NOTEWORTHY FACTS: Part 1  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA * In U.S.A. more than two thirds of adults and one third of children (those under age 18) are either obese or overweight. * Military expenditure of U.S.A. is higher than the combined military expenditure of all other developed countries. * Franklin Roosevelt is the only U.S.A. president who was elected as president in four consecutive elections. *When George Washington became the first president of U.S.A., there were no political parties. The Republican Party was formed only some time before 1860 when Abraham Lincoln was elected as president.  * As per the statistics of 2004 annual income reported in the top one and half percent of the tax returns was more than half a million dollars each, while that of the lowest 50 percent was reported to be less than 30 thousand. * U.S.A. spends more than one sixth of its gdp for health which is significantly more than any developed country. Yet it lags behind many deve...

  NARENDRA MODI: A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR A GRAND BARGAIN      Narendra Modi and his party BJP enjoys an overwhelming majority in the Indian parliament. He is in his second year of a 5-year second term as the prime minister of India. I am making an humble suggestion that now is the opportunity for him to strive for a grand bargain with India's neighbor Pakistan, on the Kashmir issue. BJP as a party associated with Hindu religion is most likely to succeed in such an endeavor, as Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger of the Republican party in USA were successful in making an opening with communist China, and just as Ronald Reagan was in a good position to establish a friendly relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev of Soviet Union.      Kashmir has been a longstanding thorny issue between India and Pakistan. It has cost thousands of lives on both sides. Peace on Kashmir issue is paramount for develpment of Kashmir and for friendly relationship between these two ...

                 HEAVEN OF FREEDOM  Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high where the knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up in fragments. By narrow domestic walls. Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit Where the mind is led toward by thee Into ever widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my father let my country awake. -Rabindranath Tagore

                                      LIFE IN MARRIAGE       Man and woman are made different.  Perhaps that is why they are attracted to each other to begin with. When they start their friendship they are in full swing and feel being in heaven. Emotional intensity that characterizes the first day of marriage slowly declines. Then the two begin to notice each other's drawbacks. When they do not meet each other’s high expectations, anger and resentment surface. In some cases this leads to the end of all affection for each other and their lives come apart, even if they continue to cohabit.      If tea is allowed to come to a quick boil, drinking it does not give you much pleasure. If it is allowed to cook patiently and then consumed, it tastes great.      First of all let us understand that following marriage, complete submergence of wife's life ...