Sweet Desert Home: What's a REALTOR??

Many people use the word Realtor as a synonym for real estate agent. I was surprised to learn that only 30% of the real estate agents in Arizona are Realtors. Most real estate agents are in sole proprietorships or small companies where they have little oversight and training. In Tucson, the largest companies require that their agents be Realtors.

Why does this matter? Realtors (or REALTORS??as the National Association of Realtors wants us to spell it) have sworn to uphold the 17 page Realtor Code of Ethics. Eighteen years ago this March, I actually had to stand up in a room with?one hundred other new agents, raise my right hand, and?swear to?uphold the Code of Ethics.We need to take a refresher course in the Code of Ethics every four years when we renew our real estate licenses.

This Code is over 100 years old, and has been updated to keep up with changes in the business and technology. I think these are the two most important paragraphs:

The term REALTOR? has come to connote competency, fairness, and high integrity resulting from
adherence to a lofty ideal of moral conduct in business relations. No inducement of profit and no
instruction from clients ever can justify departure from this ideal.

In the interpretation of this obligation, REALTORS? can take no safer guide than that which has been handed down through the centuries, embodied in the Golden Rule, ?Whatsoever ye would that others should do to you, do ye even so to them.?

Oh, by the way, it's pronounced just the way it is spelled, not Reel-lah-ter!

Source: http://sweetdeserthome.blogspot.com/2013/01/whats-realtor.html

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Azarenka wins back-to-back Australian titles

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus is reflected in the trophy after winning the women's final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013.(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus is reflected in the trophy after winning the women's final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013.(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

China's Li Na holds up her trophy after losing to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the women's final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus hits a forehand return to China's Li Na during the women's final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

China's Li Na reaches for a return to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus during the women's final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus kisses her trophy after winning the women's final against China's Li Na at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Victoria Azarenka won her second consecutive Australian Open title, beating Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a final that included a break for fireworks, two medical timeouts and a nasty fall to the court by Li.

The Chinese star first tumbled to the court after twisting her left ankle in the fifth game of the second set and had it taped.

On the first point after a 10-minute pause in the third set while fireworks boomed overhead from nearby Australia Day celebrations, Li fell over again and slammed the back of her head on the court. The 2011 French Open champion was treated and had another timeout before being allowed to resume the match.

Azarenka, who broke down in tears and sobbed into her towel when the match ended, won five of the next six games to claim her second major title and retain the No. 1 ranking.

"Unfortunately, you have to go through some rough patches to achieve great things. That's what makes it so special for me," she said. "I went through that, and I'm still able to kiss that beautiful trophy."

Serena Williams, who lost in the quarterfinals, will become the new No. 2 in the rankings.

Americans Mike and Bob Bryan won their record 13th Grand Slam doubles title, defeating the Dutch team of Robin Haase and Igor Sijsling 6-3, 6-4. They had been tied with the Australian greats John Newcombe and Tony Roche with 12 major titles.

The women's 2-hour, 40-minute match featured 16 service breaks, with Li losing her service nine times.

On a crisp Saturday night, Azarenka won the coin toss and elected to receive, a ploy that seemed to work when a nervous Li was broken to start the match. After a double fault on the first point, Li's forehand long gave Azarenka the early lead.

When she first injured her ankle, Li was trailing 3-1 in the second set. When she came back, she won three of the next four games to tie it 4-4, but Azarenka broke back and then held her serve.

Azarenka broke in the opening game of the final set, just two games before the match was suspended for the fireworks, a planned stoppage of play that both players were notified about before the match.

While Azarenka jogged around and practiced her serving motion during the 10-minute fireworks break, Li sat on her courtside chair for most of the stoppage.

It was on the first point that she again fell to the court.

Li said she went "totally black" for two seconds after her head hit the court, and when a medical official asked her to follow her finger, "I started laughing, thinking 'This is a tennis court, not like a hospital.'"

Li said the tournament doctor saw her after the match and checked out her head and neck.

"I should be OK,' Li said.

From the outset, the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena was firmly behind Li, cheering loudly when she was introduced. Meanwhile, Azarenka's errors were applauded, and one spectator even mocked the loud hooting sound she makes when she hits a shot.

The chill from the crowd was a remnant of Azarenka's semifinal win over American teenager Sloane Stephens, when Azarenka was criticized for taking a questionable 10-minute medical timeout near the end of the match. She was accused of taking the time out to compose herself after she'd wasted five match points while serving for the match against Stephens. Azarenka said she needed the time out because a rib injury was making it difficult for her to breathe and she had a knee injury.

In the second set Saturday, a few fans heckled Azarenka. One man yelled, "Take a deep breath, Vicky."

By the end of the match, she appeared to have won some of the fans back. Azarenka's friend, rapper Redfoo, yelled down to her from the player box "You deserve it," and she later blew kisses to the crowd. Someone else in the crowd shouted "Victoria, we love you."

Azarekna appeared to quickly forgive the crowd, saying during the trophy presentations that she wanted to thank the fans for their support.

"I will always keep very special memories of this court and it will be in my heart forever," she said, pausing several times to find the right words. "Of course, I (almost) forgot to say congratulations to Li Na, she's had a terrific start to the year ... hope to see you in many, many more finals."

Later, Azarenka said she expected a "way worse" reception from the crowd.

"You just have to go out there and try to play tennis in the end of the day," she said. "The things what happened in the past, I did the best thing I could to explain, to do everything I could, and it was left behind me already."

Azarenka and Li had met twice before in Grand Slam tournaments, with Li winning both times ? in the fourth round of the 2011 Australian Open and quarterfinals at the French Open. Li lost the 2011 Australian Open final to Kim Clijsters but won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros a few months later, beating Francesca Schiavone.

But after failing to advance past the fourth round at any major in 2012, Li hired Carlos Rodriguez, Justine Henin's former coach. The hard training he's put her through in the past four months appears to be paying dividends.

Li won a WTA tournament in China before travelling to Australia, where she advanced to the semifinals at the Sydney International.

In the men's final on Sunday, Novak Djokovic will attempt to win his third consecutive Australian Open against U.S. Open champion Andy Murray. Djokovic has had the benefit of an extra day off after an easy three-set win over David Ferrer on Thursday night, while Murray needed a tough five-setter to defeat Roger Federer.

Murray has predicted a tough match with long rallies against Djokovic, the player he beat in the final at Flushing Meadows in September.

"I'm ready for the pain," he said. "I hope it's a painful match, that will mean it will be a good one."

The Bryan brothers have six Australian Open doubles titles to go along with four at the U.S. Open, two at Wimbledon and one at the French Open.

In the other final Sunday to end the year's first Grand Slam, the unseeded pairs of Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden of Australia and the Czech Republic's Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak play for the mixed doubles championship.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-26-Australian%20Open/id-28ffbebf1bb04c6b91262bc376632b2b

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YMCA offers ?fitness solutions? to youth | WQAD.com ? Quad Cities ...

Childhood obesity is on the rise across the nation and it?s a problem we face right here at home.

On Saturday, the two rivers YMCA in Moline invited some kids and their parents to learn ways of making healthy habits a way of life.

Personal trainer Jamie Schoemaker and nutritionist Becky Stevens are trying to put a stop to the obesity epidemic.

?Children becoming heavier and heavier and sicker and sicker earlier and earlier,? said Stevens.

According to last year?s community health assessment, 72 percent of people in the Quad Cities are overweight and so are 39 percent of our kids.

We?re higher than the national average in both categories.

?We want to get the kids excited about exercise and excited about eating better and making better choices when it comes when it comes to a healthy lifestyle,? said Shoemaker.

Schoemaker and Stevens collaborated to create a program not just about exercise, but a healthy lifestyle.

?Get them thinking about what food is rather than just opening up a bag,? she said.

Although the kids are perfectly healthy, the lessons they?ll be learning in the next 10 weeks could help them keep it up for the rest of their lives.

?It?s good to start young you know they?re forming their habits now as opposed to waiting until there?s a problem?

?Kids they?re so involved with computers and video games and not outside playing like we were when we were growing up?

To join the program, contact the Two Rivers YMCA in Moline at (309) 797-3945 and ask for the Youth Fitness Solution class or go to http://www.tworiversymca.org/documents/YouthWSp2013.pdf

Source: http://wqad.com/2013/01/26/ymca-offers-fitness-solutions-to-youth/

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More than 50 killed, and 80 injured in Venezuelan prison riot

A prison riot between the Venezuelan National Guard and armed prisoners left more than 50 people dead. Both the ruling party and the opposition called for better enforcement of the law in prisons.

By Fabiola Sanchez and Jorge Rueda,?Associated Press / January 26, 2013

Relatives of inmates react outside the Uribana prison in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Friday. A bloody riot erupted at the Uribana prison in the central Venezuelan city of Barquisimeto Friday when National Guard troops clashed with inmates.

Roger Varela/El Informador/AP

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Venezuela's top prisons official said the government was evacuating a prison Saturday after a deadly riot that reportedly left dozens of people dead amid a clash between National Guard soldiers and armed inmates.

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Penitentiary Service Minister Iris Varela said officials decided to evacuate all inmates from the Uribana prison in the central city of Barquisimeto after the bloodshed on Friday in order to "close this chapter of violence." Varela said inmates were being taken to other facilities. She spoke in a televised news conference and did not immediately give a death toll.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro called the violence tragic and said Prosecutor General Luisa Ortega Diaz and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello would lead the investigation.

"The prisons have to be governed by law," Maduro said on television early Saturday.

Humberto Prado, an activist who leads the watchdog group Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, said inmates' relatives and media accounts put the toll at 55 killed and 88 injured.

The Venezuelan newspaper Ultimas Noticias and the television channel Globovision reported more than 50 killed, both citing Ruy Medina, the director of Central Hospital in the city.

Relatives wept outside the prison during the violence, and cried at the morgue Saturday as they waited to identify bodies.

Varela said Friday that the riot broke out when groups of inmates attacked National Guard troops who were attempting to carry out an inspection.

Varela said the violence had affected a number of prisoners and officials, but said the authorities would hold off until control had been re-established at the prison to confirm the toll. She said the government decided to send troops to search the prison after receiving reports of clashes between groups of inmates during the past two days.

The death toll provided by Medina rose late Friday after he had initially reported four killed and dozens injured. Ultimas Noticias reported that the victims included a Protestant pastor and a member of the National Guard, as well as inmates.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles condemned the government's handling of the country's overcrowded and violent prisons.

"Our country's prisons are an example of the incapacity of this government and its leaders. They never solved the problem," Capriles said on his Twitter account. "How many more deaths do there have to be in the prisons for the government to acknowledge its failure and make changes?"

The Venezuelan Prisons Observatory said in a statement that in 2007 the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights had ordered the government to seize weapons that inmates had in their possession at Uribana prison and to take measures to avoid deaths in the facility. The group called for the government to release a list with the names of the dead and wounded in Friday's violence, as well as details about weapons seized in the search.

"No one doubts that inspections are necessary procedures to guarantee prison conditions in line with international standards, but they can't be carried out with the warlike attitude as (authorities) have done it," Prado told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "It's clear that the inspection wasn't coordinated or put into practice as it should have been. It was evidently a disproportionate use of force."

Prado's group says Uribana prison was built to hold up to 850 inmates but currently has about 1,400.

It was the latest in a series of bloody riots in the country's severely overcrowded prisons where inmates often freely obtain weapons and drugs with the help of corrupt guards. Venezuela currently has 33 prisons built to hold about 12,000 inmates, but officials have said the prisons' population is about 47,000.

In April and May, a prison uprising in La Planta prison in Caracas blocked authorities from going inside for nearly three weeks. One prisoner was killed and five people were wounded, including two National Guard soldiers and three inmates.

Two months later, another riot broke out at a prison in Merida, and the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory reported 30 killed.

In August, 25 people were killed and 43 wounded when two groups of inmates fought a gunbattle inside Yare I prison south of Caracas.

Chavez's government has previous pledged improvements to the prison system, but opponents and activists say the government hasn't made progress.

Varela, the prisons minister, said news media including Globovision and a local newspaper had run reports on the inspections, which she said had in fact been a "trigger for the violence."

Prado denied that, saying: "The problem isn't the work of the media. The problem is that the government hasn't disarmed the prison population."

Associated Press writer Ian James contributed to this report.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/F2ylSxVwhf4/More-than-50-killed-and-80-injured-in-Venezuelan-prison-riot

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French, Malian forces regain control of Gao

Malian people welcome French soldiers as they arrive in the city of Sevare, Mali, some 620 kms (385 miles) north of Bamako, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Mali's military and French forces pushed toward Gao on Friday, in their farthest move north and east since launching an operation two weeks ago to retake land controlled by the rebels, residents and a security official said Friday. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Malian people welcome French soldiers as they arrive in the city of Sevare, Mali, some 620 kms (385 miles) north of Bamako, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Mali's military and French forces pushed toward Gao on Friday, in their farthest move north and east since launching an operation two weeks ago to retake land controlled by the rebels, residents and a security official said Friday. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

French soldiers stand at a crossroads as they arrive in the city of Sevare, Mali, some 620 kms (385 miles) north of Bamako, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Mali's military and French forces pushed toward Gao on Friday, in their farthest move north and east since launching an operation two weeks ago to retake land controlled by the rebels, residents and a security official said Friday. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

A Malian soldier stops at the Aviator's Club bar to watch an African Cup of Nations football match in Sevare, some 620 kms (400 miles) north of Mali's capital Bamako Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. One wing of Mali's Ansar Dine rebel group has split off to create its own movement, saying that they want to negotiate a solution to the crisis in Mali, in a declaration that indicates at least some of the members of the al-Qaida-linked group are searching for a way out of the extremist movement in the wake of French airstrikes. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this picture provided by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) and taken Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, a Chad soldier for the African-led international support mission to Mali has boarded an aircraft in N'Djamena, Chad, bound for Bamako, the capital of Mali. The French currently have some 2,400 forces in Mali and have said that they will stay as long as needed in the former French colony. However, they have called for African nations to take the lead in fortifying the Malian army's efforts. (AP Photo/ECPAD,Nicolas Vissac)

In this picture provided by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) and taken Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, Chad soldiers for the African-led international support mission to Mali wait to board an aircraft in N'Djamena, Chad, bound for Bamako, the capital of Mali. The French currently have some 2,400 forces in Mali and have said that they will stay as long as needed in the former French colony. However, they have called for African nations to take the lead in fortifying the Malian army's efforts. (AP Photo/ECPAD,Nicolas Vissac)

SEVARE, Mali (AP) ? French and Malian forces took control of the radical Islamist stronghold of Gao on Saturday, marking a major advance in their bid to oust al-Qaida-linked extremists who have controlled northern Mali for months.

The capture of the town comes just two weeks after France launched its military offensive in support of the shaky central government of the former French colony. It is unclear what kind of resistance French and Malian troops will face in the coming days, though French officials were already praising recent battlefield successes.

Swooping in by land and by air and under the cover of darkness, French and Malian forces came under fire Saturday morning and continued to face sporadic "acts of harassment" through the day, Col. Thierry Burkhard, a French military spokesman in Paris, said. He had no immediate estimate on casualties.

Just before evening, the French Defense Ministry issued a statement saying the whole town of Gao had been liberated, and government control was already being established ? notably with the return Saturday of the town's mayor, Sadou Diallo, who had fled to Mali's capital Bamako far to the west.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement earlier Saturday that French-led forces had captured the key bridge and airport in Gao, and jihadist fighters whom they encountered "saw their means of transport and their logistics sites destroyed."

The Islamists first seized control of Gao and two other northern provincial capitals ? Timbuktu and Kidal ? in April last year during the chaotic aftermath of a coup in the distant capital.

Before the joint air-land operations, French forces carried out "an important phase of air strikes" around Gao and Timbuktu, with nearly 30 bombs fired from fighter jets over the previous two days, France's military said in yet another statement.

More French and African troops and equipment were being sent to Gao, the military said. Troops from Chad and Niger "should arrive in the Gao area very soon," it added.

Elsewhere in Mali, French and Malian troops supported by a tactical air group carried out a night-time "reconnaissance offensive" toward Lere, "where several terrorist elements were noticed a few days earlier," the military said.

Two Rafale jets have been added to the campaign, bringing France's total deployment to 12 fighter jets as part of the code-named Operation Serval in Mali, the military said.

Nouhoum Maiga, a deputy mayor in Gao, confirmed Saturday that the French had come by land and air late Friday.

Gao has been under the control of the al-Qaida-linked Movement for Oneness and Jihad, or MUJAO, for months.

On Friday in a show of might, the Islamist radicals destroyed a bridge near the Niger border with explosives, showing that the extremists still remain a nimble and daunting enemy.

Since France began its military operation Jan. 11 with a barrage of airstrikes followed by a land assault, the Islamists have retreated from three cities in central Mali: Diabaly, Konna and Douentza.

The Islamists, though, had maintained control of the majority of the territory in Mali's north, most importantly the cities of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.

The announcement that Gao's airport had been taken marked the first official confirmation that French and Malian forces had reached the city. Previously the closest they had been was Hombori, a town some 155 miles (250 kilometers) away.

The French currently have about 2,500 forces in the country and have said that they will stay as long as needed in Mali, a former French colony. However, they have called for African nations to take the lead in fortifying the Malian army's efforts.

There are currently some 1,750 troops from neighboring African countries, including Togo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Senegal, Niger and Chad.

The French-led mission began after the Islamists surged the farthest south yet and took the town of Konna. On Saturday, the Malian military allowed international journalists to enter the town for the first time since the conflict began.

Residents described the civilian casualties that took place during the French air strikes, including one that left three women and a child dead. Officials have said at least 11 Malians died in the military effort to retake the town.

Souleymane Maiga said the women were preparing food in the courtyard underneath a mango tree when he heard the helicopters overhead.

"I ran and hid between the walls of our courtyard," he said. "After it was over, I went to the house and I opened the door and that's when I saw that they were dead."

Only a toddler survived, Maiga said.

"They were one on top of the other. The baby was crying," he said. "I tried to feel for a pulse to see if there was any life, but I found that they were all dead."

___

Keaten reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Rukmini Callimachi and Baba Ahmed contributed to this report from Konna, Mali.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-26-AF-Mali-Fighting/id-ce54040d6c5d43e396904bdca0783402

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Billionaire Smackdown: Bill Ackman, Carl Icahn Throw Down on CNBC

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/billionaire-smackdown-bill-ackman-carl-icahn-throw-down-on-cnbc/

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Netflix?s House Of Cards Could Be The Best Show You Won?t See On TV

Netflix original series House of Cards makes for really good TV, even if you'll never watch the show on any broadcast or cable network. That's because Netflix cut a reported $100 million check for exclusive rights to stream the program to its subscribers. If the first two episodes are any indication, that bet should pay off handsomely.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/P1W_h4vbcR0/

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