Bread and Butter

Butter (web picture)

I  was rather surprised to learn about the butter crisis. I thought people have given up or reduced this fatty goodness, for dietary reasons.

Well, I was wrong. This item is as popular as ever, and greatly sought after. The public is furious about the shortage which seems to have been going on since last year.
When the shortage spreads, the consumers resort to hoarding which is not a desirable phenomenon. 


Both production and Import are regulated by the state. The two ministries: Finance and Agriculture blame each other for the butter shortage. The solution - some kind of custom free temporary import.

For the last few years, scientists claim that butter is not linked to diabetes, obesity and heart disease. They don't claim that butter is a health food, but that it is not as harmful as first thought.
Anyway, butter improves and upgrades any cooking and baking. For some people, butter is everything, all things.

Butter brings back to me good memories. During winter, my parents used to eat fresh black bread topped with butter (sometimes with a piece of herring), and followed by a cup of tea. It was the greatest delicacy for them.

"Good bread is the most fundamental of all foods and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts" (James Beard in the Soup and Bread cookbook). So  very true!

Attention: Neighbours !

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Qatar, an arab peninsular country in the Middle East, has recently become a Hot item in the news. Its neighbours: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrein,and the United Emirates ( a federation of seven emirates- Abu Dhabi and Dubai being the most known of them) have accused Qatar of supporting and funding terrorism. Qatar denies the allegation. 

The four neighbours have cut off  diplomatic relations with Qatar, closed their borders and issued  demands and ultimatums. Qatar has declared that it won't give in to any ultimatum, and that all demands are rejected as they're a trial to undermine the sovereignity of the nation.

Qatar, (with its capital city Doha) is a land rich in oil and gas, so naturally it is one that attracts great interest, and not only from its neighbours. It has also been chosen to host the 2022 World Cup tournament (Mondial 2022). Now, it seems this Mondial is under great uncertainty .

A stroll in the city  (Web image)

All sorts of factors (Kuweit, USA, Russia, Germany, the UN) are trying to moderate in the above diplomatic crisis so as  to avoid escalation and ensuing instability in the region.
It doesn't seem likely at  this point that there's going to be a joint military action of the four neighbouring countries against Qatar. However, the situation is very unpleasant, not to say explosive.

If indeed terrorism is financed by Qatar, this should immediately be stopped; supporting terrorism in any way is an act of war against humanity.  All the other issues (among them the neighbours' demand to close Al Jazeera TV net ,and  a turkish military base) - are internal affairs to be dealt with by Qatar's government.

In any case, Qatar largely depends on import (including food import). Closed borders, boycotts and this sort of thing, will have a disastrous impact on the country even though Iran and Turkey are behind  with "moral" support and food supply, helping her at the moment defy its neighbours.

Never a dull moment in the Middle East.

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