The U.S. will soon join Europe in drawing electricity from off-shore wind power. Today, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar approved the first off-shore wind project in the U.S., the proposed Cape Wind installation planned for Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
Wind advocates and environmentalists were thrilled that the project, nearly a decade in the making, will be built. It had faced opposition from some residents, including Kennedy family members, concerned about how the wind farm will affect views. Recently, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation had recommended rejection of the project.
But Salazar said that a careful analysis had shown the benefits outweigh the concerns.
“With this decision we are beginning a new direction in our Nation’s energy future, ushering in America’s first offshore wind energy facility and opening a new chapter in the history of this region,” he said in announcing the approval in Boston.
The American Wind Energy Association, which represents wind producers and affiliated industries, responded that the decision could be an impetus for the U.S. wind businesses.
“Such forward-thinking decisions are necessary for the U.S. to realize the many environmental and economic benefits of offshore wind,” said American Wind Energy Association CEO Denise Bode. As the first U.S. offshore wind installation, Cape Wind will be precedent setting. But it will benefit from two decades of offshore wind development in Europe, Bode said.
“In fact, American manufacturers have announced plans to build factories in Europe to service the robust offshore wind industry there. With policy support in the America we can incent(ivize) that new manufacturing sector to build here,’’ Bode said.
Frances Beinecke, president of the NRDC, also praised Salazar for green lighting the project.
“The United States can be a world leader on clean energy, and offshore wind power has enormous potential to help us get there,” Beinecke said. “This is a major victory for America’s clean energy future – and will help ramp up the U.S. offshore wind industry.”
Cape Wind needed federal approval to move ahead with the installation, which will be located about five miles off shore in Nantucket Sound and is projected to supply enough electricity for about 400,000 residents in the region. The project will include 130 turbines to produce 420 megawatts of power.
Last week, the wind industry association in Great Britain announced that it had reached 1 gigawatt of power from offshore wind as a new facility began operating. The UK is the world leader in the offshore wind sector with installed wind farms providing energy for 700,000 homes, the industry group Renewable UK (formerly BWEA) reported.
Guess who got caught filming in Los Angeles? Top Gear America, which will make its debut this fall on The History Channel. Along with Tanner Foust, the American Top Gear crew had a Porsche 911, Ford Mustang, Hyundai Genesis Coupe and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
Yikes. You may recall last year there was a lot of news around the announcement that a company called Global Gaming Factory (GGF) had bought The Pirate Bay and was going to turn it into an authorized service. However, a few days later, after seeing an interview with GGF’s CEO Hans Pandeya, we expressed skepticism that the deal would ever get done. Not only did Pandeya seem both clueless about pretty much every detail (while contradicting himself multiple times), he mentioned that the deal hadn’t actually been approved by his shareholders. And, as more and more details came out, it became clear that the deal was totally dead in the water. There were some insider trading charges. Shares of GGF were suspended from trading multiple times. Those brought on to do the deal were bailing out, claiming Pandeya had massive credibility problems, and that the company didn’t actually have the money to make the purchase. Indeed, the money never showed up, Pandeya had his assets frozen by the Swedish government for unpaid taxes, and everyone forgot about GGF.
Yesterday, however, Pandeya magically popped back up — now living in Boston — and apparently running a new company, called Business Marketing Services Inc.. He claimed that he was, once again, buying The Pirate Bay for $10 million, and the story sounded nearly identical to the one last year. It still involved Pandeya, and still involved a totally unworkable plan to make the site an authorized distributor of music. The whole thing was surprising — and even odder if you read that link above, is that the reporter never even mentions the failed sale from last year, or Pandeya’s connection to it. Even Billboard, who you would think would know better, reported on the “announcement” from Pandeya as if it were legit.
If anything, it looks like Pandeya is simply playing the same game again, except at an even more bizarre level. He’s now claiming that GGF actually did buy The Pirate Bay last year (it did not) and that he’s now buying it from GGF. But, of course GGF doesn’t own The Pirate Bay. The Pirate Bay folks are claiming that Pandeya’s claims are a blatant “fraud.” Greg Sandoval has all the details in the link above. Apparently “Business Marketing Services” was an OTC penny stock company that Pandeya somehow bought, which has basically no assets. It was previously owned by a pit boss at a casino and apparently was in the business of selling calendars of women in bikinis — not that it made much money from it. It’s an old trick for a company that wants to appear as a public company but can’t go public. You find some defunct company that is trading as an OTC company and “merge” with them, and suddenly you’re a “public company.” It’s quite frequently used in questionable ways, and it seems like this time is no different.
So, no, The Pirate Bay has not been sold. Pandeya is still making claims he cannot live up to. He’s trying to buy the site from his previous company — whose own stock trading was suspended for questionable activities — but that company never actually bought The Pirate Bay.
Nissan Leaf EV – Click above for high-res image gallery
Nissan has begun taking $99 registrations for its all-electric Leaf, and the early results are very encouraging. The Japanese automaker has reportedly already received 7,000 pre-orders in the U.S. and another 4,000 orders in Japan. Nissan had been expecting pre-sales of roughly 20,000 vehicles, and early pre-sales show that the initial estimates may have undershot reality. Whatcar? reports that orders have been so strong that Nissan expects that it won’t be able to fulfill demand for its emissions-free vehicle when it hits dealerships in late Fall. The 11,000 hand-raisers Nissan currently has in the bank doesn’t include any buyers from the UK, as our across the Pond allies aren’t eligible to pre-order the Leaf until July.
Nissan reportedly claims that its forthcoming EV will be cheaper to buy and run than the king of the hybrid hill, Toyota’s Prius. The Leaf will carry an MSRP of $32,780 (plus $2,200 for the charger) when it goes on sale, which is closer in price to the Lexus HS 250h than the Prius, though government tax breaks of $7,500 per all-electric vehicle brings the base price down to a much more manageable $25,280.
United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and President Barack Obama
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., announced today, legislation to close the ‘revolving door’ between the NHTSA and automakers. The bill would bar NHTSA employees from accepting offers to work for automakers for at least three years after their employment with the NHTSA ends.
“I am deeply concerned about the all-too-cozy relationship between former NHTSA officials and the auto industry. My legislation would address this ‘revolving door’ by preventing automakers from having undue influence on agency decisions,” Boxer said.
The issue of the ‘revolving door’ has been a hot-button one after the recent Toyota safety-recall situation. Toyota had two former NHTSA officials employed in their Washington office, and Boxer, as well as other legislators, have all voiced their concern over those individuals using their influence at the agency in an unfair and unjust manner.
Individuals and manufacturers alike who stand in violation of the law will be subject to civil penalties, which will include a fine of $55,000 for the individual and $100,000 or more for the manufacturer.
Last week’s police raid on Gizmodo blogger Jason Chen’s house, in response to a request from Apple Inc., has led many to wonder why government resources are being spent on a spat between Apple and Gizmodo.
But here at EFF, we are also wondering if we’ve just seen the future of copyright enforcement. Although the Gizmodo seizure doesn’t appear to be rooted in copyright, having cops kicking in doors over what seems like a private dispute reminded us of recent efforts by the big content industries to get law enforcement to go after “copyright thieves.”
Usually, copyright law requires copyright owners to do and pay for their own enforcement efforts – they don’t get the windfall of a limited monopoly, the hammer of statutory damages, and the ability to require the public to bankroll the enforcement for them. But the big content industries are trying to reverse that presumption, demanding (via wish lists sent to the new IP Czar last month) that federal agencies devote more resources to finding and catching “copyright thieves.” For example, the Motion Picture Association of American, the Recording Industry Association of America and others filed joint comments arguing among other things, that:
The planned release of a blockbuster motion picture should be acknowledged as an event that attracts the focused efforts of copyright thieves, who will seek to obtain and distribute pre-release versions and/or to undermine legitimate release by unauthorized distribution through other channels . . . An interagency task force should work with industry to coordinate and make advance plans to try to interdict these most damaging forms of copyright theft, and to react swiftly with enforcement actions where necessary.
In other words, while the movie studios are reporting record profits, we should deputize the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to provide taxpayer-supported muscle for summer blockbuster films.
This submission also urged state and local police to get involved in copyright policing, using “state labeling laws”: “State labeling laws that define unauthorized online file sharing and streaming as a felony would provide state and local law enforcement with jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute online theft of intellectual property.”
The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), which represents most of the entertainment industry’s biggest players, also wants to see a chilling expansion of law enforcement involvement in copyright enforcement, including:
empowering government agents to prosecute alleged infringements, whether or not a copyright owner has actually complained;
expanded “information sharing” between copyright owners and law enforcement, including border officials, i.e., a direct two-way pipeline between Big Media and the cops;
issuance and execution of search warrants without notice to the alleged infringer.
The Software Information Industry Association supports many similar measures, and also suggests that convicted infringers should be required to make public video confessions, to be posted online and “used for education in schools and in training programs.”
If this wish list strikes you as disturbing, it should. Any government enforcement of copyrights should be focused on large scale, commercial infringements that can’t be adequately deterred by civil lawsuits, using the already powerful existing legal tools. The Gizmodo seizure reminds us that not only are our tax dollars at stake, but also our civil liberties. Whether you’re a blogger or a simple citizen, take note: if copyright policing becomes a regular item on the law enforcement agenda, you can expect more bogus search warrants, and more doors to be broken down.
No change… rates to stay low “for extended period”… Dow soaring.
This statement is a cut+paste job from last time. There was one dissenter: Thomas Hoenig, who has been sounding a warning of late about asset bubbles.
Here’s the full announcement:
———————
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in March suggests that economic activity has continued to strengthen and that the labor market is beginning to improve. Growth in household spending has picked up recently but remains constrained by high unemployment, modest income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Business spending on equipment and software has risen significantly; however, investment in nonresidential structures is declining and employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls. Housing starts have edged up but remain at a depressed level. While bank lending continues to contract, financial market conditions remain supportive of economic growth. Although the pace of economic recovery is likely to be moderate for a time, the Committee anticipates a gradual return to higher levels of resource utilization in a context of price stability.
With substantial resource slack continuing to restrain cost pressures and longer-term inflation expectations stable, inflation is likely to be subdued for some time.
The Committee will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and continues to anticipate that economic conditions, including low rates of resource utilization, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations, are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period. The Committee will continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and will employ its policy tools as necessary to promote economic recovery and price stability.
In light of improved functioning of financial markets, the Federal Reserve has closed all but one of the special liquidity facilities that it created to support markets during the crisis. The only remaining such program, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, is scheduled to close on June 30 for loans backed by new-issue commercial mortgage-backed securities; it closed on March 31 for loans backed by all other types of collateral.
Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; James Bullard; Elizabeth A. Duke; Donald L. Kohn; Sandra Pianalto; Eric S. Rosengren; Daniel K. Tarullo; and Kevin M. Warsh. Voting against the policy action was Thomas M. Hoenig, who believed that continuing to express the expectation of exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period was no longer warranted because it could lead to a build-up of future imbalances and increase risks to longer run macroeconomic and financial stability, while limiting the Committee’s flexibility to begin raising rates modestly.
The folks at CARandDRIVER recently caught up with the Jeep crew and asked them the question we’ve all been waiting an answer for. Will there be a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8? While they didn’t officially confirm anything (or deny anything), they did say that when Chrysler does do an SRT8 version of the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, you can expect it to appear within the first couple of model years after introduction.
Power is expected to come from a 6.4L naturally aspirated HEMI V8 making between 505-hp and 525-hp.
Refresher: The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee will be offered with two new powertrains including Chrysler’s new flexible fuel 280-hp Phoenix 3.6L V6 which increases fuel-economy by up to 11 percent. The range will be topped off with a 5.7L HEMI V8 making 360-hp and a maximum torque of 390 lb-ft.
The Met Office Book of the British Weather 978-07153-3640-3 · £9.99 · paperback with flaps
· Includes the latest climate science research and predictions of how the weather will change where you live
· Authoritative Met Office information
· A great gift – everyone talks about the weather – especially in light of the extreme weather over Christmas 2009 and into 2010, and for anyone whose hobby or sport relies heavily on the weather e.g. sailors, pilots, fisherman & walkers
· Forecasts the likely weather for the British Isles over the next thirty years
NEWS RELEASE April 28, 2010 Contact: Frank Murray, 542-4835
Columbia Basin College career and workforce students won 14 of 30 medals at the SkillsUSA Washington Post Secondary State Conference April 23 and 24 in the Tri-Cities.
Nine of CBC’s students qualified for the national competition in Kansas City in June. CBC medalists included:
David Sanger points us to a case that is so full of confusion and ridiculousness that it’s difficult to know who to support. It appears that both parties are greatly confused about the law, terms of service and what each other did. It involves news giant AFP and a photojournalist, Daniel Morel, who was in Haiti at the time of the earthquake, and took some photos right after it happened. That’s when things get mixed up. In an effort to get the photos out to the world, the daughter of a friend helped him upload the images to Twitpic, and then announce them via Twitter. From there a different photographer, Lisandro Suero, based in the Dominican Republic, apparently copied those images to his own account on TwitPic and tweeted that the images were available for licensing. The AFP then used those photos, uploaded them to Getty for distribution, and credited Suero. The photos then started appearing in a variety of places credited to AFP/Getty/Suero. Morel gets upset and sends a legal nastygram to the AFP… and after some back and forth the AFP sues Morel (yes, the AFP sued Morel after using his photos without credit) asking for summary judgment that it did not infringe on his copyrights and saying that Morel’s claims that his work was infringed upon were “commercial defamation.”
You can read the (relatively short) complaint here:
And you can read Morel’s much longer response here (which, by the way, includes the photographs in question):
Where to start on the mess here? First, let’s start with AFP. This is the same organization that once sued Google for merely linking to AFP stories with the AFP’s headline in Google News. So for the AFP to pretend it’s on the moral high road here for blatantly using a photo without licensing it is pretty damn hypocritical, even if you believe it had the right to do so. Given its own actions on copyright issues, the AFP seems to think that any use is infringing.
You retain your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed).
AFP uses this in its filing, noting:
When Mr. Morel posted his photographs on Twitter, he made no notation that he
was in any way limiting the license granted to Twitter or third parties or that he was in
any way limiting the ability of Twitter and third parties to use, distribute, or republish his
photographs. Thus, a third party would reasonably assume that based on the Twitter
Terms of Service and typical use, by posting his photographs on Twitter, Mr. Morel was
granting the requisite license to Twitter and third parties to use, copy, publish, display
and distribute those photographs.
There are two very big problems with this line of argument (though, oddly, Mr. Morel doesn’t seem to point out either problem in his response). Problem #1: The photos were posted to TwitPic, not Twitter. While many people don’t seem to realize this, TwitPic is not a part of Twitter, but is a separate company. Thus, Twitter’s licensing terms are somewhat irrelevant. Problem #2: Twitter’s terms of service are between Twitter and the user, not for a third party. Reading the terms in question should be familiar to anyone who’s set up any online user-generated content service. They’re boilerplate terms that mean the service in question has the right to post the content that the user submitted. Not some third party. Note that the terms clearly say “you grant us a worldwide…” That “us” is Twitter. Not the AFP. For the AFP to claim otherwise is really bizarre.
Of course, this doesn’t absolve Morel, either. First, once his lawyers contacted the AFP, the AFP did seek to stop distribution of the image. Yes, this was late in the process, but if it’s true that AFP was really confused and thought it had the proper license, it did appear to act to rectify the situation as soon as it was notified. Morel’s claims that AFP must have just known that he was the originating photographer seem questionable. On top of that, he immediately jumps to demanding a huge fee from AFP, even though he admits that the reason he uploaded the images was to help them get widely seen. As he said, he posted them online “in the hopes that his images would span the globe to inform the world of the disaster.” He also claimed he posted them there so that he would “receive compensation and credit as a professional photographer,” but just because you post images hoping to “receive compensation,” it doesn’t mean you’re automatically entitled to compensation.
Even worse, while I don’t think Twitter’s terms of service matter at all here (see two paragraphs up), Morel’s response to that issue doesn’t help his case at all. He claims that Twitter’s terms of service shouldn’t apply because he didn’t read them:
Mr. Morel had no prior experience with Twitter, the social networking site and did not read the Terms of Service.
While I don’t think Twitter’s terms of service apply for all the reasons above, his failure to read the terms hardly is the best reasoning in his defense.
If he should be upset with anyone, it sure looks like his real complaint should be with Lisandro Suero, who copied the images, claimed the work as his own, and offered them up to news agencies. Morel’s complaint blames AFP for not taking the time to do the “due diligence” to make sure Suero actually took the photos:
What steps did AFP take to verify Suero’s identity? From where were the
images sent? Did they call Suero and ask him where he was when the images were
taken? Did they contact other AFP resident photographers in Haiti or the Dominican
Republic to inquire whether anybody had ever heard of Lisandro Suero?
Yet, this is coming from the same guy who just pages before admits he didn’t bother reading the terms of service for the website on which he was uploading photos — and many months later still doesn’t realize that he uploaded them to a totally different service, called TwitPic, rather than Twitter? Complaining that the AFP failed in its due diligence seems a bit strange, considering the lack of due diligence on his own part.
In the end, this is a lot of arguing over nothing. Both parties seem to have screwed up in their actions. Morel admits he wanted the world to see his photos and various news agencies helped in that regards, and have helped boost his reputation as a photojournalist. It appears there are lots of ways that he could cash in on that recognition. Meanwhile, the AFP clearly mislabled the images and appears to be blatantly misreading the terms of service on a different site than the photos were uploaded to.
Even though Splinter Cell: Conviction is barely out the door and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is still gearing up for launch, Ubisoft is reportedly already working on two more Tom Clancy games.
Yesterday we pointed out the growing fixation with with the correlation between Chinese equities and US equities. The question on everyone’s mind is: Does the decline in the Shanghai Composite foretell a similar decline here?
Our conclusion is that you needed more data to answer the question.
We still do, but while we’re looking at the question, here’s another angle. Chinese stocks have also acted as a leading indicator for commodities as this David Rosenberg chart (via PragCap) shows nicely.
As previously revealed (qjnet/xbox-360/record-of-agarest-war-dated-hits-end-of-april.html), Record of Agarest War is scheduled to hit the PlayStation Store with tomorrow’s update. The game will be bundled into a single download along with all of its downloadable content, and checks
It is difficult to keep abreast of the continuing tide of criticisms of the whole climate change issue. Unsuccessful attempts by the major Western nations and NGOs to prevent the World Bank from approving South Africa’s loan application introduced a new dimension to the issue. For the first time we have seen the change from words to action.
It is the Western nations that propagated this whole climate change charade. These nations have already started implementing costly emissions control measures. They erroneously assumed that other nations would follow their example. This has not happened. To make matters worse, this whole climate change issue is contributing to a widening rift between the affluent Western nations and the rest.
The gap is also widening between some of the former Commonwealth countries, India and South Africa for a start, and the UK. This is the first time that serious differences have arisen between Commonwealth countries and the UK. The governments of Australia, New Zealand and Canada have accepted climate change theory despite protests from some of their scientists. These counties will also face problems when the truth becomes known.
2010 BMW 550i Gran Turismo – Click above for high-res image gallery
BMW recently launched a new marketing campaign titled “BMW is Joy.” The new tag line is explained as, “Part of a big-media strategy the company is doing to raise its profile worldwide with a more emotional, optimistic voice.” Raising a company’s profile is never a bad thing, however, we question if anything is more high-minded than “The Ultimate Driving Machine,” one of the very best auto-related taglines ever concocted. BMW says it isn’t moving away from its TUDM slogan, but we can’t help but wonder, is BMW is trying to tell us something? What if instead of appealing to those who actually might value the ultimate driving machine, they’re looking instead for other customers?
Our man Paukert sampled the 535i Gran Turismo last September and came away impressed by the combination of packaging and driving dynamics offered up by BMW’s curious new kinda-wagon. The party piece of the cynically-named Gran Turismo is a slick, trick two-way tailgate that opens either as a tiny trunk or as a cavernous hatch. Or maybe it’s not such a stretch, name-wise. After all, translated the moniker simply means “grand touring,” and after a hard day of driving, being able to easily unload your luggage and get checked into your hotel is its own kind of luxury. Is it possible that the even more potent BMW 550i Gran Turismo is an even better proposition than its slightly weaker sibling? What about compared to a 5 Series Wagon or even an X5? And what about competition from other brands? Given its unconventional form and unique packaging, is there any competition to speak of? More importantly, is it joyful, the ultimate driving anything or a bird of an entirely different feather?
Toyota Motors Sales U.S.A., Inc., announced it will conduct a voluntary safety recall on approximately 50,000 early-2003 Toyota Sequoia SUV to upgrade program logic in its Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system.
“The VSC system can help control a loss of traction in turns as a result of front or rear tire slippage during cornering,” Toyota said in a statement. “In vehicles without the upgrade, the VSC system could, in limited situations, activate at low speed (approximately 9 mph) for a few seconds after acceleration from a stopped position and, as a result, the vehicle may not accelerate as quickly as the driver expects. There have been no reported injuries or accidents as a result of this condition.”
Toyota said that it instituted a running production change during the 2003 model year and published a Technical Service Bulletin to address this issue when it was first identified in fall 2003.
Since then, Toyota has responded to individual customer concerns by replacing the Skid Control Engine Control Unit in Sequoias impacted by this condition. Of the approximately 50,000 vehicles included in the recall, approximately half have already been serviced under warranty.
