Author: Serkadis

Something not very funny, from Gov. Pat Quinn’s perspective, happened as he was skipping to an easy victory in the Democratic primary for governor.  Just a few weeks ago, polls had Quinn leading his opponent, Comptroller Dan Hynes, by 20 points.

(UPDATE: Here’s the new Tribune poll)

(IEA’s primary recommendations are here)

Quinn’s problems began when an avalanche of post-Christmas bad press swamped his campaign, generated by an early release program that saw some prisoners who were sprung early for budgetary reasons ending up back in jail.

Quinn has tried to fight back by touting a Chicago cemetery scandal that he blamed on his opponent. He has been mostly unsuccessful in generating bad press for Hynes.

This week, as the early release story had played itself out, the Hynes campaign showed everyone what it had been keeping up its sleeve; 1987 video of Harold Washington, Chicago’s first black mayor, explaining that he fired Pat Quinn as his revenue director for being an incompetent self-promoter. See the Hynes TV spot.

As the Sun-Times’ Dave McKinney explains,

Quinn, at that point an up-and-coming government reformer, was brought on by Washington in 1986 to clean up the city’s scandal-plagued Revenue Department. But Washington canned Quinn in June 1987, alleging that Quinn engaged in grandstanding and repeatedly ignored orders.

“He went in there like a bull in a closet, wouldn’t do what he was told, which was to put the systems in there which I had discussed thoroughly with him,” Washington said, showing flashes of anger as he spoke. “No, he thought that department was a PR plantation, and he didn’t do his work. He was dismissed. He should have been dismissed. My only regret is that we hired him and kept him too long.”

For good measure, Washington called hiring Quinn his “greatest mistake in government.”

Some internal political polls in recent days reportedly showed Hynes pulling within 6-7 percentage points of Quinn as a result of Hynes’ release program media barrage. This ad, launched 12 days before the election, might be a game-changer.

As Washington’s former press aide told the Chicago Current blog,

“If I’m Pat Quinn, I’m s—ting my pants,” says Alton Miller. “It’s a total nightmare for any candidate who expects support from the African American community.”

The run-up to the February 2nd election should be interesting.

In this morning’s RBS Global Views newsletter, analyst Tim Ash focuses on Greece defaulting on its debt, a situation that will ultimately come to fruition sooner or later.

RBS: Greece in particular presents the ECB and the European authorities more  generally with an acutely difficult dilemma which has ramifications for the whole of  the Eurozone. It is now widely accepted that Greece’s fiscal position is simply  unsustainable. Years of fudge and of gerrymandering the statistics cannot go as  on markets are no longer willing to tolerate excess, in a more difficult funding  environment. Some politicians in Athens appear to get the message, including the  incumbent prime minister and his closest associates. A social consensus around  the need for drastic fiscal measures is still, however, lacking; which stands in stark contrast to the UK where politicians are vying to show their cost cutting  credentials ahead of elections. Markets simply have no faith (largely because of  the track record) in the ability of the incumbent Greek government to enforce a  sufficiently austere fiscal programme. There is widespread concern that on a  stand-alone basis Greece risks default. Greece does though not stand-alone, as  the consensus is that it is too big to fail, as this might risk undermining the while single currency project, which as much a political as an economic project at the outset. 

Ultimately the European authorities will cobble together a bail-out, raising concerns over moral hazard and the durability of the Stability and Growth Pact. The periphery is seen as too important to fail, but this has big repercussions for the core. In particular, the ECB has to grapple with the problem of the two-speed Europe in setting rates. While the German economy shows some steel, and might suggest a need for the ECB to raise policy rates sooner rather than later, the likelihood that some countries on the periphery are simply unable to reform, and are bound to remain in recession/low growth, would suggest a lower for longer policy response. And, even if they bite the fiscal reform bullet, their economies will remain fragile for some time to come, and will require cheap money for longer. Arguably this would suggest selling Greek 5Y protection, to take advantage of the too big to fail hypothesis, while also selling the Euro to reflect the likely perennial weakness of the periphery and the over-riding need for the ECB to be accommodative.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Reminder: The Worst Sovereign Isn’t Greece, Iceland Or Ireland
• Watch How Banks Get Whacked When Greece Goes Bust
• It’s Not Just Greece: Trichet Extends Warning To All Of Europe On Budget Deficits

Despite featuring only one field goal in the final six minutes, the game between Loyola and Butler didn’t lack drama.

The Bulldogs (15-4, 8-0) remained undefeated in Horizon League play with a 48-47 victory on Thursday night at the Gentile Center against Loyola (12-6, 3-5).

Loyola guard Terrance Hill’s three-point attempt rattled out of the rim and Jordan Hicks’ tip-in attempt at the buzzer missed.

Hill had connected on a three-pointer to tie the game 47-47 with 48 seconds remaining. Butler’s Willie Veasley connected on one of two free throws on the other end for the deciding score.

Butler hung on even though it shot just 3-for-20 on three-pointers, made 35.7 percent of its field goal atttempts and was outrebounded 42-29.

Walt Gibler led the Ramblers with 14 points, while Hill added 12.

By Shannon Ryan

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Patrick K. Freer, an associate professor of choral music education at Georgia State University in Atlanta, is well known for his work with adolescent choirs.

How he came to occupy that niche can be traced back to his own personal experiences as an adolescent boy. “I was told to stand in the back row, not sing, and simply mouth the words when my voice began to change,” Freer said. “The teacher didn’t know what to do with me, so as much as I loved music, I was out of choir.”

In the short term, he learned to play piano and began a high school career as an accompanist for a variety of musical groups, but he still felt what had happened to him was wrong.

In college, he discovered others who had been told the same thing — “you can’t sing” — and Freer decided to help middle school music teachers deal with the unique creature that is a middle school boy or girl.

He wrote two books, Tips: The First Weeks of Middle School Chorus and Getting Started with Middle School Chorus.

Now in its second edition, Getting Started offers new information on working with young adolescent changing voices, designing optimal rehearsals for middle schoolers, managing growing choral programs, and helping youngsters gain musical skills they can carry with them for a lifetime of making music.

The Tips book includes easy-to-read lists, with information on setting up your classroom, choral activities for day one and beyond, repertoire for the first weeks, warm-ups for changing voices, and other information.

Freer said his aim is to help teachers cope day-to-day, but he also wants teachers to look past the first day of school or a fall concert. He wants them to think of their students in the future, students who will love singing as adults.

During a recent interview, Freer answered a few questions about his books:

• Explain the “ABC” concept you discuss in Getting Started in Middle School Chorus.

The book discusses these in great detail, but middle school choral music teachers must do three things:
A=Adapt rehearsals to the changing needs of young adolescents
B=Build on what students know and build toward what they need to know
C=Challenge students in ways that match their skill levels.
The three letters help choral teachers remember that their middle school choirs are not elementary choirs, not high school choirs — their students have unique needs.

•  What are a middle school school choral teacher’s most important assets as part of a middle school faculty ?

Humor, flexibility, and compromise are three of the most valuable attributes of effective middle school teachers. None of these characteristics in any way signals that you don’t take your job seriously or that you haven’t set high expectations for yourself and your students. What they do signal is that you’re approachable and willing to work cooperatively. Administrators, fellow teachers, students and parents all need to know a choral teacher is approachable. Your job is to work hard, laugh easily and make outstanding music.

• On the subject of repertoire–Tips discusses 11 pieces a director can use for a concert early in the school year. What were your criteria in selecting those pieces?

I wanted to have accessible pieces usable by any choir, no matter what grade level, no matter what the ratio of boys to girls. These are not necessarily pieces to use all year long, but to get started. Middle school choral music teachers can build on what students know. We have to honor what students bring with them from elementary school and then help them build toward what they need to succeed in high school.

• Any additional thoughts about teaching middle school chorus and keeping kids singing?

We think about what students will do later in life, hoping student will be singing 20 years from now. But if all we do is focus on concert events, our students won’t learn any skills they can use in the future. You have to teach kids first and then teach music. If all you are doing is songs, there is problem there.

If a kid drops out of chorus to take up soccer or something else, don’t throw a tantrum. Leave the door open. They will come back at some point if they have a good experience.
 

To order the books, visit Rowman & Littlefield Education. The list price for the paperback Getting Started with Middle School Chorus is $21.95. Tips: The First Weeks of Middle School Chorus costs $14.95. MENC members receive a 25% discount on each book when using the code MENC25 while ordering.

Are you a middle school choral teacher? Do you have questions, suggestions, or challenges you would like to discuss about this unique teaching experience? Visit MENC’s Chorus Forum.

  —Roz Fehr, January 22, 2010. © MENC: The National Association for Music Education
 

Perhaps if you’ve been living under a pop culture rock for the past few years, you were unaware of the popular hobby of creating subtitled videos of an angry Hitler reacting to something going on in the world today, using a clip from the German movie Downfall. For example, here is Hitler responding to NBC’s snafu with late night television programming with Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien:

“Someone sends me the links every time there’s a new one,” says the director, on the phone from Vienna. “I think I’ve seen about 145 of them! Of course, I have to put the sound down when I watch. Many times the lines are so funny, I laugh out loud, and I’m laughing about the scene that I staged myself! You couldn’t get a better compliment as a director.” Some of Hirschbiegel’s favorites are the one where Hitler hears of Michael Jackson’s death, and one in which the Fuhrer can’t get Billy Elliot tickets

Of course, as director, and not producer, he probably does not hold the copyright and has no say in whether or not the clips are allowed — but it is worth noting that he seems to quite enjoy them.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Ferrari, Design/Style

Ferrari Enzo Modulo II by Paolo Martin – Click above for high-res image gallery

Paolo Martin knows Ferraris. Having worked for several decades as a designer for Pininfarina – the design house of choice for Maranello – he’s styled several Prancing Horse design studies. One of his most iconic designs was the Ferrari Modulo concept, unveiled at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show.

Based on the chassis from a homologated Ferrari 512 S racing car, the Modulo was the absolute cutting edge of space-age design. It was far too radical to ever see production, of course, but its design has endured as one of the most exceptional of its era.

Now, in a rather unique move, Martin has revisited his concept, re-interpreting the theme in a more contemporary design. Theoretically based on a Ferrari Enzo chassis, the “nuovo Modulo” looks as radical now as the original did in its day. The question is, does Pininfarina still have the gusto to build even just the one?

[Source: Car Body Design]

Pininfarina’s Paolo Martin revisits the Ferrari Modulo with Enzo-based design study originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s Friday, and all you can really think about is getting out of work or class and running home for a fun packed weekend. Well, if you’re bored and need to kill some time, check out the new online game, “White Collar: Chasing the Shadow,” by USA Network Inc. The game features the 2010 Ford Taurus and allows you to mess around with some of its features including SYNC, SecuriCode, Adaptive Cruise Control and Collision Warning.

To play, visit http://chasingtheshadow.usanetwork.com and click on the “games” tab at the top of the page.

Hit the jump for the press release.

Press Release:

2010 FORD TAURUS STARS IN NEW ONLINE INTERACTIVE GAME “CHASING THE SHADOW”

* The hot-selling 2010 Ford Taurus is now a star in a new online game, “White Collar: Chasing the Shadow,” which is the online extension to the USA NETWORK hit TV drama “White Collar”
* The game takes product placement in casual gaming to the next level by fully integrating the Taurus and its technology and features into the gaming experience
* With online gaming in the U.S. growing 10 times as fast as the entire U.S. Internet population, the Ford Taurus has the opportunity to be virtually experienced by millions of online gamers. In November 2009, online gaming sites generated 53 million unique visitors in that month alone
* To play the new online game, visit http://chasingtheshadow.usanetwork.com and click on the “games” tab at the top of the page

DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 19, 2010 – The hot-selling 2010 Ford Taurus takes a giant leap into cyberspace today, starring in a new online interactive game that takes product placement in casual gaming to the next level by fully integrating the vehicle and its technology and features into the gaming experience.

The game, “White Collar: Chasing the Shadow,” is an extension of the critically acclaimed USA NETWORK drama “White Collar,” which follows a con artist and FBI agent who team up to catch bad guys. The Taurus is not only featured prominently in the television series but now in a new online game that allows players – acting as FBI trainees – to drive the Taurus and use its features to catch a notorious villain dubbed “The White Shadow.”

“What makes this initiative unique is that the 2010 Taurus isn’t just along for the ride,” said Connie Fontaine, Ford Brand Content & Alliances manager. “The new and class-exclusive technologies in the Taurus are used to interpret clues and collect evidence.”

For example, players use the Ford SYNC technology to access text messages that contain important crime-solving tips.

“Features like SYNC, SecuriCode, Adaptive Cruise Control and Collision Warning are used in the online game as they would be by a real-world consumer, and they seamlessly contribute to the game’s plot and puzzles,” explained Fontaine. “The game also is episodic in nature, giving players the ability to come back and solve new puzzles weekly and vary the ways in which they interact with the Taurus.”

Online game product placement: Kicking it up a notch
Product placement in online games is not new for Ford, but the depth of the Taurus integration in “White Collar: Chasing the Shadow” is, according to Jonathan Beebe, Taurus Digital Marketing manager.

“This is a more immersive, realistic and storytelling-based experience that is more closely aligned with television and movie product integration,” he said. “It raises the bar by providing realistic environments and compelling game play that showcases the Taurus and its features to consumers.”

According to Jeff Eggen, Ford Car Experiential Marketing manager, the company is continually looking for ways to extend partnerships – like the one with USA NETWORK – in meaningful ways.

“What we really liked about creating the online game with USA is that it not only introduces Taurus to millions of consumers through the popularity of online gaming but provides them with a very engaging way to experience the innovative technology and features in the new Taurus,” he said.

If you would like to experience the Taurus in the new online game, please visit http://chasingtheshadow.usanetwork.com and click on the “games” tab at the top of the page.

– By: Kap Shah

Just a friendly reminder -- severe restrictions on proprietary trading would suddenly make markets far more inefficient than they are already.

We'd see all kinds of asset prices making violent moves here and there, as tons of financial players unwind, rewind, reorganize, etc.

It wouldn't happen all in one go, but it could lead to some pretty chaotic mini-moments popping up here and there for various markets.

Which would be great news for the smaller independent traders who wouldn't be restricted, even if there would still be a lot of big boys, like say Citadel, still engaged as usual.

One example we could imagine would be in regards to 'capital structure arbitrage', ie. the trading of different securities around the same underlying company. Convertible bonds, regular bonds, stocks, and options for the same company could fall out of whack whereby one was obviously too cheap vs. the other.

This would be especially the case for less liquid securities (convertible bonds stand out here). M&A deals could be affected as well, perhaps deal spreads (the difference between the market price and announced take-out price of the acquisition target) could widen. Many instances of this happened during the recent financial crisis -- for example, some bonds of equal risk had different yields due to different classes of investors unwinding differently (convertible bonds, again). Even plain stocks might get silly, if they happen to be a part of some trade that a lot of large players, or a single large concentrated owner, are forced to shut down.

Such a scenario might be worth digging around and preparing for.

Add my twitter for more analysis-only like this: @vincefernando

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Prop Trading Is Like Pornography
• Privately, Tim Geithner Is Not On Board, And Doesn't Get How Prop Trading Is The Problem
• Goldman Sachs Destroys Expectations With $6.41 Billion of Trading Revenue

A gentle reminder from the good people at Eveready, circa 1936. [LiveJournal via Boing Boing]

“It is the first time [for a Korean company] to go into bioethanol production in the Philippines. [The plant] is the biggest ethanol plant in the Philippines so far,” Agbon told reporters in an interview. …

GREENWOOD, S.C. — As family and friends gathered to view Gaines Adams’ body Thursday evening, many entered Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services wearing a specially-designed white T-shirt honoring their local hero.

On the front of the shirt was a collection of snapshots from Adams’ playing career, with four smaller photos surrounding a larger image of Adams’ introductory news conference with the Bears.

The back had Adams’ number 93 from Clemson, with a Tiger paw forming the 9.

Vince Coates, a distant relative, Greenwood native, and brother of former NFL tight end Ben Coates, came up with the concept.

More photos from Thursday’s wake.

Chicago police shot and critically wounded a man Thursday night in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Officials said the 27-year-old man was shot multiple times and taken in critical condition to Mt. Sinai Hospital. No one else was hurt.

Police described the man as an “offender” but provided no details.

The shooting happened about 8 p.m. in the 4300 block of West Augusta Boulevard.

The Independent Police Review Authority, which probes shootings involving Chicago police officers, was investigating the shooting late Thursday.

–Staff report

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

According to reports, Fiat is planning on merging Alfa Romeo, Abarth and Maserati into one sporty sub brand. Earlier today, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne appointed Abarth and Maserati CEO Harald Wester as CEO of Alfa Romeo. Wester’s main goal will be to identify the similarities and synergies between the three brands.

Fiat has previously confirmed that Alfa Romeo is under strategic review with details to be published in April when Fiat Group announces its plans for the next five year.

“Alfa has been underperforming for a long time,” Marchionne said at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. “It has been the most difficult part of Fiat’s recovery, even though on paper it looks so attractive. The marque isn’t for sale, or anything like that. It’s our problem. But we do have to rethink our objectives and be realistic with ourselves before we do anything else.”

One option being considered is freezing product development once the Giulietta is launched, leaving the brand with the Giulietta and Mito to keep it alive into the later part of the decade.

“First, I want to see how well we do launching the Giulietta. From the technical point of view it’s a huge step forward, but I want to see how it fares. And I want to see how we can take advantage of that through the company.”

– By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoCar

This seems to be HTML5 week, when it comes to video at least, and barely a day after YouTube announced that it was starting to support the emerging standard in a number of videos, Vimeo has done the same thing. In fact, it raised the bar as the new HTML5 player is available for all videos on the site as an option and it’s actually better than the Flash-based one.
… (read more)

On Sunday, the 31th of January 2009 the Porsche museum in Stuttgart, Germany will celebrate its first birthday. And the exhibition has plenty of reasons to celebrate. Since the public opening, on January 31st 2009, 530,000 automotive pilgrims have come to see the company’s history in real metal. Well, some of them might have been laic mothers accompanying their kids, as Porsche has developed a special range of activities for children (they can also visit the museum for free if they are 14 years… (read more)

Guest contributor: Karen Collins, M.S., R.D., C.D.N.
Karen Collins holds a B.S. degree from Purdue and an M.S. degree from Cornell, both in nutrition. When she’s not writing or speaking, she conducts a private nutrition practice in Jamestown, New York.

Most Americans know that health risks such as high blood cholesterol and blood sugar are important to monitor, but a growing number of researchers believe that other major factors with far–ranging effects on heart disease and cancer should be getting more attention.

One of these “big” factors is inflammation, and it’s easy to look past it as we focus on smaller health targets. Basic healthy lifestyle choices are the key to fight inflammation, but we need to beat the epidemic of excess abdominal obesity to take the most powerful anti–inflammation step of all.

Blood sugar control not the whole story

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that among 500 adults with diabetes, medical treatment reduced blood sugars to near normal levels, but markers of inflammation, present in all subjects, were not reduced.

Researchers suggest that this may help explain why several large studies of heart disease among patients with type 2 diabetes did not show any lower risk of heart disease despite intensive blood sugar control. Reducing high blood sugar is crucial to limit small blood vessel damage in the kidney and eye caused by diabetes, but it does not appear to be enough to stop the heart disease–diabetes link.

Why inflammation happens

Our body’s ability to respond to infections and injury with inflammation is an immediate response crucial to health. But chronic, low–grade inflammation seems to damage body tissues in ways that lead to and accelerate development of chronic health problems linked with age.

Scientists now consider atherosclerosis (“hardening of the arteries”) an inflammatory process, and inflammatory cells have been found in the fatty plaque that builds up in blood vessels. Inflammation may also promote cancer development by damaging our genes, increasing cell turnover and increasing development of blood vessels that allow cancer cells to grow and spread.

What to do about it

A variety of lifestyle changes can reduce or prevent this chronic, low–grade inflammation. Studies show lower levels of markers of inflammation in those who don’t smoke and those who exercise regularly. One recent study showed that several inflammation markers dropped within weeks among women in a smoking cessation program.

Good dental care that prevents the gum inflammation known as gingivitis may even help to reduce overall body inflammation. Moderate exercise like walking seems to directly reduce signs of inflammation, even after adjusting for its impact on weight control.

A plant–based diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits and beans also seems to decrease inflammation. Studies link a more “Mediterranean–style” diet with lower levels of an inflammation marker called C-reactive protein.

Scientists emphasize that it is the impact of the overall diet and whole foods that supplies interacting antioxidant and anti–inflammatory phytochemicals (like carotenoids and flavonoids) with vitamins like vitamin C that provide protection, rather than just a single compound. A Mediterranean–style diet is traditionally higher than the typical American diet in omega–3 fat, found especially in fish. A healthy balance between omega–3 and other fats reduces production of hormone–like substances that stimulate inflammation.

While all these lifestyle choices impact inflammation, research suggests that obesity may be the single largest influence on inflammation. Fat cells secrete certain proteins (such as interleukin–6 and tumor necrosis factor) that stimulate inflammation throughout the body.

Fortunately, even a modest 7 to 10 percent weight loss as part of a healthy lifestyle is enough to reduce markers of inflammation.

Testing inflammation

Chronic underlying inflammation can be measured by blood tests such as “high–specificity C–reactive protein” (hs–CRP), which is produced by the liver, and IL–6 and TNF–alpha, secreted by other cells. But since these tests can’t identify where the inflammation is or which of many potential causes is responsible, for now it may be best to simply recognize that making changes to improve health habits and weight will have far–reaching, positive health effects.

(This article was provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. A registered dietician is available to respond to questions about diet, nutrition, and cancer at the free AICR Hotline at 1 (800) 843-8114 during business hours.)

From the RSS feed of CalorieLab News (REF3076322B7)

General inflammation: The elephant in the room of our health

CALGARY, Alberta — Patrick Kane, Ben Eager and Duncan Keith scored and Antti Niemi played well in goal as the Blackhawks defeated the Flames 3-1 on Thursday night at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

The victory was the Hawks’ seventh consecutive regular-season win over Calgary.

They improved to 3-1 on their eight-game road trip, 35-12-4 overall and 14-7-3 away from home.

By Chris Kuc

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.