Monthly Archives: December 2025

In Southern Hungary previously fertile agricultural farmland is turning into dessert. Historically these fields would be regularly flooded by the Danube and Tiza rivers, which would protect the land from drying out.

Bad land and water management and a warming planet with reduced rainfall, warm surface-level air preventing precipitation has led to this situation. The lack of ability to grow crops has affected Hungary’s GDP and the Hungarian Government want the situation addressed.

However, a group of farming volunteers have came up with a solution to flood land with excess water from a nearby Spa. The warm Spa water is being diverted from the Canal where the water was previously disposed of by the Spa as it was excess to their needs. With sluice gates diverting the spa water the Canal is emptied and a small flooded area created with the hope that it helps the water table and seeps through into the surrounding land allowing crops and flora and fauna to establish themselves again.

It remains to be seen if this idea will be sufficient to save the region from the inevitable onslaught of misuse of land and the warming of the planet.

Thanks to NBC News and the Associated Press for the above headline

In truth when I read this , I at first could not believe it and I’m pleased that there has been outrage voiced by many people in Europe and the United States.

The War Dead are dead and cannot protect themselves, removing a plaque specifically about Black soldiers who were serving their Country is not acceptable.

It is not woke to object and say it is wrong. What is woke is for the American Battle Monuments Commission to say that the stories of the soldiers ” are rotated out ” . How disrespectful is that?

Also for the US Ambassador to the Netherlands Joe Popolo to say on social media.

” The signs at Margraten are not intended to promote an agenda that criticizes America.”

The Dead can’t criticize, but the lives that they led and the fact that they died in a foreign land fighting for their Country does bear witness and must not be forgotten or worse of all be swept away by a Presidential Executive Order. Yes, History and the Truth of segregation hurt and must continue to do so to prevent History being repeated.

Thank you to Cherylann Mollan BBC Online News for the Headline

Yes I love Naan’s too, apparently it all started in the courts of Islamic Kings and not the Ayatollah’s viscious , cruel and corrupt courts that we all know from the news.

However, it is a far reaching proposition to say that only the Chefs of Islamic Kings made Naans, possibly their subjects were nomadic and didn’t have very good access to clay ovens or hygienic ways to prepare the dough and cook it but I’m sure if they had the wheat to make flour that the Nomads used to prepare them too. Possibly they put the prepared dough on the back of a donkey and travelled off to their next destination while the Naan puffed up under the hot sun and the warmth of the donkey’s back, only to be popped in a borrowed clay oven on arrival at their destination or possibly cooked on sunbaked hot pebbles.

Today Naan is made by combining flour , yogurt and yeast into a soft, malleable dough, these can be either baked in an oven, grilled or fried in a large pan. They are so easy to make.

The Naan is how I think of the Indian prepared bread and the Flatbread( a variation of the theme) is how the simple ingredients and method of making has developed. I am grateful that the Ayatollah had nothing to do with them which on first reading the Headline was what struck me. Silly me.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading. 🙏

Thanks to Guy Delauney at BBC Online News Europe for the Headline

After some months of uncertainty Kosovo have elected for a third term their Albanian nationalist Vetvendosje party on the basis that despite previous failed promises of the economy improving , it was finally decided by the voters that the other two parties probably wouldn’t make any better job of it.

It has taken a while , so let’s hope that Kosovo, which is surrounded on all sides by mountainous regions with Serbia to the North and East, North Macedonia to the Southwest, Albania to the Southwest and Montenegro to the West, hopefully can benefit from European and World Banks support which will allow it’s transitional economy to grow.

Their economy could be supported by the minerals that are within the Kosovo soil, but their mining industry is fragmented and although nearly 20% of the population are deemed agricultural workers agriculture accounts for single figure generated income to Kosovo’s budget. Though they make good wine which is mainly exported to Germany.

The success of Albin Kurti’s new term as head of Government depends on his ability to get some of the minority parties to support him. It looks increasingly likely that he will achieve that as stable investment is key to getting the investment that is needed in the infrastructure of the Country.

The people of Kosovo look to him to guide the Country so that they can all benefit from Peace and Prosperity.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading. 🙏