Dr M Khalid's global village blog

A Sardinian miner has slashed his wrist in a live TV address, in protest against the closing of a local facility. Some 100 workers barricaded themselves in front of the mine, which is packed with almost 700 kilograms of explosives. The incident took place during a press conference held underground. "If someone here has decided to the kill miners' families, ladies and gentlemen, we'll cut ourselves, we'll cut ourselves,"  49-year-old Stefano Meletti said as he slashed his wrist in front of reporters. "We cannot take it anymore. We cannot! We cannot! It's what we have to do,"  Reuters quoted him as saying. The workers have staged a sit-in 400 meters underground since barricading themselves in the mine  on Sunday night . The mine contains an estimated 700 kilograms of explosives, and the miners have vowed not to leave until the government promises to assist them. http://rt.com/news/italy-miners-crisis-sardinia-911/

By Patricia Reaney, Reuters.  Just as music and lighting can influence what shoppers buy, toning down the tunes and dimming the lights in a fast food restaurant can help diners enjoy their meal more and eat less, according to a U.S. study. After transforming part of a fast food restaurant in Illinois with milder music and lighting, researchers found that customers ate 18 percent fewer calories than other people in the unmodified part of the restaurant. "When we softened the lights and softened the music in the restaurant it didn't change what people ordered, but what it did do was lead them to eat less and made them more satisfied and happier," said Brian Wansink, a professor of marketing and consumer behavior at Cornell University in New York. From  http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2012/08/30/13573287-want-to-cut-calories-dim-the-lights-study-suggests?lite?ocid=twitter

Spencer Platt / Getty Images Did you take that thing into the toilet with you? And now it's on your face? Eww, gross. While toilets tend to get cleaned frequently, because people associate the bathroom with germs, cellphones and other commonly handled objects — like remote controls   — are often left out of the cleaning routine. This is also this case with remote controls, which, Gerba noted, are also often used by people when they're sick. Remotes are more frequently shared, too, so they're usually even worse than phones for spreading germs, he said. Other common culprits that are hotspots of unseen disease include office phones, shopping carts and the first-floor buttons of elevators, he said. To limit the spread of diseases from phones or other objects, try not to share them, or wipe them down with an antibacterial wipe if you do. While sprays might damage the equipment, a gentle wipe should do the trick, Gerba said. From http://todayhealth.today.c...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9v11qJTG8o&feature=player_embedded Google has mentioned more than once that its   Google TV   platform isn't about replacing traditional pay-TV services, and now the   Wall Street Journal   reports it might be about to offer one of its own. Don't cancel your cable, satellite or IPTV service just yet though, as this would merely be an expansion of the fiber internet it will offer in   the Kansas Cities , offering video and phone service as well. Reportedly it's looked into offering channels from the families of Disney, Time Warner and Discovery, but nothing is set in stone at this point. As   CBS' attitude towards Apple TV makes clear , actually getting into the service biz can be complicated and costly, but we figure Mountain View has to fill those   1Gbps pipes   with something other than Turquoise Jeep videos. From: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/04/google-might-offer-tv-phone-service-over-its-fiber-n...

Once Silver comes out of this triangle, it will quickly move to $35 and then in next few months to $48. This is expected in January to March 2013. The fundamentals are also strong supporting this technical analysis. This means we will see a 20% rise from the current levels first then we will see a 60 % rise from the current levels. This is the minimum appreciation expected till end of 2013. Click on the image to view full size.  

'No one really cares': US deaths in Afghanistan hit 2,000 in 'forgotten' war http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/22/13408945-no-one-really-cares-us-deaths-in-afghanistan-hit-2000-in-forgotten-war?lite

Dendritic cell therapy offers hope to cancer patients From magazine - The week http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/theWeekContent.do?contentId=12192997&contentType  For enquiring about how to get the treatment: mail at medlifeasia@gmail.com

Women who use nail varnish and hairspray ‘may have higher risk of diabetes’,” is the headline in the Daily Mail. The Mail’s focus on high-maintenance The Only Way Is Essex girls being at risk of diabetes seems more a desperate attempt to give the story a celebrity spin than a considered view of the link between phthalates and diabetes. Phthalates are chemicals that are used in a wide range of products, such as packaging, cosmetics, perfumes, nail polishes, flooring and industrial products. A previous study found that at least three-quarters of the US population have detectable levels of phthalates in their urine. It has been proposed that phthalates may affect the way the body stores fat and interfere with glucose metabolism. This, in turn, could lead to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The headline is based on the results of a study that found that women with higher levels of phthalates in their urine were more likely to report having diabetes. However, as both u...

Billionaire investors   George Soros   and   John Paulson  increased their stakes in the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by gold as prices posted the largest quarterly drop since 2008. Soros Fund Management more than doubled its investment in the SPDR Gold Trust to 884,400 shares as of June 30, compared with three months earlier, a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing for second-quarter holdings showed on Tuesday. Paulson & Co increased its holdings by 26% to 21.8 million shares. Gold slumped 4% in the second quarter, the biggest such loss since September 30, 2008. Prices fell as European Central Bank   President   Mario Draghi   and Federal Reserve   Chairman Ben S Bernanke failed to increase stimulus measures, damping the outlook for global growth and demand for the metal as a hedge against inflation. The price is little changed since end-June. "It's all about easing, and people are especially waiting for the Fed since inves...

ECONOMICTIMES.COM   15 AUG, 2012, 01.33PM IST,     10 mistakes that can derail your financial life and ways to avoid them   To err is human. But some mistakes can completely derail your financial life. In fact, managing your finances and making smart   money   decisions can be a challenge and it is inevitable that mistakes will be made. However, "sometimes even a single financial mistake may be detrimental to your financial goals. In fact, for so many aspects of financial planning, there is no going back, at least without some sort of penalty", according to Harminder Garg, a certified financial planner for Financial Planning Standards Board India. Let's take a look at some of these mistakes and ways to avoid them: Mistake #1: Having No Financial Plan Too many people put financial planning on the backburner until they get older, when panic starts to set in. But having no   financial plan   or putting off financial planning may be the bigg...

Do you   sleep with the TV on or your laptop screen lit   up? Turn it off, pronto. According to a new study in Molecular Psychology, nighttime brightness could lead to depression. In the study, researchers separated hamsters into two groups: one group experienced a standard light/dark cycle, while the other group was exposed to a dim light at night--on par with city lights outside your window or the glow of a TV screen. After four weeks, hamsters who slept with some light showed signs of depression. (Depressed hamsters? Yup. Researchers tell by observing the rodents' interest in sugar water.) The reason? The sleep hormone melatonin helps brain neurons function properly. "But the brain can't produce melatonin if it detects light," says study author Tracy Bedrosian, a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience at The Ohio State University. Hamsters exposed to light at night had less complex neurons in areas of the brain, such as the hippocampus, which is associated with mood...

Since reaching an all-time record high of $1,923 per ounce last September, the price of gold has not fared particularly well.  The yellow metal has languished for most of 2012 amid considerable strength in the U.S. dollar, the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis, and the lack of further quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve. Nonetheless, gold is due for a substantial rebound in the months ahead, according to analysts at HSBC.  In a report published this morning, the firm forecasted that the yellow metal will climb to $1,900 per ounce by year-end. “The big four central banks have printed around $9 trillion during the current crisis, roughly equivalent to the total value of gold ever mined…[but] despite this long-standing pedigree as a safe haven, gold has noticeably failed to rally in the present economic turmoil,” HSBC wrote (via   CNBC ).  “Periods of heightened euro zone concerns have typically led to equity market sell-offs, triggering margin-call-re...

Understand everything important in a short time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-ShSGz89mA&list=PL556B8856F08A9EF0&index=39&feature=plpp_video Interview of James G. Rickards on CNBC - Gold at $4000 (currently at 1700): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St7TF8q0T18&list=PL556B8856F08A9EF0&index=3&feature=plpp_video ( James G. Rickards is an American lawyer, economist, and investment banker with 35 years of experience working in capital markets on Wall Street. He is a writer and is a regular commentator on finance. read more about him http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_G._Rickards )

Marc Faber – Gold Fairly Priced, Could Rise 20% in 6 Months Posted: 14 Aug 2012 01:12 PM PDT (Marc Faber is one of worlds most respected economists known for criticizing the inflationary activities of the world central banks. He is the advisor to major investment organizations. He invited frequently on CNBC and Bloomberg to speak on gold, stock market and world econimic outlook. read more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Faber ) Marc Faber, editor of the Gloom Boom and Doom Report tells CNBC MoneyControl.com, the markets can rally into mid-late August. He says September-November may be tougher months however, we could reach new highs on the S&P at the 1450-1500 range. He suggest there could be a 20% decline some time in the fall. Marc states the global economy is slowing down, there is little growth in the United States, and Europe is in a recession In terms of gold, Mr. Gloom, Boom, and Doom indicated the yellow metal is NOT in a bub...

http://www.allbusiness.com/10-radical-ways-to-raise-cash/16723140-1.html?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=referral#axzz23bdZc2Vh

Mar 29, 2011, 04.03pm IST (High BP might be white coat…) One-third of patients thought to have resistant high blood pressure may actually have 'white coat' hypertension, according to a new study. 'White coat' hypertension is when a patient's blood pressure is high at the doctor's office but normal in everyday life. Resistant hypertension occurs when a patient's blood pressure remains above treatment goals, despite taking three different types of drugs at the same time. Ref http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-29/health/29357334_1_white-coat-hypertension-white-coat-hypertension-pressure