Miscellaneous Facebook posts & comments in June & July 2021

When author of post or comment is not mentioned, it should be assumed that it is me (Ravi S. Iyer).

To save time, I am usually not providing my FB post links but only contents. I am also not hyperlinking links. So readers will have to copy-paste links from this post onto a browser link box and then browse to that link.

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Good to see Hon'ble Supreme Court justices including Chief Justice, stepping in to ensure that proper and timely investigation will be done of the judge (ADJ) murder in Dhanbad, Jharkhand by a hit-and-run tempo/auto (see https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/3180167618866460 for details).

Dhanbad judge death: SC seeks report from Jharkhand within a week, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/dhanbad-judge-death-sc-seeks-report-from-jharkhand-within-a-week-101627630149244.html , 30th July 2021.

A small extract from above article:

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana and justice Surya Kant took suo motu cognizance of the incident and registered the case as “Re: Safeguarding Courts and Protecting Judges (Death of ASJ Dhanbad)”. The Jharkhand high court has already taken suo motu cognizance of the incident on Thursday. The top court clarified that it does not intend to interfere with the proceedings pending before the high court.

--- end extract ---

Deterrence is key to reduce possibility of such crimes in future. So all those involved in the murder must be caught and given such strict sentences that it will deter others who think of doing such evil acts in future.

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Shared a post: https://www.facebook.com/gaya.spiga.9/posts/1243015492818395 which has a pic with these sentences: "Truth does not mind being questioned" .. "A lie does not like being challenged".

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1960 Hindi film oldie goldie: Ajib Dastan Hai Yeh | Video Song | Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai | Raaj Kumar, Meena K | Lata Mangeshkar, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ_UkMJHEAk , 4 min. 38 secs (+ some adverts later).

I have heard this song so many times in the 1970s and 80s. Timeless classic sung by the great Lata Mangeshkar, lyrics composed by Shailendra (lovely lyrics) with music director(s) being Shankar-Jaikishen.

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Lata herself singing it live in 2002 in Hyderabad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2__xpiVjn0A

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A 13 year old kid sings part of the song very nicely. Don't know which year the event was, but the video was published in 2016: Srishti Rawat - Ajeeb Daastan Hain Yeh - Liveshows - Episode 19 - The Voice India Kids, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtgiKRxTv0

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Lovely 2011 live orchestra rendering of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF0cakYsVTY

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Lovely rendering of part of the song by Shreya Ghoshal in 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruqywdD0jYE

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Interesting 2017 remix version: Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Cover by Jimmy Khan and Rahma Ali | Coke Studio, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmV6u7fHLLM , 3 min. 42 secs.

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CCTV video of recent hit-and-run case where a tempo rammed into a judge in Dhanbad, Jharkhand who was on his morning walk/jog, and then went away. The judge (an Additional District Judge) died from the injuries. It just shows how easily gangsters or other bad guys in India today can get rid of people they are against, who do not have full time police protection.

[In Hindi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTbvJxLqgbY , 3 min. 23 secs.

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Nice 2016 rendering of Hindi film oldie goldie - Tum Aa Gaye Ho Noor Aa Gaya Hai from Aandhi (1975); 

Alok Katdare and Sangeeta Melekar are the live orchestra singers. The original song singers are Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19wz11O6bYI , 4 min. 18 secs.

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Another nice 2016 live orchestra rendition of same song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GxKkQdNehg

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Hmm. Mark Twain really had a way of putting it across. I loved this one.

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/poets01/photos/a.102296028635339/162934639238144/ - “Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.”

— Mark Twain

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My comment: Thank you sir.

on post: https://www.facebook.com/SreedharReddyYSRCP/posts/4346841642040549 about "Application letter along with full report to the minister to develop the famous spiritual center Puttaparthi as a more tourist center through PRASAD SCHEME"

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So well said! It is mighty hard to conquer oneself 😀!

FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/3175857602630795

In response to comment, I wrote (slightly edited):

Thanks --name-snipped-- for sharing a very relevant quote from the Bible. I did not know of this Biblical quote.

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Better a patient person than a warrior,

one with self-control than one who takes a city. - NIV version of Proverbs 16: 32, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2016%3A32&version=NIV

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He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city - KJV version of Proverbs 16: 32, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2016%3A32&version=KJV

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Just wanted to check from other sources whether this quote has been correctly attributed to Lao Tzu. Goodreads confirms it as from Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/206693-he-who-conquers-others-is-strong-he-who-conquers-himself

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brainyquote too confirms it - https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/lao_tzu_383760

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Nice live orchestra rendition of famous time-pass oldie Hindi film song - Na chaahun sona chandi from the superhit movie Bobby (1973) starring Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia. I think both the young stars became quite famous after this movie. I have a clear recollection of how popular this movie was in the 1970s.

This original song's singers are Manna Dey, Shailendra, and Lata Mangeshkar.

The video was published in Dec. 2019 but I don't know the date of the live orchestra event itself.

Na Mangu Sona Chandi I Bobby I Lata, Shailendra Singh I Govind, Nirupama I Old Hindi Songs, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-k6618hCVE , 7 min. 35 secs.

The song is a folk song of Goan Christian fisherfolk background and seems to have some Konkani (language) in it. I think the Hindi lyrics of the song have got confused with the Konkani part. For example, I think the singers sing: Ghe ghe ghe ghe ghe ghe re saheba pyaar mein sauda nahin. I think the Hindi lyrics guys get confused by the word 'Ghe'. I think it means take in Konkani but I am not sure (it means take in Marathi).

The 'pyaar mein sauda nahin' is regular Hindi, meaning there is no business deal in (romantic) love.

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Nice live rendition of NA CHAHOON SONA CHANDI I RAJESH PRABHU I SHURJO BHATTACHARYA I BALAJI CREATORS I PUNEET SHARMA MUSIC, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGuHDgDw3nQ , 5 min. 44 secs, published in March 2020 but don't know when the live event was held.

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Hmm. Food for thought!

Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/poets01/posts/159441659587442 - “Judge a man by his questions, rather than his answers.”

— Voltaire

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After some thought I decided to share these couple of videos on a highly sensitive and polarized topic. The public at large, I think, is utterly confused (I surely am) about what the hell is going on with gain-of-function bioresearch in the world, and whether the COVID virus (SARS-CoV-2) is the product of gain-of-function bioresearch.

One public platform where attempts are made to dig into this sensitive and polarized topic is public hearings of relevant US Congress committees.

Senator (and medical doctor) Rand Paul's acidic exchanges with Dr. Anthony Fauci in these committee hearings are well known now, as they have been happening quite regularly over the past months since the COVID pandemic got USA into major trouble (besides many other countries of the world including India).

But the recent exchange was perhaps the sharpest exchange between them, so far. Senator Paul ominously spoke to Dr. Fauci about criminal liability of lying to Congress and, expectedly, Dr. Fauci got very angry even though he remained quite composed, as he responded that he has never lied to Congress, and took a shot at Senator Paul by saying that Senator Paul does not know what he is talking about and that it is Senator Paul who is lying. The concerned matter was whether NIH (top bioreseach orgn. in USA headed by Dr. Francis Collins with Dr. Fauci heading a sub-orgn. called NIAID which is part of NIH) had funded gain-of-function bioresearch in China's Wuhan lab. Senator Paul implied that it had but Dr. Fauci vehemently denied it.

The first video below is from CNN which is critical of Senator Paul and supportive of Dr. Fauci. The second video is from Fox News which is supportive of Senator Paul (and has Senator Paul speaking to the anchor) and critical of Dr. Fauci. I don't know enough to know who is right on this - Senator Paul or Dr. Fauci. So I am not siding with either video and feel that looking at both videos gives us good coverage of opposing points of view on this matter.

Dr. Fauci excoriates Rand Paul, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kM2wJbbvW8 , 5 min. 39 secs, published by CNN on 21st July 2021.

Rand Paul claims researchers are 'deathly afraid' to cross Fauci, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx-52WdgZ64, around 6 mins, published by Fox News on 21st Jul. 2021.

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Fascinating video about how the COVID pandemic has made moving to rural Italy popular among some, thereby helping to regenerate old villages in rural Italy that are being threatened by depopulation with the prospect of becoming ghost villages.

Italy tackles rural exodus | DW Documentary, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8F1jp05vsA , around 26 mins., published on 26th June 2021.

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A superhit sad oldie Hindi film song about a man losing a beloved wife due to (false) doubt about her fidelity, and who, through great lyrics of the song, advises others not to allow such horrible doubt about their beloved to make a home in their hearts: Zindagi Ke Safar Mein Guzar Jaate | Kishore Kumar | Aap Ki Kasam 1974 Songs, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqdNqBA44Bg , around 7 mins.

Singer is Kishore Kumar, on-screen star is Rajesh Khanna with the female star shown in a few shots being Mumtaz. The awesome lyrics are by Anand Bakshi and the music director is R.D. Burman.

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In response to a comment on associated post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/3172467769636445 , I wrote: I am doing OK - surviving in this horrific COVID pandemic. I do write but much lesser than before and on a variety of topics. Right now I am writing on history of An Wang, a Chinese-American, and Wang Laboratories, the company he founded in Massachusetts, USA, as my initial years in software industry were on Wang computers, including stints in Wang Laboratories offices in Belgium and USA, which gave me a solid software developer career base. So I wanted to know about and then share the story of the man who founded that company.

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Decent 2015 live orchestra rendition (part of the song): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnSh3lcHcG0

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Decent 2019 live orchestra rendition: Zindagi Ke Safar Mein | Debojit Saha | Kishore Kumar | R D Burman | Rajesh khanna, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAZln93iFF0

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Tragic! Being an embedded journalist in a war zone can be deadly!

Shared article: India condemns Danish Siddiqui’s killing; Taliban give body to Red Cross, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-condemns-danish-siddiquis-killing-taliban-give-body-to-red-cross/articleshow/84488353.cms

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If these reports are true then it is very sad and also quite worrying for India as Afghanistan is not too far away from India.

Taliban ask for list of girls above 15, widows under 45 to be married to their fighters: Reports, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/taliban-asks-for-list-of-girls-widows-to-be-married-to-their-fighters-reports-101626413987086.html , 16th July 2021

A small extract from above article:

Now, Afghanistan elders say the Taliban will take away their daughters and forcefully marry them and turn them into slaves. "Since the Taliban took over, we feel depressed. At home, we can’t speak loudly, can’t listen to music and can’t send women to the Friday market. They are asking about family members. The [Taliban] sub-commander said you should not keep girls over the age of 18; it’s sinful, they must get married," Haji Rozi Baig, an Afghan elder, was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

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Such forceful marriage of young girls, if true, would be tragic and horrific.

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Very interesting! After having experienced myself, some rather horrific but non-violent abuses of power by power mongers, and then reading quite extensively on violent and non-violent abuse of power in our times and, in the past, I think that power, especially power that has no accountability, is one of the most corrupting things in life. 

It sometimes, perhaps many times, transforms a decent man into a manipulative and ruthless power monger who can go to any extent to stay in power, and who gets somewhat locked in into a tight circle of sycophants who never have the guts to tell him when he is going badly wrong. Such men in power live in an alternate reality world where they can do no wrong, and only the rest of the world does wrong. It is absolutely terrifying to see how power can so badly mess up the minds and lives of some such men, which in turn can cause terrible misery to those who have to live under the power of such men.

So I now have very good appreciation of this very wise statement attributed to Plato. To be more precise, I would say that one of the measures, and a very important measure, of a man is what he does with power!

Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/EnglishLiterature11/posts/366726428153707 - “The measure of a man is what he does with power.’’

— Plato

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Nice! Around 5 mins.

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/bbcindia/posts/4466665440044451 has short interview clip of Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google.

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33 secs. video. Awesome stuff! Congratulations to Richard Branson and team! 

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/RichardBranson/posts/10158317601855872 about his space flight.

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Many thanks to outgoing SP sir of Anantapur district, Shri Satya Yesubabu, for his very good services to people of Anantapur district including Puttaparthi town where I live. [SP position is the top police officer position for the district.]

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/discoveratp/posts/337194231229681

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Hmm. Quite surprised that California had such a horrible eugenics program.

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/posts/10152725004529999

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About Tun Tun a famous oldie Hindi film comedienne

I never knew Tun Tun's real name! Interesting to know that it was Uma Devi Khatri. Came to know of this from this recent FB post: https://www.facebook.com/rarebollywood/posts/1653601264848038

Checked and was not surprised to see that she has a wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tun_Tun .

Was surprised to know that she started her film career as a singer. This famous song "Afsana likh rahi hoon dil e beqaraar ka" from the 1947 film, Dard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7XJy4bSNRY, 3 min. 18 secs. was one of her hit songs. I would never have guessed that the singer was Tun tun!

I have heard this song quite a few times in the late 70s and 80s. While I knew it was quite an oldie song then as the style was really oldie, I did not know it was from a 1947 film! I had not seen the video.

The wiki page tells us of her very difficult childhood years and how she ran away from her village in Uttar Pradesh and came to Bombay (Mumbai) to pursue a singing career. 

The wiki page says, "She arrived in Bombay (Mumbai) at the age of 23, having run away from home, and knocked on composer Naushad Ali's door. She told him that she could sing and that she would throw herself in the ocean if he didn't give her a chance. He auditioned her, and hired her on the spot."

As her singing career waned, she moved into comedy acting roles from 1950 with Dilip Kumar giving her a break with a role in one of his films, on request from music director Naushad Ali. Dilip Kumar named her 'Tun Tun'! 

Her comedy roles were typically slapstick and related to her being fat. With her bubbly personality, she was able to deliver quite well on these fat woman slapstick comedy roles.

She did her comedy roles in Hindi films and some other Indian language films, from 1950 to 1990! I think she was probably more famous in Hindi film watching community of those days, than some female lead stars!

The wiki page also states: "Owing to her popularity, the name Tun Tun has become synonymous with fat women in India."

Here are couple of her slapstick fat woman comedy clips from 1968 Hindi movie Aabroo:

Meri Whiskey Rani - Tun Tun, Sunder - Comedy Scene - Aabroo, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQX-0-fW6Fk, 2 min. 13 secs.

Tum Aurat Ho Ya Pehalwan - Tun Tun, Sunder - Comedy Scene - Aabroo, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VCMYUBYNAQ, 1 min. 41 secs.

BTW I had not seen the above comedy clips earlier. But I think they are quite representative of her comedy roles from what I recall of her roles from the films I have seen having her in some comedy role.

As per her wiki page, she passed away in 2003 at the age of 80 in Mumbai.

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After 20 years of US armed forces presence in Afghanistan, which kept the Taliban at bay, now the US is all set to withdraw all their armed forces by August this year.

USA being an advanced democracy provides us a top-level public view (private view is not accessible to us) of US government thinking on the matter (with US armed forces following government leaders' instructions). Here is President Joe Biden's recent news conference on this matter which gives us a direct view of the public thoughts and views of US government on this matter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7YQDHHUV7M , 26 min. 11 secs. President Biden makes remarks first followed by a Q&A session with reporters. Some reporters ask sensitive/tough questions to which Biden responds.

...

And this is what the US media views as the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. This view is quite in contrast with US President Biden's view vis-a-vis the ability of Afghan government forces to repulse Taliban attacks/advances.

Afghanistan is not too far from India and so what happens in Afghanistan has consequences and impact on India.

Taliban overwhelms Afghan troops as U.S. withdrawal looms, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM_X0nvZLi0 , 1 min. 31 secs, published by CBS Evening News on 9th July 2021.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXg1VrhUi2I , 2 min. 26 secs. Some oldie Hindi film boss-men dialogues time-pass. Shotgun Sinha as the mohalla boss-man ... the 2nd clip has Vinod Khanna (perhaps acting as cop - I don't know) taking him on with his dialogues and a ration shopkeeper is caught in the middle. I haven't seen the film - Mere Apne (1971), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Apne - but have heard about it. It was released a little too early for me - I was 9 years old in 1971 - else I would surely have seen it. Shatrughan Sinha was well known as tough guy villain type but part-hero too and Vinod Khanna was well known as tough guy good guy (usually cop like in Amar Akbar Anthony). Muscles wise, Vinod Khanna was the boss man in Hindi films of late 70s and early 80s - Amitabh Bachchan had the boss man heavy voice but did not have the muscles that Vinod Khanna had.

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Audio with still pic of hit song from 1976 Hindi film Fakira: Fakira Chal Chala Chal (male), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijUaL0Xvi2w , 7 min. 33 secs.  The song is at least partly about a fakir's life, with the main lines being: Fakira chal chala chal, Akela chal chala chal meaning (my rough translation attempt): Fakir keep walking, keep walking alone. Note that fakir is translated as holy man, mendicant, anchorite etc. Shirdi Sai Baba was viewed as a fakir.

The singer is Mahendra Kapoor and the music director is Ravindra Jain. Read somewhere that the song writer too is Ravindra Jain but I am not sure of this info.

...

Lovely live rendition in 2019: Fakira Chal Chala Chal - Fakira | Ravi Tripathi | Geet Gata Chal 3, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_QrDO2E1ys, around 6 mins.

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Interesting exploration of Libyan Sahara and its past. The documentary was made when Muammar Gaddafi was the ruler of Libya. 

Libya's Forbidden Deserts | Full Documentary | TRACKS, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTf2rki0AcI, 50 min. 24 secs.

I liked the Libyan tribal music that is shown and played a few times in the video - slow and peaceful melodies.

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That's a really awesome achievement! Congratulations to her and those that supported/sponsored her.

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/thebetterindia/posts/10159371650054594 about a girl from a brothel area of Mumbai receiving a scholarship to study in USA.

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Very well said, IMHO!

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/poets01/posts/148168710714737 - “Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.’’

— Friedrich Nietzsche

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Interesting view! Perhaps that's why some say: Ignorance is bliss! 🤪

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/poets01/photos/a.102296028635339/146227214242220/ - “If a man knows more than others, he becomes lonely.”

— Carl Jung

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Jamie Metzl's tweet: "Our experts’ open letter calling for a comprehensive investigation into pandemic origins in China, with the participation of the Chinese government if possible but without it if necessary, is just out. Retweet if you agree. https://jamiemetzl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Letter-4-Draft-1.pdf", 

https://twitter.com/JamieMetzl/status/1409484269421043717 , 28th June 2021.

I retweeted above tweet with following additional message: "Many thanks for the leadership and initiative shown by these scientists. Good to see them come forward with this demand." , https://twitter.com/RaviSaiIyer/status/1409742413388685315

Here's an Indian mainstream media article on this open letter: Scientists worldwide in open letter call for investigation of origin of SARS-CoV2; The letter said that failing to comprehensively investigate the pandemic origins puts everyone and future generations at unnecessary risk, and it called on the world leaders to adopt a two-track approach for ensuring the fullest possible investigation of the pandemic origins. , https://indianexpress.com/article/india/scientists-worldwide-in-open-letter-call-for-investigation-of-origin-of-sars-cov2-7380168/ , 29th June 2021.

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The Last–And Only–Foreign Scientist in the Wuhan Lab Speaks Out : Virologist Danielle Anderson paints a very different picture of the Wuhan Institute., https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-06-27/did-covid-come-from-a-lab-scientist-at-wuhan-institute-speaks-out , 28th June 2021.

Anderson, an Australian, was in the Wuhan lab. in end 2019 and says she did not know of any such virus circulating there. She also praises the safety protocols followed by the BSL-4 Wuhan lab. she was in. 

Good to see Anderson speak out giving her version of the Wuhan lab. based on her direct experience. The world needs to know the truth. And if the truth is that the COVID virus did NOT emerge out of Wuhan bioreseach labs., then that should be established beyond reasonable doubt.

What complicates the issue is the lack of transparency on part of the Chinese government when it comes to these Wuhan bioresearch labs (there are multiple, at least 2, such labs in Wuhan). So it is quite natural for people to be suspicious of what was going on in these labs and whether that work was connected with the COVID 19 outbreak.

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One should never forget one's roots!

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/PresidentOfIndia/posts/1182886895557634 - "In a rare emotional gesture, after landing at the helipad near his village, Paraunkh of Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh, President Ram Nath Kovind bowed and touched the soil to pay obeisance to the land of his birth." (the post has pics)

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Watch Derek Chauvin as judge reads his sentence, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXAXgSVvH8Q , 8 min. 35 secs.

Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. Apparently, if Chauvin shows good behaviour in prison, he could be out in 15 years. But there are some other charges pending too which could result in additional sentencing if he is found guilty.

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Enjoyed this live rendition of Hindi film oldie goldie "Tere Ghar Ke Saamne" from movie of the same name released in 1963, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOLfWbcd0tw , 2 min. 33 secs. The rendition singers are Anil Bajpai and Sangeeta Melekar, and the event was on 21st Feb. 2014.

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The original song video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpvI1Jsk1sM , 4 min. 9 secs. The singers are Mohd. Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. The on-screen stars are Dev Anand and Nutan.

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Hindi film oldie goldie!

Tum Bhi Chalo Hum (Part I) | Zameer (1975) | Amitabh Bachchan | Saira Banu | Kishore Kumar Hits, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvq_Q-8oM_Y, 3 min. 1 secs. 

On-screen stars are Amitabh and Saira Banu. Singers are Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsale.

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Through their songs, they (along with the song writers and song musicians) have given me great joy and even support over the years, and continue to do so even now! My grateful pranams (salutations) to them!

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/indianmusicloversclub/posts/3054109371488221 - One cannot ask for a more legendary picture, India's biggest musical icons in a single frame 💓

#MohammedRafi #Mukesh #LataMangeshkar #KishoreKumar (post has pic)

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As the graph in the linked Facebook post shows, India's daily COVID case count on 23rd March 2021 was around 47000. Then it rose and rose (always above 50,000) till it peaked in 1st/2nd week of May at over 4,14,000 cases. After 91 days, India's daily COVID case count on 22nd June 2021 is below 50,000 - around 42,000.

Two of these three months from around early April to early June horrified the country. It is a great relief to see the daily (new) cases curve go down like this. 

Of course, India has been taught a lesson about what the horrible COVID virus can do through some of its new variants that are more transmissible and cause more sickness. I don't think I will forget this lesson for the rest of my life. So India needs to be on guard, and keep vaccinating at a good pace as reports say that the data shows that COVID surges and serious COVID cases & deaths happen mainly through unvaccinated part of the populace, not only in India but across the world.

[Update: https://www.facebook.com/MyGovIndia/posts/4121389057975252 seems to be the original post with the graph.]

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[In Hindi] N-95, cloth or surgical masks: Understand which is the best one for regular use, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okmPfya70ao, around 18 min. video, published on May 21st 2021

It is expert advice from a top doctor in 3rd/4th week of May this year - so quite current info.

The initial part of the video is about masks. It does not deal much with N95 masks and has no reference at all to any reusability aspect of N95 masks. So I think the video title is somewhat misleading. But it deals in detail with cloth masks and surgical mask (double masks) and its efficacy in these COVID times.

The remaining part of the video is also very useful as it discusses very current questions and we get answers from a top medical doctor - chest specialist of the famous Gurugram (in Haryana and close to Delhi) Medanta hospital.

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Recent (2 hrs back) tweets of AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy garu:

"In our ongoing fight against COVID-19, AP has set an example by administering 13,72,481 vaccine doses in a single day. Credit goes to the team effort by the Village/Ward Secretariats, Volunteers, ANMs, ASHA workers, PHC doctors, Mandal Officers, Joint Collectors & Collectors.1/2"

https://twitter.com/ysjagan/status/1406922636559478786

"With your efforts, we have proven to the entire country what we can do, if we are provided with sufficient number of vaccines. I take this opportunity to thank and congratulate every single 'Covid-19 WARRIOR' who has made this possible during these testing times. 2/2" https://twitter.com/ysjagan/status/1406922638140735492

I replied to first tweet above: "Wonderful effort by entire AP team fighting COVID-19! Great leadership by CM Jagan garu!", https://twitter.com/RaviSaiIyer/status/1406961104635383810

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Interesting read given debate on period between 1st and 2nd dose of COVISHIELD in India: Covishield: Second vaccine dose in 3 months? Here's what AstraZeneca trial chief says, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/covishield-second-covid-19-vaccine-dose-in-3-months-here-s-what-astrazeneca-trial-chief-says-101624065160599.html , 19th Jun. 2021

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Around 24 mins. video report dated 16th June 2021 in Telugu on how COVID testing happens in Anantapur town/city. It is quite a detailed report covering how samples are collected, the paperwork and computer work for processing them, and how the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) (a govt. facility which is part of Government Medical College, Anantapuram) does the actual RT-PCR test. Various people including top staff from VRDL are interviewed.

Note that COVID samples that are collected in Puttaparthi now seem to be sent to the same VRDL lab. in Anantapur town/city for testing. Last year Rapid Antigen Testing was being done in Puttaparthi. I think now that is not done, and all samples are RT-PCR tested in Anantapur.

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2318801471586142&id=699401226859516

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Dr. Shi Zhengli provides her view on (flatly rejects) the Wuhan lab-origin possibility of COVID-19

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/photos/a.283559809998/10152707033484999/

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Good to see Andhra Pradesh govt. provide good support to frontline health care workers in fight against this horrible COVID pandemic.

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/discoveratp/posts/320249312924173

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Very interesting! One wonders how one could use it in different situations.

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/nimal.wijekoon.31/posts/490594202024363 - "Do not fight with the strength, absorb it, and it flows, use it" Yip Man The Master of Wing Chun (post has pic).

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PM Modi's address to the nation (on 7th Jun. 2021 in Hindi), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_442UtroDM , 32 min. 53 secs. 

The Hindi transcript seems to be available here: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1725133 .

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Pravin is a schoolmate (at Cardinal Gracias High School, Bandra (East), Mumbai in the 1970s) and old friend. Glad to know of, and share, his tuition success stories, with his tuition classes being based in Mulund, Mumbai.

My FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/3142786105937945 which shares Pravin's post.

My post has few short comments.

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Good initiative of USA. Much appreciated!

Given below is Indian PM Narendra Modi's recent tweet: "Spoke to @VP Kamala Harris a short while ago. I deeply appreciate the assurance of vaccine supplies to India as part of the US Strategy for Global Vaccine Sharing. I also thanked her for the all the support and solidarity from the US government, businesses and Indian diaspora.", https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1400482638876405764 , Jun. 3rd, 2021.

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