AP – An Iranian lawmaker claimed Wednesday that President Barack Obama called for direct talks with Iran in a secret letter to the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader that also warned Tehran against closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
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Iranian lawmaker: Obama proposed talks; US denies
(AP)
A report released today by 2020Health, a think tank in the U.K., suggests that the private sector could save money it is currently losing from a “sick note culture” if “health and safety inspectors” were given an increased role in educating employees on healthy lifestyles. The Telegraph sums it up : “Council inspectors should start monitoring what private sector employees eat at work in order to help improve the country’s health and to reduce sickness rates, a report has concluded.” It has more : The report recommended the role of council “diet police” be increased to offer advice to the private sector. The authors said the proposals in the report, released today, would help reduce the “sick note culture”. The suggestion is likely to lead to claims of more “meddling” from council inspectors. Latest figures show that up to 3 percent of the active workforce is off sick at any one time. About 175 million working days are lost each year due to ill health, costing the economy more than £100 billion. Here are a few bullet points from the report, which can be downloaded here : Expanding the role of Local Authority health and safety inspectors to provide information on employee health, such as diet, the importance of exercise, and workstation setup. Creating a new position of regional occupational health director, who could work alongside the regional public health director in local government. This would ensure continuity in enabling the public health agenda to be delivered through the workplace. Considering a statutory reqirement that PHDs produce an independent annual report on the health of the local population, and that this report should take into account employment issues. In addition to giving a role to so called “diet police,” the report details the importance of making it easier for those who are sick to work from home and helping those recovering to get back into the workforce. The Telegraph reports the Prime Minister David Cameron as saying earlier this year that doctors should be more limited in their power to take people out of work for long periods of time: “‘Of course some of these people genuinely can’t work, and we must support them. That’s only fair,” the Prime Minister said. “But it’s also fair that those who can return to work should be supported to do so. We need to end the something for nothing culture. “‘While 90 percent of sickness cases are short-term – that stomach bug or flu that we all suffer from occasionally – nearly half of all days lost to sickness absence are because of cases that last four weeks or more.” Ministers believe that about one in five of those who are absent on long-term sick leave should either never have been signed off in the first place or could go back to work. These recommendations come on the heels of another 2020Health report released last month about healthcare fraud costing as much as £3 billion per year. This fraud included doctors charging patients for procedures they don’t need and misuse of prescription medications, among others. The organization believes addressing the sencould help save money and improve employee
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Report Recommends ‘Diet Police’ in U.K. to Monitor What People Eat
Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney announced Friday that he has earned the endorsement of Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, considered by many conservatives to be a RINO. The following statement was released by the Romney camp: “I am proud to announce the support of Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski,” said Mitt Romney. “I look forward to working with her to expand Alaska’s energy production, bring jobs back to the state, and help get our country on the right track again.” “Mitt Romney has had the lifelong experiences needed to turn around our economy,” said Senator Murkowski. “Whether it was his ability to turn around the Massachusetts economy or turn around businesses in the private sector, Mitt Romney has demonstrated the leadership that we need in the White House to get the country on the right track. He has also laid out a plan to get our country on the path toward energy independence. Mitt Romney understands the importance of Alaska as a leader in our country’s energy production and I look forward to working with him on such an important economic and national security matter.” Murkowski won reelection as a write-in candidate in 2010 after losing the Republican primary. (h/t: Politico )
A cloud of black smoke rises after an explosion rocked a weapons depot in Iran Nov. 12, 2011. (Image source: Fars News Agency)
Smoke from the Nov. 12 blast (Image source: AP)
Gov. Perry discusses the importance of foreign policy and the reason he has chosen to run for president.
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South America and Life’s Choices
Today on Uncommon Knowledge, Paul Ryan discusses the importance of repealing ObamaCare.
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Uncommon Knowledge Interview with Rep. Paul Ryan (Part One)
Double-digit unemployment. Disgruntled left flank. Rising grass-roots discontent. Economic egghead exodus. Gargantuan stimulus scandals. Bloody corruption. Mired in failure, President Obama has once again figured out what his real problem is. Saul Alinsky to the rescue! Obama also said that when he reflects back on his tenure in the White House, he thinks his administration did not do a good job communicating what they were doing for the American people. “I think that the more you’re in this office, the more you have to say to yourself that telling a story to the American people is just as important as the actual policies that you’re implementing,” he said. He trotted out his one-trick narrative pony after the November 2010 midterm shellacking , too: After a suffering a “shellacking” in the midterm elections, President Obama acknowledges what many have seen as his chief weakness – failing to sell the importance of several legislative milestones to the American people. “I think that’s a fair argument. I think that, over the course of two years we were so busy and so focused on getting a bunch of stuff done that, we stopped paying attention to the fact that leadership isn’t just legislation. That it’s a matter of persuading people. And giving them confidence and bringing them together. And setting a tone,” Mr. Obama told 60 Minutes’ Steve Kroft in an exclusive interview set to air Sunday. “Making an argument that people can understand,” Mr. Obama continued, “I think that we haven’t always been successful at that. And I take personal responsibility for that. And it’s something that I’ve got to examine carefully … as I go forward.” So, gird your loins for more toxic plants and stage props , plus an expanding catalogue of progressive fables , as the Yarn-Spinner-in-Chief attempts to story-tell his way out of his economic and political morass. Obama story-telling words that’ll be music to my ears: “The End.” *** Read how Obama’s social justice mentors preach the use of “story-telling” to achieve their prog ends. The need for the GOP to forcefully counter Obama’s false narratives is stronger than ever. *** Fresh from chastising Congressional Black Caucus members to back off, quit whining , kick off their slippers and get behind him, Obama retreated to the tonier confines of Hollywood and… whined : If anything, we’ve got to work harder in part because it’s not going to be as sexy, not going to be as new. I’m grayer, I’m all dinged up. (audience laughs) Those old posters, everyone’s got in their closet. They’re all dog-eared and faded. “Mainly it’s hard because people are just tired… Sob stories about himself while the country crumbles. Cue the world’s smallest violin.
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Introspective Obama: Hey, I’m not telling enough stories; Plus: “I’m all dinged up”
