Vendors rake in Rs.60 lakhs per vegetable per day in Mumbai city – TOI report today.
Me: The retail prices of vegetables are 200 to 300% higher than those at the wholesale market. Until a few years ago the the retail traders would turn unscrupulous and hoard and blackmarket only those commodities in shortage or were scarce. However, today they have become so brazen and profiteer even in vegetables whose produce is in abundance and available aplenty in the wholesale market. This has become a national malaise, from accommodation to private transport to groceries to daily necessities of life..)
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The cine actor, Pran, I remember…
The late Pran, when he donned the roles of villains or grey characters, had his own peculiar mannerism in each of his films. In many of his earlier villainy roles, one often found him wearing his typical jodhpuris and sometimes with a whip in hand as in Ram aur Shyam! Later he very successfully transformed himself doing character roles. Although his Pathan role in Zanjeer is much talked about, my choice would remain his lowly chauffeur, Kishanlal, turned suave smuggler king with a trademark thin silver goatee, who kept outwitting his arch rival, Jeevan, in Amar Akbar Anthony.
RIP
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Did you know that about 100 cloud-to-ground lightning bolts strike the Earth's surface every single second? Each bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity. Also, about 2,000 people are killed wordwide by lightning each year. Hundreds more survive strikes but suffer from a variety of lasting symptoms, including memory loss, dizziness, weakness, numbness and other life-altering ailments.
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From the world of science…
Brain scans and memory tests can spot the earliest stages of Alzheimer's helping those who are at a risk of developing the condition.
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Green coffee beans may help burn fat..
Green coffee beans could help you burn more fat without the side-effects associated with roasted coffee or ephedra. They are not a stimulant and do not make you jittery or raise heart rate. Some studies have shown them to lower blood pressure while boosting metabolism. The weight loss is prompted by a natural active compound called chlorogenic acid, which works by inhibiting the release of glucose in the body while boosting the metabolism or 'burning' of fat in the liver. Because green coffee is so bitter, researchers recommend taking it in capsule form.
Humidity during rains makes migraines worse. Sleep well and exercise regularly to prevent frequent attacks.
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A few raisins eaten three times a day can lower blood pressure.
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Cheery demeanour may lower heart attack risk…
Staying cheerful may reduce your chances of dying from a heart attack, with a new study showing that a 'sense of wellbeing' prevents higher risk caused by anxiety and reduces the odds.
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Weird world
Sacking attractive assistants for fear of falling in love, legal…
A dentist from Iowa has been found not guilty of sexual discrimination when he sacked his assistant for being attractive. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the dentist, Dr. James Knight, did not engage in unlawful gender discrimination when he fire his assistant Melissa N, as he found her attractive and feared they might have an extramarital affair.
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Car-eating squirrel 'munchy' snacks on family's SUV.
A family in Florida was horrified to discover a 6-inch-wide gouge on their SUV when they woke up one Sunday. Suspecting an attack by vandals, Nora Z called police, who told her that the real was a much smaller, but not less formidable, squirrel. Later that day, the family noticed a second large hole had appeared on the car. And right there, hanging by its teeth from the hole, was a squirrel, now nicknamed "Munchy'.
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An open admission by our Drugs Controller General…
"The USFDA has a stuff of 14,000. We have a core team of 350. We're relying on international data only because we don't have own ADRs (drugs' adverse reaction reports)"
(Source: Mumbai Mirror, 14/7/13)
(Me: that doesn't stop most of us either comparing ourselves with the best practices in the US systems and practices or ridiculing them outright or selectively depending upon expediency or particular situation)
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