Links - 14th February 2020 (2)

Michelin drops Jiro sushi restaurant from Tokyo guide - "To win a coveted seat at the restaurant, you either need to be a regular customer, have special connections or go through the concierge of a top hotel."

Institutional Foundations of Legislative Speech - "Participation in legislative debates is among the most visible activities of members of parliament (MPs), yet debates remain an understudied form of legislative behavior. This study introduces a comparative theory of legislative speech with two major implications. First, party rules for debates are endogenous to strategic considerations and will favor either party leadership control or backbencher MP exposure. Second, in some systems, backbenchers will receive less time on the floor as their ideological distance to the party leadership increases. This leads to speeches that do not reflect true party cohesion. Where party reputation matters less for reelection, leaders allow dissidents to express their views on the floor. We demonstrate the implications of our model for different political systems and present evidence using speech data from Germany and the United Kingdom."
Proportional representation - even a hybrid form as in Germany, leads not just to representatives who don't represent anyone in particular but MPs who are beholden to the party, not voters

Prince Dagus on Twitter - "Spoke to my ex after 10 years. 'Miss or Mrs?' he asked. 'Dr', I said"
"He was asking if you're single or not. God! I would never want anyone that stupid to be my doctor."

The Four Cuisine Regions of China - "I have asked many Chinese friends in Beijing which region of China has the poorest food. “The north!” is always the answer, accompanied by a rueful smile. General opinion deems northern Chinese cooking the ‘poorest’ of the four schools, because of the lack of variety in ingredients and preparation relative to other regions... Northern cuisine favors straightforward tastes, with garlic, scallions, leeks and chilies some primary flavor notes. Mutton and pork are the meats of choice (mutton being particularly used in the Muslim northwest.) Poultry is only used by the wealthy or on special occasions (chickens are commonly kept by poorer folk, but used for their eggs.) Seafood is rare. Northern cuisine uses salt and oil liberally and doesn’t shy away from animal fat (especially pork fat.) These last two seasonings have the advantage of adding calories to the diet in the north’s bitterly cold winters. Often northern Chinese will preserve vegetables for the winter...
Eastern Chinese cuisine, found in the cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou as well as the surrounding provinces, is primarily a cuisine of sweetness. This school uses sugar, wines, and vinegars to provide sweet tastes and create subtlety of flavor. Like the north, eastern cooks favor oily dishes, although these are more subtle than in those in the north. Seafood is abundant... Pork and poultry are used as well. Soups and soupy dishes are very popular. Shanghai is known for its unusual ‘soup inject,’ dishes, which are meatballs, dumplings, or buns filled with a gelatin and stock mixture and cooked until the inside is soup...
The food of China’s west, including the provinces of Sichuan, Hunan and Yunnan, is nothing less than vibrant. It combines a cornucopia of eastern spices with a natural abundance of ingredients... This is a sophisticated and highly spiced cuisine, often extremely spicy hot...
The food of the south is widely regarded as the country’s best. Southern Chinese cuisine centers on Guangdong province and its capital, Guangzhou (once called Canton), and Hong Kong. A famous proverb illustrates the fame of Guangdong food: “Live in Hangzhou, marry in Suzhou, dine in Guangzhou, and die in Luzhou.” (These cities are said to have the best view, the prettiest women, the best food, and the best coffin wood, respectively). This subtropical region is rich in resources, and Guangdong chefs have abundant produce, seafood, and meats at their disposal. Guangdong cuisine incorporates ingredients from all over China and is known for its sometime use of ‘exotic’ animals. As another culinary proverb states, in Guangdong cuisine, “anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies with its back to Heaven is edible.” To be sure, travelers to this region will notice a perhaps-shocking array of animals for sale in the marketplace—dogs, cats, snakes, and turtles are some of the more commonplace... Above all else, classical Guangdong cooking emphasizes absolute freshness of ingredients and correct technique. Ingredients are usually prepared with a light touch, just enough cooking and seasoning to bring out the natural flavors of the foods."

Need help with your dating profile? These ‘doctors’ are in. - "Dean was recently approached by a client who wanted a monogamous relationship but wasn’t having any success. When Dean looked at her dating profile, he realized what the problem was: her pictures.“I was horrified,” he says. “It was just a bunch of intense modeling shots with a lot of cleavage, her staring in a sultry way into the camera. She had lots of little quippy one liners, like “How about we get drinks?” and “I’m always up for hopping on a flight!” She was a caricature of a person with no vulnerability. Everything was just coded to say, ‘I’m desperate for attention.’”... “I had to work with her on using photos that tell stories, suggesting that she was a real person and not just an Instagram model. Modeling shots aren’t useful unless you want to provide masturbatory material for guys who are scrolling at 2 a.m.,” Dean says. “She was finding exactly the kind of man she didn’t want to find because her profile was built to attract them.”... You should actually hope you get rejected, and often. Dean says most people make the mistake of trying to be likeable, which can mute their unique attributes and bring them thousands of matches that aren’t ideal fits"

Fintech: the rise of the Asian ‘super app’ | Financial Times - "One reason for the premium valuations of fintech start-ups such as Grab and its Indonesia-based competitor Go-Jek, which is valued at $10bn, is that these companies do much more than financial services. As well as GrabPay, its payment platform and Ovo, its lending partner, Grab also runs the GrabCar and GrabTaxi ride-hailing businesses and other operations including GrabBike for on-demand motorcycle services, GrabFresh for grocery shopping and GrabFood for food delivery... It is an open secret that Asia’s fintech feeding frenzy has been enabled by decades of aloof, inefficient and expensive service from traditional banks and other financial institutions.  A survey of 4,500 banking customers in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia conducted this year by PwC, the professional services company, found that the proportion experiencing problems with their bank was 82 per cent in Hong Kong, 71 per cent in Singapore and 65 per cent in Malaysia... when customers were asked to think of an animal that characterised their current bank, many chose “sloth, elephant or mosquito” to describe the inadequate service they received... Currently in Hong Kong — for example at HSBC, the territory’s biggest bank — it is far from unusual to wait months for a credit card approval... traditional lenders face an added problem. As they pick fintech partners, they must judge which are likely to survive what analysts predict will be a thorough winnowing process.  Even some of the best known fintech champions are haemorrhaging cash... For Go-Jek and Grab in south-east Asia, actual profitability is an aspiration rather than a short- or even medium-term goal. But at some stage even the most well-heeled of investors will start demanding that the start-ups demonstrate a pathway to profitability. Those that cannot will perish."

Chinese journalist publishes article full of errors, netizens say it's okay because she's pretty - "BD News journalist Xing Chengbo caused quite a stir online when she flubbed the names of 15 of the 23 national footballers taking part in the EAFF E-1 Football Championship... the criticism of Xing was soon side-tracked when pictures of her in a tight, pink dress began circulating online."

UK ranks as one of the worst countries to live in the world - "Britain is one of the worst countries in the world to live as an expat... Britain came in at 62nd place, out of 64 countries for personal happiness. The UK also scored low for quality of life, thanks to the current political climate — 42% of expats rated political stability negatively versus the global average of 17% of people being dissatisfied. This has hit opinion on the economy and job security.  One German expat said: “Brexit makes our future uncertain.”  The weather also had an effect on scores — 49% of people rated the climate negatively. A Lithuanian expat even adds that “the weather affects my general health and wellbeing.” Expats moving to the UK also find it hard to settle in when comparing it to the global average. Some 52% feel at home in the local culture versus 60% globally while 16% don’t think they will ever feel at home in the UK versus the global average of 13%. An American expat adds that “the locals are reserved and won’t go out of their way to be overly social. They may let you into their fold, but never in their inner circle.”  Britain is also an expensive place to live... Childcare is also considered hard to afford, say 69% of expats."

Japanese method of cooking rice with 2-piece KFC original recipe chicken looks absolutely delicious – Mothership.SG – News from Singapore, Asia and around the world - "The simple recipe calls for soy sauce, chicken stock, KFC original recipe chicken, uncooked rice"

Is There an Upside to Having No Social Life? - "From my own experience interviewing highly successful artists, writers, and creative entrepreneurs I’ve found one of the most common responses to the question of how they can be so prolific to be, ‘well, I don’t have a social life.'... a 2016 study of 48 people, which measured their mental state, mood, fatigue and stress over 12 days, found that extraverted behaviour raised people’s moods and energy levels – but this behaviour also led to higher fatigue after a three-hour delay"

Wishing Christians 'Merry Christmas' is a sin, worse than murder - Islamic cleric, Zakir Naik

Thousands Of 'Penis Fish' Wash Up On A Beach In California - "in some cultures they're considered a delicacy. In Korea and China people eat them with sesame oil and gochujang"

Sanctuary City Sues Trump Administration Over Arrival Of Too Many Immigrants - "The State of New Mexico and the sanctuary city of Albuquerque have filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for releasing too many immigrants into the state’s border cities. The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico on Monday, alleged that President Trump’s administration has enacted an “indiscriminate practice of releasing migrants in communities,” in violation of the federal “safe release” policy... In February, Grisham scoffed at the predicted influx of immigrants at the state’s southern border, calling the matter a “charade,” and withdrew National Guard troops from border locations, according to The Los Alamos Monitor.  The sanctuary city of Albuquerque currently receives between 150 and 250 immigrants every week, KVIA reported."
I guess migrants aren't so good after all?

Saudis recruited Twitter workers to spy on critics of Saudi regime, U.S. charges - "Federal prosecutors in San Francisco charged two former Twitter employees and a Saudi national with a plot to provide the Saudi government with information about Twitter users, including critics of the Saudi government... Ali Alzabarah, 35, of Saudi Arabia, and Ahmad Abouammo, 41, of Seattle were Twitter employees. According to the complaint, between November 2014 and May 2015, Ahmed Almutairi, 30, of Saudi Arabia, and Saudi officials convinced the two men to use their employee credentials to access nonpublic information about the individuals behind certain Twitter accounts.  The Saudis sought email addresses, IP addresses, and dates of birth for individuals who had published posts deemed by the kingdom's royal family to be critical of the regime"

The World Bank demanded that Taiwanese staff get Chinese passports - "This year, the World Bank told current and prospective employees of Taiwanese nationality they must present Chinese travel documents in order to maintain or pursue employment.
Why it matters: China has recently ramped up its campaign to systematically force Taiwan and its citizens out of the international community. But forcing out its own staff in this way violates World Bank employment principles."

Teens lured gay men on Grindr then tied them up and urinated on them - "Mohammed Sohail Khan, Qaasim Ahmad, and Muhammad Umar, all aged 18, created fake Grindr profiles before meeting their dates in Birmingham.They attacked and robbed their victims, tied them up and assaulted them as they yelled homophobic comments.One victims was spat at and urinated on during a traumatic two hour ordeal."
Damn colonialism!

Buses may seem slow and annoying now due to orders from Operations Control Centres - "bus drivers can actually get fined if they arrive too late or leave too early from a bus stop. The driver was probably simply trying to stay within the allotted schedule... The framework provides monetary incentives to transport companies in hopes of minimising instances of irregular and prolonged waiting times. This means that the Operations Control Centres (OCCs) of are now more vigilant in ensuring that their drivers maintain a reliable schedule bu providing better guidance to their drivers along routes, regulating bus speeds, and reducing long gaps between consecutive busses. This would mean that sometimes, buses will end up having to wait at certain stops for a minute or two in order to avoided space out bus arrivals at stops further along the route. This would be especially important when traffic is light."