Westinghouse to battle Rufus King of Milwaukee

Call it the high school basketball battle of Interstate 94 or the showdown of the cities by Lake Michigan or the City of the Big Shoulders going against the guys from Cheeseland.

Whatever the name, two of the nation's top high school boys basketball teams will collide when the Warriors of Westinghouse High School travel north to Milwaukee to take on Rufus King High School.

The game is set for Dec. 21 at Rufus King. The varsity game will start at 7:00 p.m. while the sophomore game gets underway at 5:30 p.m.

Head coach Quentin Dillard's defending city champion Westinghouse Warriors are off to a 1-1 start after losing to Von Steuben at the pre-season Blue Cross /Blue …

US mine where 12 died to close for good in '09

International Coal Group has decided to abandon the Sago Mine in West Virginia, where 12 men died after a methane gas explosion nearly three years ago.

ICG stopped producing coal from the mine in March 2007, but kept it on idled status. On Friday, the Scott Depot-based coal producer announced it's going to seal the mine permanently early next year. A …

Sky-high skirmish in no-smoking war

You may remember the American Cancer Society's Nov. 20 "GreatAmerican Smoke-Out," when millions of U.S. smokers tried to kick thehabit.

Nov. 20 also marked the last day of another attempted"smoke-out" - by a major airline.

The Great American Smoke-Out was considered a success. But amonth-long attempt by Continental Airlines to get its passengers tokick the habit may have gone up in smoke. The Continental experiencetells us a lot about smokers, the tobacco lobby and how airlinesapproach the problem.

As many airline executives admit, it's not easy to ban smoking.There is an ongoing hostile climate between those who smoke aloft andthose who don't. Thus, …

Snapshot Exhibit on View in Washington

WASHINGTON - Say Cheese! There's a chance your picture may be hanging in the National Gallery of Art.

The images could have come straight out of the family photo album - birthday parties, farm life, road trips and soldiers at work (and play) during World War II. About 200 anonymous pictures make up the new exhibit "The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978." It's the first show of snapshot photography at the National Gallery of Art and the first major exhibit to study the evolution of such imagery in America.

Curators wanted to chronicle the development of amateur photography from the invention of the Kodak camera in 1888 through changes in technology, styles and …

A timeline of Vladimir Putin's eight years as president

Major events in President Vladimir Putin's rise to power and eight years in office:

_ August 1999: President Boris Yeltsin appoints KGB veteran Vladimir Putin as acting prime minister. Putin vows to restore order to the restive southern republics.

_ September 1999: Almost 300 people killed in apartment bombings in Moscow and other cities, attacks blamed on Chechen separatists. Putin orders the bombing of the Chechen capital, Grozny, leading to the second Chechen war.

_ Dec. 1999: Yeltsin announces resignation on New Year's Eve; Putin becomes acting president.

_ March 2000: Putin scores convincing victory in Russia's first democratic …

Ammons, Albert (C.)

Ammons, Albert (C.), boogie-woogie pianist, father of Gene Ammons; b. Chicago, Sept. 23, 1907; d. Chicago, Dec. 2, 1949. Ammons was a leader of the boogie-woogie movement for solo piano from the late 1930s on, often paired in concert and on recordings with Pete Johnson. He began playing piano at age ten, and later worked as a soloist before touring with territory bands, including François Moseley's Louisiana Stompers (summer 1929), William Barbee and His Headquarters (parts of 1930 and 1931), and drummer Louis Banks and His Chesterfield Orch. (1930–34). Ammons headed his own group at several Chicago clubs from 1934 to 1938, making his first records …

Che Guevara fuera del Parque Central

Hablando con la Verdad

Siempre hemos afirmado que los malos no triunfan sino donde los buenos se cruzan de brazos. En funci�n de tal concepto el resultado obtenido por organizaciones como Cuba Independiente y Democr�tica (CID) de California y la Uni�n de Presos Pol�ticos del Norte del pa�s quienes enviaron carias a las autroridades de la ciudad de New York, y a las autoridades electas m�s representativos del Congreso de los EEUU donde protestaron la infamia al tiempo que el insulto inaudito a la libertad, de plantar en el parque Central de New York, la estatua del mercenario y asesino argentino-cubano, Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, apodado El Che. Quien es tristemente recordado en …

Retailers report mixed results in April

Consumers gave some of the nation's retailers a little relief in April following months of dismal sales, but business was helped along by heavy discounting that could hurt first-quarter earnings.

Early sales reports issued Thursday showed that shoppers _ who are contending with rising gas prices, sagging home and worries about their jobs _ bought the basics at discounters and wholesale clubs. That made Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. among the top performers last month, while most mall-based apparel stores, whose merchandise falls into the category of discretionary items, struggled.

"Consumers are focusing on value and price points and …

Mariners end Buehrle's streak

be no match for the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.

Mark Buehrle, who had won his last seven decisions, gave up sixruns and seven hits in five innings. All of the runs--and all but oneof the hits--came in the fifth inning.

Buehrle's previous defeat came June 11 against the San FranciscoGiants when he gave up eight runs and six hits in 41/3 innings. Hisseven victories were spread over nine starts, and he had a 2.88 ERAin that stretch.

The streak was the longest since James Baldwin won nineconsecutive decisions from Sept. 26, 1999, to May 20, 2000.

That's the second time I've faced those guys and gone out thereand had my stuff working for me in the first couple …

MCAD celebrates successful year

MCAD celebrates successful year

Yawu Miller

Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination Commissioner Chuck Walker opened his second annual State of the State on Discrimination conference last week with what seems to be his favorite rhetorical device: a joke.

In this one, a doctor offers the patient good news and bad news. The patient wants the good news first.

"You have 24 hours to live," Walker said. "And the bad news is I was supposed to tell you yesterday."

Like the doctor's tardy warning, the good news at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination -- a declining backlog of cases and $1.2 million in additional funding -- is tinged …

Kim's illness feeds hopes of Korea reunification

South Koreans with family ties in North Korea gathered Sunday on the bank of the river that divides the two countries, as they have for many years on Thanksgiving day, to pay their mournful respects to relatives across the border.

This year, reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has suffered a stroke raised hopes among the families that an end to his repressive regime might be near.

"I clapped my hands in joy when I watched the news of Kim's illness on television," said Jung Hwa-ja, 75, who was born in North Korea. "I hope that Kim Jong Il will die soon so I can go to my hometown in the North."

Kim's failure to appear …

Teenager attacked in street

A Teenager was taken to hospital after he was kicked and punchedby three men.

The 19-year-old man was attacked on Don Street in Old Aberdeen inthe early hours of the morning.

He was taken to ARI with head injuries after the incident.

One attacker was around 20, slim, 6ft tall and had short …

Man tries to take deputy's gun at Calif. airport

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a man was arrested at John Wayne Airport in California after trying to take a deputy's gun.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department said in a news release that the suspect approached the deputy from behind in the airport's departure gate area Friday. The man grabbed the gun but was immediately overpowered by the deputy and a second Sheriff's Department employee.

The gun was recovered. No shots were fired.

The suspect's name was not released. He was charged with assault on a peace officer and was transported to the Orange County Jail.

Authorities said the man admitted to having consumed narcotics throughout the day.

While assisting in the arrest, the sheriff's department employee sustained an injury to his hand that was treated at a local hospital.

Treasurys Drop on Chicago PMI Data

NEW YORK - U.S. treasury bonds fell as Chicago's manufacturing index rose more than analysts had expected, overshadowing another indicator displaying lackluster economic growth.

At 11 a.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was down $2.50 per $1,000 in face value, or 8/32 point, from its level at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, rose to 4.91 percent from 4.87 percent.

The 30-year bond fell 14/32 point. Its yield rose to 5.03 percent from 5.01 percent.

The 2-year note fell 2/32 point. Its yield rose to 4.92 percent from 4.89 percent.

Yields on 3-month Treasury bills were 4.81 percent as the discount rate fell 0.02 percentage point to 4.68 percent.

The resulting selling pushed the 10-year yield through its psychological resistance level of 4.91 percent, its peak for this year, and it's now heading for heights not seen since mid-August. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

The May purchasing managers survey from Chicago's manufacturing sector took the markets by surprise midmorning Thursday, with a jump in the headline index to 61.7 from 52.9 in April. Wall Street had expected a mild rise to 54.0. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in manufacturing activity.

"There's across-the-board strength in employment, production and orders," said Carl Lantz, fixed income strategist at Credit Suisse in New York.

The new orders subindex led the overall increase, powering to 71.1 from 56.5. Employment rose to 57.3 from 50.5.

Lantz said the only caveat for the market to keep in mind is that over the last three months, Chicago's reading has contradicted the national reading on manufacturing from the Institute for Supply Management.

Nevertheless, he said this latest figure is "consistent with the pattern of stronger-than-expected data over the past week."

This lends some support to the theory that U.S. growth may already have troughed this year, and is set for a rebound in the coming quarter. This would put the likelihood of a cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve in cold storage. The Fed has kept its target rate at 5.25 percent for the past seven meetings, and Eurodollar contracts have slashed the odds of a cut by the end of the year to 36 percent from 60 percent at Wednesday's close.

This comes despite a sharp downward revision to the Commerce Department's first-quarter growth estimate, released early Thursday. Sharp cuts to the inventories figures helped pull overall growth down from 1.3 percent to 0.6 percent - the slowest rate since the end of 2002.

But this figure comprised an upward revision in consumer spending. What's more, a $4.5 billion drawdown in businesses' inventories only strengthens the likelihood of a rebound for growth in the second quarter, said Richard Gilhooly, director of fixed-income strategy for BNP Paribas in New York. He estimates that the rate could bounce back as high as 2.5 percent.

---

Laurence Norman in New York and Brian Blackstone in Washington contributed to this report.

Obama names US urban affairs director

President Barack Obama has tapped two men with ties to New York for White House urban affairs jobs.

Obama said Thursday that Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion's appointment as White House Director of Urban Affairs will bring long overdue attention to urban areas, where 80 percent of the U.S.' population lives and works.

Carrion has served two terms as Bronx Borough president. The Bronx is one of New York's five boroughs.

The president also named Derek Douglas as special assistant to the president for urban affairs. Douglas has served as Washington counsel for New York Gov. David Paterson.

The White House said Carrion oversaw creation of 40,000 new units of housing, 50 new schools and $7 billion in capital and infrastructure expenditures.

Project now trails the others

THE Wheeling Outlets was the first project approved by the WestVirginia Economic Development Grant Committee. But Kanawha CircuitJudge Charlie King tossed out the project's $70 million grant inJanuary and said the outlets would have to go back through thecommittee's process.

So the Wheeling Outlets is back to zero funding. It may be one ofthe last projects considered if the committee itself withstands alawsuit now before the state Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Gov. Bob Wise and the West Virginia Development Officewant the grant committee to allocate a total of $34 million toattract newcomer Cabela's, a retailer of outdoors equipment, to OhioCounty.

It reminds me of Matthew 20:16, which says, "So the last shall befirst, and the first last."

* n n

Toyota on Friday announced plans to build a die-casting plant tomake aluminum engine blocks in Jackson, Tenn. The plant is expectedto begin operations in 2005 and will eventually employ 200 people.Toyota will invest $124 million.

David Satterfield, executive director of the West VirginiaDevelopment Office, was asked if West Virginia was ever in therunning for the plant. "Not that I am aware of," he said.

* n n

Nobody has officially said why Luigino's, a maker of frozendinners, decided last month - after two ground-breaking ceremonies -that it will not locate a $36 million plant at Mineralwells. Theplant was expected to employ 600 people.

On Monday I asked Satterfield why Luigino's pulled out and whetherthere are any lessons to be learned. His reply:

"Right now we're still talking with Wood County as well as thecompany, still trying to do everything we can to keep thatopportunity in West Virginia, although they have decided they willnot go to the site previously agreed upon."

* n n

The $3.6 billion estimate of what the Workers' Compensation Fundwill pay out in claims for work-related injuries and illnesses thathave already occurred includes claims already awarded, claims stillpending and claims not yet filed.

Ernst & Young actuary Art Cohen and Workers' Comp division ChiefFinancial Officer Melinda Kiss illustrated the difficulty ofestimating the "not yet filed" category to Daily Mail reporter BrianBowling.

The widow of an 80-something man filed for death benefits. The manwas diagnosed about 30 years ago with lung disease, and his death wasapparently due to complications from that lung disease. So the statefaces paying the widow survivor benefits for the rest of her life.

The widow is a teenager.

Enzymes to the rescue

A back-to-school food allergy primer

often, when people experience an unpleasant reaction to something they've eaten, they assume they have food allergies. Although approximately 40 percent of Americans believe they have food allergies, only about 1 to 3 percent of Americans actually suffer from food allergies. What many believe is an allergy may simply be a food intolerance. Fortunately, supplemental enzymes can help both conditions.

Food allergies

A food allergy is an abnormal immune system response to a food or food component. Normally, the immune system's job is to recognize and expel foreign bodies such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. In an allergic reaction to a food, however, the immune system mistakenly recognizes normally harmless substances as foreign invaders. As a result, the immune system produces an antibody called IgE (immunoglobulin E, nicknamed the "allergy antibody"), which sets off a chain of events to fight the allergen. This causes symptoms that are collectively called an allergic reaction.

True food allergies can cause symptoms ranging from gastrointestinal discomfort (including diarrhea, stomach upset, indigestion, bloating, gas, nausea, vomiting, and cramps), skin rashes, and tingling in the mouth, to a devastating reaction marked by difficulty breathing and even death. In fact, nearly 125 people die every year from an allergic reaction to a particular food.

Only a handful of foods that produce allergies are responsible for the majority of all allergic reactions. Usually, the protein component of a particular food triggers an allergic reaction. Foods responsible for the majority of all allergic reactions include: milk, wheat, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish and shellfish. Fruits such as strawberries and kiwis are also frequently implicated.

Food intolerances

Although the immune system is involved in allergic reactions to food, it is not responsible for the symptoms of food intolerance, although the symptoms may be similar. A food intolerance usually occurs because the body lacks the enzyme necessary to digest a specific food.

How to tell the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance

Because the symptoms of a food allergy and a food intolerance are often similar, it is difficult to determine the cause of particular food reaction. Your physician, or other licensed healthcare practitioner, however, can help diagnose a food allergy with tests. If you fail all the allergy tests, than a food intolerance is probably to blame.

Your practitioner will ask for a complete history regarding your reactions to various foods. S/he may then conduct tests including skin pricking. In this test, the patient's skin is scratched or punctured with a diluted extract of the suspected food and a reaction indicates an allergy.

Blood tests such as a radioallergosorbent (RAST) test can measure specific antibodies. The double-blind placebocontrolled food challenge test is also used to test a person's reaction to a particular food. This test involves giving the patient a capsule containing either a sample of the allergen or a placebo. A double-blind test keeps the patient's and the doctor's expectations from affecting the test results. Unfortunately, this test will only confirm that the patient reacts to a particular food, but won't differentiate between a food allergy and a food intolerance.

Enzyme therapy

Whatever the cause of your food reaction, enzymes can help. Enzyme therapy is especially effective at fighting allergies because enzymes can break down protein allergens and work to block the process that causes an allergic reaction. Individuals with low pancreatic enzyme output have an increased chance of suffering from food allergies. Enzyme supplements can help augment the body's own pancreatic enzymes. Therefore, the use of pancreatic enzymes has been suggested in the treatment of food allergies.

One theory states that allergies are triggered by partially undigested protein and that proteolytic enzymes decrease allergic symptoms. Research tends to support this theory. So, supplementing with enzymes can help prevent allergies.

Enzymes also stimulate immune activity and bolster immune system function by promoting growth of healthy intestinal flora. Systemic enzyme therapy is used to decrease inflammation, to improve circulation, to break down and transport nutrients throughout the body, and to remove waste products from the body. For food allergies, you should consider taking a proteolytic enzyme (such as pancreatin) 1-to-1/2hour before or after a meal.

A note of caution: although enzymes can help allergies, individuals suffering from severe food allergies should strictly avoid any food to which they know they are allergic. To do otherwise may be life threatening.

In the case of food intolerance, adverse reactions to foods can often be eliminated when the proper enzyme is taken with the offending food. Those who have problems digesting proteins should take a protease (proteolytic) enzyme; for carbohydrates, take an amylase (amyiolytic) enzyme; for fats, take a lipase (lipolytic) enzyme. Taking lactase tablets when consuming dairy products will help a lactose intolerant person properly digest lactose, while taking alpha-galactosidase will help someone who has trouble eating beans and other vegetables.

If you can't determine exactly what food component causes your symptoms, try taking an enzyme combination that contains protease, amylase, and lipase enzymes. Take them 30 minutes before a meal, during meals or just after, depending on what works for you in digesting food and reducing symptoms.

Conclusion

An unpleasant reaction to a food may not always be a sign of a food allergy, it could indicate a food intolerance. Fortunately, enzyme therapy can help to overcome both of these by enhancing immune function and improving digestion.

For more information on food allergies and food intolerances, contact: The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse at P.O. Box NDDIC, Bethesta, Maryland 20892, telephone: (301) 654-3810.

[Reference]

REFERENCES

[Reference]

Altman, Daryl, M.D., Chiaramonte, Lawrence, M.D. "Public perception of food allergy." Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 1247-1251, June, 1996.

Cichoke, Anthony J. The Complete Book of Enzyme Therapy Garden. City Park, N.Y.: Avery Publishing Group, 1999.

Cichoke, Anthony J. Enzymes and Enzyme Therapy: How to Jump Start Your Way to Lifelong Good Health. New Canaan, C.T.: Keats Publishing, 1994

[Reference]

Keller, R. Immunologie Und Immunopathologie (4th edition.) Stuttgart, Germany: Thieme Verlag, 1994.

Klaschka, Franz. Oral Enzymes - New Approach to Cancer Treatment. Grafelfing, Germany: Forum Medizin, 1996.

McCann, M. "Pancreatic enzyme supplement for treatment of multiple food allergies," Ann. Allerg. 71:269, 1993.

Metcalfe, Dean; Sampson, Hugh. Food Allergy: Adverse Reactions to Foods and Food Additives -(Second Edition). Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell Science, 1997.

Wrba, Heinrich & Pecher, Otto. Wirkstoffe Der Zukunft Mit Der Enzymtherapie Das Immunsystem Starken. Vienna, Austria: Verlag Orac, 1993.

[Author Affiliation]

Dr. Cichoke is an internationally known writer, lecturer and researcher. He is the author of over 300 articles and 11 books including The Complete Book of Enzyme Therapy; Enzymes and Enzyme Therapy: How to Jump Start Your Way to Lifelong Good Health; Enzymes: Nature's Energizers; and The Back Pain Bible. Watch for two new books coming in 2000: FAQs: All About Enzymes and The Secrets of Native American Herbal Formulas. Information on his books, nutrition and other topics, as well as a bibliography on this article can be obtained by sending a SASE to Dr. Anthony J. Cichoke, P.O. Box 92094, Portland, OR 97292-2094.

Daughter of slain Grenadian PM visits coup inmates convicted of his execution

A daughter of slain Prime Minister Maurice Bishop on Monday visited 10 prisoners convicted in a palace coup that led to her socialist father's assassination and the U.S. invasion of Grenada roughly 25 years ago.

Nadia Bishop said she visited inmates who were sentenced to death in 1986 for killing her father, four Cabinet members and six supporters, in order to help the southern Caribbean island close a painful chapter of its history.

"I had a wonderful and warm meeting with these men," she said in a statement on her visit to the Richmond Hill Prison. "I look forward to inviting the people of Grenada to join me in forgiveness and reconciliation."

A judge in June commuted the sentences of the 10 prisoners, including former Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard, reducing their punishment to about a year and a half more in jail because they had demonstrated remorse.

Three other prisoners have walked out of the crumbling prison for good behavior after nearly a quarter-century behind bars for their involvement in the bloody 1983 coup that led to the U.S. invasion of Grenada.

Bishop, whose New Jewel Movement overthrew a corrupt government in 1979 and allied itself with Cuba, was killed on Oct. 19, 1983, in a coup by a radical faction of his leftist government. The United States invaded six days later with support from nearby Caribbean countries.

Nadia Bishop led an unsuccessful effort in 1997 to find her father's remains, which, along with those other slain officials, have never been uncovered.

O'Hare Hilton has a long history of political involvement

It took politicians to give birth to the O'Hare Hilton 28 yearsago, and they've had a hand in shaping the hotel ever since.

What makes the hotel unique is that it is built on city-ownedland, and it took City Council approval before construction couldbegin. And it has a monopoly - it is the only hotel on airportground.

The original hotel lease deal was signed in 1971, when Richard J.Daley was mayor. It opened two years later. Hilton Corp. managed itfor two previous owners before buying the lease in 1991.

The law firm of Michael Madigan lobbied City Hall to get theowners an extension on their lease from Mayor Eugene Sawyer'sadministration.

That 1988 lease extension was called "a giveaway" and a taxpayer"ripoff" by Richard M. Daley, who used it as an issue in hissuccessful campaign to oust Sawyer.

Daley went to court to try to undo the lease extension. When ajudge ruled against the city in the lawsuit, the city filed anappeal. The city dropped the case when the owners renegotiated thedeal.

The lease extension was extremely valuable to Paul Dupee Jr. andDonald Gaston, East Coast businessmen who owned the hotel throughtheir company, Midwestern Hotel Co.

Without the extension, they would have had to walk away from theproperty with nothing but the furniture when the lease expired in1993. Instead, they sold the lease to Hilton for $15 million.

Hilton has since put $28 million into remodeling the hotel. Itslease expires Dec. 31, 2018.

"Perverted Minimalism Nr. 2"

MUNICH

"Perverted Minimalism Nr. 2"

GALERIE JAHN BAADERSTRASSE

If you take the phrase "Perverted Minimalism" at face value, then the four artists in this group show which they themselves initiated ? Claudia Djabbari, Hedwig Eberle, Anna Friedel, and Franka Ka?ner ? are doing something twisted with a classic art movement. In more general terms, they are self-critically questioning an artistic practice that often gets subsumed under the general heading "formal reduction." Djabbari's sculptural analyses unmask the inhospitable architectural geometries of modern apartment complexes. Ka?ner's sculptures and mixed-media works, too, have clear political connotations, bringing to mind, say, the Communist raised-fist salute or the blue flower of Romanticism. At the same time, thanks to her frequent references to design and interior architecture, Ka?ner's use of abstraction remains rooted in the quotidian social sphere. Friedel and Eberle, on the other hand ? working in sculpture and painting, respectively ? wrestle with the model of a self-referential and self-reflexive abstract formalism. While confining themselves to artistic means, they, too, persistently put the virtues of ostensibly "pure" form to the test.

And so this show ? or rather, the ongoing project of which it is one installment ? raises the question of the relationship between form and politics and, more fundamentally, whether and how form can give art a thematic dimension in the first place. The individual works are anything but "naive" throwbacks to formalist positions: The promise of authenticity and autonomy offered by form is constantly demonstrated to be fragile and possibly even invalid. The text accompanying the exhibition, written by Friedel and art historian Jenny Mues, makes it clear that the artists wish the show to be understood in this sense: i.e., in terms of their "examination of the actual space" and "the dialogue between the four sometimes highly differing positions." The show's site-specific aspects and use of intercontextuality are thus invoked as guarantees that the works will not be mistaken for autonomous creations. But more radical than this still somewhat conventional suggestion of contextualization is the fact that "Perverted Minimalism" has been conceived as a constantly expanding traveling exhibition. The show first went on view at Friedel's studio in D?sseldorf, for example, before being displayed in changed form at Galerie Jahn Baaderstrasse in Munich and then the WoodmiII in London; in October it will appear in Leipzig. With each new location, the presentation is expanded to include several more works by each artist so that the number of objects on display will increase significantly during the overall run. The project's development, then, is subject to a conceptual framing that comes down to an experimental procedure with an uncertain outcome.

The effects of this approach (which the artists describe as an area of tension caused by the "potential contrariness of . . . exaggeration and reduction") can be seen in the poster for the show, which gets painted over each time the show is reinstalled: darkness and self-effacement, curiosity and opacity. The format of incremental expansion consciously takes into account the devaluation and undermining of the artists' own position. Iconoclasm and implosion would thus appear to be the possible end points of a minimalism that's gone off the straight and narrow path.

? Daniela Stoppel

Translated from German by Oliver E. Dryfuss.

Japanese investment likely to level off here

Japanese investment in Chicago area real estate is likely tolevel off after a sharp decline last year, said Dale Anne Reiss,managing partner of the Chicago office of Kenneth Leventhal & Co.

"I don't think we'll go down," said Reiss, whose firm recentlycompleted a nationwide study of Japanese investment. "I look forsteady investment.

"I think you still get a big bang for your buck - or yen," shesaid. "Chicago prices are still relatively affordable compared toeither coast. Yet the quality of the city is of equal or bettercaliber.

"Chicago is truly a world-class city, so they get the sameadvnatage without the same cost."

The decline of new investment to $106 million from 1988's boomyear of $187 million probably caused xenophobics to smile anddevelopers to frown. It magnified a national trend of an 11 percentdecline of Japanese investment, according the study by Laventhol, anational accouting firm.

Across the United States, Japanese investments in 1989 totalled$14.77 billion, down from the record $16.54 billion of 1988. It wasthe first decline in five years.

But be careful about jumping to conclusions. Yes, the Chicagodrop reflected a national decline, but it also was a function oftiming, Reiss said.

Some deals closed already this year might just as easily beendone last year. For example, the Aoki Corp. purchased a number ofhotels from Swissair in March, including the Swiss Grand in IllinoisCenter.

Also, "much of the 1988 Japanese investment in Chicago was inraw land and new construction, which often requires several years fordevelopment," Reiss said. "Investors frequently don't look for newinvestments until previous projects are completed."

In addition, Chicago still ranks fourth among U.S. cities whenmeasuring cumulative Japanese investment in real estate.

"Through 1989, investment (in Chicago) totaled $3.06 billion -5 percent of all Japanese investment in this country," Reiss said.

Among Chicago projects that were financed at least in part byJapanese is the Quaker Tower, Prudential Plaza, Madison Plaza, 225 W.Wacker, 100 N. Riverside and Hotel Nikko.

Leventhal officials cite several reasons for the over-alldecline.

"Right now there are attractive investments elsewhere in theworld," Reiss said. "Japan's largest institutional investors areexamining Western European markets as the 1992 deadline for economicunification gets closer."

Investment in the Japanese economy also rose, while the numberof available U.S. "trophy properties" has declined, said Jack Rodman,managing partner of Leventhal's Los Angeles office. There also maybe a public-relations concern.

"I think to a certain extent, the slowdown reflects theirsensitivity to the acquisition of symbolic or national assets likethe Sears Tower or Rockefeller Center," Rodman said. "One of thelargest groups to reduce their investments were Japanese lifeinsurance companies, which are closely regulated by the Ministry ofFinance, which had advised Japanese companies to be cautious."

The outlook for the United States, and Chicago in particular,also may be clouded by other factors.

"Commercial real estate in Chicago and the rest of the countryis undergoing a reassessment period," Reiss said. "There's been somuch building."

The sharp drop in the Japanese stock market recently probablywon't have a big impact here. weeks.

"If they're using dollars that are profits (from stocks), itcould be a minus," she said. But real estate often is used tobalance a portfolio, so the stock decline also could be a plus, shesaid.

Leventhal projects Japanese investment in the United States tobe $13 billion to $16 billion in 1990.

The players and the sites may continue to change.

Instead of big pension funds, insurance companies and banksfinancing deals, syndicates of many individual investors may enterthe picture, said Reiss.

"They'll go to smaller projects and also second-tier cities"such as Minneapolis, Detroit, Kansas City and St. Louis in the theMidwest, she said. "It's a moving market, Three years ago, Chicagowas considered a second-tier city."

The move to smaller cities also should ensure a continuingdecline in the size of transactions. After peaking at $150 millionin 1987, the average deal dropped to $50.8 million in 1989, the studyshowed.

As for concerns that Japanese investors soon will own all ofAmerica, Reiss said, "Even with investment gains during the last fiveyears, Japanese investors still own only a small percentage of U.S.commercial real estate, estimated in the range of 2 percent."

Sportscaster Jim McKay dies at 87

Jim McKay, the venerable and eloquent sportscaster thrust into the role of telling Americans about the tragedy at the 1972 Munich Olympics, has died. He was 87.

McKay died Saturday of natural causes at his farm in Monkton, Md. The broadcaster who considered horse racing his favorite sport died only hours before Big Brown attempted to win a Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes.

He was host of ABC's influential "Wide World of Sports" for more than 40 years, starting in 1961. The weekend series introduced viewers to all manner of strange, compelling and far-flung sports events. The show provided an international reach long before exotic backdrops became a staple of sports television.

McKay _ understated, dignified and with a clear eye for detail _ also covered 12 Olympics, but none more memorably than the Summer Games in Munich, Germany. He was the anchor when events turned grim with the news that Palestinian terrorists kidnapped 11 Israeli athletes. It was left to McKay to tell Americans when a commando raid to rescue the athletes ended in tragedy.

"They're all gone," McKay said.

The terse, haunting comment was replayed many times through the years when the events of Munich were chronicled.

He won both a news and sports Emmy Award for his coverage of the Munich Olympics in addition to the prestigious George Polk award.

"In the long run, that's the most memorable single moment of my career," said McKay, an Emmy Award winning broadcaster who was also in the studio for the United States' "Miracle on Ice" victory over Russia. "I don't know what else would match that."

A veteran of the U.S. Navy in World War II, McKay was the first on-air television broadcaster seen in Baltimore. He worked at CBS Sports briefly, but did his most memorable work at ABC Sports when it dominated the business under leader Roone Arledge.

"He had a remarkable career and a remarkable life," said Sean McManus, McKay's son and the president of CBS News and Sports. "Hardly a day goes by when someone doesn't come up to me and say how much they admired my father."

McKay was the first sportscaster to win an Emmy Award. He won 12, the last in 1988. ABC calculated that McKay traveled some 4 1/2 million miles to work events. He covered more than 100 different sports in 40 countries.

"There are no superlatives that can adequately honor Jim McKay," said George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports. "He meant so much to so many people. He was a founding father of sports television, one of the most respected commentators in the history of broadcasting and journalism."

McKay's first television broadcast assignment was a horse race at Pimlico in 1947. It was the start of a love affair _ horse racing captivated him like nothing else.

"There are few things in sport as exciting or beautiful as two strong thoroughbreds, neck and neck, charging toward the finish," he once said.

Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics, worked with McKay for six years at ABC Sports.

"He was truly the most respected and admired sportscaster of his generation and defined how the stories of sports can and should be covered," he said in a statement. "While we all know what an absolute titan he was in his chosen field, I will always remember him as an extraordinary human being guided by a strong moral compass."

U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth said McKay set a standard for sports journalism.

"Jim is synonymous with the Olympic Games." he said. "As host of ABC's Olympic coverage, he brought into our homes the triumphs and struggles of athletes from around the world."

McKay left his mark on countless colleagues. Bob Costas called McKay a "singular broadcaster."

"He brought a reporter's eye, a literate touch, and above all a personal humanity to every assignment," Costas said. "He had a combination of qualities seldom seen in the history of the medium, not just sports."

Al Michaels described McKay as the "personification of class and style."

"His enthusiasm permeated every event he covered and thus always made it far more interesting," he said. "I always thought of him as a favorite teacher."

Mike Tirico, covering the NBA finals in Boston for ABC and ESPN, worked four British Opens with McKay. He said McKay held a special place in his household while growing up in Queens in New York.

"Dinner wasn't served on Saturday night until 'Wide World of Sports' was over," Tirico said.

Exec starts new firm to analyze insurance needs

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

Although long-standing companies often add new executives, sometimes the executive is seasoned and the company is new.

That's Jim Byerly and his new company. He's been a key executive in the midstate insurance industry since 1980, when he took over the presidency of the family insurance brokerage, Lemoyne-based Byerly Inc. Byerly had worked at the Arm since 1973.

Today, that family-owned company is gone, and 61-year-old Byerly is out on his own as president and CEO of a start-up Arm called Byerly Consulting Services. He opened the Arm in March to assist companies in analyzing their insurance needs.

In 2007, Byerly merged his former company with Pittsburgh-based insurance brokers The HDH Group Inc. and remained with the company until March as a non-executive sales person in the Lemoyne office.

Byerly, a Camp Hillnative, has a son, Christopher, and one grandson. He counts wine tastings and festivals, as well as exercise, reading and spectator sports as his hobbies.

He spoke to the Business Tournai about starting his new company and issues affecting the modern business world.

Q: What is Byerly Consulting Services, and what does it offer?

A: Byerly Consulting Services is different than a property or casualty company because we do not have contracts with insurance companies. I don't have contracts, so I can't place insurance with anyone. I do help companies analyze their coverage so that they are aware of what they need as their business changes. I do surety bond consulting so that companies understand that industry. I do sales management, sales coaching, helping people learn how to do the in-person sales better. The fourth area is strategic planning and repositioning of a company to grow revenues in areas where they never had experience before.

Three years ago, you merged your family's insurance business with HDH. What did you take away from that deal in terms of practical business knowledge?

When you create a merger, it's important for both sides of the transaction to create a common vision. Through the common vision of where you want to go, it dictates to the employees and the customers where you're headed and how it will benefit them. When there's a change, people will say, "Well, how will this benefit me?" You need clear communication. That clear communication piece is very important. Don't assume that everyone will understand your vision.

When you go from one company to another, what do you have to do differently to make the next one work as well as the previous?

I did not anticipate the time needed for the administrative aspects of starting a new business. You have to create the vision, then you need the strategy to execute the vision. Then you need to gather the resources; you need to bring people in that can help you. And you have to find new customers or help old customers understand that you're offering new services and not those that you were doing before.

What's the largest issue affecting property and casualty insurance?

Insurance companies are struggling to create a definable difference between themselves and their competitors. So much of property and casualty insurances are being chosen on price. Without a difference, can those companies compete on price? Medium- sized businesses are consolidating. Regional insurance companies are focused on traditional insurance coverage, with low deductibles and risk transferred to the insurance company. That business is reducing because new companies are looking to purchase in alternative insurance markets. As the pool of potential businesses is shrinking and the alternative products come on, that creates a challenge to companies writing traditional insurance.

What are the goals for this new company?

In five years I'd like to have one or two people working for me and have between five and eight commercial enterprises as clients.

How important is the Internet and social media to your new business?

To me, the Internet is one of the main components of commerce in American business economy. It's a component of communication, especially with clients and prospects. Today, social media is an important piece of communicating to generations X and Y, especially in direct-to-consumer business. The predominant makeup of my prospect pool is the baby boom generation, but there's very low utilization of social media for the majority of my prospects. Most of my business is done over the phone.

[Sidebar]

VIDEO at www.centralpennbusiness.com

[Author Affiliation]

BY JIM T. RYAN

jimr@journalpub.com

US Anti-Doping Agency gives lifetime ban to athletics coach Graham

Athletics coach Trevor Graham received a lifetime ban from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Tuesday for his role in helping his athletes obtain performance-enhancing drugs.

Graham has been banned from participating in any event sanctioned by the U.S. Olympic Committee, the IAAF, USA Track and Field or any other group that participates in the World Anti-Doping Agency program.

He was convicted in May of one count of lying to U.S. government investigators about his relationship to an admitted steroids dealer. He's still awaiting sentencing and has asked a judge to toss out his conviction.

"As greater progress is being made in the fight against doping in sport, accountability is extending beyond athletes to include coaches, agents and others who are complicit," USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel told the AP in an e-mail.

"For athletes, this announcement underscores the importance of making good decisions in choosing who to associate with."

Graham already was banned from all USOC-sponsored facilities and had essentially become a pariah in his sport, connected with too many athletes involved in doping _ including Marion Jones and former 100-meter world-record holders Justin Gatlin and Tim Montgomery.

"While drug use by athletes is a serious wrong to be addressed with stiff penalties, involvement in doping by a coach is even more reprehensible and must be dealt with through the most severe of all sanctions," USADA CEO Travis Tygart said in a statement. "It is truly disgraceful when a coach uses his position to assist athletes under his care in doping."

It was Graham who anonymously provided a vial of "the clear," a then undetectable steroid to USADA. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Graham acknowledged mailing the drug, saying: "I was just a coach doing the right thing at the time." He did not say why he turned in the syringe or how he got the material.

USADA began its case against Graham in November 2006. He was found to have committed four violations of the WADA code:

_Tampering with or attempting to tamper with any part of doping control.

_Possession of prohibited substances and methods.

_Trafficking in any prohibited substance or prohibited method.

_Administration or attempted administration of a prohibited substance or prohibited method to any athlete or assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, covering up or any other type of complicity involving an anti-doping rules violation or any attempted violation.

Few of Graham's former athletes are still in athletics. Montgomery, who was banned for life, was sentenced in May to nearly four years in prison for his role in a New York-based check-kiting conspiracy and pleaded guilty July 3 to distributing heroin. Gatlin is serving a four-year doping ban, and Jones is serving a six-month prison sentence for lying to U.S. government investigators about a check-fraud scam and her doping.

The most notable survivor is Shawn Crawford, the defending Olympic 200-meter champion. Crawford will run the 200 in Beijing and now trains with Bob Kersee, who also coaches sprinter Allyson Felix.

Though Crawford wasn't ever involved in the doping scandal, his name came up because Graham was a key player.

"Whatever he did with anybody else, I'm not worried about it," Crawford said recently. "I know what I did. I can't hold that against a person. People make mistakes."

Graham was the second person from the BALCO doping lab scandal to be convicted at trial. Former elite cyclist Tammy Thomas was found guilty in April of lying to a U.S. grand jury when she denied doping.

Eight others, including Jones and BALCO founder Victor Conte, have pleaded guilty to charges that stemmed from the September 2003 raid on BALCO headquarters outside San Francisco.

TOP TEN TRADE SHOWS IN CHICAGO

1. National Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show 78,900 2. National Hardware Show 70,000

3. Sporting Goods Association International Expo 69,000 4. National Housewares Show 55,000 5. Summer Consumer Electronics Show 55,000 6. International Marine Trades Exhibit 36,000 7. National Home Center Show 34,000 8. Radiological Society of North America 20,000 9. Chicago Gift Show 19,000 10. Automotive Parts and Accessories Show 8,900

Source: Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau and Tradeshow

Apartheid official gets amnesty

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa An apartheid-era Cabinet minister whoconfessed to sanctioning the 1987 bombing of a trade union buildingwas granted amnesty Tuesday for his crime.

It was the second time the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,now nearing the end of its life span, has pardoned Adriaan Vlok, theformer law and order minister, who also confessed to approving the1988 bombing of the headquarters of the South African Council ofChurches.

The commission, appointed to probe apartheid-era human rightsabuses between 1960 and 1994, has considered more than 6,000 amnestyapplications this year, and has about 300 cases left to go, which ithopes to complete by next June.

Sony's baseball sim scores, while 2K Sports whiffs

We're just a couple of weeks into the baseball season, and most fans are still enjoying that flush of springtime optimism, hoping their team will make it to the playoffs. Unless you live in my town, Washington, where the Nationals are already looking worse than the 2008 squad that stumbled to 102 losses.

I've already abandoned the real-life team, opting to play out the 2009 season in virtual reality. First step: Dragging Albert Pujols, Dustin Pedroia and Tim Lincecum away from their contending teams and plugging them into the Nats lineup. Cheating? Perhaps, but isn't this what the Steinbrenners have been doing all these years?

Besides, creating a new National League East powerhouse is a lot more fun than watching the Nationals infielders kick around grounders. And once your team fades from contention (hello, Pittsburgh), you can join me on the virtual diamond.

_"MLB 09: The Show" (Sony, for the PlayStation 3, $59.99; PlayStation Portable, $39.99; PlayStation 2, $29.99): Pedroia, last year's American League MVP, gets called "scrappy" a lot, meaning he's the kind of player who's always hustling. He's an appropriate cover boy for Sony's baseball franchise, which has scrambled for respect but emerged last year as the best in the game.

Sony hasn't made any substantial changes with this year's model, opting mainly to tweak last year's successful production. Graphically, "The Show" keeps edging closer to broadcast quality, with realistic lighting, accurate player models and even dancing mascots. And gameplay is just a bit more lifelike; computer-controlled fielders, for example, aren't quite as perfect as they once were.

Away from the pennant race, the main addition is a training mode that lets you work on your batting and base-running skills. The drills are part of "Road to the Show," in which you build a player from scratch and work your way up from single-A to the majors. It remains the most addictive career mode of any sports game _ in many ways, more satisfying than the team game. Three-and-a-half stars out of four.

_"Major League Baseball 2K9" (2K Sports, for the Xbox 360, $59.99; Nintendo Wii, $49.99; PlayStation Portable, $29.99; PlayStation 2, $19.99): Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum is on the cover of "2K9," but the game itself is a balk. It feels incomplete, probably because a different studio has taken over development of the franchise since the poorly received "2K8."

The most noticeable issue is its flaky artificial intelligence; computer-controlled fielders show laughably bad judgment. Hitting homers is much too easy, with games usually devolving into double-digit slugfests. It's fun for casual play, but real baseball fans will get bored.

Graphics and audio feel unfinished as well. Most of the players look like partially melted dolls, and the soundtrack is just awful. Could we please have a moratorium on the Romantics' "What I Like About You"? One star.

___

On the Net:

http://www.us.playstation.com/mlb09theshow/

http://2ksports.com/games/mlb2k9

Wheelchair taxis begin operating in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wheelchair-accessible taxis have begun operating in Washington.

The 20 wheelchair taxis were put into commission Thursday with a $1 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration and $200,000 from the D.C. Taxicab Commission. They are operating under Yellow Cab and Royal Cab.

The taxis are regular minivans that have been modified so that the passenger can roll into the vehicle on a ramp. Passengers pay normal taxi rates, but drivers receive an additional $2 per trip from the grant funding.

The drivers have received special training and a special license from the taxicab commission.

More than 12,000 people in Washington travel in wheelchairs.

Nish urges Paatelainen to unleash trident at Parkhead; Dream team: Nish is relishing playing in a front three with Riordan and Fletcher.

Byline: JOHN GREECHAN

STICK or twist? Deep down, Hibs know that either strategy might end in a mauling at Celtic Park today. If they are to play the percentages, however, boldness seems their best policy.

For the Edinburgh club have within their ranks a trio of attacking players who, when used all at once, have the potential to unsettle even the best teams in Scotland.

The front line of Colin Nish, Steven Fletcher and one Derek Riordan, formerly of the Parkhead parish, have three goals apiece this season. If that sounds more impressive as a joint tally, then each player would admit to feeling more potent in this attacking trident.

Nish, a large but not-so-lumbering striker who has surprised a few since his move from Kilmarnock, said: 'I think that, the more we play together, the better we'll get.

'It's like any partnership, be it two up front or three up front. You improve through games. So I'm hoping we get a chance again this weekend.

'Fletcher's goal against Hearts last weekend was an example of how we can work together Derek's backheel, my cross and then the finish. There were other times in the game when we didn't score but we created chances. We were all setting each other up.

'I think the three of us are quite intelligent footballers. We know where everyone is on the park. I think that benefits the team in the long run.

'You have to work hard in a three but you get more freedom. If you are just playing through the middle, 90 per cent of your game is played with your back to goal.

'In a three, you get a chance to get the ball down, run with it a wee bit, play a through ball you do a bit more than just hold the ball up.

It can be enjoyable.

'That's three of us on three goals now. We're all trying to get the next one, so we can be top goalscorer for a week or two. It doesn't really matter, of course, as long as the goals are going in and we're playing well. But I'd like to point out that I've created all three of Fletch's goals.'

Riordan will obviously receive the most attention from fans of both sides today, with the possibility of this former Celtic misfit returning to inflict damage on the club and the manager in particular, because this is very personal adding a certain frisson to the build-up.

Of course, he might not get a chance to do any harm, if the rest of the Hibs team don't up their game.

They might be fourth in the SPL but, at home to Rangers a few weeks ago, the midfield and defence were simply too mediocre to give the front three any support.

Still, Nish is confident that Riordan, at least, is capable of creating something out of nothing. After all, he's seen him do it.

'I remember playing against him a couple of years ago, when I was at Kilmarnock, and every time he got the ball you thought he was going to score,' Nish said of his former opponent turned team-mate..

'It didn't matter where he was on the park. He could have been on the halfway line and you still worried that he was going to score.

'It's the same playing with him.

As soon as he gets the ball, you feel like there is going to be a goal.

Sometimes he just makes a goal and you think to yourself: "Where did that come from?" It's great to have him in your team.

'I'm sure he's looking forward to this game. He will want to give a good account of himself, because he'll probably feel like he never got his chance there. He will want to prove that he should have been given more of an opportunity.

'He has been up for it ever since he came back. He has been wanting to prove that he should have been given a chance at Celtic and that he's capable of playing.

'Just because he didn't break through at Celtic doesn't mean he's not capable of playing at that level. Sometimes managers just don't like you, don't get on with you or don't rate you as highly.

'Maybe if he had gone on to another big team, he would have played more. You never know.'

Nish urges Paatelainen to unleash trident at Parkhead; Dream team: Nish is relishing playing in a front three with Riordan and Fletcher.

Byline: JOHN GREECHAN

STICK or twist? Deep down, Hibs know that either strategy might end in a mauling at Celtic Park today. If they are to play the percentages, however, boldness seems their best policy.

For the Edinburgh club have within their ranks a trio of attacking players who, when used all at once, have the potential to unsettle even the best teams in Scotland.

The front line of Colin Nish, Steven Fletcher and one Derek Riordan, formerly of the Parkhead parish, have three goals apiece this season. If that sounds more impressive as a joint tally, then each player would admit to feeling more potent in this attacking trident.

Nish, a large but not-so-lumbering striker who has surprised a few since his move from Kilmarnock, said: 'I think that, the more we play together, the better we'll get.

'It's like any partnership, be it two up front or three up front. You improve through games. So I'm hoping we get a chance again this weekend.

'Fletcher's goal against Hearts last weekend was an example of how we can work together Derek's backheel, my cross and then the finish. There were other times in the game when we didn't score but we created chances. We were all setting each other up.

'I think the three of us are quite intelligent footballers. We know where everyone is on the park. I think that benefits the team in the long run.

'You have to work hard in a three but you get more freedom. If you are just playing through the middle, 90 per cent of your game is played with your back to goal.

'In a three, you get a chance to get the ball down, run with it a wee bit, play a through ball you do a bit more than just hold the ball up.

It can be enjoyable.

'That's three of us on three goals now. We're all trying to get the next one, so we can be top goalscorer for a week or two. It doesn't really matter, of course, as long as the goals are going in and we're playing well. But I'd like to point out that I've created all three of Fletch's goals.'

Riordan will obviously receive the most attention from fans of both sides today, with the possibility of this former Celtic misfit returning to inflict damage on the club and the manager in particular, because this is very personal adding a certain frisson to the build-up.

Of course, he might not get a chance to do any harm, if the rest of the Hibs team don't up their game.

They might be fourth in the SPL but, at home to Rangers a few weeks ago, the midfield and defence were simply too mediocre to give the front three any support.

Still, Nish is confident that Riordan, at least, is capable of creating something out of nothing. After all, he's seen him do it.

'I remember playing against him a couple of years ago, when I was at Kilmarnock, and every time he got the ball you thought he was going to score,' Nish said of his former opponent turned team-mate..

'It didn't matter where he was on the park. He could have been on the halfway line and you still worried that he was going to score.

'It's the same playing with him.

As soon as he gets the ball, you feel like there is going to be a goal.

Sometimes he just makes a goal and you think to yourself: "Where did that come from?" It's great to have him in your team.

'I'm sure he's looking forward to this game. He will want to give a good account of himself, because he'll probably feel like he never got his chance there. He will want to prove that he should have been given more of an opportunity.

'He has been up for it ever since he came back. He has been wanting to prove that he should have been given a chance at Celtic and that he's capable of playing.

'Just because he didn't break through at Celtic doesn't mean he's not capable of playing at that level. Sometimes managers just don't like you, don't get on with you or don't rate you as highly.

'Maybe if he had gone on to another big team, he would have played more. You never know.'

Nish urges Paatelainen to unleash trident at Parkhead; Dream team: Nish is relishing playing in a front three with Riordan and Fletcher.

Byline: JOHN GREECHAN

STICK or twist? Deep down, Hibs know that either strategy might end in a mauling at Celtic Park today. If they are to play the percentages, however, boldness seems their best policy.

For the Edinburgh club have within their ranks a trio of attacking players who, when used all at once, have the potential to unsettle even the best teams in Scotland.

The front line of Colin Nish, Steven Fletcher and one Derek Riordan, formerly of the Parkhead parish, have three goals apiece this season. If that sounds more impressive as a joint tally, then each player would admit to feeling more potent in this attacking trident.

Nish, a large but not-so-lumbering striker who has surprised a few since his move from Kilmarnock, said: 'I think that, the more we play together, the better we'll get.

'It's like any partnership, be it two up front or three up front. You improve through games. So I'm hoping we get a chance again this weekend.

'Fletcher's goal against Hearts last weekend was an example of how we can work together Derek's backheel, my cross and then the finish. There were other times in the game when we didn't score but we created chances. We were all setting each other up.

'I think the three of us are quite intelligent footballers. We know where everyone is on the park. I think that benefits the team in the long run.

'You have to work hard in a three but you get more freedom. If you are just playing through the middle, 90 per cent of your game is played with your back to goal.

'In a three, you get a chance to get the ball down, run with it a wee bit, play a through ball you do a bit more than just hold the ball up.

It can be enjoyable.

'That's three of us on three goals now. We're all trying to get the next one, so we can be top goalscorer for a week or two. It doesn't really matter, of course, as long as the goals are going in and we're playing well. But I'd like to point out that I've created all three of Fletch's goals.'

Riordan will obviously receive the most attention from fans of both sides today, with the possibility of this former Celtic misfit returning to inflict damage on the club and the manager in particular, because this is very personal adding a certain frisson to the build-up.

Of course, he might not get a chance to do any harm, if the rest of the Hibs team don't up their game.

They might be fourth in the SPL but, at home to Rangers a few weeks ago, the midfield and defence were simply too mediocre to give the front three any support.

Still, Nish is confident that Riordan, at least, is capable of creating something out of nothing. After all, he's seen him do it.

'I remember playing against him a couple of years ago, when I was at Kilmarnock, and every time he got the ball you thought he was going to score,' Nish said of his former opponent turned team-mate..

'It didn't matter where he was on the park. He could have been on the halfway line and you still worried that he was going to score.

'It's the same playing with him.

As soon as he gets the ball, you feel like there is going to be a goal.

Sometimes he just makes a goal and you think to yourself: "Where did that come from?" It's great to have him in your team.

'I'm sure he's looking forward to this game. He will want to give a good account of himself, because he'll probably feel like he never got his chance there. He will want to prove that he should have been given more of an opportunity.

'He has been up for it ever since he came back. He has been wanting to prove that he should have been given a chance at Celtic and that he's capable of playing.

'Just because he didn't break through at Celtic doesn't mean he's not capable of playing at that level. Sometimes managers just don't like you, don't get on with you or don't rate you as highly.

'Maybe if he had gone on to another big team, he would have played more. You never know.'

Shopkeepers are glad to see nnigraffiti artists make their mark

Street Art is being used to offer a colourful solution to a seriesof graffiti attacks that have blighted shops in Southmead.

Eight shop shutters have been spray-painted with graffiti artworkdesigned by local youngsters in co-operation with shopkeepers inArnside Road.

The shopping precinct has been a magnet for vandalism and anti-social behaviour, with residents complaining of intimidation andnuisance graffiti by groups of youths.

The shops themselves have borne the brunt of much of thisbehaviour, with repeated graffiti attacks.

To combat the attacks, the community opted to use graffitithemselves, as a novel way of dealing with the problem. …

Bonding your portfolio.(investment in higher education bonds)

With a stock market pushing

to record levels, it's not hard to

understand why so many investors are

buying stock equities and mutual funds.

Stock investors have seen their

portfolios fatten over the last few

years.

But with many wondering if the

stock market is due for a correction,

some financial advisors and analysts

believe now is the time to hedge bets

against inflation and consider investing

in bonds.

Despite a dip that saw bonds and

bond funds lose about 11 percent of their

value two years ago, some analysts think

the market is poised for another long-term …

WAXING ARTISTIC OVER BLACK HISTORY.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: Associated Press

NEW YORK -- It takes a certain flair for the theatrical to open a wax museum and put yourself in among the historical figures. But no one will ever accuse Raven Chanticleer of reticence. His middle name -- as if he needed one -- is flamboyant.

Chanticleer, once a noted clothing designer, has also been an actor, dancer, sculptor and painter, and now runs the African-American Wax Museum of Harlem -- a struggling institution that has outgrown its space and is short of funds.

``I created this to give a visual impact to all people that we have a history, and something to offer,'' he said.

Although little known, the wax …

APNewsBreak: Boxer wants DOJ inquiry in oil spill

California Sen. Barbara Boxer and other Democrats on the Senate environment committee are calling for the Department of Justice to open a criminal and civil investigation into the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Boxer, who chairs the environment panel, said that operators of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig did not appear to have required equipment and technology needed to respond to the spill, which has dumped millions of gallons into the Gulf of Mexico.

Six other Democratic senators and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont joined Boxer in requesting the Justice Department investigation.

Boxer said BP officials appeared to misstate the …

Raymond Pettibon

BOLZANO, ITALY

MUSEION-MUSEO D'ARTE MODERNO E CONTEMPORANEA

Though very American and very Los Angeles, Raymond Pettibon's work is also international and equal opportunity, riffing broadly on Western culture, with the United States positioned as an import/ export hub for cultural hang-ups and hangovers. Whether dealing with art, sex, Mickey Mouse, Jesus, or the war in …

Reach fires 70 Asia staff at Level 3 Communications after deal. (China).(Brief Article)

Reach, an equally owned telecom venture of Hong Kong's PCCW and Australia's Telstra, fired 70 Asian staff at Level 3 Communication after Reach's purchase last month of Level 3's Level 3 had 190 employees in Asia. Of those, 50 were offered …

UK husband tips off UAE cops on cheating wife.

Summary: A British woman was arrested in the United Arab Emirates after her husband tipped off the police and accused her of adultery, press reports said Tuesday, in the second such case based in the Gulf

A British woman was arrested in the United Arab Emirates after her husband tipped off the police and accused her of adultery, press reports said Tuesday, in the second such case based in the Gulf state.

Sally Antia, 44, who has lived in Dubai for 12 years, was arrested after police raided the five-star hotel where she and her lover were staying, following a tip off from her angry husband, who is also British. Antia confessed in a Dubai court that she had …

Rockets hold off Lakers.(Sports)

Byline: Associated Press

HOUSTON - When Lamar Odom put up a rare miss in the fourth quarter, Yao Ming didn't give him another chance to steal the game away from the Houston Rockets.

Yao rebounded the carom and went on to make the winning free throws with 15.2 seconds left, leading the Rockets to a 103-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

"I knew I could make that because I had missed too many before," said Yao, apparently unaware that he went 5 of 6 from the line en route to 23 points. "It's great to get the win."

Tracy McGrady had 21 points and Bob Sura had 19 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and five steals for the …

STOP THE MILITARY BASE CHARADE THE ISSUE DESPITE BEING TARGETED FOR CLOSURE, MANY FACILITIES REMAIN OPEN AND FUNCTIONING. OUR OPINION TOUGHER LEGISLATION IS NEEDED TO ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY.(MAIN)

The effort to reduce the federal expenditure on the military is generally proceeding well: The number of soldiers and support personnel has been reduced dramatically; some new weapons systems have been canceled; and, perhaps most important, scores of unneeded military bases have been closed down.

The fact is, the U.S., for purposes of its defense, didn't need, in this post Cold-War era, the hundreds of military bases that dotted the 50 states. Some had to be closed down and Congress, lacking the backbone to make that decision itself, created a commission to do the politically dirty work for it.

That commission did the job. It came up with a list of more …

Scientists Find Reasons to Rethink Cerebellum's Role.

Byline: University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, July 14 (AScribe Newswire) -- For a hundred and fifty years, prevailing wisdom has held that the cerebellum, a baseball-sized region of gray and white tissue sitting above the brain stem, is the control center for body movement. But recent studies, including some straight out of the laboratory, are suggesting the cerebellum is involved in a much wider set of behaviors and perceptions. Performance of the cerebellum might even help explain mysterious disorders such as autism.

These are some of the conclusions of neuroscientists James M. Bower, Ph.D., and Lawrence M. Parsons, …

Berhalter named coach of Sweden's Hammarby

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Former Los Angeles Galaxy and United States defender Gregg Berhalter has been named head coach of Swedish second-division team Hammarby.

The Stockholm club said Monday that the 38-year-old Berhalter has signed a two-year contract with an option for a one-year extension.

Berhalter says Hammarby, which was relegated …

S.D. congressman charged with manslaughter in crash Collision that killed motorcyclist may net up to 10 years in jail

FLANDREAU, S.D.--Rep. Bill Janklow, a political powerhouse inSouth Dakota for 30 years, was charged with second-degreemanslaughter Friday in a fatal collision with a motorcyclist.

Janklow also faces charges of failure to stop, speeding andmisdemeanor reckless driving for the Aug. 16 crash that killed a 55-year-old farmer from Minnesota.

Authorities say Janklow was doing 71 mph when he ran a stop signin eastern South Dakota, killing Randolph E. Scott, who was returninghome from his former father-in-law's birthday party.

Janklow, who has a history of driving fast, told an investigatorhe saw the sign but was going too fast to stop.

The manslaughter charge, …