1.   As standoffs go, this is a particularly consumer-friendly one, and within law enforcement circles, it might prove a crucial harbinger.

2.   As standoffs go, this one was particularly unlikely.

3.   But still the standoff goes on.

4.   The budget standoff goes on, but Bill Clinton and congressional Republicans have agreed to reopen the U.S. government.

5.   The standoff had gone on for four months.

6.   This standoff has been going on for years.

7.   If the standoff went into a second day, it would snarl commuter traffic.

8.   That standoff has been going on for months.

9.   The standoff has gone on for more than two weeks without violence and that suggests there can be a solution, he said.