text:
Mates for the long run
Valatie author explores Nixon marriage and its historic highs and lows
When Richard Nixon was courting his future wife, he promised her their lives would never be boring. Everyone knows what happened next. We know less about the marriage that was resilient enough to endure the tumult.
Valatie resident Will Swift, a psychologist, historian and marriage counselor, explores the Nixons' marriage in his new book, "Pat and Dick, The Nixons, an Intimate Portrait of a Marriage."
Q: When you chose to write about the Nixons, you changed course from writing about families — the Roosevelts and the Kennedys — history has treated fairly kindly, to a couple that didn't fare well in the public eye. What was it about the Nixons, and specifically their marriage, that inspired you to write about them?
A: I got used to working with a less-than-beloved character when I wrote about Joe Kennedy during his ambassadorship to England from 1938 to 1940. My previous books also dealt with marital relationships — between Joe and Rose Kennedy, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, and Queen Elizabeth and King George VI. I've been a marriage counselor for 43 years, and I'm fascinated by the rhythms of a marriage and how couples deal with incompatibilities.
I looked around and saw the most interesting marriage that had never been covered was that of Pat and Dick. No one dared touch them even 20 years after their deaths. Their marriage lasted 53 years. I thought it couldn't have been as bad as it's been portrayed. I enjoy comparing primary materials to what's been written in other books and resurrecting historical reputations.
Q: What details in the book do you think will surprise readers, particularly those who vividly remember Nixon's campaigns and Watergate?
A: Richard Nixon was more tender and sentimental than anyone realized when it came to Pat. I quote from their wartime letters in the book and he wrote how proud he was of her when she got a new, better job. "I'm really very proud - as I have always been. I like to tell the gang how smart you are as well as being the most attractive person they will ever see. Dear Heart you are the tops!" He didn't care much about his own birthdays, but he made a big deal over hers, he said they would always be a reminder of their happiness and of his love for her.
When I interviewed (Nixon's social secretary Lucy Winchester) she told me about the time he called her into his office in March, 1969 to talk about planning a surprise party for Pat's 57th birthday. He had every detail planned, and when he got to the part about singing (''Happy Birthday''), he sang the whole song. He was lost in the moment.
When he ran for Congress the first time, she was his campaign manager and she did opposition research on the other candidate. When she came into the White House, there was a lot of debate over the role of the first lady. She came in saying she wanted to be the wife of the President; by the end she was very much the independent, liberated woman. She didn't love politics the way he did, but she found other ways to pursue her goals.
When she went to Peru after an earthquake in 1970 as his representative, it was the first time a first lady had done that. Pat worked for women's rights around the world. When she traveled to Africa, she found ways to include women in events.
Q: The privacy the Nixons maintained would be impossible today. Your book indicates Pat and Dick might have benefited from media changes that give Americans a close look at their leaders today.
A: Pat went to a leper colony and touched the people suffering from the disease. If she got the same inside coverage we have today, she would have been seen as more of a Princess Diana figure. It was against the Nixons' Quaker roots to draw attention to their private lives. There were never any public displays of affection, although the people close to them said they made jokes and they held hands in private.
Q: You had access to the Nixons' family and the people who were close to the couple. What were those interviews like?
A: It took persistence. I was coming to them as a psychologist and the writer of books about Democrats. It took a year or two of visits to the Nixon Library and finding out who the trusted historical experts were, and convincing them I wasn't trying to do a hatchet job. It took me two years to get a lunch with (Nixon son-in-law) Ed Cox. I gave him pages from the book that he edited on the spot, then I gave him questions that he and Tricia worked on together, and they closely monitored the answers. Tricia is very private and Julie wrote her own book on her mother, so she said what she had to say.
It was clear from the beginning I could not ask about Watergate. They would shut down right away if I asked about that.
If you go
Will Swift will read from "Pat and Dick" and give a talk at 3 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Chatham Library, 11 Woodbridge Ave. Chatham
Q: You are a clinical psychologist and marital therapist. What would you say to Pat and Dick if they came to you?
A: Let's imagine I was called upon in the 1950s — Pat had a back injury, Dick had trouble sleeping and he had neck problems. They held themselves to unrelenting standards. They went to diplomatic dinners four nights a week, which they hated.
I would advise them to set more limits on their professional obligations and set aside time for privacy. After he lost elections for president in 1960 and governor of California in 1962, they moved to New York and had a good balance, I wouldn't have much advice at that time.
In 1968, their first year in the White House, they struggled with the three different relationships you have to maintain in that position — their personal relationship, the professional relationship between the East and West Wings, and their public relations marriage. He was perfectionistic and wanted to handle things the first lady usually handles. I would counsel her to be firmer about delineating the difference between his responsibilities and hers.
During Watergate, he was lying to her and hiding things from her. It created a distance within the relationship. It was her opinion you shouldn't tape private conversations. My advice would have been to tell her what was going on. After the White House, they reconnected.
Q: What other famous marriages would you like to write about?
A: My ideal scenario is to have President and Mrs. Clinton read this article, and ask me if I would be willing to tell their story with full access to their archives - at the appropriate time, when their political careers are over.
firstname.lastname@example.com • 518-454-5352 • @leighhornbeck


text:
Other Names, Group: Bloodwort, Carpenter's Weed, Common Yarrow, Milfoil, Plumajillo, Western Yarrow,
German: Schafgarbe
Czech: řebříček obecný
Mature Height: 0.60 m
Deciduous: deciduous plant
Soil Preferred:: loam, sand, penetrability,
Other Attributes: perennial, bed plant, attractive flowers, cut plant,
Plants of Genus Achillea:
Photo Gallery DF: Achillea millefolium Schneetaler, Yarrow, Achillea, yarrow
Forum: Achillea millefolium Schneetaler, Yarrow, Achillea, yarrow
Articles: Achillea millefolium, Yarrow
| Achillea millefolium 'Fire King' - Yarrow, Milfoil, Staunchweed
Get a good view of hummers as they feed from the clusters of rosy-red nectar-rich flowers. This unusual Yarrow is a virtually foolproof perennial. Covered in blooms from late spring to early fall, it provides a long season of color and food. Large clusters of bright blooms atop 15-20 …
Amazon.com | 02.06. 2007
| Achillea millefolium 'Red Velvet' - yarrow
Yarrow is a maintenance-free perennial suitable for standard flower beds as well as dry locations. Fern-like leaves are fine and deep green, basal leaves are larger than stem leaves. Flowers come out in flat corymbs in early summer. They are vivid red with tiny yellow centres. It …
Specializované zahradnictví | 04.08. 2008

subset: commoncrawl


text:
To Walk Invisible The Brontë Sisters
Preview | 30s
To Walk Invisible The Bronte Sisters follows the Brontë sisters in the eventful three-year period that saw them rise from ordinary, unmarried women, to the secret authors of the world's most sensational literature. See the film Sunday, March 26th, 2017 at 9/8c on MASTERPIECE on PBS. #BronteSistersPBS
Aired: 03/26/17Video has closed captioning.


text:
Coma Fredosa
[F]or the design of this Coma Fredosa as well of that of other wines from the same winery, the "graphic language" of the topography is a key element that offers a series of clues and concepts about the wine and the winery to the spectator/consumer.
The topography helps us locate geographically the estates within the municipality of Colera. The contour lines allow us to understand the distinct orography which requires the grapes to be picked by hand and deeply affects the wine. From right to left across the topography on the label we can travel from estate to estate, starting at sea level to finally reach Albera mountain range.
The GPS point locates the exact position of the winery and at the same time works as an element of interaction and information for the consumer. A simple search of the GPS coordinates puts the local information on the label in the context of the Global geography. Through the topography we can find the location of the estate which produced this Coma Fredosa, as well as the location of the winery's different estates and some geographic points after which the other wines are or will be named.
Screen printing has been used to recreate the relief of the topography and other elements as if it were topographic braille, which invites the recipient to touch the label and feel the distinct topographic relief. As if it were a "secret game" with the client, in the village of Colera the owners' family home has been marked in red. The other houses and plots on the "map" are dark grey.
The top of the wine capsule is crowned by a circle/point with different conceptual connotations: it is the GPS point that can be seen on the map, it makes reference to the winery's logo, it is a graphic synthesis of a grape, it is… The capsules of the various wines share this same element as a conceptual link.
The colours used on the label are a combination of corporate colours, established to maintain a chromatic consistency with the other labels and the graphic image of the winery. In a way this wine label is the prologue that complements and strengthens the concept of all the other labels of this winery.
Design by Kiss Zsombor | Source :: Lovely Package


text:
Sad: Mother In The Country Of Mauritania Force Feeds 5 Year Old Daughter To Be Overweight! (Torturing Their Daughters To Grow Fat)
Tv documentary on Fat Is Beautiful
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


text:
Topic: Shaw Wu
Earnings preview: Apple expected to report record iPad sales, first shrinking profit in a decade
04/22/2013, 02:04 pm
Expectations are low for Apple's recently concluded March quarter, in which some market watchers believe the company likely saw its first year-over-year profit decline in a decade, despite booming sales of its iPad lineup.
Broader Apple-Yahoo partnership viewed as logical step for both to fight Google
04/11/2013, 10:04 am
Rumors of a growing alliance between Apple and Yahoo for delivering information to iPhone users have been met positively by one Wall Street analysts, who sees strong benefits for both parties in the relationship, particularly in combating Google.
iPhone on T-Mobile US seen as a 'big deal' that will help Apple's June quarter
03/27/2013, 08:03 am
Though T-Mobile is the fourth-largest carrier in the U.S., Apple's new iPhone agreement with the wireless provider has been viewed as a "big deal" that will serve as an additional sales catalyst.
Rumored iPhone order cuts prompt Sterne Agee to drop Apple price target to $630
03/15/2013, 09:03 am
Apple is rumored to be drawing down build plans for current iPhone models ahead of product refreshes in the second half of 2013, which has prompted Sterne Agee to reduce its forecasts.
Apple 'leaving money on the table' by not releasing big-screen iPhone
02/05/2013, 10:02 am
Calls for Apple to make an iPhone with a larger display around 5 inches diagonally are growing among investors, who see a big-screen iPhone as a major revenue opportunity.
iPhone 5 demand 'robust,' order cuts likely stem from improved yields & supplier shifts
01/15/2013, 08:01 am
While recent reports about iPhone 5 component orders being reduced have caused "great confusion," the reality is consumer demand for the iPhone 5 has not waned.
Strong iPhone 5 launch in China highlights Apple's 'enormous' growth opportunity
12/17/2012, 08:12 am
Greater China has become an increasingly important part of Apple's business, generating about 15 percent of the company's fiscal 2012 sales, and the nation's role is expected to grow even more with a particularly strong debut for the iPhone 5.
Apple suppliers say iPhone 5 demand still strong, iPad mini cannibalizing 9.7" iPad
12/12/2012, 08:12 am
Demand for the iPhone 5 remains strong as supply and yields continue to improve, but total iPad sales for the holiday quarter may prove lower than market watchers expect, as the iPad mini cannibalizes sales of the new fourth-generation iPad.
Improving production yields on iPhone 5 expected to boost profitability for Apple
12/04/2012, 09:12 am
Supply of the iPhone 5 continues to improve as yield rates on the difficult-to-build handset have reportedly grown, reducing costs and boosting profitability for Apple and its suppliers.
iPhone 5 capacity improving, Apple forecast to sell 46.5M phones in Dec. quarter
11/08/2012, 09:11 am
Despite recent comments from Foxconn admitting difficulty in manufacturing the iPhone 5, there are reportedly signs that Apple's capacity is "much improved."
Market watchers expect $329 iPad mini will justify its price to consumers
10/24/2012, 09:10 am
Though the starting price of the iPad mini is higher than many had expected, Wall Street analysts believe the storage capacity and build quality offered by Apple will be more than enough to court consumers and make the product a success.
Apple expected to partially absorb higher quality control costs for iPhone 5
10/22/2012, 09:10 am
Difficulties in manufacturing the iPhone 5 are expected to affect Apple's gross margins for the near term, as the company is predicted to absorb some of the quality control costs associated with producing its latest handset.
Apple's smaller iPad forecast to become 'competition's worst nightmare'
10/19/2012, 09:10 am
Tablet makers have failed to compete with Apple in the $400-and-up market segment, and a new, smaller iPad priced below $300 is only expected to make matters worse for the competition.
Analysts stand by Apple stock recommendations after recent declines
10/09/2012, 12:10 pm
As Apple's stock has dropped more than 10 percent in recent weeks in the face of negative headlines, Wall Street analysts still remain confident in recommending investors to buy in.
Yield rates for Apple's iPhone 5 in-cell touch panels improving
10/02/2012, 08:10 am
After some initial issues with creating in-cell touchscreen displays for Apple's new iPhone 5, yield rates are said to be improving, helping to ease constraints.
Apple earnings preview: Big quarter expected for iPad, iPhone forecasts vary
07/23/2012, 08:07 pm
On Tuesday Apple will report earnings for its third quarter of fiscal 2012, and analysts expect the iPad will be in a position to set new records, while consensus on the iPhone is more divided.
RIM's survival until BlackBerry 10 all about cash preservation
06/29/2012, 09:06 am
While Research in Motion reported dismal quarterly earnings this week, the company did manage to improve its cash balance, suggesting the its demise isn't imminent � if it can survive until the launch of BlackBerry 10.
iPhone orders 'significantly' reduced as Apple begins prepping for next-gen model
05/15/2012, 08:05 am
Apple has begun drawing down build plans for its current iPhone models, as sales begin to ease in anticipation of a new sixth-generation model expected to launch later this year.
iPhone, iPad momentum may prompt Apple to give less conservative guidance
04/20/2012, 08:04 am
In its quarterly earnings call next week, Apple's guidance for the current June quarter may be less conservative than usual, thanks to particularly strong sales of both the iPhone and iPad.
Release of 'iPad mini' from Apple viewed as 'question of when, not if'
04/17/2012, 10:04 am
A new iPad model with a smaller form factor is an inevitability, in the eyes of one analyst, though Apple is not expected to imminently release such a device.


text:
Explainer: When The Smoke Clears
Read the transcript to the Dateline report, which re-airs Sunday, Sept. 5, 7pm/6C. Click on 'next' to see each part of the episode.
Part 1
Five to seven minutes: the time it takes for a cigarette to burn. The time it takes to tamp down a craving. Or cover up a crime. Or mark the time between life, and death. It was Mother's Day Weekend 1989, the Los Angeles suburb of Whittier. That's when it happened, in a condo there. Where they found the burned down smoke at the heart of the mystery.
Or maybe smoke-screen is what it was, at the start of a search that would go on 14 years, and would lead... Well, who would have believed it? Certainly not Rhonda Fleming and her 25-year-old sister Christie, who were scheduled to take their mom to a brunch that morning.
Rhonda Davis: We were gonna meet at my mother's house. I just called Christie, just to check in. And the line was busy. A few minutes later I called again. Line was busy. I called, called, called, her phone was busy all Saturday morning, which seemed strange.
So Rhonda went to her mother's house, anyway, thinking her younger sister would show up. But...
Rhonda Davis: Christie wasn't there, which was very unusual, because she was always on time. Never, never late. And my mom hadn't talked to her. I called Christie again. The phone's still busy. Now I know something is wrong.
Panicked now, Rhonda called her father Bud Fleming. He was divorced, but had raised both girls and kept close tabs on them, especially Christie who was single.
Rhonda Davis: He hadn't talked to her either. And as soon as he hung up the phone from me, he drove to her house. He knew there was something wrong.
Rhonda followed him. Found Christie's car in its usual place, but no Christie. Knocked on her door. No answer. Then a neighbor managed to break in through a balcony and open the front door.
Rhonda Davis: I ran in the house. And I glanced over, and saw her body laying on the kitchen floor. I thought, she can't be dead. This just isn't happening. And I ran over to wake her up. And I stood over her, and I grabbed her wrists. And as soon as I touched her, I knew she was dead. And all I could think of was my dad coming in and seeing this.
Her father never did go inside, but a few minutes later, sheriffs' homicide detectives did.
Det. Steve Davis: She was nude. She was-- bleeding from the head. And there-- appeared to be blood on the kitchen floor as if some sort of struggle had-- taken place there.
The murder weapon was in plain sight, a blouse, stuffed in her mouth. She'd been suffocated.
And all around her, signs of what looked like a home invasion robbery.
Det. Steve Davis: Her purse and the contents were strewn all over the kitchen-- the-- living room floor. The drawers in the upstairs bedroom were pulled out. Items that were in the drawers were thrown on the floor, on the bed.
The phone was off the hook; looked like it had been moved from its normal place. Blood was smeared on several walls both upstairs and downstairs. And there was something in the kitchen, just above Christie's body that also caught detective's attention.
Det. Steve Davis: There was a cigarette butt that was found on the kitchen counter by the stove that had been placed there and had obviously burnt-- out as it was placed--
Keith Morrison, Dateline NBC correspondent: Over, over the counter and actually stained the counter as it burned.
Det. Steve Davis: Absolutely correct.
Four more cigarette butts were found in the trashcan under the sink, as well as a beer bottle in the living room. No surprise, however; Christie drank occasionally and the cigarettes were her brand. There were few other clues. The only fingerprints found were Christie's. And no one in the condo complex heard or saw anything. Strange, perhaps, given the level of violence.
But who would want to kill Christie Fleming? And why? She had always been extremely popular, according to Janice Puchart, who had known her since grade school.
Janice Puchart: She had tons of friends. She had a big, big social life. She had a lot-- lot of guy friends. Just friends.
And Christie was doing quite well for herself, working for a big aerospace company.
Rhonda Davis: She had a lot going for her. I mean, she had blossomed into this beautiful-- person that was successful. She owned her own condominium. She had a new car she paid for by herself.
Successful, attractive, popular. But there was another part of Christie's personality that became apparent the moment you met her.
Janice Puchart: Christie was--real compulsive about things. She had this very compulsive behavior.
Steve Davis:
Christie was apparently a neat freak. I believe you call it obsessive-compulsive. She was neat-- clean, in fact, fastidiously clean is probably the best way to describe it. You could eat off the floor.
Rhonda Davis: You'd walk into her house, it was like a model home. Nothing was out of place. She was constantly-- picking up after everyone. (laughter)
In fact, detectives also found plenty of evidence of Christie's clean and organized life. Her closet, full of clothes perfectly organized along with lists of every outfit and what to wear with them. Even her jewelry box was in ideal order; not a bracelet out of place. But neatness wasn't Christie's only compulsion. From an early age, she was also extremely security conscious.
Rhonda Davis: My dad raised both of us girls to be afraid, to be secure, he made sure we took every precaution to be safe, all the time.
Christie lived in a gated complex and kept a loaded gun in her nightstand. She had two locks on her door, secure windows. It didn't make sense. If this had been a robbery, surely there would have been some sign of forced entry.
Steve Davis: There's no broken door, no door lock pried. No window broken. The house was locked. So obviously she let whoever in that did this.
And given Christie's obsession with security, this could mean only one thing...
Steve Davis: Whoever killed her was somebody she knew. That was clear.
Shocking? Yes of course. But not necessarily to Christie's father, as he told the news media right after the murder.
Bud Fleming (to media): Christie was a very, very trusting girl so somebody could, a friend of hers or someone from work or just a friend could come to the door and she'd open it for them.
A friend? A colleague from work? Was it possible that Christine Fleming had been murdered by one of them?
Part 2
Los Angeles, Calif. Not so much a big city as a vast collection of suburbs; some with painfully crime spattered histories. One of the least so inflicted is tucked away; quiet, safe, even quaint: the town of Whittier. But murder, as we know, can happen anywhere, even in a high security condo... even to young and attractive Christine Fleming.
Christie's normally immaculate condominium was a blood-stained mess. And she, famously neat and tidy in life, lay dead in chaos, her personal belongings strewn helter-skelter across the counters and floors.
The local media jumped all over the story.
KNBC reporter: "The victim? A beautiful young woman in Whittier."
The Fleming family struggled in the glare of television lights to cope with the loss of its youngest member.
Rhonda Flemming, 1989 interview: Christie was my best friend so it's affected my life a lot. (cries)
Rhonda (Flemming) Davis: I think about it daily. You look at other people and they have brothers and sisters and I don't anymore.
Detectives had one rather disturbing theory to go on. Despite the murderers' clumsy efforts to make it look like a home invasion robbery, it was obvious the murder was not the work of a random stranger, but someone she actually knew.
Janice Puchert: If somebody that had been calling her, then suddenly is knocking on your door, you know who that is, you know, if it's late at night. It, you know, fits. So, she would let them in to avoid disturbing the neighbors.
Det. Steve Davis: In other words, there was no break-in. This girl was at home.
And for all the chaotic appearance of robbery, nothing of value was taken.
Det. Steve Davis: Her credit cards were accounted for. I believe there was a small amount of cash that might have been taken from her purse. You would've expected a burglar, you know, take everything in sight.
And all that blood spatter on the walls: Upon closer inspection it just didn't look right; like it had been carefully smeared on.
Det. Steve Davis: This was part of the murderer's plan to make it look like something that it wasn't; to try to confuse the issue and make it look like a stranger had come in, done a thrill killing, done a burglary.
Keith Morrison: Staging a scene, nobody fell for it?
Det. Steve Davis: Nobody fell for it.
A staged crime scene, and a sloppy one at that, further supported the cops' theory. Random burglars don't cover up crime scenes. Also left behind: an empty beer bottle, a dirty ashtray and all those cigarette butts. Remember, Christie smoked. The cigarettes were her brand.
But as detectives talked to Christie's friends, as they learned just how compulsively neat she was, they began to see the cigarettes as a useful clue.
Det. Steve Davis: Constantly cleaning the floor, the counter, wiping it down. Doing the dishes, we can't have old trash laying around in there, so we gotta go empty the trashcan right away.
Especially if the trash can contained cigarette butts. But this time Christie did not do her usual cleanup.
Det. Steve Davis: It suggested that the ashtray, the cigarettes, the smoking, all this happened at the time of the murder.
Keith Morrison: That she was powerless to clean that up?
Det. Steve Davis: Absolutely.
Keith Morrison: Because whoever--
Det. Steve Davis: Absolutely.
Keith Morrison: --because whoever helped her cause the mess killed her?
Det. Steve Davis: Excellent way to put it.
And there was something else even more significant about those five cigarettes butts. They were sent to the crime lab for testing. It was able to extract a tiny bit of saliva from each one. This was before DNA of course, but they were able to determine that three of those cigarettes could have been smoked by Christie and two could not have been. Were smoked by the person she let in that night. And was that person her killer?
Det. Steve Davis: The ashtray had-- ash residue in it, and it was on the floor by the table, where it appeared there were two chairs that were out of place. So it looked like there had been two people sitting there. They had been smoking. And something happened to cause that ashtray to be on the floor.
It was quickly becoming clear that Christie not only knew her killer, she knew him quite well. Certainly enough to share a smoke and a beer with him before he took her life.
But who?
Detectives started with the obvious: men she was dating, or had been dating.
Det. Steve Davis: There was a number of 'em and they proceeded by-- finding them, talking to them. And as a result of their interviews-- established that there was a list of maybe three or four that were good possible suspects.
Each was questioned, submitted saliva samples and was given a polygraph test. And within a few days, all dropped off the list of suspects. Christie's father Bud, who had taught his daughter to be so security conscious, tried to help solve what he could not prevent, by hanging posters all over town.
Bud Fleming, from 1989 News clip: If anybody out there knows anything at all, I'm begging them to please come forward. We sure need the help.
Rhonda Davis: She was his baby. He was never the same. He used to be such an outgoing, fun loving person. And this just totally changed him.
Janice Puchart: He was just very heartbroken. Crushed him. Really crushed that man.
Was there anybody else Bud Fleming knew who could have committed the crime? Perhaps someone on the fringe of his daughter's large social circle who had re-entered her life and then ended it?
Part 3
RhondaFleming, 1989 news clip: The police say that this person who committed this crime has told someone. Somebody knows. All that person has to do is come forward.
If only it were so easy. But day followed day and nobody came forward. Nobody at all. And none of Christie's friends or neighbors saw, heard or knew a thing. Detectives started out with a list of four possible suspects, men whom Christie had dated. And each one of them was questioned, their movements and alibis checked. And then one by one, they were cleared.
But Christie's father Bud Fleming remembered something: there had been a young man, years earlier, when Christie was a teenager. But he'd forgotten all about the kid, wouldn't have thought of him at all, except, a few months before Christie was murdered...
Janice Puchart: And he gets a phone call one day. "Hi, this is a voice from your past." And Bud's like, "Well, I don't have time for this. Who's this?" And he's like, "It's me, it's Art."
Art? Who was Art? He was Arturo Gutierrez, Christine's high school sweetheart.
Det. Steve Davis: They had a relationship, in fact they had a sexual relationship and apparently she became pregnant and ultimately had an abortion. Ultimately they broke up, and there had been a number of years that had passed since he had been in contact with her.
And then, there he was, out of the blue, on the phone with Christie's father.
Janice Puchart: He said "You know, I'd like to get a hold of Christie, can I get her number?" He said, "Why don't you give me your phone number, and I'll have her call you."
Rhonda Davis: I know my dad didn't want Art back in contact with her. But it's hard for a father because a father wants his daughter to be happy.
Keith Morrison: Of course.
Rhonda Davis: So on the one hand he knew that she loved the guy once upon a time. And he's probably thinking, oh, if this is what she wants, I want her to be happy." But on the other hand, you're always protective over your kids.
What should a father do? He certainly didn't like the guy. But Christie was a grownup. It wasn't really his business anymore. So he passed on the number. And she dialed it.
Janice Puchart: I know she was very curious. Like, wow, you know, wonder how he is now? So you're not really that upset or nervous of anything.
Keith Morrison: And she wasn't.
Janice Puchart: No, it was kind of flattering that somebody would look her up after so many years.
Art told Christie he was in the roofing business. He asked her to stop by his work site, say hello.
Janice Puchart: She said, "Yeah, I went to meet Art. He was telling me that he's making all this money. That he's got all these great things going, and he asked me for a ride." And she said, "Where's your car?" And he said, "I don't have a car. I don't have a license, 'cause I have warrants."
Warrants? No Car? No license?
Maybe Art wasn't quite as successful as he claimed he was. And according to Janice, he told Christie something rather strange.
Janice Puchart: And I remember this so clearly, her telling me, "Art's still telling stories." He said, "You know Christie, god punished me. I could never have children, because of you having that abortion."
What she certainly did not know was what Art somehow failed to mention: He was actually married and he had three children. And they were all living together, he and his wife and their kids, at his mother-in-law's house, conveniently close to Christie's condo.
Steve Davis: Apparently this Art Gutierrez had a habit of showing of showing up at her apartment at 2 o'clock in the morning. All kinds of late hours.
Christie had casually mentioned it to a few friends, but she apparently wasn't annoyed enough to turn him away. And for whatever reason - Christie always let Art in. And on occasion he even spent the night.
Rhonda Davis: Whatever the relationship was between the two of them was a secret from a lot of people.
Keith Morrison: Did you even know about it at the time?
Rhonda Davis: I had no clue.
Keith Morrison: She had not told you anything?
Rhonda Davis: No.
Detectives brought Gutierrez in for questioning and he was cooperative. He even admitted seeing Christie for a while. But they had broken it off two to three months before the murder either.
As for the night Christie was killed? Art insisted he was nowhere near the condo. And he could prove it.
Steve Davis: He had been with his wife that evening; that they had, I believe, gone to a party with some people.
And his wife backed up the story.
Steve Davis: He was asked to take a polygraph. He did not want to take a polygraph. He refused.
Gutierrez did, however, submit a saliva sample, which was sent off the lab for testing. And indeed it did match the saliva found on the butts of those cigarettes. This however was in the days before sophisticated DNA testing could be done at labs like this. So all they could determine from the saliva was the same type and millions of people have that type of saliva, so Gutierrez couldn't be identified as they killer, but he couldn't be eliminated as a suspect either.
It just didn't make sense though. Why would Art kill someone he apparently cared for; a person with whom he wanted to resume a relationship?
Rhonda Davis: The last time I had seen him, he was a teenager. He was just a teenage kid. That's what I remembered. It was hard for me to think of him as being a killer.
Gutierrez was not arrested. Why would he? No real evidence, no motive. No case. The media's fickle attention soon skipped off to embrace some fresher outrage. Overloaded detectives were called to new crime scenes. And the Christie Fleming case, yesterday's news, faded from view. Weeks passed... Months. Years.
Rhonda Davis: The more time that goes by the more you feel like it's never gonna happen. It's just hopeless and you're gonna just have to live with not knowing
And it wasn't made any easier when the lead detective retired. He hated leaving without solving the case, especially this case.
Steve Davis: He told me one day, he said, "I've got this old case, and I'd like for you to be responsible with it, 'cause I'd like to see this case solved." So that's how I got interested in it, and once I got interested, I was hooked.
Davis pored over it all: all the obsessive habits, the staged crime scene, the cigarette butts, the secret return of the old boyfriend, Art Gutierrez. The solution seemed tantalizingly possible - yet just out of reach. And then, three years after Christie's death, Davis heard about a disturbing incident involving Gutierrez and his wife.
Steve Davis: And I guess he got upset with her over something, flew off the handle. He was described as having a really bad temper. Pushed her down on the floor grabbed the pillow put it over her face and tried to smother her with it.
Davis then re-interviewed Gutierrez. He gave the same story, denying everything. Only his body language was a little more forthcoming.
Steve Davis: He acted about as squirrely as you can possibly get and by that i mean he was nervous he didn't want to be there. He couldn't wait to get the interview over with. And after talking to Mr. Gutierrez, he stood out like a sore thumb.
Davis got a warrant to draw a blood sample. DNA testing was possible by then but still not quite precise. And once again, the saliva on two of the cigarette butts in Christie's trash can could have been Gutierrez's. Could have been...
Keith Morrison: At that time, it wasn't even as good as a fingerprint?
Steve Davis: No, it wasn't
Keith Morrison: Did you arrest him?
Steve Davis: No.
And with that the Christie Fleming case went cold again, and would stay that way unless Davis could find something, anything, that would help solve the mystery. For that, it would take eight more years, until a clever plan was hatched to trap the killer.
Part 4
The world was otherwise occupied in the years after Christie Fleming took the secret of her murder to the grave. The Internet arrived, the Clinton years came and went, and 9/11. Hybrid cars arrived. And so did a remarkable breakthrough in that crucial crime solving technology: DNA.
Mind you, by 2002, 13 years after the murder, nothing much had happened to solve it. And Christie's family was stuck in a long grief-weighted purgatory without answers.
Rhonda Davis: You have to tell yourself that god will take care of it, at some point this person will pay for what they did. It's really the only way to be able to accept it.
Christie and Rhonda's father Bud Fleming took it very hard. Life didn't seem to be worth much to him anymore.
Rhonda Davis: He was under the care of a psychiatrist for the rest of his life. And never recovered from it.
Really only one thing kept him alive. Persistently and politely, Bud and Rhonda nudged Detective Davis.
Steve Davis: Rhonda, I remember, would call me probably twice a year, about every six months and she asked me, "Hey Steve, you know, what's going on with the case? You know, I'm just calling to see if there's anything new."
Rhonda Davis: He'd say, "Rhonda, this file is on the corner of my desk." Years later, "This file is on the corner of my desk. I never forgot about it."
Steve Davis: You never lose hope on these things because you just never know when something is gonna happen. Whether it be technology of whether it be a witness coming forward. Whether it be this guy doing something else to, you know hurt his case.
And sometimes it can be as simple as a chance encounter, a fresh perspective. Or in this case a Deputy District Attorney named John Lewin, who took special pleasure in unlocking the secrets of old and unsolved cases. And there was something quite unusual about this one that caught Lewin's eye which he mentioned to lead detective Steve Davis.
John Lewin: Steve had kind of been through the ringer in terms of work that he had done in the past and the case not getting to the point of being able to be filed. So I told him right from the start, "Hey listen, I'm very interested. The habit and custom evidence tells me that we can do this."
Habit and custom evidence? That, said Lewin, was Christie's obsessive-compulsive personality. What stood out for him, like some accusing finger pointing toward her killer, was Christie's insistence on perfect order, neatness, cleanliness. Which is why, when he saw the report that those cigarette butts had been found right there at the scene of the murder, he might just as well have said, "Eureka!"
John Lewin: There was no question that the cigarettes were being smoked at or near the time she was killed and that the person whose DNA was on the cigarette butts in the trash can was her killer.
Why no question they were smoked by her killer? Because had it been someone else earlier that day - even a few minutes earlier - Christie's compulsion for cleaning would have kicked in; she would have scooped up the butts and put them promptly in the outside garbage can. And one of the cigarettes had been left on the counter to burn down to its filter. Some more ordinary smoker might have left it there; for an hour, or a day, or more. But not Christie Fleming.
They sent those butts to the Sheriff's Department crime lab, ordered the most sophisticated tests available... and waited. And this time, the result was perfectly clear.
Steve Davis: It positively identified Art, Art Gutierrez as a suspect.
Keith Morrison: Without any doubt?
Steve Davis: Without any doubt.
John Lewin: And again it comes back to her habit and customs. When Art was talked to originally, he said he hadn't been there for two to three months. Now maybe at my house cigarette butts would be in the trash can for two to three months, but not Christie. Those were there that night.
But there was still one little problem with this case. The cigarette butts only placed Art Gutierrez at the crime scene. They didn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he actually killed Christie Fleming.
The DA and the detective needed something else to hang the murder on him. Short of a confession, was there any way to get Gutierrez to incriminate himself without out him knowing about it?
Oh yes, there was. But it would require an inventive sting operation, female detectives channeling an old TV show, a pen no perp should ever try talking to. And it would happen right in the middle of Mr. Gutierrez's front yard.
Part 5
She was just 25 when she was killed. Now all these years later, when Christie Fleming would have been approaching middle age, her family got astonishing news: the long stalled hunt for her killer was on again.
Rhonda Davis: I didn't wanna get my hopes up, but I thought, wow this is just incredible.
But there was still a potentially fatal weakness in the case. DNA certainly put Art Gutierrez, Christie's former boyfriend, in her condo. And her compulsion for neatness strongly suggested Art's visit occurred just before the murder. But that by itself didn't prove he killed her.
There was one thing that could help persuade a jury that Gutierrez was indeed the killer. And that was a suspected lie he had repeated to Detective Davis. The last time he saw Christie, he had said, was about two to three months before her murder, and never once after that.
Trouble was, none of that was on tape; the jury wouldn't be able to hear Gutierrez tell his incriminating lie.
John Lewin: There's an instruction to that jurors are give that basically says that any unrecorded statement of the defendant, you are to view with caution, you know, that's a hurdle. Perhaps even a jury hanger, especially given the circumstantial nature of this case.
Getting Gutierrez to talk and locking him into a statement on tape, for a jury to hear was essential.
Keith Morrison: What would you hope he could say?
Steve Davis: Well--
Keith Morrison: He's not gonna admit it.
Steve Davis: At least if nothing else you know recount his story and you know generally people who lie can't keep their story straight.
Keith Morrison: So you wanted to get a lie on tape to compare it to other lies?
Steve Davis: Compare it to the original statement. Correct.
But how? And who would do it? Loosening up Art Gutierrez after 13 years and getting him to come clean to a veteran cop, hot on his tail - that was almost certainly a non-starter.
John Lewin: And so the idea that we had was to, let's try to bring in a couple of detectives, let's go with female detectives who are much less threatening, much more disarming.
And in fact Davis happened to know two women cops who seemed perfect for the job. Savvy, cool, attractive. Both had a knack for helping suspects calm down and getting them to open up: Cheryl Comstock and Diane Harris.
Det. Diane Harris: By lying from the very beginning-- about where he was, it showed that he had-- a guilty conscience. And-- that's very significant.
So Harris and Comstock went to work studying the case and learning all about Arturo Gutierrez. Knowing who they were dealing with, would help determine how to handle him.
John Lewin: When you think of strategies - and that's why I love cold cases - you're only limited by your imagination, your creativity and, ethically, what you're allowed to do. So when you're figuring out, okay, my goal is to have this guy talk to somebody, what's the best way to do it?
Det. Diane Harris: If you're talking to someone who maybe is not very educated, you talk to them in a specific way. But Arturo Gutierrez was a seemingly normal-- family man with a job. He was an intelligent man. He was a good-looking man. A suspect, who I believe thought of himself as a lady's man.
And so they hatched a plan, inspired by an old TV show from the 1970s, about two attractive and unconventional female detectives.
Det. Diane Harris: We decided we were going to be ditzy blond Cagney and Lacey kind of investigators. We were putting ourselves in kind of-- insignificant role. And that's what-- the impression that we wanted to give Arturo. Is that, we were just, you know, doing a routine follow-up. That we were doing this on a bunch of other cases. And this was no big thing.
Keep it simple, they decided, casual, slightly flirtatious. And very routine. So on a bright Saturday morning in March, Harris and Comstock hit the road, driving to the desert outside Los Angeles where Gutierrez now lived.
Det. Diane Harris: We had one chance to get this done. Because once he finds out that he's being focused on in a murder investigation, he's not gonna talk to law enforcement. He's gonna get an attorney and then we've lost our only chance.
Harris and her partner, calm as they can muster, walk up the path to Art Guttierez' front door.
One chance to make it happen.
Det. Diane Harris: When we get there-- yeah-- our adrenaline is pumping. This is a homicide suspect.
Her fear: if they don't get this right, the investigation is finished, Art Gutierrez walks, justice for Christie Fleming and her family, out of reach, forever.
Part 6
A tiny tape recorder. A microphone disguised as a pen. A cardboard binder. These were the tools that undercover detectives Diane Harris and Cheryl Comstock would use to capture a crucial interview with Arturo Gutierrez, the prime suspect in the murder of Christie Fleming.
In the Southern California desert town of Perris, the two detectives rolled up to Gutierrez's house unannounced. Their excuse: They'd tell him they were conducting a few perfunctory interviews before filing away the old case for good. Their plan: to charm him into talking. Catch him in a crucial lie. Get it on tape.
Det. Diane Harris: Instead of fear, I would say just what I was feeling was excitement and I was a little on edge. But you have to kind of keep all that down, so that it doesn't-- show through your-- the facades you're putting on.
A surveillance van was nearby for backup. The tiny tape machine rolled.
Detective: I'm Detective Comstock, this is Detective Harris from the Sheriff's Department.
Gutierrez: How you doin'?
Detective: And you like Art or Arturo?
Gutierrez: It doesn't matter.
Det. Diane Harris: When we went up to him-- I mean, he seems like a really nice guy. When you talk to him, if you were to just meet him on the street, you wouldn't think, "Oh my god, this guy's a murderer."
They started, the two undercover cops with some seemingly idle and innocuous conversation; friendly, to put Gutierrez at his ease.
Detective: Do you... um, are you a smoker?
Gutierrez: Yes... No not anymore. Cigarettes? No.
Detective: Oh, you used to be?
Gutierrez: Yeah.
Detective: You wised up?
Gutierrez: Oh yeah. Long time ago.
Detective: That's good.
John Lewin: When he was talking to the detectives-- he reminded me of-- of Eddie Haskell from Leave It To Beaver.
Gutierrez: God darn, I can't remember when it was. Dang. I was working at a roofing company.
John Lewin: He was, oh, Good morning Mrs. Cleaver, good morning, Mr. Cleaver. My, Mrs. Cleaver, you look lovely today.
Keith Morrison: Yes.
John Lewin: Is the beaver around? (laughter) Very insincere, and appeared to be-- kissing up and-- not being his true self.
Then a few minutes in, detectives asked the crucial question.
Detective: And you had given a statement about you had seen her, I think it was several months before, was the last time you saw her, several months before the murder?
Gutierrez: Yeah, I think it was six to eight months, or somethin' like that. I believe.
Detective: And that was the last time you'd seen her? And that was prior to her murder?
Gutierrez: Yeah.
Six to eight months before the murder. There it was... The bold-faced lie detectives wanted.
Gutierrez's story, now preserved on tape for a jury to hear, contradicted the quiet and unassailable truth of the crime scene, the DNA: he was at Christie's condo the night she was killed. Just to make sure - they repeated the question... twice.
Det. Diane Harris: And so we got what we wanted. Let's just see if we could get a little more.
Detective: Would there be any explanation as to why your DNA would be found in her apartment at the actual morning of the crime scene?
Gutierrez: Hell, I don't know. No there wouldn't be any reason why. I mean, hell no! If, you're saying that I was there that morning?
Detective: No, I'm asking you, if...
Gutierrez: I don't know. I don't really know. But uh yeah, I'm pretty sure there would be a reason. I mean I went there. I slept there in her bed.
Detective: So that could have been left from several months ago when you were there?
Gutierrez: Yeah, it could have been.
Then these pleasant, attractive policewomen said their goodbyes to a man who had no idea what he had just given them.
Det. Diane Harris: The only reason why he would lie like that is if he had something to do with the murder. When we walked away it was, "Yeah, we got him. This is our guy. There's no question about it."
And just like that, a dead old case was fully reborn.
Now the man Steve Davis had been chasing all these years could finally be arrested.
Steve Davis: You're a free man. You think you got away with it. And then all of a sudden they drop the hammer on ya.
It was Davis who called Christie's sister Rhonda and her father Bud.
Rhonda Davis: I just can't even describe to you what a feeling that was for both of us, that, that had happened. In fact, the very day the detective called me and said, "We just picked him up, he's under arrest for murder." Unbelievable.
But even though Art Gutierrez was sitting in jail, awaiting trial for murder, Davis felt obliged to warn the family that convicting him might not be so easy.
Steve Davis: Circumstantial case is a very tough case to get a conviction on. I mean, even with the DNA it didn't suggest necessarily that he was the murderer.
But there was, remember, that one very important factor, the strange little twist that first attracted Deputy DA John Lewin: Christie's compulsively obsessive neatness.
At trial, Lewin presented a theory of what happened, that Gutierrez came over late that evening. That Christie, as usual, let him in. That they shared a couple of smokes and a beer.
Then, said Lewin, something happened: an argument, an accusation.
John Lewin: Christie-- confronted him with the fact that she knew that he was married, or believed that he had lied.
Which is when, said Lewin, Gutierrez lost his temper.
John Lewin: I think that Art hit her. He was faced with a choice of what he was gonna do. He, I think, made the conscious decision at that point that, you know what-- i'm gonna kill her.
Death by suffocation is not quick, nor is it merciful. The grisly work takes five to seven minutes, the time it takes for a cigarette to burn down. And in each second of those minutes that ticked by - as Christie fought for her life - Gutierrez had the option of simply letting go.
Steve Davis: And for some period of time, where he made the obvious choice to continue, he could've stopped. And he didn't. And ultimately she paid the price.
John Lewin: I don't believe he went over there to kill her. I never did. I never argued to the jury that he did. But there's a point in time where he made the conscious decision, he says, you know what? Here's where I'm at and this is what I have to do, and he carried through with it.
Keith Morrison: And what does that make it?
John Lewin: That makes it a first-degree murder.
And how could the jury know? The DNA put him there that night. The tape recorded lie revealed a guilty conscience. Still, when the jury retired to consider a verdict and the first full day dragged by with no verdict...
Rhonda Davis: I was scared to death they were gonna say not guilty. Looking at the jurors' faces, I just couldn't tell where they were goin'.
It took them a day and a half. Arturo Gutierrez was found guilty of murder in the first degree.
A secret preserved by a cigarette for 14 years finally produced justice. That, and a detective's determined patience.
Steve Davis: Any time you convict a murderer, that's a good thing. But when you convict somebody that you know has gotten away with it for 14 years, that's a long time. And so to finally see justice served it's a good feeling.
Bud Fleming did not quite live to see it happen; his early death, made for a gaping absence at the trial.
Keith Morrison: Did it hasten his death?
Rhonda Davis: Absolutely. He really (sigh)-- he really aged-- really took its toll physically, mentally. He wasn't a healthy guy. And then, of course, all these years going by, thinking that art got away with this.
But he did live long enough, said Rhonda, to see his daughter's killer arrested and charged... long enough to know his daughter would not be forgotten.
John Lewin: Christie really solved her own murder. Without Christie's obsessive-compulsive personality, this case never would have been solved, never.
It's not often a case this cold will ever see justice. Then again, it's not too often, either, that the victim herself can finally help crack a difficult case.
© 2013 MSNBC Interactive. Reprints


text:
|My Account | Cart Contents | Submit Enquiry for Pricing
Welcome to Insideout 4x4
Established in the early 1990s, Insideout 4x4 have continued to expand and now offer not only excellent value servicing and repairs for all makes of 4x4 vehicles in Surrey, but we also supply parts, quality off-road equipment, 4x4 tyres and offer a specialist 4x4 vehicle preparation service for expedition and competition vehicles.
We stock excellent quality items from leading manufacturers including Warn winches, Hi-Lift jacks, Optima batteries and Safari snorkels, so please have a browse around our site to find the items you need or call us for information.
Call: 01306 711687
Opening Times:
Monday - Friday 8.30am - 5.30pm
How to find us - Click here for map
Ryersh Lane, Capel (near Dorking), Surrey RH5 5LJ, UK
|© Inside Out 4x4 2008-20
|Shipping & Returns | Privacy Notice | Conditions of Use | Contact Us
|Web design by The Creative Team


text:
The Council of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos is the governing body of Los Alamos County and was created by the Los Alamos County Charter. The Council consists of seven members elected at large for four-year, staggered terms. Each year the Council elects a Chair and Vice-Chair from within its membership.
An incorporated county is established under a special provision of the state constitution. It has both county and municipal authority and powers. Los Alamos County Council has also adopted a home rule charter which allows the County to depart from certain statutory requirements. Under the Charter, the Council is the governing body of the County.
Council Meetings
Regular Council Meetings and Friday Council Meetings are held in Council Chambers, located in the Municipal Building at 1000 Central Avenue and Council Work Sessions are held at Fire Station No. 3, 129 State Road 4 in White Rock.
Special meetings may be held on the call of the Chair or of a majority of the Council members with 72 hours notice.
Closed meetings are held as deemed necessary by Council leadership with 72 hours notice.
Council agendas are prepared and posted at least 72 hours before the Council Meeting. The agenda for every regular Council meeting includes time for comments from the public on items not listed.
Voting, except on procedural motions, is by roll call of the entire Council and is recorded in the minutes. No action of the Council is valid unless adopted by the affirmative vote of at least four members. A quorum consists of four Council members.
1000 Central Avenue, Suite 350
1000 Central Ave
Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA


text:
|Oct 08, 2012
Researchers develop new way to determine amount of charge remaining in battery
|(Nanowerk News) Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique that allows users to better determine the amount of charge remaining in a battery in real time. Thats good news for electric vehicle drivers, since it gives them a better idea of when their car may run out of juice.
|The research is also good news for battery developers. This improved accuracy will also give us additional insight into the dynamics of the battery, which we can use to develop techniques that will lead to more efficient battery management, says Dr. Mo-Yuen Chow, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State and co-author of the paper. This will not only extend the life of the charge in the battery, but extend the functional life of the battery itself.
|At present, it is difficult to determine how much charge a battery has left. Existing computer models for estimating the remaining charge are not very accurate. The inaccuracy stems, in part, from the number of variables that must be plugged in to the models. For example, the capacity of a battery to hold a charge declines with use, so a batterys history is a factor. Other factors include temperature and the rate at which a battery is charged, among many others.
|Existing models only allow data on these variables to be plugged in to the model once. Because these variables such as temperature are constantly changing, the models can become increasingly inaccurate.
|But now researchers have developed software that identifies and processes data that can be used to update the computer model in real time, allowing the model to estimate the remaining charge in a battery much more accurately. While the technique was developed specifically for batteries in plug-in electric vehicles, the approach is also applicable to battery use in any other application.
|Using the new technique, models are able to estimate remaining charge within 5 percent. In other words, if a model using the new technique estimates a batterys state of charge at 48 percent, the real state of charge would be between 43 and 53 percent (5 percent above or below the estimate).
|The paper, Adaptive Parameter Identification and State-of-Charge Estimation of Lithium-Ion Batteries (pdf), will be presented at the 38th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society in Montreal, Oct. 25-28. Lead author of the paper is Habiballah Rahimi-Eichi, a Ph.D. student at NC State. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, in collaboration with the foundations Engineering Research Center for Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management, which is based at NC State.
|Source: North Carolina State University
Subscribe to a free copy of one of our daily
Nanowerk Newsletter Email Digests
with a compilation of all of the day's news.
These articles might interest you as well:


text:
Product Description
Trip Description.
This Daily transportation starts from Amman , the driver will be waiting at your hotel reception at the time you prefer,drive directly to Madaba
What is Included and what is not !
The Price is inclusive all taxes and the price of the car,gasoline and any driver personal expenses, and does not include entrance fees to sites which is paid directly at each site entrance office.
Please contact Us
Book Now in three easy steps


text:
Buying or selling a home is likely the biggest financial transaction you'll ever complete. Real estate agents can guide you through the process, but hire the wrong one, and you
Buying or selling a home is likely the biggest financial transaction you'll ever complete. Real estate agents can guide you through the process, but hire the wrong one, and you could lose precious time and money.
As with �any profession, there are top-notch real estate agents who do things by the book and lackluster ones who cut corners. To avoid a bad experience, you need to do �some research and ask a lot of questions.
Learn these lessons �now �to help you make better decisions later.1. They sometimes work for both sides
In some states, the same real estate agent can represent both the buyer and the seller in a transaction. It's called dual agency, and while it may speed things up by allowing buyers and sellers to communicate with the same agent, it also can invite serious conflicts of interest. Think about it: Buyers and sellers rarely have the same goals for a deal, so how can one agent do what's best for both?
When they disclose dual agency, as required by law, agents should carefully explain what you'll forfeit by agreeing to it, says Richard Harty, an exclusive buyer's agent and co-owner of Harty Realty Group in Highland Park, Illinois.
If you don't ask and a dishonest agent doesn't tell, you may unknowingly give up your agent's undivided loyalty and the expectation that they'll point out issues with the property or contract " both big reasons for buyers and sellers to each have their own agent in the first place.2. They don't know what your house is worth
Agents typically look at recent sales of similar homes and give you their opinion of your home's value based on experience, but that alone shouldn't decide your asking price.
A deceitful agent might exaggerate the value if they think it will convince the homeowner to sign a listing agreement, or understate it if they think it means a quick sale, says Doug Miller, a real estate attorney in the Minneapolis area and executive director of Consumer Advocates in American Real Estate, a national nonprofit organization.
A �professional real estate appraiser can provide the most accurate estimate of home value. Although it may cost around $300 or $400, getting an appraisal before you put your house on the market �can help you set a realistic price.3. Their commission is negotiable
Listing agents may expect you to accept their commission " generally around 6% of the sale price " without question, but you certainly don't have to. Although it may be uncomfortable, negotiating the commission rate is completely within your rights, and you should discuss it before signing any kind of contract. Start by asking specific questions about how much will go directly to your agent and the level of service you can expect in exchange for said commission.
When negotiating, it's important to know that listing agents typically split the commission with the buyer's agent. They may each have to pay a part of the resulting commission to their brokerage firm, as well.4. They aren't really sure an open house will help
Although some listing agents insist open houses are vital, the statistics tell another story: In 2017, only 7% of buyers found their new home at an open house or from a yard sign, according to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey.
Buyers who schedule showings are almost always financially vetted, Bill Gasset, a Realtor at Re/Max Executive Realty in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, said in an email. Open house shoppers, on the other hand, may not yet be preapproved by a lender.
And then there's the security aspect. Most sellers never think about the fact that anyone can come through the door of an open house, Gasset said. 'The worst downside of an open house is theft.'
Ultimately, the �choice to have an open house �is yours alone. Weigh the risks versus rewards carefully before you decide.
Attending an open house as a buyer is a good way to get roped into dual agency, thanks to a NAR policy about 'procuring cause,' Miller says " in effect, who caused you to procure the home. The rule says the agent who first introduces you to your future home is entitled to the full commission.
If you view an open house and decide to make an offer, the listing agent can take credit for your interest. 'Without any warning to you, you have just forfeited your right to hire your own agent and negotiate her fee,' Miller says. Avoid crossing over this imaginary line by being careful about how you engage with an open house agent. Don't provide your name, sign any documentation or discuss your opinion of the house with the listing agent unless you have to, Miller says. If you really like an open house, leave and find a buyer's agent who can help you make an offer.5. Their service providers aren't always best
A home inspector, real estate attorney, title company or other service provider suggested by your agent isn't always the best or most affordable option. Their recommended provider may be an acquaintance, or in some cases, willing to provide the agent with an incentive for that referral.
Consumers should interview several potential providers and make their own decision about whom to hire, Harty says.Choose your real estate agent carefully
To avoid working with the wrong agent, don't hire the first one you talk to, even if they're a 'friend of a friend.' Take these steps to control the situation �from �the very beginning.
Interview multiple real estate agents. Ask each candidate how they plan to help you buy or sell at the best possible price. Always request references, look at a list of their recent transactions and ask if they're willing to negotiate their commission. See more tips for choosing the right real estate agent.
Hire for the exact skills you need. Even though they're able to do both the buying and selling sides of a transaction, many agents specialize in one side or the other. Use this to your advantage. If you're buying, find a buyer's agent who'll take the time to help you find exactly what you're looking for. If you're selling, look for a listing agent who has a history of fetching a good price and closing on schedule.
Get a real estate attorney involved. Though not always required by state law, having an independent attorney review all agreements and contracts �can be a smart move. Unlike agents, real estate attorneys can legally offer advice on all parts of the purchase agreement, Miller says.
More From NerdWalletHow I Ditched Debt: Conquering College Credit Card Balances Don't Let Magical Thinking Jinx Retirement Planning Don't Believe the Hype About Millennials and Money
Beth Buczynski is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com. Twitter: @bethbuczynski.
The article 5 Inconvenient Truths About Real Estate Agents originally appeared on NerdWallet.


text:
This was author and innovator Lou Poulas' introduction last year, "While Grey and Rudy do a great job of breaking down everything you need to know for 2011 fantasy baseball, drafts still trip me up. I've been lamenting my inadequacies from the past 3+ years which resulted in an inordinate amount of time number crunching in Excel. My quest – a draft day "war room" that allowed me to keep my finger on the pulse of the league while minimizing my effort. I don't know about you, but I prefer to keep track of more things as opposed to fewer."
Presenting the free 2011 Fantasy Baseball War Room. It's an auto-updating Excel workbook that keeps track of all the necessaries:
• Color Coded Dashboard that "crosses off" selected players.
• Team by Team analysis of players taken, players left.
• Real time projected totals, along with real time projected league standings.
• Goal Tracking Dashboard
Unfortunately, Lou was inundated with real work this year but was kind enough to allow me to make updates for 2011.
This year's version has been slightly customized to Razzball:
- The Players page lists players in order of Grey's top 300 with Grey's projections. CHONE was not publicly available this year. FanGraphs stepped to the plate and graciously provided projections for players unranked by Grey. Several hundred additional unranked players were filled with Marcel projections.
- AB (At-Bats, i.e. playing time) provided by FanGraphs/Marcel.
- Goal Tracking has been pre-loaded with temp targets for "What it takes to win a 12 team fantasy baseball league."
- The "Dashboard" displays players by position in order of Grey's rankings.
- The 'Team Rank' box (League Standings) is limited to no more than 12 teams. Projected 'Batting Totals' and 'Pitching Totals' extend up to 25 teams.
- Up to 25 players may be drafted per team (allocations set by the user via the 'User Input' page).
- I have left the spreadsheet 'unprotected' so you may overlay with your own projections if you like.
The value of the War Room, for me, is to load the picks of a draft to determine which categories I am falling short in. In this manner, I can keep adding/deleting targeted players until I consistently get a strong team.
Click on the 'Notes' tab for instructions for how to load league team names, etc. Put questions and comments in this post and I'll do my best to answer them.
Download the 2011 Fantasy Baseball War Room <–Snake Draft
Download the 2011 Fantasy Baseball War Room <–Auction Draft
Download the 2011 Fantasy Baseball War Room <–Point Shares Auction Values included
Download the 2011 Fantasy Baseball War Room <–Snake Draft, 13 or More Teams


text:
|Welcome to Ariani Online Shop
|New Customer
|By creating an account with our store, you will be able to move through the checkout process faster, store multiple shipping addresses, view and track your orders in your account and more.
|Register as Member Today To Get More Surprise!
|Want the latest Ariani Online News, Offers and style tips straight to your inbox?


text:
copeland necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 15 diseños de 9 diseñadores freelance.
Need a WP website designed for a membership site.
Get Earth Friendly
Desired Color Scheme:
blue and greens
Desired Style:
Accepted File Formats:
Standard Web Formats (.jpg, .gif or .png); Vector Formats (.eps, .pdf or .ai); Layered Formats (.psd or .tiff)
Like a minimalistic design. Our audience for the website is members who choose to live their lives conscious of the environment. Those who drive electric and hybrid cars, those who use wind turbins and solar tubes for lighting, those who use recycled jeans or soybean for insulating their home, overall those who are looking to going off the "grid" or at least to minimize their usage of toxic and wasteful resources.
Went to templatemonster.com to get ideas of what we liked. Here are the templates there that we like and why we like them. I hope this helps.
#17069 - like curved corners and simplistic look
#17053 - like the way it loads, like taps at top, like column on left - how it hangs over (longer) than other columns
#17007 - like the round corners & the 3 columns laid out cleanly
#16973 - like taps at top
#16923 - like how logo & tabs stick out in a 3-D at top
#16879 - klike location of search box & way it's laid in the page. Like simplicity of it & cleanliness of columns & curved edges on column boxes.
#13959 - like it
#13145 - like three areas on right - stand out & are 3-D curved boxes
#3791 - like it
Also look at ehow.com at their membership website - very nice!!
Will need member login to be in upper right corner of page.
This should be enough to get something started.


text:
Evening all…
Long time no see. I've had the beta for a while now, gotten to experience some of the new goodies coming to us in September (25th) but not as much as I could have. Been busy around the Lionbearer household.
First up, a little side project. I signed up to participate in the [Trans]mogolympics. It was randomly decided that I would represent the Mag'har. It made for a fun little project to work on. I've been told that I can display my flagbearer, but nothing more… so here he is.
On that note, I've completed all of the transmog outfits, and will be posting them here once the competition is underway. Check out the [Trans]mogolympics site over at Arcane Wordsmith for more information.
On the homefront
On a completely different subject, my wife and I have been busy at work on opening a bake shop, aptly named "Happy Cake." She's acquired a building and has been working day and night on getting it ready for a grand opening. I truly wish that there was more that I could do to help out, but my day job has otherwise taken up my time. She's really excited, and I am ecstatic and so proud of her working on making a dream come true. It's cost a pretty penny, but we're sure it'll be successful. Fortunately we didn't have to pay to have a website built… cause I do that for a living, haha (that'll be coming soon as well). To top it off, my oldest will be turning 5 next month, so we'll have a really busy year coming up.
Amateur writing
I'm not sure if you all remember me mentioning that I was working on a sidestory/RP/fanfic pertaining to my own characters (in fact several). Well, I finished one of them, it's a little over 25 pages long. It's a very rough draft, and I'm sure has all kinds of errors all over it, but I want to share it with you all.
I'm going to start a series of posts that include about 5 pages a piece. It'll be posted here on this blog, as well as my other Horizon's Blade writing blog.
I hope to see you all on September 25th, God willing, I'll be joining you on the journey into the Mists of Pandaria.


text:
Advanced Windows Store App Development Course
Advanced Windows Store App Development Online Courses in Botswana
2KO Botswana offers online MCSD courses in Gaborone. We also offer full time C# courses in Gaborone for groups of four or more delegates. 2KO Botswana's Microsoft C# course is offered to our international and local students. 2KO Africa is a professional training company, delivering cutting edge programs in the IT space and in selected business applications. Our training is offered online, live online and also by instructor led classes. 2KO Africa's business courses are available world-wide, many of them leading to European Certification, to ensure students have access to the best C# certification training in Botswana. 2KO Botswana's Advanced Windows Store App Development Using C# course provides developers with the knowledge and decision making skills for utilizing C# and Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 to develop Windows Store apps, discover and interact with devices, program user interaction and enhance user interfaces, manage data and security, and prepare for a solution deployment.
This course
provides credit towards the MCSD certification.
This course is designed for developers with two to five years of experience with C# and XAML applications, as well as experience with developing applications in accordance with Windows Store app guidelines.
The primary
objectives of this course include:
Creating and consuming background tasks
Creating and consuming WinMD components
Media capture with camera and microphone
Gathering data from sensors
Enumerating and discovering device capabilities
Using contracts and charms to implement printing and Play
Implementing Windows Push Notification Service (WNS)
UI responsiveness
Animations and transitions
Creating custom controls
Designing Windows Store apps for globalization and localization
Data cache implementation
Saving and retrieving files from the file system
Securing app data
Designing and implementing trial functionality in an app
Designing for error handling
Test strategy design and implementation
Diagnostics and monitoring strategy design
70-485: Advanced
Windows Store App Development Using C#
Module 1
Course Overview
Animated World: Animations and Transformations
Ecosystem: Reviewing the World of Windows 8
Getting Around
The Search Feature
Animatedly Speaking: Animations and Transitions
Animation Support
Theme Transitions
The Eight Theme Transitions
Layout Animations
Theme Animations
The Fourteen Theme Animations
Custom Animation
Independent vs. Dependent Animations
Controlling Duration
From and To
Timeline Properties
Animating Storyboards
Property Paths
Storyboards with Timeline Properties
Custom Keyframe Animations
Easing Functions
Manual Animations
It?s A Small World: Localization and Globalization
Brand Recognition: Branding your App
Branding Visual Elements
Customizing the Splash Screen
Section Review
Section Lab: Application Animation
Module 2
Where's My
Data?: Advanced Data Scenarios
Advanced Data Scenarios: Data
App Data
User Data
Network Data and Other Data Options
Windows Storage API
Caching Data
Blog Reader
Reduce Reuse Recycle: Creating Reusable Controls
Creating Custom Controls
Create A Windows Runtime Component
Section Review
Section Lab: Create a Custom Control
Module 3
A Different
Arrangement: Contracts 202
Registering for The Print Contract
Changing Print Options
Custom Print Options
Printing with a Print Button
Pushing: Push Notifications Services
Implementing a Push Notification
Channel URI
Authenticating to WNS
Media: The PlayTo API
Using PlayTo
Web Cam Capture
Camera Capture UI
Background Tasks: An Introduction to Background Tasks
Appropriate Scenarios
Background Task Infrastructure
The Lock Screen
Lifecycle and Background Tasks
Background Task Implementation
Progress Reporting and Cancellation
Re-Association, Updates and Servicing
Host Executable
Background Task Class
Adding a Background Class
Resource Manager and Resource Constraints
Background Task Best Practices
Register a Background Task
Updating Live Tile from Background Task
Section Review
Section Lab: Creating Update Notification for Live Tiles
Module 4
Overload: Sensors and Different Devices
Sensory Discovery: Windows Sensor Platform
3D Accelerometer
3D Compass
3D Gyrometer
Ambient Light Sensor
Orientation Sensors
Simple Orientation Sensor
A New Sensation: Geolocation
Bing Maps SDK
Providing Directions
Section Review
Section Lab: Create Application for Bing Map SDK
Module 5
Is it Safe?
Revenue and Security
Generating Revenue
Trial Versions
In App Purchases and Advertising
Price Tiers
Getting Paid
Payment Categories
Preparing for Free Trials and In App Purchases
Ads in Apps
The Encryption Keeper
Windows Authentication and Live Connect
Password Vault
Diagnostics: Profiling
Analyzing Sampling Data
Launching a CPU Profiler
Section Review
Section Lab: Add Paid Features
Program Closing


text:
|Mobile Site
|eMail Author
|Caption Comp
|Monthly Poll
|Sudden Death
|Colour Key
|Cookie Usage
What's new - Sep 2001
|As you may have noticed, the old "Fiction" button on the bottom is now gone. In its place is the new "Recreation" button. My old bit of fanfic is still there - I've considered taking it down a few times, but still get feedback from readers from time to time so it's still there. But in addition, I have added a set of Star Trek Quiz's. They are grouped by topic; each time you go to a secttion you get a randomly generated set of twenty questions on that topic, so you will never get the exact same quiz twice. The "all" section generates a mix of questions from every topic. The "general" section is the easiest - the specialists topics are not for the faint hearted!
|The November issue of SFX magazine has a rather complimentary review of the site on page 112.
|A new article concerning torpedo yields goes up today. Some of this talks about the DS9 episode "The Die is Cast", and as such overlaps and updates part of the old 'power' section. That part has now been deleted - the power section was written at a time when I mistakenly thought than stuff like tech manuals was canon, and as such is rather out of date. Other articles may supercede other parts of the power section in future.
|Four more stations today - the Drydock and the Epsilon IX communications station from TMP, Earth Station McKinley from TNG's "Family", and the Midas array from Voyager's "Pathfinder".
|A full entry has gone up on the cetacean probe seen in ST IV. Though it's technically a probe, it's on the "other ships" list.
|Episode Guide
|A few updates to season six of TNG.
|A Sad Time…
|Yesterday was one of the saddest days in my memory; I sat and watched in horror as the one of the great tragedies of modern times unfolded on my TV screen. The death toll is still unknown, but numbers of over ten thousand are being thrown around. I'm still struggling to believe that it really happened.
We British have long experience at the hands of terrorism, and although the trials of a time like this can seem too much to bear, have heart : a people as strong and determined as Americans will emerge from this disaster unbowed.
To the people of the United States of America, to those families who were directly involved, to the victims both dead and injured, I extend my most heartfelt sorrow and sympathy. Rest assured that we in Britain stand alongside you in your hour of need.
|Copyright Graham Kennedy
|Page views : 10,951
|Last updated : 30 Sep 2001


text:
Cost Of Anafranil In Hobart
The following medications are united by the search term cost of anafranil in hobart. They are gathered to match mentioned keyword and ease website navigation. To know more information about each particular medication please clik on its name or add to cart icon. Then You will be redirected to the corresponding product page and will see all available dosages and pricing of each position available.
Clomipramine Hci
10mg, 25mg, 50mgAnafranil works on the central nervous system and treats obsessive compulsive disorder, panic attacks, depression, and ongoing pain.


text:
About Table Tennis
Table tennis is a fun and enjoyable game; where 2 to 4 players hit a lightweight ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. Table tennis can be enjoyed regardless of age, gender, social and ethnic differences making it a welcoming and inclusive sport!
Table tennis is a quick and exciting sport using explosive energy; increasing reaction time, coordination, and balance. The sport is social and engaging, giving you the skills to think clearly and anticipate moves. Table tennis can have huge social benefits, allowing you to bring friends along and make new ones too, making it fun for everyone. There are very few health and safety concerns and due to its light-hearted nature you don't need much skill to enjoy a game!
What Should I Wear?
We recommend that you wear comfortable footwear like trainers, and light, comfortable sportswear to maximise flexibility and to ensure that you are kept cool. Don't forget to bring plenty of water to keep hydrated during your session.


text:
Richelle Jolley has practiced as a Certified Professional Midwife since August of 2000. She lives in Springville and attends deliveries in homes from Salt Lake City to Nephi. She adds a very personalized touch to her professional skill as a midwife. See www.jolleymidwife.com.
Fourteen years ago my call to midwifery came in a dream when I saw myself being a midwife to my sister. Later, that dream was realized as I welcomed my nephew into the world as my first "catch". I love working with women and their families during this beautiful time and season of growth. I believe it is a time of enlightenment and development for the mother, and my focus is to encourage and support her in this journey. I believe childbirth should be a gentle, dignifying, and strengthening event in a woman's life. It is a rite of passage that summons her to the deepest level of her heart and soul, from where she is able to make a profound connection and bond with her newborn baby. Nutrition is a very important aspect of prenatal care. I encourage healthy eating and good supplementation during the pregnancy. I am knowledgeable on the subject of natural supplements and remedies. Included in my services is a two-month supply of a food-source prenatal vitamin. I enjoy developing a relationship with each client. I anticipate the opportunity to serve you, as a friend, an adviser, and a nurturing support.


text:
How the HELL does your machine know how to interpret the information it has been given? - Surely your computer is somehow decrypting the information in order to do what it needs to?
If you require a hash to be secure before you call it a digest, then why do you call MD5 a digest when there are known collisions? Doesn't that make MD5 an insecure hash?-Deozaan (May 08, 2012, 08:02 PM)
Page created in 0.035 seconds with 50 queries.


text:
Machado could be cleared for activities soon
O's third baseman, who injured knee in September, has doctor's appointment this week
BALTIMORE -- Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has a doctor's appointment later this week, and it is expected that the 21-year-old will be cleared to begin baseball activities.
Machado suffered a season-ending left knee injury running to first base at Tropicana Field during a game against the Rays on Sept. 23, and Dr. Neal ElAttrache repaired a torn medial patellofemoral ligament in the knee during a 75-minute procedure on Oct. 14. The recovery time for the procedure was conservatively estimated at six months, although the O's remain encouraged that Machado will be ready for Opening Day.
Getting the green light this weekend would certainly bode well for Machado being ready by then, as he is already rehabbing in Miami with light weights, running and pool work. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said earlier this winter that Machado would have to be playing in spring games by mid-March to pencil him in for the March 31 season opener against the Red Sox, a target date he's very much on track for.
An American League All-Star in his first full season, Machado's presence has been invaluable since his promotion from Double-A Bowie in August 2012. Until his injury, he had played in every game since his promotion, including Baltimore's first 156 games in '13.
Machado, who also won a Gold Glove Award in 2013, batted .283 with 14 home runs, 71 RBIs and an AL-leading 51 doubles.


text:
Last week, when discussing the next steps for the company, and specifically the hope that mediation may resolve the epic animosity between management and workers, we stated that "What makes a mediation improbable is that the antagonism between the feuding sides has certainly hit a level of no return: "Several unions also objected to the company's plans, saying they made "a mockery" of laws protecting collective bargaining agreements in bankruptcy. The Teamsters, which represents 7,900 Hostess workers, said the company's plan would improperly cut the ability of remaining workers to use sick days and vacation." Sure enough, moments ago we learned that mediation has now failed and the liquidation may proceed. And since in America nobody understands that proper sequence of events involved in a bankruptcy liquidation, where the valuable parts always end up being acquired by someone, in this case the Twinkie brand and recipe, let the pointless Ebay bidding wars over twinkies continue. As for what really happens next, if indeed Bimbo is prohibited from acquiring the assets in the Stalking Horse auction due to anti-trust limitations, then the buyer will almost certainly be a "financial", i.e., another PE firm, whose coming means the end of any hopes and dreams of preserving union status at fresh start Hostess, or whatever the new firm will be named.
From the WSJ:
Hostess Brands Inc. said Tuesday night it would proceed with liquidation plans after mediation fails.
Earlier Tuesday, the head of the bakers union whose strike precipitated Hostess liquidation plans didn't attend a last-ditch mediation session and wasn't hopeful about its prospects, he said.
"I'm not too optimistic about this mediation," Frank Hurt, president of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, said when reached earlier Tuesday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. He said he couldn't get to New York, where the session was taking place; instead, he said, the union's secretary-treasurer was attending.
The mediation came at a judge's suggestion after the Twinkie maker said Friday that a week-long strike by the bakers left the company no choice but to seek a bankruptcy judge's approval for liquidation.
The judge, Robert Drain, urged mediation, citing among other things the hope for saving some 18,500 jobs. The company filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in January.
The judge indicated Monday that if mediation wasn't successful, Hostess could return to court Wednesday to pursue its liquidation plan.
Doug Mansky, a Hostess driver in Detroit and a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, was in the process of moving to a cheaper condominium on Tuesday, after his union had agreed to an 8% pay cut that he said would shave $200 a week from his income. After Judge Drain cleared Hostess to impose the same new labor terms on the bakers union, they went on strike.
"I hope things work out. I'm going to be 49 and trying to find a job in a market that's terrible," Mr. Mansky said.
Sadly, the reality of learning just how bad the labor market truly is, all smoke and mirrors of a recovery aside, will now have to be experienced by not only Mr. Manksy but 18,499 of his fellow co-workers, who may have been duped into hoping by their union that by holding out a hardline stance, they would gain something.
They have now lost everything. And not too unexpectedly, the workers are now turning on the Union!
[S]ome Hostess workers in another union awaiting the mediation results criticized Mr. Hurt, the 20-year president of the bakers union, who defended his decisions and actions during the company's bankruptcy process.
Scott Quenneville, a Hostess truck driver represented by the Teamsters, said he feels his colleagues were misled by Mr. Hurt into believing that a buyer would swoop in for the company. Mr. Hurt on Sunday said he thought there was a good chance a buyer would emerge who would give union members their jobs back.
"Frank misled a lot of people. He was not going to settle for anything less than closing the company down, because they didn't want that 8% pay cut," said Mr. Quenneville. "If you don't want the job, leave the job. Why ruin 18,000 jobs?"
"I didn't mislead anybody on anything," Mr. Hurt said. He said he didn't tell workers preparing to strike that a buyer for Hostess was definitely waiting in the wings.
Mr. Hurt said, "I don't want anybody to think that anybody is guaranteeing anyone anything, but we did know that there were people taking a look at this company."
This would be a truly fantastic drama, if people's lives were not at stake. And no, not one former Hostess worker will retain their job at the new company: that much is certain.
As we said, if only people had a basic understanding of how bankruptcy truly worked, and what the real state of the economy was, then Hostess' workers may have had a chance and some amicable comrpomise would have been possible.
Then again, if people in America actually understood economics and simple finance, then the "Ohio outcome", and many others, would have likely been quite different.
Now we can only hope we were not correct about the ultimate outcome too: namely that the US government will effectively hijack the bankruptcy process, and in doing so "bailout" a junk food maker, just so 18k votes can be preserved at the expense of creditors and making yet another mockery of the bankruptcy process, and property rights in the US.
Then again, this is precisely what the Union was likely hoping for all along, because once the government starts bailing everyone out, just where does it draw the line?


text:
Court: cops don't have immunity for fatal raid
Ruling: Jury can decide whether police officers from 5 towns violated Easton man's constitutional rights
A federal appeals court has ruled the police departments of Easton, Monroe, Trumbull, Darien and Wilton cannot use a shield of immunity to protect them from millions of dollars in civil rights claims arising from a 2008 tactical-team raid that killed a Norwalk man and injured an Easton homeowner.
In a 51-page decision, 10 months after it heard arguments in the case, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way for a jury to decide whether the police departments violated Ronald Terebesi's constitutional rights when a heavily armed team smashed down his door, tossed stun grenades into his home and fatally shot his house guest, 33-year-old Gonzalo Guizan, as the two men were watching TV.
During the raid, Guizan was shot half a dozen times by Monroe Officer Michael Sweeney.
The police team's action was based on a claim by an exotic dancer that she saw a small amount of cocaine and some smoking pipes in Terebesi's home.
Last February, the towns agreed to pay $3.5 million to Guizan's family to settle their lawsuit. Terebesi states in his lawsuit he was injured when police pinned him to the floor and hit him in the head with a gun butt. He claims he is suffering from post-traumatic stress as a result from the raid and his civil rights were violated.
"It was the most blatant overuse of police power I've ever seen," said Terebesi's lawyer, Gary Mastronardi, a former FBI agent. "This is a very important decision and will be cited in cases all over the U.S."
The appeals court did uphold former Easton Police Chief John Solomon's right to claim immunity for calling in the team -- but not for what came afterward, referring in the first line of the decision to the "botched" raid.
The court ruled that "the defendants point to no evidence in the record suggesting that Terebesi would actually use force against the police."
Arthur Laske III, who represents Trumbull police officers involved in the raid, said he was "pleased that the 2nd Circuit overturned the lower court decision and extended qualified immunity regarding the decision to deploy the (Southwest Regional Emergency Response Team).
"As for the remainder of the court's decision, I will consult with my clients regarding our options," Laske said.
"Retired Chief Solomon is very pleased that the 2nd Circuit determined he is entitled to qualified immunity for the decision to call out the emergency response team on that day in 2008," said his lawyer, Catherine S. Nietzel. "During the course of this lawsuit, there has been considerable focus and attention paid to the background of that decision. Chief Solomon always maintained that his motivation was to prevent violence by calling in the tactical experts, and to protect the residents of Easton and the officers involved. He is gratified not to face further challenge on that issue."
Mastronardi said if the towns don't ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, they will be given a trial date.
"We have overcome all their attempts to throw the case out; now it's time for the police to face the music and for a jury to decide whether Terebesi is entitled to money damages," he said.
On May 18, 2008, heavily armed members of the team, staffed by officers from the five towns, at Solomon's request raided Terebesi's home at 91 Dogwood Drive in Easton.
Guizan had been watching television in the home with Terebesi when the 21-member team, armed with automatic weapons, broke down the door and threw flash grenades inside. No guns were found in the home, and police recovered only a small quantity of drugs.
According to his pretrial testimony, Solomon decided to call in the team after an exotic dancer, who had earlier been at the home. told officers she saw Terebesi and Guizan take "something" out of a small tin, place it in two small glass smoking pipes and smoke it.
She never told officers there were weapons in the home.
The raid came days after a neighborhood group, including the former first selectman who hired Solomon, had complained to Solomon about Terebesi.
Raid members later testified they were told Terebesi had guns and was considered dangerous.
firstname.lastname@example.com; 203-330-6308; http://twitter.com/dantepfer


text:
From: Saturday 29 February 2020
At: 9am - registration 8.45am
Where: Tilgate Park (meet at the boat house), Tilgate, Crawley, RH10 5PQ
Website: www.parkrun.org.uk/tilgate/home
Tilgate parkrun
A 5km timed run, every Saturday starting at 9am down at the boathouse in Tilgate Park.
People of every ability are encouraged to take part; from those taking their first steps in running to Olympians; from juniors to those with more experience; we welcome you all.
For more details visit www.parkrun.org.uk/tilgate/home
or to register for your barcode visit www.parkrun.org.uk/register
Photographer: Ray Ko – "parkrun volunteer"
If you wish to get involved or find out more details about Tilgate parkrun, you can find us on facebook - http://www.facebook.com/tilgateparkrun
Photographer: Ray Ko – "parkrun volunteer"
We aim to provide up-to-date and accurate information, but we will not accept liability for the accuracy or currency of the information provided by third parties. Listings of events on our website should not necessarily be taken as an endorsement of that event. See our disclaimer statement for further information.


text:
LTR 20,000pts
20,000 Points[edit]
Artisan Crafter[edit]
Increases the quality and value of inventions and sculptors.
Born to Cook[edit]
Significantly increases the value of all meals cooked regardless of the Sim's cooking skill.
Increases the gain rate of the Fun meter. The loss rate is unaffected, so having the Sim do a "work hard"-type job strategy will still make the Sim stress out just as fast; he'll be able to recover faster, however.
Permanently adds buffs to your home just for Sims who breathe the same air.
Fearless Voyager[edit]
Increases the reward from this Sim being sent on tour as a performer. Rewards only increase when the Sim's tour is allowed to fully complete.
Hover Bed[edit]
Adds a hover bed to your family's inventory, which grants a significant Energy recovery.
Long Distance Friend[edit]
Relationships are never downgraded from Friend to Distant Friend. However, relationships can still decay (assuming you don't also have the Charismatic challenges fulfilled), and a Friend can be downgraded to Acquaintance if it decays long enough.
Map to the Stars[edit]
The location of every celebrity's home is listed on Map View, regardless of whether your Sim actually knows the celebrity.
Mid-Life Crisis[edit]
Allows the Sim to change all five of his traits. This reward is repeatable. Not to be confused with adults' Mid-Life Crises introduced in Generations.
Perfect Host[edit]
Increases the Sim's income (both Lifetime Happiness Points and Simoleons) when hosting another Sim's performer.
Super Green Thumb[edit]
Increases the quality and value of all crops and plants grown, and allows the Sim to revive dead plants.