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PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares in Cnova rose 9 percent on their first day of trading on the New York stock exchange on Thursday after tough market conditions forced French parent Casino (CASP.PA) to price the its e-commerce business well below the initial indicative range.
Cnova CNV.O competes with global online retailer Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and sells consumer electronics, computers and home appliances.
Shares opened at $7.63 on New York-based Nasdaq, above its offer price of $7 per share. Retailer Casino priced the initial public offering well below the $12.50-$14.0 target range.
Cnova's debut follows a surge in e-commerce initial public offerings activity this year, culminating in the bumper New York flotation of China's Alibaba (BABA.N) in September.
However, major global online retailers have not done well in recent months, with Amazon's sales forecast for the crucial holiday quarter disappointing Wall street.
A lacklustre stock market debut by Europe's largest online fashion retailer Zalando (ZALG.DE) in Frankfurt and a deteriorating economic climate in France and Brazil where Cnova makes most of its business also dampened investors' appetite.
Barclays analyst Nicolas Champ said the lower IPO price was "a major blow" for Casino, which he said wanted to "crystalise" the value of the division in its Sum-Of-The Parts valuation while also strengthening its balance sheet by raising cash.
The IPO price valued Cnova at 2.3 billion euros, well below the 4.1 billion-4.5 billion valuation of the IPO range.
Casino said in a statement it expected gross proceeds of $188 million from the sale of 26,800,000 ordinary shares, representing up to 7 percent of Cnova's capital.
Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said the complex ownership structure of Cnova and the small size of the offering might also have made the listing "less appealing" to investors.
By 1111 EST, Casino shares were down 4.11 percent at 81.04 euros in Paris, having fallen 5 percent earlier in the day.
A source close to the matter said Casino had favoured going ahead with the operation in order to get a foot in the U.S. market and stressed the size of the deal was rather small, which also limited risk.
($1 = 0.7971 euro)
Reporting by Dominique Vidalon,Leigh Thomas,Additional reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic in Paris and Agrawal Tanya and Sikka Kanika in Bangalore; Editing by Nick Vinocur and David Evans


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Section Staff
The members of Radar Science & Engineering's Section Staff, along with the Section 334 management team, provide the leadership for all of our project and research activities in their varied roles as instrument managers, project scientists, senior research scientists, joint-faculty appointment research scientists, chief engineers, chief technologists and senior technical consultants.
Together, our Section Staff and managers shape the vision of Radar Science & Engineering and create future opportunities for the section.
Senior Section Staff:

subset: commoncrawl


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Universal credit - supporting clients
Level: Basic
Universal credit (UC) is now available across Scotland. But who can claim depends on where you live and personal circumstances. This course aims to equip you with the knowledge to help your service users get the most out of this new benefit and avoid potential pitfalls.
The course covers:
- What is UC – understanding the basics
- Knowing which clients are affected – understanding who can claim UC
- Helping people manage the system
- Maximising income – an overview of basic UC entitlement
- Dealing with problems – and knowing who can help
This course is aimed at frontline workers who have little or no experience of the benefit system.
Thursday 7 December 2017, 10:00-16:00 Edinburgh, £116 Citizens Advice Bureaux, £138 voluntary organisations, £195 statutory/other organisations,Training CPD hours:5


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Location is undefined
In 1982, the Lord brought Rev. Valson and Laly Abraham to the Alta Loma area where they began to meet with a few families for prayer twice a month in different homes.
In 1984, Rev. Valson Abraham founded India Gospel Outreach (IGO) a mission organization devoted to training and sending church planters to plant churches.
After five years in 1987, Rev. Valson Abraham assembled ten of these families that had been gathering regularly for prayer and discussed the formation of a church.
The church was founded and incorporated by Rev. T. Valson Abraham and named India Christian Assembly (ICA). It became affiliated with the India Pentecostal Church.
Due to the extensive teaching and travel ministry of Valson Abraham, he enlisted different ones to assist in the ministry of ICA. Those who assisted at various times in ministry included evangelist John Thomas who was ordained as pastor at India Christian Assembly. Some graduate students from Fuller Theological Seminary were enlisted to assist in the church ministry. Also assisting from 1992 was Rev. Dr. P.A. Philip and later, Rev. George Kuruvilla, both students at Fuller Seminary. All these served only in part-time or interim positions. Another student from Fuller Seminary who attended and was very active in the church was Mathews George. He was ordained by ICA in 2006 and now serves as a pastor of an American church in Tennessee.
The vision included reaching the Indian diaspora scattered in many countries. God helped Valson Abraham to minister among Indian families in the Los Angeles area from 1977 and founded the church known as India Christian Assembly in 1987.
In the late 1980s, the young fellowship began to rent facilities in different churches. For several years, the fellowship met on the premises of the United Methodist Church at Norwalk. As of September 2014, ICA meets at Word of Life church in Ontario, California.
In April 2000, Alexander John, was brought to the U.S. to assist as the first full-time pastor of India Christian Assembly. A graduate of India Bible College & Seminary (IBC), he served ICA till April 2014 and became the full time pastor of India Christian Fellowship (ICF) in San Diego. ICF began as a daughter outreach church plant of ICA.
We are grateful to what God has done in and through ICA to reach out to diverse kinds of people in different locations. We are blessed with diverse families and singles who make ICA their home church.
|United States
|Address 1
|Meeting Place: United Methodist Church 13000 San Antonio Dr Norwalk, CA
|Zip/Postal Code
|562 824 0137
Opps. Its empty!!


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Listen Midmorning: The latest in cancer research
Listen Midmorning: The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul
With the state facing a $1.2 billion budget shortfall, aid to local governments could again be on the chopping block. The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul join Midmorning to talk about what those cuts could mean, and how they plan to fight them.
This show is only broadcast to Twin Cities metro (KNOW) listeners.
Listeners on the rest of the network hear a conversation about the latest in cancer research. Original program.


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[Manga] Naruto Chapter 581 Discussion
Welcome to the weekly manga chapter discussion thread. This thread is created early to discuss spoilers and speculation about the upcoming chapter as well as discussion of said chapter once it has been released.
As per the forums rules, please don't ask for or mention about where to download the (licensed) manga. Also remember not to post or link to any translations of the manga, since this is illegal as well. Posting a synopses or summary is fine (and welcome) but please do not discuss scans, raws, translation groups, etc. Additionally, if you are posting someone else's synopsis (or their translation of a synopsis), then please provide credit were credit is due.
Remember that the manga is licensed, do not post significant parts of the chapter. This stands for pictures and direct translations. Summaries are ok, crops of pictures are ok as well if you want to illustrate your point but this is it.
It's a new week, so that means new Naruto spoilers...which are now released.
well I'm banking on kabuto having hidan's immortal dna spliced into him. if he could find madara's corpse, he could get past a few deer in a forest. so with physical immortality in addition to his new dna spliced techs, he'd be totally unstoppable. plus I'd like to see hidan again...
Where the hell did that Sasuke/Itachi flashback come from? Sasuke with a bow :twitch:
Again a lame episode,
But according to wikipedia's japanese history this izanami would be the last uchiha's secret technique since kishi is using all of the japanese gods as a technique
I liked this chapter, that bar scene in particular was really telling.
^ Remember when he was eating the dangos? Yeah, something like that. :heh::eyespin:
Sasuke seems to me a bit off character. I know his relationship with his bro is complicated, but he was portrayed as a bloody killer with a darkness like never before bla bla bla. He seems quite fine, now. :heh:
^ Hope he stays that way, though I'm sure it won't last much longer if he needs to fight Naruto at some point...
It seems there's no end to the eye techniques. At least we got some insight into Kabuto's character and his intentions.
And finally, Izanami is revealed. I knew a technique called Izanami would eventually appear. Without Izanami, the set just wouldn't be complete.
Now I half-expect Kishi to throw out the EMS equivalent of Kirin going by the name Takemikazuchi. :heh::eyespin:
^ Either that or Sasuke confesses to Itachi but before he disappears he tells Sasuke that he already belongs to Naruto. :eyespin::naughty:
^ LOL..................That would be worth seeing. It think after the talk with Itachi, Sasuke will still go to fight Naruto just that his intentions will be to lose rather than to kill Naruto. Because he'll somehow realize that he cannot go back to who he was before and that the only way to stop him is to kill him
Izanami can't be that good if Danzo never tried to use it. :uhoh:
Kabuto knows all about ems+rinnegan. I'm sure he has some kind of counter for izanagi/izanami.
Maybe Izanami manifest only when there's a pair of Uchiha using it or something. With Uchiha pair being shown and emphasize in the past chapters, I wouldn't be surprised.
The only thing making this circumstance unique is that there's 4 copies of the same eye in 2 people.
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After going on a bit of a binge that has made Spor Repor's Logo-Pedia the largest source of collegiate logos online, we turned our focus to the pitch with our latest update.
As of today, Spor Repor has added over 300 soccer logos from across North America to the Logo-Pedia catalog.
Surprisingly, the National Premier Soccer League nearly accounts for half of that total. Seriously NPSL, you have a problem. You need to go on a diet. I might have actually missed a few teams. That should tell you how irrelevant some of your franchises are. Not every team can be Detroit City.
Here are the new soccer leagues added to the Logo-Pedia:


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Best Collection of Avengers Wallpapers. Download HD Wallpapers of The Avengers Movie stills free in widescreen 1080p resolutions for android mobiles and desktop backgrounds. Avengers is the best Movie of the Marvel Comics Series Hollywood Movies.
Avengers Movie has been made by taking all the superheroes of the Marvel Comics like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor: The God of Thunder and The Incredible Hulk. This movie is the most successful one in all terms like Box Office Collection, popularity and more than the other Marvel Movies.
Hell Lot of users search the internet to get Avengers Wallpapers in high quality hd 1080p resolutions but hardly any website has shared a collection of hd images of Movie Avengers in a single nutshell. Consequently we have decided to share the best collection of HD Wallpapers of Movie Avengers which you can download easily and can beautify your desktop with these stunning hd backgrounds for pc.
Avengers Wallpapers, Movie Images[sociallocker]
This is the best and the awesome collection of Avengers Movie HD Wallpapers we have that you can now download easily for free. You can use any image as your hd desktop background for pc. Right click on the image and click "Save As" to download the image. You can only use these images for personal and non-commercial uses. If you like this collection of hd Avengers Images, feel free to share it with your friends on social networks.


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Article Contents
- 1 Benefits of kefir
- 2 Simple recipes Omelet kefir
- 2.1 Cheese
- 2.2 With tomatoes
- 3 Sophisticated recipes
- 3.1 With vegetables
- 3.2 with eggplant
- 3.3 shrimp
- 3.4 with mushrooms
- 3.5 with potatoes and sausages
- 3.6 Scrambled
Useful properties of kefir are due to content-laktokultur prebiotics.The collection of various microorganisms helps to defeat disease-causing bacteria.Another milk drinks containing vitamins A, D and calcium and phosphorus.
drink is indispensable in the gastric and intestinal infections, dysbacteriosis, weakened immunity, beriberi, diseases of the pancreas and liver.Beneficial effect on the nervous system, reduces irritability, improves digestion, lowers cholesterol in the blood.
it is useful for those who want to lose weight, because it helps to adjust the metabolism, removes toxins and other waste products.At the same time it is low calorie - 59 kcal per 100 g
Simple recipes Omelet kefir
This is a classic recipe for omelet on yogurt and cheese.
You will need:
- yogurt - 2 tablespoons;
- eggs - 2 pieces;
- cheese - 30 g;
- salt, pepper, herbs.
- Beat eggs with salt and pepper, slowly pouring the drink.
- Cheese grate and stir in the egg mixture.
- Pour into the pan and cook for 10 minutes.
- greens chop and sprinkle the finished omelet.
can prepare a meal in the microwave.To do this, pour the mixture into a mold and cook for 5 minutes.
With tomatoes
can add some fun to the recipe and add the tomatoes to juicy.
You will need:
- eggs - 2 pieces;
- yogurt - 3 tablespoons;
- tomato - 1 piece;
- sunflower oil;
- pepper, herbs, salt.
- Tomato cut into slices.
- chop greens.
- Put the pan prepared tomato and fry to evaporate the juice.
- gently whisk the eggs with yogurt, add salt and pepper, herbs.
- mass Pour into the pan and cook for 10 minutes.
Sophisticated recipes
omelet yogurt and eggs can be prepared with the addition of a variety of vegetables, meat and other ingredients.
With vegetables
You will need:
- zucchini - 1 piece;
- eggs - 2 pieces;
- yogurt - 3 tablespoons;
- pepper - 2 pieces;
- onions - 1 head;
- sunflower oil for frying;
- herbs, salt, pepper.
- Bulgarian pepper cut into cubes.
- chop onion.
- zucchini cut into thin slices.
- Fry the onions, then add the zucchini and peppers.
- Beat eggs with yogurt.Salt and pepper.
- Greens finely chop and add to the egg mixture.
- all mix well and pour the vegetables.
- Roast 15 minutes.
This omelet can be made at multivarka.Vegetables should be cut into small pieces and pour the egg mixture.Cooking in the "Baking" 25 minutes.When it is not being used cooking oil, so it is not only useful, but also promotes weight loss.
with eggplant
If you love this vegetable, the next course is for you.
You will need:
- eggs - 3 pieces;
- tomato - 2 pieces;
- yogurt - 2 tablespoons;
- arugula - 40 g;
- eggplant - 1 piece;
- smoked bacon - 3 pieces;
- refractory cheese - 50 g;
- salt, oil, pepper.
- Eggplant cut into circles and sprinkle with coarse salt.Leave for 10 minutes.
- Cook it until half.
- Beat eggs with milk drinks, salt and pepper.
- In another pan, pour the egg mixture and heat for 3 minutes.
- Put the omelet on the eggplant, slices of bacon and grated cheese.
- Top fill the second part of the egg mixture and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Serve with tomatoes and arugula.
This omelet on yogurt, cooked in a pan, has the original taste.In addition, the shrimp are very useful.They contain a lot of protein, various vitamins and minerals.Eating shrimp has a beneficial effect on the thyroid gland, the circulatory system and immune system.And shrimp are low in calories.Therefore, such an omelet like losing weight.
You will need:
- shrimp - 70 g;
- eggs - 2 pieces;
- herbs, salt;
- yogurt - 2 tablespoons.
- Shrimp Peel and boil.
- Whisk the eggs with the yogurt.Season with salt.
- Pour mass on the pan.
- When she was a little grab, lay the shrimp evenly.
- Sprinkle with chopped herbs and cook for 10 minutes.
This dish can be cooked in the oven.To do this in a baking dish Put the shrimp, pour the egg mass and sprinkle with herbs.Bake for 10-15 minutes.
with mushrooms
This omelet lovers of mushrooms.Use the following names mushrooms, not to spoil the taste.
You will need:
- eggs - 2 pieces;
- shallots - 1 piece;
- yogurt - 2 tablespoons;
- white mushrooms - 3 pieces;
- cheese - 30 g;
- butter - 2 tablespoons;
- pepper, tarragon, butter, salt.
- Finely chop the onion and sauté in oil with salt and pepper.
- mushrooms finely chop and add to the soft bow.Cook 5 minutes.
- Whisk the eggs with cheese, dairy products, salt and pepper.
- Chop the tarragon and to mix to the egg mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes.
with potatoes and sausages
This option dishes are very hearty.It includes and vegetables, and meat products.
You will need:
- eggs - 2 pieces;
- potatoes - 1 piece;
- sausages - 2 pieces;
- onions - 1 head;
- yogurt - 3 tablespoons;
- tomato - 1 piece;
- cheese - 100 g;
- herbs, salt;
- sunflower oil - 2-4 tablespoons.
- Potatoes cut into cubes and fry in a pan.
- chop onion and add to the potatoes.
- Frankfurters arbitrarily cut and add to the pan.
- Tomato cut into slices, combine with vegetables and sausages.
- Greens finely chop.
- cheese grate.
- Beat eggs with yogurt and salt.To mix herbs and pour the mass on the pan.
- Sprinkle cheese.
- Cook on low heat.
So easily we prepare an omelette with yogurt.
For variety, you can cook eggs and yogurt.
You will need:
- yogurt - 1.5 cups;
- eggs - 4 pieces;
- Garlic - 2 cloves;
- oil, herbs, salt.
- Beat eggs with salt and pour into the pan.If you like fried eggs, gently pour the egg, not to damage the yolk.Season with salt on top.
- Fry until golden brown.
- Then chop garlic and fresh herbs, mix with yogurt.
- Put eggs on a plate and pour kefir sauce.
You can experiment and use a variety of recipes for omelets.Kefir - a low-calorie and healthy beverage.Therefore, if you want to become leaner, more often use it in cooking.


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- How do I reset my Smart Outlet if I want to change WiFi networks or I lose communication with it?
While plugged in, press and hold both buttons at the same time on the side of the Smart Outlet for about 10 seconds. You will see both LEDs blink red for a moment and then the green light in the upper, left-hand corner of the Smart Outlet will start blinking indicating that it is ready to start the Wireless Accessory Configuration (WAC) and HomeKit pairing process.
- Can I control my Smart Outlet while I am away from home?
Yes. Controlling HomeKit–enabled accessories away from home requires an Apple TV (3rd generation or later) with Apple TV software 7.0 or later and an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 8.1 or later.
- Can I move my Smart Outlet to another location?
Once configured, the Smart Outlet can be placed anywhere within range of its corresponding wireless router. If the Outlet is moved to a new location on a different WiFi network, it will need to be reset at the new location and configured with its wireless credentials.
- Is there a 220V European version of the Smart Outlet available?
No. At this time, only the 120V version suitable for North American plugs is available for purchase.
- Will the ConnectSense app or Smart Outlet work with the ConnectSense line of home monitoring WiFi Sensors?
The ConnectSense WiFi sensors are a standalone platform and do not interact with the Smart Outlet. The WiFi sensors use a cloud application specifically designed for those devices alone. The Smart Outlet will only interact with other HomeKit compatible devices.
- How much power can the Smart Outlet supply? Will it power my tools and heavy equipment?
The Smart Outlet works with a standard 120V North American power outlet. The total power draw cannot exceed 15A between the two outlets and the USB charging port.
- Does the Smart Outlet monitor current draw and power consumption?
Yes, current draw and average power consumption for devices plugged into the Smart Outlet can be monitored using the Connect Sense iOS app.
- Will the Smart Outlet work with my 5Ghz WiFi Network?
No. The Smart Outlet only works with 2.4Ghz (802.11 b/g/n) wireless networks.
- Does the Smart Outlet have an Android app?
There is no support for Android available at this time.


text:
Short on time, but need a butt-kicking total body workout? We've got your back . . . and arms . . . and legs and booty and abs.
This quick, effective, and challenging workout uses every muscle group, so you're definitely going to break a sweat! With a little cardio, a little plyo, and a lot of bodyweight resistance training, you'll get the most bang for your buck, in under 10 minutes. Six moves, no equipment - just you and your sweat. Pro tip: put on a fun, happy playlist to power through.
Source: POPSUGAR Fitness http://bit.ly/2kUm6Hv


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A college kid held up a "send Bitcoin" sign on ESPN on Saturday, and promptly made over $24k. The student, identified only on Reddit as BitcoinPitcher2, held up a sign that read "Hi Mom, send" followed by the Bitcoin symbol and a QR code, though he wasn't even sure the code would be scannable.
He also didn't expect anything in return, believing someone may send him some as a gag, but nothing more. What a surprise. Cryptojunky notes that the student already received over 22 Bitcoin. Transactions began with small increments, but the Bitcoin address soon saw transactions as high as 5 Bitcoin from unknown addresses. Considering the current exchange rate is about $1,000 USD to 1 Bitcoin, the account quickly made BitcoinPitcher2 more money than he ever expected to receive.
The frequent Redditor offered to donate a majority of the Bitcoin early on, saying that the charitable group Sean's Outpost will get the majority of it. The Outpost is a homeless shelter and outreach group in Pensacola, Florida, that is mostly supported through Bitcoin donations.
In several posts on Reddit, the student noted that he had no idea his idea would take off, partially because of the QR code and also because of how far away he was from the cameras. He also added that he plans to send his donation to Sean's Outpost on Tuesday "when I get my breath back!!!!"
Author: Melissa Stusinski
Melissa grew up in the Seattle area, but moved to Indiana to attend Anderson University in 2005 and was editor at the school's Literary Arts Magazine for two years. When she isn't focused on writing, Melissa enjoys working on cars, gaming, and exploring new places. [Contact: email@example.com]


text:
23 April 2012
Broken Soldiers: Epilogue
What Happened to the Hunger Striker?
The Our Duty website is have some technical problems, so I am re-posting this here.
If you want to help Fabien, you can give by:
Paypal/email transfer to email@example.com
Donations can be made at TD Bank
Transit #: 05023
Institution #: 004
Account #: 6418137
Name: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson
Cheques & Money Orders
Payable to: Jeff Rose-Martland for Fabien Melanson
Send to: Fix Fabien's House
4 Neville Pl.
St. John's, NL
(Regarding the Our Duty site - we seem to have bee caught up in the Google java-browser-hijack along with 20,000 other sites. If you try to get to ourduty.org via facebook link or a search engine, you get security warnings and/or nothing. If you click here: http://ourduty.org I hope you will get there. If not, copy/paste the address into your browser and you will get there fine. The site itself is safe, the hijacking/malware appears to occurs when coming in from facebook or search engines. We are working on fixing that.)
1 comment:
- jason mullis23 April, 2012 20:41
That is not kool at all and we need to get something off the ground to help This Hero that should be treated or live like this well we sit in our nice home sleep in a real bed he sleeps on a cot not kool. I think it time people stood up and got of there ASS that havent in the pass and help this Hero so im going to look into doing something. I wish of known more of this long time ago this is why i do what i do raise money to help VETS so i have a piture singed by a Leaf player that i will auction of and the highest bidder will get and all money will be donated to him, this is not and if u dont win this item give it to him because he is a Hero that needs are help ASAP and anyone that knows people where he is that can get his house back up get on it because your liking your Freedom because this Hero gave it to you all VETS did and to people that have helpped him GOD BLESS!!!!ReplyDelete


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Sympathy for the Devil: An Angela Bivens Thriller
Chambers, Christopher
Heritage Bookseller
AbeBooks Mitglied seit 1996
Beispielbild für diese ISBN
Heritage Bookseller
AbeBooks Mitglied seit 1996
Bibliografische Details
Titel: Sympathy for the Devil: An Angela Bivens ...
Verlag: Crown
Erscheinungsdatum: 2001
Einband: Hardcover
Zustand:Very Good
Über diesen Titel
Be careful what you wish for . . .
FBI Special Agent Angela Bivens has just won a hard-fought racial and sex discrimination lawsuit against the Bureau. She should be euphoric -- all she ever wanted to be was a field agent. But the women she filed the suit with have fled the Bureau, leaving Angela alone to deal with her cynical, ultrapolitical superiors. They throw her a bone by sending her to help the befuddled and apathetic D.C. police solve two seemingly unrelated cases -- the brutal murder of two teenage girls and the macabre, ritualized executions of rival drug dealers.
The cops see the victims as routine casualties of a drug war, but Angela begins to uncover a far more extensive network of horrors. The threads seem to lead right from the case files into her personal life and her hot, burgeoning love affair with Trey Williams, a well-connected D.C. lawyer, scion of an elite family, or, as her girlfriends call him, the "black JFK Jr." Although Trey is everything a woman could want, he is also shackled with a heroin-addicted twin brother nicknamed Pluto who is obsessed with myths and the occult and is fast becoming Angela's prime suspect in this wave of shocking murders.
After she saves the life of a fellow officer in a shoot-out, Angela becomes the FBI's golden girl, a media-anointed local hero. But is the FBI setting her up for an even bigger fall? She can't trust her superiors. She can't trust her boyfriend. Faced with the hard facts and following her gut instincts, Angela feels that she has no choice but to solve these cases and avenge the innocent victims on her own.
Played out against a vivid and realistic portrait of Washington -- from the halls of Congress and swank gathering places of the city's African American elite to the gritty, mournful streets where gang warfare remains a fact of life --
Sympathy for the Devil introduces a remarkable new crime-fighting heroine whose struggle to reconcile the pulls of love and duty, ambition and self-doubt makes this an utterly compelling thriller. Fans of Grace Edwards and Valerie Wilson Wesley, whose stories feature strong African American women, and all readers looking for a riveting page-turner in the style of Patricia Cornwell or Thomas Harris will welcome this impressive debut novel from Christopher Chambers.
Friday . . . Three Weeks After Labor Day, 1999
The Spartans of East Anacostia Senior High School whipped the Ballou High Knights by three touchdowns. Now the bleachers were dark and empty, the scoreboard lights dim. And when the victory howls and good-bye hugs ebbed, lingering Spartan marching band members and cheerleaders departed the shadowy school parking lot, leaving their cohort, Tamika McGarry, standing all alone.
Tamika had signed up for the Pep Squad as a means of breaking out of her shyness, and for breaking into one of East Anacostia's premier cliques. Being a cheerleader meant you had value. Damn important in a world that reminded you daily that you had no value. Getting the veteran cheerleaders to warm up to her had been slow going, however. Yet Tamika told herself to be patient. She gaped up at the crescent moon. Tamika's mother, dead four years that July, once lullabied her only daughter with a pledge that the Lord would always watch over her with an eye as bright and vast as a full harvest moon. But tonight, all Tamika saw was a pale squinted eye obscured by a milky gauze of clouds.
Lemme go find Cassandra's triflin' ass, Tamika thought as she clutched at her own shoulders to suppress the inner chill, an' we can catch the number 33 down Alabama Avenue . . . home. Safe. Well, maybe not altogether safe, as "home" sometimes meant late-night gunfire between competing covens of street dealers. At least it was safer than a deserted high school parking lot. So Tamika called out to Cassandra Brown.
For the past thirty minutes, Cassandra'd been trying to vamp up a ride home. Cassandra deemed herself a diva, and divas didn't ride the number 33 Metrobus--not with its passenger manifest of winos and late-shift minimum wagers. So she was leaning hard into the open passenger-side window of an Isuzu Rodeo parked at the school lot's entrance. DMX's lurid chants rocked the SUV's woofers; the rear half of Cassandra's body swayed to the beat like a metronome. Her bright white cheerleader uniform--tunic, miniskirt, and boots--shimmered against the Rodeo's dull matte finish.
Tamika's eyes fixed on Cassandra's panties, freshened by the damp wind. Tamika knew that the pooh-butt gangstas in the Rodeo were drooling over what was in those draws. Cassandra had back--and breasts--aplenty, and the cheerleader uniforms she and Tamika were wearing only accentuated what nature had given them both. Tamika's daddy always lectured: Never, ever get into a car with someone you didn't know. Not with all these wanna-be playahs and junior thugs profiling in their suped-up rides, flashing mad loot at any teenage girl who caught their eye. Some girls would jump in, for a thrill. This was benignly called "car-hopping." Being treated like a princess meant a trip to the computer arcade at Iverson Mall for an evening of Zelda or Donkey Kong, then grubbing at TGI Friday's. Yet a lot of girls ended up in jail for what their Prince Charmings had stashed under the front seat or in the trunk. And Tamika knew of one who had been sucked into the night, then spit out into a Dumpster a week later. Naked. Cut. Shot. Pale as that crescent moon. Yvette . . .
Cassandra finally unglued herself from the window and leered at Tamika through her stiff bangs. Tamika popped a filmy jawbreaker bubble and flipped her braids off her shoulders. She reminded Cassandra that they couldn't hang late; scholarship exams started promptly at nine o'clock in the morning. Four years of college money was at stake--and that meant a ticket out of Southeast D.C. Cassandra was unmoved, so Tamika tried jogging Cassandra's loyalty to a boy named Darryl Wiggins.
"He still love you, Cassie," she insisted. "An' he played his heart out ta-night. You oughta go home an' call him."
Just as second thoughts began to congeal in Cassandra's brain, a young man wearing a hooded Phat Farm anorak around his neck like a cape emerged halfway from the Rodeo's passenger window. He was James "Jimmy" Torry. He whistled his impatience to the girls; he didn't want to be parked there any longer than he had to. From one end of the block, down to Alabama Avenue, sat a column of idling cars packed with bodies squirming to Ginuwine's sex ballads. But what rattled Jimmy was an authentic "hoopdy"--a rusted old Buick Regal customized with red fluorescent lights lining the chassis. At the wheel was a young man wearing a red bandanna. He was a scout for the Suitland Bloods: the real home team.
Obscured by a bus shelter, another car waited. A station wagon. Its driver didn't study the girls with the glower of a rival gangbanger. No, he stared in openmouthed hunger.
Cassandra had her own pangs to feed. Inside the Rodeo were nineteen-year-old men, with cash. Not boys. Soldiers in the Branch Avenue Crew, who had entered the Bloods' backyard. But they also had the almighty dap: respect, worth, prestige. Tonight meant escape from empty days and listless evenings spent inside a public housing complex ironically named the Marcus Garvey Village. Despite two years on the honor roll, college was as much of a mirage to Cassandra as the glowing monuments across the Anacostia River.
"Ain't nuthin' bad happen on a car-hop," Cassandra declared to Tamika, but then her voice softened. "Not since Yvette disappeared." But the voice sharpened once more. "I'm wid these boys whether you come or not, Mikki. You my girl or what?"
Tamika scanned her boots pensively, her mind recalling her father's admonitions, the scholarship test . . . Yvette's face the last time she saw her. Yet those voices and images all dissolved with that one little question: "You my girl or what?" Cassandra was Tamika's only "popular" friend. It was she who had cajoled Tamika into being a cheerleader. Okay, so maybe these brothers didn't look all that shady. A quick bite at Friday's, a couple of quarters' worth of Donkey Kong, and then home to bed, right? Besides, Cassandra needed looking after--her mouth had gotten her into trouble ever since the two girls were in elementary school together. So Tamika was game. After all, she and Cassandra were teenagers. Confident in their own indestructibility.
Cassandra giggled. "Yeah--you my girl!"
Visibly annoyed by his compatriots' obsession with high school pussy, the Rodeo's driver, Dante "Bam" Walters, punched his thigh to the beat of the angry poetry blasting from his speakers. Jimmy persuaded Bam to unlock the doors anyway. Cassandra jumped in the front, straight onto Jimmy's lap. Tamika peered into the vehicle's rear compartment. The map light's glint revealed empty bottles of St. Ides Special Brew; the silver-gray upholstery was stained and dotted with food crumbs. Tamika slid in, frowning. The young man in the backseat, D'Angelo "Pooh" Atwell, raised his wraparound Oakleys to gawk at Tamika's bare thighs and the rise of her breasts under her uniform.
Once Tamika pulled the rear door shut, something metal rapped the driver's window. A woman in a blue uniform greeted Bam's innocent grin. Officer Sheila Burnett of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department's Seventh District branded the Rodeo's male occupants with her flashlight beam. "Y'all don't go to this school. . . . Y'all don't need to be with sixteen-year-old girls. And this car is illegally parked."
"Aw, hold up," Bam protested as he brandished his license and registration. "This ain't no 'car.' This here a twenty-eight-thousand-dollah sport utility vehicle, and it's all mine. They wid us voluntarily, an' there ain't no brew or reefer in here."
Burnett sighed, then showed her notepad to Bam and Jimmy. She'd written down the Rodeo's license plate number. "See that? If anything happens to these girls . . ." She backed away from the SUV.
Tamika whispered a new round of reservations into Cassandra's ear while Pooh's eyes probed her body. Cassandra told her to stop being a punk, even though Cassandra herself felt an acidic twinge in her stomach and heard the tiny voice in her head saying maybe she should get the hell out of the Rodeo. Cassandra blinked, wondering why she wasn't heeding that voice. Too late. The Rodeo peeled out onto Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E.
A set of headlights followed discreetly.
Pooh produced three squat cigars--"blunts"--from the pocket of his boxy leather jacket. To prove she was no little girl, Cassandra intercepted a blunt and took a drag. The fortified marijuana and cheap tobacco triggered an explosion of coughs.
Jimmy laughed and said, "Slow yo'roll. We goin' bust soma this pretty soon." Jimmy dangled a little brown vanilla extract bottle in front of her. "We makes much cheese offa this shit. Even them punk-ass Bloods wanna deal with our supply!"
Cassandra rubbed her smoke-stung eyes; she knew damn well that stuff was "love boat." Liquid PCP. Common sense finally seized her. "Y'all crazy? Y'all can just drop me an' my fren' off right down at th'bus stop, then."
Jimmy wasn't smiling anymore. "Bitch, don't play . . ."
"Niggah whatchew call me?"
Tamika sprung forward. "Whatchewall doin'? Cassie?"
Pooh spied Tamika's tight white panties as she leaned up. He thrust his arm under her skirt. Tamika screamed and wheeled around to slap him, but Pooh clamped a viselike grip on her waist. Then came the sharp sound of Tamika's tunic ripping under Pooh's paws.
Cassandra lunged for the emergency brake lever and gave it a good yank. The Rodeo spun off the road, kicking up a spray of gravel. When the vehicle finally skidded to a stop, Bam slammed his forearms on the steering wheel and shouted at Pooh and Jimmy: "Fuck y'all two dumb muvfuckas! I tole you we didn't have time for this shit! That cop got my plate number!"
Tamika thrashed in Pooh's arms, shrieking, "An' she gonna a...
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A message from Wolf Park about the movie "The Grey":
"Using "The Grey" to understand wolves is like using Hannibal Lecter to understand humans. This film, which perpetuates the myth that wolves and humans cannot coexist, is being released at a time when wolves have been taken off of the endangered species list. We fear that conservation efforts will be hindered by misinformation disseminated by popular fiction such as "The Grey," and, of course, Wolf Park deplores harming of animals for human entertainment."Head Animal Curator at Wolf Park responds to "The Grey" film in which wolves were harmed in the making.