- Even those who can’t see can see that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is an unjust despot hell-bent on staying in power even though the clear will of the people is for him to leave office. The story of blind mosque preacher Ahmad al-Sayasneh underscores the fact that physical sight isn’t required to understand just how overdue al-Assad’s ouster from power has become. An outspoken critic of al-Assad’s regime, al-Sayasneh was smuggled into Jordan Saturday from the rebellious border town of Deraa through a hilly northern border area devoid of Syrian patrols, according to Fadi Abu Mustafa of the Free Syrian Army. Al-Sayasneh, a Sunni Muslim, preached at Deraa’s Omari Mosque, where he quickly became known for his passionate anti-Assad sermons in which he called for civil disobedience. Just how much of an impact those calls have had is unclear because Syria has been in a state of upheaval for months and the riots almost certainly would be raging with or without the exhortations of one angry cleric. Still, the government took notice of his sermons and Syrian dissidents say he was jailed and tortured for his anti-Assad remarks. The Free Syrian Army force of defectors from the Syrian military, despite its name, is based in Turkey, with followers in Jordan and Lebanon. For those wishing to flee Syria’s repressive regime, they are good friends to have. According to Mustafa, Jordanian police are questioning al-Sayasneh before allowing him to go free, but the feeling has to be much better than suffering a brutal beating and torture from al-Assad’s regime………
- Thom Yorke is already known for being one of rock’s more pretentious stars. This probably won’t help ground him or humble him. Two tracks from Radiohead’s catalog are to be reworked into classical compositions by Steve Reich, the world-renowned minimalist composer. Reich has announced that he will be reworking “Everything In Its Right Prize” from the band’s “Kid A” album and “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” from “In Rainbows” as part of a piece he’s working on called “Radio Rewrite.” The project will be performed by 13 musicians from the London Sinfonietta on Mar. 5, 2013 as part of the Southbank Festival. Andrew Burke, the chief executive of the London Sinfonietta, explained that the pieces would not simply be covers of the original tracks. “I don’t think Steve will be quoting these songs directly. I don’t think that’s his style. How he uses the songs as a starting point for what he does is going to be part of the excitement,” Burke said. He added that Reich was inspired to include tracks from the Oxford-based band after he met them in Poland in September and heard that Jonny Greenwood had played one of his compositions. “It was the first time he’d met them as musicians and spoken to them at length. Jonny Greenwood played [Reich composition] Electric Counterpoint – Steve saw this guy was seriously interested in his music and Steve became seriously interested in theirs," he said. Radiohead are currently readying for their 2012 world tour in support of their latest album “The Kings Of Limbs” and can now head out on the road with some extra swagger in their step……….
- Logic works from time to time. Touching a hot stove will get a person burned, sleeping in the freezer will turn you into a human popsicle and asking a FAT doctor to help a FAT patient lose wait is going result in failure. That blatantly obvious reality was confirmed by a new study researching the link between the physical conditioning of doctors and the weight loss of their patients. The study found that obese doctors are much less likely to help obese patients shed pounds to stay healthy. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University surveyed 500 primary care physicians and measured how much faith the doctors had in themselves to treat obesity - both in giving advice and in their perceptions of patient trust in their advice. They found that normal-weight physicians were more likely to address weight loss with their obese patients (30 percent vs. 18 percent of FAT docs), had more faith that patients would trust their advice (80 percent vs. 69 percent of FAT doctors) and had more confidence in their ability to provide good diet and exercise advice (53 percent vs. 37 percent of FAT doctors). Those numbers are compelling, but the bigger disparity came in the manner in which healthy physicians assess patients versus the way their overweight counterparts do. Normal-weight doctors had a 93 percent probability of reporting an obesity diagnosis in overweight patients, compared with a measly 7 percent of overweight doctors. The standard for most of the doctors included in the study was the patient’s weight in relation to the doctor’s weight. If a patient’s body weight met or exceeded the doctor’s own body weight, the patient was more likely to be judged obese. Doctors rocking a healthy weight were more likely to provide recommended obesity care to patients, according to the study. "For me, the results raise a lot of questions," said study author Dr. Sara Bleich, an assistant professor of health policy at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "I’d be surprised if this behavior is intentional. I think a lot of it is subconscious. What this study suggests is that physical attributes of physicians have a much bigger contribution to their care of patients than I realized before." While the numbers do call for action, they are hardly surprising. In a country where more than one-third of U.S. adults - almost 34 percent - are obese and two-thirds are overweight, odds are high that more than a few doctors will also be overweight. The government defines obesity as having a body mass index of 30 or higher and too many Americans qualify for that club. Results from the Johns Hopkins study were published in the Jan. 19 online edition of Obesity journal………
- Government waste has existed for as long as government has existed. Millions of dollars are thrown away on pork projects, eaten up by employee laziness or simply thrown into the trash with stupid decisions and bureaucratic red tape. Government waste doesn’t even begin to describe the accounting blunder currently being investigated by the U.S. Defense Department, which admits it cannot account for about $2 billion it was given to cover Iraq-related expenses. Furthermore, the department is not providing Iraq with a complete list of U.S.-funded reconstruction projects, according to two new government audits. Both reports come from the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, which is asking the tough question, “How does any government entity f**cking blow through $2 f**king million dollars and not know how that money was spent?” Making matters even worse, that money came not from the U.S. government, but the struggling Iraqi government. That’s right, back in 2004 the fledgling Iraqi government gave the Department of Defense access to about $3 billion to pay bills for certain contracts and the department can only account for approximately one-third of that, the inspector general says in an audit published Friday. Wasting one’s own government’s money is bad, but spitting in the face of another government by taking their money to help rebuild their country - a country you were responsible for demolishing - is something else entirely. A cynic might ask the obvious question that comes to mind when $2 billion goes missing, namely, “Shouldn’t there be accounting procedures and rules in place?” The answer, ironically, is yes. The Department of Defense has "internal processes and controls" to track payments, the "bulk of the records are missing," the report says. Monthly reports documenting expenses and other key documents appear to have vanished completely. "From July 2004 through December 2007, DoD should have provided 42 monthly reports. However, it can locate only the first four reports," the audit stated. The audit was overseen by Glenn Furbish, assistant inspector general for audits. What does the DoD have to say in its defense? Defense Under Secretary Mark Easton acknowledged in a response letter also contained in the report that there was "a records management issue." Right, except that $2 billion doesn’t just trickle away in bits and pieces because solid records weren't kept and a few people took advantage of lackadaisical financial management. Someone, somewhere has to be abusing and gaming that system for all it’s worth. Iraq’s government was undergoing a transition at the time and someone - or a lot of someones - cashed in. Now it’s up to the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, which was created in 2004 to continue oversight of Iraq reconstruction programs, to prove it can do its job and figure out where all that money went……….
- Ozzie Guillen may no longer be the manager of the Chicago White Sox, but there is at least one member of the team’s coaching staff looking for a fight as the 2012 is about to dawn with the start of spring training next month. New White Sox bench coach Mark Parent, part of new manager Robin Ventura’s staff, appeared at SoxFest, a fan gathering in the Windy City where hundreds of diehards come together to meet and greet a handful of players and coaches and get hyped for the season ahead. The former major league catcher spoke about how the White Sox will respond to their batters getting hit with pitches in light of the fact that they were dotted a Major League Baseball-high 84 times last season, while they themselves hit just 44 batters on the year. Parent doesn’t like those numbers very much and he knows exactly how that problem needs to be handled. “You hit our guy, we’ll hit your guy,” he told the gathered crowd. Those fiery words earned him some applause from the crowd, but they also ignored the facts. Last season, White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin led the American League with 23 HBPs in just 118 games. Quentin was traded to San Diego during the offseason and with both he and his plate-crowding ways gone, the team’s HBP totals are sure to drop. Also, Parent isn't exactly knowledgeable about what it feels like to be drilled by a fastball. He was a career backup who was hit by pitches just twice in 13 major league seasons. Still, it’s nice to see someone take up the baton of angry (and hopefully profanity-laden) rhetoric for the South Siders after Guillen left town and headed south to manage the Miami Marlins……….
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