Cuba's Deal

President Obama’s announcement to overhaul U.S. policy toward Cuba is historic.  The relationship between both nations frozen in time for decades despite the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.

A spy swap, loosening of travel and economic restrictions, and launching of discussions to re-establish full diplomatic relations go as far as the president can go without congressional authorization. Now the ball is in the later.

Obama's unilateral move has gently shaken up the 2016 race to succeed him, exposing divisions among Republicans and possibly helping.

Potential contenders Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio adhered to the traditional Republican hard line. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who has a libertarian streak, backed the new policy. Paul said the 50-year-old embargo with Cuba "just hasn't worked."

Hillary Clinton also had asserted the previous policy was not working. In her memoir, "Hard Choices," she wrote that she urged Obama to shift. 

The isolation of Cuba kept the country backward for about 50 years. Thus there is no additional action can be taken against. On the other hand, Russia, the  restriction imposed is impacting the Russian economy hard and will eventually change their behavior. In other word, Obama's decision is historic. Just a thought.

Cigars...?*

President Obama announced the most significant change in U.S. policy toward Cuba in more than 50 years, paving the way for the normalization of relations and the opening of a U.S. Embassy in Havana.

Obama said "we will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries."These 50 years have shown, isolation has not worked. 

Obama said as these changes unfold, he will talk to Congress about lifting the embargo on Cuba. The U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961, shortly after Fidel Castro and his communist rebels ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista.

This decision by President Obama deserves the respect and recognition of our people," Castro said. However, this "does not mean that the most important issue has been resolved. The embargo on our country ... has to end."

The same "know it all" came out against the decision. So much talk, but the Republicans’ outcry against the new policy contradicts their own faith in the power of free market economies.   

Nobody dared to approach this issue for years. Obama did.

Just a thought.

Break nothin...

The unnamed man hired a crane in the town of Ijsselstein to lower him over his girlfriend’s house and into her garden for the surprise proposal on Saturday morning, emergency services spokesman Jelle Mulder told AFP.

The over amorous Dutchman became a home wrecker when the crane fell through the neighbor's roof.

During the attempt to right the crane up, it unfortunately slipped and fell on the house again,” he said. Neighboring houses were evacuated.
“We’re looking at the best way to lift the crane without it falling again,” said Mulder.

No one was hurt. “The people in the house the crane fell on are deeply shocked,” 

Despite the fiasco, the girlfriend accepted the marriage proposal, Dutch media reported, and the couple have gone on a holiday trip to Paris.  Then they have to pay dearly.

See the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wvenwxi10U

China woman Fined.

Former ally of China’s railway chief was ordered by a Beijing court to pay the largest fine so far after being convicted of bribery earlier this year.

Ding Yuxin was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined 2.5 billion yuan ($403 million) for paying bribes and engaging in illegal business, the court said. 

“The number was extremely large and the violation was very serious,” Tang Bo, senior partner at W&H Law Firm, said in Beijing. 

Ding’s sentencing comes amid a two-year anti-corruption campaign to curb the graft that could erode the party’s legitimacy. More than 80,000 officials have been punished for breaking party rules, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Ding, 59, was described in her trial as the major financial backer of former Railway Minister, intervening in bidding for railway projects worth about 185 billion yuan and engaging in illegal business operations.

During trial, prosecutors said she gave Liu 49 million yuan in exchange for helping her and affiliated companies win 57 railway construction projects, in violation of state regulations, Xinhua reported.

Wide spread.....  Just a thought.

Sydney's Hostage

"We have seen, in the worst of times, the best of people,” Tony Abbott

 

 

Billing Fraud

The United States’ alleges that CareMed made false statements to insurance companies to secure prior authorization for the coverage of drugs by, among other things, fabricating Medicare beneficiaries’ medical information and posing as representatives of prescribing physicians’ offices when calling insurers.

The Complaint also alleges that CareMed engaged in double-billing by re-stocking unused dosages of Procrit and Rituxan, and then re-selling the drugs and re-billing insurance companies that provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries or Medicaid.

In addition, the Complaint alleges that CareMed submitted false claims for payment for automatic refills of Procrit and Rituxan that were not actually received by patients and their doctors. The lawsuit seeks damages and penalties under the False Claims Act.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney filed a civil fraud lawsuit  “CareMed”, a New York-based pharmacy that sells high-cost specialty drugs used to treat conditions that require complex treatment, such as cancer.

the United States has settled the claims against CareMed pursuant to a settlement stipulation approved today by U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote. In the settlement.

It is time to clean up the fraud. You must read your copy of billing. Just a thought.

Obama's Rebate?

President Obama is making America more energy independent and supporting jobs. Domestic energy-related emissions have fallen to their lowest level in 20 years, and our dependence on foreign oil is at a 20-year low — and declining.

America is producing more oil, gas, and renewable energy, and is becoming more energy efficient overall. These trends are increasing our energy security, cutting our carbon pollution, and enhancing our economic growth.

This Administration has made the largest investment in clean energy in American history.  Increased solar electricity generation by more than ten-fold, and tripled electricity production from wind power.

The Obama administration has taken several actions that advance energy efficiency in our vehicles and homes. Through partnerships with rural electric cooperatives, home efficiency upgrades, and private-sector partnerships. America has been able to cut its carbon emissions.

The prices of oil and Gasoline collapsed 40%. More money in the pocket of house owners, car owners and everybody else.

Obama Care and Obama Rebate are great gifts from this Administration, similar to Clinton's Budget Surplus. There is more to come.

See Obama promoting his Care on Steve Colbert show.

http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/full-episodes/9pryj4/december-8--2014---barack-obama#time=4m21s&index=1

Google and Canada Pills

Google has avoided a criminal prosecution in the US after agreeing to pay $500m to settle a government investigation into its display of advertisements from Canadian pharmacies which illegally sold prescription and non-prescription drugs to American consumers.

The settlement means the company will not face prosecution over accusations that it improperly profited from the ads. The $500m represents the gross revenues Google collected from the Canadian pharmacies plus the earnings generated by the illegal sales of drugs to American consumers, federal investigators said.

The Canadian prescriptions sold to American customers were considered “misbranded” under the statute because they were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In some cases, the drugs were obtained from countries other than Canada that lacked adequate regulation of pharmacies. In reality it is the same medication and the same items.

So why wouldn't The United States legalize the importation of medications from Canada and other Nations to overcome the prices that is 100 to 500% more in cost and wipes out seniors' social securities? Why can't we change the law??

Just a thought.

It is the same medicine, should be the same cost. Just a thought.

Avril...






Avril Lavigne

Scheme

A new lawsuit claims CEO of Sanofi and other executives conducted a scheme to funnel tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks and other incentives to get the company's diabetes drugs prescribed and sold.

The whistleblower lawsuit also claims Sanofi CEO Christopher Viehbacher was fired by the company's board "in part, because he was involved in the aforesaid illegal and/or fraudulent activity," which allegedly went on "over the course of many years."

The suit says that Sanofi used contracts that appeared to be for legitimate purposes to direct money to hospitals, doctors and retail pharmacy chains to induce them to purchase and prescribe Sanofi's diabetes medication. It also claims that "approximately $1 billion is missing from Defendant Sanofi which has not been accounted for."

This come two years after the drug company reached an agreement with the Justice Department to settle claims that it engaged in kickbacks by giving doctors free samples of an arthritis drug as a way to encourage them to buy and prescribe that medication.
It impacts federal Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs, the tax payer wallet,
[CNBC-Dan Mangan]

Just a thought.