process technology: January 2012

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Forest Service to Jesus: You can stay _ for now

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2011 file photo, freshmen at the University of Montana, from left, Jake Coburn, Stephanie Ralls and Claire Dal Nogare, visit a statue of Jesus Christ at Whitefish Mountain Resort Whitefish, Mont. The U.S. Forest Service said Tuesday Jan. 31, 2012 it will re-authorize a permit for this 57-year-old statue of Jesus that had been facing eviction from this northwestern Montana ski resort.(AP Photo/Missoulian, Linda Thompson, File)

HELENA, Montana (AP) ? A mountaintop Jesus statue can stay at a ski resort in the western U.S. state of Montana ? for now.

The religious statue, which has been on federal land since 1955, was allowed to remain in place for at least 10 more years after the U.S. Forest Service reversed its eviction order Tuesday. The initial decision came amid heated debate over the separation of church and state as required by the U.S. Constitution.

The agency had faced a firestorm of criticism from religious groups, the state's congressman and residents after it decided last year to boot the Jesus statue from its hillside perch in the trees above Whitefish.

After the agency's about-face, opponents promised a lawsuit within the week. They argue the statue's free placement on federal land is unconstitutional.

The statue has been a curiosity at the famed Big Mountain ski hill for decades, mystifying skiers with its appearance in the middle of the woods as they cruise down a popular run.

The Forest Service said in its original decision that case law was stacked against such a statue. They previously argued rules prevented the federal government from favoring or promoting religion.

But Forest Service supervisor Chip Weber said the revised decision took into account that the statue is eligible for placement on National Register of Historic Places, and that no substantive concerns related to environmental conditions were found in about 95,000 comments received by the agency.

The latest decision renews a 10-year special-use permit for the Knights of Columbus Council, members of which placed the statue there.

"I understand the statue has been a long-standing object in the community since 1955, and I recognize that the statue is important to the community for its historical heritage based on its association with the early development of the ski area on Big Mountain," Weber said.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which argues the religious statue does not belong on public land, said it anticipated the agency's reversal. It argues that the Forest Service was breaching separation of church and state rules by leasing the small patch of land for the Jesus statue.

"We have no objection to shrines like these on private property. That is where they belong," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. "I think it will be very easy to show that this special permit is a sham."

Gaylor said the public comments received by the Forest Service do not make its decision any more constitutional.

"We think we have a very strong case. There is just no question that the Knights of Columbus should not be given a special use permit," she said.

U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, who had taken a prominent role in fighting for the statue, said Tuesday he would withdraw his legislation that offered the alternative to swap the small plot of federal land to Whitefish Mountain Resort in exchange for another nearby patch of ground.

"I'm glad that after hearing from more than 95,000 people, the Forest Service had the courage to do the right thing today," Rehberg said in a statement. "This victory belongs to everyone that took time to voice an opinion."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation also opposed the land swap as a public handout to a church group.

The statue has been maintained by the local Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, ever since members that included World War II veterans ? inspired by religious monuments they saw while fighting in the mountains of Europe ? erected the monument in 1955. The Knights have never been charged for use of the public land.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-01-31-US-Mountain-Jesus-Statue/id-e6e5519bceae461cbb884329d98bd7ca

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Jennifer Flavin to Join The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills?

Producers of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills are looking for new ladies to add to the mix, and the latest, rumored name attached to that endeavor is Jennifer Flavin.

She's the wife of Sylvester Stallone.

“The producers asked Jennifer Flavin to talk to them about being on the show,” a source close to the show said, supposedly, of the 43-year-old Mrs. Rocky.

Flavin and Sly have three kids together, have amassed a huge fortune and live in an enormous mansion in Beverly Hills. So it's a good fit on the surface.

Their neighbors include RHOBH star Adrienne Maloof and husband Paul Nassif, and Lisa Vanderpump reportedly just sold her $19 million home nearby.

Taylor Armstrong is reportedly terrified that she’s going to be axed from the hit show, and there is no doubting that Sly’s wife could add her own drama.

“Jennifer would be great on the show, she’s married to a super famous guy and she’s friends with a few of the women on the show,” the source said.

“She has her own business and she’s really successful all on her own. Plus she’s got a great personality that's tailor-made for Bravo and reality TV.”

Presumably that's a compliment?

Jennifer Flavin is no stranger to television, having appeared in competition style shows and having founded the skin care line Serious Skin Care.

Vanessa Bryant and Lisa Gastineau are also to rumored to be coming aboard, while Brandi Glanville was a popular new addition in Season 2.

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/jennifer-flavin-to-join-the-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills/

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Giants vs. Patriots II worth 4-year wait

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady talks to a friend as he leaves a news conference on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Indianapolis. The Patriots are scheduled to face the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

FILE - In this Jan. 19, 2012, file photo, New York Giants' Chris Canty (99), Osi Umenyiora (72), Jason Pierre-Paul (90) and Justin Tuck share a laugh during NFL football practice, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Four years after what many consider the best finish in Super Bowl history, the Giants and Patriots are facing off once more for the NFL championship. While there are no perfect records on the line this time, this matchup could be equally enticing.

It certainly looks that way heading into Sunday's big game. In 2008, with New England undefeated and having beaten New York in the regular-season finale, the Patriots were 12-point favorites. The spread now is 3, and the Giants beat them during the season.

Both teams are on quite a roll, too. The Patriots (15-3) have won 10 straight ? it was 18 in a row in '08 ? and the Giants (12-7) have five consecutive victories.

All of which matters not a bit, according to Bill Belichick, who will tie a record for head coaches with his fifth Super Bowl appearance.

"I've been asked about that game for several days now. All of the games in the past really don't mean that much at this point," said Belichick, 3-1 in NFL title games. "This game is about this team this year. There aren't really a lot of us coaches and players who were involved in that game, and very few players, in relative terms, between both teams. We are where we are now, and we're different than where we were earlier in the season. The Giants are where they are now, and I think they're different than where they were at different points of the season. To take it back years and years before that, I don't think it has too much bearing on anything."

The loss still reverberates for former Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin.

"It was like getting punched in the stomach," he said. "I still can't watch the highlights from that game because of the opportunity we missed out on was so grand

Having come this far before is immeasurably helpful, according to Justin Tuck, the leader of the Giants' defense whose return to health and form has keyed New York's resurgence. He says the experience of four years ago in the Arizona desert will benefit everyone.

"The only thing that I tell the younger guys is make football football," Tuck said. "Don't make this game bigger than it has to be. Everybody around you is going to make it bigger, but we have to concentrate on why we're going out there. There's going to be a lot of parties. There's going to be a lot of people pulling at your coattail. Listen, if you go out there and you handle your business and you win this game, you can party all you want to after that.

"For me, personally, the first time I went to a Super Bowl I approached it as such ? as a once in a lifetime thing."

For Tuck, it wasn't. And while the defense he leads to Indianapolis isn't quite as overwhelming as the unit that made life miserable for Tom Brady in '08, it has been reinvigorated as the Giants surged to the NFC championship. It also is just as deep as the group that sacked Brady five times, hit him nine more ? Osi Umenyiora claimed he had that many hits alone ? and unnerved the usually unflappable star.

Today, it's Tuck, Umenyiora, All-Pro Jason Pierre-Paul, Dave Tollefson and linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka, who compare favorably with Umenyiora, Tuck, Michael Strahan, Jay Alford and LB Antonio Pierce in 2008.

Other than head coaches Belichick and New York's Tom Coughlin, that is the most common element between the two Super Bowls.

"It's been a strength of their team for as long as I can remember," Brady said. "Michael Strahan, as great of a player as he was, I think we played them in 2003 and they were still harassing the quarterback. It seems like they always have guys who can rush the quarterback. Justin Tuck is as good as they come. Osi week in and week out, he's a player who can ruin a game for an offense. You look at the group they have now, and they have a ton of depth at the defensive line position."

Controversial receivers Randy Moss and Plaxico Burress have been replaced by skilled playmakers like tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez in New England, wideouts Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz in New York. Eli Manning no longer is a question as Giants quarterback, and has carried the offense much the way running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw did in the past.

Lawrence Tynes kicked the Giants into the Super Bowl in overtime in '08 and ? incredibly ? this year, too. Wes Welker led the Patriots with 112 catches that season and had 122 in this one.

Sixteen Giants remain from the 17-14 Super Bowl victory, and only seven Patriots are still around.

Similarities and differences, all juicy elements for Giants-Patriots II.

Here we go again.

___

AP Sports Writers Tom Canavan and Mike Marot contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-30-Super%20Bowl-Here%20We%20Go%20Again/id-a3a3622cbf764b139e865b43949da72a

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Paying To Serve: Microsoft Offers Accelerator-Backed Startups $60,000* In Azure Cloud Usage

The perks of getting into a top startup accelerator just got a little better. Microsoft is now offering startups in its new BizSpark Plus program?$60,000 worth of costs for using its Azure cloud computing program. This includes any company that's a part of TechStars?or?its affiliated Global Accelerator Network, as well as Seedcamp, Dogpatch Labs, and a list of others. Let's say your hot new startup has just launched to the public, gotten TechCrunched, and is dealing with its big first wave of traffic. This deal will let you quickly scale up to meet the demand without blowing your seed funding on emergency virtual machines. An open cloud services platform, Azure works with major development languages including node.js, java, php and Microsoft's own . net, among others -- the point, from Microsoft's perspective, is to get in with the next batch of companies before they get hooked on offerings from rivals like Amazon.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/lQGCxRXUvpE/

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Pythons apparently wiping out Everglades mammals

In this November 14, 2009 photo provided by the University of Florida, University of Florida researchers hold a 162-pound Burmese python captured in Everglades National Park, Fla. Therese Walters, left, Alex Wolf and Michael R. Rochford, right, are holding the 15-foot snake shortly after the python ate a six-foot American alligator. The National Academy of Science report released Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, indicates that the proliferation of pythons coincides with a sharp decrease of mammals in the park. (AP Photo/ University of Florida, Michael R. Rochford)

In this 2009 photo provided by the National Park Service, a Burmese python is wrapped around an American alligator in Everglades National Park, Fla. The National Academy of Science report released Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, indicates that the proliferation of pythons coincides with a sharp decrease of mammals in the park. (AP Photo/National Park Service, Lori Oberhofer)

In this Jan. 17, 2012 file photo, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, center, and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., left, look at at 13-foot python held by National Park Service Supervisor Ranger Al Mercado in the Everglades, Fla. The National Academy of Science report released Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, indicates that the proliferation of pythons coincides with a sharp decrease of mammals in the park. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

In this 2009 photo provided by the University of Florida a researcher holds a Burmese python near her nest in Everglades National Park, Fla. The National Academy of Science report released Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, indicates that the proliferation of pythons coincides with a sharp decrease of mammals in the park. (AP Photo/ University of Florida, Jemeema Carrigan)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? A burgeoning population of huge pythons ? many of them pets that were turned loose by their owners when they got too big ? appears to be wiping out large numbers of raccoons, opossums, bobcats and other mammals in the Everglades, a study says.

The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that sightings of medium-size mammals are down dramatically ? as much as 99 percent, in some cases ? in areas where pythons and other large, non-native constrictor snakes are known to be lurking.

Scientists fear the pythons could disrupt the food chain and upset the Everglades' environmental balance in ways difficult to predict.

"The effects of declining mammal populations on the overall Everglades ecosystem, which extends well beyond the national park boundaries, are likely profound," said John Willson, a research scientist at Virginia Tech University and co-author of the study.

Tens of thousands of Burmese pythons, which are native to Southeast Asia, are believed to be living in the Everglades, where they thrive in the warm, humid climate. While many were apparently released by their owners, others may have escaped from pet shops during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and have been reproducing ever since.

Burmese pythons can grow to be 26 feet long and more than 200 pounds, and they have been known to swallow animals as large as alligators. They and other constrictor snakes kill their prey by coiling around it and suffocating it.

The National Park Service has counted 1,825 Burmese pythons that have been caught in and around Everglades National Park since 2000. Among the largest so far was a 156-pound, 16.4-foot one captured earlier this month.

For the study, researchers drove 39,000 miles along Everglades-area roads from 2003 through 2011, counting wildlife spotted along the way and comparing the results with surveys conducted on the same routes in 1996 and 1997.

The researchers found staggering declines in animal sightings: a drop of 99.3 percent among raccoons, 98.9 percent for opossums, 94.1 percent for white-tailed deer and 87.5 percent for bobcats. Along roads where python populations are believed to be smaller, declines were lower but still notable.

Rabbits and foxes, which were commonly spotted in 1996 and 1997, were not seen at all in the later counts. Researchers noted slight increases in coyotes, Florida panthers, rodents and other mammals, but discounted that finding because so few were spotted overall.

"The magnitude of these declines underscores the apparent incredible density of pythons in Everglades National Park," said Michael Dorcas, a professor at Davidson College in North Carolina and lead author of the study.

Although scientists cannot definitively say the pythons are killing off the mammals, the snakes are the prime suspect. The increase in pythons coincides with the mammals' decrease, and the decline appears to grow in magnitude with the size of the snakes' population in an area. A single disease appears unlikely to be the cause since several species were affected.

The report says the effect on the overall ecosystem is hard to predict. Declines among bobcats and foxes, which eat rabbits, could be linked to pythons' feasting on rabbits. On the flip side, declines among raccoons, which eat eggs, may help some turtles, crocodiles and birds.

Scientists point with concern to what happened in Guam, where the invasive brown tree snake has killed off birds, bats and lizards that pollinated trees and flowers and dispersed seeds. That has led to declines in native trees, fish-eating birds and certain plants.

In 2010, Florida banned private ownership of Burmese pythons. Earlier this month, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a federal ban on the import of Burmese pythons and three other snakes.

Salazar said Monday that the study shows why such restrictions were needed.

"This study paints a stark picture of the real damage that Burmese pythons are causing to native wildlife and the Florida economy," he said.

___

Follow Matt Sedensky at www.twitter.com/sedensky

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-30-US-SCI-Everglades-Pythons/id-de32cf2156d04dd7a11cae30f2238ab3

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300 arrested in daylong Occupy Oakland protests

Occupy Oakland protestors burn an American flag found inside Oakland City Hall during an Occupy Oakland protest on the steps of City Hall, Saturday, January 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)

A woman pleads with Occupy Oakland protestors to not burn an American flag found inside Oakland City Hall during an Occupy Oakland protest, Saturday, January 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. Police were in the process of arresting about 100 Occupy protesters for failing to disperse Saturday night, hours after officers used tear gas on a rowdy group of demonstrators who threw rocks and flares at them and tore down fences. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)

Oakland Police block the entrance to City Hall after Occupy Oakland protestors gained access into the building during an Occupy Oakland protest, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. Oakland officials say police are in the process of arresting about 100 Occupy protesters for failing to disperse on Saturday. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)

Oakland police block off a street in downtown Oakland during an Occupy Oakland protest, Saturday, January 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. Police were in the process of arresting about 100 Occupy protesters for failing to disperse Saturday night, hours after officers used tear gas on a rowdy group of demonstrators who threw rocks and flares at them and tore down fences. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)

An Oakland City police officer stomps out a burning American flag after Occupy Oakland protestors set City Hall's flag on fire during an Occupy Oakland protest, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) ? About 300 people were arrested Saturday during a chaotic day of Occupy protests that saw demonstrators break into City Hall and burn an American flag, as police earlier fired tear gas and bean bags to disperse hundreds of people after some threw rocks and bottles and tore down fencing outside a nearby convention center.

Dozens of police officers remained on guard outside City Hall around midnight following the most turbulent day of protests since November, when Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment. An exasperated Mayor Jean Quan, who faced heavy criticism for the police action last fall, called on the Occupy movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."

"People in the community and people in the Occupy movement have to stop making excuses for this behavior," Quan said.

Protesters clashed with police throughout the day, at times throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at officers. And police responded by deploying smoke, tear gas and bean bag rounds, City Administrator Deanna Santanta said.

"These demonstrators stated their intention was to provoke officers and engage in illegal activity and that's exactly what has occurred today," Santana said.

Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said about 300 arrests were made.

The group assembled outside City Hall late Saturday morning and marched through the streets, disrupting traffic as they threatened to take over the vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center.

The protesters walked to the vacant convention center, where some started tearing down perimeter fencing and "destroying construction equipment" shortly before 3 p.m., police said.

Police said they issued a dispersal order and used smoke and tear gas after some protesters pelted them with bottles, rocks, burning flares and other objects.

The number of demonstrators swelled as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging from about 1,000 to 2,000 people.

A majority of the arrests came after police took scores of protesters into custody as they marched through the city's downtown, with some entering a YMCA building, said Sgt. Jeff Thomason, a police spokesman.

Around the same time police were taking people into custody near the YMCA, about dozens of officers surrounded City Hall, while others swept the inside of the building looking for protesters who had broken into the building, then ran out of the building with American flags before officers arrived.

The protest group issued an email criticizing police, saying "Occupy Oakland's building occupation, an act of constitutionally protected civil disobedience was disrupted by a brutal police response today."

Michael Davis, 32, who is originally from Ohio and was in the Occupy movement in Cincinnati, said Saturday was a very hectic day that originally started off calm but escalated when police began using "flash bangs, tear gas, smoke grenades and bean bags."

"It was very emotional. I thought it was a very good day for the movement because it brought us back together," Davis said. "We all were here in spirit and everybody actually helped everyone today.

"What could've been handled differently is the way the Oakland police came at us," Davis said. "We were peaceful."

Quan blamed the destruction on a small "very radical, violent" splinter group within Occupy Oakland.

"This is not a situation where we had a 1,000 peaceful people and a few violent people. If you look at what's happening today in terms of destructing property, throwing at and charging the police, it's almost like they are begging for attention and hoping that the police will make an error."

Quan said that at one point, many forced their way into City Hall, where they burned flags, broke an electrical box and damaged several art structures, including a recycled art exhibit created by children.

"City Hall is closed for the weekend. There is no excuse for behavior we've witnessed this evening," City Council President Larry Reid said during a news briefing Saturday. "It's just unacceptable and makes absolutely no sense for the type of behavior we've seen on the streets in the city of Oakland today."

Oakland Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, echoed Reid's sentiments and said that what was going on amounts to "domestic terrorism."

"This is domestic terrorism and we cannot allow this to continue because something even more worse could really happen," De La Fuente said.

The demonstration comes after Occupy protesters said earlier this week that they planned to move into a vacant building and turn it into a social center and political hub. They also threatened to try to shut down the port, occupy the airport and take over City Hall.

Oakland officials said Friday that since the Occupy Oakland encampment was first established in late October, police have arrested about 300 people.

The national Occupy Wall Street movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, began in New York City in the fall but has been largely dormant lately.

Oakland, New York and Los Angeles were among the cities with the largest and most vocal Occupy protests early on. The demonstrations ebbed after those cities used force to move out hundreds of demonstrators who had set up tent cities.

In Oakland, the police department received heavy criticism for using force to break up earlier protests. Among the critics was Mayor Jean Quan, who said she wasn't briefed on the department's plans.

On Saturday, Quan seemed to have changed her tune on how police have been handling the demonstrations and protests.

"Our officers have been very measured," Quan said. "Were there some mistakes made? There may be. I would say the Oakland police and our allies, so far a small percentage of mistakes. "But quite frankly, a majority of protesters who were charging the police were clearly not being peaceful.

Earlier this month, a court-appointed monitor submitted a report to a federal judge that included "serious concerns" about the department's handling of the Occupy protests.

Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said late Saturday that he was in "close contact" with the federal monitor during the protests.

Quan added, "If the demonstrators think that because we are working more closely with the monitor now that we won't do what we have to do to uphold the law and try keep people safe in this city, they're wrong."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-29-Occupy%20Oakland/id-9b72d1b0b9954fbfa2dc86fe47dd9c35

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Syria troops battle to retake Damascus suburbs (Reuters)

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) ? Around 2,000 Syrian troops backed by tanks launched an assault to retake Damascus suburbs from rebels on Sunday, activists said, a day after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of worsening violence.

They said 19 civilians and rebel fighters were killed as the soldiers in armoured personnel carriers moved in at dawn, along with at least 50 tanks and other armoured vehicles.

The forces of President Bashar al-Assad pushed into the Ghouta area on the eastern edge of Damascus to take part in an offensive in the suburbs of Saqba, Hammouriya and Kfar Batna.

Tanks advanced into the centre of Saqba and Kfar Batna, the activists said, in a move to flush out fighters who had taken over districts less than eight km (five miles) from Assad's centre of power.

"It's urban war. There are bodies in the street," said one activist, speaking from Kfar Batna. Activists said 14 civilians and five insurgents from the rebel Free Syrian Army were killed there and in other suburbs.

Residents of central Damascus, which has remained relatively calm throughout Syria's 10-month crisis, reported seeing soldiers and police deployed around main squares to prevent unrest spreading into the heart of the capital.

The escalating bloodshed prompted the Arab League to suspend the work of its monitors on Saturday. Arab foreign ministers, who have urged Assad to step down and make way for a government of national unity, will discuss the crisis on February 5.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby left for New York where he will brief representatives of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to seek support for an Arab peace plan that calls on Assad to step aside after months of protests.

He will be joined by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, whose country heads the League's committee charged with overseeing Syria.

Speaking shortly before he left Cairo on Sunday, Elaraby said he hoped to overcome resistance from Beijing and Moscow over endorsing the Arab proposals. "There are contacts with China and Russia on this issue," he said.

A Syrian government official was quoted by state media as saying Damascus was surprised by the Arab League decision to suspend monitoring, which would "put pressure on (Security Council) deliberations with the aim of calling for foreign intervention and encouraging armed groups to increase violence."

Assad blames the violence on foreign-backed militants.

ARMY DEATHS

The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a total of 41 civilian deaths across Syria on Sunday, including 14 in Homs province and 12 in the city of Hama. Thirty-one soldiers and members of the security forces were also killed, most of them in two attacks by army deserters in the northern province of Idlib, it said.

State news agency SANA reported the military funerals of 28 soldiers and police on Saturday and another 23 on Sunday.

Faced with mass demonstrations against his rule, Assad launched a military crackdown to subdue the protests. Growing numbers of army deserters and gunmen have joined the demonstrators, increasing instability in the country of 23 million people at the heart of the Middle East.

The insurgency has been gradually approaching the capital, whose suburbs, a series of mainly conservative Sunni Muslim towns bordering old gardens and farmland, known as the al-Ghouta, are home to the bulk of Damascus's population.

One activist reported heavy shelling in the suburb of Saqba, and said the army was facing stiff opposition from rebels.

Another, who identified himself as Raid, said mosques had been turned into field hospitals and were appealing for blood supplies. "They cut off the electricity. Petrol stations are empty and the army is preventing people from leaving to get fuel for generators or heating," he said.

The Damascus suburbs have seen large demonstrations demanding the removal of Assad, a member of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that has dominated the mostly Sunni Muslim country for the last five decades.

TOWN BESIEGED

In Rankous, 30 km (20 miles) north of Damascus by the Lebanese border, Assad's forces have killed at least 33 people in recent days in an attack to dislodge army defectors and insurgents, activists and residents said on Sunday.

Rankous, a mountain town of 25,000 people, has been under tank fire since Wednesday, when several thousand troops laid siege to it, they said.

France, which has been leading calls for stronger international action on Syria, said the Arab League decision highlighted the need to act.

"France vigorously condemns the dramatic escalation of violence in Syria, which has led the Arab League to suspend its observers' mission in Syria," the Foreign Ministry said.

"Dozens of Syrian civilians have been killed in the past days by the savage repression taken by the Syrian regime ... Those responsible for these barbarous acts must answer to their crimes," it said.

The Arab League mission was sent in at the end of last year to observe Syria's implementation of the peace plan, which failed to end the fighting. Gulf states withdrew monitors last week, saying the team could not stop the violence.

The United Nations said in December more than 5,000 people had been killed in the protests and crackdown. Syria says more than 2,000 security force members have been killed by militants.

On Friday, the U.N. Security Council discussed a European-Arab draft resolution aimed at halting the bloodshed. Britain and France said they hoped to put it to a vote next week.

Russia joined China in vetoing a previous Western draft resolution in October, and has said it wants a Syrian-led political process, not "an Arab League-imposed outcome" or Libyan-style "regime change."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/wl_nm/us_syria

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Changes in wake of troubled arms trafficking probe

Attorney General Eric Holder announces the formation of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. President Barack Obama directed Holder to collaborate with several state attorneys general and other federal entities to investigate those responsible for misconduct contributing to the financial crisis through the pooling and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. This working group will be operated out of the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which is chaired by Holder. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Justice Department is tightening procedures for responding to information requests from Congress in the aftermath of a troubled arms trafficking investigation.

In Operation Fast and Furious, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed hundreds of weapons to flow across the border into Mexico.

The Justice Department told three congressional committees in a letter Friday night that it has improved coordination between agents and their managers in carrying out arms trafficking investigations.

Attorney General Eric Holder probably will face questions about the changes when he testifies Thursday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. That committee has been investigating the department's mistakes in the probe since early last year.

In a letter last February to Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the department said that ATF had not authorized the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser and that the agency makes every effort to intercept weapons that have been purchased illegally.

Yet in Operation Fast and Furious, both statements turned out to be incorrect because the ATF office in Phoenix, Ariz., had undertaken a risky tactic known as "gun-walking" in an unsuccessful effort to track small-time illicit gun buyers to the heads of major arms trafficking networks.

Many of the guns wound up at crime scenes in Mexico and the U.S., including the scene of a killing near Nogales, Ariz., where U.S. border agent Brian Terry was slain. Two guns connected to Fast and Furious were found at the scene of Terry's murder.

Some ATF agents with direct knowledge of what had gone on with Operation Fast and Furious were talking to Grassley's office. In contrast, the Justice Department was relying on information from top ATF officials in Washington and the U.S. attorney in Phoenix, who all incorrectly denied that ATF was allowing weapons purchases by "straw" buyers to transport guns into Mexico.

In the letter to Congress on Friday night, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said the department must solicit information directly from employees with detailed personal knowledge of the subject matter at issue and consult records relevant to the inquiry if such records are available.

"Recognize that, in some instances, the employees with the most relevant information may already have made protected disclosures on the subject to Congress or others," the letter said.

The department emphasized its commitment to protecting the rights of whistleblowers, but added that the Whistleblower Protection Act does not bar the department from seeking relevant information directly from employees who have made protected disclosures.

Doing so, the letter said, is necessary "to ensure the accuracy and completeness" of information provided to Congress.

The ATF has expanded the opportunities for employees to raise work-related concerns and stressed the need for supervisory level officials to be receptive to those concerns, Cole's letter adds. In other changes, the ATF:

?told all of its agents that they must take all reasonable steps to prevent a firearm's criminal misuse and that early intervention may be necessary to prevent trafficking.

?has improved coordination between field agents and headquarters personnel in Washington.

?engaged in training for agents in Arizona and New Mexico with a renewed emphasis on intercepting illicit weapons shipments.

?is giving agents a direct line of communication to the agency's second-in-command.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-29-Fast%20and%20Furious/id-5a5ea9c7f0364052ad3badbac240654a

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CARPE DIEM: Modern Automotive Manufacturing

At 1/27/2012 3:29 PM,

?Che is dead said...

Here's a video of another high tech auto assembly plant: Fords Camacari assembly plant in Brazil. This plant would have been built in the U.S. except for the objections from the UAW.

At 1/27/2012 5:23 PM,

?Sprewell said...

Che's video is much better: that's a real factory, not the glorified showcase that VW built. What I'd like to see is a real cost breakdown of why Ford built that factory in Brazil, how much of it was due to labor costs vs regulatory costs, whether due to govt laws or union rules.

At 1/27/2012 5:30 PM,

?sethstorm said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

At 1/27/2012 5:35 PM,

?sethstorm said...

So basically it's a car factory for cars not meant for mere mortals to afford. Now if that was used for cars that regular people could afford, that would be a far better demonstration.

That, and I wonder if it adheres any bit to the rule of the workers being able to afford it - or if they have to settle for the typical I4 golfcart of Europe.

Here's a video of another high tech auto assembly plant: Fords Camacari assembly plant in Brazil.

So that's what passes for a golfcart down there.

I wonder if they have their own Ford Security to commit thuggery on behalf of the company should workers attempt to become more than just slaves.

That kind of supplier integration is a threat as well, for it makes it easier for Ford to treat workers worse by dividing them up.

At 1/27/2012 6:02 PM,

?Che is dead said...

"I wonder if they have their own Ford Security to commit thuggery on behalf of the company ... That kind of supplier integration is a threat as well, for it makes it easier for Ford to treat workers worse by dividing them up." -- sethstorm

Not to worry, no UAW workers were harmed in the making of this film. Neither were any of the thousands of Brazilians who now have good jobs thanks to the UAWs greed and stupidity.

At 1/27/2012 6:12 PM,

?sethstorm said...

Che is dead said...

My point is that they have somewhere where the Battle of the Overpass doesn't go in the worker's favor, but that the people & photographs get disappeared. Thus all you might see are happy people with trains all running on time, much like a Potemkin Village.

At 1/28/2012 5:55 AM,

?Larry G said...

to be fair, two things that have been the initial focus of unions in the US - health care and retirement pensions are not major union issues in many other countries that have universal health care and their own version of social security - and both are entirely portable from one job to the next.

but I had a similar reaction when looking at the video.. I think even "assembly" work is not THAT "clean" but all those car parts that are part of the assembly process are done in steel mills and stamping plants... which are far different looking that the process shown in the videos.

At 1/28/2012 7:57 AM,

?sethstorm said...

Source: http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2012/01/modern-automotive-manufacturing.html

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Arab League confirms will freeze Syria mission (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? The Arab League's monitoring mission to Syria has been frozen given the escalation of violence in the country, the Arab League said in a statement on Saturday.

"It has been decided to immediately stop the work of the Arab League's mission to Syria pending presentation of the issue to the league's council," the Secretary-General of the Arab League said in a statement.

The mission would remain in Syria, a source at the league had earlier told Reuters, but would temporarily freeze its work.

The head of the monitoring mission, Ambassador Adnan al-Khodeir, had earlier said that the General Secretariat of the league would take all the necessary procedures to protect the safety of its monitors in Syria.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_syria

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Drunk Green Robots [Android Quick App]

What's more fun than playing a game on your Android phone? Drinking while playing a game on your Android phone, of course. Enter Drunk Green Robots, a new app from fiveHellions development. It's easy to get started, just grab a friend or two, a bottle of Kentucky's finest (or less than finest works, too), and your Android phone. It's the high/low black/red game most of us know, but instead of using a deck of cards you use your Android.

Dares are included, and the less risqué package is free to download, but the raunchier and more sexually explicit ones require an in-app purchase of "shots". You get 100 shots for a buck, and ad-removal costs a 100 shots as does the "naughty" dare pack. It's not going to break the bank. And everybody knows being naughty is always better while drinking, right? Anyways, you take a turn guessing if the next card will be higher or lower than the current, or what color it will be. If you're correct, your turn ends and you pass your phone to the next player. If you're not correct you ~~win~~ lose and have to either take a shot, or a random dare. I'd recommend the shot, but to each their own.

It's silly, it's fun, and involves getting hammered. If you're of age (stay safe kids), check out a few screenshots and grab it for free using the link after the break. Try not to drop your phone.

Via: Android Central games forum

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/OwKFeeNyATI/story01.htm

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UC Merced research project examines South Dos Palos

No jobs, a lack of infrastructure, a delay in fire and law enforcement response and many loose dogs roaming the streets.

Those are among the findings from a research project aimed at gathering information on one of the poorest communities in Merced County.

The needs and challenges of the small unincorporated rural town of South Dos Palos mirror those of other small rural communities in the Central Valley.

South Dos Palos is a community with one of the widest disparities of poverty, said Robin DeLugan, a professor at UC Merced, who led the research, which will be a part of a bigger project. DeLugan said the project confirmed what she and others already knew.

However, there wasn't concrete information using statistics and percentages about the community's specific needs to really represent what's going on, she said.

This project intended to do just that.

"We were waiting for an opportunity to show where research can make a difference," she said.

Talking with residents

Last spring, a group of 30 undergraduate students went door-to-door to try to get information from residents about local conditions. DeLugan said they were able to get information from about 215 households, which represents about 70 percent of the occupied homes in South Dos Palos.

Some of the information was about public safety, how long residents have to travel for groceries and medical services and what they like or dislike about their community. "We are hoping the information becomes useful in shedding light on the community," DeLugan said.

The data can be used for grant writing to help improve the community. "Those are our goals with the data that we collected," DeLugan said.

Some of the problems indicated by residents aren't so hard to solve. For example, one safety issue was an excess of loose dogs, which can be addressed, she said.

Students spent last fall analyzing the data. On Sunday, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., there will be an exhibit of their work at the UC Merced Kolligian Library, Room 355.

The next step will be to disseminate information to the residents and get them involved in making changes.

A portion of the survey used for South Dos Palos residents will be used in other rural unincorporated communities in the Central Valley, which will bring opportunities for comparison, DeLugan said.

DeLugan and her team, along with such other organizations as the Community University Research and Action for Justice, California Rural Legal Assistance and PolicyLink, began to work with the George Washington Carver Center board members to collect the data. The Carver Center is a community center in Dos Palos.

Reporter Yesenia Amaro can be reached at (209) 385-2482 or yamaro@mercedsunstar.com.

Source: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/01/26/2207369/uc-merced-research-project-examines.html

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Listen to the Engadget Mobile Podcast with special guest CrackBerry Kevin, Friday at 5PM ET!

A lot of Canada news this week, which is why three of the four podcasters behind the mic today are from the land up north: international man of mystery Sean Cooper, Myriam Joire (yep, she's got some Canadian blood in her) and our special guest Kevin Michaluk -- also known to millions as CrackBerry Kevin. Brad Molen's here too, and while he's admittedly all US of A through and through, he can still say "eh" like the best of 'em. We kid, of course, but we're serious that we want you to join us tomorrow afternoon at 5PM ET!

Note: Oh, and there's plenty of other stuff to talk about as well, so if RIM isn't your schtick, you'll probably still find it of interest. As always, send your questions to us via Twitter (@engadgetmobile) and we'll pick some out to answer.

January 27, 2012 5:00 PM EST

Listen to the Engadget Mobile Podcast with special guest CrackBerry Kevin, Friday at 5PM ET! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/engadget-mobile-podcast/

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ZTE Score (Cricket Wireless)

How does this sound to you: $65 per month for unlimited talk, text, Web, and music with no contract. Pretty good, right? The catch: you're stuck accessing it all with a mediocre Android smartphone. That's the dilemma you face with the ZTE Score ($69.99) for Cricket Wireless. It's a great deal, in need of a better phone.

Design, Call Quality, and Plan Pricing
The ZTE Score measures 4.4 by 2.5 by .5 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.5 ounces. The front and back are made of glass, with a thick ring of matte black plastic separating the two. It looks sharp, and its size makes it comfortable to hold and use. The 3.5-inch touch screen sports 320-by-480-pixel resolution, which is standard for budget Android phones. The onscreen keyboard is a bit small, but I didn't have any trouble typing on it.

The Score is a triband EV-DO Rev A (850/1700/1900 MHz) device with 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. It connected to my?WPA2-encrypted Wi-Fi network?without a problem, but reception on Sprint's network here in New York was shaky and voice quality is mixed. Cricket uses its own network in about a third of the country, and Sprint's network in the rest.

Volume is low in the earpiece, and voices sounded thin and robotic. Calls made with the phone are easy to understand, but again voices sounded computerized and background noise cancellation was poor. Calls sounded better through a Jawbone Era?Bluetooth headset ($129, 4.5 stars) and voice dialing worked fine over Bluetooth without training. The speakerphone sounds fine, but its volume is far too low to use outside. Battery life was on the short side at 4 hours, 49 minutes of talk time.

Cricket offers unlimited smartphone plans with its downloadable Muve Music service for $65/month, which is more affordable than all the major carriers but still more expensive than Boost Mobile's $55/month smartphone plan, which can actually reduce to $40/month as you pay your bills on time. But that extra $10 per month for unlimited music is an attractive option, and one that will likely be a deciding factor for many users. MetroPCS recently started offering a similar plan where $60 per month will get you unlimited talk, text, and Web, along with unlimited music via Rhapsody. (Without Rhapsody, that plan costs $50.)

OS, Multimedia, and Conclusions
The Score runs Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread). There's no word on an update to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), and don't count on one. ZTE has added some light customizations to Android, but they're mostly visual. There are five home screens you can swipe between, and the phone feels surprisingly responsive given its outdated 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7627 processor.

You get all of usual perks of Android, which include native support for Microsoft Exchange; free Google Maps Navigation for voice-enabled, turn-by-turn GPS directions; a solid?WebKit browser; and compatibility with more than 300,000 third-party apps in the Android Market.

There's a side-mounted microSD card slot on the right side of the phone. Slip the included card out and you'll notice it says "3GB Muve Music, 1GB Your Space." That means the card is divided into two partitions, and the Muve partition is hidden and encrypted. You can only see the extra 1GB on a PC. You also can't use standard MicroSD memory cards for Muve. Cricket doesn't yet sell the special cards the phone accepts, though replacement 4GB and 8GB cards are in the works.

In addition to the 1GB on the microSD card, there's also 110MB of free internal storage. Music sounded fine through both wired earbuds and?Altec Lansing Backbeat?Bluetooth headphones ($99, 3.5 stars), though bass response was somewhat lacking. Outside of Muve, the Score was able to handle AAC, MP3, OGG, and WAV music files. DivX, H.264, and MP4 video files played back smoothly at resolutions up to 800-by-480.

The 3.2-megapixel camera is weak. Test photos look average outdoors, but photos taken inside appear soft and blurry, almost hazy, like a scene from a bad music video. The camera also records video at a low 352-by-288-pixel resolution. Videos are tiny and grainy, and play back at a choppy 12 frames per second indoors, and 15 frames per second outside.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/b18CeTB6GTk/0,2817,2399408,00.asp

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Friday, January 27, 2012

The World's Fastest Movie Is Shot at A Quadrillion FPS [Science]

Click here to read The World's Fastest Movie Is Shot at A Quadrillion FPS

The Hobbit being shot 48 fps? Pathetic. MIT's trillion fps camera? Pokey at best. Just wait until you see the video a team of German researchers have created. It's two frames long, lasts just 50 femtoseconds, and doesn't star Nic Cage. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Jq2rJAP43eU/the-worlds-fastest-movie-is-shot-at-a-quadrillion-fps

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India's Razzies poke fun at "indulgent" Bollywood (Reuters)

MUMBAI (Reuters) ? Bollywood stars better watch out. Movie fans in India are handing out their own version of the Razzies, the annual Oscars spoof that spotlights Hollywood's worst performances.

The second Ghanta (bell) Awards and the fourth Golden Kela (golden banana) awards are doing the rounds of social media networks, with fans voting in various categories for the worst films of 2011.

The rise of what is known as the "multiplex audience," urban viewers who have a taste for edgier cinema and the spending power to watch it, has meant that Bollywood is exploring newer storylines and bolder themes.

But Indian actors and film makers continuing with stale family melodramas and bad scripts risk being pilloried by urban audiences exposed to top-notch Hollywood films who now expect the same standards in India.

This year, the Ghantas also have a holier-than-thou film award, for "indulgent film makers."

"These are typically personal stories that do not cater to mass sensibilities," says Karan Anshuman, film critic and co-founder of The Ghanta Awards.

"Here, films are inspired by the grammar of world cinema and not so much Bollywood," says Anshuman.

"And while this is an encouraging step toward making available different cinemas to an audience, more often than not the movies are ineptly made and just plain bad and silly."

With categories like "Most Atrocious lyrics," "Worst Rip-Off" and "Worst Holier-than-thou films," fans can take potshots at the worst of Bollywood cinema from the past year.

Big-ticket stars Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan are nominated in the worst actor categories at The Ghantas while the Shah Rukh Khan caper "Don 2" has been nominated in the "Worst Rip-Off" category for imitating "every Hollywood action film."

The response from the Indian online community has been encouraging. A day after voting began, more than a thousand users had cast their votes for the Ghantas. More than 300,000 people cast their votes for The Golden Kelas last year.

Organizers aren't counting on the same support from the Indian film industry.

"Bollywood isn't really known for laughing at itself and frankly has zero sense of humor," says Anshuman.

Organizers of the Golden Kela awards, which last year awarded the Worst Actor award to Shah Rukh Khan, say no Bollywood star or film maker shows up to claim their prizes.

This week, film maker Anurag Kashyap tweeted he would collect his Ghanta award in person if his film "That Girl in Yellow Boots" wins in the "holier-than-thou" category.

While the Ghantas will be announced in February in Mumbai, the Golden Kela award ceremony will be held in New Delhi in March.

(Reporting By Shilpa Jamkhandikar, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/stage_nm/us_bollywood_razzies

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Piazza and Liberation map impressions (Digital Trends)

For those of you that plopped down the money for the Call of Duty Elite premium service on the Xbox 360, then yesterday you likely went online to discover a digital treat waiting under their proverbial online tree. Two new maps were released, kicking off a nine month season of content drops that will feature 20 in all.

The first drop contained the maps ?Liberation? and ?Piazza.? Both maps will be included as part of a pack that will likely contain at least four maps, and will probably go on sale for around $15 in March (although nothing has been officially confirmed on that front). For right now, Xbox 360 users are the only ones to see these maps, but PS3 Elite premium members should have them within a month, while non-premium PS3 users should see the pack in April.

So with the number of people that have access to the maps relatively low, we took on the arduous and demanding task of playing the maps. It was rough, sitting there and getting paid to play video games, but we did it because we love you. Here are our impressions of the maps.

Liberation

(DT Associate Editor Ryan Fleming)?Liberation is a map that I will both love and hate, depending on my mood. Set in a militarized Central Park in New York, the wide open spaces will immediately appeal to snipers and people that love to camp and/or use stealth, so for me it will depend on whether or not the Leroy Jenkins curse takes me. It is also a good map to follow people like Adam, and use them as bait?er?the vanguard. The actual geography of the map is fairly well plotted, but one of the biggest issues (or advantages depending on your POV) is the colors of the map. It is easy to blend into the trees and leaves and become incredibly hard to see. Because of that, this will be one of the slower moving maps in MW3.

Various game types will have drastically different feels, and some work better than others. I am a fan of Domination, which I think works well here. Kill Confirmed can lead to some interesting moments, as snipers leave several tags out as bait, but for me Team Deathmatch was the least fun. The mounted machine guns paired with a team of snipers and silenced opponents can make this frustrating and slow. For me, this map works better when there are objectives. Oddly, while teamwork is always important, the map is so wide open and you can die from so far away that it is harder to properly coordinate than other maps. Good news for the lone wolf-type player, bad news for the ?Captain Whatthehellareyoudoing? type who is trying to rally people to hold a certain area.

I really liked the survival mode potential of this map. There are a few areas that you can make into decent choke points?be warned though?learning the map is the key to survival, as enemies will pop out of areas you had no idea they could come from. If you choose your location poorly, you can also find yourself in a bad situation. Fighting off attack choppers and juggernauts can also be a pain if they catch you unprepared since there isn?t much cover, and riot/delta teams often try to catch bullets with their teeth. They fail. Or succeed if they are looking for the sweet embrace of death.

(DT Contributing Editor Adam Rosenberg) Liberation is an easy sell with me. Not only does my New Yorker blood scream with joy at being able to run around in a virtual re-creation of a war-torn Central Park, but this new map?s big, open spaces and loooooooong sightlines also appeal to my love for dealing out death from a great distance. Ryan really nails it too; the lush greens on this map provide PERFECT cover for Ghillie suit-wearing snipers. Bring along a thermal scope if you can; it?s a tremendous help here.

As open as the map is, there?s a surprising amount of separation between the different avenues of advance. For such a flat landscape, Liberation has a strange sense of verticality to it. Dry creeks run beneath bridges, with the high and low positions being completely cut off from one another in most places. There could be a firefight raging right below you, or above you, but you?ll have to circle all the way around to get to it. Shotgun-toters and SMG wielders are at a distinct disadvantage, though a small, central underground area offers ample opportunity to ambush passing forces. A strategically placed personal radar can be quite useful on this map, especially if short-range actions are your specialty.

At the two ends of the map are sandbag-mounted chaingun turrets which, when used properly, can wreak havoc on enemy forces. Like the one in the Bakaara map, it?s suicide to spend much time firing, since it makes you an easy target for distant snipers. The two miniguns on Liberation are great for crowd control, however. Just be sure to note: they?re not usable in Survival mode, only multiplayer. The trick on this map?no matter which mode you?re playing?is to always proceed carefully and avoid the open central areas, particularly near the fountain and any other location in which your uniform colors might stand out against the environment. Anything to make you a less appetizing target for the many snipers who are sure to be watching the heavy traffic areas.

Piazza

(Adam Rosenberg) Piazza is a small-ish map overall, but there are so many levels to it that it ends up feeling much larger than it actually is. Much like Liberation, there?s a lot of up-and-down movement; the difference here is that you have many more overlooks to work with. Snipers will want to swap their standard scope out for an ACOG, but a crack shot can do a lot of damage from a distance here.

Really though, shotguns and sub machine guns are your best bet for Piazza. The map is filled with sharp corners and steep stairwells, to the point that you?ll need to constantly be on your toes since you can never really be sure of when an enemy will suddenly come into view. Close-range fighters can confidently move around in the middle parts of the maps, while snipers and other long-range fighters will do best sticking to the fringes, preferably with a silencer.

The key with Piazza is to always be mindful of what?s above you and below you. Death can easily come from any angle. While it?s definitely important to keep your eyes on the path ahead, ignoring the raised balconies and walkways as you proceed will result in certain death sooner or later. The action moves quickly and intensely on Piazza, though I don?t see this one supplanting Dome as MW3?s Nuketown (the tiny Black Ops?map). It?s just too unpredictable. This one, moreso even than Liberation, is definitely going to live on as a ?love it or hate it? type of environment.

(Ryan Fleming) Piazza is a different type of map in every way from Liberation. It is small and confined, with a few areas that can quickly turn into choke points. People that love their shotguns will be free to terrorize and annoy the crap out of opponents with free reign. Sniper rifles will be fairly useless in the center of the map, but as Adam noted, a prepared sniper can hold down the sides of the maps. SMGs will be right at home, and will?likely?be the weapon of choice for most. I personally love the fast paced nature of Piazza, but when people are spread out all over the map, spawning can suck (more so than usual). I may or may not have considered throwing a controller at least once.

The various map types all work fairly well here. Domination can be fun, but there are balance issues. Holding onto a flag can be easy, especially with claymores and the like, but attacking can make you angry to the point that you want to punch something cute. There are multiple pathways all throughout the map, so there are ways though. Team Deathmatch and Kill Confirmed are both a good fit for this map, and Search and Destroy can offer some interesting possibilities.

Survival can either lead to an epic stand, or a frustrating one. You can easily set up defenses in areas that can hold off endless waves of enemies, but if a few make it by, you will find yourself trapped. Moving around might be the best strategy, but it is also a risky one. Still, it makes for a different experience than most survival maps.

Conclusion

Both maps offer something new to the current selection. Neither really blew us away, but we both thought that they will make for a good bit of variety in the rotation. The level design is solid, and both maps are designed to offer a certain amount of gameplay variety. Liberation gives snipers and distance players a new playground to try out, while Piazza is going to appeal to fast-paced players that dig their short range weapons. Both maps are a good addition, and a nice kickoff to the season of content.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends