Crude reality...

The row started after the execution of Shia cleric on terrorism offences and 43 Sunni al-Qaeda militants. Iran warned Saudi Arabia to stop working against it as their diplomatic crisis intensified despite efforts to defuse the problem that has raised fears of greater regional instability.

Sunni Arab allies cut diplomatic ties with Tehran. Qatar has been at odds with Saudi Arabia, supporting different rebel groups in Syria and backing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Now is changing its stance. [BBC]

Iranian Foreign Minister accused the Saudis of acting against the Iranian people by keeping oil prices low. Today's oil is collapsing amid fears that tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia will lead to a deeper price war in an oversupplied crude market. Oil prices went down 70% or more to $34 per barrel from around $100 last year and $147 the highest.

On the other hand we may have less problems in the Middle East as a result of less revenue from crude oil. Less support to various rebels, terrorists and others. Moreover, this will cause economical difficulties to the oil producer countries. A Crude Reality to the oil producers but better time for the consumers.        Just a thought.

Break...?!

Pennsylvania company that publishes business newsletters will pay about $1.75 million to thousands of employees who had to clock out while going on short breaks, including for the bathroom.
 

The bill includes back pay and damages to 6,000 employees at 14 Progressive Business Publications call centers located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio used a timekeeping system that was associated with logging on and off their computers between 2009 and 2013.

The Department of Labor filed a lawsuit in 2012 claiming the company violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act because employees weren't earning minimum wage when the company required them to clock out for breaks.

“For far too long, American Future Systems, [Progresive's parent company,] penalized its employees for taking breaks to meet the most basic needs during the work day – stretching their legs, getting a glass of water or just using the restroom,” said Jim Cain, district director for the department’s Wage and Hour Division, in a statement.

The court also ruled the company failed to keep proper record keeping requirements. Both the lack of records and the unpaid breaks are considered violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, reported the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Just a thought.

He's back...

The explainer-in-chief is back.  Bill Clinton made his first public campaign trail appearance for his wife's 2016 campaign.

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.