July 15, 2014
0030.20z
UNISYS GOES East Water Vapor Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

There are two circulations centers off the Atlantic coastline. The surf was high today. It will be interesting when the cold meets the circulation centers.
 
July 14, 2014
weather.com
Severe thunderstorms will threaten (click here) multiple regions of the country over the next couple of days from the East to the Southern Plains to the Front Range of the Rockies.
At least 80 million Americans are in the risk zone, though only a fraction of that population will personally witness severe weather due to the spotty nature of these storms.
The strong cold front bringing the polar air invasion into the Midwest will become the focus for severe thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday as the front pushes south and catches up to a weaker front responsible for most of Sunday's severe weather in the Ohio Valley and Northeast. Damaging straight-line winds and local flash flooding will be the main concerns in the East and Midwest....

A fighting force has to have loyalty. The only loyalty remaining in Iraq is along ethnic/religious lines. It's over in Iraq.

The Kurds have their first sovereign borders. I think Syria has a real problem with ISIS and I can't think of any better country to handle it. 

In order for the USA to even consider an invasion into the area, it would require NATO commitment with a full scale invasion with intentions to kill and slaughter 100s of thousands of people. There is no loyalty in the ranks of the Iraq forces and they would slaughter American troops (Green on Blue attacks). 

Enough. It is time the Middle East settle it's own problems. 

July 13, 2014
By Eric Schmitt and Michael R. Gordon
 
WASHINGTON — A classified military assessment (click here) of Iraq’s security forces concludes that many units are so deeply infiltrated by either Sunni extremist informants or Shiite personnel backed by Iran that any Americans assigned to advise Baghdad’s forces could face risks to their safety, according to United States officials.

The report concludes that only about half of Iraq’s operational units are capable enough for American commandos to advise them if the White House decides to help roll back the advances made by Sunni militants in northern and western Iraq over the past month.

Adding to the administration’s dilemma is the assessment’s conclusion that Iraqi forces loyal to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki are now heavily dependent on Shiite militias — many of which were trained in Iran — as well as on advisers from Iran’s paramilitary Quds Force....

July 9, 2014
By Chisaki Watanabe and Finbarr Flynn

Deutsche Bank (click here) plans to lend about $US1 billion ($1.06 billion) for Japanese solar projects, joining Goldman Sachs in funding cleaner energy as the government struggles to restart nuclear power plants after the Fukushima disaster.
The bank is ready to provide financing for three to six projects in the next 12 to 18 months, said Hans Van Der Sande, director of Deutsche Bank's structured products group at its Tokyo branch. The Frankfurt-based lender agreed last month to provide a 11.1 billion yen ($116 million) loan for a solar power project on a former golf course north of Tokyo to be operated by a unit of Spain's Gestamp Renewables Corp.
Japan may add the most solar power capacity in the world this year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, as a two- year-old incentive program attracted investors including Goldman Sachs. Even so, renewable energy accounts for less than 11 per cent of its total production, compared with 31 per cent in Germany, leaving the nation reliant on fuel imports after the closure of all of its atomic reactors and contributing to 23 straight months of trade deficits.
"Every time a country implements these very, very attractive standards you have a gold rush and that gold rush started two years ago," Van Der Sande said in an interview. "Now the water is kind of pulling back, smaller people are leaving and the real players are staying."
Deutsche Bank declined to disclose the interest rates for the solar loans. The average new lending rate in Japan was a record-low 0.779 per cent in May, according to central bank data. Average interest margins on dollar lending in the Asia-Pacific region outside of Japan were 2.35 percentage points so far in 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Israelis need to stop killing Palestinians. It isn't solving anything.

July 15, 2014
The Egyptian government (click here) on Monday evening proposed a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip, according to which the two sides would end “hostilities” as of 9 a.m.on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is to convene the security cabinet early Tuesday morning to discuss the proposal. 

Diplomatic officials said that Netanyahu was expected to encourage the other seven members of the security cabinet to accept the proposal, which would return the situation in Gaza to what it was before Operation Protective Edge began a week ago. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Economy Minister are expected to oppose the proposal in the security cabinet, but are unlikely to be able to prevent the forum from accepting it.

Some 48 hours after the cease fire goes into effect, Egypt is to convene representatives of both Israel and Hamas for further negotiations.
One diplomatic official said that the cease fire would be returned to what it was last Sunday, but “with Hamas much weaker."...

I do not believe Hamas is weaker. That is nothing but 'feel good' propaganda. The fact is Hamas is building better and stronger missiles right in Gaza. Israel brought it on themselves. Either Israel realizes the resolve of the people in Gaza is to end this conflict or never end it at all and needs to get real about a lasting peace.

The technology in Gaza is no longer a joke, is it? The Katyusha rockets were like throwing stones at Israel. That isn't the case anymore. Israelis may actually be looking at a real reason to end violence this time. If they don't and don't agree to Palestinian borders with the withdrawal of settlements, this may escalate and cost Israel more than it bargained for.

Until now, Israel had the upper hand. It would seem with this increased technology in Gaza the power structure is shifting. It is time to end the violence with the Palestinians, decide on permanent borders and remove settlements.

Palestine is no joke anymore, is it?

Deadly Hail Storm Batters Beachgoers in Siberia