WikiLeaker remains in limbo

Top diplomats from Ecuador and the United Kingdom failed to reach an agreement yesterday over the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, but they agreed to meet again to discuss the issue. "We still do not see, of course, an immediate solution, but we understand that there is a willingness to discuss the topic," Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters after the meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Ecuador granted Assange asylum in August, but he faces arrest in Britain if he leaves the South American country's embassy in London. British Foreign Secretary William Hague told Patino yesterday "that the UK was under an obligation to extradite Mr. Assange to Sweden" and that "the concept of diplomatic asylum, while well-established in Latin America, did not feature in UK law," a spokesman for his office said. It's high time a solution was found to this because the sexual abuse allegations against Assange just are a ruse to get him somewhere where he would then be extradited to the United States. It is also time for the United States to cease its persecution of WikiLeaks, their people, and their alleged sources. And British authorities should reconsider the case, given Ecuador's granting of asylum and the right to not be extradited when politically motivated causes are involved. And speaking of motivation, money is a powerful motivator and improving patient adherence is a long-sought goal by the healthcare industry. A University of Pennsylvania Hospital System project to reduce Medicare costs in the long term has received $4.8 million to offer financial incentives for people recovering from a heart attack to take the full course of their medications. It is part of a remote-monitoring study to improve patient engagement beyond office visits and hospital stays. Dr. David Asch, who applied for the project funding with Dr. Kevin Volpp, both of the Penn Medicine Innovation Center, said: “We want to find new ways to help people stay on track with their care. So many of our health outcomes depend on what we do when we are at home or at work, and whether we take our medications, exercise, and follow healthy diets.” According to a Penn spokeswoman, this is how it will work: Patients enrolled in the new study will be assigned a two-digit number (say, 42). Each day, a staff person will randomly select a number between 00 and 99. If the patient's number comes up, they will receive $50. If they match one digit, they get $5. But they will only get the cash if they took their meds the day before. Their medication bottles, received at discharge, will send electronic signals that notify their doctor if they have taken their meds or not, so no cheating, OK? And speaking of cheating, a benefit cheat from south-west London who swindled a total of £25,572.81 in housing and council tax benefit has been given a five-month suspended prison sentence. Former Worcester Park resident and married father-of-two Wahid Jabeiti, 39, pleaded guilty to failing to declare a change in circumstances, at Croydon Crown Court on September 17. Mr Jabeiti had claimed that between 2006 and 2009 he had no income other than part-time earnings from a family business, a Mediterranean deli in Worcester Park High Street named Worcester Park Foods Ltd. But an 18-month investigation by Sutton Council Benefit Investigators discovered that Mr Jabeiti had a secret bank account and was regularly receiving funds which he spent at outlets including TK Maxx and Asda. Taking all that into account, I feel a five-month suspended sentence is too light. But at least he won't have to worry about dropping the soap for the time being.