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 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)

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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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)

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)

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...

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.

It's for their Phaeton, one of the few models of VW's lineup that isn't a golfcart. Safe to say it costs a ton.

?

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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