Random links

Mystery deepens over ex-Interpol chief Meng
Looking at how the WHO has been behaving in China recently, I kept thinking to how they disappeared the then-head of Interpol in country about a year and a half ago. Eventually showed up in government custody and supposedly confessed to corruption charges, though given the country in question I wonder what happened behind the scenes.
Conservative faculty appear to influence their students more than liberal professors do
"When we break that down by political leaning, about the same proportion of students — 29 to 30 percent — say they became more liberal in college, whether or not they felt any pressure from faculty members. By contrast, among students who said they felt political pressure from conservative faculty members “frequently” or “all the time,” a slightly larger proportion did become conservative, compared with those who felt less pressure."
The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest families in Florence\
"these families were able to maintain their wealth through various sieges of Florence, Napoleon’s campaign in Italy, Benito Mussolini’s dictatorship, and two world wars." Less uncommon than you might expect I think.
Dry-Brining Is the Best Way to Brine Meat, Poultry, and More
I do enjoy ways of simplifying cooking without seemingly much - if any - of a negative impact on flavour. "Ah, some people may say here. But if you flavor your brine with delicious things like fruit juices, stock, herbs, spices, sugar, and more, then surely your meat will be more delicious than if you just soaked it in a plain old salt-water solution. Sorry, but nope! As Kenji has shown before in his article on turkey brining, flavor molecules, unlike salt, are for the most part too big to penetrate the cell membranes of a piece of meat; your brine may taste flavorful, but your roast will not." (also discusses issues re: dilution of flavour and difficulty browning)