Good Morning America food editor Sara Moulton’s picks for
Best Cookbook of the Year included Knives Cooks Love: Selection. Care. Techniques. Recipes. by Sur La Table with Sarah Jay.

The segment aired 12/23:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/HolidayTheme/story?id=6511192&page=1

No Laughing Matter By JIM MCTAGUE
Cartoonist and blogger Scott Adams is outspoken about economics, politics and more -- but tight-lipped about Dilbert, hero to cubicle jockeys.

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT THE ECONOMY COULDN'T POSSIBLY get worse comes this disturbing news: Dilbert's mismanaged high-tech company is foundering, jeopardizing the lovable cartoon character's oppressive but steady job as an electrical engineer in a stuffy cubicle, where he's manufactured laughs about illogical and inhumane corporate managers for nearly 20 years.

Barron's won't divulge the climax of the current plot. During a recent interview, Dilbert's creator, Scott Adams, asked that we merely hint at what lies ahead for the cylinder-headed nerd with the upturned, clip-on tie. But read the daily Dilberts carefully over the next few days or weeks; clues abound and they don't point to a happy conclusion.

That's fitting because, as Adams notes in Dilbert 2.0, his $85, 576-page 20th-anniversary collection of 4,000 of his more than 8,000 cartoon strips (plus a DVD): "Dilbert is most popular when the workplace is at its worse." In fact, the strip, a window on workplace absurdity, took off during the downsizing binge of the early 1990s. In one memorable sequence from that period, Dilbert competes with a monkey to keep his engineering job. Dilbert wins, but his victory jig is short-circuited by his pointy-haired boss' decision to place the monkey on the upper-management fast track. Sounds like a telling commentary on the corporate world of 21st century's first decade, too.

Adams' current strips and very funny blog (http://www.dilbert.com/blog/), which often feature the cartoonist's insightful economic and stock-market commentaries, provide more hints about Dilbert's fate. A Dec. 12 blog argues that the recession is anything but temporary: "I think we are on the verge of a change as profound as the Industrial Revolution. Society will have to retool its expectations to meet the reality that there just won't be enough money to provide necessary services if we insist on consuming in an inefficient way."

One clue about Dilbert's fate appeared on Dec. 13 in newspapers around the world (Dilbert is published in 70 countries and 25 languages) in what turned out to be one of the most popular episodes in the strip's history: A financial adviser recommends that Dilbert's pointy-haired boss invest all of the company's funds in sick livestock. Don't buy just one sick cow, the adviser urges; buy an entire herd, because by aggregating sick cows, the risk goes away. "It's called math," the adviser adds, in a send-up of the asset-backed securitizations that have helped topple the global economy.

The financial adviser, by the way, is a malicious canine. In his blogs, Adams is equally unkind to real advisers and money managers. In his view, formed long before the disrobing of Bernie Madoff, they're always conniving to steal investors' money. Perhaps this depiction is payback: Adams lost a bundle following advice during the tech bubble, which also convinced him that investing in individual stocks and "professionally managed" funds is a losers' game. His advisers put half of his portfolio into WorldCom, Enron and other sure things and lost 40% of his invested cash, he says. He managed the other half and lost 20% in the tech wreck.

"Most of the investments I made in individual stocks went bad because managements were lying. They are the source of the information for the markets." His conclusion: "It is even dumber to pay an expert to talk to the liar for you and charge you 1% of your portfolio." Some folks who bought funds of funds that invested with Madoff surely would agree.

Faecal sludge treatment plants proposed in a radius of 15 km on cluster basis in urban and rural local bodies

“The sessions will include new road safety guidelines in keeping with advancements in automobiles and road construction and also amendments made to the Motor Vehicles Act in the recent past”

George Kurian says Centre will develop 100 climate-resilient coastal villages to protect fishers’ livelihood

Election for 11-member board set for November 24 after cooperative faces financial crisis due to alleged fraud in loan valuations and sanctions

Foreign Brokerages predict fiscal consistency with a populist twist under Modi 3.0

PM’s replies to the debate in Parliament with aggressive rebuttal of the Opposition’s barbs and a vision for the economy

I&B Ministry stated that advertisements issued for products related to food and health sectors will be required to upload an annual self-certificate on the Broadcast Seva Portal and Press Council of India portal.  

This change offers more flexibility compared to the previous system, which only allowed updates during the annual KYC filing

The updated regulations define ‘India nexus’ criteria, including user metrics and turnover, and introduce a ₹500 crore monetary threshold.  

Inadequate capacity for drug regulation, need for advanced testing facilities, lack of strong framework for monitoring quality compliance among policy challenges, says report

The decision shifts financial responsibility largely to the central government, freeing up state resources and triggering loan renegotiations with international agencies. 

Internship opportunities surges to touch 50,000 mark; 130 companies have onboarded the internship portal

The Power Ministry seeks stakeholder feedback on amendments

This plan aligns with the global targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

An advisory issued on GST portal lowered the AATO (Aggregate Annual Turnover) for reporting e-Invoices on IRP portals within 30 days to Rs ₹10 crore and above from Rs ₹100 crore and above

The Honda City e:HEV brings intelligent hybrid power to the sedan space

An NCI study explores the causes and effects of a phenomenon known as mosaic loss of chromosome X, or mLOX, which may lead to several health conditions, including cancer.

Rich districts featured at the bottom half when categorised on health and education related parameters

Used as a supply route during the Second World War, the Vizag coast became home to army camps and eventually, to safeguard India’s maritime interests following Chinese aggression, became the site for the Naval Coast Battery

The prospect of delimitation based on electorate variances in States will have to grapple with federal questions

Arijit Pasayat, former Supreme Court judge, will head the 12-member committee 

Terming the abduction of an officer “unprecedented”, police in valley and hill districts ask for more forces of Assam Rifles, fearing a breach of peace due to the movement of armed civilians, underground outfits  

The villagers organised a “victory march” in Bhim on Friday to welcome the State government’s decision

After incidents of Bangladeshi citizens fleeing to India to seek refuge, workers are being labelled as Bangladeshi and are being attacked based on rumours

"It is a festival of democracy. Voting is taking place in areas where it did not take place earlier.... There were calls for disruption and boycott in the past.... It is a standing ovation for democracy," the CEC said

TechnoSport offers a premium hands-on shopping experience of performance and athleisure wear with the launch of its first flagship store in Coimbatore

The 50-metre rifle 3-position shooter, who lost the plot after being in pole position at major events in the run-up to the Olympic Games, turned it around with a podium performance in Paris as expert guidance, diligent preparation and Himalayan patience do the trick

Donald Trump announced on Saturday that his inaugural committee will be chaired by Florida real estate investor Steven Witkoff and former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler

Donald Trump’s victory dims the hopes of Arizona Democrats, who sought to continue their ascendance, which began with the 2018 flip of a longtime GOP-held Senate seat and continued in 2020 and 2022

Investigators from the 21 Division Criminal Investigations Bureau and Strategic Investigation Team (SIT) have arrested and charged Inderjeet Gosal of Brampton, the Peel Police statement said

Mr. Homan, who served in the Trump administration for a year and a half during his first term, is also a contender for secretary of homeland security

The Ministry of External Affairs, which had slammed Canada over the allegations last week, has been silent over clarification

Municipal Administration Minister distributes social security pensions in Nellore

The former Minister appeals to all graduates of erstwhile Krishna and Guntur districts to as voters in the ensuing MLC elections and vote him to power