Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Muffins

My dear friend Megan recently had a birthday and since we couldn't celebrate together earlier in the month, I hosted a belated birthday brunch for her and her family. It was a great time to catch up and of course, a delicious reason to prepare some dishes. When I asked Megan what she's been craving lately, she didn't hesitate to confess her love of sea salt caramel and chocolate. With that, I set out to look for something that would fit my brunch menu and satisfy Megan's craving. What I came up with were these Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Muffins that were to.die.for. These were one of the most chocolatey muffins I've ever made and the sweet caramel drizzle with a sprinkle of sea salt made it even more indulgent!...

I was so happy to hear Megan's request for something involving sea salt caramel and chocolate. It's a flavor combination I like myself and I had so much fun coming up with a dessert that would fit my brunch menu. These muffins are loaded with chocolate within the batter and they're studded with bittersweet chocolate chips. To garnish, I used a buttery caramel topping that I drizzled on and sprinkled a bit of sea salt over the top.

Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Muffins

recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

2/3 cup (2 ounces) Dutch-proces cocoa
1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 cups (9 3/8 ounces) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup (4 ounces, 1 stick) butter, melted
caramel ice cream topping for topping
sea salt for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper or silicone muffin cups, and grease the cups.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a large measuring cup or medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, to the dry ingredients, stirring to blend; there's no need to beat these muffins, just make sure everything is well-combined.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin; the cups will be heaped with batter, and the muffin will bake into a "mushroom" shape.

Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes remove them from the pan, allowing them to cool for about 15 minutes on a rack before peeling off the muffin papers or silicone cups.

Drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle with sea salt before serving. Makes 12 muffins.

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Autism Disorders, Intellectual Disabilities and Institution Closings from Australia to Canada

Photo and caption from www.theage.com.au

 
It's all so simple.  Close the evil institutions.  Institutions evil.  "Community" good.

One flew over the cuckoo's nest?.  Burn down the cuckoo's nest.  Replace it with ... "community".  But what does "community" mean? 

Will the "community" provide an alternative residential facility which can  provide decent, secure living with any required treatment? Will family members of severely disabled persons with intellectual disabilities, autism disorders and other developmental disabilities be  confident in the community's  ability or willingness to provide a real, healthy and safe alternative for their loved ones residing in institutional care?.

In Australia the movement to close institutions continues as it does here in Canada but some caring  family members are fighting these ideologically driven closings.  In Relatives fight to keep centre for disabled open theage.com.au tells the story of Sandra and Noel Bates and their intellectually disabled 45 year old son Craig who resides in an institution scheduled for closure:

''The closure of institutions is ideologically driven,'' says Noel Bates, 77, president of the Colanda Parents and Friends Association. ''We're not pro institutions, we're pro better services for the disabled, including upgrading the facilities here. Colanda is 35 hectares of beautifully laid out parkland, a beautiful environment. It has newer facilities [than Kew Cottages had], better staff and processes.''

Mr Bates' son Craig, 45, suffers from Angelman's Syndrome and has, his father says, ''the intellect of an 18-month-old''. He suffers from seizures, cannot speak, or care for himself. He is unsteady on his feet and does not know his own strength when he reaches out to hug his mother, Sandra.

Although their doctors told the Bateses in 1966 to send their baby away and forget about him, they kept Craig at home until he was eight. After two years at Kew Cottages, he was admitted to Colanda the year it opened, 1976, and has lived there since.

''It was much, much better compared with what was available at Kew,'' says Mr Bates. ''It was an upmarket facility - it still is, for that matter.''

But despite Colanda's bucolic gardens, solid brick units and honourable reputation, many in the disability sector say it should be shut as soon as possible, and the residents integrated into the community, like the residents of Kew Cottages.

A 2008 report on Colanda for the Department of Human Services noted the relatives' satisfaction with the quality of care, but concluded that the routines of a large-scale institution restricted the residents' ''individual choices … and their quality of life''.

''They should close it yesterday,'' says Kevin Stone, executive office of the Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disability.

''As far as I am concerned, it belongs in a previous age. The tragedy is that these are the people time forgot.''

The Colanda institution, where Craig Bates lives,  is targeted for closure even though family members are satisfied with the quality of life it provides their loved ones who live there.  The rhetoric of closure does not necessarily guarantee an alternative.  Family members of those who live within such facilities, people like Sandra and Noel Gates are motivated by concern for their family member not by rhetoric and ideology. They want to make sure that their son Craig has a decent place to live and that he will receive the care he needs. Community ideology and rhetoric does not provide the assurances they seek.

Here in New Brunswick, Canada I was one of a  group of community and government members who voted, unanimously,  at a meeting to discuss the future of an institutional facility in Campbellton New Brunswick, to keep the institution open.  I did not do so because I want my 15 year old son with autistic disorder and profound developmental delays to live out his days there after we could not provide his care.  I  voted to keep it open, as did the other representatives present, because there is currently no alternative for those severely affected by autism disorders, intellectual disabilities and other  disorders whose conditions do not permit them to live in our group homes.  "Community" cliches, rhetoric and ideology can help those who follow such scripts to feel good about themselves.  They don't provide real places for people with severe challenges to live and receive the care they need.

Close the institutions? Absolutely ... once  real and appropriate alternatives are available.

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Baked Basil Goat Cheese Rounds

For me, salad must have some cheese involved. Doesn't everything taste better with cheese anyway? Goat cheese is one of my favorite salad cheeses, whether its crumbled, sliced or in this case, baked. Crispy coated disks of goat cheese are warmed until soft and served on top of crisp greens. The surprise comes when you slice into the cheese and an explosion of fresh herbs like basil and parsley come through. Baked goat cheese is so versatile that you can use any herbs you prefer but these Baked Basil Goat Cheese Rounds went especially well with the spinach and fresh strawberry salad I prepared...

These Baked Basil Goat Cheese Rounds couldn't be easier to make and even better is that you can make these in advance and keep them in your freezer. Just pull out however many you need and bake for a few minutes before adding them to a salad. These have come in handy for dressing up a salad and makes a plain salad more elegant for guests.

Baked Basil Goat Cheese Rounds
recipe inspired by David Lebovitz

8 oz goat cheese, softened
2-3 tablespoons fresh basil, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Combine the goat cheese, herbs, garlic powder and onion powder in a bowl. Cream all the ingredients until fully incorporated. Using a scoop or spoon, form a golf ball sized ball of the cheese in your hands and then firmly flatten to form a disk; set aside. Continue forming disks until all goat cheese is used.

Whisk the egg in a small bowl and dip each goat cheese disk into the egg and dredge into the breadcrumbs.

Place the coated disks of goat cheese into the freezer to firm up, at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the disks on a non stick or lightly greased cookie sheet for 5 to 8 minutes, or until warmed through and soft when you press gently in the center. Serve on top of your favorite salad.

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10 Mardi Gras Grub Ideas

A week from today is Fat Tuesday, or also known as Mardi Gras. It's the time of year New Orleans (along with other cities around the world) celebrate with lots of color, music, dancing, singing and of course, food! Here in the United States, the city of New Orleans transforms into a festival where Cajun and Louisiana cuisine is highlighted. Why not celebrate in your corner of the world with some Cajun inspired dishes?! To inspire you, here are 10 Mardi Gras Grub Ideas...

Chicken & Shrimp Jambalaya

Cajun Fried Turkey

Cajun Seasoned Tilapia

Classic Red Beans & Rice

Red Beans & Andouille Over Rice

Cornbread Pecan Stuffed Pork Loin

Cajun Caviar

Cajun Cake

Filled Beignets

Spiked Sweet Tea

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COFFEE PANNA COTTA with Bittersweet Mocha Sauce

And Cappuccino Chocolate Chunk Biscotti


RETURN TO AFRICA – Part I


The blazing sun streams through the hazy oval of window and stretches across the book open on the small square of table in front of me as we dip down towards earth. The land below me rises upwards, offering me a carpet of geometric, well-defined, sharp-angled patches of cream, almond, caramel and toffee only broken here and there by the occasional vibrant, lush rectangle of jade or lime. A maddening deep, dark squiggle cuts a swath through the landscape like a drizzle of bittersweet chocolate, hinting of the Dark Continent. Mountains push up from the ground in craggy relief like some smart kid’s junior high science project giving form to the flatness that stretches out before me.


The plane dips once again, leaning in closer to the horizon as my eyes search for the ocean, the same ocean that kisses the scorching sand that reaches out to form the beach where I grew up somewhere far, far away, the other side of the world. The same ocean that batters the rocks off the Brittany coast where we spend holidays, the same waters that offer us plump crabs and tiny black bigorneaux that we scoop up and eat by the dozens back home in France. But catching sight of that deep blue body of water here seems unreal, as surreal as the backdrop of mountains everywhere I turn, mountains that are always there, unexpectedly, behind houses, beaches, vineyards, everywhere as if painted against the sky in some monstrous photographic studio and we are meant to turn around and smile at the camera. The image is jarring and makes my entire week seem an illusion, everyone acting a well-scripted part on some stage, the curtains parting as each change of scenery is wheeled into place, the lights raised or lowered, the wind machine snapped on or off, but all the while that wall of painted mountains looms over us.

I clutch anxiously at my good luck pendant hanging loosely on a thin silver chain around my neck and whisper my little prayer. This is all I have to hang on to, what gets me through these long hours above the ground, I who am terrified to fly yet so desperately want to travel. And here I am, back in Africa. I don’t often think of my other trip to this continent all those years ago, before I married, when I brazenly fled to Nigeria to be with someone I thought maybe I loved. I knew as soon as I landed that I loved another but spent enough time in that curious place, exploring that darkly dangerous country to feel a wide-eyed awe and mysterious fascination with all that is unknown, exotic, treacherous. But this new experience, this return to Africa, well, I knew that I would be in careful, safe, loving hands. And from all that I had heard, this Africa was rich in culture and fine food, gorgeous summer weather, sandy beaches and extremely happy friends.

Colleen and Donald, my wonderful, generous hosts, met this exhausted, bedraggled, woozy excuse for a food blogger at the airport, tucked me into the front seat (Wrong side, Donald!) and zipped off into a brilliantly sunny Cape Town summer day. Palm trees flew by me, beautiful palm trees waving gently in the breeze reminding me of Florida yet not, the car only slowing down as we approached their part of the city when suddenly a gorgeous vista opened up on my left: False Bay, a tiny cove-like beach and port upon whose rocks the Indian Ocean waves were crashing furiously. The Indian Ocean! Who would have ever thought that I would actually see the Indian Ocean with my very own eyes? Table Mountain loomed above on my right, growing ever closer as we pulled into their driveway, standing majestically, protectively behind their warm, friendly home.

Colleen & Donald, a stellar comedy team, fabulous entertainment
and the two most generous people I have ever met. Thank you both!

The two days leading up to the Indaba, the South African Food & Wine Bloggers’ Conference, was filled with activity as I tried to catch my breath. I spent one day with Colleen and family furiously filling goodie bags, organizing stacks of cookbooks and magazines, arranging boxes of wine that kept arriving at the door, oooohing and ahhhing over all the amazing goodies that filled her house from wall to wall, floor to ceiling, threatening to take over the Grove home completely, mercilessly. Colleen sat morning, noon and night at her computer, cell phone pressed to one ear, sucking on a never-ending bottle of water, her only sustenance, and trying to keep her nerves under control while tying up last-minute details. Her wonderful husband, ever cheerful even under pressure and the most trying of times, organized, ran errands, drove all over Cape Town in search of the last boxes of goodies and gifts, and proved himself totally indispensable, as passionate about this event as any dedicated food or wine blogger. And through it all, there were always perfectly mixed mugs of café au lait magically appearing for me on the kitchen counter.


Saturday I spent with Jeanne, Nick and family and friends out on Franschhoek in the Winelands, lunching at a lovely restaurant overlooking vineyards with the ever-present backdrop of mountains. The evening was spent at Nick’s mom’s home where he put together a wonderful braai for us and a couple of friends. We talked late into the night, the music from some distant concert enveloping us in the darkness, our own laughter filling in the spaces in between.


The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestlé Florentine Cookies. I, of course, long a panna cotta lover, chose to make a wonderful Café au Lait version of this luscious, creamy dessert with the addition of a fabulous Bittersweet Mocha Sauce drizzled over the Panna Cotta which created the perfect dark edge to the lovely, light coffee flavor of the panna cotta. As the Florentine Cookie recipe called for corn syrup which I have never been able to find in France I decided to add a crunchy side to the Panna Cotta with very Italian Chocolate Chip Cappuccino Biscotti. Here is to a wonderful week in Cape Town drinking perfect Café au Lait as well as many cups of bittersweet coffee swallowed one after the other on the plane down and back up as well as several to kick start my old routine once I returned to Terra Firma and home.


I was honored to be interviewed by the very cool people at Chudleigh’s, the apple farm and bakery outside of Toronto. Hop over to their Chudleigh’s Blossom Blog to read my interview!

Don’t miss the latest developments over at From Plate to Page! We recently announced and introduced our newest sponsor: Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board who is generously partnering with us at From Plate to Page so we can make this the best hands-on workshop for food bloggers, writers, stylists and photographers ever! And our latest guest post is from fabulous food stylist and creative director Robin Zachary who lets you into her… Prop Closet.

And one more thing: I want to thank each and every one of you who took your time to go to the Blogger’s Choice site and vote for Life’s a Feast. Yes, I am nominated for a Blogger’s Choice Award in the category of Best Food Blog. If you enjoy my blog and haven’t yet voted, I do hope that I can count on your vote! And know how very much I appreciate it!


Stay tuned for Return to Africa – Part II.

COFFEE PANNA COTTA with Bittersweet Mocha Sauce


1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (8 g) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (750 ml) whipping cream (whole fat heavy cream)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 gm) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 tsps instant espresso powder or more to taste

Prepare 6 to 8 ramekins or individual bowls or demitasse cups. If you want to be able to turn the Panna Cotta out of the bowl or ramekin, run the bowl under cold running water, pour and shake the water out but do not dry.

Pour the milk into a medium-sized saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over the milk. Whisk quickly and lightly just so it is all wet and then allow to sit for 5 minutes. This softens the gelatin. Place the saucepan over medium heat and, whisking gently, allow the milk to heat until it is hot but not boiling, 5 more minutes. The yellow shiny splotches of gelatin floating on the surface will disappear when the gelatin is completely melted/dissolved.

Add the cream, honey, sugar, pinch of salt and 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder to the hot milk and continue to heat, stirring, until the honey, sugar and espresso have dissolved. Taste and add more espresso powder if you desire a stronger coffee flavor.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool for several minutes. Whisk to combine well before pouring into the glasses, bowls, cups or ramekins. I always find it much easier to pour the liquid into a glass or Pyrex measuring cup with a spout and pour from that instead of directly from the saucepan.

Cover each bowl or ramekin with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or, ideally, overnight.

A half hour or so before serving, prepare the Bittersweet Mocha Sauce. Once the Sauce has been made and chilled, serve the Panna Cotta, each drizzled with the Sauce and a Cappuccino Biscotto or two.

BITTERSWEET MOCHA SAUCE

2 ounces (60 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, or more to taste
¾ cup (200 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tsps instant espresso powder
1 Tbs to ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar to taste

Coarsely chop the chocolate and place it in a small saucepan with the heavy cream, the espresso powder and 1 tablespoon sugar. Heat very gently over medium-low heat, whisking or stirring, until the chocolate, sugar and espresso have all melted and dissolved. Taste, adding sugar until desired sweetness. Remove from the heat, allow to cool for a few minutes, stir again and pour into a glass measuring cup, bowl or jar and refrigerate until just cool enough to serve over the chilled Panna Cotta.


CAPPUCCINO BISCOTTI WITH CHOCOLATE CHUNKS
Makes 25 to 30 biscotti


2 cups (280 g) flour
¾ cup (150 g) granulated white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
Rounded ½ tsp ground cinnamon, optional
1 rounded tsp instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder
Rounded ½ cup (3 ½ oz, 100 g) mini chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon-sugar for dusting, optional

Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking/cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and the vanilla extract.

In a large mixing bowl, blend the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and coffee powder/granules and whisk together or beat with an electric mixer on low for 20 or 30 seconds to combine well. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.

Whisk the eggs until blended and whisk in the vanilla. Pour this over the dry ingredients and, using a fork or wooden spoon, stir until all of the dry ingredients are moistened and begin to pull together and form a dough. Scrape out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead very briefly until you have a smooth, well-blended dough. Do not add in too much flour, just enough that this sticky dough can be handled.

Divide the dough in half. With floured hands on the lightly floured work surface, form each ball of dough into a log about 10 inches (25 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Carefully transfer the logs onto the prepared baking sheet spacing them about 3 inches (7.5 cm) apart to allow for spreading.

I sprinkle the surface with granulated sugar and ground cinnamon which gives the final, crispy outside of the biscotti a sweet, cinnamony touch.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until firm to the touch. They should have puffed up and spread out a bit. Remove from the oven – do not turn the oven off – and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Transfer the logs, one at a time, to a wooden cutting board. With a good, serrated knife, cut each log crosswise on the diagonal into ¾ inch (2 cm)-wide slices. Cut slowly and carefully to avoid the biscotti breaking or crumbling.

Arrange the slices on the lined baking sheet cut sides up (you can place them close together as they will no longer spread) and bake for 10 minutes. Open the oven and flip all of the slices over, slide back into the oven and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

These can easily be stored for days and days in an airtight, preferably metal cookie tin.

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Αποκαλύψεις για τη μεθόδευση της εκποίησης

Αποκαλύψεις για τη μεθόδευση της εκποίησης
Του ΝΙΚΟΥ ΚΟΤΖΙΑ Συγγραφέα, καθηγητή του Πανεπιστημίου Πειραιώς nkotzias@otenet.gr.
Τα κυβερνητικά φερέφωνα μας ενημέρωσαν ότι δεν πρόκειται να πωληθεί ελληνική δημόσια περιουσία αλλά ότι αυτή θα «αξιοποιηθεί» ως μια δημιουργική επιλογή της ίδιας της κυβέρνησης στην οποία ουδείς υπαγορεύει οτιδήποτε.
Το κακό για εκείνη είναι ότι το ψέμα έχει κοντά ποδάρια.

Στη Ζυρίχη εκδίδεται μια εξαιρετικής ενημέρωσης εφημερίδα, η «Neue Zuricher Zeitung», η οποία εκφράζει τα διεθνή χρηματοπιστωτικά συμφέροντα. Η εφημερίδα αυτή αποκάλυψε στις 19/2/2011, στην εισαγωγική παράγραφο άρθρου για τις ιδιωτικοποιήσεις στην Ελλάδα, ότι, «προκειμένου να μειωθούν τα χρέη, οι χρηματοδότες του εξωτερικού απαιτούν από το ελληνικό κράτος την πώληση δημόσιας ιδιοκτησίας». Από μια πρώτη ματιά μπορεί κανείς να συμπεράνει ότι οι ξένοι δανειστές απαιτούν αυτό που με την αυτοτελή της μεγαλοφυΐα είχε ήδη αντιληφθεί από μόνη της η ελληνική κυβέρνηση! Ω! Τι σύμπτωση! Τα μεγάλα πνεύματα συναντιόνται: η απαίτηση των ξένων δανειστών εμφανίστηκε ως πρόταση από τους εκπροσώπους της τρόικας στην Αθήνα μία ημέρα πριν από τη γνωστοποίηση της πατέντας από την ελληνική κυβέρνηση. Η σύμπτωση αυτή συνοδεύτηκε και από μία δεύτερη. Όλοι μαζί καμώνονται εδώ στην Αθήνα ως να τσακώνονται για τη δημόσια γη, ενώ το πρώτο θύμα αυτής της μεγαλοφυούς σύλληψης της ελληνικής κυβέρνησης, που όλως συμπτωματικώς είναι «απαίτηση» του διεθνούς παράγοντα και κατά λάθος το είπαν οι τροϊκανοί, «αν και δεν το γνώριζαν» (μία ακόμα σύμπτωση), θα είναι οι κερδοφόρες δημόσιες επιχειρήσεις, όπως η ΔΕΗ και ο ΟΠΑΠ. Μια τέτοια δε «αξιοποίηση» θα οδηγήσει στη μελλοντική μείωση εσόδων του δημόσιου προϋπολογισμού καθ' ότι θα λείπουν οι κερδοφορίες τους.

Το δεύτερο που αποκαλύφθηκε ως προς την εκποίηση δημόσιου πλούτου είναι το ποιος ασχολήθηκε με τον σχεδιασμό αυτής της επιλογής. Ασφαλώς και δεν ήταν το Υπουργικό Συμβούλιο ή η Βουλή (θεσμοί περιττοί όταν δεν «κατανοούν τις μεγαλοφυείς επιλογές»), αλλά ούτε η τρόικα. Ήταν ένα από τα επιτελεία που από καιρό έχω αποκαλύψει, που διαμορφώνουν τις απαιτήσεις ξένων και ντόπιων τοκογλύφων σε προτάσεις και μετά τις περνούν ως τροϊκανές. Απαιτήσεις που κατόπιν οι έχοντες και κατέχοντες θα μας καλέσουν να ικανοποιήσουμε με πειθαρχικά «καθ' ότι το απαιτούν οι περιστάσεις». Στην περίπτωση της εκποίησης δημόσιας περιουσίας στήθηκε μια «επιτροπή σοφών», από εκπροσώπους του Ινστιτούτου Ερευνών των Βιομηχάνων, πρώην γενικούς γραμματείς υπουργείων, εκπροσώπους τραπεζών και γνωστούς νεοφιλελεύθερους (τα ονόματα έχουν ήδη δημοσιοποιηθεί -οι άνθρωποι δεν άντεξαν να το παίξουν σεμνοί και αυτοδιαφημίζονται).

Και στην περίπτωση της πώλησης δημόσιας περιουσίας αποκαλύφθηκε το πώς έχει στηθεί το όλο μνημόνιο: πρώτα οι δανειστές, ως μια συμμορία τοκογλύφων, διατυπώνουν τις απαιτήσεις τους. Κατόπιν οργανώνεται ομάδα ελλήνων ειδικών που διασυνδέονται και με τα ντόπια συμφέροντα και διαπλοκή. Αυτοί συγκεκριμενοποιούν σε σχέδιο τις απαιτήσεις των κατεχόντων προκειμένου να τροφοδοτήσουν, με τη μεσολάβηση του υπουργείου Οικονομικών, την τρόικα. Κατόπιν εμφανίζεται ως «θεϊκή αναγκαιότητα» η υποταγή της Ελλάδας σε αυτό το σχέδιο ή, ακόμα «καλύτερα», ως να είναι αυτή η υποταγή τμήμα του κυβερνητικού μεταρρυθμιστικού προγράμματος. Και για να είμαι σαφής: Πράγματι χρειάζεται αξιοποίηση της δημόσιας περιουσίας. Αλλά αυτή οφείλει να γίνει με κριτήριο το δημόσιο συμφέρον και όχι να μεθοδεύεται η φτηνή υφαρπαγή της, όπως γίνεται ήδη με τις δημόσιες τράπεζες.

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Autism and Poverty in Indonesia: Autistic Child Kept On a Leash

"I don’t think we are still living in a time when people could be put on a leash for a health or mental problem"

Kronjo village chief Rudi Mahfudin, Indonesia

Autism, particularly severe autism, presents huge challenges for families in Canada and the United States.  In some parts of the world though the situation is much more desperate.  In Poverty forces parents to keep autistic child on a leash The Jakarta Post reports about a 10 year old boy with severe autism behavior challenges whose family, living in poverty in Saga farming village, with no assistance from authorities, has been forced to keep the boy on a leash to prevent him from wandering off and to prevent him from acting aggressively towards others in their village:

“After his third birthday, Agus had tantrums and we often saw him talking to himself. He also frequently left home, sometimes not coming back for days,” he said. Fajar suspected that the tantrums may have had something to do with the death of their father, Haryono,Their mother Haderi, 45, was pregnant with Agus when Haryono passed away. The sudden death of Haryono may have had a deep psychological impact on Haderi. Fajar said his mother went into depression. 

After learning that Agus was suffering from autism, the family could only do little to find appropriate medical treatment for him, given their financial condition. So rather than having to search for Agus whenever he left home, the family decided to put a leash on him. “We have no choice. We are afraid that Agus could hurt others,” Fajar said. 

The family has tried to contact the local administration to seek help, but their calls have fallen on deaf ears, Soon after the death of Haryono, Haderui worked to support the family as a farm labor collecting unhusked rice left over from harvests in Tenjo Ayu, Serang. A local leader said that Agus was not the only one. Neighborhood unit head Tohir said that there are at least five autistic children who had not received aid from the authorities."

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