Democratic Senate leaders and an influential Senate Republican are pushing for legislation that would backfire on OPEC+ after the cartel’s decision to cut oil production — with Senator Richard Durbin questioning whether Saudi Arabia is even a US ally .

The move comes after the international cartel stunned the government by announcing a cut of 2 million barrels a day of oil – keeping prices high amid economic uncertainty and keeping Russian President Vladimir Putin’s oil lifeline amid his brutal war against Ukraine.

Durbin joined Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer in moving forward a “NOPEC” bill that, if enacted, would allow lawsuits in U.S. courts to try to find OPEC for violation to prosecute against antitrust rules. It is supported by Republican Senator Charles Grassley, who calls for a crackdown on the cartel.

“You wonder, the United States has this nominal alliance with a country that doesn’t seem to share our values, and when it comes to wartime, invading Ukraine comes on the wrong side. I wonder if they are our allies or not and if we should trust them when it comes to making critical decisions,” Durbin said.

Senator Richard Durbin, the Majority Leader, spoke of the “nominal alliance” between the US and Saudi Arabia following announced OPEC+ production cuts

He spoke a day after Schumer broke into Saudi Arabia for hugging Putin, an OPEC+ member.

“What Saudi Arabia did to help Putin continue his despicable, vicious war against Ukraine will long be remembered by Americans,” Schumer warned Thursday.

“We are reviewing all legislative tools to best deal with this appalling and deeply cynical action, including the NOPEC law,” he said in a statement.

Grassley announced his bill in a statement. “My bipartisan NOPEC bill would crack down on these foreign oil cartel tactics. It’s already been cleared by the Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan basis, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t pass as part of our upcoming defense clearance efforts. Our energy supply is a matter of national security.”

Durbin, appearing on MSBNC’s Morning Joe on Friday, cited a number of concerns about the Saudi kingdom, which the US has made a partner on energy and security for decades, and has attacked the Trump administration for maintaining ties on.

“Well, look at the litany of problems we’ve had with Saudi Arabia beginning with 9/11, the unanswered questions, [murdered dissident] Jamal Khashoggi, still unanswered, the complicity of the Trump administration, which was a lap dog for the Saudi kingdom, look at what’s going on today, dissidents and women face massive discrimination in this country.

The government has described the cuts as a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wants to quickly advance bipartisan legislation allowing lawsuits against the OPEC cartel

OPEC’s announcement comes three months after Biden’s infamous punch with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

The price cut comes as Russia, a major oil producer, continues its brutal war against Ukraine, which it can fund with oil revenues

President Joe Biden was forced on Thursday to defend his own efforts to manage the strained Saudi relationship after visiting the country in July and exchanging an infamous fist with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.

“The trip was essentially not about oil. The trip was about the Middle East and about Israel and the rationalization of positions. But it’s a disappointment and says there are problems,” Biden said.

His administration said everything is on the table, but Biden has been vague in his own comments on a possible response.

“We are examining alternatives. We haven’t decided yet,” Biden said as he left the White House for a trip to New York.

Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, says he plans to try to attach the NOPEC bill to the National Defense Authorization Act — which is considered a “must-pass” law.

The measure cleared his panel in May and passed the house. If enacted, it would remove the cartel’s “sovereign immunity,” which protects the cartel from lawsuits, and change US antitrust laws.

According to a Grassley press release, it specifically authorizes the Justice Department to file lawsuits against members of the oil cartel for antitrust violations. It would clarify that neither state immunity nor the Act of State doctrine prevent a court from deciding antitrust charges brought against foreign governments for illegal pricing, production and distribution of petroleum products.’

The announced output cut comes weeks before the November election, at a time when Democrats are facing headwinds from American inflation concerns. Biden’s own popularity remains stuck in the ’40s, and the White House has emphasized his actions to try to keep gas prices down.

Meanwhile, Biden announced at a fundraiser Thursday night that the world must take seriously Putin’s threats to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and that “we haven’t faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis.”

Here we reveal how to heat the house most effectively without stoves and fireplaces. It only costs 40 cents.

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Read on to find out which is the most effective method of grooming hot Your House. For only 40 cents you get a cozy home.

Dear bills, the crisis is making itself felt

The economic effort to deal with electricity and gas bills is on the rise in Europe. The energy crisis and constant Russian threats to cut supplies are driving up energy prices and increasing the bite that paying bills puts on the pockets, especially for those earning minimum wage.

Ovens – Nanopress.it

By July the cost of gas and electricity had risen by 38% across Europe Compared to last year, and even before the rise in global inflation, the cost of energy was almost inaccessible to over nine million people in the European Union.

This was demonstrated by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which presented a report by the European Trade Union Institute, in which it converted this effort into the wage days that must be allocated to minimum wage earners in the EU for payment Bills.

The results, analyzed on the basis of wage data and average household consumption figures from Eurostat, show that workers on minimum wages in 16 Member States have to spend the equivalent of a month’s wages or more to be able to pay electricity and heating. That is twice as much as in 2021.

In the Czech Republic, with a gross monthly minimum wage of CZK 16,200 (approx. €654), most of the minimum wage has to be used to cover expenses. A total of 65 days (more than two months) to pay the annual energy bill of 34,468 kroner.

Stove – Nanopress.it

In southern countries, the minimum wage is €1,167 (including the minimum base for social security contributions) and the average annual energy bill is €1,455 per household; Receipts take 38 days to process Salary.

The study shows that the number of days a minimum wage person has to work to pay their energy bill has increased in countries like Estonia (+26), the Netherlands (+20), the Czech Republic (+17), Latvia ( +16).

New in the ranking are Slovakia, Greece, the Czech Republic and Italy. The crisis has intensified since July (the reference month of the energy costs report), so that efforts have increased in view of the incessantly rising energy prices, which are already weighing on the basic food basket.

How can you cope with these new costs? Here is a method that will help you!

The solution only costs 40 cents, the ovens have nothing to do with it

Not everyone knows this, but there is a really effective way you can heat your home during the winter without ever having to turn it on ovens and chimneys.

We’re talking about them electric blanket, a thermal film that makes you only heat the bed at night and not the whole house.

Thermal Blanket – NanoPress.it

Indeed, what good is keeping hot the whole house while you lie in bed?

The electric blanket brings you to a consumption of only 40 cents a night! This way you save a lot on your bill.

And you knew this innovative way to say goodbye to the punches in the bill? Let us know what you think!

Drawn on the face, a smile lasts only a few moments, but its effect, especially on those who receive it, can last much longer; Not to say that there are smiles that are remembered for a lifetime.

It seems absurd to speak of a smile in Cuba now, when the wounds left by Hurricane Ian have not yet healed, like other tragedies such as those that happened at the Matanzas supertanker base, and when the Everyday life on this island does not suit many clarity.

Read more: Cuba, serious laughter

But we Cubans know it well: a smile can be a door that opens, a plank of life. For this reason, on this World Smile Day that the world celebrates every first Friday of October, it is worth putting it aside and jumping every hour of this day, especially considering that the theme of this World Smile Day is the smile is 2022 is “doing an act of kindness, making a person smile”.

Photo: web

It is clear that the kindness of Cubans today is not only expressed in smiles, but in very concrete acts of human solidarity with the compatriots in the west of the country, who are most affected by Ian. And if, moreover, we make the smiles bloom with more vigour, at least today, because we will grow and grow with them.

In addition, the smile always brings advantages in many other jobs. For example, it helps release endorphins, the much-vaunted feel-good hormone and pain reliever. Consequently, smiling reduces stress by reducing cortisol; relieves and appreciates both personal well-being and social relationships.

Photo: taken from sefardu.com

Some experts assure that these benefits are obtained even with a fake smile. But to tell the truth, it would be better to banish those cardboard smiles, almost grimaces, and give only the authentic ones, the ones that calm, convey kindness, save and even make people fall in love.

Why a World Smile Day?

Of course, you don’t need a specific day to smile; In addition, it is part of the universal language and communication. But it was Harvey Ball, the creator of the smiley face emoji, who suggested creating this world day in 1999.

Photo: web

Harvey died in 2001 and it was the non-profit Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation, established in his honor, that has supported the celebration of World Smile Day ever since.

The State Institute of Forensic Medicine has ruled out police violence in connection with the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. According to the Misan news portal, the report published today on Amini’s death explains that the Iranian Kurd has suffered from a thyroid disease since childhood.

Investigations would have shown that previous illness after his arrest led to heart failure – which led to his death. Police violence is ruled out because no traces of a blow to the head on the body were found.

Parents deny accusations

Amini’s parents have repeatedly denied their daughter’s previous illness in recent weeks. She was perfectly healthy until she was arrested by the religious police and all claims to the contrary were lies, the family said.

The Iranian judiciary, in turn, accuses the Amini family of disrespecting the country’s laws and wanting to stir up political sentiment against the Iranian system with the case of their daughter.

AP/Maya Alleruzzo

Protests across the country

Religious police arrested Amini in September for her “anti-Islamic clothing”. She fell into a coma and died in hospital on September 16. The police deny the use of violence.

The 22-year-old’s death has sparked nationwide protests against the veil requirement and Islamic leadership. Security forces also use force against protesters, killing dozens of people.

“God brought you to power”: With these words, Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, congratulated Vladimir Putin on his 70th birthday in Ukraine this Friday (7).

In his message, Kirill, Putin’s ally and supporter of the war in Ukraine, praised his country’s president for “changing Russia’s image, strengthening its sovereignty and defense capability, and defending national interests.”

He also wished him “physical and moral strength for many years to come” and asked for a prayer for the health of the Russian president, who has been in power for more than twenty years.

“God has given you the strength to fulfill a mission of special importance and great responsibility for the country and its people,” said the 75yearold patriarch.

• Vladimir Putin turns 70: 7 key moments that shaped his career

“You have earned the reputation of a national leader who is loyal to his motherland, sincerely loves it and gives it all his strength,” Kiril said, referring to the Russian president.

“May your strength not be exhausted and may God’s help be great to you,” he concluded.

Patriarch Kirill, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since 2009, places his church at the service of Vladimir Putin’s power and also supports the Russian offensive in Ukraine.

Both share the ambition of a conservative Russia and agree to denounce the West’s moral “decay” due to the promotion of the LGBTQIA+ movement.

Other Russian officials wished the Russian President a happy birthday on Friday, such as Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who congratulated the “leader of an entire people” and “one of the most influential and extraordinary figures of our time.”

The Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament Vyacheslav Volodin published a portrait of the Russian President with the phrase “If there is Putin, there is Russia”.

• SANDRA COHEN: The Nobel Peace Prize is again about Vladimir Putin
• WAR IN UKRAINE: Why Putin’s dream of victory in the conflict is crumbling