Author: Serkadis

Chicago restaurants, stores and cafeterias would be prohibited from using Styrofoam and other “polystyrene foam” products that clog landfills, under a crackdown proposed Wednesday by the City Council’s most influential alderman.

Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th) drafted the ban after learning that Chicago Public Schools use and throw away 35 million Styrofoam lunch trays each year.

If the City Council approves the ban, violators would face fines ranging of up to $300 for the first offense to $500 for subsequent violations.

City Hall would be free to grant exemptions, only if there is “no alternative that is both affordable and compostable.”

“This particular product remains in landfills forever and ever and never breaks down. … We’ve got to start thinking about how to change people’s habits. … We’ll be on the cutting edge of trying to regulate the environment,” Burke said.

“I don’t think we’re interested in snapping our fingers and stopping it immediately. But, I don’t see why we can’t explore how to phase in this kind of a change. … Sometimes, you have to push the envelope a little bit in order to get to where we ought to be.”

David Vite, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, denounced the proposed ban as anti-business and ill-conceived at a time when unemployment stands at 11 percent statewide and even higher in Chicago.

“We should be trying to think of ways to get people back to work instead of focussing on things that add cost to the Chicago business community,” Vite said.

“I hear so often, ‘This is just a little thing.’ Well, there are dozens of little things that add up to Chicago not being friendly to business. This is another example. I know Ald. Burke is well-meaning. But, this is one of those things that doesn’t stand the test of good judgment.”

If there were “better, less expensive and more appropriate” alternatives to Styrofoam products, businesses would “gravitate to them,” Vite said. But, they are simply “not available,” he said.

“So, we’ll either have cold or spoiled food or people won’t have available to them vehicles to take their food out,” Vite said.

“That market was created because we have two-income households where people have to take their lunch to work and cafeterias that don’t have the ability to keep things warm.”

Two years ago, Burke and Ald. Marge Laurino (39th) dropped their push for a San Francisco-style ban on plastic bags in favor of a watered-down version less costly and burdensome to retailers.

It required Chicago retailers who make 25 percent of their gross sales from food or pharmaceuticals to install plastic bag recycling bins — and distribute bags that state “”Please reuse or recycle.”

At the time, the aldermen warned that, if the compromise plan didn’t curb the flood of plastic bags now stuck in trees and jamming landfills and waterways, Chicago could either broaden the mandate beyond the 20,000 stores already covered or follow San Francisco’s lead by banning plastic bags.

Environmentalists had urged aldermen to take the bold step of imposing a tax of 10 cents or more on plastic bags. That helped the Republic of Ireland reduce plastic bag usage by 94 percent.

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

As his young children looked on, a 51-year-old South Side drug rehabilitation counselor allegedly shot a man who was trying to sell the counselor narcotics, Cook County prosecutors said Tuesday afternoon.

Elliot G. Mayfield was with his 11-year-old daughter, a stepdaughter and a friend when he shot Samuel Fullilove at a Woodlawn bus stop Sunday night, Assistant State’s Attorney Angel Essig said at a bond hearing Tuesday afternoon on Mayfield’s first-degree murder charges.

Mayfield was talking to another man, a former co-worker and client, at the bus stop at 6114 S. Martin Luther King Drive when Fullilove approached and tried to sell him drugs, Essig said.

Mayfield told police Fullilove, 33, started yelling at him, saying “Breezy did it. He won the Super Bowl. I got nickel rocks. I got nickel blows,” a police report said.

Mayfield, who has a 1990 drug conviction, refused and said, “I don’t do that anymore. I am just trying to make sure that my daughters get home safely,” the police report said.

But Fullilove kept taunting the older man and even swung at Mayfield but didn’t make contact, Essig said.

Fullilove also got into one of “his daughter’s faces,’’ the police report said, and Mayfield became angry.

Fullilove even chased Mayfield around as his daughter cried, “Leave my daddy alone.”

Mayfield eventually pulled out a handgun and drew it to Fullilove’s face, Essig said, but the taunts continued. Mayfield then allegedly shot Fullilove in the chest, killing him.

Mayfield, of the 6000 block of South Calumet, fled with the girls in car of the former client he had been talking to, Essig said.

Mayfield called a former girlfriend, telling her “something had happened,” the police report said. The woman told Mayfield that police had called her and urged him to call detectives.

Mayfield later called authorities to “clear things up” and told them he could be found at 7749 S. Lowe, police said.

He also showed officers where he hid the .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun wrapped in a plastic, the police report said.

Mayfield was ordered held in lieu of $800,000 bail. His relatives refused comment following the bond hearing.

Fullilove has an extensive criminal history, according to court records.

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

A woman who allegedly hurt herself when she tripped and fell on a “small traffic cone” outside a South Side Washington Heights neighborhood church filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the church.

Annie Wilson claims on Feb. 13, 2008, was at Oakdale Covenant Church Academy and Child Care Center at 9404 S. Vincennes Ave. when she “tripped and fell on a small traffic cone” in the walkway, according to a suit filed Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court.

The suit claims Oakdale, among other things, failed to maintain the parking lot walkway in a level condition and placed a traffic cone in the walkway.

Wilson claims she was injured during the fall and incurred disfigurement, medical bills, loss of normal life and earning capacity and is seeking judgment against Oakdale.

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

A Romeoville woman filed a class action federal lawsuit Wednesday against an appliance and hardware store for allegedly not honoring a rebate program.

Cheryl Craigo claims Grant’s appliance and hardware stores in 2009 advertised and promoted a rebate program offering free groceries or gasoline.

Craigo claims she made purchases as part of the program but did not get the rebates, according to the class action complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

On July 3, 2009, Grant’s issued a statement that a new rebate program would be implemented with “My Free Travel” that required a $9.95 registration fee, according to the suit.

Craigo registered for the new program, but neither Grant’s nor My Free Travel complied with the program, the suit said.

After multiple emails in January 2010 about the end of the program, Grant’s sent an email to customers offering a 20-percent discount, up to $1,000, on the purchase of regularly priced items if the customer released the store from “any potential obligation” under the previous rebate programs, the suit said.

The class action suit claims breach of contract and fraud by Bassgar-Illinois, Inc., which does business as Grant’s Hardware Joliet, Grant’s of Joliet, Grant’s Hardware, Grant’s Hardware West, Inc., Grant’s West, Grant’s appliances T.V. & Video and Grant’s Appliance Electronics & More.

It seeks actual damages, costs, an order requiring Grant’s to honor the rebates and other relief. The suit claims total damages which exceed $5 million.

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

A Cook County judge tossed the Chicago Board of Education’s lawsuit against state Rep. Monique Davis, whom school officials say owes more than $83,000 in back rent on the school district-owned office space she uses on the South Side.

But that doesn’t mean her legal troubles are over.

In dismissing the case this morning, Judge Sheldon Garber only agreed that the circuit court was the wrong jurisdiction.

Attorneys for Davis, who was not in court but was represented by the state Attorney General’s office, argued the suit should be dismissed because the board is going after Davis as a state officeholder and the case should be heard in the Illinois Court of Claims.

The court of claims handles civil cases involving the state, including contract disputes such as the one involving Davis.

Garber dismissed the case, filed in December, without prejudice — allowing the case to be refiled in another court, something the attorney for the board of education said he was considering. The unidentified attorney declined to talk to the media after the hearing.

The lawsuit came to light after the inspector general for the board of education released a report detailing how she had been occupying the building rent-free for 7 years, and owed $500,000 in rent, leaseholder taxes and penalties on it.

The board was not only demanding payment, but also moving to evict her.

School officials say they asked Davis to move out of the office in 2002, but Davis told the Sun-Times last month she asked the late School Board President Michael Scott for a new lease.

Board officials sent her correspondence over the next seven years about the office, until they moved to evict her in November.

Davis told the Sun-Times she had done nothing wrong, saying that the board came to her in 2009 with a lease that called on her to pay for building repairs and property taxes.

She didn’t believe she should be responsible for the repairs and that the government-owned building should be tax-exempt.

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

A dean of students at Zion-Benton Township High School is on paid leave after police arrested her for allegedly growing marijuana in the basement of her north suburban home.

District 126 Superintendent Chris Clark said Tuesday that based on information district officials received from the Zion Police Department, Candace Blanton was placed on paid administrative leave pending further investigation of the charges.

Clark said district officials will have no further comment.

Blanton, 38, was taken into custody Feb. 1 after police searched the residence in the 2700 block of Emmaus Avenue and found evidence marijuana was being grown indoors.

Blanton was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a sativa plant and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

She was also charged with a felony count of obstructing justice.

She was released on a $150,000 recognizance bond and has a preliminary hearing date set for March 3.

Blanton grew up in North Chicago and attended Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, where she was on the women’s track team, competing in shot put and javelin.

She graduated in 1996.

In 2004, she coached the eighth-grade boys basketball team at Viking School in Gurnee Grade School District 56 to an undefeated season.

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

William A. Krolik felt cheated.

Two years after the convicted murderer was paroled from prison, prosecutors allege, he hatched a plan to take back what he considered rightfully his from a stepsister who inherited their deceased father’s assets.

After deliberating one hour, a DuPage County jury on Wednesday convicted the 44-year-old Chicago man of being behind a violent Dec. 4, 2007 encounter in Westmont that sparked precedent in Illinois law.

Krolik’s father left everything to the stepdaughter who took care of him until his January 2007 death.

The woman testified during the two-day trial that she managed to escape into her home after a hammer-wielding assailant attacked her in the back yard.

The woman, who lives one block from the police station, called 911 as her assailant tried to kick in her door.

Police quickly nabbed Louis P. Demeo, who confessed and identified Krolik, encircling the block in a Chevy Blazer, as his co-defendant.

Krolik confessed in a videotaped police interrogation to a plan to burglarize his stepsister’s home. He said the plan was for Demeo to overpower his sister, bind her hands with electrical tape and cover her face, so that she would not recognize him.

“Listen to the defendant’s words,” Prosecutor Mary K. Cronin encouraged jurors. “He admits everything. He felt cheated. It was only because his feisty stepsister was on the ball that his plan was foiled.”

The six-member jury found Krolik guilty Wednesday of attempted armed robbery and attempted home invasion. Krolik faces four to 30 years in prison when DuPage Circuit Judge Blanche Hill Fawell sentences him this spring.

The criminal case set legal precedent in Illinois after prosecutors objected to the defense’s request for a six-member jury.

The defense attorney, Brian Jacobs, a senior DuPage County public defender, sought a smaller jury than the typical 12 after a defendant in another high-profile case was acquitted with a smaller jury.

DuPage State’s Attorney Joe Birkett objected.

In an unanimous Oct. 8 2009 ruling, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled if a criminal defendant wants a jury with fewer than 12 people and the trial judge allows it, a prosecutor can’t stand in the way.

Demeo, 41, of Chicago, received a 12-year prison term in an earlier guilty plea.

Krolik was paroled in May 2005 after serving more than 20 years in prison for a 1982 road-rage murder in Chicago in which the male victim was dragged one block by the defendant’s car as he fled the scene.

At the time, the 17-year-old Krolik used an alias last name of “Steffens.”

Krolik received a 30-year term for the murder – which was prosecuted when Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley was the Cook County state’s attorney – but first district appellate court justices reduced it to 20 years in a Feb. 15, 1985 opinion after citing the defendant’s age and lack of significant criminal history.

The opinion read: “We believe that defendant’s rehabilitative potential was not given adequate consideration.”

Krolik received an additional 5-year prison term after being accused in 1987 of having a homemade weapon as a felon while incarcerated for the murder.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

There’s a new Call of Duty title coming out later this year. Are you excited? It’s certainly not a big surprise.
 
 
 
 

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Geneva Motor Show, Porsche, Racing

In an interesting about-face, Porsche has revealed the first images and details on its new racer, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid.

Based on the rear-drive 911 GT3 R that’s set to take to the track in privateer hands later this year, the GT3 R Hybrid utilizes a rear-mounted, 480-hp 4.0-liter flat-six in conjunction with two electric motors that drive the front wheels. Residing in the space normally reserved for the passenger seat sits a flywheel, which harnesses kinetic energy under braking and can spin upwards of 40,000 rpm. Once enough energy is stored, the system lets loose up to 120 kilowatts – approximately 160 horsepower – to the front wheels in six to eight second bursts that are controlled by a steering wheel-mounted button.

Porsche apparently hasn’t released official performance specs, but the GT3 R Hybrid’s world debut will take place at the Geneva Motor Show before it hits the track for its motorsports debut at the Nürburgring 24 Hours on May 15. Devised as a rolling “racing laboratory,” after the Hybrid takes to the Green Hell this year, Porsche plans to assault the 24 Hours of LeMans in a refined version in 2012, just as the sanctioning body begins to favor hybrids. Now about that “no hybrids” thing…

Continue reading Geneva Preview: Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid

Geneva Preview: Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Given reports that Iran is potentially handing out death sentences to bloggers whose content the Iranian gov’t dislikes, you would think that a secure and private means of communication is important for many people in that country. And apparently the Iranian government realizes this and doesn’t like it. So it’s decided to try to pull the plug on Gmail, and instead roll out a “national email service.” Of course, that just means an email service that the government has full access to, which I’m sure doesn’t fool anyone. However, it does make you wonder if Iran thinks it can possibly block all other types of email beyond just Gmail (and I’m sure plenty of folks in Iran can quickly figure out how to get around the blocks).

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Well this was really stressful! What we have here is a leaked footage of the finger-cutting scene from Heavy Rain. No wonder this game is not for kids. The emotional stress level is just whack.
 
 
 

2010Jan1-2010Feb10: Rainfall in India between 2010Jan1 and 2010Feb10 (IMD, 2010).

Reference: India Meteorological Department. 2010 http://www.imd.gov.in/section/hydro/dynamic/seasonal-rainfall.htm

Image Description: see case description. Image Location: India Meteorological Department http://www.imd.gov.in/section/hydro/dynamic/seasonal-rainfall.htm Image Permission: This work is copyrighted and unlicensed. However, it is believed that the use of this work to illustrate the subject in question, Where no free equivalent is available or could be created that would adequately give the same information, on Interlinked Challenges, hosted on servers in the United States by Michigan State University, qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law.

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Europe, Japan, Mazda

If you’ll allow us to channel Kyle’s mother for a moment, “What!? What!? What?!?!“ That’s right folks, not only has Mazda decided that them good bread and cheese eaters over in Europia get a 20th Anniversary edition Miata, but the redcoat wearing, Simon Cowell spawning, Union Jacking Queen-lovers over in Britain are fit to get their own special special edition 20th Anniversary Miata. Us Yanks? Bupkis.

Of course, when you scrape your way down to the nitty and/or gritty of the matter, you learn that just like the Europe-only MX-5 Miata, the Brit version also gets a 1.8-liter motor, not the more powerful 2.0-liter found in U.S.-spec Miatas. Meaning that only a very few crazy die hards would shell out good money for a detuned special edition Miata even if the 1.8-liter model “echoes true spirit of 1990 original.” And of course, as we all know (ahem) the 1990 original Miata came with a 1.6-liter power plant and the 1.8-liter motor didn’t show up until 1996.

The truth of the matter is there doesn’t seem to be any difference between the British 20th Anniversary cars and the European ones aside from the fancy paint job (the 20th Anniversary car is largely an appearance package detailed here). It’s just that Britain is such a huge Miata market the island nation secured 33 percent of the production run. After all, the Miata is essentially a British roadster minus all the never absent rust, fatal electrical gremlins and routine catastrophic purging of essential fluids. Still feeling bad that we’re not getting a 20th Anniversary Miata? It takes 9.9 seconds for that 1.8-liter to 60 miles per hour… Press release after the jump.

[Source: Mazda]

Continue reading Blimey! UK gets its own 20th Anniversary Mazda Miata

Blimey! UK gets its own 20th Anniversary Mazda Miata originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ever since the Touareg SUV was produced by Volkswagen it has only received one facelift, which debuted in North America as a 2008 model. Since then, Volkswagen has left the Touareg virtually untouched – at least to the public eye. Behind closed doors, however, Volkswagen was planning the redesigned 2011 Touareg you see here and a hybrid version that will be the first and only off-roader in Europe by a German automaker to be available as hybrid.

Volkswagen says that the Touareg Hybrid with a V6 gasoline engine will replace the V8 gasoline engine in many countries. Power for the 2011 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid comes from a supercharged V6 TSI unit making 333-hp. Mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and a 47-hp electric-motor (E-Motor), the Touareg Hybrid makes a total of 380-hp and a maximum torque of 428 lb-ft. That will allow the hybrid version of the Touareg to go from 0-62 mph in 6.5 seconds with a top speed of 149 mph. Even with that much power, Volkswagen says that the Touareg Hybrid will return an estimated 29 mpg. Features like Coasting (disengages the V6 TSI from the transmission when the driver releases the gas pedal) Regenerative Braking and Stop/Start System also help increase fuel-efficiency of the Touareg Hybrid.

The 2011 Volkswagen Touareg will also be available with a 280-hp 3.6L V6 FSI, an advanced version of the V6 TDI making 240-hp, and a new 4.2L V8 TDI making 340-hp. While the V6 TDI will make it to the stateside, the V8 TDI will not be offered in the United States.

We’ll have more details on the U.S.-spec version of the 2011 Touareg later this spring. Prices will be announced closer to launch.

2011 Volkswagen Touareg:

Press Release:

To the Point: World Premiere:

New Touareg takes the SUV idea into the future

– Touareg debuts with hybrid drive and high-tech range of engines
– Volkswagen SUV is 208 kilograms lighter and 20 percent more fuel efficient

Wolfsburg/Munich, 10 February 2010 – Volkswagen is unveiling the completely redeveloped Touareg as a world premiere. It is the most technically innovative “VW” since the brand has been in existence. This Touareg is reinterpreting the fascinating multipurpose SUV idea in a contemporary way – thanks to a range of engines that are nearly 20 percent more fuel efficient and a large variety of new assistance and safety systems. The Touareg will also be the first and only off-roader in Europe by a German car maker to be available in a hybrid version too. It sets standards among fully off-road capable SUVs with petrol engines that have a fuel consumption value of just 8.2 litres fuel per 100 kilometres. The Touareg Hybrid can be driven up to 50 km/h in purely electric mode – emissions-free. Among the diesel engines, the Touareg V6 TDI with 7.4 litre combined fuel consumption now posts the best value in the segment of genuine SUVs. Both versions, the Touareg Hybrid and V6 TDI, are the most fuel efficient petrol and diesel SUVs ever built in Europe in this large vehicle class.

New era SUV – lighter, more aerodynamic and fuel efficient

As has already been accomplished on the globally successful, smaller Tiguan, Volkswagen is systematically striving for sustainability on the new Touareg too. The first precondition was met: The SUV was lightened by 208 kilograms in the base version! A quantum leap. Yet, the body has five percent greater torsional rigidity, which makes it the leader in its competitive class. A second precondition was met as well: Designers attained a significantly improved Cd value. Along with aerodynamic refinement efforts, another factor at work here is that this Touareg is built lower to the ground than the previous model. Together with front end styling based on the new Volkswagen design DNA, this results in a smaller frontal area. The third precondition: All engines, now offered with a standard 8-speed automatic transmission – a first in this market segment – demonstrate significant fuel economy advantages over the previous model; in some cases the advantage is far greater than two litres per 100 kilometres.

SUV for all trails – All-wheel drive in two versions

Also modified in pursuit of reduced fuel consumption was the standard all-wheel drive. In the base version (“4Motion”), all new generation Touaregs have all-wheel drive with Torsen limited-slip differential (4MOTION; climbing ability: 31 degrees). Like the Tiguan Track & Field, the Touareg also has an “Off-road driving programme”, which – at the press of a button – tunes the ABS, EDS and ASR for off-road duty, activates Hill Descent Assist and adjusts the automatic gearshift points.

Instead of a Torsen differential, the V6 TDI can be ordered with an optional “Terrain Tech Packet” that has an even more rugged transfer case designed for off-road duty. It includes reduction gearing and centre and rear differentials, each with up to 100 percent locking (4XMOTION; climbing ability: 45 degrees). Similar to the first Touareg generation, this version also has a rotary switch the driver now uses to adapt the car to specific duty conditions over five levels: 1. “On-Road”; 2. “Off-Road” (like “Off-road driving programme” plus automatic control of the mechanical locks); 3. Low (like “Off-road” plus activation of reduced gearing, higher shift points, no automatic upshift in manual mode); 4. Addition of centre differential lock; 5. Addition of rear differential lock. Equipped like this, the Touareg can conquer any terrain on Earth.

SUV for everyday driving – more space, more innovations

Volkswagen has not only made the new Touareg lighter, more fuel efficient and an agile performer; it has also made it into an even more versatile, all-round vehicle. The new interior was made more functional, the seats more comfortable and leg room in the rear is larger. Now the rear bench seat has 160 millimetres in longitudinal adjustment, and the backrest angle can be adjusted. Electrically unlatched at the press of a button as an option, it folds down in seconds and frees up 1,642 litres of cargo space. Already standard equipment in the base version is a radio-CD and info system, which is intuitively controlled over a 6.5-inch touch-screen.

The parking brake is now activated by pushbutton. The engine (V6 versions) automatically shuts off at traffic lights and restarts as soon as the driver releases the brake pedal (Stop-Start system). As an option, the tailgate can be opened and closed by a RF remote control unit integrated in the car key. The largest panoramic sunroof of all SUVs provides for light even on overcast days. The innovative “Area View” utilises four cameras to detect the Touareg’s surroundings and this enhances safety. Also offering protection are up to nine airbags. Lane Assist ensures that the vehicle does not stray from the right path; meanwhile, Side Assist warns of vehicles approaching from the rear when changing lanes. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with integrated Front Assist can brake to a stop in an emergency and tension the seatbelts as a precautionary measure. Bi-Xenon headlights with Dynamic Light Assist perceive oncoming traffic and adjust the light beam to eliminate unwanted glare, and adaptive roll compensation ensures that the Touareg sits solidly on the street. For the first time, there will be special features on the new Touareg under the new “Exclusive” badge from Volkswagen Individual. Options that can be ordered include 19-inch alloy wheels (“Girona” type), fine wood inserts (“Olive Ash”) and a leather interior (“Nappa”) in the two-colour combinations “Dark Burgundy / Titan Black” or “Pepper Beige / Titan Black”.

Touareg – the best of two worlds

About 500,000 car drivers chose to buy the first generation of the SUV. It is a luxury sport utility vehicle that offers a high level of comfort, sporty driving properties, avant-garde styling, excellent quality and unlimited expedition capabilities – essentially the best of the passenger car and off-road worlds unified in one concept. This is now being followed up by the new Touareg – a high-end and versatile all-round vehicle that brings these two worlds together even more perfectly. The Touareg will already be available at dealers in April.

– By: Omar Rana

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Sedan, Performance, BMW, Luxury

Not only will BMW not make an M7, but they even stopped making the incredibly-close-to-an-M Alpina B7 a few years ago. That car could hold its head high against competitors like the Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG, Audi S8 and Bentley Flying Spur Speed, with extra horsepower, refined handling and unique looks setting it apart from standard 7 series fare. Sadly, that car was only produced from 2007-2008 and since ’09 there’s been nothing to fill the void.

Today in Chicago we saw a bright light on the horizon. Just in time to do battle with the upcoming Jaguar XJR, Porsche Panamera Turbo and the like, BMW unveiled the 2011 Alpina B7. Functional front and rear fascias and spoilers, 20-spoke, 21-inch Alpina wheels, hand-stitched “Lavalina” leather and Alpina badges and sills differentiate this from lesser 7s.

Underhood there’s a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 500 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque – 100 hp and 66 lb-ft better than the 750i, with a 0-60 dash of 4.5 seconds. Available in short wheelbase for $122,875 or extended wheelbase at $126,775, it’s a helluva car for helluva lot scratch. Press release after the jump and live gallery below.

Live photos copyright (C)2010 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: BMW]

Continue reading Chicago 2010: BMW ends three year Alpina B7 drought for 2011

Chicago 2010: BMW ends three year Alpina B7 drought for 2011 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

You may recall that almost exactly a year ago there were all sorts of reports of music blogs using Google’s Blogger service finding their blog posts silently disappearing. The issue, it turned out, was the way Google dealt with DMCA takedown notices from copyright holders. The way the DMCA is set up, in order to avoid liability, Google is put in an awkward position of having to take the content down. After the outcry a year ago, the team at Blogger spent a lot of time talking to the lawyers both internally and elsewhere (such as at the EFF) to see if they could come up with a better way to still follow the law, but avoid the mess of February ’09. Back in August Google announced its revamped DMCA policy for Blogger, specifically designed to deal with this. Basically, the company tried much harder to communicate with users as to what was happening. Rather than just deleting whole blog posts, it would move them to draft mode, and then try to alert the bloggers via email and through the Blogger dashboard. This definitely seemed like a step in the right direction, but I still thought the company fell short on not having a clear counternotice procedure. Instead, it seemed to default to assuming the DMCA takedown was accurate, and moving a post to draft would be enough to get the blogger to “remove” the offending content? But what if the content wasn’t actually infringing?

Either way, unfortunately, it looks like the new policy isn’t working. Today, the stories started popping up again, claiming that music blogs were being deleted, leading to something of a Twitter frenzy. Certainly, it appears that some blogs had their content removed despite having permission from the record labels to post the content. But it also appears that some of the frenzy involves people finding the news stories from a year ago and not realizing we’re in 2010 now. For example, this blog post at Nashville Scene points to a year old story as if it’s new.

And, in fact, from what’s being talked about from the blogs that did have their content removed, it sounds like the newer system (unlike the old system) did alert them to what was happening, but they just felt hopeless to respond. Google has put up a response, basically saying that if it doesn’t receive a counternotice, and it keeps getting DMCA takedowns on the same account, eventually it takes the blog down as a “repeat offender.” So we’re back to the point that I predicted in August, where your average everyday blogger has no idea what a DMCA counternotice is and how to use it — so it would be much better if Google made the process of filing such a counternotice a lot more intuitive.

In the end, though, there are two real issues here. First, is the ridiculous “left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing” aspect of record label lawyers sending out DMCA takedowns for content that its marketing department sent to the blogs on purpose. But second, and much more important, is the ridiculousness of the DMCA’s notice-and-takedown provisions in its safe harbors. It’s a “guilty until you’re innocent” type of measure. It effectively forces Google into a position where it needs to take down the content, until a blogger goes through the confusing process of filing a counternotice. It makes no sense, at all, why we don’t improve the process to allow for a notice-and-notice system, whereby the blogger is allowed to respond to the copyright holder before any content is removed. That seems like common sense. On top of that, while the DMCA is a little vague on this topic, it does in some ways suggest that service providers must do more to prevent repeat offenders — which is part of the reason why Google most likely shuts down those “repeat offenders.” Again, it seems like Google should be a lot more communicative with blogs it’s about to shut down, and a lot clearer in explaining the issues (and the best way to respond). The current notices leave a lot to be desired.



But, the real issue is how much pressure the DMCA puts on Google to act in this manner, and with things like ACTA being negotiated in secret with the aim of locking in the more draconian rules of such safe harbors, it will become increasingly difficult to fix that faulty aspect of the DMCA takedown process.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story