SIDEBAR #56 - Travis Alexander forum

[RickshawFan]

Something to make you smile this AM

After Couple Calls Police Because They’re Lonely, Cops Respond With Sweet Surprise

"...Police Constable Stu Ockwell and a colleague from the Greater Manchester Police in England, responded to a call earlier this week from 95-year-old Doris Thomson. The officers assumed that someone had fallen or gotten hurt, according to the Manchester Evening News, but when they arrived at the woman's house, they discovered that the Doris and her 95-year-old husband Fred Thomson, who's blind, just wanted someone to talk to.

So the officers did something perhaps not typically associated with those in law enforcement -- they brewed some tea for the couple and hung out with them for a bit, ITV News reported..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...786e4b060377347daca?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

Link: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/98/b8/6a/98b86a2fdc8a139039a645b0d3face90.jpg

Link: http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/4/c/7/4/event_175639572.jpeg

Tea is the key ingredient here. Brits make tea as a sedative, a pick-me-up, a little breather, a chance to eat cookies, a chance to have a little sit.....

 

[GigiG]

Tea is the key ingredient here. Brits make tea as a sedative, a pick-me-up, a little breather, a chance to eat cookies, a chance to have a little sit.....

I'm surely outside the norm here, but my calming drink is warm milk with a bit of vanilla and honey and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Kind of like tea but without the tea... very soothing... works for me!

 

[ILikeToBendPages]

I'm surely outside the norm here, but my calming drink is warm milk with a bit of vanilla and honey and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Kind of like tea but without the tea... very soothing... works for me!

I love hot chocolate and have always wanted to have a cup of hot chocolate like in

[video=youtu;AOvdvLUmM1c]http://youtu.be/AOvdvLUmM1c[/video]

 

[ILikeToBendPages]

[video=youtu;RDoGT5nflI4]http://youtu.be/RDoGT5nflI4[/video]

 

[GigiG]

I love hot chocolate and have always wanted to have a cup of hot chocolate like in

[video=youtu;AOvdvLUmM1c]http://youtu.be/AOvdvLUmM1c[/video]

I must be the only non-coffee, non-chocolate person around... I guess I live in my own world...

 

[Spellbound]

I'm surely outside the norm here, but my calming drink is warm milk with a bit of vanilla and honey and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Kind of like tea but without the tea... very soothing... works for me!

Sounds a lot like warm egg nog, and I may give this a try. I have always been partial to a cup of hot chocolate, but since Ghiradelli quit selling their hazelnut flavor no hot chocolate is the same :tantrum:. Thanks for your idea.

Tea gives me horrible indigestion :facepalm:

 

[coffeejunkie]

I caught Squeakers in the act of destroying his top knot!

[video]http://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww237/coffeejunkie01/VIDEOS/20151120_084453_zpsuvy3kzsb.mp4][IMG[/video]

 

[coffeejunkie]

 

[coffeejunkie]

HAHA! This is they way I eat it :giggle:

 

[coffeejunkie]

 

[YESorNO]

Link: https://public-bn1306.files.1drv.co...n6j7qBGOvH61CuQ8/morning5.gif?rdrts=122655117
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Very cold (32 degrees), but a beautiful sunny day

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Daughter is Found Guilty of Killing 96-Year-Old Mother Then Saying: 'I Killed the B****'

"A 72-year-old woman has been convicted of shooting dead her 96-year-old mother and then telling her brother: "I killed the b****."

Christine Reynolds was found guilty of first-degree murder in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, California on Thursday and faces life in prison when she is sentenced next month...

Her sentencing is scheduled for December 18. She faces a maximum of 50 years to life."

http://www.insideedition.com/headli...g-96-year-old-mother-then-saying-i-killed-the
WS thread: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...an-in-her-90s-shot-family-say-daughter-did-it
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The Philip Chism Trial Day 3-The No I Don’t, Yes I Do Edition ( foul language)

http://reallybigmeandog.com/2015/11/19/the-philip-chism-trial-day-3-the-no-i-dont-yes-i-do-edition/
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Judge questions Arizona sheriff's truthfulness on the stand

"PHOENIX (AP) — A judge presiding over an Arizona sheriff's racial profiling case is questioning whether the lawman testified truthfully about a secret investigation that critics say targeted the judge.

U.S. District Judge Murray Snow said Friday he believes metro Phoenix's sheriff, Joe Arpaio, was involved in his office's investigation that erroneously tried to show the judge and federal authorities were conspiring against the lawman.

But Snow said he's more concerned about Arpaio's truthfulness, pointing out the sheriff provided conflicting testimony on his knowledge of the investigation..."

http://news.yahoo.com/judge-questions-arizona-sheriffs-truthfulness-stand-235814813.html
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Lottery Official Says $1.2M Oklahoma Jackpot Linked to Fraud

"A $1.2 million jackpot-winning Hot Lotto ticket sold in Oklahoma in 2011 has been connected to a former security official of a multi-state lottery vendor accused of rigging lotteries in four different states, a lottery official said Friday.

Oklahoma Lottery Director Rollo Redburn said a criminal investigation in Iowa has been expanded to include the winning ticket sold at the Miki Mart in Idabel in November 2011..."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/lottery-official-12m-oklahoma-jackpot-linked-fraud-35331266
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[YESorNO]

Judge rejects plea agreements for Alaska reality stars

"JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A state court judge on Thursday rejected plea agreements for two members of the family associated with the Discovery Channel's "Alaskan Bush People" reality TV show, putting the case in limbo.

Billy Brown, 62, and one of his sons, 31-year-old Joshua Brown, had each agreed to plead guilty to second-degree unsworn falsification, a misdemeanor, for lying on the application for a yearly oil revenue check given to Alaska residents. Terms of the agreements called for a suspended jail sentence, community service and restitution of $7,956 for Billy Brown and $1,174 for Joshua Brown.

But Juneau Superior Court Judge Philip Pallenberg rejected the agreements, saying he thought the sentences should have involved jail time..."

http://www.stltoday.com/entertainme...cle_8f6a8d1f-34cf-5fb9-8808-e7fff89b3c50.html
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The best advice if you find yourself in a terror attack: Do not play dead

"...That’s part of the grim new guidance (pdf) being issued by the UK National Counter-Terrorism Security Office (Nactso). The document outlines what to do in “response to a fast-moving incident such as a firearms or weapons attack.”.."

http://qz.com/554509/the-best-advic...error-attack-do-not-play-dead/?utm_source=YPL
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The incredible story of the man who volunteered to enter Auschwitz and exposed the horrors of the Holocaust

"In the early days of World War II, most of the world was unaware of the horrors occurring inside Nazi Germany’s Auschwitz camp — until Polish army captain Witold Pilecki volunteered to figure out the camp’s inner workings..."

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-...-for-auschwitz-to-expose-the-holocaust-2015-9

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[YESorNO]

Court upholds sentence for wife who pushed husband off cliff

"MISSOULA, Mont. — An appeals court has upheld the 30-year prison sentence for a woman who admitted to pushing her husband to his death off a cliff in Glacier National Park in July 2013, just days after they married.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that federal prosecutors did not breach an agreement with Jordan Graham, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Cody Johnson, 25..."

http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-...ntence-for-wife-who-pushed-husband-off-cliff/

Ws thread: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...cliff-in-Glacier-Nat-l-Park-7-Jul-2013/page16
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Preparations for retrial in Chandra Levy case heating up

"WASHINGTON Defense attorneys on Friday made clear that they could be pointing the finger at former Congressman Gary Condit as they attempt to free the man convicted of killing former intern Chandra Levy.

With a wide-ranging demand for law enforcement documents concerning Condit, and some pointed words during an hour-long court hearing, the defense attorneys underscored their contention that the wrong man was convicted in Levy’s 2001 death.

“We believe there’s more evidence in this case implicating Mr. Condit than has been turned over,” defense attorney Eugene Ohm said during a court hearing..."

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/crime/article45653583.html

WS thread: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-for-killer-of-Washington-intern-Chandra-Levy
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[YESorNO]

L. Kirk Nurmi ‏@_nurmilaw 4h4 hours ago
Thrilled to announce that my book is now available on Kindle #jodiarias

http://www.amazon.com/Trapped-Ms-Arias-Getting-Volume/dp/1517510996 …

L. Kirk Nurmi ‏@_nurmilaw 14h14 hours ago
My thanks to all who have taken the time to actually read my book and offer a meaningful review #jodiarias

http://www.amazon.com/Trapped-Ms-Arias-Getting-Volume/dp/1517510996 …
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William PittsVerified account ‏@william_pitts 3h3 hours ago
Nurmi's book: Nurmi never believed #JodiArias accusations, but defendant is entitled to the defense SHE chooses. #12news

William PittsVerified account ‏@william_pitts 3h3 hours ago
#JodiArias trial "became even bigger than any of us estimated it would be." - Nurmi #12news http://www.12news.com/story/news/lo...nse-attorney-talks-trapped-ms-arias/76133000/ …

Exclusive: Arias defense attorney talks 'Trapped with Ms. Arias' (with clip)

"..."My focus was on the trial and one of the things I talk about in the book is, my job as a capital defense attorney is to save my client's life," Nurmi said.
But Jodi Arias didn't make it easy, Nurmi said...

Nurmi is no longer Arias's lawyer and has no involvement in the case. He believes nothing he wrote in the book would jeopardize the appeals process, or breach attorney-client confidentiality."

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUS277CWUAMvbf5.jpg
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[YESorNO]

What Is The Difference Between A Sweet Potato And A Yam?

http://www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/sweet-potatoes-101/difference-between-yam-and-sweet-potato/

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A 'Natural' Herb Can be Poisonous, Woman Learns

"Herbal remedies that are touted as "natural" may not always be safe, as a new report shows: A woman in the United Kingdom who was trained in using herbs experienced severe symptoms of poisoning after she accidentally overdosed on a medicine called "deadly nightshade."..."

http://www.livescience.com/52714-natural-herb-poisonous-overdose-nightshade.html
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9 Foods you should never feed your cat

"...Some human foods are downright dangerous for our feline friends..."

http://www.sheknows.com/pets-and-animals/articles/1101115/foods-you-should-never-feed-your-cat
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These Are The Foods We'd Lose If Honeybees Die Off
Honeybees are responsible for about a third of all the food we eat.

"...We're talking about honeybees, and the truth is, they accomplish more than any human workaholic ever could -- the plants affected by their pollination account for what's estimated to be a third of all the food we humans eat (they also incidentally work themselves to death) -- but unless you're a beekeeper or researcher, you're probably totally oblivious to the honeybees in your life.

Honeybees are the most important pollinators of fruits and vegetables, and scientists and beekeepers around the world are still alarmed at the sustained rate in which bees continue to die. Colony collapse disorder, a detrimental convergence of many possible factors, is responsible for the loss of up to 90 percent of beekeepers' bees, adding up to the devastation of 10 million beehives in six years..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...631e4b0b24aee47fee9?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003

Link: https://media.giphy.com/media/P6CBLIPae5Q40/giphy.gif
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[YESorNO]

Trapped with Ms. Arias:

Chapter 2: The Ultimate Job of a Capital Defense Attorney

Chapter 3: The Defense Team

Chapter 4: Here is to Wishing That I Never Got the File

End of Section 1
----

Here is a "chunk" from chapter 2 (because Lawrence said it better than I could)

Chapter 2

The Ultimate Job of a Capital Defense lawyer

"Killing a human being is a horrible act. Murder is a horrible crime. Most of us who work as defense Councel for captital defendants do so because we believe that the killing of a human being is just as wrong when it is done by a citizen than when it is done by the government who job it is to serve and protect all the citizens...

it's not a fun place to be...

We put up with clients who are oftentimes ungrateful or down right angry about the work we do on their behalf. Based on some of the hate mail..received over the course of the Arias trial, the public seems to be under the impression that someone who serves as a lawyer for a capital defendants supports what the client did....

we appear to be advocating for our clients when we are really advocating for the constitutional rights of our clients.... 'we don't defend the crime, only the constitution and what the client may have done is relatively insignificant to the battle at hand' ...

A capital defense lawyer wins when their client receives a life sentence." (pgs. 16-17)

they also lay down the "foundation" for appeals

not apologizing for his defense of the murderer

does have sympathy for Alexander family, but could not do his job if he let that get in way of defending client

"..if anyone.. thinks that I somehow support what Ms Arias did on June 4, 2008, they are wrong. I did my job...I saved my client"s life. You might not be happy about it because you wanted her to be executed and Ms. Arias may not be happy about receiving a life sentence, but I did my job and if I do say so myself, I did it quite well." (pg 19)
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Chapter 3

The Defense Team

lead defense never works alone and could not do so- Az law requires 2 defense lawyers

lead counsel must have 5 years of experience- tried numerous felony cases- must have served as a second chair to a lead counsel in capital case that actually went to trial
must have taken legal education courses related to DP each year

must make sure client is informed- "a monumental task when Ms Arias is your client"

talks about relationship of lead and 2nd chair- "bigger deal when you have a client who is looking to manipulate his or her defense team"

Mitigation Specialist- presents mental health issue- has Masters degree in one of the social science -interviews family members, puts school/medical records together

also has an Investigator

had a great team before murderers case- "at a certain point I lost that team and things happened"
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Chapter 4

Here is to Wishing I Never Got the File

L wishes that the murderer "never killed Travis Alexander "

talks about "lessons learned theme"

-the Tweets/social media posts that celebrate that murderer is spending rest of life in prison and is miserable there - upsetting to him, but not because he believes she doesn't deserve to be there- she made choices - is self-imposed- "I offer her no sympathies in that regard"

- doesn't like the celebration her sentence - why celebrate the "entire situation...tragedy and that the world would be a better place if the tragic events of June 4, 2008, never took place"

- talks about mental health and signs of mental heath- urges people to take note of the signs and take actions

- talks about the murderer "many signs of mental illness that went ignored.. she abused animals at a young age (reports that came from her family members)...other family members..said that she would often act strangely and keeps to herself around this same time period"..."something is not right"- nothing done to see if something was wrong with the murderer when she was child

- condemns her parents for ignoring warning signs

- talks about murderer growing weed at 14 yrs old and someone holding knife to her throat at 12 yrs old- drops out of school, leaving home at 17 to live with Bobby- "If Ms. Arias is being truthful, her then boyfriend Bobby abused her physically. There is some evidence...brother confronted Bobby and Bobby responded by waving a sword at him."

- never seeks counseling "If Ms Arias' claims of being an abuse victim were true, one might consider the possibility that some counseling would be in order" even if they were not true, would need counseling

- talks about Matt seeking out her mother when she was 27 that he was concerned for the murderer- thought she was bi-polar- ignored- "went in one ear and out the other"

"Perhaps, I am right and she was a victim of child abuse." (as to why the Arias family ignored the signs and didn't take the murderer to get professional help) "Perhaps she had a personality disorder. whatever the problem....it could have been addressed years ago through medication or counseling. Perhaps if it had, Mr Alexander would still be alive and Ms. Aria would be off somewhere taking pictures." (pg 28)

-doesn't really blame her parents- many people ignore signs of mental illness

- lessons learned: you don't ignore signs of mental illness in children "Do something"

-talks about the murderer having job, pays bills, "functioning in society but when her former boyfriend Darryl talked to her about getting some psychological help, she chose not to do anyhting. When another boyfriend expressed simialr concerns, she also chose to do nothing ... based on her journel wrirings, she knew she was depressed and did nothing. Ms. Arias knew there was something wrong with her mentally, yet she did nothing." (pg 29)

- talks about why functionally mental ill and families ignore issues- stigma of mental illness

- talks about women in general- "If a man cannot give you what you want out of a relationship, get out of the relationship... you cannot change him."

- talks about Travis and his "participation" - "should have taken steps...to rid himself of MS. Arias" but not blaming him

- Travis' friends told him to get away from the murderer- he didn't listen- did not take warnings seriously and "invited Ms. Arias into his home to have sex in June of 2008 leads one to believe that he did not take those warnings seriously."

- "To be clear, I am not saying that Mr. Alexander is to blame for his own murder or that he deserved to die in such a brutal fashion or at all for that matter"

-talks about "if someone is driving you so crazy that your response to them is to act out of character in a negative way (as Travis did) or engage in self-destructive ways (as the murderer did), end the relationship."

-evidence stated that the murderer was "driving Mr. Alexander crazy...yet he was still having a sexual relationship with her...should have ended the relationship with her."

-again- not blaming Travis but thinks Travis, because he was "type of person who wanted to help others", would want others who "are reading this.. in unhealthy ralationships to simply walk away...before the unhealthy becomes the tragic...he would want people to learn from this tragedy." (pg 32)
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Next:

SECTION 2
My New Case

Chapter 5
The day My Life Changed Forever

Chapter 6
Preparing to Meet Ms. Arias
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[Niner]

Morning, afternoon & evening all! :wave:

snipped quotes

"Perhaps, I am right and she was a victim of child abuse." (as to why the Arias family ignored the signs and didn't take the murderer to get professional help) "Perhaps she had a personality disorder. whatever the problem....it could have been addressed years ago through medication or counseling. Perhaps if it had, Mr Alexander would still be alive and Ms. Aria would be off somewhere taking pictures." (pg 28)

:laughing: at the bold! LOL! A dig at Ms. whatever

taking such good pictures??!!

- talks about Travis and his "participation" - "should have taken steps...to rid himself of MS. Arias" but not blaming him
- Travis' friends told him to get away from the murderer- he didn't listen- did not take warnings seriously and "invited Ms. Arias into his home to have sex in June of 2008 leads one to believe that he did not take those warnings seriously."

first point - I believe that Travis WAS "trying" to kid himself of "IT"...

2nd - I don't believe he invited her in that night; I believe she snuck in...

Much grass for posting these snippets YESorNO

for you!

for taking the time to do this for us!!

I agree with coffeejunkie wave that we should

this thread and start a new one... because I have problems getting this looonnnggg thread up!

Just watched some

this morning - Djokovic vs Nadal - I won't say "who" won, as Daisymae might not have seen it yet, and don't want to spoil it for her. Coming up at noon - all Swiss match: Federer vs. Wawrinka. Go Roger!! :cheer:

Okay - long enough post for now!

Later!

 

[Val1]

I think Nurmi forgot a wee something...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_Liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_Happiness
""Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase gives three examples of the "unalienable rights" which the Declaration says has been given to all human beings by their Creator, and for which governments are created to protect."

 

[Hope4More]

Anyone can copy-and-paste them if they chose to, IMO.

I can't cut and paste myself or I would. I'm an historian, and always despair when sources get buried and lost.

I've been teading thru what you've posted here about his book, though, and you've said you don't read on the main thread at all? Or have an interest in putting your excerpts there?

I feel like I'm intruding on a private party here, then, and shouldn't have asked. My bad. Sorry.

 

[Val1]

@Niner, I agree. What Nurmi doesn't seem to acknowledge at all is that you can "lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink it".

I have a son that we have been trying to get counseling for since he hit his teens due to his depression, OCD and compounded by his Tourette's, but if he won't work with the counselor(may actually go but just "suffers" through the session rather than becoming a participant) or just refuses to go at all, let alone take any responsibility for his own well-being and happiness(refuses to adhere to a sensible diet/exercise/social regimen), at some point you have to let yourself off the hook and realize that they are the only one that can get the help they need and that only after they make the decision that they want it. As parents or friends all we can do is be there to support them and if need be report them should they become a danger to either others or themselves. It's very heart wrenching and for that reason I won't judge JA's family(too much...) since we really don't know what they went through with her.

I do recall that JA hadn't actually lived at home since she was 17(from the sounds of it her parents had already been through the mill trying to deal with her). So after an estrangement of 12/13 years where it sounds like her family had pretty much little to no contact with her due to her paranoia of letting them anywhere near her, we(that includes some lawyer that doesn't know them from TA) shouldn't really have expected them to drop their lives and come running to her defense for literally years to support her for committing a criminal act that it seems they were quite aware she was probably responsible for.

I'm surprised they showed up as much as they did, given the circumstances(out of state, estrangement), though you can be sure they had drank so much of her kool-aid that they may not have known up from down and were just trying to do the best they could. It sounds like they had enough personal difficulties to deal with(restaurant business/ill health/etc) and then to have the public eye trained on you for any response re JA... :shame::gaah: