Self-driving cars are being assessed as a "game changing" vehicle and a potential "lethal weapon" according to an internal FBI report, and could be exploited by criminals or terrorists seeking to program explosive-stuffed cars to be self-driving bombs.

The report was obtained by the Guardian after the newspaper made a public records request. FBI predictions included the statement that self-driving cars would ultimately "have a high impact on transforming what both law enforcement and its adversaries can operationally do with a car."

Criminal "multitasking" is being anticipated despite the potential beneficial impact on road safety, and there have been sporadic suggestions that the vehicles could operate as rolling bombing platforms for terrorists - a means by which to conduct suicide bombings without the suicide aspect.

Companies like Google are in the process of developing the self-driving cars which are without a steering wheel and would travel at just 25 mph.

The vehicles use a combination of lidar (laser ranging), radar, video cameras and GPS to overcome obstacles on the road and reach a destination safely.

While still a prototype, the possibility that the cars could "revolutionize" high speed car chases and other criminal activity is on the cards.

"Autonomy ... will make mobility more efficient, but will also open up greater possibilities for dual-use applications and ways for a car to be more of a potential lethal weapon that it is today," said the report.

In a flash, their lives changed dramatically. Alex was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and had to quit his job. Now he walks with a cane. A few weeks later, their young son Jonah was diagnosed with severe autism. Their medical costs suddenly soared as their incomes dwindled. To manage their finances as responsibly as they knew how, Alex and Melissa chose to live on cash. But they weren't making enough money to meet their bills. Without a credit history, they couldn't qualify for a bank loan. Desperate for something to tide them over, Melissa visited a payday lender.

"In the moment that we needed it, I was glad that it was there," she said. But soon, they were both trapped in a cycle of dependency that wracked up more than $1,700 in fees. With one diminished salary and rising medical costs, they couldn't make it alone. They needed the help of their neighbors to pay off the original loan.

The amount of that original loan? Just $450.

One of the fundamental principles of progressive economics is that a rich country should do what is reasonable to make life for the poor feel easier - even cheaper.

What does that mean? Medical care should feel cheaper, so we invented and expanded Medicaid. Food should feel cheaper, so we have food stamps. Mortgages should be cheaper, so banks offer mortgage write-downs for struggling households. Children should feel cheaper, so we offer tax credits for kids that phase out as income rises. Being unemployed should feel cheaper, so low-income workers receive a larger share of their pre-unemployment income. Going to college should feel cheaper, so many families don't pay the full sticker price. Working should feel cheaper, so the money you earn under $10,000 is taxed less than the money you earn over $100,000.

A couple of themes we explore here at The Watch are the increasing criminalization of just about everything and the use of the criminal justice system to address problems that were once (and better) handled by families, friends, communities and other institutions. A few examples from recent headlines show those themes intersecting with parenthood.

The first story comes from South Carolina, where a mother was jailed and charged with "unlawful conduct toward a child" for . . . leaving her 9-year-old daughter alone to play in a park. Lenore Skenazy of "Free Range Kids" comments:

Georgia - The Chattooga County School District has signed a five-year contract to use StudentConnect, a product that lets school districts and parents track students using ID cards that contain radio frequency identification device (RFID) chips. The program will be free of charge to the school system and optional for parents."The service is offered free of charge to the school system", said Kayode "Kay" Aladesuyi, chairman and CEO of East Coast Diversified Corp., the holding company that owns StudentConnect.

"StudentConnect plans to make money through advertising that will show up on parents' smartphones along with text messages or email notifications of their children's whereabouts."

Using the RFID badges is not being sold at cost to parents, however, it is being given away for free. It will know when and where students get on and off the bus and notify the bus drivers if a student gets on the wrong bus or fails to get off the bus.

Israel Is Winning the Propaganda War

Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza?

So far, Americans don't know or don't care ...

A new poll by Pew shows that only 14% of Americans sympathize with Palestinians, while 51% - including 73% of all Republicans and 44% of Democrats - sympathize with Israel:
Numerous other polls show similar results.

Jose Aguinelo dos Santos, who lives in an old people's home Bauru, Brazil, was, according to the document, born on July 7 1888 - making him 126 years old. If the certificate is genuine, he is the oldest person EVER - beating Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who was born in 1875, and died in the town of Arles in 1997 at the age of 122. The oldest man to ever live was Jiroemon Kimura, of Kyotango, Japan, who died aged 116 in June last year.

Mr dos Santos, who is known as Ze, has never married or had children, eats a plate of rice and beans and smokes a packet of cigarettes every day.

The former coffee plantation worker was born just two months after slavery was abolished in Brazil. He was born in a slave compound in the town of Pedra Branca in northeastern Brazil.

He told Brazil's G1 website there is no secret to living a long life: "The truth is that you just keep getting older. You take each stage at a time. If I got to this age it's because I've lived a lot, that's all."

Mariana Silva, psychologist at the Vila Vicentina home, said Jose has no health problems and is so lucid he still amuses other residents by cracking one-liners.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed - Martin Luther King
Once Again, Detroit Prosecutors have attempted to bring criminal charges against Detroit mother Maryanne Godboldo. And once again, they have failed.

On March 24, 2011, the Maryanne Godboldo case garnered international headlines when images of a battle-ready SWAT team, tanks and a helicopter, were unleashed upon a Detroit mother for refusing to administer a dangerous and potentially lethal antipsychotic drug to her daughter. The illegal seizure of the then 13-year old caused a firestorm of press and public outcry. By December 11th, 2011, nine months and numerous court battles later, Godboldo was acquitted of all charges based on the unconstitutional and illegal seizure of the child.

But Detroit prosecutors seemed hell bent on making an example of Maryanne Godboldo, attempting and failing twice in the last few months to prosecute Godboldo. Last Friday, July 11th, 2014, there was loud applause in the court when Judge Gregory Bill reaffirmed the dismissal of criminal charges against the Detroit mother for a second time this year.

Watch video to see Maryanne Godboldo describe all her fears coming true when the state took and force drugged her daughter:

The Ku Klux Klan is recruiting in South Carolina, leaving bags of candy and anti-immigration literature in people's driveways during the group's 'national night ride', its triannual membership drive.

Residents in a Seneca subdivision, a town of just over 8,000 in the northwest corner of the state, woke up Sunday morning to find bags of candy labelled, "Save our land, join the Klan." The flier also included the number of the "Klan Hotline," WHNS reported.

The voicemail at the number listed with the candy says, "Be a man join the Klan! Illegal immigration is destroying America," discusses immigration concerns and ends with, "always remember if it ain't white, it ain't right. White power."

One woman and her family found the candy when they ran it over on their way to church. She said it shocked her and made her angry.

Washington - Dozens of employees at Florida amusement parks, including Disney World, have been arrested in recent years for sex crimes involving children, according to an investigation by broadcaster CNN.

A Disney spokesperson confirmed the arrests to dpa on Tuesday. Police and court documents show at least 42 arrests since 2006 of amusement park employees, including 35 from Disney World in Orlando, Florida, two SeaWorld employees and five employees of Universal Studios amusement park.

Those arrested included security officers, tour guides, a costumer, salesmen in gift shops and others. None of the unrelated cases involved guests at the parks. Several of the arrests involved possession of child pornography or police sting operations in which men solicited sex with people they believed were minors.

Disney spokesperson Jacquee Wahler stressed the park's commitment to keeping children safe and noted extensive background checks on employees. "Providing a safe environment for children and families is a responsibility we take very seriously," she told dpa.

"The numbers reported by CNN represent one one-hundredth of 1 per cent of the 300 000 people we have employed during this time period."

Disney World employs 70 000 people at its resort in Florida.

Source: South African Press Association

The latest price-fixing scandal to hit Germany has seen 21 companies fined a total of €338m (£270m) for collusion on pricing its national dish - the humble sausage.

The country's Federal Cartel Office (FCO), fresh from slapping a similar penalty on 10 breweries and three sugar producers earlier this year, said it had found evidence of anti-competitive practice in the sausage sector going back years, leading to higher shop prices.

The national competition watchdog said: "Numerous statements and documentation prove that there was a 'fundamental understanding' to agree regularly on requests for price increases."

In addition to the companies involved, including Herta, the watchdog also levelled penalties against 33 individuals. It charted pricing activity among firms and company officials on the sidelines of an annual sausage industry summit.

The FCO explained that sausage makers had met legitimately for decades, but found some members were also conducting discussions and agreements over pricing - often in private phone calls.

In its latest annual report, which was published last week, the cartel office said it expected to issue a record number of fines for anti-competitive behaviour this year. Already in February, the watchdog fined three large sugar producers - Pfeifer & Langen, Suedzucker and Nordzucker - €280m (£220m) for price-fixing.

The breweries were fined more than €300m (£238m) at the beginning of the year for fixing beer prices between 2006 and 2008.