol Hill haggle over the debt ceiling for weeks on end, while it's getting harder for all of us to put food on our plates. And this goes for artists too, we are workers, we are manual and intellectual workers, but we are divided along medium, schools, hell we are divided along race too! And many of us accept to work very hard practically for free. Some of us even put themselves in debt in the hope of finishing a project because we are at a point where there no longer is any viable support for making art. But who reaps the fruit of this hard labour? The art market. Has it ever invested into an ambitious artistic project? Does Sotheby's give back to the community when it scores a big sale? Nope! It lets the local art council support as best as can the making of art, and comes afterward to harvest the product without even leaving a dime behind. And yet we all put up with this system, or rather we just witness its passing. There are some in the community who are trying to raise some awareness about this labor division within the art world.
CP:Â Do you have an example?
GAL: I am thinking of Temporary Services, for example, who released a newspaper last year. There is American for the Arts but they are really more of an Art in Education advocacy group in DC. How about a group who advocates for better "art making conditions,†for the possibility of being a full time artist, rather than an artist with three or four different odd jobs and no time for art making for example? Recently, as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, there has also been Occupy Museum and Occupy Art.In France, some artists are trying to self organize under various headings to fight for more support and better policies, but it is one high steep hill. So, anyways, these are some of the reasons why I make work that addresses questions related to hybridity.
CP:Â How has this stuff influenced your own practice?
GAL:Â In terms of art projects, well there is this interactive Audiolfactory (4) installation I started working on in 2009, and for which I was awarded a CAAP grant dy the DCA of Chicago, but it's unfortunately still in progress (I say unfortunate because I had originally planned on wrapping it in one year!).
CP:Â Doesn't your work incorporate smell?
GAL: I started by engaging in conversation with other hybrids about their understanding of creolization and I asked them to relate their experience to smells, in order to garner scents that could be described as "Hybrid†(again not in a chemical or biological sense, but rather as associated to a hybrid experience). In order to meet my interviewees I relied on ads placed on the CAR website, on Facebook, on fliers placed in key coffee houses, and on cultural centers such as the American Indian Center on Wilson avenue, the Center on Halsted, the Korean American Center, The Tibetan Cultural Center in Evanston, the Asian American Museum in Chinatown, the Japanese American Historical Society, as well as word to mouth communication. Methodologically I did not rely only on conversation (in other words on language) to determine what these smells could be, I also conducted a performative scent workshop to see if the "performative body†would suggest other scents, in which Sebastian Alvarez participated. This workshop actually led to other scents, but the unforeseen issue is that it has now grown into a performance workshop that I have been asked to conduct in several places (including Lithuania) with no particular connection to hybridity. Anyways, after all these smells were suggested, I then collaborated with two perfumers : Michel Roudnitska (based in the South of France), and Christophe Laudamiel (based in New York) to reproduce these scents. I am not disclosing what they are yet, because I want the experience to be fresh and unmediated when this installation opens to the public (no set dates yet), but some of them are really surprising and interesting.
CP:Â Does the piece focus solely on smell?
GAL:Â Sounds will be associated to each scent station, and for this section of the project I am collaborating with an experimental DJ: Christophe Gilmore aka FluiD, who is originally from Los Angeles, but is now based in Chicago, and is actually Creole. Some of the comments and observations that were made by the various hybrids I engaged with will also find their ways into these sound samples, but I have to work that out with them, making sure they agree with the edits, get their permission etc. But these abstracts will greatly complexify the definition of creolization I gave earlier.
CP:Â It sounds like your understanding of this terminology, and your investigation of that terminology, changes depending on who you work with.
GAL: One of the great things about working with people (rather than alone or "in the name ofâ€) is that it really gives you a plurality of meanings, and forces definitions to be very fluid and transient, but it is also hard because you have to make sure nobody is left behind or frustrated by the process. All of the participants to the project get credited in the end, but that's a few months away. Each sound/smell station will be in the form of rice paper maché sculptures (mostly because I need material that at the same time contains but let smells and sounds ooze through) in the shape of noses and ears, so as you can see the hybrid nature of this installation really resides in its scents and sounds and not so much in its visual aspect. And that's a deliberate choice, because it is the eyesight that makes us see race (skin surface level). Whereas it is not so present (but not completely absent either) in our aural and olfactory phenomenology. As Stuart Hall once said: "race enters the visual field.†There is actually a number of texts on visual hegemony and how this differs when it comes down to olfaction, but that discussion would take many more pages. But in a few words I can say that I'm addressing the question of creolization through smells to open up a new territory, not to be charted visually, but to practice rhizomatic studies to sense how identities, formed out of multiplicity, can get together and generate new sensibilities, new relations and hopefully new knowledge in how we can form inter-related and diverse groups of human beings.
(see note 5 for video details)
CP:Â Has your relationship with your various participants changed over the course of this project?
GAL: While working on the above mentioned project, my former roommate moved out, so I placed an ad on Craigslist to find a new one, and one of the respondents happened to be someone I had initially interviewed for the project. So he moved in, and we are getting along well. As the project has been taking so long to complete I have been hosting "hybrid dinners†at my house once a year to keep in touch with my fellow hybrids but also to let them know I am still working on the installation, and to continue our conversations. For one of these dinners, Hermes (that's my roommate) decided to make a Black-Xican Pozole (as you may have guessed he is Black and Mexican, and a fantabulous professional chef). It's a pozole made the Mexican way, but it also incorporates elements of soul food like collard greens, and ham hock. Shortly thereafter I was invited, by Alberto Aguilar and Jorge Lucero, to contribute to a show they were curating: Hecho en Casa, a program of events that verged on acts of domesticity. So Hermes and I decided to turn the dinner into a public performance.
Finally as a last example, I could mention a previous interactive odour and sound installation (2006) which, when I made it I did not think of in terms of hybridity, but looking back I think it would qualify, even though, at that time, I did not have the theoretical baggage, let alone the drive, to conceive of it as a hybrid project. It's an installation that I made while being an artist in residence in the Netherlands, in Enschede, close to the German border, via the European Pepinieres for Young Artists network, Transartists and the media department of the AKI. I wanted to address the fact that in current European discourse, and in particular in the Netherlands, despite years of immigrant labor and influx from the former colonies, identity is still defined from the center, the White Dutch majority. For instance, the Dutch government passed a law, a few years ago, that forces new immigrants to be fluent in Dutch. Yet there are plenty of Dutch citizens who are from the former colonies, and speak other languages. From my perspective this definition is very problematic, so in order to come up with a postcolonial definition of the contemporary Netherlands I met and engaged with Dutch nationals who had some kind of affiliation with the former colonies. As expected I met many different kinds of people, some with very traumatic histories, because independence was not a peaceful process, others because when they came to the mainland they had to deal with blatant racism. Some of these questions and stories were integrated, along with music composed by Antony Maubert, into the sound part of this installation, and others (I had a lot of data) were indexed on an audio CD that was released with the opening of the show in Enschede. And as an answer to the push for monolinguism by the authorities, the soundtracks of this project total 8 languages (Afrikaan, Bahassa, Balinese, Dutch, English, Papiamento, Taki-Taki, and Zulu). Indeed, Dutch is not the only language spoken today in the Netherlands. So it is by no means exhaustive, but instead reflect the people I met, while in residence. This project was my initial collaboration with Michel Roudnistka for the smells. Looking back at that project, I tried to manifest ideas of creolization by using a non-dialectical structure. A sensory experience organized by associations in order to foster connections and expand ideas of communities, language, identities, etc.
But regarding hybridity specifically in regard to this installation from 2006, I think my most interesting find was that when Indonesia was occupied by the Dutch there were Indos who used the following expressions to describe their ancestry: the Motherland was Indonesia, and Fatherland described the Netherlands, because often, Indos were the children of a Dutch male civil servant who had married an Indonesian woman. This example was narrated by Johan Ghysels (an Indo photographer from Enschede) on the soundtrack associated to the odor of Kretek (clove cigarettes). In his words "we were the in-between layer†of Dutch colonial society, between the white elite and the Indonesian natives, rejected by the latter because more privileged, and despised by the former for not being "completely†Dutch. As a matter of fact, many of the people I talked to, in the course of this project, described themselves as "in-betweenâ€. When independence struck, many of the Indos had to leave for fear of being exterminated by Indonesian Nationalists who identified them with the oppressors. So they sought refuge in the Netherlands where they had some relatives but once there, as Gill Bollegraf, another Indo photographer from Enschede, told me, they were confronted by really strange behavior. An incident happened to her mother (Gil was born in the Netherlands): one day at the market, after her arrival in the Netherlands in the sixties, a little White Dutch kid lifted her skirt to see if she had a tail, because he thought she was a monkey. So a few Indos went to California to start a new life but the majority of them, nevertheless, stayed in the Netherlands. Today they have organized themselves into different associations (http://www.nasi-idjo.nl/), they have their own music, food, etc. It is a striving culture, but always remains at their core, this sense of having been forcibly displaced.
(1) Read: former colony, whose inhabitants decided to remain within the French République when the colonial empire broke down in the 60's and 70's. It boasts one of the most creolized population in the world.
(2) Meaning any person with "one drop of black blood" was considered as black under the Racial Integrity Act, despite the fact that many were mixed-race people.
(3) This quote is my rough translation of the following text, and operates a distinction between two kinds of soups: the potage -which is a soup where all the ingredients have been grinded and blended and a soupe where all the ingredients are left as they are, floating in their broth: "Notre préférence, nonobstant nos penchants gastronomiques et leurs goûts respectifs, ira, pour une pensée du métissage, à la soupe. Car elle est respectueuse de ses composantes qu'elle laisse intactes dans un bouillon sobre et tolérant. Le potage, lui, broie, mélange, passe, bref il fusionne, visant à l'homogène.â€
(4)Sound and smell
(5) Roots… (a speaking garden) 2010. Installation made while in residence at the Pépinières Européennes pour Jeunes Artistes in St. Cloud, France. A sound enhanced winter garden. Foreigners, and nationals with experience abroad, recommended the plants constituting this installation. While in residence, I met with them and conducted interviews discussing the metaphor of roots, as pertaining to one's origins. During the exhibition, abstracts from these interviews were triggered by the visitors, whose displacements were monitored by discrete c-mos cameras and a computer where these displacements were analyzed by two open source software: Processing and Pure Data. Pure Data patch built by Ben Carney.
(6) This dinner took place at Cobalt Studios, located in Pilsen, and was sonified with a "Pilsen†soundscape. It was part of a series of event: Hecho en Case/Home made curated by Alberto Aguilar and Jorge Lucero. A program of events that verged on acts of domesticity.
(7) interactive odour and sound installation (2006). Detail of kretek diffuser (clove and tobacco). Scents, sounds, electronics, infra-red motion detector, MIDI box (an open source interface), software, computer. This project was realized while in residence in Enschede, the Netherlands, via the European exchange program for young artists: "European pépinières [nursery] for young artistsâ€. Collaborators: Paul Jansen Klomp (new media artist), Antony Maubert (composer), and Michel Roudnitska. (perfumer).
This installation has been shown in Enschede at Villa deBank in April 2006, in Eindhoven at De Overslag in March 2007, and at Casino Luxembourg, Forum for Contemporary Art, Luxembourg in September 2007.
- Corresponding Between Found and Made: An Interview with Jessica Stockholder - October 5, 2016
- Plant Humans of the Future: An Interview with Saya Woolfalk - August 30, 2016
- Reading with My Whole Body: An Interview with Essi Kausalainen - August 29, 2016


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A hurricane couldn't stop it. Two billion dollars couldn't buy it. A weak economy couldn't swing it. Americans re-elected Barack Obama on Tuesday, affirming the goals of the President's tumultuous first term and giving him a second. This wasn't 2008. Not as many states went his way. Fewer of his supporters wept. This time, it wasn't about change.
By 10:45 p.m. E.T., gongs were ringing at Obama's campaign headquarters in Chicago as key states were called for the incumbent. New Hampshire. Bong. Pennsylvania. Bong. Wisconsin. Bong. In Boston, home to Mitt Romney's campaign, a glum crowd of Republicans began to thin. Half headed to the bars, the other half to the exits. A few hours later, it was all over. "I pray that the President will be successful in guiding our nation," Romney told the crowd in a short, dignified concession speech.
At McCormick Place in Chicago, Obama took his time addressing the nation that had extended his lease on the White House. "Tonight in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up. We have fought our way back," he said. "We know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come."
(PHOTOS: Obama defeats Romney)
The election once looked as if it would turn on the U.S. economy, still experiencing aftershocks from the 2008 financial crisis. And maybe it did — just not in the way Republicans had planned. Romney's blue-chip business background seemed the perfect credential with which to challenge Obama, who entered the White House just as the depths of the recession became apparent. But after catastrophic downturns in employment, consumer confidence and the housing market early in Obama's first term, the economy stabilized in the past year. The result: a frustratingly slow but palpable recovery that gave an unlikely edge to the incumbent. The revitalization of the auto industry in particular, enabled by a 2009 bailout that Romney opposed, might have been the difference in industrial Ohio.
Romney began the general election with a simple pitch: Obama tried to fix the economy and failed. But by August, the Republican had changed tacks. Rather than pluck a humdrum GOPer from a swing state, he named as his running mate Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, a budget-slashing crusader with dramatic ideas about how to reform federal health entitlements. It wasn't enough to flip Wisconsin in the end. But Romney's selection of Ryan was never a narrow electoral play. It was a signal that he saw his challenge in a different light. The base might rally to him. His aides started to talk about a "choice election" in which Romney offered not just an indictment of Obama's policies but also the promise of a brighter future under bold Republican leadership.
The economic and electoral realities that prompted Romney's strategic shift did not change. Polling in late summer showed Obama with a narrow edge where it counted. And despite a spike for Obama after his party's September convention and a swoon the other way after his sleepy showing in the first debate, the race remained remarkably static, a noisy spat over the loyalties of a few undecided voters who hadn't paid enough attention to get sucked into the partisan tribalism that is modern American politics. After the two parties spent more than $2 billion on the most technologically complex campaign in history and an unprecedented wave of third-party groups spent hundreds of millions more, Obama won Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa — just as the polls predicted.
With his victory Tuesday night, Obama maintained command of a country with real potential for growth as it escapes the pull of the worst economic crisis in generations. But the obstacles are many. Congress remains divided, with control of both houses unchanged by an election that upheld an uneasy status quo. Deadlock threatens to turn routine budget negotiations into a fiscal emergency, with deep cuts to the military and social services scheduled to go into effect in January unless Congress finds a solution. Obama's agenda for his second term — reordering the bloated tax code, reforming the nation's immigration laws and brokering a deal to control the explosion of long-term deficits — looks no easier to achieve now than it did before Tuesday.
How Republicans react to Romney's loss will likely determine the country's path. After John McCain's defeat in 2008, a splenetic conservative base formed the Tea Party to oust the moderates and establishmentarians who had failed them. The result, aided by a tanking economy, was a midterm sweep in 2010 that strengthened the party's right wing and delivered the House of Representatives to the Republicans, who used it to oppose Obama at every turn. If the GOP blames Romney for this election's outcome, another conservative retrenchment could mean more gridlock and more primary bloodletting. But if the fault falls on conservative candidates like Missouri's Todd Akin and Indiana's Richard Mourdock — a group that not only weighed down the top of the ticket but also may have cost the GOP control of the Senate — things could be different. Republicans might rethink the wisdom of playing to a shrinking coalition, as Democrats run up margins with women and Latinos. More important, they might resign themselves to work with the President they couldn't get rid of.
— With reporting by Michael Scherer / Chicago and Alex Altman / Boston


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I'm an honest kind of gal, so here goes. I really love raw cookie dough and often find it hard not to lick the spoon. I know, gross, but I can't help it! It's one of my few vices and darnit, a good girl needs to be bad once in a while.
What I love the most, though, is chocolate chip cookie dough. It's so soft, fluffy, light and subtly sweet, just like these wonderful brown sugar cookies. Simple sugar cookies have always been my favorite, but these are like a sugar cookie/chocolate chip hybrid. In a word: Dreamy, decadent and delicious!
These cookies come together easily, and there's no rolling required, so you can mix them up and have them hot out of the oven in about 20 minutes. I don't make cookies too often, but when I do, they've gotta be soft, slightly crisp yet chewy, and perfect dunked into a glass of milk! If you're like me, all of your cookie cravings will be fulfilled with the simple, scrumptious flavor and texture of these little treats.
Oh yea, and they make incredibly yummy cookie sandwiches!
I think the fleur de sel (which is a coarse French salt) sprinkled on top really brings out the sweet flavor of the brown sugar. However, if you're not sure it's your thing, try it on one cookie and see. If not, feel free to omit it altogether. The sweet-and-salty combo isn't for everyone!
Brown Sugar Cookies with Fleur de Sel
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3/4 cups brown sugar, any kind
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp. sugar, for topping
- Chocolate chips, optional
- Fleur de sel or coarse sea salt, optional
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, followed by vanilla extract. Gradually blend in the flour mixture until dough comes together and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
- Place sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar before placing on baking sheet. Allow about 2 inches between cookies to allow for spread.
- Bake for 11-14 minutes, until cookies are set and very lightly browned around the edges.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, press a chocolate chip in the center of each cookie and/or sprinkle with a little fleur de sel or coarse sea salt. Store in an airtight container.
- Enjoy!


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A month ago the results of a successful cholera vaccine project in Haiti became available. Now the World Health Organization is calling for the establishment of a global stockpile of the vaccine to respond to outbreaks like Haiti's.
The WHO's technical advisers cited the recent Haiti vaccination project, involving 100,000 people in Port-au-Prince and a rural area, as evidence that cholera vaccination can work in the midst of an outbreak — a proposition that has engendered controversy since Haiti's epidemic began in late 2010.
Critics argued that vaccination would distract from treating cholera victims.
Moving with unusual speed, the WHO is seeking funds to launch the stockpile, which would initially contain enough doses to vaccinate a million people and cost $10 million a year to maintain. The vaccine costs $1.85 a dose, and two doses are needed over a few weeks' time to achieve 60 to 85 percent protection.
But it's clear the WHO envisions a much bigger stockpile down the road.
"As manufacturers ramp up production in the near future, the experts unanimously recommended moving toward universal vaccination," the WHO and its sister organization the Pan American Health Organization said in a statement.
Universal cholera vaccination in Haiti would require almost 20 million doses. That in itself would not eliminate cholera there, but the experts now agree that vaccination would help curb the illness, along with programs to increase access to clean water and sewage treatment.
More than a half-million Haitians have been infected with cholera since 2010, and more than 7,400 have died from the disease. The neighboring Dominican Republic has reported more than 25,000 cases and over 400 deaths. And this summer, Cuba began to see cholera cases for the first time since it was a Spanish colony in the 1800s.
The chairman of the WHO technical advisory group, Dr. Ciro de Quadros, called the results of the Haitian demonstration projects "highly impressive" and said they "really provide a road map for what we can do in the near future." The group met earlier this week in Washington.
The deputy director of PAHO, Dr. Jon Andrus, who was initially skeptical of using oral cholera vaccine during an outbreak, opened this week's meeting by saying that if the evidence warrants it, "we should not fail to miss short-term opportunities to save lives more quickly."
On the advice of PAHO, Haiti decided against cholera vaccination after the disease was introduced, most likely by United Nations peacekeeping forces from a cholera-endemic area. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. has also been highly skeptical of the vaccine's role.
But some public health advocates were convinced that vaccination could make a difference, and pushed WHO and PAHO to reconsider. In mid-2011, the World Health Assembly (the WHO's governing body) called for more effective cholera control, including the use of cholera vaccine "where appropriate." And last year, the WHO approved a cheaper and easier-to-use oral vaccine called Shanchol, which was used in the Haitian demonstration project this spring.
Against this backdrop, advocates of cholera vaccination in Haiti realized it would be crucial to show the feasibility of cholera vaccination in settings where at-risk populations are hard to reach, need to understand vaccination, and must return for a second dose. Government officials also had to be convinced that the enterprise was praticable.
The mass vaccination campaigns in Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite River valley were delayed by false reports that the vaccine was experimental. That required more review by a government-appointed ethics committee, pushing the launch date into Haiti's rainy season, when cholera incidence spikes and the logistics of vaccination become difficult.
But in the end, more than 90 percent of vacinees returned for a second dose.
A similar recent experience during a cholera epidemic in the West African nation of Guinea buttressed the case that the vaccine is deliverable in difficult situations.
Dr. Louise Ivers of Partners in Health, which sponsored one of the Haitian demonstration projects, told Shots in an email that the organization is gratified that WHO has decided to include vaccination in the toolkit of anti-cholera measures.
"While currently available cholera vaccines are not golden tickets, we must move quickly to save as many lives as we can with the tools that are available to us now," Ivers said.
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