Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn predicts Blagojevich will be impeached by Feb. 12 | The AP contribution | Tribune staff reporter | Dec 29, 2008

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday that he is certain scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich will be out of office in less than two months.

Quinn said far more than the required two-thirds of the state's senators are ready to vote for impeachment.

Taking yet another queue from Ken Burns's PBS mini-series The Civil War, which he watched for a course he took at Harvard, President-Elect Obama has decided again to imitate Abraham Lincoln by setting aside three hours every weekday, between the hours of 5:30 p.m. EST and 8:30 p.m. EST, to meet with anyone willing to stand in line outside the Capitol's Oval Office.

Many well-wishers expressed their appreciation for the change.

Anyone in his education who has neglected to read every word Mark Twain ever wrote has simply missed the greater part of the meaning and opportunity of life. Twain is reputed to be The Great Man of American Literature, but this appreciation of him, while true, misses the mark or this truly great man.

To fathom the greatness of a truly great man, a sufficient lapse of time must pass before he is far enough away from us so that we might measure the greatness of such a great man.

Alexander the Great by this measure quickly gained his fame.

Obama To Release Blago Report This Week
CBS News: Report Expected To Clear Rahm Emanuel, Transition Team Says

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2008 Some cowardly unattributed staff writer | CBS Interactive Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

Accused governor to fight charges

Saturday, 20 December 2008 | BBC

Scandal-hit Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has told reporters he is innocent of any crime and will not be resigning his position.

Mr Blagojevich was arrested last week and charged with attempting to "sell" Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.

Pills offer competitive advantage

James Melik | Business reporter | BBC News

Ambitious people are turning to drugs to increase memory power, concentration and focus, according to a survey carried out for Nature magazine.

Brave New World

"I believe we are entering an era of neuro-competitive advantage where neuro-technologies will be used to improve the competitive capabilities of individuals and companies and nations as a whole," according to Mr Lynch.

Could business cope with a world full of aspiring Albert Einsteins?
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Katherine Burton | Dec. 15 | Bloomberg

Tremont Group Holdings Inc., a hedge- fund firm owned by OppenheimerFunds Inc., had $3.3 billion invested with Bernard Madoff, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Tremont’s Rye Investment Management unit had $3.1 billion, virtually all of its assets, invested with Madoff...
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But not everyone got burned. OppenheimerFunds Inc actually made money on the deal! Send all the actors out for a bow and a curtsy. Bravo! Bravo!

UPDATE 2-Bail denied for US lawyer accused of "brazen" fraud - Reuters | Martha Graybow

NEW YORK, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A judge denied bail on Thursday for a prominent New York lawyer accused of selling sham investments to hedge funds, a scheme that prosecutors now say may have been much larger than originally thought.

BBC PHOTO ESSAY | Dec 8, 2008

Groups of youths have been throwing petrol bombs and stones at riot police, who have responded by firing tear gas. Scores of arrests have been made.

Rioters have been attacking symbols of wealth and prestige, smashing windows and torching hundreds of buildings and cars.