Former NOTW journalist tells Leveson inquiry that John Yates ...

The former crime editor of the News of the World says she believes a ?distorted picture??has been presented of how journalists work.

?We do not live a champagne lifestyle and the reality of the day to day grind of journalism is far from glamorous,??Lucy Panton wrote in her witness statement to the Leveson Inquiry.

Panton, who has been arrested and bailed as part of Operation Elveden, the Metropolitan police?s investigation into payments to police officers, wrote that she found it ?bizarre that there seems to be such interest in what champagne I did or did not drink.?

Discussing her contact with police officers, Panton wrote that her objective was to ?have a long term relationship with the police, which meant an open and honest relationship with the people I met.?

She added: ?I am a journalist and therefore my objective is to seek information but not to the detriment of a police operation.?I have never met a senior officer who is so ill-informed and naive that he or she gives out information that they were not authorised to divulge.?

She told the Inquiry that former assistant commissioner John Yates had attended her wedding,??along with many other police officers?, some of whom were ?friends?. Panton added that her contact with former Met commissioner Lord Blair was ?minimal?, she had not had drinks with fellow ex-commissioner Lord Stevens in a pub or restaurant setting, and had?drank champagne with police officers when others were present, namely at the Crime Reporters? Association (CRA) Christmas parties.

She also described an October 2010 email sent to her by her then news editor James Mellor, in which Panton was asked if she had spoken to Yates about an aviation bomb plot story, as ?banter?.

Mellor?s email, read to the Inquiry during Yates? evidence on 1 March, read: ?Think John Yates could be crucial here, have you spoken to him, really need an exclusive splash line, time to call in all those bottles of champagne.?

?It?s the way people spoke to each other in our office,? Panton told the Inquiry. ?I would read that at that time as banter mixed with a bit of pressure?, she said, describing the message in her written statement as similar to ?many I received at work that contained?an element of banter with a serious note of expectation that they were?relying on me for a big story?. She later added that she did not feel there was a bullying culture at the now defunct tabloid, and that pressure was ?part of the job.?

Panton also said she was ?sad? to hear from colleagues that lines of communication between police officers and the press ?seem to have stopped?.

?I would hate to see crime reporting over and police feeling they can?t have professional relationships with journalists,? she added.

Also giving evidence today was Chief Superintendent Derek Barnett of the Police Superintendents? Association, University of Leicester criminology lecturer Dr Rob Mawby and Ed Stearns, head of media at the Met?s renamed Directorate of Media & Communications (formerly known as Directorate of Public Affairs).

A directions hearing for the third module of the Inquiry, which will examine the relationship between the press and politicians, will take place this afternoon.

The Inquiry continues tomorrow.

Follow Index on Censorship?s coverage of the Leveson Inquiry on Twitter ??@IndexLeveson

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Police: House safe holding $10 million stolen

By Samantha Tata, NBCLosAngeles.com

LOS ANGELES -- Police are searching for burglars suspected of looting a 3-foot-tall safe packed with $10 million of jewelry and cash Friday from a Hancock Park home.

The thieves used a rug to drag the safe from a walk-in closet, downstairs and out the front door of the home in the 200 block of South Highland Avenue, according to LAPD. That was before they scaled an exterior wall on the perimeter of the property and broke in through a window.

See video, read the original story at NBCLosAngeles.com

The suspects set off the security alarms, according to police. Neighbors reported hearing a noise coming from the home around 8:20 p.m.

"They were able to use a rug that was lying nearby and haul the safe down the stairs and out the front door," said Officer Karen Rayner.

The homeowners said their house is insured, but the contents of the safe were not.

The thieves also let out two dogs during the heist, according to the homeowner, who asked that she only be identified as Jacqueline.

"I got my dogs back,"?she said. "They were found a mile away sitting together on a neighbor's front porch."

The safe reportedly contained personal documents, jewelry and cash. Police are asking anyone with information on the suspects to contact Detective Ben Black, Burglary Special Section Safe Detail at (213) 486-6983.

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Home Improvement Does Not Have To Be Expensive | Roofing ...

The one thing to remember about home improvement is you do not have to be an experienced construction person to do it. The one thing that is not lacking is information because we have become an information society.

Let?s look at the area nearest your house, outside, and what you want to see is the ground sloping down and away. While the threat to your home is not immediate, if the home is fairly new, it really should not be allowed to continue.

In the event that your basement walls have cracks due to moisture and water pressure, then that should be fixed and it is not cheap. If your yard is sloping into your home, then put some topsoil so the elevation is increased in a natural way. With a little creative thought, you can do things like add rocks below the surface nearest your house that will facilitate moving away from the foundation.

Just about all unfinished attics have a split in the seams here and there. Attics are also legendary for having a cold draft, and that is another sure sign.

You can really help out your attic and keep it more cozy with the application of more robust insulation. If there is no finished floor, or just a walkway, then place the insulating material on the floor and cover with wood.

Further efforts can be made in the attic roof which will make the attic totally insulated and quite cozy during the winter months. Some people go so far as to make an entirely new room in the attic, and then you can add a skylight if you want, etc. As you can quickly see, these are not expensive projects, and they increase the energy efficiency of your home.

But do look at the ceiling area and judge if you want to do the same for that. If you want to do just a bit more, you can add finish rough wood to keep it in place. These are the types of home improvement projects that will actually save you money with your energy bills.

If you have some funds to work with, then you have potential to do home improvement that you will like. So, just work with your budget and within your means, and that is an important thing you should always do. You are the person in the house, so just do what has top assignment and get it done. Work with your plan, and then that will help give you more positive direction and influence.

Best way for finding quilting machines is to get your self at quiltingthing.com and see the quilting supplies they are offering.

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Pre Engineered Steel Buildings- Revolution in the Construction ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Pre Engineered Steel Buildings- Revolution in the Construction Business. April 2, 2012 By RealEstateInvesting.com Leave a Comment. Article by Vijay Pathak. Construction industry is fast growing in popularity and gearing new heights at a ...

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Spencer Organ's blog: How to have really strong friendships?

I listened to a really good talk last night at church on friendships and how to use Biblical principles to maintain good strong and healthy friendships.

What sort of friend are you?

How many Facebook friends do you have?

We live in a world that values friendship and the number of friends you have but not necessarily the quality of relationships?

But what about deeper friendships and closer relationships?

Jesus understood the value of friendship and whilst at times was surrounded by many followers ?would spend time with his closest and intimate friends.

John 15:14-15 (NIV)You are my friends if you do what I command. [15] I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Jesus invested both time and emotion in his relationships and wept at the death of His friend.

John 11:33-34,36-37 (NIV)When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. [34] "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. [36] Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" [37] But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

In the Old Testament the relationship between David and Jonathan gives an excellent model of friendship.

1 Samuel 20:1-4 (NIV)Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, "What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?" [2] "Never!" Jonathan replied. "You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn't do anything, great or small, without confiding in me. Why would he hide this from me? It's not so!" [3] But David took an oath and said, "Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, `Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.' Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death." [4] Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do for you."

1 Samuel 20:31 (NIV)Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, "You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he must die!"

For Jonathan to have this friendship he will lose everything. He gives it all up for a friend. But Jonathan knows that following God's plans are better.

1 Samuel 20:41-42 (NIV)After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together---but David wept the most. [42] Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, `The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever. ' " Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

David and Jonathan had made a covenant before God.

1 Samuel 18:1-4 (NIV)After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. [2] From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. [3] And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. [4] Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

True Biblical friendship needs real investment and commitment. We need to invest real time and emotion in our relationships.

"Break our hearts with the things that break yours."

We should have heartbreaking pain when we wear hear the struggles that our friends are going through.

When we think about our close friendships it is helpful to ask:

• Is God in our friendships?
• Does it produce fruit??
• Do we grow in the fruits of the Spirit through our relationship or does our relationships do the opposite?
• Is it full of forgiveness?

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. [6] Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. [7] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. [8] Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. [15] But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Godly relationships should be deliberate and effort needs to be put in.

- pray together with your friend

- share what is happening

- be equal (it is not a competition for who can have the best / worst life and experiences)

- be accountable with each other

Having an open and?accountable?relationship is really important. ?There will be many temptations that we will face and by sharing this with an accountability parter (friend) can really help us stand strong against this temptation.

While David's friends were away in battle he slipped into a?sinful?relationship.

2 Samuel 11:2-5 (NIV)One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, [3] and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" [4] Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. [5] The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."?

We are meant to work in unity with others.

Genesis 2:18 (NIV)

The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

Value your friends.

If you don't feel that you have close friends pray that God will give you a friend.

Invest in your friends.

Pray for and with your friends.

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Weekend warriors: Amoussou, Rickels stand out at Bellator and Iaquinta wins on TUF

Join Cagewriter for a look around the MMA world's weekend happenings.

Amoussou, Rickels shine at Bellator

Karl Amoussou moved on to the Bellator welterweight semifinals with a rear naked choke just two minutes into his bout with Chris Lozano. David Rickels wasted no time, knocking out Jordan Smith in just 22 seconds. Ben Saunders tried every submission in the book, but couldn't finish Raul Amaya on the way to a unanimous decision win. Bryan Baker, who was once a finalist in the Bellator middleweight tournament, won a less-than-thrilling split decision over Carlos Pereira.

Al Iaquinta stops Team Cruz

On "The Ultimate Fighter," Team Faber was in desperate need of a win. It came in the form of a three-round split-decision win over Myles Jury. Both Jury and Iaquinta were supposed to appear on earlier seasons of TUF, but injuries kept them off the show.

In their bout, Jury started strong with kicks in the first round. He tried for a choke late in the round, but couldn't secure it. Iaquinta pressed forward in several exchanges as he took a close second round. Since they were tied after two, Iaquinta and Jury went to a third round. Iaquinta came on strong in the third round, swarming Jury with strikes as he pushed ahead to win the final round.

With that, Team Faber won their first bout of the season and the next fight pick. On Friday, Michael Chiesa will represent Team Faber against Jeremy Larsen of Team Cruz.

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Ashton Kutcher set to play Steve Jobs in indie film ?Jobs?

Ashton Kutcher looks set to play the role of Steve Jobs in an indie film which will be called simple ?Jobs?. Kutcher who currently stars in "Two and a Half Men" is believed to have been cast in the main role according to a report by Variety.

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