Merkel reassures Turkey on EU talks, Erdogan raps Cyprus

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday the European Union (EU) would pursue accession talks with his country in good faith, despite some persistent disagreements.

Erdogan said on Tuesday the EU would lose Turkey if it did not grant it membership by 2023, the first time he has indicated how long Ankara might continue down the path towards EU entry.

Turkey's talks to join the bloc, launched in 2005, have all but ground to a halt due to an intractable dispute over the divided island of Cyprus, an EU member, and opposition from core EU members France and Germany.

But Merkel told a joint news conference with Erdogan after talks in Berlin: "The EU is an honest negotiating partner."

"These negotiations will continue irrespective of the questions that we have to clarify," she said, referring to criticisms of Turkey in the European Commission's report on its performance as a candidate country.

Merkel's centre-right Christian Democratic Party (CDU) is opposed to Turkey, a mainly Muslim but secular country, joining the European Union and instead favors a 'privileged partnership' that would fall short of full membership.

"The question of full membership for Turkey is seen within my party in a certain way... We (Germany and Turkey) have learned to live with this difference and still to have good relations," she added.

Germany is Turkey's largest trade partner in the 27-nation EU and is also home to some three million Turks, the largest Turkish diaspora in Europe.

Erdogan, in Berlin to open a new Turkish embassy building, said Merkel would visit Turkey next year.

Erdogan took a swipe at Cyprus, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, saying it should not have been allowed to join the bloc in 2004 because it was - and remains - split between an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and a northern Turkish Cypriot state recognized only by Ankara.

Erdogan said Merkel had told him in the past she also believed it had been a mistake to admit a divided Cyprus.

"This was a serious mistake and the mistake continues with increasing effects," Erdogan added.

PROTEST

Turkey has completed only one of 35 policy 'chapters' every accession candidate must conclude.

All but 13 policy chapters in Ankara's negotiations are blocked because of the Cyprus issue and the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, says Turkey does not yet meet required standards on human rights and freedom of speech.

Turkey's European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis told a seminar in Berlin earlier on Wednesday that the situation of human rights and religious and political freedoms had greatly improved since Erdogan's AK Party took power 10 years ago.

Bagis cited Kurdish language broadcasts and the restitution of property to religious minorities as examples of what he called "a much more democratic, transparent" Turkey, adding that Ankara could not accept a "privileged partnership" with the EU.

"Either you are a member or you are not, there can be no half-way house," he said.

About 1,000 people protested against Erdogan's visit in front of the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin. Some carried red flags or placards that read 'Dictator Erdogan', 'Erdogan oppresses minorities' and 'Freedom for the media'.

"We have to protest against Erdogan because journalists, Alevis and others are sitting in prison in Turkey today," said Natalie Dogan, 50, a housewife from Hamburg, referring a religious minority. "Turkey wants to join the European Union but it is absolutely not ready to do so because it tramples on people's freedoms."

In its latest progress report, the European Commission accused Turkey of infringing citizens' rights to liberty, security, fair trial and freedom of expression and assembly.

Almost 100 journalists are in prison in Turkey as well as thousands of activists, lawyers, politicians, military officers and others. Most are accused of plots against the government or support for outlawed Kurdish militants.

(Additional reporting by Gareth Jones; Writing by Gareth Jones, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merkel-reassures-turkey-eu-talks-erdogan-raps-cyprus-154249524.html

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Mayor says NYC Marathon to go on in wake of Sandy

NEW YORK (AP) ? Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the NYC Marathon will go on as planned Sunday after Superstorm Sandy devastated the city.

Marathon organizers had been moving forward with planning but awaited final word from the city about whether holding the race would be safe and viable with flooding, power outages and transit shutdowns still afflicting the five boroughs.

New York Road Runners President Mary Wittenberg said Wednesday that organizers were preparing to use more private contractors than past years to reduce the strain on city services. Wittenberg insists the race can be an inspiration to New Yorkers and benefit businesses that have lost money because of the storm.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-10-31-NYC%20Marathon/id-417a115cfbef49b5b4905907b0896855

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Kristen Viola Ryan June 22, 1989-October 11, 2012 | The New ...

Added by Kara Cousins on October 19, 2012.
Saved under Obituaries
Tags: antigonish, baseball player, field athlete, lapre, libero, piano player, port hastings, step dancer, student athlete, volleyball player

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Kristen Ryan- CBU volleyball player died in a car accident Oct. 11 (Photo: CBU Athletics)

Kristen Viola Ryan, a Cape Bretoner whose determination and skill landed her a starting position on the Cape Breton University?s volleyball team, died last week in a motor vehicle accident at the age of 23.

Kristen and the driver were southbound when their vehicle crashed around 8 p.m. near Enfield, NS, between Exits 7 and 8. Kristen was pronounced dead on the scene.

She was born in Antigonish to parents, Mike and Shelma. She has two brothers, Trevor and Kyle. As a child, the family moved to Port Hastings, NS, where her love for sports was nurtured.

Although she was a decorated volleyball player in her most recent years, she was also an accomplished track and field athlete, softball and baseball player. ?She played piano, the fiddle, and step danced. Kristen?s friends and classmates remember her as an athlete and a go-getter from a young age. She was able to excel at extracurricular activities and still ace her tests.

As a teenager, Kristen played for the volleyball team at her high school, Strait Area Education-Recreation Center. It was during her time on the team that college coaches started paying close attention to her skills and dedication.

She quickly became a coveted athlete.

?She was the student athlete every team wanted to have. She supported her team passionately and she was a very honest and hardworking person,? said Claude Lapre, her CBU coach and friend.

Kristen was recruited by CBU to join their women?s volleyball team.

?Not many local athletes get the opportunity to play at such a high level and she did so with pride,? said John Ryan, director of athletics at CBU.

During her five seasons as a CBU Caper, Kristen was a two-time Atlantic University Sport All-Star and Libero (defensive player) of the Year in 2009-2010.

Ryan said Kristen was one of the best athletes CBU has ever had.

?She was the engine that made the volleyball program keep going,? he said.

Kristen also excelled as a university student. She recently completed her Bachelor of Arts in Community Studies and was scheduled to graduate on Oct. 27. Lapre said the university will host a private graduation in her memory.

Her program required her to complete volunteer hours within the community. Community members say her hard work, warm heart and passion will be missed.

Those who knew Kristen say she has left a legacy of passion and perseverance.

Her favorite quote, tattooed on her side, is a testament to her legacy ? ?Small Steps, Big Dreams.?

Source: http://www.newbrunswickbeacon.ca/24259/kristen-viola-ryan-june-22-1989october-11-2012/

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Middletown Health Center Co-Founder, Children's Mental Health ...

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Editor's Note: President/CEO of Middletown's Community Health Center Mark Masselli shared this message he sent out to his staff last evening, upon learing of the passing of Lillian Reba Moses. The CHC's Lillian Reba Moses Child Guidance Clinic, which offers outpatient psychiatric care for children, is among her legacy.

I write with great sadness to say that Reba Moses, one of CHC's founders, died this evening. Just a week ago, she entered the hospice at Middlesex and family and friends gathered round. We sat and talked and held her hand, and though Reba was weak, she was all there as we remembered the times we had shared and the work she had done. ?

Last night, she had made the decision to return to the Middlesex Convalescent Center where she has lived for many years, and there, at home, she passed away.

It is no exaggeration to say that there would be no Community Health Center if Reba had not believed in the right and duty of each of us to create the change we need in our own community. She grounded us in the early days of CHC, at the same time inspiring us to make the health center into a place that would always strive to be better. ?

Along with Gerry Weitzman, as a founding board member of CHC, she believed that though we were young and inexperienced, we were right to believe that Health Care is a Right, Not a Privilege. When, after our first 15 years, we were able to create a dedicated program to support the mental health of children, there could be no other name but the Lillian Reba Moses Child Guidance Clinic.

Reba's generous spirit encompassed all that she met. For those of us who were lucky enough to be in the room last May at CHC's 40th anniversary celebration, we felt that generosity as she took the microphone and blessed each one of us, while also exhorting us to work harder and better because the need is great. ?

Though lupus had taken the strength from her body, her voice and her spirit did not falter. Neither should we.

Reba leaves a legacy of caring that stretches from her childhood in Florence, South Carolina, to decades of mothering children, some her own and some not, to a vital career as a community activist in the 1960s and '70s, and to a lifetime of dedication to her church. ?

Common sense, compassion, friendship and inspiration ? Reba has given all these things to those around her. Since she has been ill for many years, I know that many of you never got to meet her, but I wanted you to know of her passing and that we carry on her vision in our work every day.

Source: http://middletown-ct.patch.com/articles/city-s

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There's A New Real Estate Trend For Silicon Valley's Techies?Buying

Silicon Valley's tech crowd thinks it's time for something new and modern.

Modern homes, that is.

Techies in the Palo Alto and San Francisco areas are reportedly buying traditional houses, ripping them down and building new sleek homes with clean lines in the architecture, according to Pui-Wing Tam and Nancy Keates of The Wall Street Journal.?

And the market for teardowns is hot.

Ken DeLeon, a Palo Alto Broker, told The WSJ:

"Homes are getting 15 offers each just to be torn down, with many bids $400,000 over asking. Mediterranean homes are now very out, and contemporary overall is in."

A slew of tech industry are following the trend, which only caught on in the around around 2010. To name a few:

• Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is currently building a 9,200-square-foot glass-and-wood contemporary mansion in Menlo Park, Calif., after buying and ripping down a 2,900-square-foot house on the half-acre lot.

• Steve Lawrence, creator of Google Desktop, and Jim Miller, vice president of world-wide operations, have bought tear downs and re-built modern homes.

• Danis Dayanov, formerly of LinkedIn and current CEO of Talkatone, plans to build a 5,000-square-foot home in Los Altos Hills, Calif. He paid around $2.1 million for the home he tore down and the land.

Silicon Valley's love for all things modern has even extended to real estate.

DON'T MISS: YouTube Cofounder Steve Chen Lists His San Francisco Penthouse For $8 Million

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-techies-buy-teardowns-2012-10

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iPhone 5 screen protectors

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Source: http://forums.imore.com/iphone-5-forum/242514-iphone-5-screen-protectors.html

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High gas, diesel prices hurt Calif. farm industry

Farm worker Juan Diaz refuels a mechanical grape harvester with diesel at Nilmeier Farms in Fresno, Calif., on Tuesday, October 9, 2012. Farmers in California's agricultural heartland say record-high gas and diesel prices are putting pressure on their bottom lines. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka)

Farm worker Juan Diaz refuels a mechanical grape harvester with diesel at Nilmeier Farms in Fresno, Calif., on Tuesday, October 9, 2012. Farmers in California's agricultural heartland say record-high gas and diesel prices are putting pressure on their bottom lines. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka)

Gas prices approach $5.00 a gallon at a Shell Station Monday, Oct. 8, 2012 in Encinitas, Calif. Gas prices across California have risen dramatically in the past week. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

A man and a women help push Regina Chavira's SUV into a Arco gas station after Chavira ran out of gas less than 100 yards away as she was on her way to the gas station in Victorville, Calif, on Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/The Victor Valley Daily Press, David Pardo)

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) ? Farmers in California's agricultural heartland say record-high gas and diesel prices are putting pressure on their bottom lines, but economists say it's unlikely that will translate into significantly higher food prices across the U.S.

Keith Nilmeier, a fourth-generation farmer in Fresno County, has cut down on using his farm equipment to compensate for climbing fuel costs.

Among other changes, Nilmeier ? who grows fruit on 300 acres near Sanger ? makes only one pass, instead of three, through the orchards and vineyards with his disking machine linked to a furrower. And he keeps farm supervisors driving smaller, fuel-efficient cars around his fields.

"I'm trying to figure out how to get more efficient about using the equipment and saving more fuel," Nilmeier said. "But we're getting down to the point where I keep looking at what else can I cut out, and I'm running out of options."

When it comes to rising fuel costs, farmers get hit with a double whammy: They're spending more to refuel farm equipment such as harvesters and tractors, and they're having to pay fuel surcharges to people mechanically harvesting or transporting their produce. Yet they are loath to impose surcharges on anyone, because they're afraid of being less competitive when they sell their products.

The Fresno County Farm Bureau says farmers are hoping that, as economists predicted, gas prices will stabilize in the coming days. Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday ordered state smog regulators to allow winter-blend gasoline to be sold in California earlier than usual to bring down prices.

The rise in gas prices has slowed, but the price on Tuesday was still a state record and the highest in the nation. The average price for regular gas in the state was a little over $4.67 a gallon, according to the AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The cost increased only a fraction of a cent overnight, however ? compared with nearly 50 cents in the past week.

The price for diesel in California averaged $4.38 per gallon as of the first week of October, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. California and U.S. diesel prices have climbed steadily from about $2 per gallon in 2009.

The recent surge in gas prices came after a power outage at a California refinery that reduced supply, and corrosion issues in an important pipeline, analysts said. The refinery came back online Friday.

California's Central Valley produces much of the nation's fruit, vegetables, nuts and dairy products, with Fresno County as the No. 1 agricultural producing county in the U.S.

But customers nationwide should not expect food prices to rise significantly due to higher gas and diesel costs, said Daniel Sumner, an agricultural economist at the University of California, Davis.

That's because fuel is only a small percentage of the cost of farming and getting a product to store shelves. Food prices will go up only by a few pennies on the dollar at most, Sumner said.

Still, higher gas and diesel prices may make California food less competitive with overseas imports, he said. Produce that's shipped via the ocean to a supermarket near the port would not reflect higher gas costs that U.S. produce shipped on trucks via highways would.

While food prices may see a small increase, the money won't trickle down to the growers.

"We farmers don't have any way to recoup the higher gas costs or pass them on to consumers, so we have to swallow them," said Nilmeier, who grows apricots, peaches, nectarines, grapes and oranges.

To harvest grapes with a mechanical harvester, for example, Nilmeier must refuel two tractors pulling gondolas. They use 100 gallons of diesel per night, while the machine picks 140-150 tons of grapes.

That means an extra $45 per night in fuel costs, he said. And it takes many days to pick the grapes. That's not even counting the higher cost of gas for driving workers from field to field.

But once products leave the farm gate, packers, refrigeration facilities, shippers, freight companies and processors all add a fuel surcharge to their customers' bills, Nilmeier said.

Many trucking companies that haul agricultural products to storage and to market impose fuel surcharges on farmers and other customers to protect themselves against fuel price fluctuations, said Michael Shaw, spokesman for the California Trucking Association, whose members move 80 percent of the cargo on California's roads each year.

But the truckers who don't add fuel surcharges ? especially small independent truckers ? may find themselves in financial troubles, and may even stop driving, Shaw said.

"For now, we're trying to ride it out. But if diesel goes over $5, I'm going to have to stop," said Joel Vargas, an independent trucker from Porterville who hauls produce from fields to packing houses. "With that kind of price, I won't be able to support myself and my family."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-10-09-California%20Gas%20Prices-Agriculture/id-ea7f77a213d349b1a226f4a164bf2255

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Social Commerce Network Lockerz Raises Another $7.5 Million

Social commerce network Lockerz, which just lost its founder and CEO Kathy Savitt to Yahoo, has raised $7.5 million in new funding, according to an SEC filing. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the new funding, and said the round was raised from existing investors. The filing lists both Kleiner Perkins and Liberty Media. Other investors in the company include Live Nation and DAG Ventures. This new infusion brings Lockerz' total funding to nearly $80 million. As we've reported in the past, Lockerz revolves around the idea that influencers within a social network can become brand and content advocates and affect the behavior of their friends. The network, which says it is seeing 45 million monthly uniques, is primarily targeted towards men and women ages 13 to 30, attempting to build a community of trendsetters and tastemakers who love to shop, play and connect on the Web.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/OlWCTBbj0Uc/

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Real estate Q&A: Bankruptcy doesn't stop foreclosure ...

By Gary M. Singer,?Sun Sentinel -

QUESTION: I filed for bankruptcy over two years ago and included my primary and rental home loans in the bankruptcy. Even though the loans are not on my credit report, two recent foreclosures for those properties show up on the report. My finances are back on track, and my credit score is over 700, but I can?t get another home loan. I?ve been told I have to wait three more years until those foreclosure judgments disappear from my record. Is there anything that I can do?

?Gina

ANSWER: Here?s what happened: When you filed for bankruptcy and were relieved of having to pay back the loans, the bankruptcy trustee abandoned the properties and allowed your lenders to finish the foreclosures. That?s standard procedure. When your lenders finally got the foreclosure judgments, the judgments showed up on your credit report much later than your initial bankruptcy.

The key here is that while the bankruptcy relieved you of the debt on your homes, it left you as the owner of the properties with the mortgage liens intact. In order for the banks to get their collateral back, they had to foreclose. The bankruptcy does not automatically transfer a house to the lender, even though it wipes away the responsibility of repaying the mortgage.

Most lenders have underwriting guidelines that require several years to go by after a major negative event such as a bankruptcy or foreclosure. You have two options: Wait out the remaining time, or search for a lender with less stringent underwriting rules that will most likely charge you a higher interest rate.

Posted on October 8, 2012. Filed under Business.

Source: http://northiowatoday.com/?p=41965

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Creator of "Sopranos" back with rock'n'roll tale

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The creator of the popular "Sopranos" is back, this time on the big screen with a new saga set in the New Jersey suburbs filled with teenagers and rock 'n' roll instead of mobsters and violence.

David Chase's cinema debut, "Not Fade Away", which premiered at the New York Film Festival, is a coming-of-age story set in the early 1960s, centered around a group of teens who form a band and taste the entwined allures of rock music and rebellion.

At the core of the story is Douglas, played by John Magaro with the sleepy eyes and curly mop of a young Bob Dylan, who aspires to become a singer and songwriter.

Along the way come friendships and conflicts among the band members and growing tension with Douglas' traditionally minded family, particularly his father, played by James Gandolfini.

Joining Gandolfini, best known as mobster Tony Soprano, in the making of "Not Fade Away" is another "Sopranos" alumnus, Steve Van Zandt. Van Zandt played mobster Silvio Dante on the hit HBO television series, produced and written by Chase, which ended five years ago.

A guitarist in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, Van Zandt served as music supervisor for "Not Fade Away" and taught the actors to play hits by Buddy Holly, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Kinks in a 3-month musical studio "boot camp," he said at a press briefing in New York.

"They're a band now. They could perform at a party tonight," Van Zandt said. "It took me, like, 10 years to learn what they learned in three months."

Chase, 67, said the movie is immensely personal, but he stopped short of calling it autobiographical, despite his stint playing drums in a band as a teenager.

"We never got out of the basement," he said. "No one ever saw us."

"Not Fade Away" is infused with music, from the songs the band members learn to play to the ones they dream of playing, the ones they listen to and the music in other scenes viewers get to hear.

And the music illustrates freedom, as promised by rock 'n' roll as Douglas tries to follow his dream, and the safer choices made by the older generation, poignantly depicted by Gandolfini as he listens to "South Pacific" show tune "Bali Ha'i" in his tiny New Jersey home.

The movie grows out of the conflict between security and freedom, Chase said.

"Human beings are always in that conflict about 'I want to be part of something, I want to be babied, I want to be taken care of' and ... 'I'm free and I can do what I want and I'm my own person,'" he said.

Early reviews have ranged from very good to fair. Some critics praised Chase's sharp dialogue and his ability to capture the era's social and political changes, and one described Gandolfini's performance as Oscar-worthy.

But other critics said Chase failed to develop his characters well and called his plot and story-telling formulaic, bringing no fresh insight to its look at an endlessly scrutinized era in U.S. history.

"Not Fade Away" is slated for release in December by Paramount Pictures.

(Editing by Christine Kearney; Editing by Richard Chang)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/creator-sopranos-back-rocknroll-tale-204507030.html

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Long-missing Colo. Marine buried with full honors

In this Oct. 5, 2012, photo Delouise Guerra poses for a photo in Denver with a 1975 photo of her younger brother,18-year-old Marine PFC James Jacques who was killed in a helicopter crash near Cambodia in 1975. Jacques remains were identified in August of this year. He will be buried with full military honors at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, on what would have been his 56th birthday.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

In this Oct. 5, 2012, photo Delouise Guerra poses for a photo in Denver with a 1975 photo of her younger brother,18-year-old Marine PFC James Jacques who was killed in a helicopter crash near Cambodia in 1975. Jacques remains were identified in August of this year. He will be buried with full military honors at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, on what would have been his 56th birthday.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

DENVER (AP) ? For 37 years, Delouise Guerra never knew for certain what happened to the young man she called her baby brother, an 18-year-old Marine from Colorado who was missing and presumed dead after a helicopter crash on the other side of the world.

The Defense Department, however, told Guerra two months ago it had positively identified the remains of the man who disappeared so long ago, Pfc. James Jacques.

"Oh my God, it's a relief to know that they have found his final remains," Guerra said. "It's just an honor to bring him home."

The Colorado Marine was killed during the rescue of the crew of the S.S. Mayaguez, an American cargo ship seized by Cambodia's Khmer Rouge two days earlier on May 12, 1975.

Jacques will be buried with full military honors at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver on Tuesday on what would have been his 56th birthday.

Jacques ? pronounced "HAW-kas" ? was among hundreds of Marines and airmen sent to storm Koh Tang Island, about 60 miles off the coast of Cambodia, to rescue the Mayaguez crew. A helicopter carrying Jacques and 25 others crashed into the surf off Koh Tang Island amid unexpectedly heavy fire from Cambodian fighters.

Half the men on the helicopter were rescued, but the other 13 were declared missing, including Jacques.

All 39 crew Mayaguez members were released safely by Cambodia, but some 40 U.S. servicemen were killed.

Jacques' identification dog tags were found in 1992, but his remains weren't positively identified until this year, said Air Force Maj. Carie Parker of the Defense Prisoner of War and Missing Personnel Office.

A Cambodian had turned over the remains to a U.S.-Cambodian search team in 2007. Newly available DNA technology allowed researchers to confirm the identity this year.

Guerra got the news in a letter from the Marines that arrived at her Denver home on Aug. 14. Her son Bob was with her.

"I started crying because I knew it was about my brother," she said. "We were crying, we jumped, we hollered."

Guerra, now 71, was 15 when Jacques was born.

"He was a very loving, very caring ? well, he was my baby brother," she said. "He was just a really good person."

Jacques grew up in La Junta, a small town about 140 miles southeast of Denver. He joined the Marines in October 1974, shortly after his 18th birthday. His family was apprehensive but didn't try to dissuade him, Guerra said.

"It was something he wanted to do," Guerra said. "He wanted to go and serve his country and do his best."

He died just seven months after enlisting.

Twelve of the 13 missing servicemen are now confirmed to have died, Parker said. She said she could not discuss the 13th because an investigation is ongoing.

The Mayaguez operation is considered the last U.S. military engagement in Southeast Asia after the long and bloody war in Vietnam. The last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam in 1973, and the South Vietnamese capital fell to North Vietnam on April 30, 1975, just two weeks before the Mayaguez engagement.

___

Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-10-09-Missing%20Marine%20Funeral/id-3e69a3f210be4203b65fd920e3f25633

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Biggert endorsed by teachers' unions - Illinois Review

From the Biggert for Congress campaign -?

DARIEN - Leaders of the largest education employees' unions in both Illinois and the nation today reiterated their respective organization's support for U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert's bid to win the election for the 11th Congressional District seat.

Biggert, a Hinsdale Republican first elected to Congress in the 13th District in 1998, is recommended for election in the newly drawn 11th Congressional District by both the 133,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA) and the three million member National Education Association (NEA).

"IEA has always been impressed by Judy Biggert's passion and hard work, particularly when it comes to issues that impact children and public education," said IEA President Cinda Klickna.

"Throughout her career, Judy Biggert has consistently reached across party lines to support legislation that improves teaching and learning conditions in our schools. Congress needs more pro-education representatives like Judy Biggert," Klickna said.

During an IEA meeting at Hinsdale South High School today, the Biggert recommendation was discussed by IEA Vice President Kathi Griffin and by Greg Johnson, a high school music teacher from Oklahoma who serves on the executive committee of the National Education Association.

"Our 3 million members are deeply committed to the success of every child, which is why we like to support lawmakers who care about students and public schools. Few people have been a better friend to public education, and the NEA, than Judy Biggert," Johnson said.

"As a community leader, former school board president, and state legislator, Rep. Biggert has always respected educators and other school employees. She is also a tireless advocate for homeless children," he added.

Rep. Biggert said she appreciated the comments at the IEA meeting as well as the support from both IEA and NEA.

"I am truly honored and pleased to receive the support of the Illinois Education Association and its 9,400 members in the 11th District," Biggert said.

"Since my time on the school board and in the Illinois legislature and Congress, I have always worked with the IEA-NEA to ensure that educators have a voice in the critical policy debates that affect them and their students. I look forward to working with the IEA-NEA and its dedicated members in the weeks and years ahead to ensure that every child gets a world-class public education," she added.

Source: http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2012/10/biggert-endorsed-by-teachers-unions.html

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Q: What are the disadvantages of buying foreclosures? - Nuvia ...

A: Buying directly at a legal foreclosure sale is risky. Among the disadvantages:

There is no financing. You need cash and lots of it.

The title needs to be checked before the purchase. If not, you risk assuming a seriously deficient title.
It may not be possible to inspect the property?s interior before the sale. So you have no idea of the property?s condition.

Foreclosures are routinely purchased ?as is,? which means you cannot go back to the seller for repairs.
Also, estate and foreclosure sales are the only property sales that are exempt from some state disclosure laws. In both instances, the law protects the seller ? usually the heir or financial institution ? who has recently acquired the property through adverse circumstances and may have little or no direct information about it.

Source: http://www.nuviarivera.com/Blog/Q-What-are-the-disadvantages-of-buying-foreclosures

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France boosts security at religious sites

A man leaves Argenteuil synagogue, west of Paris, Sunday Oct. 7, 2012. France is boosting security at Jewish religious sites after blank bullets were fired on the synagogue .French President Francois Hollande met Sunday with leaders of the country's Jewish community amid renewed concerns about anti-Semitism, and pledged to fight extremism and anti-Semitism "with the greatest firmness." A representative of the synagogue said the building was targeted with about eight blank bullets and services were canceled. No one was hurt in the incident.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

A man leaves Argenteuil synagogue, west of Paris, Sunday Oct. 7, 2012. France is boosting security at Jewish religious sites after blank bullets were fired on the synagogue .French President Francois Hollande met Sunday with leaders of the country's Jewish community amid renewed concerns about anti-Semitism, and pledged to fight extremism and anti-Semitism "with the greatest firmness." A representative of the synagogue said the building was targeted with about eight blank bullets and services were canceled. No one was hurt in the incident.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

French police officers, left, stand guard at the entrance of a building in Strasbourg, France, Saturday Oct. 6, 2012, as plainclothed policemen carrying clues, right, leave, after a suspect was shot dead for firing at police. French anti-terrorism forces carried out raids in cities nationwide on Saturday, at least five people were arrested in the investigation into the firebombing of a kosher grocery outside Paris last month. (AP Photo/Jean Francois Badias)

PARIS (AP) ? France is boosting security at Jewish and other religious sites after blanks were fired at a synagogue and police accused a suspected cell of radical Islamists of ties to a grenade attack on a kosher grocery.

President Francois Hollande sought Sunday to allay tensions between Jews and Muslims aggravated by a recent series of violent incidents in the country.

Hollande singled out hateful extremists for criticism and urged respect for all religions in a country that is officially secular, but which has Western Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities.

He said that authorities "in the coming days, in the coming hours" would increase security at religious sites so they won't be subject to the kind of attack that targeted a synagogue in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil on Saturday night.

A synagogue representative said witnesses heard what sounded like a weapon being fired and that police said blanks had been fired and empty bullet casings found. Local police would not comment on the incident to the AP. Services were canceled at the synagogue Saturday night because of the incident, the representative said on condition of anonymity because a police investigation is under way.

No one was injured, though the rabbi and about a dozen others were inside the synagogue at the time, according to the Jewish Community Protection Service, a group set up to monitor anti-Semitic incidents in France.

The incident came hours after police killed one man and arrested 11 in raids across France targeting a suspected cell accused of links to a grenade attack on a kosher grocery store last month. DNA on the grenade led them to a member of the cell, who was killed by police after he opened fire on them. The suspected cell members are young Frenchmen recently converted to Islam.

Officials said the man who was killed had been under surveillance since last spring ? around the time a French Islamist radical went on a shooting rampage against a Jewish school in Toulouse and French soldiers, killing seven people.

Hollande said authorities expected the jihadist cell was ready to strike again in the coming weeks.

He met Sunday with leaders of the country's Jewish community and pledged to fight extremism and anti-Semitism "with the greatest firmness."

Richard Prasquier, the president of France's leading Jewish group, CRIF, warned French authorities against complacency before what he called the "monstrous ideology" of radical Islamists, comparing it to Nazism. He said he has been worried about the security of France's Jewish community since the killings in Toulouse.

The Toulouse attacks in March shook the country and prompted heightened security at Jewish schools and synagogues around France. They also inspired a new counter-terrorism law currently in the works.

Hollande said authorities should show "intransigence" toward racism and anti-Semitism. "Nothing will be tolerated, nothing should happen. Any act, any remark will be prosecuted with the greatest firmness."

Hollande also spoke Sunday with Mohammed Moussaoui, head of an umbrella group of Muslim organizations called CFCM, and assured him that French officialdom would not stigmatize all Muslims for the acts committed by a radical fringe.

The CFCM denounced the synagogue attack, saying in a statement Sunday that it "assures the French Jewish community of its support and fraternal solidarity in the face of all attacks that target its members and institutions."

Last month's firebombing of the grocery in the Paris suburb of Sarcelles happened on Sept. 19, the same day a French satirical paper published crude caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Anti-Western protests were also growing at the time against an anti-Islam film. One person was slightly injured, but the attack with a Yugoslav grenade came after a summer of what residents called growing anti-Semitic threats.

___

Lori Hinnant in Paris contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-07-EU-France-Anti-Semitism/id-dc68af65575b4f0f82b2440d5d0b9329

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Explosive Attack on Kenya Church Kills 1 Child

The acting police chief in Kenya's capital says an explosive device set off in a Sunday school class killed one child and seriously wounded three.

Moses Ombati said he suspects sympathizers with the Somali militant group al-Shabab were behind the attack at an Anglican church in Nairobi.

Kenya has seen a series of attacks on churches ever since Kenyan forces moved into Somalia to fight al-Shabab last year. Kenyan forces kicked the rebels out of their last stronghold, Kismayo, on Friday.

Grenades are often used in the attacks; Ombati is describing the cause of Sunday's attack as an explosive device.

One church member, Julius Macharia Maina, brought four children to the hospital. One child's head was cut open; the others had bruises. Maina described the attack "emotional and very scary."

Source: http://feeds.abcnews.com/click.phdo?i=ac66c138083dce23e25c00cf01a97a2f

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