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Rangers' Walter Smith and Maurice Edu welcome fixture congestion if it will lead to Europa League glory
Rangers manager Walter Smith claims he is thrilled to remain in the Europa League, even though their dramatic triumph over Sporting Lisbon means even more fixture congestion.
Away comfort: Rangers sneaked past Sporting Lisbon on the away goals rule Photo: AFP
By Telegraph staff 9:54AM GMT 25 Feb 2011
The Scottish champions remain in the hunt for four trophies this season following the away goals win in Lisbon. That means they still have to juggle domestic commitments with Europe with a small squad depleted by injury.
But Smith said: "We will have to wait and see how the season unfolds before we see if there is any great impact.
"You can't pick and choose. We would never consider it an inconvenience qualifying for a round in Europe.
"We are pleased to do so. There's a pressure on Scottish clubs to do as well as they can so that our coefficient level gets as high as possible. "
With a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Ibrox, the tie was tipped in the favour of Sporting ahead of last night's match at the Jose Alvalade stadium.
But their away goal advantage was wiped out when El-Hadji Diouf netted the opener and his first goal for Rangers.
The home side looked set to progress when they hit back through goals from former Rangers midfielder Pedro Mendes and Yannick Djalo.
But the Scots left it late when Maurice Edu grabbed the tie's decisive goal in injury-time to make it 2-2 on the night and secure the win on away goals.
Smith said: "We are pleased to get through.
"We started the game slowly but we managed to get a goal. There wasn't much between the teams in the second half at all.
"With the circumstances of getting the goal, we are pleased to progress.
"We are disappointed with the way we lost the first goal as we should have handled it better with the height that we have got.
"Overall it is a system that has been reasonably successful in European games this season. "
Midfielder Maurice Edu has also welcomed the prospect of an even more packed schedule after Rangers' victory.
He said: "It's a problem that we welcome. We would rather have games and the opportunity to win things.
"If you were to ask any professional footballer, they want to be involved in as many games as possible and be in the position to win games and have something to show for it at the end of the season.
"We would definitely have been disappointed to go out. A lot of people have been saying this competition isn't important to us because we want to focus on other games.
"But tonight we definitely showed that it is important to us. We are still involved in a number of competitions and want to go as far as we can in all of them.
"This performance defines what we are as a club. We showed a lot of resilience and desire and determination to fight our way back into the game and get something out of it. "
"To be honest, I thought we were always in the game. We never stopped believing in ourselves.
"We believed we had a chance of getting something out of the game and it showed. We fought until the dying minutes of the game and were able to get the goal to take us through. "
Next up is PSV Eindhoven and Edu added: "There are no easy games but we welcome the challenge.
"We know it's going to be an exciting draw and we are looking forward to it."
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Arsenal v Birmingham City: Ben Foster homes in on second winner’s medal after finding peace at St Andrew’s
Before anyone asks, Ben Foster would like to stress that he is not learning about Arsenal’s penalty-takers from an iPod.
Feeling at home: goalkeeper Ben Foster at St Andrew's Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Oliver Brown 11:00PM GMT 26 Feb 2011
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After his canny use of the device for Manchester United, absorbing a last-second primer on run-ups and ball placement to thwart Tottenham in the Carling Cup final of 2009, Birmingham’s technophile goalkeeper explains: “It’s all on an iPad now.”
So should Sunday afternoon’s repeat showpiece go the same way, look out for a tablet-shaped Apple device smuggled under his jersey.
Even after two years, Foster has total recall of the prescient saves that sealed the trophy for United. It is just a pity, he says ruefully, that he and his team-mates were not allowed to be wilder in their celebrations.
“We got straight on the train and had training the next day, as we had a Champions League game the same week. There was nothing. Another game won, another trophy won, and you move on.
"It was mad — a different world.” Foster, a straight-talking lad from Leamington Spa, expresses relief at being “back home” with Birmingham City, safely removed from United’s oppressive hot-housing. It is a safe bet that should he collect a second League Cup winner’s medal to mark his first season at St Andrew’s, he will toast the achievement more extravagantly.
But however casual he purports to be — “I don’t feel any pressure” is almost a mantra — the subject of United, and his unfulfilled promise there, never fades fully into the background.
Five years of exposure to the club’s “win at all costs” mentality, exemplified by Sir Alex Ferguson and captain Gary Neville, have left an indelible imprint.
Exhausted by the expectations upon him at Old Trafford, the 27 year-old claims he was happy to slip quietly away.
“When I left, a lot of people said to me, 'You’re leaving the biggest club in the world. It’s only a step down after United’. But I didn’t really care too much. I wanted to go and play football, and that’s what was on offer at Birmingham.”
Foster disputes an urban myth that Ferguson cut him adrift after a particularly ragged display against Sunderland in Oct 2009, but admits: “When you know that the gaffer has accepted a bid and realised it’s time for you to move on, that kind of tells you, somewhere along the line, that you’re not wanted.
If that’s the case I’m not going to kick up a fuss. I’ll go. It is win at all costs at United. It is the end of the world if you draw.
“If you didn’t win and you didn’t perform amazingly well every single game, I felt everybody was thinking, 'Well, they should be doing better, pumping teams four or five-nil.’
"I thought it was too much. It gets out of hand, a little bit ridiculous. I’m not one of those people who likes all the celebrity of football, either. I just love playing and going home.
“It was very, very intense. You would just be playing practice matches and you would see tackles flying in and little scuffles breaking out all the time. That is what United are.
"They carry that on to the pitch on a Saturday. It’s definitely a higher tempo compared to what we do at Birmingham. Every player at United is on the ball 100 per cent of the time.
“There’s definitely a different way of looking at football at United. You’re expected to be in big events and cup finals every season. Some people there have the 'win at all costs’ mindset. Take Gary Neville. It was everything to him. That’s why he has been so successful.”
And why, perhaps, Foster, who freely admits he forgets about a defeat the second he steps off a pitch, has not. His very gentleness, his blankness of demeanour, invites whispers that he does not care enough.
Reflecting on his stuttering run in the England team, which has yielded five caps in four years, he says: “You meet up with the lads, you play your game and that’s it. Any little thing that goes wrong gets hugely scrutinised. But I never thought it was the be-all and end-all.”
The arrival of two children in two years has helped. Any lapses, not least his blunder in letting a goal through his legs in last month’s semi-final against West Ham, are forgotten in an instant.
“I never think about the past. When I’m home, I completely switch off about football. If builders come around my house all they want to do is talk about the game. But I don’t care.”
Foster does care, acutely, about his career at Birmingham. His appreciation of being a first choice again has found expression in a series of formidable performances, including a 32-save masterclass against Chelsea last November.
He seems, at last, content.
“I love it. I go into each game full of confidence. I love being part of a team that’s going to be battling in their games. It’s just a really friendly club, too, family-orientated. It’s nice to be home.”
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Plymouth Argyle docked 10 points after stating intention to appoint an administrator
Plymouth Argyle face a 10-point deduction after issuing a 'notice of intention' to appoint an administrator.
Fighting off: Plymouth face a 10 point penalty after failing to pay their players Photo: ACTION
By Telegraph staff and agencies 3:06PM GMT 21 Feb 2011
The League One club have faced winding-up orders this season and it was revealed last week that players and staff have still not been paid their wages for January.
Deputy chairman Paul Stapleton issued the following statement: "This action gives the club protection from insolvency action from creditors, whilst at the same time allowing the directors the opportunity to turn current expressions of interest into a permanent and lasting solution for the club.
"This action does not mean that the club is in administration nor does it assume that it will necessarily enter into administration at a future date. Further steps will depend upon the outcome of current discussions with potential investors.
"Under current Football League rules and despite the fact that the action taken is not administration, Plymouth Argyle Football Club will be subject to a 10-point penalty under the league's Sporting Sanctions rule.
"To allow the best options for the way forward to be independently assessed, David Hinchliffe from Walker Morris Solicitors has been appointed to work with Peter Ridsdale, who will, for the time being, continue to act as an independent advisor to the board."
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Knobbly sea star (Protoreaster nodosus)
With Pulau Bukom on the horizon.
More about this sea star on the wildfacts sheets on wildsingapore.
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From 2010. A great-horned owl in the native forest. New York Botanical Garden.
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London 2012 Olympics: Paralympian cyclist Sarah Storey on the right track to make history
Who dares wins. Sarah Storey, a multiple Paralympic gold medallist, born without a left hand, has put herself in pole position to become the first Briton ever to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Cross over: Paralympian cyclist Sarah Store could compete in 2012 Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Gareth A Davies 5:21PM GMT 11 Feb 2011
It slipped under the radar when Storey was named last week in Great Britain’s podium squad for the Women’s Pursuit team at the World Track Championships which take place at the Manchester Velodrome next weekend.
As it is an Olympic qualifying event, if Storey starts the race, she will have put herself on the Olympic ranking list, and in contention for selection for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Once just a dream, Storey’s drive for Olympic selection has become a reality. “You have to compete in one of the Olympic ranking events from this season or one of eight events next year to be in contention for selection,” explained Storey, already a paralympic totem for success with five swimming gold medals, followed by two cycling gold medals in Beijing.
Remarkably, Storey ‘discovered’ her cycling ability by chance. After a chronic ear problem had forced her to retire from swimming, the Mancunian took up cycling at the nearby national training centre, but doubted whether she would even be eligible to compete at the on a bike at the Paralympics. By the time she had recovered from the ear infection, she was a world champion para-cyclist.
Her elevation to this position is no fluke. Consider this: Storey’s time in the 3km race at the Beijing Paralympics would have earned her seventh place in the women’s Olympic event. Since Beijing, Storey has stripped 2.5sec from her gold medal-winning 3km pursuit time, which would have placed her fifth at the Olympics.
Last year, Storey competed in England's 20-strong cycling team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. The 32-year-old became the second Paralympian to represent England in an able-bodied competition alongside archer Danielle Brown. Brown won team gold, Storey finished outside the medal events but still ranked in the world’s top 10 in the 3km event.
In Manchester, Storey will be up against a formidable line-up in Lizzie Armitstead, Katie Colclough, Claire Galloway, Wendy Houvenaghel, Dani King, Rebecca Romero, Joanna Rowsell and Laura Trott, aiming to be selected in the podium teams of three riders. “It's strange sometimes when you're in a line-up and I'm the Paralympic champion and Becs Romero is the Olympic champion, in the same event. I'm getting to compete alongside her now, which is just phenomenal,” she explained.
After two more training sessions, today and Sunday morning, the squad will be whittled down to two teams of three, with one reserve being announced on Sunday afternoon. ‘R’ is not a role Storey is dwelling on when the team sheet is read out by the GB performance director. “I’m not here to make up the numbers, I’m here to be a force within the team, on merit,” she said.
A spokesperson for British Cycling told Telegraph Sport that Storey’s transition “reflects the 17 gold medals won by the Great Britain para-cycling team at the Beijing Games, and the synergy that exists between able-bodied and para-cyclists in the GB set-up. Same track time, same coaches, shared knowledge, shared practice, and huge competition within all teams. It was a natural progression for an athlete who is at the elite level, but who simply has no hand. The issue for Sarah is more technical than physical.”
Indeed, Storey explained that aspect to The Daily Telegraph yesterday. “It is not my physicality for this event which is in question, it is whether I am seen as technically proficient. It’s all about getting into the team and then continuing to improve. There is such strength in depth in the GB team, getting selected is the toughest part. If I was from a lesser cycling nation, getting into the Olympic Games could be a lot easier." That comes to down to grip on the handlebars, the part of the race in which riders focus on power from the start. Effectively with no hand and fingers, Storey can only balance her left arm on the bars, with no grip. Once away, she possesses all the power and speed which make her a world class athlete.
Storey disclosed yesterday that she aims to defend her two Paralympic titles – the Time Trial and Individual Pursuit - in London, as well as gunning for the Olympic Games. That crossover has been achieved before, by Natalia Partyka, a Polish table tennis player, and Natalie Du Toit, a swimmer from South Africa. Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee sprinter from South Africa, and triple paralympic champion over 100m, 200m and 400m, continues to work at the Olympic qualifying time for the 400m event. However, one GB paralympic athlete told The Daily Telegraph yesterday that “crossing over to the Olympic Games is blurring the edges of the two events.”
Nonetheless, Jane Jones, Communications Director at ParalympicsGB, said: “It's a fantastic achievement by Sarah on the back of her Commonwealth Games selection. It shows how Paralympians are continuing to push the boundaries of elite sport.”
Yet next week represents the beginning of Storey’s Olympic dream. “You know what I’m like,” Storey told your correspondent yesterday. “You’ve known me over four Paralympic Games, and I’m a pragmatist when it comes to things like this. The bottom line for me is that what I’m best at is getting on a bike and pedalling as fast as I can. But on merit, I’d like create a bit of history in 2012.”
Crossing the divide
Natalia Partyka, 21, a table tennis player from Poland born without a right hand and forearm, is a double Paralympic champion from Athens and Beijing, who also competed at the Beijing Olympics.
Natalie Du Toit, 27, a swimmer from South Africa who has won 10 Paralympic gold medals in the pool, became the first amputee ever to qualify for the Olympics, in Beijing, where she finished 16th in the 10km, Open water marathon swimming event.
Brian McKeever, 31, a blind Canadian cross-country skier and biathlete was selected by Canada for both the Olympic and Paralympic teams for the 2010 Winter Olympics. At the Olympics he was due to compete in the men's 50km cross-country race, although Canada's Olympic head coach made him a team reserve at the last moment and he did not compete in the Olympic Games.
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Harrier Jump Jet removed from eBay for breaking weapons rules
A decommissioned Harrier Jump Jet being offered for sale on eBay has been withdrawn because it contravenes the website’s policy on the sale of firearms, weapons and knives.
Harrier jet similar to one offered for sale on eBay Photo: PA
By Martin Evans 12:42PM GMT 11 Feb 2011
The iconic 1971 fighter aircraft had attracted more than 80 bids and had reached a sale price in excess of £100,000.
But despite the fact all missiles bombs and canon had been removed from the Harrier and it was being sold without an engine, eBay, were forced to de-list the item after realising the sale breached their strict policy on auctioning weapons.
The aircraft, which was lovingly restored by ex-RAF mechanic, Chris Wilson, 33, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was offered for sale last week with a starting price of £69,999.
But it soon attracted interest from around the world and bids were expected to top the £150,000 mark.
A spokesman for eBay said the sale had been withdrawn because the auction website operated strict policies on the sale of weapons.
There was also concern that the aircraft's sale could breach rules governing international arms trafficking.
The spokesman said: “We have strict policies in regards to the sale of military weaponry, meaning the jet should not have been listed for sale. We would like to apologise to the seller concerned for the inconvenience this has caused him.”
Current eBay policy states: ‘Most weapons can't be sold on eBay due to national and international laws, so our policies reflect this. Bear in mind that to safeguard the community, we may also ban other related items that are legal to sell outside of eBay.
‘Prohibited military items in terms of this policy are articles or services specifically designed, developed, configured, adapted or modified for a military application and:
• neither have predominant civil applications nor performance equivalent to those of an article or service used for civil applications, or
• have significant military or intelligence applicability.
'In addition to prohibiting the listing of military ordnance and other weapons mentioned above, military items listed by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) are prohibited according to the United States federal laws and regulations.'
The eBay spokesman said the aircraft should not have been listed but with the website offering some 20 million items for sale it was impossible be aware of every auction.
The Harrier Jump Jet, which was designed to perform vertical take off and landing and could hover in mid-air, played a crucial role in helping Britain retake the Falkland Islands and also saw action in both Gulf Wars.
But in a controversial move the Government announced in October the entire fleet was being withdrawn from service in order to save money.
The Harrier was being offered for sale without its Rolls Royce engine, but Mr Wilson claimed one could be sourced and it could therefore be possible to make the aircraft air-worthy.
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An influential Silicon Valley venture-capital firm has gobbled up more than $80 million in Twitter shares on secondary markets, a source said yesterday.
Andreessen Horowitz took a bite of the meteoric micro-blogging site by gobbling up a chunk of its privately traded shares, according to the person close to the Menlo Park, Calif.-firm.
The news was first reported on All Things Digital.
Twitter, which has about 175 million registered users, was recently valued at about $3.7 billion after a $200 million fund-raising round.
Since it was launched nearly five years ago, Twitter has proved to be an infinitely popular service, but has yet to prove it can make significant profits.
It is rumored to be heading for an IPO -- while some believe the fast-growing tech concern is more likely to be purchased.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Twitter has recently held low-level talks that value the company at between $8 billion and $10 billion.
Andreessen Horowitz, led by Internet pioneer Marc Andreessen, bought the shares from Twitter employees, Margit Wennmachers, a partner at the firm, told Bloomberg News. The VC firm did not immediately return requests for comment.
Twitter declined to discuss the transaction.
Andreessen was an early investor in Twitter.
There are two major secondary markets, SecondMarket and SharesPost, which trade in shares of private companies like Twitter and facebook, but they do not discuss specifics of the transactions.
The secondary markets have proved a useful tool for companies before an IPO listing because their employees can earn cash from trading their shares
In November, Andreessen Horowitz raised $650 million to spread around on these Twitter-type investments.
The firm has been aggressive and now owns stakes in such hot properties as Facebook, Zynga, Groupon and Foursquare.
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Covered in Snow
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LONDON—U.K. house prices posted a surprise gain in January compared with December, mortgage lender Halifax said Friday, attributing the rise to a monthly fluctuation rather than a significant change in market conditions.
The Halifax house price index rose 0.8% in January from the previous month to an average price of £164,173 ($265,041), partly making up for a 1.3% drop in December.
Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said it is likely there will be further price fluctuations in monthly terms, but overall, property values shouldn't move significantly this year. "We expect limited movement in house prices overall this year. There are however, likely to be some monthly fluctuations with the risks on the downside."
Prices were down an average 2.4% in the three months to January from the corresponding period a year earlier, deeper than the 1.6% year-to-year fall in December and the predicted 2.1% decline.
The Halifax focuses on the quarterly year-to-year comparison because it says it smooths out short-term fluctuations and provides a better picture of underlying trends in the market. Other surveys of house prices have shown different monthly movements of late, but the picture of a year-to-year decline is consistent. On Monday, rival lender Nationwide said prices slipped 0.1% on a monthly basis, contrasting with Halifax's rise—but it also said prices were down in annual terms, for the first time in 17 months.
The market has been dampened by a mix of negative factors. Record-low Bank of England interest rates have failed to keep prices rising as potential buyers are put off by tight lending conditions, fear of unemployment, and high inflation—which has eroded many people's income in real terms, and left them wary of taking on the burden of a large mortgage.
"The prospects for the market in 2011 are closely aligned with the performance of the wider economy," said Halifax's Mr. Ellis. "Consumer confidence has fallen recently, partly as a result of nervousness about the economic outlook."
Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight, said the property market also faces a threat from the possibility that the BOE raises interest rates from their all-time low of 0.5% to counter persistently high inflation.
"Any early interest rate hike would be bad news for the housing market and likely to weigh down on prices—not just the rate rise itself but also the impact on potential house buyers' psychology resulting from the fact that they would be facing rising interest rates," he said.
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The last time my husband and I ate at our favorite French bistro, our post-meal bliss was slightly dampened by the arrival of the bill: costing almost $100 once we counted the tip. $100 for two people! I do love eating out at restaurants, but sometimes I wonder: are those few hours of indulgence really worth the cost?
Well, yes, sometimes for a really amazing meal—and if you can afford it—it is nice to just get away. But my husband and I are trying to be more careful with our spending this year. So lately on date night, we opt to save a little moolah by cooking together at home.
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Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Cream Sauce and more Recipes for Two
“Cooking at home is almost always cheaper than if you eat out,” says Jessie Price, EatingWell’s Deputy Food Editor and author of EatingWell on a Budget. “It’s almost always healthier too. Home-cooked meals are more likely to have reasonable serving sizes. Plus you can limit unhealthy ingredients like butter, salt and cream that are always big players in restaurant meals.”
One less-tangible benefit I’ve also discovered is that cooking (and yes, even washing the dishes) together with your husband can actually be quite romantic. So for Valentine’s Day we’ll pick a menu we’re both excited about, set the iPod to Charles Aznavour, light a few candles and presto! A lovey-dovey, delicious dinner at home.
More Recipes to Try: Valentine’s Day Dinner Recipes
Here is a favorite bistro-style dinner menu, perfect for Valentine’s Day, that clocks in at less than $10:
Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu for Two
Active time: 35 minutes | Total: 35 minutes
Cost per serving: under $2.50 | Cost per recipe: under $4.50
To make traditional cordon bleu, you layer prosciutto (or other ham) and cheese in between thin slices of chicken or veal, then bread and saut the whole stack. This quick, easy version keeps the flavors the same, but skips the fussy layering and breading steps.
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (10-12 ounces), trimmed and tenders removed (see Tip)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons shredded Gruyre or Swiss cheese
1 tablespoon reduced-fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons coarse dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs (see Tip)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley or thyme
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons chopped ham (about 1/2 ounce)
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Sprinkle chicken with 1/8 teaspoon pepper and salt. Combine cheese and cream cheese in a bowl. Combine the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper with breadcrumbs, parsley (or thyme) and 1 teaspoon oil in another bowl.
3. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a medium, ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken until browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Move the chicken to the center so the pieces are touching. Spread with the cheese mixture, sprinkle with ham, then top with the breadcrumb mixture.
4. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and an instant-read thermometer registers 165°F, 5 to 7 minutes.
Makes 2 servings.
Per serving: 280 calories; 13 g fat (4 g sat, 6 g mono); 98 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrate; 34 g protein; 1 g fiber; 331 mg sodium; 260 mg potassium.
Tip: It can be difficult to find small chicken breasts. Remove the strip of meat from the underside of a 5- to 6-ounce breast—the “tender,” about 1 ounce of meat—to yield a perfect individual portion. Freeze the tenders and use them in a stir-fry.
Note: We like Ian’s brand of coarse dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs, labeled “Panko breadcrumbs.” Find them in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets. To make your own breadcrumbs, trim crusts from firm sandwich bread. Tear the bread into pieces and process in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 250°F until dry, about 15 minutes. One slice of bread makes about 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs.
Buttermilk-Herb Mashed Potatoes
Active time: 5 minutes | Total: 20 minutes
Cost per serving: under $0.25 | Cost per recipe: under $0.50
Simmering a garlic clove with the potato infuses it with flavor. Use whatever fresh herbs you have in your refrigerator.
1 large Yukon Gold potato, peeled and cut into chunks
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons nonfat buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
Place potato in a small saucepan and cover with water. Add garlic. Bring to a boil; cook until the potato is tender. Drain; add butter and buttermilk, and mash with a potato masher to the desired consistency. Stir in herbs. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Makes 2 servings.
Per serving: 85 calories; 2 g fat (1 g sat, 0 g mono); 5 mg cholesterol; 14 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 1 g fiber; 87 mg sodium; 416 mg potassium.
Mary’s Zucchini with Parmesan for Two
Active time: 35 minutes | Total: 35 minutes
Cost per serving: under $1.50 / Cost per recipe: under $2.50
This is how our Test Kitchen Manager’s mom prepares her just-picked zucchini. Simple and delicious, the almost caramelized zucchini are topped with a Parmesan crust.
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound zucchini (about 2 medium), sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and cook, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes, until tender and most of the slices are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, sprinkle with salt and pepper; stir to combine. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and cook until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes more. Serve warm.
Makes 2 servings, 3/4 cup each.
Per serving: 101 calories; 6 g fat (2 g sat, 3 g mono); 7 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; 7 g protein; 2 g fiber; 333 mg sodium; 603 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (68% daily value), Potassium (17%), Calcium (16%).
What do you cook when you want to make a romantic meal at home?
By Penelope Wall
Penelope is a web producer and writer for EatingWell.com. When she's not busy geeking out at the computer, she loves cooking and trying new recipes on her friends. Some of her favorite foods are dark chocolate, coffee, apples, sweet potatoes and cheese.
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Government to launch #400 million drive to tackle mental health treatment
Ministers are to launch a major £400 million drive to tackle the way mental health is treated on the NHS – including the ambitious target of "curing" up to a million sufferers in the next four years.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg Photo: PA
By Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor 7:30AM GMT 30 Jan 2011
Comments
The move, designed to put mental health treatment on the same footing as physical illness or injury and to end the stigma attached to depression and other conditions, is to be unveiled in the next few days by Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister.
Ministers want the doctors to stop simply prescribing pills to patients with a range of conditions including eating disorders, self harm, addictions, attention disorders and post-natal depression – a practice which has led to claims the NHS is turning Britain into a "Prozac nation".
Instead they are targeting a massive take-up of "personalised" services, including one-to-one counselling and group therapy. The coalition believes at least one million people will take up these options over the next few years.
In addition, ministers want the NHS to "cure" up to one million sufferers by the next general election, expected in May 2015, by which time they hope that more than 70,000 people currently out of work with mental health problems will be back in employment, the Telegraph has learnt.
Mental health problems are estimated to cost the economy £77 billion a year – with sufferers dying, on average, 10 years earlier than the rest of the population.
As a symbol of the drive to "normalise" treatment, the ancient law that sees an MP automatically losing their seat if they have spent at least six months in a mental hospital is to be scrapped.
Patients will have new rights effectively to force their GPs to refer them to a mental health specialist – or simply to book appointments themselves.
The government also wants a new focus on the "neglected areas" of mental health – particularly among the elderly, whose conditions are often simply put down to the effects of retirement, and children, who are told their problems are just "part of growing up."
The £400 million to fund Mr Clegg's drive is a significant "capture of funding from The Treasury at a time when Whitehall budgets are suffering 25 per cent cutbacks. Spending on the Department of Health, however, has been ring fenced until 2014-15.
A coalition source said: "We've got to get away from the Prozac nation, Valium culture sort of approach where GPs just prescribe antidepressant drugs to people rather than trying to treat them and to cure the underlying problem.
"Much much more can be done, more usefully, using personal services including counselling and group therapy."
The mental health drive is billed as a key part of the coalition's highly ambitious programme of NHS reforms – which include scrapping primary care trusts (PCTs) and handing effective control of the large majority of the health budget to GPs by 2013.
"Any willing provider" – including private companies – will be able to offer NHS services if they can supply them at NHS prices, while 10 regional health authorities will be scrapped.
The plans have attracted criticism – not least because they were not spelt out in the coalition agreement, the detailed statement of policy put out by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in the weeks following the formation of the new government last May.
The agreement did, however, specifically address mental health issues – with ministers promising to increase access to talking therapies, and to explore alternative forms of secure, treatment-based accommodation for the mentally ill.
The treatment of dementia, meanwhile, was "prioritised" within the NHS research and development budget.
The decision to scrap the law that forces an MP to stand down from their seat if they are sectioned under the Mental Health Act for more than six months follows criticism from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Mental Health.
A recent published by the committee found that one in five MPs had personal experience of a mental health problem. The group said that it was inconceivable that any MP who was physically incapable of working for six months due to a serious illness would be forced to stand down.
Parliament last considered the law, section 141 of the Mental Health Act, as recently as 2007, and voted to keep it. Since then campaigners, including Alastair Campbell, the former Downing Street communications director, have lobbied hard to scrap it.
Labour had a patchy record on mental health during its 13 years in power, according to charities and campaigning groups.
The King’s Fund, the health think tank, reported last year that suicide had fallen to historically low levels and said specialist services for people with severe mental health problems, introduced under the 1999 National Service Framework, had enjoyed some success.
However, The King’s Fund also expressed concern that the National Audit Office had concluded that the national dementia strategy “lacks the mechanisms to bring about large-scale improvements”.
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Jack Straw kept legal advice secret from Cabinet ahead of Iraq war to avoid leaks
Tony Blair and Jack Straw kept key information secret from the Cabinet ahead of the war in Iraq because they were afraid of leaks, the former foreign secretary has said.
Former foreign minister Jack Straw arrives to give evidence at a public inquiry into the Iraq War in London Photo: REUTERS
By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent 2:50PM GMT 02 Feb 2011
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On the final day of hearings at the Iraq Inquiry, Mr Straw admitted he advised the Cabinet that invasion would be legal without a fresh United Nations mandate days after Lord Goldsmith, the then attorney general, had said privately that the opposite was true.
In the end, Lord Goldsmith changed his mind about the legality of the war on the eve of the invasion and gave the green light to conflict without ministers ever being made aware of his earlier reservations.
Explaining the decision not to share important documents with the Cabinet, Mr Straw said that he and Mr Blair had been “depressed” after a Cabinet discussion on Iraq a year before the 2003 invasion had become public.
"Any prime minister, faced with leaks like that, is bound to take appropriate alternative action," Mr Straw said.
The inquiry has heard that Iraq was not raised at Cabinet for another six months, and that formal papers on were never shared with ministers.
Mr Straw defended the then-prime minister’s style of “sofa government,” saying that while he preferred a more formal approach, this would not have resulted in a different outcome.
"His style was much less formal than mine, but the fact he used soft furnishings rather than hard chairs does not make him a bad person," he said.
"Nor … do I believe that a more formal process would have altered either the respect in which he was held by colleagues and the influence he had, nor the outcome of the decisions.
"But equally the fact the process was – frustratingly for some – less formal than it should have been doesn't necessarily mean the decisions were of a lower quality, nor that they lacked the fullest range of opinions in the input."
Mr Straw confirmed that the Cabinet was not provided with details of the military planning ahead of the war, but said that ministers would have had to be “deaf, dumb and blind” not to be aware that 46,000 British troops were massed on Iraq’s borders.
"It was a feature of the way that the prime minister ran Cabinet that most decisions were made on the basis of oral briefings, having been pre-cooked through the process of Cabinet committees," he added.
In the run up to the war, Mr Straw said he frequently warned Mr Blair that a policy of regime change in Iraq without the involvement of the UN would be "palpably illegal".
"I made that point in quite categorical terms to the prime minister on more than one occasion," he said.
"We are different people. It is hardly a secret that I came at this issue from a different perspective to the prime minister.
“However, I ended up at the same point as the prime minister – let me make that clear – and backed the position that he and the Cabinet and the House of Commons made to take military action."
Mr Straw confirmed reports that he had suggested “a way out” of military action to Mr Blair days before the invasion began.
Making clear that he supported the decision to go to war, he added that he had suggested to the then-prime minister that Britain could follow the lead of Spain and Italy by holding back from the initial conflict, and joining peace keeping operations only once Saddam Hussein had been toppled.
"I don't think anybody was keen on military action,” he said. "It's horrible and people are going to get killed. I was anxious that we should explore all possible alternatives.
"I also felt that as I owed the prime minister my loyalty, I also owed him the best and most robust advice I could give him."
Concluding the public hearings, Sir John Chilcot, the inquiry chairman, said that he hoped the Government would declassify more secret documents to enable the panel to come to accurate findings about the events surrounding the war.
He added: "It is going to take some months to deliver the report itself. I don't want to set an artificial deadline on our work at this stage. What I can say is that my colleagues and I wish to finish our report as quickly as possible."
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