Author: Serkadis

Residents have been coming up to Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki to tell him they don’t like the new price of parking at the 80th Avenue Metra parking lots.

Parking permits and daily fees at village-owned commuter lots went up in January. The daily parking fees went up from $1 to $1.50.

But it’s not the increased price that’s bugging most riders who pay to park per day, the mayor said.

“The big ripple on the pond is the need to carry quarters,” Zabrocki said.

So village officials are looking into short-term solutions for the coinage conundrum.

One option is to offer monthly parking placards, stickers or tokens at the 80th Avenue lot, Zabrocki said.

But those monthly permits would be different than those offered at the village’s other lots because the 80th Avenue lots were federally funded, village Manager Scott Niehaus said.

For instance, people who buy their permits at the Oak Park Avenue lots keep their spots and their permits as long as they keep renewing them. Those spots can also be restricted to village residents.

If a monthly pay system is instituted for the pay-per-day lots, the permits would be on a first-come, first-served basis each month and they’d be open to anyone, Niehaus said.

The monthly fee for the pay-per-day lot would likely be $30, he said.

Village employees are still working on the logistics of such a plan, including how to enforce the monthly permits, which potentially could take the form of placards hanging from the car’s rearview mirror.

Currently, a community service officer checks to make sure the money collected in the pay box matches the number of cars parked in the lot.

That system would be complicated if the officer had to check placards inside a car as well, trustees said.

A plan for the lot will be presented to village officials in the next 30 days, Niehaus said.

“As soon as we get the report, we’ll try to implement it as quickly as we can,” Zabrocki said.

But Zabrocki points out any parking plan at the 80th Avenue station is just temporary.

The aging station is set for a major overhaul starting this spring and that will include a card-based payment system for parking, Zabrocki said.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

There are a lot of major releases in March, but holding his own in the middle of it all is Mega Man 10, still in his 8-bit glory. Capcom has now set the date when Roboenza hits

The Dow is still down by about 40 points currently, hovering at the 10,100 level, but the NASDAQ has flipped, now up 2 points to 2179. The S&P 500 is down 2 points to 1075.

Commodities are way down. Oil is down 2.3% to $73.57 a barrel.

Gold is down $4.80 to $1089 an ounce and silver is down $0.17 to $15.43 an ounce.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Stock Futures Headed Lower After Weak German Growth And Lack Of Deal On Bailout
• Activision Beats Street, Starts Buying Back Stock
• Dow Jones Stock Index Getting Sold!

Planning on buying any music anytime soon? If you are, you may want to keep an eye on the new counter Apple is running over on its web site. You can find it by visiting the special 10 Billion Song Countdown contest page the company has set up as it nears the momentous milestone.

When that number does hit 10 billion (as of this writing, it was almost at 9.9 billion), one lucky iTunes customer who actually makes the 10 billionth purchase could win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card. That’s a lot of songs, TV shows or even apps, depending on what you fancy. Especially if rumors prove true and TV show prices drop to just a dollar. And at the current pace of around 100 songs per second, it will be just under two weeks until that milestone is hit.

Apple took the opportunity to also toot its own horn, which is only fair considering it’s hard to overstate the impact iTunes has had on the music industry:

iTunes changed the way you buy music, making songs and albums available for download, day or night. Seven years later, we’re about to celebrate our biggest milestone for music, yet — 10 billion songs downloaded. Buy a song, and if it’s the 10 billionth download, you could win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card.

Viewed over the long term, hitting the 10 billion downloads-mark so soon after the it hit 3 billion (July 2007), a number which took three years from the initial launch of the iTunes store, Apple is doing very well. Recent developments, however, have had a negative influence on iTunes music sales numbers. Specifically, I’m talking about the new deal Apple worked out with record labels that saw prices for some bestselling music jump to $1.29 per song from 99 cents.

Since then, digital album sale growth has been steadily on the decline. According to AppleInsider, the second quarter of 2009 saw 11 percent growth in digital sales, while the third only saw 10, and the crucial fourth quarter — which included the 2009 holiday season — saw only 5 percent growth. Sure, it’s still technically growth, but that rate of decline has got to be making both Apple and music industry executives nervous.

For its part, Apple is probably just content to let the music sales slow so that it can go back to record companies and say “I told you so” regarding the effects of the price flexibility required by the labels in exchange for DRM-free tracks. Customers could actually come out on top if sales continue to trend downward, since the industry might be forced to try going back to a flat, 99-cent-per-song-downloaded rate, a move Apple would no doubt support.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: How to Manage Access to Digital Content

Fried food is regularly pummeled in the village square by CW because of the fat content. We Primal types know better of course. Although we eschew the carb-based foods (potatoes, donuts, corn chips, battered/breaded everything) that disgrace fry pans and deep fryers everywhere, we get along fine with the fat itself. I get a lot of questions from readers about frying foods – whether frying is a truly Primal practice and how frying can be done properly to avoid oxidation and retain nutrients. I know there are a lot of fried fans at MDA, and I hope they’ll share their tips as well.

Is frying Primal?

I’d give that a solid yes. With the right oils under the right conditions, fried veggies and meats are perfectly acceptable Primal delicacies. Are there better cooking methods? Yes. But again, with the right fat, temperature and food (no traditional batters in sight), frying is an an acceptable cooking method.

How does it work?

When the food comes in contact with the oil, the heat essentially activates the food’s moisture and steam cooks it from the inside. In a delicate equilibrium of deep frying, the steam keeps the oil from permeating the food, and the oil keeps the food’s moisture inside.

Ideal deep frying temperatures are generally 350°-375°. Lower than 325° and the oil will be absorbed into the food, making for gross, greasy fare. Much higher than 375° and you run the risk of additional oxidation in the oil as well as dried out food.

How does frying compare with other cooking methods when it comes to nutrient value?

Cooking almost always has some impact on the nutritional profile of a food. In cases like lycopene for tomato, cooking has a positive effect. In other cases, cooking diminishes nutritional content. Some research suggests that deep frying retains more antioxidant capacity in some vegetables but less in others when compared to boiling or pan frying. (Pan frying fared the worst.)

Speaking of pan frying, the difference is more than the pan itself. Pan frying is a shallow frying method, meaning the oil doesn’t cover more than half of the food you’re cooking. Some research suggests that pan frying results in more oil decomposition than deep frying. Pan frying generally takes longer, which may contribute to this difference. Although the oil in both methods is basically the same temperature, pan frying is more likely to produce carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) when the surface of the meat (or – to a lesser extent – vegetable) is burnt or overcooked. Although low and slow cooking methods (like braising) are great in preventing the formation of HCAs, deep frying or flash sautéing of small pieces are also good options, since they avoid any charring or scorching of food.

What are the best fats to use for frying?

You’ll want to choose oil with a smoke point of at least 350°F. (Personally, I like to err on the side of caution and go for a smoke point of 375° or above.) Oil, if heated beyond its smoke point, chemically deteriorates and forms toxic compounds associated with oxidative stress markers and degenerative illness in the human body.

Some folks swear by palm oil, which works well at frying temps because of its high smoke point (425°) and low toxic volatile emission rates. Beyond that, I would recommend animal fats: tallow, lard, lamb fat or other animal fats. My personal favorite is tallow, which is an incredibly stable fat source with a very high smoke point (420°). A side note: if you’ll be eating the fried food cold, use lard to avoid the coated tongue feeling.

I know some folks use olive oil for frying and stand by its stability in high heat because of its high monosaturated content. If you’re going to use olive oil, I’d recommend virgin olive oil (420° smoke point) as opposed to extra virgin olive oil (320°).

How do restaurants fry their food?

Although I think it’s entirely possible to do Primal frying at home, I wouldn’t touch the typical restaurant’s fried food. The most commonly used oils for commercial frying are hydrogenated vegetable oils (whether it’s labeled trans fat free or not) or canola oil, neither of which I eat or recommend. A few old school places still use lard, but they’re becoming fewer and fewer over time. Restaurants (being naturally profit-driven) also reuse their cooking oil time and again, which leads to continual decomposition. Although there are health protocols, who’s to say how well some of these places adhere to any guidelines when the inspectors aren’t around. I’ll skip the partially oxidized oil, thank you. Finally, some restaurants are taking advantage of new nanotechnology devices that allow them to use oil longer. The jury is still out on nanotech, and I for one would rather skip the experimental phase.

Let me wrap this up by saying that while frying food under just the right conditions can be a Primal endeavor some fat at these high heats will still oxidize. That for me is reason enough to not make frying food a daily occurrence. I play it safe and go low and slow for most of my meals.

Now let’s hear from you! Primal fryers out there, what say you? I’d love to read your tips (and recipes). Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Related posts:

1. Friday Food for Thought: Sounding The Alarm On Children and Food Allergies
2. When it Comes to Fat, How Hot is Too Hot?
3. Healthy Tastes Great!

 

 

How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? They’d better do more now, since timber is booming. Some in the industry follow U.S. lumber production. Through November this totaled 21.2 billion board feet, down 23.0% from the January-November 2008 figure, according to the Western Wood Products Association. Nationwide, November 2009 production totaled 1.620 billion feet, down 16.6% from the November 2008 total and off 18.9% from October 2009. Recently, however, lumber futures hit 29 month highs last week ahead of an anticipated strong Spring building season. Mills are cranking up again, demanding wood they haven’t been buying in a year, lumber distributors have been forced to restock supplies, and visitors to Home Depot are coming away scratching their heads.

Investors and Wall Street traders continue to conjecture and ruminate about the "Frannie" announcements on Wednesday, which initially met with a response similar to a gal realizing that her boyfriend is going to wear sweat pants on a date. Traders continue to talk about the massive amount of float ($200 billion) that will be taken out quickly, the estimate that Freddie Mac will buy out about $72 billion and Fannie Mae to buy out $127 billion of mortgage-backed securities. Whether or not Freddie and Fannie have to sell existing holdings, and have room under their portfolio caps, to come up with the capital remains to be seen. Will the Treasury pony up the $200 million? Freddie Mac expects to purchase "substantially all" of its 120-day+ delinquent loans by the March prepayment report, whereas FNMA expects to begin its loan repurchase program by the April report, and to remove most of its delinquent loan pipeline over the subsequent few months.

Given that the Fed has been buying more new production than older stuff, very few of these bonds are likely to be bonds held by the Fed, so the impact on the non-Fed MBS float is even greater. One student of the markets ventured that various government entities own maybe 50% of these bonds so maybe half the $200 billion goes right back into the government’s coffers – hopefully they didn’t pay a big premium for the securities if they’re bought back at par. And any entity that has bonds purchased may turn around and buy more MBS’s – which would help mortgage rates and originators. After the buyouts are completed, prepayments on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities would be easier to predict, making the bonds less risky, because the debt would have "limited delinquencies" and "limited rate refinancing risk.

Now, who are Freddie & Fannie going to sell those delinquent loans to? They just don’t go away now, do they? And as 90 day loans become 120 day loans, they will be bought also. If Freddie’s analysts expect the loans to cure, they will probably keep them on their books in securities, although it will take a few months to figure ascertain their position on these loans. For Freddie, given their $1.8 trillion "universe", the 330,000 of loans they will be buying back represent less than 4%. And the fact that both firms are doing this relatively quickly, although Fannie has a much larger amount of delinquent loans to process, is expected to minimize the long-term disruption in the market, which will help the mortgage market.
Is there hope for mortgage brokers? Many believe so, and http://tinyurl.com/ykzccax is one indication of that.

How many countries use the Euro for a currency? Sixteen, and it appears that they have banded together to forge a plan in spite of European Union law offering no clear procedure for staging the first bailout of a euro zone country in the currency’s 11-year history. Some countries, like Germany & France, have been less impacted by the downturn, and are in a better position to offer aid. Athens needs to borrow about 53 billion Euros ($73 billion) this year to cover a huge budget deficit and refinance debt which is coming due. But investors have taken fright over the risks involved in buying Greek bonds, and the government could slide toward default if they boycott future debt auctions.

more news on Wells wholesale, US Bank, Flagstar, GSE Buyouts, 30 year bond auction, rates, economy, and joke of the day … <<< CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE

In 2012, Audi will produce 1,000 units of the e-tron electric sports car that it showed at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show and the 2009 LA Auto Show. Audi said it would build the e-trons to order and would stop short if they didn’t sell out.

It now seems like Audi wants to do more with the e-tron badging. At the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, Audi showed a compact version of the e-tron concept. Sources now say that Audi wants to use the “e-tron” badging for its future electric-vehicles. What other electric-vehicles Audi has planned remain a secret.

The move will help Audi achieve its goal of selling more than 1.5 million vehicles by 2015 and to become the most successful premium manufacturer in the world.

2010 Detroit: Audi e-tron 2-seater:

All Photos Copyright © 2009 Omar Rana – egmCarTech.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoWeek

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are about to begin and the excitement is starting to build up. The Opening Ceremonies are set for later tonight, but, in the meantime, you can brush up on your history of the competition, the location or maybe the schedule of the events, by using a search engine of course. All the major search engines are marking the start of the competition with a custom homepage. It seems like Google has done a custom logo every other day or so lately, so there is absolutel… (read more)

Athens, Greece | Inspired Inventions

For over 2000 years a shipwreck lay off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera, its hidden treasures slowly corroded by the Mediterranean. It wasn’t until 1900 that sponge divers happened upon the loot, and found therein a perplexing device of remarkable engineering – though the divers had no idea how truly remarkable it was at the time. The device sat in a museum for fifty years before historians began to take a serious look at it.

Known as the Antikythera mechanism and called a “clockwork computer,” this small bronze instrument is unique because it precedes any machine of comparable complexity by more than a millennium.

The mechanism was built sometime between 150 and 100 BC, and, with over thirty gears hidden behind its dials, it is easily the most advanced technological artifact of the pre-Christian period. Regarded as the first known analog computer, the mechanism can make precise calculations based on astronomical and mathematical principles developed by the ancient Greeks. Although its builder’s identity and what it was doing aboard a ship remain mysteries, scientists have worked for a century to piece together the mechanism’s history.

Somewhat surprisingly, most consider it unlikely that the Antikythera mechanism was a navigational tool. The harsh environment at sea would have presented a danger to the instrument’s delicate gears, and features such as eclipse predictions are unnecessary for navigation. The mechanism’s small size, however, does suggest that it was designed with portability in mind. According to some researchers, a more plausible story is that the mechanism was used to teach astronomy to those with little knowledge of the subject.

To use the instrument, you would simply enter a date using a crank, and, when the gears stopped spinning, a wealth of information appear at your fingertips: the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, the lunar phase, the dates of upcoming solar eclipses, the speed of the Moon through the sky, and even the dates of the Olympic games. Perhaps most impressively, the mechanism’s calendar dial could compensate for the extra quarter-day in the astronomical year by turning the scale back one day every four years. The Julian calendar, which was the first in the region to include leap years, was not introduced until decades after the instrument was built.

While the Antikythera mechanism is the only known artifact of its kind, its precise engineering and the fact that similar instruments were described in contemporary writing lend strong support to the notion that it was not unique. It is thought that the famous inventor Archimedes of Syracuse constructed comparable devices. Some believe that the instrument came from the school of the astronomer Hipparchus. All that is certain is that the builder was Greek, as evidenced by the written instructions that are attached to the instrument’s face.

Today, the Antikythera mechanism is housed is in the Bronze Collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. A replica of the mechanism is also on view at the American Computer Museum in Bozeman, Montana. When Jacques-Yves Cousteau made the last visit to the shipwreck in 1978, he found no additional pieces. Nevertheless, the device continues to reveal its secrets to the researchers of the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project, an international effort supported by various universities and technology companies.

WOODSTOCK — Prosecutors will oppose a plan to release from prison a 70-year-old man who has spent most of his life behind bars after he murdered a 3-year-old Harvard girl in 1962.

Attorneys presented a detailed plan Thursday for releasing Gary Welsh from a state facility for sexually violent persons. The release would be under strict conditions.

McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather can accept the proposal, modify it or reject it outright after a hearing March 18, Welsh’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Rick Behof, said.

Despite the plan’s conditions, the Illinois Attorney General’s office will be “arguing as strenuously as we can against his release,” said Cara Smith, the office’s deputy chief of staff.

Prather ordered the proposal after a hearing in which two psychologists testified about Welsh’s pedophilia and the public danger he presented.

One recommended Welsh be released with restrictions such as wearing an electronic monitoring device and attend counseling. The other testified that Welsh no longer was a “substantial risk” of re-offending, largely because of his age.

This proposal incorporates both monitoring by a team of professionals and continued sex-offender and alcohol treatment.

If approved, Welsh would be placed in housing in the Rockford or Chicago areas and only leave the housing for treatment, job-hunting and other approved activities for at least 30 days, according to the proposal.

Welsh’s travel routes would be approved in advance, and he would be banned from bars, having a home computer, accessing the Internet and having contact with any children without prior approval, according to the proposal.

He would be assigned GPS monitoring equipment, and his phone calls and possibly his finances would be monitored. If he is capable of working, he would be expected to look for a job and pay what living and treatment expenses he could.

But, officials also would help him apply for government and other assistance given his age and minimal work history, according to the proposal.

Authorities have said Welsh suffocated a 3-year-old with a pillow after he raped her in September 1962, when he was 23. Welsh had been rooming with the little girl’s family for about a month. He was left in charge of her and her two brothers while her mother was hospitalized and her father fetched her aunt to watch the children on a more permanent basis.

Authorities also have indicated Welsh molested a 10-year-old female cousin in 1953, when he was 13, and raped his 12-year-old sister in 1956, when he was 17.

Welsh served 31 years in prison for the Harvard girl’s murder before being sent to a secure mental health facility.

By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI, [email protected]

Read the original article from the Northwest Herald.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Naperville Mayor George Pradel remains hospitalized after suffering a mild heart attack Wednesday night, family members said.

Pradel, 72, was taken to Edward Hospital by his wife at about midnight Wednesday where the heart attack was discovered, said daughter Carol Pradel.

She said the Mayor complained of discomfort and that “something just didn’t feel quite right.”

Carol Pradel said the Mayor woke up wife Pat at about midnight, saying he should go to the hospital.

“They went to the ER and the hospital staff did some testing,” she said. “They decided to keep him overnight for more testing, and doctors elected to go in with a camera, where it was discovered he needed two stents put in.”

When putting in the stents, Carol Pradel said, doctors discovered the mild heart attack.

“The good news is the heart attack did not do any permanent damage,” she said. “But, he needs to take his time coming back and rest.”

She said the Mayor remains in intensive care at Edwards, but is sitting up and eating. She said doctors expected the mayor to be released Saturday or Sunday.

“We were teasing him that he had the same surgery (former U.S. President) Bill Clinton had on the same day at the same time,” she said. “He’s in good spirits and is doing very well. He was not nervous because he knew he was in the best of care and the highest respect for all of his doctors.”

She said her father intends to take a little time off to recover, then will slowly start to get back to work.

“We really do appreciate everyone’s concern,” she said. “Rest is the biggest thing right now, but he’s doing great.”

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

GENEVA — Swiss authorities won’t extradite Roman Polanski to the United States until courts in Los Angeles rule definitively that the director must face further sentencing in person in a 32-year-old sex case, a senior official said Friday.

In a new twist in Polanski’s long legal saga, the Swiss Justice Ministry’s deputy director said it would make “no sense” to remove him from house arrest at his Alpine chalet while he seeks to resolve his U.S. case in absentia for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

Polanski’s lawyers insist that the 76-year-old filmmaker served his full sentence in 1978 when he underwent a diagnostic study at a California prison for 42 days. Los Angeles courts have disagreed and Polanski’s lawyers have promised to appeal.

“When the question is still open, why should he be extradited?” Rudolf Wyss told The Associated Press. “As long as the question is still open, our decision depends on that.”

Wyss spoke the same day that Polanski’s latest film, “The Ghost Writer,” was to debut at the annual Berlin film festival.

The director won’t be on hand for the premiere, or a press conference featuring the thriller’s stars Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan, because he is under house arrest at his chalet in the luxury Swiss resort of Gstaad.

Polanski lost a bid last month to be sentenced in Los Angeles without returning when a judge ruled that he must be present in court if he wanted to resolve the case.

Referring to Polanski as a fugitive from justice, Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza said he was acting to protect “the dignity of the court.”

Polanski was initially accused of raping the girl after plying her with champagne and a Quaalude pill during a 1977 modeling shoot.

He was indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molestation and sodomy, but he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse.

In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sent him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation.

The evaluator released Polanski after 42 days, but the judge said he was going to send him back to serve out the remaining time.

The Oscar-winning director of “Rosemary’s Baby,” ”Chinatown” and “The Pianist” fled the U.S. on Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was to be formally sentenced.

He has lived since then in France, which does not extradite its citizens, but was arrested Sept. 26 as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award from a film festival.

The Swiss jailed Polanski for more than two months, then put him under house arrest after he posted $4.5 million in bail and agreed to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet around his ankle.

“He’s still in Gstaad,” Wyss said. “Even if we decide on extradition, he can still appeal. This would take many months.”

Still, Polanski’s prospects have improved. He can avoid being returned to Los Angeles if a court there rules that he doesn’t have to face further punishment, or if the amount of additional time he is sentenced to is less than six months.

Los Angeles prosecutors say Polanski is subject to a sentence of two years. The defense countered that he already served a sentence handed down by the original judge in the case plus over four months spent in Swiss jail and house arrest.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

FOX RIVER GROVE — Seven trains on Metra’s Union Pacific Northwest Line this morning have experienced delays of between 18 and 62 minutes after a stalled train at the Fox River Grove station.

Train 620, scheduled to depart Fox River Grove at 8:01 a.m. and arrive in Chicago at 9:01 a.m., was the culprit, said Metra spokesman Tom Miller.

Passengers not going to Chicago exited at Barrington and were picked up there by train 624.

Those going to Chicago remained on board 620, which then became an express train to Chicago.

All trains departing now should not be experiencing any significant delays, Miller said.

Read the original article from the Northwest Herald.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

KNOXVILLE — Dancers from the Brazilian hip-hop dance company Grupo de Rua will visit the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tuesday, Feb. 16, as part of the 2009-2010 Cultural Attractions Series.

Grupo de Rua will perform at 7:30 p.m. at the Bijou Theatre, located at 803 S. Gay St. Tickets are $5 for students with UT ID, $20 for faculty and staff with UT ID and $25 for the public. Tickets will be available at the door, but may still be reserved through http://knoxvilletickets.com, by phone at 865-656-4444 or in person at the University Center Central Ticket Office.

Grupo de Rua was founded in 1996 by artistic director Bruno Beltrão. The troupe exhibits a distinctly contemporary sensibility, combining Beltrão’s lifelong passion for street dance and his study of the innovative contemporary process. Originally known as the Grupo de Rua Niterói, the dance company began touring in 1996 with the Midnight Circus, an alternative circus troupe known for its lack of animals and for building shows around dangerous themes and high-risk stunts.

Grupo de Rua is considered “one of the most creative of the new generation” by O Globo, Brazil’s second-largest newspaper. They have toured internationally since 2001, including performances in Paris, Lisbon, Belgium and Berlin. The 2009-2010 season is the company’s U.S. debut.

Each year UT Knoxville’s Cultural Attractions Series brings top-notch performing arts to the campus and community. Highlighting diverse music and dance programs, past performers include the Moscow Festival Ballet, Irish troupe Gaelic Storm and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. Other 2009-2010 events have included the Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer Trio; the Lakota Sioux Dance Theatre and the Idan Raichel Project. The final event of this year’s series, Tao: The Martial Art of Drumming, will take place on Wednesday, April 7. For more information on the 2009-2010 Cultural Attractions Series, visit http://cpc.utk.edu/Committees/cac.

—

C O N T A C T :

Rebekah Winkler, (865-974-8304, [email protected])

For more UT news, visit http://www.utk.edu/news/

Check out our new faculty experts guide at http://www.utk.edu/news/experts/

See UT faculty, staff and students making news at http://www.utk.edu/news/in_the_news/

Duncan points us to an article written by Australian actor Roy Billing complaining about the recent iiNet decision and going on to bitch about all the people “stealing” from him when they download an unauthorized copy of a film. What’s nice is that if you look through the comments on the article, the vast majority of them are well-informed and explain, quite clearly, why Mr. Billing doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about. It’s really great to see this sort of response on nearly every article that pops up like this. More and more people are understanding the basic mechanisms of the market, and they’re speaking out when people pretend that the world should adjust to them, rather than they should adjust to the world.

But our industry, worldwide, is under threat from piracy. Those who illicitly copy movies and sell them as cheap DVDs and who illegally download movies from the internet are jeapordising the future of homegrown Australian TV and films. Free access to the internet is fine but not when used to access our content for free.

Who gets free access to the internet?

Last week a very important case brought by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft against one of the internet providers, iinet, over its failure to stop illegal downloads of films and TV shows found in favour of the internet provider. I am disappointed with this court ruling and believe that in view of the constantly changing online environment, the federal government should be looking at the current situation and drafting legislation accordingly.

Why? Seriously. Why should it be the responsibility of a third party to get between a civil dispute between two parties? It makes no sense. And, as the court clearly pointed out (though, it does not appear Mr. Billing actually read the decision) the problem is that copyright infringement is not just something that “you know it when you see it.” It’s a lot more complex than that, requiring a trial to actually ascertain infringement. Simply telling ISPs that they have to stop infringement on accusation makes little sense.

But Mr. Billing implies that the ruling effectively legalized unauthorized downloading, when it did nothing of the sort. It simply said that studios should not and cannot rely on someone else to try to step in and protect their old business model. The real issue, though, is that the studios don’t want to adapt and don’t want to try new business models. But, in Mr. Billing’s world, the old business model is the only possible business model:

In Australia, film and TV budgets are usually low and we actors often take lower fees than normal so a production can be filmed. We hope that extra income will come from residuals or royalty payments from overseas sales and sales of DVDs.

Contrary to popular belief most movies do not become profitable from their theatrical releases. A movie depends on its full life cycle from cinema tickets to DVD sales to online distribution before producers and investors can recoup their investment.

Yes, that’s the way the business has been done for the last couple of decades, but things change. In fact, this is not, at all, how business was done just a short while ago. While Mr. Billing insists that actors “rely” on homesales of DVDs in the aftermarket, it was just about twenty-five years ago when Jack Valenti of the MPAA warned that: “I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.”

According to IMDB, Mr. Billing began his movie career in 1982, the same year that Valenti made that speech. Thus, it seems unlikely that Mr. Billing got into acting because he thought that home sales of VHS tapes were going to be where he made his living. It wasn’t the case at all in 1982, and as Valenti pointed out, the industry was incorrectly scared that the VHS would kill the movie business. Yet, now, Billing is insisting that the market can’t change again and he can’t get revenue elsewhere? Why must the market be frozen now when it’s adapted so well in the past?

Underbelly Three, for example, could not happen unless the people that produced and invested in Underbelly Two got a return on their investment. Just like any business situation.

Absolutely. But, “just like any business situation,” when a market changes, it’s up to the producers in that market to adapt their business model to what the market wants — not to demand legislation that tries to hold back technology and innovation to pretend the world is the way it used to be. Lots of filmmakers are adapting. If Billing is working with those who have chosen not to, he should look for work with smarter producers.

There are lots of ways for films to earn a return on investment. But they need to provide consumers with a reason to buy. Theater showings continue to do that — and, as we’ve seen, box office sales have continued to climb at a good clip year after year. DVDs might no longer be a good reason to buy, but the challenge is for the studios to come up with alternatives.

Anyone who illegally downloads a movie or a TV show from the internet is taking money out of the pockets of everyone who was involved in it. And they are making it harder for us to carry on.

Neither statement is even remotely true. What about the person who downloads the movie and then decides to go see the film on the big screen? What about the person who downloads the movie, and loves it so much, he gets a bunch of friends together to go see the film? And, what people choose to do is not making it harder for the industry to carry on. It’s the choices the industry is making in not adapting and using new business models.

Sorry, Mr. Billing, but just as when you got started in 1982, the world changes, markets change, and it’s time for you and your friends to change to — not demand that the government pass unworkable laws that try to stop people from doing what they want to do.

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People are way too psyched about China, says Hugh Hendry.

In a piece he wrote for the Telegraph, the hedge fund manager admits that China has been growing like crazy.

• China’s conomic growth has averaged 9% a year over the past 10 years, compared with 1.9% for the British economy.
• Last year, despite the credit crunch, China posted a remarkable growth rate of 10.7% compared with a British contraction of 3.2%

But here’s why China is not that great, according to Hendry:

• China, now the world’s biggest creditor, is also running persistent trade surpluses. That’s only happened twice before: with the US economy in the 1920s and with the Japanese economy in the 1980s.
• Unlike in most countries, China’s share of consumption within its economy has fallen relentlessly, reaching 35% of GDP in 2008.
• Foreign demand for its exports dropped. Now China relies on a massive surge in domestic bank lending to fuel its growth rate.
• China’s state planners have favored investment over consumption. China’s investment spending has tripled since 2001. Domestic consumption never grows fast enough to absorb the supply, and Chinese profitability is already low.

Read Hugh Hendry’s full article in the Telegraph >

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See Also:

• Watch Hedge Funder Hugh Hendry Fight WIth Joe Stiglitz And Say He Wants Greece To Collapse
• China Just Raised Its Reserve Requirements Once Again
• China’s Retreat From Risky Bonds Could Be The Straw That Breaks California’s Back

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House approved a plan Thursday allowing Gov. Pat Quinn to put off his budget speech for an extra three weeks.

The House voted 65-44 to give the governor until March 10 to outline his proposal for keeping the state afloat in the fiscal year beginning July 1. Quinn signed the legislation into law just hours after it reached his desk.

Without the change, the Chicago Democrat would have had to deliver his budget blueprint by next week.

The state faces a budget hole likely exceeding $11 billion and has been unable to pay its bills on time for months. Quinn wants an income tax hike to help close the gap.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said Quinn needed the added time because he has been involved in a bruising election battle against Comptroller Dan Hynes for the Democratic nomination for governor.

Republicans expressed outrage at granting Quinn the added time, saying the dismal condition of state finances demands immediate action.

“The governor has been in the executive office for over a year now,” said state Rep. Roger Eddy, R-Hutsonville.

“The people are getting tired of the games that are being played,” added state Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro. “They want us to get busy — and fix the problem.”

Democrats defended the move because the proposed change also requires Quinn to make detailed budget information available to the public by Feb. 24.

People interested in making suggestions on how to fix the state’s budget problems then will have two weeks to submit their ideas to the governor’s budget office.

Quinn says the new process will make the budget process more “transparent.”

The measure was approved Wednesday in the Senate. The legislation is House Bill 2240.

Read the original article from Herald & Review.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

HARVARD — District 50’s preschool program has not fallen victim to state budget woes.

Like many preschool programs, District 50’s is funded by state grants. Unlike many programs, District 50 has received most of the grant money that is expected from the state.

Superintendent Lauri Tobias said that District 50 had received $428,000 out of the expected $500,000 in state grants, a shortfall of $72,000.

By comparison, Woodstock District 200 has received about $68,000 out of an expected $1 million in grants for its preschool program this year.

The District 200 school board voted to make the program tuition-based next year because of the uncertainty of state grant funding.

Why are some district’s receiving almost the full amount of grant money while payments to other district’s are much further behind?

“I wouldn’t have a clue,” Tobias said.

The grant-based program is aimed at students deemed

at-risk. Students are screened based on a variety of criteria, including family income and academic development. Tobias said the whole point of the program was to take at-risk students, and through the preschool program, make sure that they were not behind developmentally by the time they reach school age.

District 50 will hold pre-kindergarten screening from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 8 and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 9.

The screening will take place at Trinity Lutheran Church at 504 E. Diggins St. in Harvard.

Parents should bring three proofs of residency to the screening. Appointments are necessary and can be made at 815-943-6367.

District 50 officials said that they were continuing the preschool program without any major changes. School officials still hope to expand the program in the future, noting that most years there has been a waiting list of at least 70 children.

District 50 spokesman Bill Clow said that with the new Crosby Elementary School opening, the district would have more room at Washington School for preschool classes.

By BRIAN SLUPSKI, [email protected]

Read the original article from the Northwest Herald.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Greenwire: Governments and investors from industrial nations are increasingly spending billions of dollars to lease tracts of farmland in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa in efforts to secure their supply of staple crops.

In Africa alone, some 50 million acres — about the size of Nebraska — has been leased over the past two years. Buyers include Saudi Arabia, shifting wheat production abroad, and Indian businesses, which have spent $4.2 billion leasing African soil so far, spurred by government incentives.

The contracts, which typically last 40 to 99 years, have raised concerns that countries leasing the land could do so to the detriment of the food security of their own, often hungry populations.

“These contracts are pretty thin; no safeguards are being introduced,” said David Hallam, deputy director at the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, which is discussing a code of conduct for the deals. “You see statements from ministers where they’re basically promising everything with no controls, no conditions.”

However, many experts are cautiously hopeful that a move by large agribusinesses into Africa could help feed millions. For example, most fields in Ethiopia are still plowed by oxen.

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BBC News: Long of little interest to outsiders, African land has rarely been associated with financial reward.

But for investors like Susan Payne, chief executive of Emergent Asset Management, farmland in sub-Saharan Africa is a hot bet.

Population increase, changes in eating habits and demand for bio-fuels are putting farmland at a premium worldwide.

“And African farmland prices are the lowest in the world,” she says.

Her fund is in the process of buying or leasing a total 50,000 hectares, equal to roughly 80,000 football pitches, in several African countries including Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Angola, Swaziland and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ms Payne says the investment leads to better harvests and creates jobs.

But some land deals have sparked accusations that foreign investors, corporations and countries are engaged in a damaging “land grab” in Africa and a new form of colonialism.

Food security

Last year’s food price crisis, which triggered riots in a dozen countries, has made governments more focused on the security of their food supplies.

Countries short of arable land, such as China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Kuwait, have been seeking agricultural investments in Africa.

“This has woken people up to political issues surrounding food and agricultural land ownership,” says Ms Payne.

“As an investor you can take advantage of that,” she says.

Ms Payne says the investments made by her company are welcomed and is confident that charges of land grabbing won’t stick.

“Frankly we are seeing amenable terms because local groups, including governments, want us there,” she says.

“We are not bringing in our own farm workers and then taking the food and exporting it.”

She says local communities benefit from access to new farming techniques, new seeds and technologies, as well as the above-average wages paid by Emergent’s local partner.

For now, the vast majority of the food produced stays in the country in which it is produced although it can be exported.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm for this and there should be,” she says.

“Without private pools of capital like we are providing, there will not be the jump-start to get Africa growing rapidly in agriculture – or frankly – any other sector.”

Politicised

Nonetheless, it is a highly politicised arena to invest in.

South Korean firm Daewoo Logistics was forced to abandon a project to lease one million acres of land in Madagascar to produce corn earlier this year.

The country’s new president scrapped the deal following criticism that local people had not been consulted, and Daewoo was unsettled by unrest in the island state

But Ms Payne says the risks to investors are overplayed and such views are based on an outdated view of African governments.

She says that 70% of African governments are democratically led and their economies are much better regulated than in the past.

“We only operate in counties where we can have clear land title. If we can’t get this, or we don’t have a 99-year lease from the government then we won’t operate in that country,” she says.

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