This and that

*  I can see from my emails (where comments also appear) that for some reason, some comments seem to be being made but are not appearing on the blog.  I have no idea why this is happening intermittently, sorry.

*  I agree with some comments on Twitter, that the devastating floods in parts of the USA at the moment are not attracting quite the attention in the US mainstream press as one might expect.   (I don't know if it's true, but one Youtube video this morning suggested that 1,000 people are still unaccounted for, which likely means the death toll is going to keep climbing.)   Someone else on Twitter said that it seems that as more flash floods are happening everywhere, they seem to be getting less media coverage, and someone else commented it's a bit like school shootings in the US - they don't attract the same length of attention that they used to.  It's the "new normal".  Which is a worry...

* I had no idea until last week's Foreign Correspondent that stealing copper (for sale on an international copper recycling black market) was a gigantic problem in South African cities.  

*  Not that I have ever paid much attention to him, but Gordon Ramsay's "easy" version of how to do chicken cacciatore gives good results.  (I usually add capsicum too.)  He doesn't even swear in the video.

*  Listening to an hour of William Dalrymple talking about the successful trading millennium or so of India was quite interesting.    

*  Speaking of ancient history, this fiction author (Robert Harris) seems well known and popular, but I hadn't noticed him before.   Sounds like his Roman trilogy is well regarded, as someone in comments says Mary Beard recommended them.

*  Everyone is expecting another of those wild swings that Queensland is well known for in its elections.  To an extraordinarily high degree, I reckon, youth crime is an important issue, and to an extent, the matter of indigenous policy.   It will be interesting to see if a "tough on crime" response can be made to work quickly.