Tpoppa

I agree that their motorcycles made zero business sense. They appealed to a tiny niche market that is already full of some stiff competition. I've loosely followed EB since I bought my first of 3 Buells in 2004. He is a prolific engineer, but not what I would call a shrewd business man. EBR has no business racing in WSBK. While they seem to be fine street bikes, they're just not competitive at that level of racing. The motors are way down on power and if they actually finish a race it's in or near last place. The number of grenaded motors (over stressed by race teams), DNFs, and DNSs (due to parts not being available to race teams) was absurd. It was a comedy of errors. The race efforts have damaged their reputation in Europe. While the Pegram team seems to be better managed, are they only a few crashes away from being out of parts? EBR racked up debt they could not pay themselves. They were relying on additional funding to keep the doors open, presumably from Hero. Apparently that funding was not contractually guaranteed, which is a reckless way to run a business. Business acumen should dictate that you do everything in your power to prevent yourself from getting into a situation from which the "rug can be pulled" with disastrous results. A lesson I thought was made painfully clear by Harley Davidson in 2009. EB is certainly no quitter. I expect some form of business to rise out of EBRs ashes. But his engineering determination needs to be tempered by some sound business decisions.

17w x 20d x 29h. I'd guess about 80lbs

It's pretty much impossible to fix a motorcycle without quick access to cold beer.

$150 Pick up in North Ridgeville

Thanks, but you're about 2 weeks late. I am well aware of the decision not to indict.

No, as I've already stated like 5 times in this thread. But it's a real problem in law enforcement, and even an accepted part of the job for some departments. Some departments are far more professional than others. The FPD department for example (you know the one that Wilson was a member) displayed that they were more than willing to take shortcuts and violate civil rights when dealing with peaceful protesters long before the riot started or before the indictment results were read. To be clear, I am saying that I strongly suspect that Wilson perjured himself under oath. Also, I strongly suspect that he and his fellow officers, who were the ones in control of collecting physical evidence after the shooting, did so in a way to support their training of how to justify a shooting. Wilson is clear of any legal consequences. However, he now has to live in hiding for the foreseeable future.

Yep, cops are an honest bunch. Especially NY's finest...what's that? beatings, intimidation, corruption, brutality, lying under oath...testilying? What is testilying? https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Testilying.html http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/police/uspo100.htm The Mollen Commission—set up to look into reports of police corruption in the New York Police Department—described the pervasive nature of police perjury in its 1994 report. It stated that the practice of police falsification in connection with arrests is so common in certain precincts that police themselves call it “testilying.” According to the commission, officers tell a litany of manufactured tales. When officers unlawfully stop and search a vehicle because they believe it contains drugs or guns, they sometimes falsely claim in police reports and under oath that the car ran a red light (or committed some other traffic violation) and that they subsequently saw contraband in the car in plain view. To conceal an unlawful search of an individual who officers believe is carrying drugs or a gun, officers occasionally falsely assert that they saw a bulge in the person's pocket or saw drugs and money changing hands. It is extremely difficult to prove perjury cases against police because of the informal rule among police officers that forbids one police officer to testify against another. The Christopher Commission, which investigated the police beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles, found this tendency of police to back up fellow officers to be an obstacle in its investigation.

Well said.

In your capacity as an agent were you working inside of local departments? Are federal agents typically trusted by local cops enough to be in their inner circle? btw, pretty cool of you to post something from a PM.

In other words: "no"

Are you a cop? It's the kind of thing that when a cop get's caught doing it they are referred to as bad cops. The good cops are the ones that do it and don't get caught. But, behind the line they all know, when another officer lies, you swear under oath that it's the truth or you just may not be welcome at that dept any longer.

Don't be naive. Not all training is written down in a textbook. It's an accepted part of the job. Not all cops, as I've previously stated, but for many you do what you need to do...ends justify the means...just only discuss it in certain company. I am completely OK with you not believing me.

I try to understand as many investing strategies as possible. Early retirement is a subject that greatly interests me

If you are going to invest $1,000 what difference does it make what the stock price is? A $100 dollar stock has the same chance of going to $110 as a $10 stock has to go to $11. It's still 10%. I bought a Biotech fund 2 years ago at $110 that is currently trading around $240. The exceptons would be a new offering where the price has not yet stabilized, or perhaps penny stocks (which are crazy risky).

I think it was a mistake for Wilson to resign. If he was an active officer he would be afforded more official means of protection. Unfortunately, it appears he will need it for the foreseeable future. Perhaps he and his family can enter some type of witness protection program?

Oil is taking a beating right now because OPEC is trying to kill off the US fracking boom & trying to squeeze Russia's economy (which is based on oil trading at $100+ per barrel). I wouldn't touch oil right now.

If this was a trial I would agree with you. Not for an indictment. If the prosecutor was truly seeking an indictment all he had to say was "Wilson shot and killed Brown. Some witnesses said it appeared that Brown was attempting to flee or surrender. Should this go to trial?" That would get an indictment 99% of the time. A prosecutor NEVER shows his full case to the grand jury. Bullshit. As part of their job they are professional witnesses. They are not professional truth tellers. They are coached on what to say and what not to say in court and what details to omit so their testimonies are difficult to discredit. Eye witnesses on the other hand are not professional witnesses. It is far easier to discredit an eye witness who doesn't regularly testify in court as part of their job.

Interesting read about Wilson's current situation. http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/03/us/ferguson-darren-wilson-protection/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

I pretty much only play with mutual funds anymore.

OOC what was their logic? Stock price means a lot lees then percentage points. Are these new offerings?

All good points. But there weren't 60 witnesses to the shooting. The prosecutor interviewed the few eye witnesses and many others who had 2nd hand information. If you listened to the prosecutor's statement (I did), the prosecutor was looking for any inconsistencies in their testimonies and used them to discredit the witnesses. Discrediting witnesses that can prove a crime was committed is not the job of the prosecutor, that is the job of a defense attorney.

I know that juries tend to believe officers. I know that police lie under oath to "make the case" or to "cover their ass." Not all, but it's an accepted part of the job. His name is clear in as much that he won't go to trail (and let's be real, even if he did there would be no conviction), but it's not so clear that he won't be looking over his shoulder for likely the rest of his life.

Sorry, but I personally do not believe this actually occurred. An unarmed pedestrian trying to assault an armed officer in a running vehicle?? Come on. Couldn't Wilson just have driven to a safe distance and re-engaged...you know...life in danger and all that shit. Historically, our justice system is not particularly capable of punishing officers for wrong doing. It's just not setup that way and officers know it. Police training 101: when you are in court for any kind of excessive force say "I feared for my life." Police are trained and coached to say this in court regardless of facts, you know...behind the blue line and all that shit. Any current/former officers on this board care to disagree??!?! btw, I accept the decision of the grand Jury, but that doesn't mean I believe it.

I am not the least bit surprised that it didn't go to trial. Perhaps Wilson and his family are OK with living in hiding

I am not the least bit surprised that it didn't go to trial.