Opened on Sunday ?

Chick-fil-A is known for more than just food: it's also famous for being closed on Sundays.
But in the name of a good cause, some locations in Texas northeast of Dallas turned the lights on Sunday after tornadoes ripped through the state and killed 11 people.

The locations were not open to the public, but team members from various restaurants in the area did volunteer to prepare and distribute free food to responders and others affected by the tornadoes—serving those in need during this tragic event," said Amanda Hannah, a spokeswoman for the chain.

Chick-fil-A has maintained its rare Sunday closure policy since the chicken chain opened. The weekly day off is meant to encourage employees to rest, spend time with family and worship if they choose.

I am impressed.  Just a thought.

Happy New Year.. 2016

الي كل الاحباء و الاصدقاء. كل عام وانتم جميعا بخير  ومتمتعين ببركات الرب. يوم جديد.. عام جديد و فرصه احري لعمل طيب وصالح    .... بكلمه تشجيع .. كلمةتعزيه ... او كلمة شكر.  اود ان اسمع اخباركم الطيبة و معذرة عن قصوري الواضح في الكتابة بالعربي. كل سنة وانتم جميعا بخير. نزيه حزقيال بسطوروس

Money Can be...

Ethan Anthony Couch made national headlines at age 16 when he was prosecuted as a juvenile and convicted of four counts of intoxication manslaughter for recklessly driving drunk on June, 2013 in Burleson, Texas where he was speeding, lost control of his vehicle, plowed into a gathering of pedestrians and struck a parked car. Four people were killed and nine others injured, two suffering serious bodily injury as a result of the collision.

In December 2013, the Judge sentenced Couch to 10 years of probation and therapy at a long-term, in-patient facility, after his attorneys successfully argued that the teen suffered from "affluenza" and needed rehabilitation instead of prison.

Couch became the subject of a manhunt after his probation officer was unable to contact him. On December 28, 2015, authorities detained Couch and his mother in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta after 12 days on the run.

Ethan Couch drove himself to school at the age of thirteen. When the head of the school questioned that practice, the father threatened to buy the school. At the age of fifteen, Ethan Couch was cited for "minor in consumption of alcohol" and "minor in possession of alcohol," after he was caught in a parked pick-up truck with a naked, passed out 14-year-old girl.

Fred Couch, father, has been charged with criminal mischief, theft by check, and assault, but the charges were dismissed. On 2014, he was arrested for impersonating a police officer, allegedly displaying a fake badge during a disturbance call. In 2013, Tonya Couch was sentenced to a $500 fine and a six-month community supervision order for reckless driving when she used her vehicle to force another motorist off the road.

Money is not necessary a blessing. Just a thought.

Routine ?

 

A moderate Syrian rebel leader has been killed in a bomb attack in southern Turkey, local media reports.  The commander of Sukour al-Ghab, a militant group fighting under the umbrella banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), was severely injured in an explosion that hit his car in the city of Antakya, off the Syrian border.

A top Syrian rebel leader in the eastern suburbs of Damascus was killed in an aerial raid that targeted the group's headquarters, sources said. Fired missiles at a secret headquarters of the group, which is the largest rebel faction in the area and has about 15,000 to 20,000 fighters, according to Western intelligence.  Rebels blamed Russian sophisticated spying planes which they say rarely leave their skies.

The Sham News Network has posted a video showing captured civilians and fighters caged in the back of trucks. At least one of the cages is filled with women, who are being used as a human shield against Syrian and Russian airstrikes.

The business of War and the flow of money is certainly booming. Countries support one Moderate faction over another for fear of the outcome, while the outcome is here already.

Just a thought.

A Message..

Please remember those who are less fortunate .....  do something even simple for others.

Revoked...

A French Mother, Alic, Aida denied Visa to USA.

US Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed a visa revocation, but disputed allegations that all eleven British family members were denied permission to board the flight. One of the brothers was refused entry into Israel two years ago.

A Facebook page claiming links to radical Islamist groups was set up by someone who has lived at the family's postal address, according to ITV News.  It reportedly lists the job titles 'supervisor at Taliban and leader at al-Qaeda'.  When asked about the account, Mr. Mahmood believed hackers may have been to blame.

It was understood that the wives of Mr. Mahmood and his brother had stayed at home for the trip because one of them was ill and one of the children did not have a valid passport. But it is now believed that Mr. Mahmood's wife was in Pakistan at the time.

A little coincidence, a little of this and a little of that, you get a little denial.  Just a thought.

See Something ?

The FBI is advising law enforcement to remain on the lookout for homegrown attackers and so-called "lone wolfs" inspired by terrorist organization.  The U.S. State Department has issued a world-wide travel alert and the FBI is warning of potential copy-cat attacks as fears over terrorist strikes during the busy travel season continue to mount.

A lone wolf is a wolf that lives independently rather than with others as a member of a pack.
Typically older wolves driven from the pack, perhaps by the breeding male, and young adults in search of new territory. 

In the case of San Bernardino, Marquez, 24, a neighbor of killer Syed Farook, is accused of illegally purchasing a pair of rifles that were used in the attack. He also is accused of the more serious offense of conspiring to provide material support to terrorism.

Rafia Farook, the killer's mother, lived in the same house in Redlands, California, where her son, and his wife were building at least 15 pipe bombs and stockpiling thousands of rounds of ammunition.

The father told La Stampa that his son "shared the ideology of al-Baghdadi, and was obsessed with Israel,".  He counseled his son to be patient because in time political changes in the Middle East will accomplish his desires, in two years Israel will no longer exist.

"See something say something" that should be the law, similar to the Good Samaritan Law.    Family members, a mother, a father, a sister, or a brother, of a killer shouldn't have a life in USA if they didn't report.

 There is no lone wolf in our days. Their are people who  look the other way and that is a crime.

Just a thought.

Bad...

Shkreli, who was arrested on securities fraud charges, has effectively waved a red flag for months in front of federal prosecutors, keeping himself in the media glare with a hugely controversial price hike of a drug that benefits AIDS patients, pregnant women and cancer patients, attacking his critics, including presidential contender Hillary Clinton, and lighting up Twitter with outrageous statements. He is out on $5M bond.

Shkreli, supposedly gained access to social media accounts of  ex-worker, contacted him, his wife and teenage son directly, and vowed to ruin the family as Shkreli demanded the return of $1.6 million he claimed had been "stolen from me."

"Your pathetic excuse of a husband needs to get a real job," Shkreli allegedly wrote the man's wife. "I hope to see you and your four children homeless and will do whatever I can do to assure this."

Retrophin's board itself later ousted Shkreli, and sued him for $65 million, claiming he had looted the company to enrich himself and to pay off investors, whom he had allegedly defrauded, in a hedge fund he had run previously. Retrophin also disclosed it had received subpoenas from federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.


Last week, it was revealed that Shkreli bought a single-copy album of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan for $2 million. He then said he didn't plan on listening to it anytime soon.


"..... by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.                Just a thought.

Covering up...

Law enforcement official said that Rafia Farook lived in the same house in Redlands, California, where her son and his wife were building at least 15 pipe bombs and stockpiling thousands of rounds of ammunition.

The father said he counseled his son to be patient.
"I kept telling him always: stay calm, be patient, in two years Israel will no longer exist,". "Geopolitics is changing: Russia, China, America too, nobody wants the Jews there."

Enrique Marquez Jr., a 29-year-old Wal-Mart security guard, purchased the pair of assault-style rifles himself to keep the killers name off the paperwork.  The two killers each carried one rifle when they fired dozens of bullets at the helpless revelers attending a holiday party in San Bernardino, Calif.

Marques was also tied to the killer’s family by marriage scam. He did not live with his wife, and he never explained.
 
They all should be denationalized to begin with.

Just a thought.

Denaturalization....

Farook and Malik were the perpetrators of the shooting at a San Bernardino social services center that claimed 14 lives, injured 21, and terrorized many. Both were killed during a shootout with the police. 

Saira Khan, the sister's shooter, told CBS News "I can never imagine my brother or my sister-in-law doing something like this. Especially because they were happily married, they had a beautiful 6-month-old daughter. It's just mind boggling .." She's been left wondering whether she could have stopped it.

Farook's father said "His son shared the ideology of (ISIS leader Abu Bakr) al-Baghdadi to create an Islamic state, and he was fixated on Israel,"  told La Stampa newspaper.

The father recalled the first time he saw his son with a gun. "I became angry. In 45 years in the United States, I yelled, 'I have never had a weapon.' He shrugged his shoulders and replied, 'Your loss".

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he's not buying it.
   "I would go after a lot of people and find out whether or not they knew. I'd be able to find out. Cause I don't believe the sister" [before the father statement]

"We have to stop terrorists," Trump explained. "And the only way we're going to stop them, in my opinion, is that way. You know, they say they don't mind dying.            I think they do.

They want their families left alone. We have to stop terrorism."

The immediate family in this case seen more than something and looked the other way to protect theirs, The result is this loss of human lives and families left without a father, a mother...

The killers and their immediate family should be denaturalized and deported..     

Just a thought. 

Meet Him...*!

  

A new poll finds the businessman with both his broadest support and his widest lead in any national live-interviewer telephone poll since he announced his candidacy in June.

Three candidates cluster behind Trump in the mid-teens,  Ted Cruz at 16%, Ben Carson at 14% and Marco Rubio at 12%. All other candidates have the support of less than 5% of GOP voters.

The poll reflects Trump's dominance over the rest of the field. He holds massive margins over other Republicans as the candidate most trusted to handle the economy, the federal budget, illegal immigration, ISIS and foreign policy.

Carson (down 8 points), Jeb Bush (down 5 points to 3%) and Rand Paul (down 4 points to 1%)

The poll was conducted before the shootings in San Bernardino, California, but this will potentiate Trump position further more. 

All tried to dismiss Trump in favor of others, but his tackling the issues that the Country is concern about set him up in first place. The Economy, Immigration, Social services, Unemployment, the Middle east, the Federal Budget, Healthcare for the poor, etc. put him up on top.

Presidents Carter, Regan, Clinton, and Obama reach the top of their political career from just an entry level., Trump is on his way. Who new?

Just a thought.

priority...

Dr. Aretha Washington, a Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon, has an offer men can’t refuse-trade in your assault rifle for a larger penis.

She has performed thousands of penile enlargement surgeries.  In conversing casually with her male patients, they all have one thing in common. Their small penises force these men to compensate in other areas of their existence. 

I don’t ask my patients if they own guns, but meagerly endowed men tend to bring up their assault gun collection during our consultation.  

Dr. Washington.  “If you saw the autopsy pictures of the Newtown shooter, I’ll bet you a million to one odds that he has an epically small penis.”

Todd Hartley, in his weekly “I’m With Stupid” column in the Aspen Times claims meant to encourage aspiring and current gun owners to “seek less violent ways to make up for your shortcomings”. If you own multiple guns or feel the need to possess a military-style assault weapon, it’s because you have a small penis,” Hartley writes.

“The longer the weapon, the shorter the tool,” Hartley says that with 310 million nonmilitary firearms in a country that has shown such staunch support for the Second Amendment, even the buy back programs that have seen success in countries like Australia will likely prove fruitless in the U.S

Hide your stuff.     Just a thought..

Home grown?

A gunman shot 12 people at the Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains clinic in Colorado Springs on November 27, killing three people, including a mother of two and a police officer.

Colorado Springs Mayor said the attack on the women’s reproductive health facility was likely an act of terrorism.

The shooter, who has a long criminal record, was well known to local authorities, and allegedly abused his wife. Authorities say he was “definitely politically motivated.” A law enforcement official told CNN that Dear admitted he has anti-abortion and right-wing, anti-government views.

In questioning by authorities, the shooter used the phrase “no more baby parts” to explain his actions,  referencing a debunked lie about Planned Parenthood that has been spread by anti-abortion groups and politicians.

This myth has continued to be spread by several candidates in the Republican presidential debates [Carlie Fiorina], despite the fact that it has, for months, already been debunked.

When do criminals wake up to a  desire to improve the society around? Please don't.

Just a thought.

The City of Light

The Oriental Pearl tower in Shanghai

The Angel de la Independencia monument in Mexico City

Auckland Museum.

Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil

Trafalgar Square

Jerusalem's Old City Ottoman Walls

Thank you...!

Two Boston police officers are being praised for coming to the aid of veteran after a city bus driver sought help with a rider holding a hatchet to his neck and threatening to kill himself.
An officer identified by the Boston Herald as Capt. Haseeb Hosein was working a construction detail when the driver got his attention. Hosein called for back-up, boarded the bus and started talking to the troubled passenger.

Another officer, identified by the Herald as patrol officer David Godin, joined in the effort to talk the man out of killing himself, according to the station.

When he opened up and told them he was a veteran, Godin said: "Thank you for your service."
At those simple words, the man dropped the hatchet and eventually walked off the bus to a waiting ambulance.
"The goal on a call like this is for everyone to go home safe and, thankfully, today everybody did," police said in a statement.

Just a thought.

SNL-Pres. Election

Taran Killam and Cecily Strong as Donald and Melania Trump.

Saturday Night Live" political skits may actually have an influence on voters.
William Horner, a political science professor at the University of Missouri, has studied the influence of SNL on voters. When the show debuted in 1976, Jimmy Carter was running to unseat Gerald Ford. Because of incidents in which Ford tripped and fell on the stairs of Air Force One, twice, SNL's version using Chevy Chase portrayed Ford as a clumsy person.

It is a popular belief that Sarah Palin actually said "I can see Russia from my house." In fact, the quote came from an SNL skit in which Tina Fey played the Alaska governor.

"The perception is that there’s an audience that cites its primary news source as predominantly entertainment shows and, if valid, this certainly would have an impact on the presidential election," Saltzman said. 

Larry David made his comeback as Bernie Sanders  “I didn’t need no fancy introduction,” he said. “I’m not Elvis Presley.”

 “We need to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure. It’s crumbling. That’s why I no longer drive on bridges or through tunnels. It’s too risky. Instead, I keep a kayak strapped to the top of my car.”

“The other candidates, they’re taking millions of dollars from the Koch brothers and Exxon Mobil. But not me. I only accept coins.........  

Donald Trump also is having a large segment of SNL in a good and funny way.

These skits may improve someone's image or undermine it. For Trump it has been funny and positive. He will build a wall .... Chinese people say "wow that's a wall".  For Sanders, it is extremely funny but it highlights a not so positive side of his message.

Just a thought.

New Security...?

While Russia had earlier suggested that the UK was acting prematurely in halting flights to the Red Sea resort over terrorism fears, Vladimir Putin ordered even wider restrictions on Friday, including halting all flights from Cairo. The head of his federal security services said it would be expedient to suspend flights until they had discovered why the Airbus A321 had crashed last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the US announced new security measures including tighter screening for flights from some airports in the Middle East. Jeh Johnson, the homeland security secretary, said that the move was motivated by “an abundance of caution”.

Russia initially dismissed claims by Islamic State of responsibility for downing the Metrojet flight, which came weeks after threats of retaliation for Russian planes bombing Syria, and Moscow reacted angrily after David Cameron said it was “more likely than not” a bomb.

There is a new concern of what terrorist were able to do, did, or acquired when it comes to the Russian Jet. That concern is new to aviation in general and represent a new escalation in the threat to aviation. 

Tourists flew out from the Egyptian resorts without their luggage's which indicates the new concern related to what these luggage's may have even without the knowledge of the passengers themselves. It is not just security at the airports but also security at the Resort.

Just a thought.

Ben, Ben, Ben....

Ben Carson faced growing questions about key aspects of his personal narrative that he has discussed publicly over several decades. Carson himself acknowledged that a scholarship offer from West Point military academy was "informal." 
  

His personal narrative, a centerpiece of his campaign and star power, has long revolved around his accounts of his violent past and descriptions of the healing powers of his faith.

"As a teenager, I would go after people with rocks, and bricks, and baseball bats, and hammers. And, of course, many people know the story when I was 14 and I tried to stab someone," Carson said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

CNN reported that childhood friends of Carson were surprised about violent incidents and had no recollection of such events.

"Guy comes in, put the gun in my ribs," and I just said, 'I believe that you want the guy behind the counter,'" Carson said on Sirius XM Radio. "I redirected him. ... The resolution was, [the gunman] said, 'Oh, sorry,' and then he went to the appropriate person behind the register who gave him the money, and he left the store running before the police got there." The police didn't find any report about this incident.

In a “Faith & Liberty” interview posted,  Ben Carson discussed his rejection of the theory of evolution, arguing that the science of evolution is a sign of humankind’s arrogance and belief “

Carson told the graduates of Andrews University in Michigan that it is his "personal" belief that the pyramids were built as storehouses for grain and not, as archaeologists say, for the interment of dead pharaohs.

Donald Trump is looking Fantastic by now, thanks to Carson.

Just a thought.

Video Taping?

A Taco Bell executive who lost his job after allegedly beating an Uber driver was slapped  with further criminal charges that put him at risk of spending up to a year behind bars.

Benjamin Golden, 32, Newport Beach, California, was charged with four misdemeanor counts by the Orange County District Attorney's office.

 "Given the behavior of the individual, it is clear he can no longer work for us," Taco Bell said in a statement. "We have also offered and encouraged him to seek professional help."

The video reveals the driver repeatedly and unsuccessfully asking Golden for driving directions. He flips his camera around to show the inside of the car, and Golden topples over in the back seat with an audible thud as the driver makes a left turn. The video has seen by 1.3 million times on YouTube.

Golden was arrested on July 8, 2012, in Louisville, Kentucky, on charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.  

Golden's license was also suspended for one month, the prosecutor's office said.
Golden's LinkedIn account is no longer available, and his Twitter link was blocked from public sight, but on a cached version of his Twitter page, he describes himself with a simple statement: "Sushi lover. Bourbon drinker. The end."

Not sure the driver has the right to video tape any passenger without a consent. The passenger could be a woman breastfeeding a child, a sick patient, etc.. He should be sued on this ground......

Just a thought.

Oh Mai...

Jacqueline Eide was out celebrating early Sunday morning when she got the brilliant idea to pet a big cat. [don't we all get bright ideas]. So she broke into the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska, and approached a tiger believed to be Mai, an 18-year-old female who was brought to the zoo after losing one leg to a snare. [felt he needed more support from the public]

Unsurprisingly, Mai wasn't happy being pet, and attacked Eide's hand. A friend transported Eide to Creighton University Medical Center, where police were called after she became disruptive.
"Eide was aggressive toward staff and showed signs of intoxication of alcohol and/or drugs," the police said in a release.

In the meantime, the zoo released a statement reassuring the public that safety at the park is of the utmost priority. [During the business hours.........?].

Just a thought.

The End of the Bushys

Working to reinvigorate his sagging presidential campaign, Jeb Bush spoke at the Tampa Garden Club and took shots at President Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham-Clinton, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio.
Bush alluded to 44-year-old Rubio when he said, "The challenges we face as a nation are too great to roll the dice on another presidential experiment. To trust the rhetoric of reform over a record of reform."


Here is the text of Bush's Tampa speech:
“The story of a big, diverse state, shaped by conservative, results-oriented leadership.
“Reforming government.  Disrupting the status quo. Challenging the special interests. Restoring opportunity. Refusing to compromise in the defense of freedom. Lifting people up, not tearing them down.
“Standing up for everyone.
“Our story is about action.
“Doing, not just talking.
“Listening, not just lecturing.
“That is my story.  

  “Our economy has suffered its slowest recovery since the Great Depression.
“One in ten able-bodied Americans can’t find full-time work, or have given up looking altogether.
“One in seven Americans lives in poverty.
“One in five children is on food stamps.

So What are you Going to do?????????????????????????????? 
This is it, the End of  a Dynasty.

Just a thought.

Not Going...

 

In a scathing critique of the Republican presidential candidate, The New York Times calls on Chris Christie to exit the race. Stat.

“The point is that New Jersey is in trouble, and the governor is off pursuing a presidential run that’s turned out to be nothing more than a vanity project,” the editorial board wrote. “Mr. Christie’s numbers are in the basement, and he’s nearly out of campaign cash. This is his moment, all right: to go home and use the year left in his term to clean out the barn, as Speaker John Boehner would say.”

The editorial comes the day after the third Republican debate where Christie is widely considered to have had a good debate performance, but he is struggling with low poll numbers in the crowded field. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released earlier this month showed Christie receiving just 1% support.

Christie responded via Twitter, saying he’s “Not Going Anywhere.” And so is Fiorina, Huckabee, Rand Paul, and Kasich.

What is the point of spending money, traveling, making empty speeches, have no solutions, and getting no where?

Just a thought.

New York City Marathon

A few days before last year’s New York City Marathon, this 94-year-old race participant insisted to USA TODAY, “This is it – the last hurrah.”
As it turns out, Mendes does not tell the truth. Now, a year after promising his children he would stop this business of taking on the biggest marathon in the world, Mendes will once again be the oldest entrant in the race of 50,000. 

Hadley, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, could be one of the best collegiate distance runners in the country, racing with a team and the backing of an NCAA athletic department. Instead, she runs 120 miles a week in obscurity. She’s been rising at 5:30 a.m. every morning to run 5 miles, the first of two solitary workouts each day, around the campus so she can be back at her dorm by 6:40 a.m. and showered in time for her 8 a.m. writing class.

All this in preparation for the first day of November and the New York City Marathon. For Hadley, Sunday’s marathon isn’t just about competition or ambition. 

50,000 participant in this Marathone and I am proud to say Four Runners are my Co-Worker.

Just a thought.

Ben-Ghazi's Bottom

Hillary Clinton must have been mindful of the old adage that you never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake. She sat in the witness chair with the patience of Job, hour after endless hour, while the House Select Committee on Benghazi did all it could to make her our next president.

How much of a self-defeating travesty was last week’s hearing for the Republican Party? The answer is obvious from how quickly the GOP has sought to turn the page.

Had a glove been laid on the presumptive Democratic nominee, the Sunday talk shows would have been a jamboree of Clinton-bashing. As it was, chief inquisitor Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) could only grumble on “Meet the Press” that Clinton’s testimony lacked “wholeness and completeness,” by which he seemed to mean she failed to make a case against herself. Gowdy also said he regretted that the hearing was held publicly rather than behind closed doors.

Among the Republican presidential contenders, the most deliciously ironic reaction came from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who claimed Clinton was “unaccountable” because she left the Benghazi compound’s security arrangements to be handled by lower-ranking State Department professionals. As “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson pointed out, Christie gave a similar explanation to exonerate himself in the George Washington Bridge.

So please help Hilary to become the next President. Just a thought.

Fires...?

Investigators want to know who sparked fires at six predominantly African-American churches in northern St. Louis over the last two weeks.
Damage from the latest blaze was discovered on the front doors of Ebenezer Lutheran Church on Sunday morning, according to the ATF, which is offering a $2,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the party responsible for the fires.
The previous five blazes were also set at the front doors of churches, said St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson.
                     
The first fire was set on Oct. 8 at Bethel Non-Denominational Church, just off of West Florissant Ave. in Jennings, a city that borders Ferguson. St. Louis County Police Department spokesman Shawn McGuire said the church sustained about $250 in damages.

The next fire was set two days later at New Northside Baptist Church. Subsequent fires were set at St. Augustine Catholic Church; at the New Testament Church of Christ; and at the New Life Missionary Baptist Church, according to the ATF.

Hate for what the church stand for and peaceful people is everywhere. I am sorry for those who committed these crimes. Certainly they don't know what theydoing to themselves and their families as a result of these crimes.

Just a thought.

Valeant Canada

In a chaotic day of trading, once-highflying Valeant Pharmaceuticals defended itself against some of the most severe criticism yet of its business practices, denying allegations of improper accounting from an investor who is betting against the company.  The short-seller’s report knocked Valeant’s stock down wiping some $20 billion from its market value .

The report, from research firm Citron Research, fanned concerns about Valeant’s accounting, raising questions about its use of certain pharmacies to supply its drugs and its accounting for the dispensing. Valeant “categorically” denied the report.

Doubts about the sustainability of the approach, long harbored by hedge funds that made and lost bets against the company, came into the open after Valeant sought to make its biggest deal yet last year with a hostile offer for Botox maker Allergan. In fighting back, Allergan’s then-CEO David Pyott campaigned against Valeant’s accounting practices and said its aversion to research threatened its ability to find new growth sources.

Valeant said last week it had received subpoenas from federal prosecutors asking about its drug pricing and patient-assistance programs.
The company said it would change its approach, spending more on R&D and focusing more on reducing its debt than on dealmaking. Shares fell nearly 8% that day.

When you charge patients and government the highest prices ever it is ok, but when you screw up with hedge Fund, you go down.  Just a thought.

Underwear.. SNL

 

Package...

Retired basketball star Lamar Odom, remained unresponsive in a Las Vegas hospital after he was found unconscious at the Love Ranch this week, , the brothel's owner told NBC News.

Odom used a credit card to take care of the five-day package, [$75,000] Love Ranch owner Dennis Hof said included sex and activities like cooking, watching TV together and going out to dinner a deal commonly called the "girlfriend experience."

He has been visited by his wife, Khloé, the reality TV star, and former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant.

While Odom and Khloe widely reported to have filed for divorce in December 2013, California court records show that the divorce still hasn't been finalized.

Odom’s playing career has granted him a net worth of $56 million, according to TheRichest.com. But his off-the-court struggles limited his career, and past run-ins with law enforcement damaged his marketability.

A sad story.   Just a thought.

Rip-off..?

Valeant Pharmaceuticals bought the rights to a pair of life-saving heart drugs. The same day, their list prices rose by 525% and 212%.
Neither of the drugs, Nitropress or Isuprel, was improved as a result of costly investment in lab work and human testing, Valeant said. Nor was manufacture of the medicines shifted to an expensive new plant. The big change: the drugs’ ownership.

More pharmaceutical companies are buying drugs that they see as undervalued, then raising the prices. It is one of a number of industry tactics, along with companies regularly upping the prices of their own older medicines and launching new treatments at once unheard of sums, driving up the cost of drugs.

Valiant received subpoenas from federal prosecutors seeking information related to how it prices drugs, distributes them and helps patients afford the medicines.
The subpoenas also seek information and documents from the Canada-based drug company regarding information it provided to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

This is a Rip-off plan by all means. Prices are over the top. The big one buy the little and off they go. Request Tax reduction for business competitiveness and then create a fictitious domicile in Ireland or so.

The market must have competition in the pharmaceuticals area.   Just a thought.

Boldness...

The attorney general’s office is looking at whether Turing may have violated antitrust rules by restricting distribution of the drug, Daraprim, as a way to thwart generic competition, according to a letter sent by the attorney general’s office to Turing.

“While competition might ordinarily be expected to deter such a massive price increase, it appears that Turing may have taken steps to prevent that competition from arising,” said the letter.

Turing, based in Manhattan, acquired the rights to Daraprim in August and raised the price to $750 a tablet from $13.50, drawing protests from infectious disease specialists. The drug is the preferred treatment for toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that can be especially dangerous for people with AIDS and for babies whose mothers are infected during pregnancy.

Big Pharma has Patent protection, Free pricing of its medication, protection against private importation from Canada, England, etc...and the ability to deter competition by other pharmaceutical generics.

Medications are the life line of health.  The market is Stacked against the sick, the seniors and patients in general. Need some action here.     Just a thought.

Guns...

Authorities say a loner 26 year old, went on a rampage at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, killing nine people in a writing class where he was enrolled and wounding seven others. Witnesses said the gunman specifically targeted Christians.
Officers responded immediately to a report of shots being fired on the campus. Two officers with the Roseburg police department arrived within five minutes and were joined by a Oregon state trooper.

Mercer’s family issued a brief statement, saying “we are shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific events.” “Our thoughts, our hearts and our prayers go out to all of the families of those who died and were injured,” their statement said.

The recovered weapon brought to 14 the total number of guns Mercer had left behind after the shooting. Six of those guns were in Mercer's possession at the college, along with a flak jacket and five magazines of ammunition. The other weapons were found in his apartment.

Blame the National Rifle Association is not going to help that much.

This man had 14 gun, each cost around $1000. It is a culture, when someone get a gun as a gift from a family member for graduation, etc.. and when a family mother and son, etc goes to shoot guns. In addition people lives in a rural area and need to protect themselves and the safety of having a gun.

Mental health is an issue, but the families got to do something about it. Just a thought.

Chaos...?

Boehner is holding back tears.

For House Speaker John Boehner, every second of this historic day was special, personally thrilling, politically significant, spiritually fulfilling, and most of all, emotionally overwhelming.
“What a day,” Boehner said, at the end of the first-ever papal address to a joint session of Congress. “What a moment for our country.  … The Holy Father’s visit is surely a blessing for all of us.”

John Boehner announced on Friday, after the pope's visit, that he will resign his position and give up his House seat in October.

House Republicans scrambled Friday to find a suitable alternative to be their next leader, a day after the presumed favorite for the post, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, abruptly dropped his bid for speaker, throwing the caucus and the party into chaos.

Pressure has mounted on Paul Ryan, the popular young Wisconsinite who was his party’s 2012 vice presidential nominee, to heed the call of many of his colleagues, who say he is best suited to mend the fractious divisions within the conference that led to the ouster of Speaker John Boehner and the fall of McCarthy.

On the other side of it, the front runners in the Republican Party's Presidential run are Non Politician.  Donald Trump, Ben Carson and  Fiorina.

So what's happening in the Republican Party?

Theft of Toyota.

Toyota Hilux pickups, similar to Toyota Land Cruisers, have become fixtures in videos of the ISIS campaign in Iraq, Syria and Libya, with their truck beds loaded with heavy weapons and cabs jammed with terrorists.

A report by the radio broadcaster Public Radio International noted that the U.S. State Department delivered 43 Toyota trucks to Syrian rebels. A more recent report in an Australian newspaper said that more than 800 of the trucks had been reported missing in Sydney between 2014 and 2015, and quoted terror experts speculating that they may have been exported to ISIS territory.

Toyota’s own figures show sales of Hilux and Land Cruisers tripling from 6,000 sold in Iraq in 2011 to 18,000 sold in 2013, before sales dropped back to 13,000 in 2014.

An Iraqi military spokesman, told ABC News he suspects that middlemen from outside Iraq have been smuggling the trucks into his country.

The former owners, a Saudi company, said it “made the decision to cease all trading activities in the country and fully divested the business in October, 2012,” according to a spokesperson.

The Counter Extremism Project wrote directly to Toyota to urge the company to do more to track the flow of trucks to ISIS, and noted that the trucks are Stamped with Taceable Identification numbers. Some think it may be donated By US to the moderate rebels in Syria.

So who is helping ISIS and the opposition?.... . Every Body and I mean EVERYBODY.  Just a thought. 

As we make it...

A respected Long Island doctor and mother of three who went out partying with her girlfriends in the city was found dead in the doorway of a Chelsea apartment building.

Kiersten Cerveny graduated magna cum laude from Duke University and received her medical degree from Tulane University.

She met friends at a hotel at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night,  was out until 2:30 a.m. with her friends, using alcohol and cocaine, according to police sources.

The group went to a bar on New York City's Lower East Side, where Cerveny met a man with whom she was Facebook friends.

Cerveny and the man left the bar between 3 a.m.., taking a cab to an apartment building in Chelsea.

Cerveny was found in the apartment building lobby around 8:30 a.m. Sunday and was declared dead at Lenox Health Greenwich Village, police said.

One of the men she was out with had called 911, disappeared and called 911 again to check on Cerveny's status, police said.  A sad story.