New Zealand is frozen.

Current water vapor satellite of Australia and New Zealand.

Wild weather sets in around the country (click here)

Updated 7 min ago 1:02 PM Sunday Aug 9, 2015

 

Heavy snow and bitterly cold southerlies are expected in parts of the country today. A big chill was expected for the central North Island.
MetService said snow showers above elevations of 400m were likely in eastern parts of Taihape and Taupo, and over Hawkes Bay and the southern Gisborne ranges.

The Desert Rd Sate Highway 1 after heavy snow fell on the region 08 August 2015. Photo / Instagram

Icicles on a window in Methven 09 August 2015 after heavy snow fell across the country yesterday. Photo / Instagram

The forecasters also warned of an active trough moving slowly north bringing "bitterly cold southerlies" across the central North Island.MetService expected snow in areas above 600m south of Wairoa, then in the ranges north of Wairoa from later this afternoon. 

 "Although snow accumulations look unlikely to reach warning criteria, higher level roads could be affected and the bitterly cold conditions could cause stress to vulnerable stock, especially as temperatures are not expected to rise significantly until at least mid-week," MetService added....

Clue to Democrats, access all communication lifestyles for debates.

The Democratic debates should not get mired down in cable access. Reach out to voters in all venues of communication. The Democratic campaigns have to reach people on all levels of communication. Senator Sanders prides himself on grass roots support. Fine. Congratulations, but, before the debates begin make sure the broadcast is reaching them.

Go to the voter, don't expect them to come to you. Traditional venues of communication are important, but, there is a far larger audience waiting to be involved. If they aren't involved in the process, they won't vote.

The debates should be respectful of all points of view that will bring valuable insight to help voters discern their positions. The debates should be rich in diversity of culture and reflective of the American people. They need to know the candidates are real with policies that work.

August 7, 2015

By Med James

It's been two days of harsh reckoning (click here) for the entertainment industry
as long-simmering concerns about declining pay-TV subscriptions boiled up in
quarterly earnings reports, leading investors to dump shares of media stocks
amid worries that a key Hollywood money pot is threatened.

The massive sell-off — one analyst called it "the media meltdown" — came after
Walt Disney Co. warned investors late Tuesday that profit from ESPN and other
cable channels would not be as robust as initially thought because fewer
consumers are subscribing to full pay-TV packages.

The sell-off continued Thursday as Viacom disappointed Wall Street with weak
sales. Over the last two days, Time Warner slid 10%, Disney shares dropped 11%,
Fox fell nearly 13% and Viacom plunged 21%....     

I didn't see the debate last night. From what I heard it was no impressive. I am hearing things like Donald Trump did not hurt himself last and and Rubio isn't ready. Rubio might be ready in eight years.

When I asked others what specifics were stated; they said "What specifics?"

So, it was an entirely rhetorical stage presence and Donald Trump got tired of the only paradigm of engaging the public and called everyone stupid. He's right.

See the reason Republicans say, "I'll create jobs without specifics is because they haven't got a clue." Donald Trump can stand through all the political hubris and rhetoric because in the real campaign he already has a track record regarding jobs creation. All he needs is his own record to stand on (which is global by the way) and then demand everyone else to do better.

There is nothing solid being said. One friend said it was a two hour commercial for Hillary Clinton.

There are eight more Republican debates of which will be a 90 exposure for every candidate on the podium if they are in every debate. That should be a strategy to build on. Ten minutes should build on the anticipated next 10 minutes of exposure and so on. Otherwise, the debate process will stamp an identity on every candidates' forehead and they'll either win or lose the nomination and be stuck with that branding for the rest of their national career.

This whole Planned Parenthood thing is a reason for Republicans to defund the government and cause another fiscal crisis.

Go ahead, make my day.

As soon as the Republicans refuse to pass the budget and causes a fiscal crisis again they all need to be charged with ethics violations. Every one of them included Speaker Boner and McConnell. File the ethics investigations in the Congress since it is based in political purposes.

Then the contracts in the private sector can sue the Congress for breach in contract and get their lost revenues anyway. 

Vladimir, Really? Good bye, F35.

There are two resolutions to this. The first get rid of all the cyber anything in the military or use the military capacity to launch false information to international hackers. 

The USA national defense is completely compromised if there is more and more investment into cyber anything. The reason Russia and China have a strong cyber capacity when it comes to the USA Infrastructure is because of the plans for widespread drone warfare. Just that simple. If the USA launched a mission into Russia with cyber capacity, the jets would fall into the oceans and never be found. It's a perfect crime. There would be no detection of the reasons the USA's national defense failed. And then it would be all over. No need for bombs, foreign troops would land and take over DC. 


August 6, 2015
By Jacob Brogan

According to NBC News, hackers (click here)—allegedly from Russia— compromised an unclassified email system used by more than 4,000 employees of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The attack apparently began on or about July 25 and was “coordinated  … via social media accounts.”

CBS News reports that classified elements of the network were not affected. Nevertheless, the unclassified servers remain offline, “and senior members of the Joint Staff were provided with an alternative means of exchanging unclassified e-mail.”

While NBC News suggests that Russia is the primary suspect, the actual source of the attack is not yet absolutely clear. CNBC says “a state actor” is responsible, but it does not say whether the attack “was sanctioned by the Russian government or conducted by individuals.” The “attribution problem”—the difficulty of determining who is responsible for an attack—is increasingly part of cybersecurity discussions....

Russian celebrated the first anniversary with sanctions. That is what that was all about.

August 6, 2015

By Andrew L. Kramer

...Following an order by President  Vladimir V. Putin, (click here) officials threw huge piles of pork, tomatoes, peaches and cheese into landfills and garbage incinerators.

The frenzy, remarkable even by the standards of Russia’s recent politicization of food supplies, was gleefully reported by Russian state television.

“You can see behind me cheese that was made nobody knows where, without labels,” Yekaterina Mironova, a journalist on Rossiya 24 television, standing before a gigantic mound of orange cheese rounds, as a bulldozer revved its engine in the background.

The offending cheese, she said, would be plowed into a landfill in the Belgorod region of western Russia....

Traveling Today. 

Until this evening.

This? This isn't anything. George W. Bush, Jeb's current political adviser called Hillary "...my sister-in-law."

This isn't anything. It's New York's society class. New York City has it's own gravity and the people that live there run into each other.

It isn't an issue. There is no there, there. 

August 5, 2015
By Robert Costa and Anne Gearan

Former president Bill Clinton (click here) had a private telephone conversation in late spring with Donald Trump at the same time that the billionaire investor and reality-television star was nearing a decision to run for the White House, according to associates of both men.

Four Trump allies and one Clinton associate familiar with the exchange said that Clinton encouraged Trump’s efforts to play a larger role in the Republican Party and offered his own views of the political landscape.

Clinton’s personal office in New York confirmed that the call occurred in late May, but an aide to Clinton said the 2016 race was never specifically discussed and that it was only a casual chat.... 

Will Donald Trump blow himself out like Sarah Palin? That is more likely than talking about Bill Clinton. It is the same group of people. Their loyalty is well known. I am quite sure The Tea Party was equally as encouraging to Donald Trump than any other person. The Tea Party has asked him to run for years now. I guess sniping is in fashion.

August 5, 2015
By Phillip Bump

Donald Trump rightly crows about the extent to which the media and public are obsessed with his campaign. (click here)

There is a fatal flaw with Sarah Palin that doesn't exist with Donald Trump. The former Governor of Alaska was ambitious and liked the new cash cow she found. She wrote books and has her own PAC. She did it for money. She became rather wealthy after her Vice Presidential run. Donald Trump is the opposite. He is running into financial peril but persists. What's his motivation besides the country?

Sniping means people are underestimating his potential. So far all the scheming in the world has made him strong.

Good measures toward peace are happening everywhere. Go figure.

August 5, 2015
By AP

Lee Hee-ho, center, the wife of the late former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, is greeted by a supporter as she arrives at Gimpo Airport in Seoul, South Korea, to leave for North Korea Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015. Lee's planned Aug. 5-8 trip comes amid continuing animosity between the rival Koreas following the recent opening of a U.N. office in Seoul tasked with monitoring what activists call the North's widespread abuse of its citizens' rights.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) 

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — The 92-year-old widow (click here) of former South Korean President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kim Dae-jung arrived in North Korea on Wednesday for a four-day visit.

Lee Hee-ho will visit a maternity clinic, an orphanage and a children's hospital, according to her official itinerary. Aides say it is not clear if she will meet top North Korean officials, such as leader Kim Jong Un, before returning to Seoul on Saturday....

NATO is still involved in achieving peace in the region.

August 5, 2015
By John Batchelor 

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) shakes hands with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (R) during a meeting on Feb. 11, 2015 in Minsk.

Over the last several weeks, (click here) the 15-month-old Ukraine crisis took fresh steps toward resolution in a series of teleconference calls by the Normandy Four - the heads of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine.

Beginning July 10, French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko and Ukrainian parliament chairman Volodymyr Hroisman to comply with all the terms of the February 2015 Minsk 2 agreement....

There is no going back for Ukraine. The challenge to restructure it's debt is all part of the new sovereign authority of the people. It will happen. 

August 5, 2015
By Nathan Sheets, Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs

Although the ongoing conflict in Ukraine's east (click here) has caught the world's attention, no less important for Ukraine's future are the transformative and unprecedented reforms being undertaken by the government in Kiev, as it seeks to arrest the country's economic crisis and lay the foundation for long-term growth....

...While entrenched interests in Ukraine — often masked as populist benefactors of the people — continue to push against this transformation, the ethos of reform has begun to permeate Ukraine's government and society. For this movement to fully take root, Ukraine's top leaders must show continued courage and willingness to address corruption. Ukraine's parliamentarians must be disciplined, united, and focused on the country's long-term interests. And the Ukrainian people must continue to support the country's ambitious reform agenda....

The USA politicians operate in a vacuum.

Russia once had a presence at the Syrian ports in the Mediterranean. That was a burden when Daesh mounted attacks within Syria creating a larger war than the existing civil war. Russia had it's focus on it's eastern border with former Soviet states, especially that of Ukraine. While that might be a statement about the plasticity of the Russian conventional forces, it doesn't mean Russia abandoned the Middle East.

President Putin has sent his foreign minister into the Middle East before while still occupying aggression on it's eastern border. The Russia foreign minister made a trip to Egypt. It was before Egypt mounted attacks into Libya to reduce the aggressions of Daesh. 

This outreach to Iran is not a surprise. Russia is currently involved in expanding it's economic reach beyond any sanctions that exist with the West. Prime Minister Medvedev is personally overseeing the new trade agreements.  

There are no more options for a more aggressive agreement with Iran. The current agreement is comprehensive and historic. It is far more than any other nuclear non-proliferation treaty negotiations in history. It is a good agreement and will provide a good foothold to unwind Iran's sanctions without escalating violence or war in the Middle East.

Now, that Russia and Iran are meeting with Syrian officials the hope for a stabilizing Middle East is better. The borders of Syria has to be stabilized. Turkey and NATO will work on their side of the country and Russia, Iran and Syrian government will work on their side of the borders. I think this trio will be successful in stabilizing the region while every other country is pulling in the same direction.

I wish them the best. 

Let me say this as well. While The West has it's disagreements with Russia, historically, the world was a better place when The West and Russia were seeing global ambitions eye to eye. I still believe that benevolent place exists in the will of all countries and the agreement with Iran is proof. 

August 4, 2015
By Reuters
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem (click here) arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for talks with officials from allies Iran and Russia that are expected to focus on efforts to end the civil war in his country.
Iran and Russia have stood by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, providing military and financial support during more than four years of the conflict. The United States and some of its Gulf Arab allies have said Assad must leave office.
World powers led by the United States reached a nuclear agreement with Iran on July 14 but both sides have made it clear that the deal will not change their policies in the region.
Moualem on July 24 reiterated his government's view that Iran's support for Damascus would continue after the deal.
He will meet Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy to the Middle East, on Tuesday evening before holding talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday, Iranian media reported.
Russian and Iranian media quoted Bogdanov as saying the three deputy ministers were also due to hold a joint meeting.
Speaking about Moualem's visit, Iranian deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian suggested the chances of a diplomatic resolution of the war were growing....

There is no solisitation for abortions to guarantee customer fullfillment who purchase fetal tissue.

It is a smear campaign against Planned Parenthood. If an abortion were choice and covered by health insurance, including Medicaid, organizations such as Planned Parenthood would not have to seek ways of supporting itself in order to provide health services to women.

Annual Reports of Planned Parenthood (click here)

Planned Parenthood is no different than any other non-profit organization in that it has to report income and balance sheets to the government.   

Women need health services. Someone has to provide it. Women have to be safe. Abortion is legal under the law since Roe v. Wade. I don't see that changing. Planned Parenthood is victim to the right wing religious fanatics. 

Supreme Court decisions stand as law because the decisions are considered constitutional. If the US federal government were to outlaw abortions today, they would still be unconstitutional. It is no different than if same sex marriage was outlawed at the federal level, it would unconstitutional. 

It was already tried in "The Defense of Marriage Act" and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

The anti-abortion groups are political entities that try to create the faux front of morality. There is no room for politics in a woman's vagina. There is a need in the USA for abortion services. We know as a fact. Roe v Wade was provided to the women of the USA to relieve women's deaths at back street abortion providers. There simply isn't going to be a federal law that is going to change that decision. Women would return to illegal abortions and they would die all over again. No Supreme Court is going to allow that.

Keeping women alive is a health issue. It just is. Now, until the political right wing mandates chastity belts and enforces them by police action and prosecution, there will be abortions.

The anti-abortion groups need to stop being silly and realize they are putting women's lives at risk. The USA does not have a shortage of babies either.

If there is any law broken by Planned Parenthood I would expect those responsible to be called before a judge. Breaking the law is not what Planned Parenthood is about. Planned Parenthood is about living within the law and protecting women. Protecting women is important and vital to the country. Anyone that violates non-profit laws should expect the brevity of the law to be visiting them.  

Allowing women to die at the hand of back street abortionists is immoral. Women should never feel that desperate about life in a free world democracy. The USA is a democracy with separation of church and state. Women have rights to their own bodies and that is law. The political right wing needs to get over the fact they have a completely irresponsible position to the needs of American women.

There is a reason why the right wing groups have put together videos to smear Planned Parenthood. The reason is there is nothing illegal to their operations. 

If Planned Parenthood of the Gulf Coast has the most healthy balance sheet within the organization it is because there is high demand for the services provided by Planned Parenthood. The higher demand by women, the more fetal tissue is within their inventory to provide for research. 

I didn't notice a sales person knocking on doors to solicit women to abortions and providing a fee for their service in fulfilling orders from their customers. When that happens there might be a legitimate complaint.

Planned Parenthood provides vital services in taking care of women and providing fetal tissue for research. I wish the State of Florida was as vigilant of women's health as Planned Parenthood. Today in Florida, women die because of lack of health insurance. Yes, it still goes on under a Republican governor.

The FOX 5000 militia is on the move.

Defeating the Obama conspiracy isn't easy. The amazing part of this gun psychosis is that American soldiers are mindless. These good guys with a gun don't stop to realize the us military cannot be used against the people. They give the American solder absolutely no credit for the use of the weapons at their control.

They are anarchists. It has nothing to do with the military. The military movements are simply an excuse for their radical ideas of anarchy. "Those are our kids out there you damn assholes!"

August 5, 2015
By DOktor Zoom
 
An unidentified idiot (ADA "Good guy with a gun) with a gun fired shots( click here) at soldiers training near Camp Shelby, Mississippi, who were taking part in the Jade Helm 15 training exercise that has so many wingnuts exercised; nobody was hurt, but the suspect is still at large.

Perry County Sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith said no one was injured around 11:35 a.m. when the shots were fired in the direction of two soldiers training on Peret Tower Road, which is not on the premises of Camp Shelby.
The call came in around 12:15 p.m. on the sheriff’s department main line.
Smith said he doesn’t know if the two soldiers were actually the target of the shots or not, but that where they were training was visible from the road.

Get ready for some fun conspiracy theories on this one, since initial reports said that there were two men in a pickup that had the phrase “Broken Arrow” written on it — a phrase denoting a ground unit “facing imminent destruction from enemy attack.” It turns out that a truck with that phrase on its windshield was spotted nearby, but after the two men who’d been in it were questioned and released without charge, the “Broken Arrow” part of the description has been dropped. Don’t worry, though: What was sloppy confused early reporting will no doubt be woven into a nice conspiracy story about the incident....

Jeb Bush did not misspeak. Community health clinics and "Personal Health Care Accounts" IS a Bush agenda.

He walked it back for political purposes, but, the Bush agenda has always been there. Jeb Bush carries 'the agenda' left over from his brother. He might walk his remarks back, but, then so does every other FOX Republican. It doesn't change a darn thing. It is just political speak.

If Bush said it, he means it. 

December 26, 2008
By Kevin Sack

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Although the number (click here) of uninsured and the cost of coverage in the United States have ballooned under his watch, President George W. Bush leaves office with a health care legacy in bricks and mortar: He has doubled U.S. financing for community health centers, enabling the creation or expansion of 1,297 clinics in medically underserved areas.

For those in poor urban neighborhoods and isolated rural areas, including Indian reservations, the clinics are often the only dependable providers of basic services like prenatal care, childhood immunizations, asthma treatments, cancer screenings and tests for sexually transmitted diseases. As a crucial component of the health safety net, they are lauded as a cost-effective alternative to hospital emergency rooms, where the uninsured and underinsured often seek care.

Despite the clinics' unprecedented growth, wide swaths of the country remain without access to affordable primary care. The recession has only magnified the need as hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their employer-sponsored health insurance along with their jobs. In response, Democrats on Capitol Hill are proposing even more significant increases, making the centers a likely feature of any health care deal struck by Congress and the Obama administration....

If one asks Donald Trump how he sees the rights within women's health care he would most probably state, "Women can decide for themselves how their health care takes place. There should never be federal dollars for abortion." Donald Trump knows women are capable of managing their own life. He wouldn't demand federal laws governing their decisions. At least I don't think so. His wives have gone on to be successful women. I doubt he seeks to manage their lives.

That is where women's health belongs. Women can decide for themselves what their health care looks like. One never hears anyone running for election about managing men's health care. It is gender bias. Women get less pay for the hours they work and they are always under scrutiny about their health care choices. It is no one's business. The Republicans like to say their health care is between themselves and their doctors. Really? But, when it comes to a woman's health they like to meddle where they don't belong. Double standards. Women are still second class citizens in Republican-World. 

August 4, 2015
By Alex Leary

...Appearing at the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, (click here) Bush was talking about Planned Parenthood. But his more general phrasing provided an opening. "@JebBush: You are absolutely, unequivocally wrong," Clinton wrote on Twitter.
An array of Democratic groups, eager to breathe life into the "war on women" them, also weighed in.
Finally, Bush issued a statement.
“With regards to women's health funding broadly, I believe there are countless community health centers, rural clinics, and other women’s health organizations that need to be fully funded. They provide critical services to all, but particularly low-income women who don’t have the access they need.
"The point I was making was that we must address the hard-to-fathom $500 million in federal funding that goes to Planned Parenthood – an organization that was callously participating in the unthinkable practice of selling fetal organs. Democrats and Republicans agree we absolutely must defund them and redirect those funds to other women’s health organizations.”

Jeb Bush is lying. The question is whom is he lying to. Is he lying to the American public or is he lying to his Southern Baptist friends?

A sample of covert police agenda surfaces without even a slap on the wrist.

This is not a rarity. I believe Sandy Bland was a victim to covert agendas within police departments. Ferguson is another. Police do believe they are above the law and they make up their own rules. They can't handle the enormous power at their disposal they are prohibited from using at their will.

I have mentioned before police are not powerful people. They sincerely aren't when considering the rights citizens have. There are just bad police officers that take license with the power within their reach that isn't their's to use.

Judge and jury. Trial by police guns. I sincerely believe the need for stops of minor traffic infractions should be reviewed for abuse. There needs to be a moratorium on police stops regarding minor infractions of the law. There has to be an investigation into the use of police authority in the country.

That would be a major research project sponsored by the US Justice Department. It wouldn't happen overnight and innocent people are dying within the country.

4 August 2015
By Jon Swaine

A police officer in Alabama(click here)  proposed murdering a black resident and creating bogus evidence to suggest the killing was in self-defence, the Guardian has learned.

Officer Troy Middlebrooks kept his job and continues to patrol Alexander City after authorities there paid the man $35,000 to avoid being publicly sued over the incident. Middlebrooks, a veteran of the US marines, said the man “needs a god damn bullet” and allegedly referred to him as “that nigger”, after becoming frustrated that the man was not punished more harshly over a prior run-in....

July 29, 2015
by Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

There seem to be a record number of special elections (click here) being held this year, most of which will occur in August. Here’s an update of where we can expect to see new faces in the General Assembly this fall.

Next Tuesday, August 4, special elections will be held to fill the seats vacated by Rep. Glen Grell (R-Cumberland) and Rep. Joe Hackett (R-Delaware). Grell resigned from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in order to take a position as the Executive Director of the Public School Employees Retirement System; Hackett, to return to a career in law enforcement in his home county. Vying for Grell’s seat are Bob Charles (Democrat) and Greg Rothman (Republican). The makeup of the 87^th legislative District is heavily Republican, and Rothman will likely cruise to victory on Election Day. Hackett will be replaced by either Democrat Leanne Krueger-Braneky or Republican Paul Mullen. Hackett’s seat is more in the middle when it comes to voter registration; however, Krueger-Braneky lost to Hackett by nearly 12 points in 2014 and her opponent, Paul Mullen, has the backing of several large labor unions.  In what will likely be a low turnout election, the support of labor is critical and might help Mullen turn out his supporters....

During a rash of special elections Democrats take a US House seat.

This election was really interesting because the unions didn't believe she would be elected and backed the Republican.

HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale (click here) and Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder extend their congratulations to Democrat Leanne Krueger-Braneky on her victory tonight in the Special Election to fill the 161^st State House seat.

"We extend our congratulations to Leanne on running an impressive campaign which sends a positive message to Legislative leaders in Harrisburg to get back to work in passing a balanced budget that invests in education, job creation and ensures all pay their fair share of taxes. The fact that both candidates had significant support from organized labor was not the result of a division in the labor movement but rather the appeal that both candidates brought to the table," Bloomingdale said.

"We look forward to working with Representative Krueger-Braneky on a variety of important issues facing the Commonwealth," Snyder added. "She has been a vocal supporter of worker rights during her campaign and we expect that she will be a partner for improving education and employment opportunities in Southeastern Pennsylvania and across the Keystone State." 

The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO also extends its congratulations to Republican Greg Rothman on his election tonight to fill the vacant 87^th State House District Seat.

SOURCE Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.

Elon Musk, CEO June 12, 2014 

 

Yesterday, (click here) there was a wall of Tesla patents in the lobby of our Palo Alto headquarters. That is no longer the case. They have been removed, in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology....

 

What does it take to get rid of petroleum based transportation? Perhaps Tesla can provide summer camp to auto industry engineers.

August 4, 2015
By Alisa Priddle

TRAVERSE CITY -- An executive for electric automaker Tesla Motors (click here) used a Michigan seminar Tuesday to take more shots at the traditional auto industry, describing competitive vehicles as "appliances" and bucking the trend by calling for more strident fuel-economy standards.

Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla vice president of corporate and business development, described the automaker's high-priced electric cars as peerless in their styling, performance and charging capability.

He said he is surprised that there are only lower-performance vehicles in the marketplace and nothing to challenge the Model S. "In some respect, they are appliances, in terms of the way they look." Tesla, BMW and Nissan electric vehicles are the few exceptions, he said.

And if the rest of the industry can catch up to Tesla's technology, the California-based automaker is open to sharing its 480 global charging stations, including 209 in the U.S. Currently, the competition does not have vehicles that can handle the speed or power of Tesla's charging ability, he said....

This should prove a real benefit to the ISI.

Anyone for traveling to Pakistan? Disappear without a trace.

5 August 2015
By Reuters

Pakistan’s supreme court (click here) has ruled that secret military courts are legal and can pass death sentences on civilians, a judgement that critics say further strengthens the military’s grip on power at the expense of civilian authorities.
Military courts were empowered to try suspected militants after Taliban gunmen massacred 134 children at an army-run school in December. The government argued that civilians were too scared to convict militants.

Any excuse is a good excuse to make Pakistan a idealized dictatorship. Amazing. It is safe to say democracy in Pakistan is on the back burner.

Several lawyers challenged the constitutionality of the military courts in the supreme court. But on Wednesday, Nasir ul Mulk, Pakistan’s chief justice, announced that all “petitions have been dismissed”.
A detailed judgement will be released later, he said.
Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of 190 million, is plagued by a Taliban insurgency, sectarian violence and militancy.... 

I congratulate Saroop Ijaz for speaking out. Sometimes speaking out is a sure way to remain alive. If disappeared the reason would be too obvious and cause concern by the people. Seriously, being an activist can save your life in Pakistan.

...Military courts have been empowered to try militant suspects until February 2017. The government has promised to use that time to reform the broken civilian justice system.
Critics say the government has handed the military too much power and that there are few signs of reform.
“Ceding space to the military isn’t the answer,’’ said Saroop Ijaz, a lawyer who represents the international rights body Human Rights Watch. “Parliament can’t pass the buck for creating a functioning criminal justice system....

Go get 'em. Absolutely.

...“We cannot know what is happening inside those courts, we have no access to them,” said Amina Janjua, an activist for the families of the missing whose own husband was detained 10 years ago. “Who will know whether the judges’ decision is right and what proof there was?"

Anyone hear from Musharraf lately? He was arrested for treason. 

There is every reason to believe there will be no backpedaling on the peace process this time. Afghanistan should consider closing it's border with Pakistan if that is possible. There are people that will leave Pakistan.

August 5, 2015
By Agence France-Presse

Islamabad:  Pakistan's Army Chief General Raheel Sharif (click here) has said that ongoing efforts at talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are the "only credible way" to bring peace to the region.

Negotiators for the two sides met in the Pakistani hill town of Murree last month for their first face-to-face meeting aimed at ending the Taliban insurgency, now in its 14th year.

A second meeting planned for last Friday was cancelled after the death of Taliban chief Mullah Omar was announced, throwing the movement's leadership into upheaval.

Backing from the Pakistan and in particular its military, the Taliban's historic sponsors, has been seen as crucial in getting the militants to the negotiating table....

...On Tuesday the head of the Taliban's political office, opened in Qatar in 2013 in a bid to foster talks, resigned in protest at Mansour's appointment.

The Afghan presidency said Omar's death meant the grounds for the discussions were more solid now than before, but many of the insurgents' ground commanders have openly questioned the legitimacy of the Taliban negotiators.

Moreover, before confirming Omar's death, the Taliban distanced themselves from peace talks, saying they were not aware of any such process.

If the murder case continues to evade the police, perhaps a reward leading to an arrest should be considered by Israel.

August 5, 2015
By Robert Tait

Mordechai Meyer (click here) subjected to same imprisonment without trial regime commonly applied to Palestinian suspects.

Israel has detained the first Jewish extremist under tough new regulations allowing Jews suspected of "terrorism" to be imprisoned without trial. 

Mordechai Meyer, 18, from the East Jerusalem settlement of Maale Adumim, has been subjected to six-months administrative detention, reportedly for suspected involvement in an arson attack on an iconic Christian church in Galilee in June. 

The order detaining him was signed by Moshe Ya'alon, the defence minister, after the Israeli attorney general, Yehuda Weinstein, approved the use of administrative detention following a fire-bomb attack last Friday on a Palestinian home in the West Bank that killed a one-year-old child and left his parents and brother fighting for their lives.

Administrative detention has previously only been widely applied to suspected Palestinian militants. The Israeli security cabinet agreed to extend it to Jewish suspects amid widespread outrage over last week's arson in the West Bank village of Duma. 

Police said on Wednesday that they had still had no leads identifying the culprits for the Duma attack and issued an appeal for information along with a mobile phone number for members of the public to call....

August 5, 2015
By Common Dreams

 Last week's failure to conclude the TPP in Hawaii signals a potentially fatal stall in negotiations;(click here) Australia should now reject this corporate trojan horse that's bad for both people and the planet. Sam Cossar-Gilbert reports (via Common Dreams).

...This is a major opportunity for governments to now walk away entirely from this trojan horse deal that is bad for people and bad for the planet.

The latest round of failed talks, which took place in Hawaii, was anticipated to ''seal the deal'' with government officials stating that "it was 98 per cent complete". Yet the TPP trade agreement has stalled again because of a range of important disagreements over pharmaceutical patents, market access for agricultural products and the corporate rights to sue governments for public policy. (A threat to sovereign countries. This is nuts.)
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has admitted that the TPP would increase the price of medicine. For many countries, this means a choice between life and death for their citizens and negotiators refused to budge on the issue....

Growing public pressure has put the agreement into the spotlight. It is harder for ministers to agree to something disastrous for their country on a beach in Hawaii when they know people back home are watching....