“They have been described as the most ruthless terrorists on US soil since 9/11, but of the four men arrested in New York, one says he was on drugs and another that he is illiterate…..in court appearances on Thursday the four men came across more as the gang that couldn’t shoot straight, and certainly not adroit enough to realise an FBI informant had been leading them by the nose……case is based largely on the alleged gang’s association with an FBI informant ….. discussed the plot with them, helped them procure what they thought were explosives and a Stinger missile – in fact duds supplied by the FBI - 

and even joined reconnaissance at the intended targets.” IOL. Is it possible that elite crime fighting units are frivolously wasting money on setting up and negatively influencing ignorant louts to blow up synagogues? Who are the perpetrators here? Surely the priorities of all officers in all countries, regardless of faith, should be to do everything in their power to promote peace amongst all people on earth. Aren’t they supposed to uphold the peace and not disturb it? It seems, however, that they’re using one of the most dangerous weapons of mass destruction known to man, namely religion, to create extreme tension. So now the prosecutors ” have a mountain of audio and video recordings clearly showing the alleged gang preparing their conspiracy and talking about their hatred for Jews and the US war in Afghanistan” – so what?  How can entrapment be considered to be evidence in any court of law?  The human race has passed adolescence and we must now, all of us, stop fighting with one another – if we don’t we will destroy ourselves and our planet and for this there is only one answer. Chocolate. Chocolate is the symbol of happiness and contentment and, in dreams, predicts good health. It’s more than just a food – it is rare, rich and exquisite and in many cultures, the act of eating chocolate has taken on symbolic significance. At their sacred altars, Aztec priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to their gods and drinking it was part of their religious rituals. It was only the elite that were deemed worthy of drinking chocolate and when the Spaniards, upon returning home from spiritually cleansing and annhilating an entire race, brought with them the instrument used in Aztec devotions, the custom was still only affordable to only elite members of society. Chocolate has long been considered an aphrodisiac – the Aztec ruler Montezuma II is drank an extra goblet of chocolate whenever he needed the energy to deal with his favourite concubines and even today, chocolate remains a popular Valentine’s Day gift. I’m of the opinon that utilising chocolate in the peace process may just be the answer to our problems. If large amounts were distributed amongs all warring factions, they may just be in a better frame of mind. Surely if we can spend billions on arms, we could spend millions on chocolate … imagine how that would kick start agrarian economies. Here’s a recipe for one single brownie that has to be brought tos the table and shared amongst everyone at the table.

BROWNIE OF PEACE

Ingredients

• 200 g dark chocolate (Dominican Republic - they Los ancones Gran Cru bean is turned into  refined and elegant chocolates)
• 3 large eggs
• 120 g natural caster sugar
• 130 g unsalted butter, softened
• 50 g plain flour
• 2 tablespoons finely ground almonds
• 120 g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped (you can use any nuts, really)
• Ground cinnamon

Method Pre heat oven to 180 C

• Grease the baking tin and line with parchment.
• Break up the chocolate and melt gently in a bain-marie (or in bowl over a saucepan of warm water) without overheating the chocolate.
• Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk in the sugar.
• Fold in the softened butter, the flour, the almonds, ¼ ground cinnamon, the melted chocolate and the nuts.
• Pour the mixture into the baking dish and put into the oven for 20 – 25 minutes.
• Allow to cool down for 1 – 2 hours before eating it.
• Serve with plenty of whipped cream, coffee and an excellent Petit Champagne Cognac.
• If there are only two of you, why not simply take two forks and eat right out of the serving dish?