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Ruud van Nistelrooy ‘disappointed’ and ‘hurt’ after cutting ties with Man Utd
Competition among generative AI companies is heating up. On Friday, Amazon announced it would invest another $4 billion in the generative AI company, Anthropic. In little more than a year, the tech giant has now dumped at least $8 billion into the brand. Anthropic is a competitor of OpenAI, which raised $6.6 billion from investors last month. It also rivals Google and Elon Musk’s xAI. In a blog post announcing the deal, Matt Garman, chief executive of Amazon’s cloud computing division, AWS, said, “We’ve been impressed by Anthropic’s pace of innovation and commitment to responsible development of generative AI, and look forward to deepening our collaboration.” Garman added that the companies will “keep pushing the boundaries of what customers can achieve with generative AI technologies.” Amazon also said that AWS will be named “primary training partner.” That boundary-pushing could look like more innovations coming to Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Anthropic’s new AI model. The chatbot was first released in 2023, as a competitor to ChatGPT. Last month, the company announced it gave Claude the ability to control a user’s computer and access the internet—a big leap for AI, which other companies are likely to imitate. | Anthropic was founded by former OpenAI employees (and siblings) Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei, and was, at first, an AI safety lab. Though initially it positioned itself as a small, safety-focused brand, starting with less than 200 employees, as of September, Anthropic is said to employ 1,035 people. Still, the major innovation , which will allow for tasks to be more easily automated, raises concerns about the risks that may come with giving robots the power to control computers on their own. Likewise, in a video post on X, the company admitted that the “experimental” new technology can be “error-prone.” However, Anthropic is still extremely focused on “honest” AI. It started out doing advanced AI safety research that ultimately required the company to build its own AI model. “Imagine if everyone of good conscience said, ‘I don’t want to be involved in building AI systems at all,'” chief executive, Dario Amodei told the New York Times a year ago. “Then the only people who would be involved would be the people who ignored that dictum—who are just, like, ‘I’m just going to do whatever I want.’ That wouldn’t be good.” WIth safety as its constant focus, the AI model is trained on Constitutional AI, which is essentially a set of principles that mean it’s less likely to misbehave or say harmful things. “AI models will have value systems, whether intentional or unintentional,” Anthropic said in a May 2023 blog post. “Constitutional AI responds to shortcomings by using AI feedback to evaluate outputs,”—which, presumably, teaches the model to respond in the most respectful way possible. Other leading competitors that aren’t trained on values may be easier to manipulate. As part of the investment, Anthropic plans to train and deploy its foundational models on Amazon’s own Trainium and Inferentia chips, as opposed to the more common Nvidia chips. The new chips, which Amazon says offer “high performance” at the “lowest cost” are part of Amazon’s strategy to strengthen its position in the market. The company also said, in its announcement, that Claude will power Amazon’s new and improved Alexa voice assistant (which, when tested, was said to perform better using Claude than the previous in-house model). The feature is scheduled for release in 2025. The announcement also stated that AWS will be named “primary training partner.” Given that it ostensibly began as a research firm, Anthropic is already known for its research-driven practices, like developing advanced strategies to help mitigate election-related risks and measuring the persuasiveness of its models. Amazon doubling its investment may not only keep the AI game competitive, but also help keep safety at the forefront of AI developments. The application deadline for Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards is Friday, December 6, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
I want to borrow some of your valuable time today to explain how I would not only save the faltering MSNBC , but also help it positively thrive, all while putting Republicans’ ongoing attack on America and our flickering Democracy on the front burner of the national discussion. I admit that I come to all this as an unlikely savior. As a curmudgeonly newspaperman, I have not been a fan of 24/7 cable news ever since it so unfortunately came into existence. I mean, what in the hell prompted us to think we needed “BREAKING NEWS” shoveled at us all day via these oh-so-sweet and handsome television toothies to further complicate our busy lives? Much better newspaper professionals packaged all you needed to know in a neat, tight bundle delivered at your doorstep so you could process it all with your coffee in the morning, or an extra-dry martini after work. And if you needed a stiff chaser, there was always Walter Cronkite kicking around to serve it to you straight. When it was clear the never-ending news blaring from our TV sets was here to stay, I let go this stellar quote in the newsroom one gloomy afternoon: “Turn that shit off. Nobody has time to watch this amateur crap all day.” Well, it turns out I was wrong about all that, and I’ll spare you what I said about the Internet when it barged into our lives, because chances are you’d quit reading right here and now. (I did think the Beatles would be a major hit when they came long, so occasionally my predictions hit in spectacular fashion.) Ever since the latest godawful election night in America, MSNBC’s ratings have been in the toilet, with some parts of their programming dropping audience share by nearly 50 percent. Turns out, many viewers aren’t happy with their appeasement of the American-attacking Trump in some parts of their 24/7 programming, or their attempt at “fair and balanced” news coverage that preceded the election by normalizing a hardcore racist who writes love letters to dictators. Then there was the not-so-subtle banging on the Democratic Party by some of their mouthy, daytime anchors, who just couldn’t acknowledge the party was correct on nearly every single major issue, but ironically lacked the bandwidth to tout their stellar work. There’s speculation that MSNBC’s ratings dive will slow when the America-attacking Trump is sworn in on January 20th, and all the terrible things he ran on officially become all-too real. Good people are just tired right now, and trying to claim the next two months for themselves, before all the blood righteously pumps from their hearts with a gush straight into their exploding heads. Fox News went through a similar down cycle after Joe Biden beat the America-attacker in 2020. The right-wing propaganda station lost lots of its viewers, but they all returned in time. I am not sure that will be the case here — my shaky history of predictions aside. The gods at Comcast, who own MSNBC, have announced they have plans to “spin off” the network , along with some other channels in their vast catalogue into a separate company. Nobody knows what in the hell all this means, but in researching this write, I can tell you there are a s----ton of “media insiders” who aren’t shy about making semi-educated guesses. Some have speculated whatever it is that is spun will be sold to the highest bidder — maybe even Fox’s Rupert Murdoch. Others say the place will just look a little different, but remain under current ownership. Only one thing seems crystal clear: America has never needed reliable, left-leaning news programming more than it does right now. The notorious messaging problem wasn’t as prevalent for Democrats this past election cycle, but platforming their message was. They (we) simply no longer have the bandwidth to compete with the Republican’s myriad industrial pollutants that poison the air with their lies. They are literally everywhere. They control the radio airways, our TV channels, and the digital media. Billionaires like the grotesque Elon Musk are throwing their money and their allegiances to fascists like Vladimir Putin to help finish off America for good with their odious, never-ending lies. ALSO READ: Trump is taking the mask off after lying to us for more than a year Our corporate media is now officially disgraceful, and failed to do its job by giving the greatest internal threat to America since the Civil War the attention it deserved. Democracy and our rights as Americans are hanging precariously by a thread, and these incompetent, bought-off boobs in the working press are in large part to blame for it. Regular visitors to this space will know how I feel about all this and them, so for the sake of time, I’ll just leave it at that for now. The communications landscape has been turned completely on its head, and liberals’ rigid, straight up approach to reaching people is honorable in its intent and embarrassing in its execution and results. Unless and until this is fixed and pronto, Democrats and left-leaners in this country are in deep, deep, trouble. We are losing the communications battle, but if MSNBC would just get the hell out of its own way, we could start to reclaim the high ground. Here’s how that happens: Start listening to your audience, MSNBC. They hate you right now. They believe you have failed and betrayed them. Stop trying to be some “both-sides-do-it” news organization, and start capturing the millions of people who are starving for truth, and know a revolting racist when they see and hear one. Stop trying to be too many different things to too many different audiences. Immediately dump the half-baked garbage on your station — like, Morning Joe , for instance. Seriously, what is it that show supposed to be doing? What crucial niche is it fulfilling? Is showcasing two lily-white people kissing the two-ton ass of a dictator that important? Their stupid show bleeds into a significant problem I’ll delve into a bit more shortly: What the hell is your penchant for recruiting Republican refugees as headliners on your station? It’s disgusting. Start listening to what your audience wants immediately . Start giving them what they want instead of what you think they should want. It’s haughty as hell. They, not you, are all that matters. Screw it, let’s deal with this Republican problem right now. The station is littered with them. Do these people really think their noxious party is coming back from the America-attacking Trump? Is being a part of the gruesome Tea Party movement something to be proud of and looked back on with reverence? Are trying to kill abortion rights and Obamacare a badge of honor? Were things “great” for them when they had the House and Senate back then? And former staffers for the hideous George W. Bush are everywhere. Here’s a bulletin: He is a terrible, terrible man. A damn war criminal. A complete idiot. I mean, what the hell am I supposed to make of all this, people? Look, I’m not here to entirely wipe ‘em out, but how is it they have ascended to such loud platforms in the Democratic communications ranks? The Lincoln Project , despite some pretty significant hiccups, has done some good work, but nobody deserves extra credit for simply doing the right thing and turning away from a revolting political party that falls at the fat, little feet of a complete lying racist, deviant, who assaults women and our country and brags about it. But MSNBC can’t seem to get enough these old, white Republican men, and as an old, white liberal man I find it really creepy and disturbing. Here’s what I’d like to hear them all say, “We were wrong. The party we supported is terrible, it really is. Turns out the folks on the Left were right about us all these years. I fervently hope they will accept our apologies.” Otherwise, they can hit the road, and shouldn’t be trusted. I have warned before that many of them are just dying to do the wrong thing again, and go back to their revolting party. Don’t be shy about letting your audience know that you are direct counter-programing to the ghastly Fox network, and in fact are taking them and their bulls--- head on. Make a point of destroying them. Belittle them. Fact-check the hell out of them. This will be delightfully easy to do and so much damn fun to watch. WE NEED SOME FUN, DAMMIT. Say what you will about Murdoch’s odious network, but it has succeeded beyond the ancient man’s wildest dreams. There is no America-attacking Trump without Fox. Period. They are ratings stalwarts that traffic in lies and are expert at exploiting what is buried in their audience’s cold, white hearts. They are proof as Mark Twain once quipped, that “a lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” Call them out on this 24/7. Focus. Make it clear as day you are 100 percent, left-leaning programming that proudly and unswervingly stands for women’s right, human rights, voters’ rights, environmental rights, workers’ rights, healthcare rights, and Social Security and Medicare rights. In other words, all the things the Democrats have stood for during the past 100 years. Except too many Americans don’t know that in 2024, because the message and that fact have been completely stolen. This horses--- that Republicans are running with the idea that they care about working-class Americans is grand larceny and should have NEVER been allowed to happen. By their dirty deeds, Republicans actually HATE working-class Americans. This has been a massive messaging problem for the Democratic Party, yes. But the pathetic mainstream media, with your help, MSNBC, helped people buy into this. Stop trying to do too many things half-decently, and home in on doing one thing great: spreading the truth. Give Pete Buttigieg a big, fat contract and as much airtime as he wants. I’m being partial here, but the dude might be the best communicator I have ever heard. Maybe even consider some Crossfire variant where he calmly smashes a conservative lackey to smithereens on a weekly basis. Again: WE NEED SOME DAMN FUN. Enough already with all these double-talking “legal experts” on your shows. This should need no explaining after what happened first with Bill Barr and the Mueller Report, and then Merrick Garland and the attack on America he ignored. It took forever to hear a single criticism of Garland from any of these on-air lawyers. Some still haven’t gotten there yet. They have been wrong about almost everything, but have proven the legal system in this country is in a complete shambles. The notion of law and order, and that nobody is above the law in the United States is a pathetic joke. Our Supreme Court is the most gory example of this. Give me legal people who say what need saying in plain, non-lawyered terms, and will be critical of other lawyers , and keep the rest of them the hell off the air. Create the biggest, ever-expanding, liberal, pro-Democracy bubble in history, and don’t apologize for it. If the worst thing that happens is that your growing audience is stuffed full of righteous, good-hearted people, while all hell comes raining down from the White House the next four years, things could be worse. You have a real opportunity here, MSNBC. Tens of millions of us, are looking for a place we can trust to hang our hats, while the storm rages. I suggest you get the hell out of your own way and just take it. D. Earl Stephens is the author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. You can find all his work here .Company Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.17 Per Share LAS VEGAS , Dec. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized an additional $500 million under the Company's share repurchase program. Considering the additional authorization, the Company had approximately $843 million remaining in repurchase authority as of September 30, 2024 . Additionally, the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per share, payable January 15, 2025 , to shareholders of record as of December 16, 2024 . About Boyd Gaming Founded in 1975, Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) is a leading geographically diversified operator of 28 gaming entertainment properties in 10 states, manager of a tribal casino in northern California , and owner and operator of Boyd Interactive, a B2B and B2C online casino gaming business. The Company is also a strategic partner and 5% equity owner of FanDuel Group, the nation's leading sports- betting operator. With one of the most experienced leadership teams in the casino industry, Boyd Gaming prides itself on offering guests an outstanding entertainment experience and memorable customer service. Through a long-standing company philosophy called Caring the Boyd Way, Boyd Gaming is committed to advancing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives that positively impact the Company's stakeholders and communities. For additional Company information and press releases, visit https://investors.boydgaming.com . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boyd-gaming-announces-additional-500-million-share-repurchase-authorization-302324275.html SOURCE Boyd Gaming CorporationNEW YORK — Department store retailer Kohl's Inc. says Michaels CEO and retail veteran Ashley Buchanan will take over its top job, effective Jan. 15. Buchanan succeeds Tom Kingsbury, who will stay as an adviser to the new CEO and retain his position on the board until his retirement in May. Kingsbury served as Kohl's interim CEO in December 2022 and was named its permanent leader in February 2023. Buchanan will assume the leadership of Kohl's at a time when the retailer has wrestled with sluggish sales. Its middle income shoppers have pulled back on discretionary spending in the face of still high prices for necessities. Like other department stores, it's also faced stiff competition from Walmart and Amazon, which have been improving their fashion offerings at affordable prices. Wisconsin-based Kohl's has around 1,600 locations across the U.S. Buchanan has been CEO of the arts and crafts retailer Michaels Cos. since 2020 and, prior to that, he has held a variety of senior executive roles at Walmart and Sam's Club over 13 years. ATLANTA — President Joe Biden's administration announced Nov. 26 that the Department of Energy will make a $6.6 billion loan to Rivian Automotive to build a Georgia factory that had stalled as the startup electric vehicle maker struggled to become profitable. It's unclear whether the administration can complete the loan before Donald Trump becomes president again in less than two months, or whether the Trump administration might try to claw the money back. Trump previously vowed to end federal electric vehicle tax credits, which are worth up to $7,500 for new zero-emission vehicles and $4,000 for used ones. Trump later softened his stance as Tesla CEO Elon Musk became a supporter and adviser. Rivian made a splash when it went public and began producing large electric R1 SUVs, pickup trucks and delivery vans in Normal, Ill., in 2021. Months later, the California-based company announced it would build a larger $5 billion plant about 40 miles east of Atlanta. WASHINGTON — With inflation still elevated, Federal Reserve officials expressed caution at their last meeting about cutting interest rates too quickly, adding to uncertainty about their next moves. Even if inflation continued declining to the central bank’s 2 percent target, officials said, “it would likely be appropriate to move gradually” in lowering rates, according to minutes of the November 6-7 meeting. The recap didn’t specifically provide much guidance about what the Fed will do at its next meeting in December. Wall Street investors see the odds of another quarter-point reduction in the Fed’s key rate at that meeting as nearly even, according to CME Fedwatch. WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency is increasing the size of home loans that the government can guarantee against default as it takes into account rising housing prices. Beginning next year, mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be able to acquire loans of up to $806,500 on single-family homes in most of the country, the agency said Nov. 26. The new conforming loan limit is a 5.2 percent increase from its 2024 level. The finance agency oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which buy home loans from lenders. It adjusts the mortgage limits annually to reflect changes in U.S. home values, which have been rising this year despite a national sales slump. NEW YORK — Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics chain, reported another quarterly drop in sales Nov. 26 as Americans continued to tighten their purse strings on appliances and gadgets to focus on essentials. The retailer also lowered its annual revenue and profit outlook Tuesday. Best Buy reported earnings of $273 million, or $1.26 per share, for the quarter ended Nov. 2. That compares with $263 million, or $1.21 per share, a year ago. Sales fell to $9.45 billion from $9.76 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts expected earnings of $1.30 per share on sales of $9.63 billion, according to FactSet. Comparable sales— those sales from online channels and physical stores — fell 2.9 percent in the quarter. The company said sales of appliances, home theater and gaming systems declined, partially offset by growth in the computing, tablets and services.None
Carson Jerema: Trudeau prefers Canada as a spoiled American satelliteThe embassy, on Grosvenor Place in London, held the UK launch of Mr Murphy’s memoir, Running From Office, on Wednesday last week, posting on social media afterwards that it was an “insightful conversation led by Ryan Tubridy”. The two-hour-long event was hosted by Irish Ambassador to Britain, Martin Fraser, with former RTÉ broadcaster Ryan Tubridy leading the launch and subsequent discussion of Mr Murphy’s political memoir. Mr Fraser was previously secretary general at the Department of the Taoiseach, including while Mr Murphy was minister for housing, from 2011 until he took up the role of ambassador in 2022. The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday that the associated costs, including food, beverages and staffing, of the event were covered by its mission budget. “For each book launch hosted at the embassy, the costs for food, beverages and staff are met from the mission budget,” a spokeswoman for the department said. “In relation to the event in question, the book’s publisher, Eriu, wrote to the embassy with a proposal for the event. “The estimated cost of this event was £2,104 (€2,550),” the spokeswoman said. Asked about Mr Tubridy’s involvement, the department said no fees were paid by the embassy to any participant. [ The unravelling of a housing minister: Eoghan Murphy opens up about sleeping pills, manic running, anxiety and tears Opens in new window ] The department said the former minister for housing’s book launch was hosted by the ambassador as part of the embassy’s event programme. The programme, the spokeswoman said, includes up to 100 events per year, “covering a wide range of topics and a large number of events”. “In addition, the embassy supported the Irish Writers Weekend at the British Library, which featured over 30 Irish writers,” she said. The former minister’s event was one of seven book launches hosted by the Irish Embassy in London to date in 2024. Mr Murphy resigned his Dáil seat in 2021. His memoir, entitled Running From Office: Confessions of Ambition and Failure in Politics, details his time as minister for housing. [ Running From Office by Eoghan Murphy: a fine memoir built on a flimsy political career Opens in new window ] Neither he nor his publisher, Eriu, the Irish imprint of Bonnier Books UK, responded to requests for comment. Jack White is a reporter for The Irish Times“Cassoulet, that best of bean feasts, is everyday fare for a peasant but ambrosia for a gastronome.” ~ Julia Child When winter heads our way, bringing chilly temperatures and close, dark nights, my thoughts turn to Cassoulet, the iconic comfort food from southwestern France. It has it all – juicy beans, duck leg confit, sausages and sometimes pork or lamb, slowly simmered in well-seasoned broth, then baked in a wide-mouthed, glazed terra-cotta dish called a cassole . Like any truly traditional dish, there are multiple versions, all claiming to be the “authentic one.” Cassoulet originated in southwestern France. Toulouse claims it — and so does Castelnaudary and Carcassonne — and the recipes vary. Toulouse adherents eschew adding cubed pork. Castelnaudary purists add a bit of lamb, while Carcassonne’s adds partridge. In most restaurants, cassoulets are served in an individual cassole , bubbling with hot juices,and with a bit of duck leg peeking through the top. But at Hostellerie Etienne , a vast indoor- outdoor restaurant on the edge of a forest near Castelnaudary, the cassoulets come to the table in family-size cassoles , big enough to serve two, four, six or even 10 people, so you can share the dish with your dining companions. I don’t know if Etienne’s even has a single-serving bowl size. I didn’t see one, when I was there as the guest of a bean trader from Castelnaudary. According to him, Etiennne’s has the best cassoulet anywhere, and they use the Lauragais lingot beans known as the Castelnaudary bean. Copious doesn’t begin to describe the cassoulet scene there, with stacks of cassoles lined up in Etienne’s kitchen, next to caldrons of simmering beans, ready to be filled and popped into the vast ovens. Here in the Bay Area, we have our own go-to restaurants for cassoulets. Some, like the Left Bank Brasseries in San Jose, Menlo Park, Oakland and Larkspur, and Reve Bistro in Lafayette, only serve it during the winter months as a special. (Reve will be serving cassoulet Dec. 10-14, for example, and Jan. 7-11; reserve it when you reserve your table.) Others, such as Bistro Jeanty in Yountville and Le Central in San Francisco, always have it on the menu. Both Reve Bistro and Bistro Jeanty use cassoles made by potter Kathy Kernes at her Crockett Pottery in Crockett, and they are every bit as beautiful and as practical as those you’ll find in southwestern France. Kernes’ makes cassoles in six sizes ($38-$210), ranging from individual to “extra large plus,” which is very large indeed. (Browse the possibilities at www.crockettpottery.com.) Reve Bistro offers take-out cassoulets if you pre-order the week the dish is on the menu. Pick it up — in a takeout container, not a cassole! — then heat it at home. Just note that chef-owner Paul Magu-Lecugy only makes a limited number of portions. “It’s time consuming,” he says, noting for him, it is a two-day process. Le Central’s cassoulet is one of the more elaborate around, with lamb, pork shoulder and boudin blanc, as well as the all-important duck leg confit and slightly garlicky Toulouse sausage. Left Bank uses chef-owner Roland Passot’s recipe (see below) and keeps it simple, limiting the meats to duck leg confit and Toulouse sausages. (Don’t panic. If you’re making this at home, some specialty markets sell duck confit.) The beans are key to cassoulet. Once cooked, they should not be mushy, but hold their shape after the long cooking. In France, tradition calls for either Tarbais beans, a plump, white bean, or lingot beans — a strain of cannellini beans — in making cassoulet. As Passot suggests in his recipe below, you can substitute cannellini beans or Great Northern beans. Rancho Gordo produces a variety called cassoulet , a West Coast-grown bean from the Tarbais strain. Cassoulet isn’t difficult to make. It just requires time and patience. You can make it a couple of days ahead, refrigerate it and then slowly reheat it. That way, there’s nothing to do on the day of but sip a glass of wine while the beans and meats slowly heat to bubbling. Add a green salad and some crusty bread, and you’ll have the perfect winter meal. Or put your coat on and head to one of our local restaurants, where the cooking is done for you. All you need is a reservation. Serves 6 to 8 Beans: 4 cups dried lingot beans (white kidney, cannellini or Great Northern, will all work) 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped 1 small onion, diced (about 3⁄4 cup) 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 pound slab bacon or extra thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 sprigs of thyme 1 bay leaf Cassoulet: 1⁄4 cup duck fat (lard will do in a pinch) 2 pounds pork butt cut in 2-inch cubes 1 cup onions, diced small 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1⁄4 cup tomato paste 1 small can diced tomatoes 11⁄2-2 cups reserved bean water 6 Toulouse sausages 1 small garlic sausage 4 confit duck legs, purchased or homemade (see note below) 1 cup panko bread crumbs 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Note: If you are making your own duck confit, start the night before by rubbing the duck legs with a “green salt” mixture — kosher salt, parsley, a couple of bay leaves and thyme ground together. The next day, rinse the duck legs well, pat dry and place in an oven-safe cooking vessel with enough duck fat to cover the legs. Roast in a 225-degree oven for 21⁄2 to 3 hrs. The night before, place the beans in a deep pot and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Let beans soak overnight. The next day, rinse the beans well. Add the rinsed beans, carrots, onions, garlic, bacon, thyme and bay leaf to cold water and cook, over low heat, until the beans are tender. Strain the beans, saving the water, and set aside the beans. In a large braising pan, melt the duck fat over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, brown the pork butt pieces without stirring. When beginning to brown, start stirring, making sure you scrape the bottom if it starts to caramelize. The pork doesn’t need much color, but it does need to cook in the duck fat for a while. Add lots of salt and pepper. This is not a shy dish. When the pork is nice and brown on all sides, add the 1 cup onions and garlic, and sauté until the onions are soft and cooked through. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes and reserved liquid from the beans. Stir, using a rubber spatula to clean the side of the pot. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Bring the heat under the braising pan up to high. Once at a rolling boil, turn down to low heat and add all the sausages. When they are cooked through, remove and set aside. Slice the garlic sausage in half and cut into 1-inch pieces. Return the whole and sliced sausages back to the pot along with the cooked beans. Continue to cook on low heat until the pork is cooked through. Taste for seasoning; add more salt and pepper if needed. Transfer the beans and pork to a heavy, wide mouth, earthenware, clay or cast iron baking dish that can hold 5 to 6 quarts. Bake at 250 degrees for about 11⁄2 hours, checking at least every 30 minutes. It may require a bit more time. If the dish is starting to look too dry, add a small amount of reserved bean broth or chicken stock. Add warmed duck legs to the cassoulet and make a breadcrumb topping by combining the panko, garlic, parsley, thyme and extra virgin olive oil. Return the dish to the oven and continue baking until the crumbs brown on the top. — Courtesy Roland Passot, Propriétaire, Chef Culinary Officer, Vine Hospitality
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