Teacher: What family does the octopus belong to?
Pupil: Nobody I know!
**
Man to wife: "Facebook friends are better than regular friends. Nobody on Facebook has bad breath."
**
Latest on the gruesome Mumbai rape case..
Toi headline: Accused meets mom in lockup, confesses "
(Me: Punish them at once and let it serve as deterrent to potential rapists in India – according to reports, the same gang committed a similar heinous crime four times earlier at the same place. Some intellectuals and Rights' group members, sitting in their Ivory Towers, might say this is Kangaroo Court, but in any sane man's opinion, that kind of swift justice is any day better than letting the criminals have a field day and roam free. The single reason why criminals commit such gruesome acts with impunity is no one with a criminal bend of mind is afraid of the law – can you believe that in Maharastha the conviction rate on serious cases is just 10%; things are not better in the rest of the countries, either – the cases meander almost indefinitely. Sadly, our country is far more keen getting acknowledgement and approval from the West for having copied their model of justice-delivery system than handing out the just deserts for evil-doers. We must remember, what is good for the goose need not be so for the gander)
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Tweet of the day: @jhunjhunwala "New movie called Jobs based on Steve Jobs' life releases today. The way our Economy is, the Indian version will be called jobLESS"
**
Tongue very much in cheek…
The future ain't what it used to be.
(Me: Yep, the other side of the grass always look greener!)
**
A truism
A day without smiling is a day wasted.
(Me: So, keep smiling, better still, keep grinning like gorillas!)
**
From the world of science…
Instant noodles can combat world hunger…
As governments and food experts ponder over how to feed a ballooning global population, researchers claim to have found a possible solution: instant noodles. Instant noodle serve an important role in satiating hunger and in sustaining lives for many worldwide, including those hanging on under difficult circumstances, according to Deborah Gewertz, professor of Anthropology at Amherst College in US and her two colleagues.
(Me: celebration time for Maggie!)
**
Skipping breakfast can increase the risk of heart attack or death from coronary heart disease by 27%: study.
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Studies show that the bacteria related to gum disease is linked with dementia. Brush your teeth and floss daily to stay healthy.
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Fountain of youth for leaves discovered…
What plant scientists call senescence, consumers experience as wilted produce and overripe fruit. A team led by Cornell horticulture professor Su-Sheng Gan has identified an enzymatic fountain of youth that slows the process of leaf death, a discovery that lays the foundation for the genetics of freshness.
(Me: Hope another one will be soon found for human beings, too. But, many want to live toooooo long..)
**
What are the benefits of intermittent fasting?
The benefits of intermittent fasting are many, including: removal of carb and fast-food cravings and switching the body from carb burning to fat burning. Other benefits: lower triglyceride levels, normalization of insulin and leptin sensitivity, and reduction of inflammation and free radical damage.
**
Now, cell phone detector to nab cheating students.
New York: Cheaters beware! A US-based company has developed a portable cellphone detector that vibrates andtlights up each time there is a nearby transmission from a mobile phone, making it possible for teachers to catch a cheating student.
**
Dead Pharaohs rest in multiple coffins.
The Egyptian elite was buried in a coffin placed inside another coffin – it ensembles of up to eight coffins. It was intended to transform the deceased from human to deity.
**
Believe it a lot!
Girl dies after falling in hot mid-day meal curry cauldron..
Sambalpur: An eight-year-old girl student of a tribal residential school in Sambalpur, Odisha, died of burn injuries on Monday after she fell into a hot curry cauldron.
**
Much-married couples 'do the rounds' in MP wedding scheme..
Jabalpur: Just months ahead of assembly polls, Madhya Pradesh CM, Shivraj Singh Chouhan's flagship scheme – Kanyadaan Yojana – faces allegations of "sham marriages" being organized for vote-bank politics. The scheme involves mobilizing much-married couples, who tie the knot again and again, and laugh all the way to the bank with gift hampers worth Rs.15,000
**
Drinking apple juice as harmful as soft drinks…
Sydney: Health experts have warned consumers to limit their consumption of apple juice, as it has much sugar as soft drinks and can increase the risk of weight gain.
**
Woman to husband: "When you say I mean the world to you, which part of the world are you talking about?"
**
During a dinner party, the hosts' two little children enter the dining room totally nude and walk slowly around the table. The parents are so embarrassed they pretend nothing's happening and keep the conversation going. So do the guests.
After going all the way around the room, the children leave, and one says to the other, "See, I'm right, it is vanishing cream!"
A thought for the day…
"A people's relationship to their heritage is the same as the relationship of a child to its mother" – John Henrik Clarke
(Me: Maybe, but too much attachment to one's heritage, culture, language and faith leads to narrow-mindedness and parochialism)
**
Top places to visit before you die…
News Corp Australia's national travel editor Brian Crisp has made the ultimate list for your dream vacation.
Kimberley Region of Western Australia…
Alberta, Canada
Medierranean sea sailing.
Walking with lions in Mauritius
Cuba
Fiji
India's Holi festival.
Wimbledon.
**
A point to ponder … in Hindustan Times…
A woman is raped in India every 20 minutes. By why is it that only a few cases get carpet bombing coverage in the media or are able to get people out on the streets? Why is that we don't see similar candlelight marches, black-band protests or round-the-clock media coverage when a woman is aped in, say, Chhatisgarh or Manipur? You could call it the tyranny of distance, but like it or there is a bias in the coverage of rapes and the protests: people seem to troop out/or write about only such incidents happen to the members of the exclusive club called 'PLU' or 'People Like Us.'
The paper cites another glaring example. After his arrest, one of the main accused in last week's rape case in Mumbai, confessed that he and the other accused had raped four other women in the same mill over the last one year but they managed to escape arrest because the victims never went to the police. So who were these women? Ragpickers who visited the area to dump garbage. The fact that these women never went to the police also speaks volumes about their faith in the system. But then even if they had reported the crime, would we have been December 16-like protests?
**
Discussion on GM crops.
Been one of the staunchest supporters of GM crops, so won't take your time repeating my contention. Those interested, please read the impatient plea by Henry I Miller, former director, Office of Biotechnology, the US Food and Drug Administration and fellow at Sanford University – "Embracing GM Crops – Fears in India about entering agriculture's 21st century are inexplicable."
It speaks volumes for Indians' hypocrisy – we are all very enthusiastic and excited about sending our kids to all and sundry US universities, if even some of them are fly-by-night ones, at enormous cost, to study science and technology, even as we don't embrace their scientific temper. It also means that just as we do in India, a college education or degree is only a means to get a cushy job, and not to absorb the content they study. We are going to pay a terribly high price for our unwarranted fear psychosis and paranoia: suppose there is a drought or massive pest attack on standing crops in 2 consecutive years followed by severe famine – and compounded by the myopic food security bill and paucity of adequate foreign exchange, how would we import millions of tons of foodgrains? The GM crops need decidedly less water to grow.
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