There are reports that are published about the most corrupt countries and also the nicest countries. I remember seeing reports on both. I remember one report that said Ireland was one of the nicest or “goodest” countries.

The information gathered about corrupt countries is informative but it is also very sad. The late Ray Charles sang a song with these lyrics: “None of us are free. If one of us is chained, none of us are free.”

You or we … have a tendency to review these reports and breath a sigh of relief when our country is not in the Top 10. But then, you have to think:
~ Is there no way the people in those countries can be set free?

If you’re in a corrupt country, with a ruthless regime, it’s worse than being a slave in chains!

I was scared we’d be in the top ten. We are in the top ten of the most dangerous cities…Kingston.

thank god india is not in this list …

Speaking corruption, the Philippines has a lot of corrupt officials. In fact, everyone is clamoring to enter politics because they want to enrich themselves through those projects being implemented in the place where they rule.

But with us having a new president now, so bent in curbing corruption and in fact, have relieved the whole management of its Bilibid prison, where drug lords have their shabu laboratories.

He has already a strict instruction that government employees should expedite all government trasactions and report those who asks for bribes.

I Hope this is the beginning of at least the lessening if not for the eradication of corruption in the government.

Life is not a bed of roses. It has its thorns so we should know the things to avoid in life, to hurdle the challenges we face. We should be equipped with enough knowledge but let us not forget to have the heart too to help people along the way. Yes we can do that, because who knows the people that we helped while we hurdle some challenges will also be the very people who can help us pass those challenges.

It is these challenges that once we have passed that shapes us a strong person. Once, we have hurdled a lot already, we can already say to ourselves, if I have surpassed those challenges that we can really consider as hard, then why can’t we hurdle some more.

For people who don’t like to watch horror, they should read Edgar Allan Poe. The reading is so worth it!

Nice blog. I, for one, enjoy bananas. Bananas can, also, be a source to heal or alleviate muscle pains. There is a particular banana tea that is supposed to cure insomnia. A mixture of water, bananas and cinnamon can be added in boiling water. Anyone who is interested, please let me know and if I find it, I will be glad to send you the instructions. Also, my darling wife, prepares for us a nice smoothie with some of our bananas. You had mentioned hernia in your blog. I, personally, had a belly button hernia that got, surgically, removed. So, I guess that qualifies me to understand the discomforts that a hernia brings. Hernias are no fun and prompt surgical intervention is key in order to get much added relief. Thanks for sharing.

A good and informative blog. In India, it is known as the poor man’s fruit. Whatever may be the reasons to call it so, it occupies a very significant role in the diet of an Indian.
There are many varieties in Banana as you said in the blog. In India, we got a variety called CHEKKARAKELI which will be very small in size and rich in taste. It will be of 8Cms in length and the layer will be very thin in light pink or maroon color. It is found mostly in the Southern part of South India especially in Andhra Pradesh. Another variety is known for its color and will be of 8 cms in size with very thick skin in yellow color.It will be quite different in taste with a combination of sweet and salt. Another variety will be having black dots on the skin. They are very sweet and rich in taste. People enjoy this variety mostly and in their anxiety eat more than what they actually can tolerate. Of course, it can be digested easily.
Banana has got many medicinal values. It is used in many medicines of Ayurveda and also in Yunani methods in treating diseases successfully. The skin of Banana is a bad conductor of heat. As such it is preferred for healing many skin problem and cracks on the heels. It is asked to take along with asafoetida in Yunani method of treating the diseases. They will prescribe the quantity of the Asafoetida to be taken along with the Banana.
In rural India, people use the bark of the Banana tree in their diet. It is cut into small pieces and a curry is prepared for taking along with rice. This is very effective in curing the kidney problem and melting down the stones in Kidneys. The people in Urban areas are now preferring to use this in their diet and finally, it has become so popular that it is served in 5 star hotels as a special dish.
The flower also is used for preparing curry which will be quite tasty. The chips made of Banana will be available in various tastes and colors. As in the Philippines, serving food in a Banana leaf is a must in a good restaurant and it is a Hindu tradition to take meals in the Banana leaves.

I heard a cliche’ And Apple a day keeps the Doctor away. So can bananas very important food source, much needed details. Great blog

Banana facts

Bananas may have been the world’s first cultivated fruit. Archaeologists have found evidence of banana cultivation in New Guinea as far back as 8000 B.C.
Bananas are produced mainly in tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, Asia and the Americas, as well as the Canary Islands and Australia.
Bananas do not grow on trees. The banana plant is classified as an arborescent (tree-like) perennial herb, and the banana itself is considered a berry.
The correct name for a bunch of bananas is a hand; a single banana is a finger.
Nearly all the bananas sold in stores are cloned from just one variety, the Cavendish banana plant, originally native to Southeast Asia.
The Cavendish replaced the Gros Michel after that variety was wiped out by fungus. The Gros Michel reportedly was bigger, had a longer shelf life and tasted better.
The Cavendish may face the same fate as the Gros Michel within the next 20 years, botanists say.
Bananas are also called plantains. But in general use, “banana” refers to the sweeter form of the fruit, which is often eaten uncooked, while “plantain” refers to a starchier fruit that is often cooked before eating.
There are 50 recognized species of banana.
Wild bananas grow throughout Southeast Asia, but most are inedible for humans, as they are studded with hard seeds.
The vast majority of bananas grown today are for consumption by the farmers or the local community. Only 15 percent of the global production of the fruit is grown for export.
India is the leading producer of bananas worldwide, accounting for 23 percent of the total banana production, though most of the Indian plantains are for domestic use.
In 1923, sheet music for a popular song titled “Yes, We Have No Bananas!” sold upward of a thousand copies a day.
Harry Belafonte’s version of the “Banana Boat Song” was released on the first album to sell over a million copies, Belafonte’s “Calypso.”

banana is so lovely and all do like to eat it but its not the most nutrient food, apple is healthier to eat and has more benefits thatn banan, but people ten dto eat banana for its amazing taste, one apple is equal to many bananas, and though i eat banan more since it affordable and tasty i have to admit that apple is healthier, and as other member said that apple a day keeps the doctor away, and that is why we have lots of food in different shapes and vitamins and this and that, so we do not get board eating one only, Thank God that we need to eat varity food. it is health and fresh food what make it happy life
thanks for you posting such post, and banana is the same in any place, same formula, there is no bad banana or god banana, so eat any banana so you get literaly exact vitamins, have agood time eating it all people

Thank you. These are all the saying written with experience. Hence, they are golden sayings which one should accept as infallible.
Sometimes, we as innocents may not agree with some of the golden sayings remaining in a cage having four corners but once we come out and go on a living in a dynamic society the value of these sayings can be felt.
Note them all and give a reading at least once in a week to make our life perfect and meaningful.

One can only agree with those sayings if they go through such experiences. Life is indeed has a lot to say.
I agree that we must read those golden sayings regularly to enrich our knowledge about what life is and to live it accordingly.