Author: Serkadis

Illinois citizens with disabilities and their families need your help!

The Illinois Home Based Support Services Program (HBSSP) is a model consumer-directed program for adults with developmental disabilities and their families. This successful program is in jeopardy.

Your help is needed to persuade Governor Quinn to rescind Executive Order 09-15.

About Executive Order 15

• In June 2009, Governor Quinn issued Executive Order 15, which allows for the collective bargaining of individual service providers in the HBSSP. No individual service providers sought union representation. This was an administrative policy decision.

• In October 2009, an overwhelming 66% voted against union representation thanks to families who mobilized and conducted intensive education efforts. Neither union seeking representation barely received 19% of the vote.

• Despite this clear choice, a union can file for an election to represent this unique group every year because Executive Order 15 does not expire. This will cause great disruption and stress to families who will be forced to take action again and again.

About the Home Based Support Services Program

• Illinois’ HBSSP is a federal match program, so for every dollar spent, the Federal government reimburses the State 50 percent.

• Eligible adults have significant disabilities and are at risk for institutionalization. These people do not want to live in institutions. The HBSSP keeps adults with disabilities in the most integrated setting – in their homes, in their communities, close to or with family and friends.

• Currently, the nearly 3000 people enrolled in the HBSSP employ about 5000 personal support workers and pay them from their monthly allotment. They also pay for other approved services like developmental training and therapies if the need is documented in their individual service plan. Everyone pays each month for mandatory service facilitation.

Why 66 percent voted for NO UNION Representation

• Because they need help during private activities of daily living, a majority of individuals hire family members as personal support workers. A trusted and familiar person in this role promotes safety and comfort. Families do not want a third party interfering in their relationships in the privacy of their homes.

• Both the Federal Social Security Act and Illinois statute cap HBSSP funds. Unionizing personal support workers will reduce critical supports because $60-$75 for union dues or fair share will be deducted out of the capped total monthly stipends.

• The psychological impact that any threat or actual reduction of assistance has on Individuals in the HBSSP and their families is serious. Money earned by families via this program is often used to further support the individual. A loss of funds could force institutionalization.

Imagine the difficulty for families to organize against union representation year after year. Imagine how traumatic it is for people with disabilities to worry about remaining in their homes.

Join our growing group of Champions who believe Governor Quinn should rescind Executive Order 09-15:

• Families throughout the State of Illinois
• Illinois Parents of Adults with Developmental Disabilities (IPADD)
• Representative Jim Durkin (R) 82^nd District
• Representative Michael G. Connelly (R) 48^th District
• Representative Bill Mitchell (R) 87^th District
• Representative Patricia R. Bellock (R) 94^th District
• Dan Proft, Illinois Gubernatorial candidate
• Senator Kirk Dillard (R) 24^th District, Illinois Gubernatorial candidate
• The Institute on Public Policy for People with Disabilities
• The ARC of Illinois
• Family Support Network
• Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living
• Former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, Illinois Gubernatorial candidate
• Representative Timothy Schmitz (R) 49^th District
• Representative David Leitch (R) 73^rd District
• Don Moss and Associates
• United Cerebral Palsy of Illinois
• Community Service Options, Inc.
• Representative Sandra Pihos (R) 42^nd District
• DuPage County Chairman, Bob Schillerstrom, Illinois Gubernatorial Candidate
• Representative Michael W. Tryon (R) 64^th District
• Senator Bill Brady (R), 44^th District, Illinois Gubernatorial Candidate
• Representative Elizabeth Coulson (R) 17^th District
• Representative Esther Golar (D) 6^th District, Chairperson, Disability Services Committee
• Representative David Reis (R) 108^th District

MEDIA CONTACT:

Pam Harris, 708-246-3880
[email protected]

Gordon Stiefel, 708-246-5151
[email protected]

A motorist who tried to beat a freight train by going around downed railroad gates in downtown Wheaton was struck and killed this morning, police said.

The accident, which happened about 10:35 a.m., continued to disrupt traffic in the area some two hours later, said Deputy Police Chief Thomas Maloney.

He said a half-dozen crossings were blocked by the stopped freight train as an investigation was conducted.

The President Street crossing where the accident occurred will be closed for several days to allow Union Pacific to replace a switching box that was damaged, he said.

The identity of the driver, a man and the sole occupant of a red Toyota, was not disclosed pending notification of family members.

He was alive when taken away by paramedics, but died at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Maloney said.

The car was going south on President when it was struck by the eastbound freight train.

Metra trains on the Union Pacific West line are experiencing significant delays, according to Metra’s Web site.

– Staff report

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

A six-week-old male beluga whale will be introduced to the public at the Shedd Aquarium on Sunday.

The calf was born Dec. 14 head first, rather than tale first, which caused complications including an unnatural curve in his rear flippers.

That curve is now gone and he is swimming fine, said Ken Ramirez, the Shedd’s chief trainer.

The baby beluga feeds every 30 minutes and is gaining an average of 10 pounds a week. He now weighs 185 pounds.

To feed him, 23-year-old Puiji is eating an average of 75 pounds of fish a day — about twice as much as she usually eats.

“He’s independent, he’s social, curious, playful,” Ramirez said of the calf who doesn’t yet have a name. He is one of two beluga whales born in December, though the second one did not survive.

–Staff report

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Filed under: Coupe, Auctions, Chevrolet, GM

The horrible tragedy in Haiti has hit the world like a sledge hammer, and relief efforts and charitable donations have been flooding into the grief-stricken island. Car companies have been quick to donate money in the wake of the earthquake, and now special edition vehicles are hitting the auction block to provide still more assistance. Chrysler announced that it was donating a 300C with 300 signatures from A-list celebs like Tom Hanks and Merryl Streep (full story coming soon), and now General Motors is following up on its $100,000 cash donation with a special edition Corvette.

The Vette in question is one of 427 Special Edition 2008 Corvette Z06 models with former Corvette Plant Manager Will Cooksey’s signature and vehicle number on the center console. The Special Edition Z06 is also the only 2008 model that sports Crystal Red Metallic Tint Coat paint, a Stinger-style stripe on the front hood and fascia and a painted Z06 spoiler. This Vette becomes more prestigious due to the fact that it is the 427th and last copy of the limited series. The Z06 will be auctioned off at the 39th annual Barret-Jackson event on January 23. Hit the jump to read over The General’s press release.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading Special Edition Z06 Corvette to be auctioned at Barret-Jackson, proceeds earmarked for Haiti relief

Special Edition Z06 Corvette to be auctioned at Barret-Jackson, proceeds earmarked for Haiti relief originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The refugees arrived on two CTA buses, Mulroe said. Firefighters from a nearby fire station helped them move them and their meager belongings inside.

Despite the arduous process of having workers from the American Red Cross and other agencies at O’Hare assess their medical and travel needs, the refugees “were very patient,” Mulroe said.

He also said the Red Cross provided interpreters for them, many of whom speak French and Creole.

“You could tell they were tired…When [the processing] was wrapping up and they were getting ready to move, they said ‘thank you,’” Mulroe said. “They were glad to be safe.”

He said the foundation, which has just under 400 beds at its Roosevelt Road location, will provide the refugees with beds, showers and food. At some point, Mulroe said, various city, state and federal agencies will help find the refugees places for extended stays.

He couldn’t say how long the refugees would remain at the shelter. But another official at the foundation said a good portion of the refugees may eventually be flown to the Miami area to be with relatives. About a dozen were to fly today to New York.

“This was a Herculean effort just to get them here,” Mulroe said, adding that grief counselors will be made available to them later today.

The United Airlines flight that brought them to Chicago landed about 9:30 p.m.

Earlier in the day, the same plane dropped off several dozen relief workers and supplies in the earthquake-ravenged country.On arrival, they were greeted by Red Cross volunteers with wool blankets. McDonalds employees handed out Happy Meals to the kids, and bottled water, cookies and “apple” dippers to adults.

The group walked into a roped-off area out of the airport to a nearby Hilton hotel, where they were meeting with officials and care workers. Most of the survivors did not speak with reporters.

Gov. Pat Quinn was at the airport to greet them.

“We want to make sure that everyone who comes from Haiti feels at home and welcome,” said Quinn. “We want to extend our hearts to everyone in Haiti.”

Quoting a French expression, Quinn then said, “It means we shall go to the end, and that’s what the people of Illinois will do for the people of Haiti.”

One of the survivors, Anastazie Abraham, told reporters that she was ecstatic to be in Chicago after spending the last week sleeping in a Haitian field. Abraham, a U.S. citizen, was visiting her husband in Haiti when the earthquake hit.

After hearing that an airline was flying American citizens home, she had her husband take her to the airport. Asked what her immediate plans were, Abraham said a “good meal and a nice shower, and then have a nice little drink and then go to bed.”

She planned to return to her home in New York Thursday.

Ernest Lebrun, who traveled with his 14-year-old daughter on the plane to Chicago, said he was happy to be out of Haiti.

Lebrun said that he has dual citizenship, and had been running a hotel in Haiti when the earthquake hit. He said he did not think he would go back to Haiti any time soon.

“I’m very scared about Haiti now,” he said.

Rosemene Charlesarlet, 82, said that she was visiting a cousin in Haiti.

“It makes me so sick,” said Charlesarlet, who said she was headed to New York Thursday. “It’s like I have something in my leg each day” from the earth shaking.

Anne Clara Desrosier said that she lost five cousins in the quake. She was also headed to New York to stay with family.

“No one can help,” said Desrosier, her eyes welling with tears. “Too many people have died.”

The captain of Wednesday night’s flight, Terry Doran, who volunteered to make the trip, said the survivors were generally in good spirits during the flight.

But Doran described a moment as the survivors left the plane when an elderly passenger, realizing that her entire family had been killed in the 7.0 magnitude quake, fell back into her seat when the cold night air hit her face.

“I don’t know what she is going to do,” Doran said.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said it will help with any needed care for children who arrived, but the children will not officially be placed in state custody, spokesman Kendall Marlowe said.

The Red Cross and its volunteers will provide all the Haitian evacuees with help including medical care, translation services, computer and phone access and support reconnecting with their families, according to a release from the Red Cross.

The United plane that left Chicago for Haiti Wednesday morning carried 15,000 pounds of water donated by Walgreens, nearly 400 tents from Feed the Children and communications equipment from Airline Ambassadors.

United plans up to 30 more relief flights to Haiti.

Several charter flights have arrived in the U.S. in the last 36 hours to bring in children along with adults who need medical care.

–Oscar Avila, Cynthia Dizikes and Jeremy Gorner

Photo: Red Cross volunteer and UIC Psychotherapist Sharon Steckler (right) welcomes young passengers arriving from Haiti at O’Hare on Wednesday. (Tribune / Nuccio DiNuzzo)

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

America’s Best Dance Crew is going to the Ice Box: R&B singing star and former boy bander Omarion has been tapped to replace accused child rapist Shane Sparks as a judge on the upcoming fifth season of Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew.

The move comes after the choreographer was arrested on eight felony counts of suspicion of child molestation in October.

“Omarion is one of the most accomplished, multi-talented young stars of his generation. His music and music videos have influenced hip-hop dance going back to his B2k days and in more recent years as a platinum-selling solo artist,” Liz Gateley, Senior Vice President of Series Development for MTV, said in a release Thursday. “He is an accomplished dancer, artist and actor who knows what makes a good dance crew performance. We are very excited for him to join Lil Mama and JC Chasez as our third judge.”

Omarion — who was recently dumped from Lil Wayne’s Young Money set — just seems happy to have a new gig!

“I’m so excited to be a judge on MTV’s ‘America’s Best Dance Crew,’” says Omarion. “Dancing and performing is what I do and being a judge on this show will allow me to give creative feedback to the newest and hottest dancers on the rise.”

Omarion takes his seat at the judge’s table when ABDC Season 5 premieress Thursday, Jan. 28 @ 10 PM ET/PT on MTV.

Lawmakers cannot continue to push their own political agendas and make backroom deals. Illinois parents of adults with special needs said so in an October NO union election.

It’s wrong for the government to interfere with people’s lives.

Here in Illinois, Gov. Quinn made a policy decision simply to advance his own political agenda.

It seems to us Mr. Quinn made a deal. Pat Quinn signed Executive Order 09-15 and made his own deal with SEIU – here’s a few thousand more people to add to your union, thanks for your endorsement and support and million dollars.

As soon as the order was signed, the SEIU received the names and addresses of personal support workers in Illinois’ Home-Based Support Services Program from the Illinois Department of Human Services.

SEIU organizers showed up at our doors, trying to convince us to sign their card, promising more money, vacation time and better services for our sons and daughters, adults with an intellectual/developmental disability.

There was an election. An overwhelming 66% voted NO UNION REPRESENTATION.  Personal support workers have first hand experience about how the Illinois Home-Based Support Services Program works. There are valid reasons why we voted for no union representation.

Pat Quinn will not listen. He refuses to rescind the order. Quinn pushed his own political agenda, likely made a deal with SEIU and is failing thousands of Illinois citizens with intellectual/developmental disabilities, their families and the people who provide their supports and services. 

It’s wrong for the government to interfere with people’s lives.

Several of us have dedicated countless hours since the election trying to share this information, contacting policymakers, legislators and media. The union is going to continue to organize until they are successful.

Every Gubernatorial candidate has been contacted numerous times for support.

Our legislators in the General Assembly who sit on Disability-related committees have been contacted.

Attached are a single page Fact Sheet and a List of Champions who agree that Pat Quinn must rescind Executive Order 09-15.  Look at the list. The families involved as well as the disability community believe the order needs to be rescinded. Several Illinois legislators as well as Gubernatorial candidates agree as well.

Look at who isn’t on the list. This is Illinois and it’s less than two weeks before the primary. You would think more people would listen. It’s wrong for the government to interfere with people’s lives.

We are available to answer any questions.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Pam Harris, 708-246-3880
[email protected]

Gordon Stiefel, 708-246-5151
[email protected]

Businesses and labor unions, start your checkbooks: The Supreme Court’s rollback of a 100-year-old ban on corporate spending in elections will mean an even larger torrent of TV commercials and direct mail come election time.

It was a ruling seen as good for Republicans and bad for Democrats, although the AFL-CIO also pushed for the decision.

Fred Wertheimer, founder campaign finance reform group Democracy 21, wrote in the New York Times:

Today’s Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case is a
disaster for the American people. It will unleash unprecedented amounts
of corporate “influence-seeking” money on our elections and create
unprecedented opportunities for corporate “influence-buying”
corruption.

Politico noted that Sens. John McCain and Russ Feingold, whose eponymous campaign finance reform bill was partially gutted by the ruling, “had divergent reactions – perhaps reflecting the impact the ruling may have on each of their parties.” McCain said he was “disappointed”; Feingold called it a “terrible mistake” to “roll back laws that have limited the role of corporate money in federal elections since Teddy Roosevelt was president.”

Now that the Supremes have spoken, look for a mad scramble as corporations, unions, and assorted political players assess the new groundrules and attempt to extract maximum advantage for the midterm elections.

Just a quick heads up, because we think this is a pretty great deal on a laser printer. Dell is selling their 1230c color laser printer at a steep discount, so you can currently pick one up for just $99, which is a full $130 off of the retail price. If you are wanting to upgrade from inkjet to laser printing, this is likely the cheapest way around to make that happen.

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We’ve seen plenty of New York vs. Philadelphia throwdowns over the years and there’s another heavyweight bout set to go in 2010: the battle for first-base supremacy. If you find yourself in need of some corner clout in the late-first or early-second round, who you gonna call?

Yahoo! staffers Brad Evans and Scott Pianowski love a good debate and were happy to take up the case in around 250 words or less. Settle in for opening statements, then register your vote and comments at the bottom of the piece. We’ll figure this out together.

Big Noise opens: Mark Teixeira(notes) is a true consistency king. He’s tallied more consecutive top-flight seasons than the creepy Burger King has trespassing violations. Despite suiting up for four different clubs over the past three years, he’s compiled at least a .290 BA, 30 homers and 105 RBI each season. Even after a horrific April (.200 BA, 3 HR, 10 RBI) – sans A-Rod – he managed to rack a.292-39-122-103 line in his first year in the Bronx, equal to the 18th-most valuable overall output according to Baseball Monster. With Mr. Vain presumably around full-season, Teixeira, who is a notorious slow starter (.252 career April BA), may rocket out of the gates, possibly leading to a slight increase in homers and RBI.

In terms of power production, Ryan Howard(notes) is the Godzilla of first basemen. But like the fire-breathing film star, he’s not completely invincible. Over the past three seasons, his success rate against southpaws has fallen off precipitously (6 HR in 222 at-bats in ’09). If that trend continues a decline in homers, though minor, could be ahead. Frankly, the disparity in long-balls between the Philly smasher and Teixeira could be marginal. However, based on Howard’s downturn in walks percentage and grotesque contact yields (67.1 CT% in ’09), the difference in BA will likely be 30-40 points wide.

Ultimately, what you see is what you get with Teixeira. He’s the epitome of reliability in four categories. Because Howard comes with some risk, it’s reason enough to choose foldable pepperoni slice over cheesesteak. Play it safe.

Pianow Man counters: Ryan Howard’s batting average risk has become a grossly overrated topic. There’s a piddly 11 points separating Howard’s career batting average from Mark Teixeira’s. Sure, Howard doesn’t hit lefties very well and yes, he strikes out a ton. But he’s still carrying around a .279 career mark, in part because we live in a right-handed world. Let’s not pretend this is a greater issue than it is.

Howard has outearned Teixeira at the fantasy table four years running, in part because he dominates in the power categories. Add up the numbers: Howard has 198 homers since 2006 while Teixeira has 135. Howard has 572 runs batted in while Teixeira has 458. Howard has even nipped Teixeira in runs scored (by a slight margin) in each of the past four years, and just for kicks Howard threw in eight steals last year (I won’t guarantee you that they’ll repeat, but there they are). Why are we looking for reasons to mock Ryan Howard? We should be praising the big guy for the roto dominance.

Even if Howard does slip down to the .250-.260 level, the extra power stats should make up the difference. Teixeira has not come close to Howard’s homer and RBI totals since the Philly slugger gave up the paper business and headed into the bashing business. My esteemed colleague wants consistency, and that’s fine – go look at Howard’s counting stats every year, they’re the model of consistency. Grab Howard anywhere around the first turn this spring, then buckle up for six months of souvenirs. You won’t be disappointed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is calling for tougher regulations on banks that would limit the size and complexity of large financial institutions.

The proposal would limit banks’ ability to engage in high-risk trades. Restrictions would be placed on proprietary trading by commercial banks to separate those institutions from investment banks.

Obama said Thursday that without these regulations, the financial system will continue to operate under the same rules that led to its near collapse.

The announcement comes as Obama renews his calls for financial regulatory reform, which is being negotiated on Capitol Hill.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama, eager to harness and redirect U.s. voter anger over bank bailouts, is ramping up his war on Wall Street Thursday by pushing tougher regulation of big banks.

Building on his own proposals and the work of the House of Representatives, the president wants new federal government powers to limit the size and complexity of large financial institutions and to limit their ability to engage in high-risk trades, an administration official said late Wednesday.

Obama will make the announcement Thursday in a bipartisan display aimed at capitalizing on the one issue in his agenda still standing after a devastating Democratic electoral loss in the state of Massachusetts.

The president will be flanked by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and William Donaldson, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Both men have advocated tighter banking restrictions. Volcker heads the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

Obama’s announcement comes as the White House renews his demand that any overhaul of banking regulations contain an independent consumer financial protection agency. The proposed agency is one of the major sticking points in the Senate and the central focus of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee.

“The president is not going to compromise because lobbyists tell somebody that we shouldn’t have an agency that protects consumers,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. “That’s something the president’s not willing to give up.”

The tougher measures to be announced Thursday aim to limit speculation by commercial banks and to keep financial institutions from becoming so big that they pose a risk to the overall economic system.

In focusing attention on Wall Street, however, the administration is also seeking to halt a wave of public anxiety that is benefiting Republicans and undermining Obama’s agenda. Obama has assumed a populist tone lately, calling big bank chief executives :”fat cats” and, last week, proposing a fee on large banks to cover shortfalls in Treasury’s $700 billion financial rescue fund.

“When you see more and more of the financial sector basically churning transactions and engaging in reckless speculation and obscuring underlying risks in a way that makes a few people obscene amounts of money but doesn’t add value to the economy — and in fact puts the entire economy at enormous risk — then something’s got to change,” Obama said in an interview with Time Magazine published Thursday.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Thursday it earned $4.79 billion in the fourth quarter as the bank’s trading business again outdistanced the rest of the financial industry. The company rewarded its employees with $16.2 billion in salaries and bonuses for 2009, up 47 percent from the previous year but still lower than many had expected.

Obama last year proposed a series of measures to tighten the reins on financial institutions in hopes of preventing a recurrence of the crisis that struck both Wall Street and Washington in the fall of 2008. The House passed a bill last month.

But Obama’s announcement Thursday will broaden those measures, particularly by endorsing Volcker’s proposal to restrict proprietary trading by commercial banks. Such a limit would separate commercial banks from investment banks, a line that was blurred a decade ago by the repeal of the 1930s Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act. That restriction would affect some of the biggest U.S. banks, including banking giants Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Inc.

“The better answer is to modernize the regulatory framework and not take the industry and the economy back to the 1930s,” said Scott Talbott, chief lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, an industry group that represents large Wall Street institutions.

Volcker has been pushing for a return to the two-tiered banking system of Glass-Steagall for nearly a year. Volcker’s views, however, were not included in Obama’s initial regulatory overhaul proposal last year.

The senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the plan had not yet been made public, said Obama has been planning for months to toughen proposed legislation to reduce risk-taking and limit the size and scope of financial institutions.

“The White House will work closely with the House and Senate to work this into legislation moving on the hill,” the official said.

News of the announcement came shortly after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner had a private dinner Wednesday night with chief executives from some of the top Wall Street banks.

There was a new urgency in the Senate to move on the legislation — an attempt to respond to voter anger at Wall Street and bank bailouts that helped propel Republican Scott Brown to victory in a contest for the seat formerly held by the late Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Brown’s victory gave Republicans 41 votes in the Senate, enough to mount successful blocking tactics and prevent Democratic legislation on health care or climate change from getting final votes.

But financial regulations could survive.

“I don’t want to see us have to go through what we’ve been through here where we’ve been relying on one party to get something,” Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Democrat, said Wednesday.

Moreover, Geithner met with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Tuesday. Administration officials now believe that while Republicans may seek to block other aspects of the president’s agenda, McConnell is considering making financial regulations an exception.

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

On Wednesday, Peter Kafka of All Things Digital, MediaMemo posted an interesting piece talking about the numbers for Google Nexus One. He referred to guesstimates from Citigroup research analyst, Mark Mahaney on exactly how many new phones the search giant will sell and what that means for its earnings.

"Mahaney thinks Google might ship one million to three million phones in the first year, which could generate up to $1.6 billion in additional revenue, and perhaps another 55 cents in earnings per share. That’s about half the estimate from Douglas Anmuth of Barclays (BCS) earlier this month. Mahaney cites both Flurry’s modest first-week sales estimates as well as internal Citigroup (C) research, to support his numbers."

The Citi Investment Research and Analysis chart that accompanied this piece showed first year numbers for other smartphones (the various iPhones, Droid, Palm Pre & Palm Pixi).

The eye-opener was the 2.492 million number for the Palm Pre & Palm Pixi combined. Our own Dieter Bohn remarked, "Given that we haven’t heard that Palm has sold a million yet, it paints a fairly rosy picture of how it will do on Verizon."

Indeed. All eyes are on what the move to Verizon and what impact it will have on Palm’s bottom line. We don’t know whether or not we believe these numbers, but we are expecting a pretty hefty bump from Verizon – are you?

Thanks Sid for the tip!

Happy Days hasbeen Scott Baio called the First Lady ugly — now he’s calling the FBI after he allegedly received a series of online threats and verbal ass-razzings from angry Tweeters.

Funny how the shoe’s always tighter on the other foot…..

Baio came under fire after he posted an unflattering picture of First Lady Michelle Obama on his Twitter.com page on Wednesday, along with a caption which read: “Wow. He (U.S. President Barack Obama) wakes up to this every morning.”

The post attracted a slew of negative comments and accusations of racism from his followers. Baio, for his part, insists his message was taken the wrong way.

“People need to relax and laugh a bit. Life is too short no matter what party you are with. A joke is just that, a joke,” he wrote.

“One bad picture of a woman & everyone wants to bash me?” the star of VH1’s Scott Baio….45 & Counting wrote. “If it had been of Palin ppl would have prob cheered. I am NOT making fun of any1.”

After the negative comments turned threatening, Baio informed his followers that he had contacted authorities over the nasty posts: “PLEASE NOTE: The FBI has been contacted & we have a file number for the threats, along with Twitter support. Thx (thanks).”

I’m not sure about the racism claims. After all, it is an unflattering photo of the otherwise beautiful Mrs. O. However, if you’re going to dish it out, you have to know how to take it. Does Scott really need to run crying to the Feds because he got roasted on Twitter?

You may have already noticed YouTube looking a little different this week, but now it’s official: the site’s undergone a major redesign that aims to clear out the clutter.

YouTube’s new pared-down look is opt-in at the moment, and up and running internationally. It’s a little spartan, but it does make it easier to focus on the video you’re watching—and the advertisements packaged with it. Gone is the five-star rating system, replaced with a gladiatorian thumbs up or down. Information about each clip’s creator is tucked under the video, while you can view a list of their other offerings and choose to subscribe above it. Actions like sharing, saving, and flagging a video have been reduced to buttons, and you can search while continuing to watch whatever’s on your current page.

On the right-hand side of the screen, the “Next UP” box now incorporates the search that brought you there and takes into account your subscriptions, instead of the previous one-video experience.

According to YouTube, the move was made to simplify the user experience and to create a video page that could accommodate a wide range of genres. This is good! What would be better—and what’s coming eventually but not available now—is the ability to to customize your viewing page, using this design as a foundation.

One thing that’s not going anywhere are the number and placement of ads. That’s understandable—it’s a business, after all—but I do wonder, if they were taking such a big axe to the design elements of the page, if there may have been a little room to cut those down as well.

It sounds as though there’s still room for change, as YouTube monitors and measures user response over the next couple of weeks. But overall, it’s a good clean look for all your Muppet music video needs. [YouTube]

The comfortable IP69K solution from CEDES S&A offers a totally new degree of freedom. The small dimensions allow a designer to secure his application even in the tightest available spaces at the highest possible levels of safety. Thus a design can be realised even under the most adverse conditions which has not been considered possible until now.
With a diameter of just 29 mm, the Safe400 IP1 systems are some of the smallest IP69K light curtains in existence. The advantages of this are not only very clear from a mechanical point of view. The extensive configuration options such as overriding, blanking and muting allow the systems to function optimally in the widest range of applications.
Safe400 IP1 light curtains from CEDES S&A allow dangerous areas in and around machines to be monitored, which are exposed, for example, to extreme spray water conditions. The small design allows use in applications in the tightest of spaces. This means that new machine concepts or applications can be realised which have not been possible with comparable products.
When used in combination with the Safe CIS3 safety controller from CEDES S&A, a Safe400 IP1 system can be optimally adapted to the widest range of requirements. In addition to pure safety monitoring, settings can be made very simply for muting, blanking or override applications. The controller also offers the option, at the same time, to monitor an Emergency-Stop or interlock switch.
This saves material and installation costs. The protective length of a Safe400 IP1 system is offered standard in multiples of 300 mm (up to maximum 1200 mm). With a module length of just 50 mm, the Safe400 IP1 protective field heights can be adapted to individually meet applications.

According to dozens of forum users at Notebookreview.com, apparently owners of the new Sony VAIO F Series VPCF112FX/B, VPCF11JFX/B, VPCF11MFX/B and VPCF1190X CTO are experiencing an odd high pitched whine or buzzing sound (aka whining) while using the laptop. The issue caused several consumers to call Sony for support, but they were unable to provide a fix over the phone – this led to several of the laptops being returned, exchanged, and so forth. However, after observing the forum topic it seems that the problem resides within the microphone built into the laptop itself, and with a few simple clicks this issue can be temporarily resolved. Hopefully Sony will provide a more cohesive fix soon.

Go to “Start,” then “Control Panel,” and then click on the “Hardware & Sound” category. Then click on the “Sound” category, and then click on the “Recording” tab. Highlight the microphone and go to Properties. Select the “Listen” tab and “Mute” the mic as well as put a check mark where it says “Listen to this device.” That should fix everything. When you want to use the mic or webcam, just undo these settings.

The UK’s version of the RIAA, BPI, has been a very, very strong supporter of Peter Mandelson’s Digital Economy Bill — a position that has even some of its members resigning in disgust. In the past, BPI has also implied that ISPs already have some sort of legal obligation to stop file sharing and that they rely on unauthorized file sharing to fund their own business model. As the battle over the bill heated up, many ISPs pointed out that the cost of implementing the bill’s requirements would be quite high. On top of that, the UK government did its own study and found that the costs were even higher than the ISPs estimated and the cost of implementing the bill would outstrip even the most ridiculous of BPI’s estimates of “losses” from file sharing.

Of course, BPI can’t accept those numbers, so its commissioned its own study which (of course!) claims that the cost to ISPs would be tiny. Hell, they’d barely be noticeable at all.

Well, if BPI is so sure of this, how about it steps up and puts some money behind that claim. I would imagine that ISPs would feel a bit more comfortable about supporting the Digital Economy Bill if BPI promised to pay any of the fees above and beyond what its own estimates are for implementing the plan. According to BPI’s analysis, it would cost ISPs all of £13.85 million ($22.5 million) in the first year, £9 million ($14.6 million) in the second year and just £3.45 million ($5.6 million) in the last year. Hell, if it’s such a small cost, how about BPI pays for the whole thing. Only fair, right? After all, the whole purpose behind the plan is to prop up BPI members’ business models because they’d rather not adapt. Seems only right that they should pay for it.

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In an unusual discussion in West Virginia this evening, the environmental lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr. will talk energy with the coal baron Don Blankenship, the chief executive of Massey Energy.

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