Blatant Display of Abuse of Power

                                                     By Vic Odarve

Sometimes we have to pay attention to tiresome people that hit world headlines. Authoritarian rule continues sacking political rivals who are threat to his government; political warlords and members of their dynasty break the rules of legal regulations and ordinances; and wealthy business moguls and their family members seem to be worshipped like God. These pictures and many incidents are examples of blatant oppression of the poor by the powerful.

Mr Putin

Recently, Russian President Putin has acted an iron hand to its political opponent Alexei Navalny. In the final judgment, Alexie was sentenced to five-year prisons on fabricated charges with stealing a small amount of money on the sale of timber. This man is really a thorn to Putin; responsible in exposing high level of corruption in the country; organizers of anti-Putin demonstrations following the disputed parliamentary and presidential elections; and charismatic blogger and activist-thus plenty of followers. As such he could not run for public office; thus Putin has successfully removed Navalny from formal politics.

North Korea president's uncle on trial

While in North Korea, Dictator Kim Jong II brutally killed his powerful uncle, who had been considered as second in command, for allegedly attempting to overthrow the state; his uncle was stripped naked, thrown into a cage, and eaten alive by a pack of ravenous dogs. These are blatant display of abuse of power.

Not only the authoritarian rulers demonstrate their abusive powers, Philippine political warlords and dynasty, sometimes close their eyes to the established laws and regulations. Last Nov. 30, 2013, as the main gate was

Uncle executed and eaten by dogs

already closed after 10 PM, Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, together with his sister, Senator Nancy, was advised to use the other exit gate at the posh Dasmariñas Village in Makati City.

 

“Don’t you know me?” Mayor Junjun Binay said.  The mayor berated the gate guards, and his escort brandishing firearms as they got down from their vehicles. The three security guards were reportedly arrested and detained by officers of the Makati Police on orders of the Mayor. And finally, after the incident, the father who is the Vice President, merely said” A little courtesy for the mayor, please.” It is a blatant oppression of the poor by the powerful.

VP Binay

Sometimes even the family members of influential business tycoon feel themselves worthy of worship… live higher than Pharaohs and kings. A month ago, a Korean Air heiress Cho Hyun-ah berated a flight attendant in front of other passengers, made him kneel before her and ordered the pilot to take the plane back to the gate to let him off. The plane was about to take off at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. After the incident, her father who is the owner and chair of the airline company, apologized in public and called her daughter “foolish.” A display of abuse of power!

Since biblical times, the mighty and powerful live in a fabulous and lavish lifestyle, and have the power over life and death of an individual. Some of these men don't even deserve pity; they stain themselves with the blood of the innocents; they live like a king and princes, but like everyone else, they will perish and return to the dusts.

Harmattan- a Season of Dry and Dusty Wind

                                                       By Vic Odarve

Unlike most tropical countries which feature distinct wet and dry climates, some African countries meet this unique season called Harmattan- a season of dry and dust wind. These extremely dust laden winds block out the sun for days and severely limit visibility like a heavy fog or cloudy mists and bring wide fluctuations in the surroundings  between days and nights.

Fog of dusts over the Catholic Prayer Ministry

The Harmattan is a seasonal wind, which is an extremely dry and dusty that blows at intermittent strengths from the Sahara toward the westerly coast of Africa every year from November through March. This wind builds up during the dry season when a high pressure system of the subtropical ridge stays over the central Sahara Desert and a low pressure system of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) stays over the Gulf of Guinea. The wind picks up fine dust and sand particles (0.5 – 10 micrometers) as it passes over the Sahara, and brings it all the way to Nigeria and its neighboring countries on the western coast 

Clouds of dust over the tennis court

of Africa. Every morning seems misty with fogs hovering the buildings and mountain ranges. The fogs are formed from minute suspended dust particles which find its way into homes, regardless of keeping them close. Dusts deposit on the floors, rooms, and almost all parts inside the house can be observed every day.

The foggy atmosphere sometimes causes the visibility less than 500 m and vehicles have to put their lights on during the daytime. When visibility becomes a problem, some flights are cancelled or diverted to other routes which cause airlines millions of dollars.

Air humidity oftentimes drops to as low as 15 percent, which in effect, cause the season’s temperature widely fluctuates; it is usually cool at night with temperatures can be as low as 9 °C (48 °F) and can soar to 30C (86F) during the afternoon. There are reports that due to low humidity some people suffered nose bleeding.

Due to the wind laden with dust, some varieties of crops  severely damaged; its interaction with monsoon wind reportedly caused tornadoes; and interrupt commerce and daily life for days.

As we love to see the beautiful mists and fogs crowning mountain ranges and meet all fairies and magical creatures way back to Asian and western countries, this Harmattan-a dust laden misty fog affects peoples' lives. Some people view these things differently and alter their lives – sometimes in very subtle ways, sometimes more obviously. This season brings bad tempers and poor decisions making, and worse, get their lives irritable.

Nigerian Fluted Pumpkin; Health Benefits

By Vic Odarve

If Asian and western countries have their own exotic and nourishing green leafy vegetables, Nigeria has fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis), a vegetable whose leaves and seeds becomes a part of their daily food preparation. Not only known as essential ingredients for their specialty pepper soup, this dark green leafy vegetable has medicinal and commercial values.

Nigerian Fluted Pumpkin

Fluted pumpkin is a tropical climber leafy vegetables belong to a family of “cucurbitaceae". In Nigeria, these plants are widely cultivated in the eastern part of the country by an Igbo tribe. These climbing vines are widely cultivated for its leaves. The fruit is big and sometimes weigh as much as 14 kilograms. It looks like a giant fruit from a cocoa tree… dark

At our backyard

and chalky color with a thick outer covering. The seeds are red blood in color and can be boiled or roasted for eating. It contains protein, potassium, iron, and other nutritious substance.

Nigerians, particularly the Igbo tribe, used the leaves as the main ingredients in making pepper soup. Since yams are one of the most important staple foods of Nigeria, this pepper soup serves as a sauce during eating. It is as important as fish and meat by Western and Asian people.  The young shoots and tender stem of the plants are also nutritious and delicious to eat. Almost all restaurants serve pepper soup as

Leaves are used as pepper soup

you order any foodstuff from the counter. And tasting this native sauce enjoyed by the native population is an experience that should not be missed for an expatriate.

The plant has many medicinal values. Several studies from various Nigerian universities showed the fluted pumpkin leaves can be used to lower diabetes and heart disease risks, including hypertensions; contains lots of phytonutrients which are thought to reduce the risks of breast and stomach cancers, and useful therapy for hypercholesterolemia through reducing oxidative stress and cholesterol levels. Lately, the pumpkin extract is one of the ingredients in the herbal preparations in African Traditional medicine.

In addition to its medicinal values, it can be produced commercially. Its leaves are exported to western countries, particularly England. These leaves can now be found in some European markets for research, consumption, and ingredients in some food preparations. The fresh leaves can be stored for a month in the market and retain its freshness.

This Nigerian fluted pumpkin, a nutritious vegetable with plenty of health benefits, is not grown in Western and Asian countries. And perhaps someday, they can be cultivated in their backyards, as what Igbo tribes in Nigeria are doing.