I copied this image and later lost the source. If anyone knows the source please share

Because inflation is taking its toll on their pockets, a lot of people, here in Karachi, flock to shop at the makeshift weekly markets for saving some money on their household monthly budget where usually the flea market (Lunda Bazzaar) stalls manage to attract the most of the crowd. I have been visiting such flea markets since almost over 10 years where i shop for almost everything including art work, shoes, toys, clothing and professional kitchen utensils. but i have noticed a lot of people buying from such stalls don’t consider the fact that these items are usually used, even if they are seared they may have been stored improperly or may have been contaminated during storage or in transit and can pose a health hazard if not disinfected and washed properly before use. hare is your guide to what you should and should not buy and how to avoid exposing your self and your family to potential health hazards.

Toys, specially the stuffed ones are the most commonly sighted item at these flea markets, i have seen a lot of people buying them and handing them right away to the kids. We all know that Stuff toys are made of stuffed fabric, which is an absorbent martial, that means it will absorb any liquid they may come in contact with.The stuffing in these soft toys is usually of 100% polyester fiber, which is less absorbent but often at times these toys are stuffed with cotton which is a highly absorbent natural fiber. you must understand that these toys while been used previously, or during storage may have been exposed to chemicals, toxins, or fluids which may contain germs and may prove extremely lethal if digested. When ever you are buying stuffed toys make sure the item is washable. never hand over toys to your kids with out properly washing them with some and a germicidal like Dettol. Hard / Solid toys too may contain some contamination, or may have been exposed to some toxic chemicals so they too should be washed properly with detergent and Dettol before they are handed over too your kids.

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It is still over a month before Ramadan starts and the price of sugar has already gone up to Rs. 66/- per kilogram which makes me think that it is really likely that this year too, people will faint and die standing in the rows for a bag full of sugar or we might just see another stampede this year. It seems now that the only hope for the people is to boycott sugar.

[image: kazmisahib-flickr]

A couple of weeks back when i was leaving for Islamabad the threat Karachi faced was from the cyclone PHET, and yes the very little rains we had managed to take 10 lives, but PHET was kind enough to leave us untouched, the cyclone knew we were too miserable even without the extreme weather adding to our trauma. Soon after PHET passed our city was taken down with a spree of target killings of course we expected PHET to do the dirty job but when it failed, we obviously needed people dead anyways, so we took the task in our own hands. today’s newspaper says the death toll in target killings for the past 24 hours has risen to 5.

Even natural disasters are showing their pity on us; the people of Karachi, but we ?  Not – Just – Yet, we need more blood.

No surprise, with all the media hype being given to PHET people were really scared of the storm but what I couldn’t understand is why on earth did all the radio cab services chickened out, suspending their services to the city. And no the road conditions were not all too bad because I was able to get my old wracked Suzuki FX driven all the way from FB Area to the airport and back without any issues.

What I don’t understand is that how can a public service like Radio Cab which most commuters specially those going to the airport or coming from, complete depend upon can stop their services for no good reason ?

Cyclone Phet seems to start making its impact as its raining like hell in Karachi right now. I borrowed the title from GEO and they are right. Looks like Karachi is actually being lashed out heavily for last few hours now. Only in morning we shall see the extent of damanges. According to met officials, most parts ofcity will continue be lashed out by rain in torrents for some days encountering strong winds inflicted by thunderstorm. Lord keep all safe.
[image: digitaljournal]

More :  http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com/tracker/dynamic/201003A_2.html

Looking at this number plate makes me wonder who’s visiting card would i actually need in my pocket to bypass the law and have a fake Illegal numberplate on my car too, because no one really violates any law in here, they just ….. bypass it.

KESC has asked the citizens of Karachi to brace themselves for up to 14 hours of load shedding. The impact of this would really be unbearable for those small businesses and shop keepers who cant afford to have a power generator at their dispense. It will also have an adverse effect on petrol and gas consumption because people will use these resources to fuel up their power generators. Students, elderly people at homes, house wives, children thus every citizen will be paying a price.

With already a backbreaking inflation, financial crises, job cuts, sense of insecurity due to an increasing crime rates and ever increasing fear of terrorism this power crises would just add more to the misery of a common citizen of the city.

With the kind of pollution our city has, awareness about such diseases is really important. I know this is being posted at the last moment but still better late then never.