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Iraqi Dinar News 2011 - Latest Updates

2011-10-18T07:36:00.001-07:00

Iraqi Dinar News 2011 - Latest Updates

Investors who are considering options to invest in the currency need to track the news and the Iraqi Dinar exchange rate on a daily basis. The official currency of Iraq was introduced following the second gulf conflict and a brand new Iraqi Dinar came into existence in 2003. Currently, the exchange rate is close to 1170 Dinars per USD.
Raw Oil Reserves in Iraq
Today, Iraq possesses the second largest reserve of crude oil, next only to Saudi Arabia. With international oil companies actively involved, Iraq's oil reserves rose by a remarkable 25% to 143 billion barrels late last year. The energy industry is finally on the road to recovery after years of war. With foreign funding and expertise, the output of the existing refineries is all set to increase during the year.
Revaluation News 2011
An article related to the Iraqi budget for the year 2011 has revealed that there is a possibility of a new exchange rate, which could spell cheer for investors. A Revaluation (RV) is imminent once the 6-month UNSC protection period ends in June 2011. According to the law of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), as stated on its website, the CBI is the only entity, which can determine the value of the currency. According to the IMF, bank governor Shabibi needs to submit a request to revalue the currency to the IMF, with a rate which can be justified as realistic. It is widely believed that the IMF has already approved the RV and now it is up to Shabibi to announce it to the world at the right time.

For more information on the Iraqi Dinar and Iraqi Dinar News, please visit DinarBanker.com. Dinar Banker is one of the largest and most experienced companies specializing in trading the new Iraqi currency.
Stefano Grossi
DinarBanker.com
1-888-346-2771

Enzyme 'switch' clue to infertility and miscarriage

2011-10-17T00:45:00.001-07:00

Enzyme 'switch' clue to infertility and miscarriage

The findings could help some couples trying to have a baby

Scientists have identified a "fertility switch" protein which appears to increase infertility if levels are too high and fuel miscarriage if too low.

An Imperial College London team took samples from the womb lining of more than 100 women.
Writing in Nature Medicine they said women with unexplained infertility had high levels of the enzyme SGK1, while those who miscarried had low levels.
One fertility expert said the research offered new avenues for research.
About one in six women have difficulty getting pregnant, and one in 100 women trying to conceive experience recurrent miscarriages, defined as the loss of three or more consecutive pregnancies.
The Imperial team also carried out mouse studies which found levels of SGK1 in the womb lining decline during the window of time during which they can fall pregnant.
When extra copies of the SGK1 gene were implanted into the womb lining, these mice were unable to get pregnant.
The researchers say this suggests a fall in SGK1 levels is essential for making the uterus receptive to embryos.
However, if low levels of SGK1 persist into pregnancy, this appears to cause different problems.
When the researchers blocked the SGK1 gene, mice had no problem getting pregnant but they had smaller litters and showed signs of bleeding, suggesting a lack of SGK1 made miscarriage more likely.
'Focus for research' Prof Jan Brosens, who led the research at Imperial's Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, said: "Our experiments on mice suggest that a temporary loss of SGK1 during the fertile window is essential for pregnancy, but human tissue samples show that they remain high in some women who have trouble getting pregnant.
"I can envisage that in the future, we might treat the womb lining by flushing it with drugs that block SGK1 before women undergo IVF."

“Start Quote

"It's all very well to measure something that is missing - whether or not you can correct it is the next step”

Prof Richard Fleming Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine

After an embryo is implanted, the lining of the uterus develops into a specialised structure called the decidua.

The team say lab tests show low levels of the enzyme may impair the ability of cells in the decidua to protect themselves against oxidative stress, a condition in which there is an excess of reactive chemicals inside cells.
Dr Madhuri Salker, who also worked on the study, said: "We found that low levels of SGK1 make the womb lining vulnerable to cellular stress, which might explain why low SGK1 was more common in women who have had recurrent miscarriage.
"In the future, we might take biopsies of the womb lining to identify abnormalities that might give them a higher risk of pregnancy complications, so that we can start treating them before they get pregnant."
Prof Richard Fleming, of the Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine, said the research was "encouraging".
"To have something as clear as this, with a specific enzyme, is great. It is giving us something to focus on."
But, Prof Fleming, who is also a member of the British Fertility Society, warned it would be some time before the discovery translated into day-to-day practice.
"It's all very well to measure something that is missing - whether or not you can correct it is the next step.
"But at least we know somewhere that's directly involved, and can explore that.

India march over 'draconian' anti-insurgent law

2011-10-17T00:44:00.000-07:00

India march over 'draconian' anti-insurgent law

Prominent Indian activists have begun a 3000km (1864 miles) march from Indian-administered Kashmir to north-eastern Manipur state to demand the withdrawal of a controversial anti-insurgent law

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) gives the security forces the powers of search and seizure.
It also protects soldiers who may kill a civilian by mistake or in unavoidable circumstances during an operation.
The law has been blamed for "fake killings" in Kashmir and Manipur.
An Indian woman in Manipur has spent more than 10 years in a protest fast against the law.
Irom Sharmila Chanu, 40, has been force-fed through a pipe in her nose since November 2000.
'Dangerous' Leading activists like Medha Patkar, Sandeep Pandey and Singhjit Irom - the brother of Irom Sharmila - have joined the march, which is expected to travel through northern and western India before reaching Manipur.
"This is not just about Kashmir or Manipur. This is the battle of every citizen. AFSPA is a dangerous law. It should go," Irom Singhjit said.
India introduced AFSPA in 1958 to put down separatist movements in certain parts of the country.
The law was first enforced in Manipur and later enforced in other insurgency-ridden north-eastern states.
It was extended to most parts of Indian-administered Kashmir soon after the outbreak of armed insurgency in 1989.
The law gives soldiers immunity against prosecution unless the Indian government gives prior sanction for such prosecution.
The government maintains that the AFSPA is necessary to restore normalcy in regions like Kashmir and Manipur.
The chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah has repeatedly stated that the AFSPA needs to be amended or withdrawn from those areas of Indian-administered Kashmir where the army is no longer needed to fight insurgency.

Libya conflict: NTC forces claim Bani Walid advance

2011-10-17T00:41:00.000-07:00

Forces loyal to Libya's interim authorities say they have entered Bani Walid, one of the last towns still loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi.

NTC military commanders said they met heavy resistance from Gaddafi loyalists in the town, some 170km (110 miles) southeast of Tripoli.
Meanwhile, fighting is continuing for Col Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte.
In Tripoli, bulldozers have begun to demolish Col Gaddafi's fortress-like Bab al-Aziziya compound.
Interim leaders said it was time "to tear down the symbol of tyranny".
'Resistance' National Transitional Council (NTC) commanders say troops have launched a fresh assault on the desert town of Bani Walid, but the extent of their advance into the desert town remains unclear.
Fighters approached the town on Sunday from the north and south after launching a barrage of artillery fire against the positions of pro-Gaddafi fighters, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency.
"We attacked this morning from the southwest. Our men were inside the town this afternoon. But there was heavy resistance" from the Gaddafi loyalists, NTC commander Jamal Salem told the news agency.
Some reports said the NTC forces reached the city centre, but these have not been verified.
While NTC forces surround Bani Walid, they have so far been unable to make a successful advance into the town due to resistance from some 1,500 Gaddafi loyalists believed to be there.
Last week, troops were pulled back after suffering heavy losses.
Along with Sirte, Bani Walid is one of only two remaining towns in Libya resisting the rule of the NTC.
In Sirte, commanders have been reorganising their forces in an attempt to prevent friendly fire, which some say is slowing their advance.
The BBC's Wyre Davies in Sirte said on Sunday there had been an attempt to co-ordinate the assault with fighters from Misrata in the west told to hold their positions, while troops from Benghazi in the east tried to take ground in the city centre.
However, the situation is chaotic and violent, he adds.
At one point the BBC team in Sirte came under heavy sniper fire and a young Libyan nearby was shot dead as they dived for cover.
'Looting'

As the fighting continues, the NTC is struggling to exert its authority over the country.

There have been reports of widespread looting by fighters around Sirte, with witnesses saying truckloads of stolen goods are being driven away.
Reporters from Associated Press TV said they saw trucks loaded with everything from tractors and heavy machinery to rugs, freezers, furniture and other household goods being driven off.
Meanwhile, NTC forces have bulldozed the green walls surrounding Muammar Gaddafi's main Tripoli compound.
In Tripoli, senior army officer Ahmad Ghargory said the Bab al-Aziziya area would be turned into a public park.
"It's the revolutionary decision to tear down this symbol of tyranny," he said.
"We were busy with the war, but now we have the space to do this."
Correspondents say local people have already turned a courtyard, from where Col Gaddafi once made fiery speeches, into a weekly pet market.

Amnesty urges Libya to tackle 'stain' of detainee abuse

2011-10-13T04:06:00.000-07:00

Libya's interim authorities must end arbitrary detention and abuse of inmates, Amnesty International says.

In a report, the London-based rights group said it had uncovered evidence of torture and ill-treatment of thousands of people detained in recent months.
Sub-Saharan Africans suspected of being Col Muammar Gaddafi's mercenaries were particularly targeted, it said. The NTC pledged to look into the claims.
There are unconfirmed reports Col Gaddafi's son Mutassim has been seized.
Some figures in the National Transitional Council said he had been captured in the family's embattled home town of Sirte.
However, a military commander in the city denied the claims, which have sparked celebratory gunfire in several cities.
If confirmed, Mutassim Gaddafi's capture would be a major breakthrough for the NTC, says the BBC's Caroline Hawley in Tripoli.
He is a senior officer in Col Gaddafi's army and was a national security adviser to his father.
NTC forces have said they control most of Sirte, but the BBC's Wyre Davies in the city says they have been pushed back slightly in fighting since Wednesday.
Making 'clear break' Amnesty published its report - entitled Detention Abuses Staining the New Libya - after interviewing some 300 prisoners.
It visited 11 detention facilities in and around the capital Tripoli and in the cities of Zawiya and Misrata between 18 August, just before Tripoli fell, and 21 September.
The group said it had found a pattern of torture and abuse of suspected Gaddafi loyalists, as well as soldiers and suspected mercenaries.
"In some cases there is clear evidence of torture in order to extract confessions or as a punishment," the report said.

“Start Quote

The NTC has to act urgently to translate their public commitments into action, before such abuses become entrenched and stain the new Libya's human rights record”

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui Amnesty International

Black migrants caught in backlash

It said that researchers had found torture instruments in one detention facility, and also had heard whipping and screaming sounds in another prison.

At least two guards from separate detention facilities had admitted to beating inmates to get confessions, Amnesty said.
In another case, a 17-year-old Chadian accused of rape and being a Gaddafi mercenary had said the beatings were so severe that he had decided to "confess".
"I ended up telling them what they wanted to hear. I told them I raped women and killed Libyans," the Chadian inmate told Amnesty.
'No tolerance of abuse' In the capital Tripoli and surrounding areas alone, NTC forces have captured some 2,500 people, mostly without arrest warrants.
"We understand that the transitional authorities are facing many challenges, but if they do not make a clear break with the past now, they will effectively be sending out a message that treating detainees like this is to be tolerated in the new Libya," Amnesty's Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said.
She added: "The NTC has to act urgently to translate their public commitments into action, before such abuses become entrenched and stain the new Libya's human rights record."
The report also urged the Libyan authorities to bring all detention facilities under the justice ministry's control to allow inmates to challenge the lawfulness of their arrests.
The NTC has repeatedly said it is committed to upholding human rights and reforming the country's justice system.
Reuters news agency quoted council spokesman Jalal al-Galal as saying: "[NTC Chairman] Mustafa Abdel Jalil has said time and time again that he will not tolerate abuse of prisoners and has made it abundantly clear that he will investigate any such allegations."
The Amnesty report raises fears of a return to the types of abuses committed in the Gaddafi era. Torture and mass killings were widespread both before and during this year's conflict as any dissent was quickly suppressed.

Latest News About Depression

2011-10-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

The Latest News About Depression: Could Your Brain Have a Natural Opiate Deficiency?

If absolutely nothing has been able to break your cycle of depression, and you are frustrated to the point where you don't know how you can live without getting better soon, there is an alternate theory about your problem you need to learn more about.

I have spent thousands of hours doing general research on moods and the human brain because I am completely fascinated by the subject. I recently discovered something that continues to blow me away when I think about it. Being a victim myself of bipolar depression, terrible anxiety disorders and ADHD, I know what it is like trying to escape the indescribable negative feelings and overwhelming heaviness and terror these disorders create in the mind.

What follows will probably stun you if you have never heard it before, but I think it also proves that drinking and/or drug use and mood disorders --especially depression -- are linked by a natural cause. Here is what I find incredible and am surprised is not that well known or publicized:

It was recently discovered that the human brain and body manufactures morphine in the identical molecular structure as that which comes from the opium poppy. Here is the clearest proof, published in a report just 2 years ago by the Neuroscience Research Institute: "Recent empirical findings have contributed valuable mechanistic information in support of a regulated de novo biosynthetic pathway for chemically authentic morphine and related morphinan alkaloids within (human) animal cells".

The opium poppy, of course, is what the devil's drug heroin is made from. Not coincidentally, I believe that is why it is the most addictive drug on earth. It makes one feel so euphorically happy when they first start taking it, that the desire to feel that way all the time gets embedded in the brain. It is really important that you understand that your brain does not manufacture a chemical that makes you feel like you have taken an opiate -- it manufactures the exact opiate itself.

We know for certain that what the brain manufactures in terms of neurotransmitters or other "feel good" brain chemicals, it unfortunately does not manufacture enough of in people who are clinically depressed. You have undoubtedly heard examples of these other "feel-good" neuro-chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin or endorphins. Too little of these chemicals results in depression, and antidepressants help correct the problem.

Doctors don't know exactly how most of these drugs work, mind you, and some were meant for totally different problems -- but we'll save that for another article. The main point I am driving at is that if some people can be deficient in other brain chemicals, it certainly stands to reason that they could be deficient in their opiate levels. From what I have researched this is being referred to as either Endorphin Deficiency Syndrome, or Endogenous Opioid Deficiency. Not having enough opiates is a subject I have direct experience with and can describe for you, as a bad back got me into opiate-based painkillers and I got addicted to them.

Because you develop a tolerance an opiate drug, you need more and more and more of it over time -- just to feel "normal" after taking the drug for several months. Without it, after taking higher amounts for a while, you go into opiate withdrawal. I don't think there is anything more uncomfortable and frightening than this kind of withdrawal, either. Your body feels like it has the flu times 100, and your mind goes into a state of a tortured paralysis. Doing anything effectively while in such a state is nearly impossible, and your brain is stuck on one thought and one thought only -- how to get more opiates.

One reason people go to rehab is to get some medical relief from such sickness by way of other drugs the doctors can give you to keep you a little more comfortable. You need mental support as well, because your brain function is totally impaired. Depression is also inevitable, and that leads us back to the point of this article.

There are growing numbers of what they call "treatment resistant" people who have got depression. The thinking is that some people are driven into depression by the lack of the naturally made opiate. Every one of the people in this group whose web comments I read experienced what they called an incredibly pronounced and dramatic lift in their mood upon taking an opiate. They are completely convinced it is the only thing that will help beating depression. After trying everything else, they get stuck in a position where they know they need an opiate, but feel very guilty about it because of the attached negative stigmas to the drug.

Fortunately, a drug has been developed that is used for easing people off of opiate addictions and it is called Suboxone. It is made in doses of 1 MG pills, where up to 18 MG might be prescribed for a heavy addict in withdrawal. But I have heard of people going on Suboxone for the long term with very good effects at just 2 MG. It is addicting, but people experienced with opiates say if you run out of your Suboxone you may feel a little achy for a few days at the 2 MG level, that's all. I should mention that obviously Suboxone itself is a type of substitute opiate to help addicts, and giving it to people long term where technically they could become slightly addicted is highly controversial in the medical community. Some docs frown upon this whole notion, while others know it's a life-saver. I am not a doctor, so you need to speak with a progressive psychiatrist about everything I have mentioned here.

Hopefully this knowledge can make a difference in somebody's life, and help bring happiness to those stuck in the awful grip of depression-- if they are truly treatment resistant. How about you? What do you think of somebody taking an opiate type substitute for perhaps the rest of your life. Do you frown on it or believe it should be OK to practice this idea? I pray this information will reach somebody who has not lost hope while depressed. So please spread the word about this and post references to this article in places where people in need might see it, please.

My name is Thomas Rees and I am originally from New York, now living in Los Angeles. I quit my 18 year career on Wall Street and doing a radio show to pursue ventures that can help make a difference in people's lives who suffer from mood disorders and or substance abuse as I did. I suffered a severe midlife crisis after my divorce, and can identify with people stricken with depression.