Many among us who turn to the internet for our imagined or real ailments could become a “Cyberchondriac”. This term describes a growing number of otherwise rational internet users who, when they present their symptoms to “Dr Google”, latch on to the worst “diagnosis” thrown back at them, reports The Independent. “Cyberchondria has been around for almost a decade, but a recent study is the first to systematically investigate it. “Eric Horvitz and...

Many people are curious to know how the world’s richest man has managed to beat the global financial blues. For this answer one can now turn to a thousand-page official biography of Warren Buffett, The Snowball by Alice Schroeder. “It is surely the book of the moment, because a history of Warren Buffett is a history of high finance from the 1930s to the present day,” reports The Indpendent. “Stocks plunge, banks implode, currencies teeter…Amid the wreckage of the...

The Huffington Post has a story about a teenage mom and dad (from the Sun of London) that has rocked Britain. Whatever be the outcry, the young mom and dad look very happy. “Police said they had investigated but had decided to take no further action as it was ‘not in anyone’s interests’ to prosecute.” Here is the full story… Wikipedia states: “Child marriage has been prevalent in many cultures throughout human history, but has gradually diminished since some...

About four decades back a typical banker was an epitome of honesty, integrity, and, in short, a gentleman. It appears that in the past decade or so the increased criminal nexus between bankers, charltans and criminals (aided and abetted by greedy and myopic political leaders) have crippled the banking industry and created a crisis of credibility. This has created traumatic financial insecurity worldwide. It is becoming clearer that a surgical action is required to set things right. India faced a...

Abdul Qadeer Khan, described as Father of Pakistan’s (or Islamic) Nuclear Bomb, was freed from house arrest by the Islamabad High Court last week. The then president Pervez Musharraf incarcerated Khan five years ago after a great deal of pressure from the international community. However, the recent court judgement threatens to reopen a can of worms. It reads like a sordid tale of the connivance of the successive US administrations and the Pakistani rulers in shoving under the carpet (for...

A fictional character Wilkins Micawber, from Charles Dickens’ famous novel David Copperfield, was immortalized for saying his favourite words “something may turn up”. Finally, this fictional character ended up in a debtor’s prison. Although this may not the fate of the bloggers, but they do dream on…hoping that “something may turn up” one day. Daniel Lyons has an interesting piece on this subject. “I learned the hard way: while blogs can do many wonderful...

In our cynical times, there are also instances of young and old people bravely taking up professional/public causes and not fearing the consequences of the dangers inherent in such a step. The 25-year-old Anastasia Baburova, a Russian journalist who died on January 19th, would be remembered as a valiant fighter for a cause that was close to her heart — freedom of expression. Here is The Economist’s moving tribute to this young woman (please click here…). Excerpt: “She was...

Now that the din and bustle surrounding the Presidential Inaugural ceremony, etc, has settled and Barack Obama and his team have begun to move around in the corridors of power in Washington, it may not be out of place to make some tentative observations. However, I have always believed that a top leader should be allowed at least 100 days in office before any definitive appraisal of his performance is attempted. That is one reason why I have not yet written a word about the new Barack Obama administration....

Well, it seems so in Europe. It is working hard to lure passengers to travel by fast trains. An indication to the impact of this thrust is that Air France-KLM is considering replacing some of its short-haul European flights with a high-speed rail service. ” ‘Rail is becoming more of an option as people realise there is an alternative to flying,’ said Amanda Monroe, a spokeswoman for Rail Europe,” reports The Independent. ” ‘More tour operators are offering rail...

It is a split-second decision by the pilot that makes a difference between life and death. Of course, the final outcome is generally attributed to lady luck. But the saga of the the man flying the aircraft, his gut instinct and experience, in saving the passengers inevitably turns into another legend in the fascinating history of man and the flying machines. The Times of London has more on the rescue of passengers in New York. “Dramatic new details have emerged of the last moments of the...

Who should be the role model for centre-left US president-elect Barack Obama? The Sydney Morning Herald’s political editor quotes the Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn, formerly chief speechwriter for George Bush: “It should be Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd” whose Labor Party has made their peace with the global economy. Knowledgeable Americans have pointed to Australia as some kind of model, exemplar, or best case. They complimented Australia on competent governance,...

The selection of Hillary Clinton as US Secretary of State was a masterstroke by president-elect Barack Obama to win over the disgruntled Democrats, and to provide a feminine touch to the American foreign policy that had fallen in the hands of macho men who have created havoc in different parts of the world during the past few years. In fact the leaders in Europe, Asia and elsewhere have remained a mute witness to the barbarism that has been practised in the name of diplomacy. Nearly all these leaders...

Bollywood’s celebrated film music director, Allah Rakkha Rahman has created history by becoming the first Indian to bag the prestigious Golden Globe Award on Sunday. Rahman has sold nearly as many albums as Madonna, reports Reuters. “His scores for a host of Indian language movies have fused global influences from hip-hop and rap to Broadway musicals and Indian folk music in a way that critics believe could help Bollywood music become more global. “Rahman, 43, wrote the music...

The murder of Lasantha Wickramatunga, 51, a fearless and outspoken Sri Lankan editor, by unknown gunmen on January 8 brings to light the hazards faced by journalists who take their profession seriously. Here is a tribute to Wickramatunga in South Asia’s wellknown magazine HIMAL: “On 9 January, Himal Southasian, Kathmandu held a meeting in memory of Lasantha Wickramatunga. “At a well-attended gathering, tribute was paid to Lasantha for continuing with his fearless and bold writing,...

The Pakistan government is in a tizzy. After days of denial, and emphatically stating that no Pakistani national was involved in the last month’s bloody terror attack in Mumbai (Bombay), its National security adviser Mahmud Durrani made a dramatic announcement on Wednesday. He said that Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor among the Mumbai attackers (who is in the Indian police custody), is a Pakistani national. However, this public admission cost Mr Durrani his job the same day!!! (Earlier, Indian...

It can be a traumatic experience for any teenager to live without a mother snatched away in a brutal manner. A year after Pakistan’s charismatic leader Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, her 18-year-old daughter Bakhtawar has expressed her anguish through a moving song that is being broadcast on the State-run television. “Like any child who has lost a parent, it was only natural that Benazir Bhutto’s eldest daughter would wish to express her grief for her murdered mother. Less...

In these prosaic times, Barack Obama seems to have decided to add a bit of flight of fancy. “This is only the fourth time in our history that a President has featured a poet at his inaugural. I hope that this portends well for the future of the arts in our everyday and civic life,” says Elizabeth Alexander, the Yale professor who has ben invited to deliver her poem after president-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural address on January 20. Elizabeth, who was born in 1962 in Harlem, New York,...

Wikipedia’s founder, Jimmy Wales’s gambit has paid off. He made a direct appeal to the users of this free online encyclopaedia to help him raise $6m (£4.1m) to cover its running costs for 2009 or be prepared to see advertisements splashed all over this pioneering, innovative and valuable referral website. And, boy, what a response Wikipedia got from its viewers/wellwishers! This story would have delighted Mahatma Gandhi who most of his life propagated that newspapers should be ad-free....

Gaza crisis has been described as a recurring Middle Eastern nightmare. I can understand why US president-elect has decided to keep quiet. He has inherited a tragedy/madness whose history dates back to almost 100 years of political skulduggery of the powerful Western nations in that part of the world dividing the Jews and Arabs who once lived there peacefully. But Obama will have to break his silence when he wears the “crown” later this month. Meanwhile Ehud Barak, the Defence Minister...

What is common between Barack Obama and all these guys and gal…Monica Lewinsky, Napoleon Bonaparte, Oscar Peterson, Russell Baker, Dustin Hoffman, Louis Armstrong, Menachem Begin and Robert Redford? In Chinese astrology, as interpreted by my favourite Suzanne White, all of them are “Ox & Leo”. (In my earlier posts I had mentioned about Suzanne’s apt/fun descriptions about G.W. Bush and General David Petraeus.) In a horoscope for 2009 especially prepared for president-elect...

Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, whose 801st birth anniversary was celebrated last month, has for many years now remained the most popular poet in America. The translations of this 13th-century mystical Muslim scholar’s – better known as Rumi – verse are hugely popular and have been used by Western pop stars such as Madonna. More here… A 13th-century Persian poet, Sunni Islamic jurist, and theologian, Rumi was born in 1207 in Balkh in present-day Afghanistan. “Increasing...

Sydney’s Bondy Beach is among a few designated beaches in Australia where top-less bathers are permitted to enjoy the sun, sand and the sea. In fact such beaches are a major draw for tourists too!!! But as Australians begin their long summer holidays this year, a campaign is on to tighten nudity laws. A Christian fundamentalist politician, the Rev Fred Nile, is calling for topless sunbathing to be outlawed, and he has received backing from several mainstream MPs, reports The Independent. “While...

Shawn Goldsmith, a Long Island teenager, has earned a place of pride in the history of Scouting. The Associated Press reports that the young lad has earned all 121 merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America. “It’s an accomplishment the local arm of the organization calls ‘an almost unheard-of feat’.” Being an avid follower of the Scout movement worldwide and an old Scout myself, I feel happy that the movement is as popular as it was when I was in my teens. The...

South Asia, especially India, has reasons to celebrate the return of secular and democratic government in Bangladesh. Former Prime Minister Ms Sheikh Hasina’s (photo above) Awami League has won a landslide victory in Bangladesh’s election, reports the BBC. It is heartening that democracy has also returned to India’s immediate neighbourhood, including Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan. Myanmar or Burma remains a sad exception. “Election officials say the Awami League alliance has...

What is common between the legendary Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi and the creator of the iconic cartoon character Popeye the Sailor? All the copyright material related to them would end on January 1, 2009 when these fall into the public domain. The statutory law restricts the rights of authors to 60/70 years after their death. The copyright expiry means that, from Thursday, anyone can print and sell Gandhi or Popeye posters, T-shirts and even create new comic strips, books without the need for...