The building of the medical center “Ene Myakhri” in Ashgabat. Photo from Asgabat.net

April 27 semi-official information portal “TURKMENinform” reported that the Ministry of Health of Turkmenistan held a meeting the leaders of the Centers’ Ene Myakhri “(” Maternal tenderness “). ”At the meeting it was noted that the centers’ Ene Myakhri” intensively and now they can truly be called the pride of domestic medicine. These new centers of diagnosis and treatment of various diseases of the heart, internal organs, head and neck, eye diseases, oncology, traumatology, infectious diseases and other work 12 hours a day. Built in all provinces (regions) centers “Ene Myakhri” equipped with the latest technology and their staff have the highest qualifications. The meeting noted that the activity centers “Ene Myakhri” intensively and now they can truly be called the pride of domestic medicine “- the newspaper writes.

The problems of these centers has decided not to mention the publication.

Centers “Ene Myakhri” were built in the capital and in every regional center in 2010 on the initiative of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov . Despite the fact that the objects had been operational for two years, the customer – the Ministry of Health – have not yet signed the acts of receiving buildings. There are several reasons, chief among them – the poor quality of construction and the explicit construction defects, and the Ministry of Health officials do not want to take responsibility for the operation of the facility for such a low quality. However, first things first.

The construction of the centers in Balkanabat, Dashoguz, Mary and Turkmenabat Turkish company engaged in Kapra Inşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret AS, although initially it was announced that the tender won another construction company in Turkey – MACC Insaat Sanayi Yatyrym we Tijaret Limited Sikreti.

The total cost of the four sites was 48 million U.S. dollars. The objects were put into operation in 2008, but for some reason, gave them two years later, although a lot of money, according to people close to the project, were paid on time.

Note that the tenders in Turkmenistan – the procedure is opaque, the details were not disclosed. President proposes new facilities, gives an indication of the relevant ministries and agencies to tender. Then the press comes the announcement of the tender, and after some time – a presidential decree that such and such company to build such an object in such and such time and in such and such money …

Customer of all centers “Ene Myakhri” – Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan. However, officials of Ministry of Health to take unfinished objects do not want to sign documents making the head physician of the centers. But they, too, have been slow to objects, because if that happens – will be asked to those who signed the acceptance certificate of the building. For this reason, only Turkmenabad center in less than two years for three senior doctor.

The first chief physician center, B.Tureev, he worked at his post for only six months.According to the responsible officer of the Ministry of Health, the Tour has invested in correcting clear deficiencies center around 20 thousand dollars of personal money – Ministry of Health has promised to guide Tureevu that the costs will be reimbursed.Promise, you promised, but when the order came to the object, and the chief doctor refused to sign the act, – Tureeva dismissed without returning a penny.

The building is still there under the contract of air conditioning and heating, so there is unbearable heat in summer and winter – cold. In the wards and corridors – the stench of sewage. As it turned out, the Turks in some places simply do not have paved the pipe. Bathrooms are, they come from the pipes in the floor, there is a way out of these pipes into the sewer, but there is no middle management. The disadvantage was discovered when the technician opened the leaking ceiling …

“When the rain outside, we sit under umbrellas in the rooms, like the street – one of the doctors said the center. - Take into service all available in the center of the dish and arrange it on the floor, because the whole roof is flowing. “

The second head of the center, O.Nuryeva, stayed at his post just over a year. Nuriyev – Turkmen people from remote places, obedient, submissive, but when she refused to put his signature on the papers for the admission of an object, it “was asked.”

Regular checks do not reveal flaws, because the inspectors – the officials of that Ministry of Health. Intelligence agencies that monitor all areas of Turkmen life, of course, aware of what is happening, but they were unable to “bring to mind the” medical centers.

Now at the Center once a new leader. The Ministry of persuading him to accept the object, saying that after that the contractor will achieve correction of defects. However, both the Turkish construction firms have long since left Turkmenistan, so that employees’ Ene Myakhri “sure – soon they will have to familiarize themselves with yet another new head doctor.

***

This is just one example of poor construction for big money and government officials of negligence, a separate ministry. In fact, many such examples. In May 2010, President Berdimuhamedov participated in opening ceremony of the plant for the production of drinking water in Dashoguz. Cutting the ribbon, and having drunk pure water, which previously brought in tanks from the October district for more than a hundred kilometers, the president left and more to the plant did not return.

Plant for production of pure water in Dashoguz. Only the sign

Columbus, Ohio Train Derailment Chemical Fire–July 11, 2012

Posted on July 11, 2012 by therearenosunglasses

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Doral Chenoweth III | DispatchSmoke billows and fires burn from two overturned rail cars just south of the Ohio State Fairgrounds.
Doral Chenoweth III | DispatchTwo overturned rail cars have been burning for hours.

Fireball lights sky near fairgrounds after train derails

Bus passengers face delays as nearby COTA facility closed; evacuated Rumpke facility to delay trash collections

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 08:26 AM

The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday July 11, 2012 8:26 AM

A train derailed with an explosion igniting the contents of two rail cars early today just south of the Ohio State Fairgrounds, shooting flames that illuminated the night sky.

The derailment occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on a curve on the Norfolk Southern track just west of Fields Avenue and south of E. 11th Avenue.

Roughly 100 residents living within a one-mile radius of the derailment were evacuated to the Rhodes Center at the fairgrounds, said Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Michael Fowler.

Some of the rail cars in the 98-car train contained an alcohol material and some contained styrene, Fowler said. It was not known early today what was in the cars that were burning, he said.

Although the contents of the rail cars continue to burn, Fowler said the fire has been contained to a safe area.

Firefighters have foam at the scene and may use it to suppress the fire if needed, Fowler said.

Police have closed E. 11th Avenue between N. 4th Street and Interstate 71. Other streets in that neighborhood between E. 5th and E. 11th avenues are also closed.

All lanes of I-71 remained open early today, police said. N. 4th Street, E. 5th and E. 17th avenues also remain open.

The Central Ohio Transit Authority has a facility on Fields Avenue which had to be evacuated because of the derailment. More than 130 buses are regularly stored at the facility and are currently unavailable for use, COTA spokesman Marty Stutz told WBNS-10TV.

Passengers should expect delays at bus stops this morning because fewer buses will be on the road, Stutz told the television station.

Rumpke residential trash pickup in Dublin, Hilliard, Washington Township and parts of Delaware and Union Counties will also experience delays today because the trash hauler also has a facility on Fields Avenue that had to be evacuated. Yard waste and curbside recycling in the city of Columbus may also be delayed, according to a notice on Rumpke’s website.

A Columbus Fire hazardous-materials crew was on the scene, and another hazmat crew from Norfolk Southern was also called, a fire dispatcher said.

Emergency radio communications indicated that 10 or 11 cars had derailed, though Fowler would not confirm the number of cars that derailed.

Medics did not treat anyone for injuries at the scene, but Fowler said fire officials are investigating whether some people may have gone to hospitals on their own.

Visit Dispatch.com for updates on this developing story.

Explosion rocks a police academy in Sana’a, leaving dozens dead and wounded

Posted on July 11, 2012 by therearenosunglasses

Security is not enough motivation ..Explosion rocks a police academy in Sana’a, leaving dozens dead and wounded

source

Sanaa, the Yemeni police source said that the big explosion is believed to be a suicide bomber struck a police academy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, Wednesday and resulted in the deaths of dozens of victims.

He added that the explosion occurred at a time when students leave the academy after the end of the classroom.

The security source said that the explosion “caused by a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Police College students out Wednesday to place the largest number of deaths.”

He added that “The number is derived from the dead reached 25 of the college students, and wounding dozens .. The number is expected to increase,” likely “that the al-Qaeda operation.”

The sound of a huge explosion in the vicinity of the police academy in the capital Sanaa, witnesses said they saw charred bodies after the blast, but they could not determine how many.

Witnesses said the blast fumes escalated very quickly in the air, scattering debris was observed after a car explosion.

And the imposition of escalating threats of al Qaeda to launch suicide attacks, reprisals and the targeting of prominent government and military climate of tight and unprecedented motivated military and security in the Yemeni capital Sanaa and Aden, the largest city south of the country, which witnessed widespread intensive escorts security and military in all the main streets adjacent to the headquarters of government facilities, security and diplomatic missions diplomacy.

Ft. Carson Learning the Hard Way About the Shame of Trauma In Their “Warrior Culture”

Posted on July 11, 2012 by therearenosunglasses

[SEE: What Is Different About Ft. Carson, Colorado Soldiers?]

Study reveals top reason behind soldiers’ suicides

By Gregg Zoroya

When researchers asked 72 soldiers at Fort Carson, Colo., why they tried to kill themselves, out of the 33 reasons they had to choose from, all of the soldiers included one in particular — a desire to end intense emotional distress.

“This really is the first study that provides scientific data saying that the top reason … these guys are trying to kill themselves is because they have this intense psychological suffering and pain,” said Craig Bryan, co-author of the study by the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah that will be published in the coming months.

Suicide within the military has soared since 2005 as the military has waged two wars at once, and this year may set a record with troops committing suicide at the rate of one per day, according to Pentagon figures.

But military scientists say that finally, after years of congressional funding and the launch of randomized studies of a subject rarely researched, a few validated results are beginning to surface.

The findings by the Pentagon-funded study offer perhaps some guidance on how to attack the problem, said Army Col. Carl Castro, who is coordinating $50 million in research into suicide prevention and treatment.

“The core of the issue is that it’s not that people who attempt suicide … want to harm themselves as much as they want the pain they’re currently in to stop, and they don’t see any other way out,” Castro said.

The study also found that the soldiers often listed many reasons — an average of 10 each — for suicide, illustrating the complexity of the problem, Bryan said. Other common reasons included the urge to end chronic sadness, a means of escaping people or a way to express desperation.

Meanwhile, a new Pentagon analysis released Tuesday shows that suicide rates in the military were highest among people divorced or separated — with a rate of 19 per 100,000 — 24% higher than troops who are single.

In addition, mental health rates have risen 65% in the military since 2000, with 936,000 troops diagnosed with at least one mental health issue in that time, according to the new data.

The Fort Carson findings support the premise behind new therapies underway which break with traditional approaches toward dealing with suicide that treat underlying illnesses such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, Castro said.

Instead, these new therapies first teach soldiers skills at quelling emotional pain or “treating the suicide,” Castro said.

The new therapies are being tested in a small number of Defense Department studies. Preliminary results are showing a drop in suicide attempts, said David Rudd, who is leading the research and is co-founder of the National Center for Veterans’ Studies.

Russia Has Dispatched 11 Ship Flotilla To Carry-Out Defensive Maneuvers Near Syria

Posted on July 11, 2012 by therearenosunglasses

Tartus Port

Russia Sending Warships on Maneuvers Near Syria

By ANDREW E. KRAMER and RICK GLADSTONE

MOSCOW — Russia said on Tuesday that it had dispatched a flotilla of 11 warships to the eastern Mediterranean, some of which would dock in Syria. It would be the largest display of Russian military power in the region since the Syrian conflict began almost 17 months ago. Nearly half of the ships were capable of carrying hundreds of marines.

The announcement appeared intended to punctuate Russia’s effort to position itself as an increasingly decisive broker in resolving the antigovernment uprising in Syria, Russia’s last ally in the Middle East and home to Tartus, its only foreign military base outside the former Soviet Union. The announcement also came a day after Russia said it was halting new shipments of weapons to the Syrian military until the conflict settled down.

Russia has occasionally sent naval vessels on maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean, and it dispatched an aircraft-carrying battleship, the Admiral Kuznetsov, there for maneuvers with a few other vessels from December 2011 to February 2012. There were rumors in recent weeks that the Russians planned to deploy another naval force near Syria.

But the unusually large size of the force announced on Tuesday was considered a message, not just to the region but also to the United States and other nations supporting the rebels now trying to depose Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad.

Tartus consists of little more than a floating refueling station and some small barracks. But any strengthened Russian presence there could forestall Western military intervention in Syria.

The Russian announcement got a muted response in Washington. “Russia maintains a naval supply and maintenance base in the Syrian port of Tartus,” said Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for the National Security Council. “We currently have no reason to believe this move is anything out of the ordinary, but we refer you to the Russian government for more details.”

The announcement came as a delegation of Syrian opposition figures was visiting Russia to gauge if that country would accept a political transition in Syria that excludes Mr. Assad. It also coincided with a flurry of diplomacy by Kofi Annan, the special Syria envoy from the United Nations and the Arab League, who said Mr. Assad had suggested a new approach for salvaging Mr. Annan’s sidelined peace plan during their meeting on Monday in Damascus.

While the Kremlin has repeatedly opposed foreign military intervention in Syria, Russian military officials have hinted at a possible role in Syria for their naval power. The ships have been presented as a means either to evacuate Russian citizens or to secure the fueling station at Tartus.

A statement by the Defense Ministry said ships had embarked from ports of three fleets: those of the Northern, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, and would meet for training exercises in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Taking part, the statement said, would be two Black Sea Fleet landing craft that can carry marines: the Nikolai Filchenkov and the Tsezar Kunikov.

Russia’s Interfax news agency cited an unnamed military official as saying that an escort ship, the Smetlivy, would stop in Tartus for resupplying in three days — though it had presumably recently left its home port of Sevastopol, in the Black Sea.

Another contingent, from the Arctic Ocean base of Severomorsk, in the Murmansk Fjord, will take longer to arrive. That convoy includes three landing craft with marines escorted by an antisubmarine ship, the Admiral Chabanenko.

The voyage to the Mediterranean was unrelated to the Syrian conflict, the official said, but the boats laden with marines would stop in Tartus to “stock up on fuel, water and food.”

Visits on Tuesday by Mr. Annan to Iran, the Syrian government’s most important regional ally, and Iraq, Syria’s neighbor to the east, which fears a sectarian spillover from the conflict, came as a deadline of July 20 approaches. That is when the United Nations Security Council is to decide whether to renew the mission of 300 observers in Syria charged with monitoring the introduction of Mr. Annan’s peace plan. The observers’ work was suspended nearly a month ago because it was too dangerous.

At a news conference in Tehran, Mr. Annan reiterated his view that the Iranians had a role to play in resolving the conflict, despite objections from the United States. Mr. Annan also said Mr. Assad had proposed altering the peace proposal so that the most violent areas of the country would be pacified first. The current plan calls for an immediate cessation of all violence everywhere as a first step.

“He made a suggestion of building an approach from the ground up in some of the districts where we have extreme violence — to try and contain the violence in these districts and, step by step, build up and end the violence across the country,” Mr. Annan told reporters in Tehran.

There was no immediate word on whether the suggested new approach would be accepted by Mr. Assad’s opponents. But in Moscow, a delegation from the Syrian National Council, the umbrella opposition group in exile, suggested they had no interest in engaging with him.

“What brings together the opposition today is our consensus on the need to topple Assad’s regime and build a new political system,” Bassma Kodmani, a member of the delegation, said at a news conference in Moscow.

The delegation members, who are to meet on Wednesday with Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, also said they would not ask that Russia grant Mr. Assad asylum — something Russian officials have said they are not considering anyway.

Andrew E. Kramer reported from Moscow, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Reporting was contributed by Thomas Erdbrink from Tehran, Duraid Adnan from Baghdad, Peter E. Baker from Washington and Dalal Mawad from Beirut.

Lashkar founder’s anti-Nato march

Posted on July 11, 2012 by therearenosunglasses

Lashkar founder’s anti-Nato march

By Mail Today Reporter

Hafiz Saeed, head of religious party Jammat-Ud-Dawa

An alliance of over 40 religious and extremist groups forged by LeT founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has vowed to march to the Afghan border to force Pakistan government to close Nato supply routes.

Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, chairman of Defa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), announced plans for further protests against the government’s reopening of Nato supply routes at the conclusion of a long march from Lahore to Islamabad.

‘We will now stage a long march from Quetta to Chaman on July 14-15 and Peshawar to Torkham on July 16-17,’ Haq said, referring to two crossings on the Afghan border used for transporting Nato supplies.

‘This movement will continue and we will now focus on areas from where the supply goes to Nato forces in Afghanistan,’ he said.

Over 20,000 supporters of DPC, a majority of them, members of Saeed-headed JuD, gathered at a ground near parliament at the conclusion of the long march.

They shouted slogans against the US and waved the blackand- white flags of the JuD, considered a front for LeT. Pakistan reopened the supply lines last week after the US apologised for a Nato strike that had killed 24 soldiers.

Addressing the gathering, Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, urged Pakistanis to stand up against slavery to the US. ‘Pakistan’s original problem is slavery to the US.

We don’t accept it, we want freedom,’ Saeed said. He called for peace in Pakistan but warned the US that it would face resistance if it made any attempt to launch an attack on Pakistani soil.

Though the long march was described as a protest by the DPC, it was largely sponsored and organised by the JuD.

About 3,000 volunteers were mobilised by the JuD to provide security to the long march, leaders of the group said. The DPC has organised several large rallies across the country since the Nato attack.

Some observers believe Saeed could float a political party to contest the next general election.