Ticking News

The sprawling eastern Iowa cornfields made famous by the movie “Field of Dreams” are being sold to a company that will preserve the site’s baseball legacy, the owners announced Sunday. [1]

DYERSVILLE, Iowa - The sprawling eastern Iowa cornfields made famous by the movie “Field of Dreams” are being sold to a company that will preserve the site’s baseball legacy, the owners announced Sunday. [2]

The Oak Lawn couple, longtime fans of the movie “Field of Dreams,” announced Sunday that their investment group has purchased the Iowa farm where the classic 1989 film was shot. [3]

Don and Becky Lansing said they have accepted an offer from Mike and Denise Stillman and their company, Go the Distance Baseball LLC, which will develop the site near Dyersville as a baseball and softball complex. [2]

While walking in his cornfield, novice farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice that whispers, “If you build it, he will come”, and sees a baseball diamond. [4]

And in Dyersville, Iowa, at the century-old Lansing family farm with its quaint, and oh so recognizable house, baseball still ranks as a favorite pastime for all ages. [5]

The Stillmans said they plan to preserve the iconic diamond while building about a dozen other fields and an indoor training dome on the 193-acre property, turning the land into a Midwestern hub for youth baseball and softball practice and tournaments. [3]

An Iowa corn farmer, hearing voices, interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields; he does, and the Chicago Black Sox come. [6]

The film stars Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, and Burt Lancaster in his final motion picture. [4]

“It is truly one of the most special places in the U.S. for baseball,” said Mike Stillman, 42, a White Sox season ticket holder and the managing partner at Querrey and Harrow, a Chicago law firm. [3]

The Stillmans’ plan for the property includes preservation of the existing buildings and development of “All-Star Ballpark Heaven,” described as a complex including fields for baseball and softball tournaments and an indoor training facility. [2]

‘We’ve always thought that the Midwest never had a great site for the type of complex that hosted [youth] travel baseball and competitive play,’ Stillman said. [...] The new owners have hired Chicago White Sox ’sod father’ and chief groundskeeper Roger Bossard to design the ball fields to Major League Baseball quality. [7]

If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News. [1]

SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams. [8]

Sources:
[1] ‘Field of Dreams’ Property in Eastern Iowa Sold - ABC News
[2] ‘Field of Dreams’ property in Iowa sold - NYPOST.com
[3] ‘Field of Dreams’ property sold; complex planned - chicagotribune.com
[4] Field of Dreams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[5] Field of Dreams Movie Site - Tourism Info - Baseball
[6] Field of Dreams (1989) - IMDb
[7] Chicago area couple buy ‘Field of Dreams’ site - Chicago Sun-Times
[8] Buyers of Iowa’s ‘Field of Dreams’ site plans to offer …

“The general conference decides to admit Palestine as a member of UNESCO,” said the resolution that was adopted to loud applause by 107 countries, with 14 voting against and 52 abstaining. [1]

UNESCO works to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. [2]

State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said UNESCO’s vote was “regrettable” and “premature” and undermines the goal of peace in the Middle East. [3]

Help preserve World Heritage sites now! [4]

Thus UNESCO’s unique competencies in education, the sciences, culture and communication and information contribute towards the realization of those goals. [2]

“This is a unilateral Palestinian manoeuvre which will bring no change on the ground but further removes the possibility for a peace agreement,” the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement. [1]

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki, left, and Palestinian ambassador to UNESCO Elias Sanbar attend a press conference Monday. [3]

Its stated purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and the human rights along with fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the UN Charter. [5]

For its membership to take effect, Palestine must sign and ratify the organization’s constitution in London, UNESCO said in a statement. [...] Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al Maliki, who was at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters for the vote, hailed “a historic moment that gives Palestine back some of its rights,” while Israel said the move damaged hopes for peace. [...] PARIS — The UN’s cultural agency voted to admit Palestine as a full member Monday in a move that could see the body lose millions of dollars in US funding — more than a fifth of its budget. [3]

Palestinian leader Abbas submitted the request for membership of the United Nations in September, and the UN Security Council is to meet on November 11 to decide whether to hold a formal vote on the application. [...] Nuland said the Palestinian admission “triggers longstanding (US) legislative restrictions which will compel the United States to refrain from making contributions to UNESCO.” [1]

The broad goals and concrete objectives of the international community ‘ as set out in the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ‘ underpin all UNESCO’s strategies and activities. [2]

The International Institute for Intellectual Cooperation (IIIC) was then created in Paris on 9 August 1925, to act as the executing agency for the CICI. [5]

Sources:
[1] UNESCO in crucial vote on Palestine membership - Yahoo! News
[2] Introducing UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific and …
[3] UNESCO grants full membership to Palestine - NYPOST.com
[4] UNESCO World Heritage Centre
[5] UNESCO - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) — MF Global Holdings Ltd., the company run by Jon Corzine that last week reported a record loss, had two of its credit ratings cut to junk and drained bank lines, faces a pivotal few days as the futures broker pitches itself to potential buyers to avert failure. [1]

When it was first announced in March 2010 that former New Jersey Governor and Goldman Sachs chief Jon Corzine was joining MF Global, the general feeling was that the Wall Street outfit specializing in options and futures was lucky to have him. [2]

Jon Corzine may not be the wild risk taking trader that some media accounts portray, but the downfall of MF Global can be laid squarely upon his shoulders. [3]

MF Global’s stock cratered for a third straight day as Wall Street grew skeptical that CEO Jon Corzine would be able to lure a white knight to save the embattled broker-dealer. [4]

Jon Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs CEO and ex-governor of New Jersey, took the helm at MF Global last year, and he started making large bets on debt issued by European countries. [5]

Corzine could not be reached for comment and MF Global declined comment. [6]

Fitch’s downgrade comes 24 hours after S&P threatened to take similar action and three days after Moody’s Investors Services cut the firm one notch to just above junk, to Baa3. [4]

The law firm currently represents Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which in 2008 filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history. [1]

The trading, particularly in debt from troubled euro zone nations in the past year, has instead driven the firm to the brink of collapse, making it possibly the most prominent U.S. casualty yet from the euro zone crisis. [6]

VShift was fortunate to be one of the first consultants to join the Corzine campaign for Governor in 2009. [7]

Jon Stevens Corzine (born January 1, 1947) is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. [8]

They point to Goldman Sachs’ major trading losses under his watch in 1994, or when he sustained serious injuries in 2007 as a passenger in a speeding sports utility vehicle while not wearing a seatbelt. [6]

One trader at the firm pointed out that this portfolio doesn’t contain much of the riskiest sovereign borrower in Europe’Greece. [3]

MF Global was in discussions with five potential buyers for all or parts of the company, including banks, private-equity firms and brokers, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. [1]

Moody’s Investors Service cut MF Global’s debt on Monday, pointing to the firm’s European debt exposure. [2]

Sources:
[1] Corzine’s MF Global Suspended From Trading With New York Fed …
[2] The Jon Corzine Disaster - Forbes
[3] Jon Corzine’s Overconfidence and MF Global Demise - US Business …
[4] Corzine can’t broker deal for MF - NYPOST.com
[5] How Jon Corzine’s Trades Imperiled MF Global - Deal Journal - WSJ
[6] Insight: Did Corzine’s risk taking cripple MF Global? - Yahoo! News
[7] Projects - VShift
[8] Jon Corzine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Type a city for a list of agents that can provide a comprehensive valuation, or type your zip code to get a list of recent home prices nearby. [1]

Home prices are limited by various factors, such as the incomes of potential buyers, the cost and ability to construct new property to increase supply, and demand for rental units. [2]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices hit another new low in the first quarter, down 5.1% from a year ago to levels not reached since 2002. [3]

Find out if real estate professionals and home owners have changed their thoughts about the direction of home prices and how Barack Obama is performing as President since the second quarter of 2011 in the national results of the Q3 2011 HomeGain Home Values Survey. [1]

A building under construction in downtown San Jose, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. [2]

Search homes for sale, view real estate, find realtors and try the Home Sale Maximizer home improvement tool on HomeGain. [1]

The median home price is one of the most common measurements used to compare real estate prices in different markets, areas, and periods. [2]

The index covers 80% of the housing market, and this month’s report confirmed “a double-dip in home prices across much of the nation,” said Blitzer. [...] An existing-home sale just adds 5% or 6% in broker’s commission. [3]

Trulia requires Javascript to be enabled in order to use our site. [4]

Falling home prices have a devastating impact on new home construction, according to Pat Newport, a housing market analyst for IHS Global Insight. [3]

In the early 1990s, however, the Embarcadero was the site of significant redevelopment efforts, sparked by both the destruction of the freeway by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and rising real estate prices. [2]

The housing market went through a brief recovery period starting in mid-2009, recovering nearly 5% of earlier losses. [...] Prices continue to be hammered by foreclosures with high numbers of repossessed homes flooding the market. [3]

Since eighty percent of all homes purchased are purchased with a mortgage, the ability to make payments, borrow money, and the cost of borrowing money are major influences limiting how far prices can rise before hitting resistance due to prices hitting levels where potential buyers are unable to qualify. [2]

Sources:
[1] Home Values | Home Prices, and Property Values - HomeGain
[2] Real estate pricing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[3] Home prices: ‘Double-dip’ confirmed - May. 31, 2011
[4] US Home Prices and USA Heat Map - Trulia Real Estate Search …

Anna Chapman was a Russian spy. [1]

Called illegals because they took civilian jobs instead of operating inside Russian embassies and military missions, the spies, including New York real estate agent Anna Chapman, mostly settled into quiet lives in middle-class neighbourhoods. [2]

Anna Chapman, the flame-haired beauty accused of spying for the Russian government, was no low-profile operative content with simply hiding in the shadows. [3]

Sultry spy Anna Chapman, shipped back to Russia as part of a massive spy swap last summer, has turned her notoriety into a lucrative and varied career in her native land. [4]

Anna Chapman, the Russian spy, is not to be confused with the Anna Chapman, the girlfriend of Ron Perelman, who is discussed in more depth below. [5]

NEW YORK (CBS) Russian spy Anna Chapman has posed for the Russian version of Maxim magazine. [6]

She made headlines not only for getting busted in June 2010, but also for being a red-headed ’sexy Russian spy’. [1]

The FBI on Monday released surveillance tapes, photos and hundreds of pages of documents that shed new light on operation “Ghost Stories,” the bureau’s investigation of a ring of Russian sleeper agents that ended after more than a decade in the biggest spy swap since the Cold War. [2]

Anna Chapman, an accused Russian spy, appeared in a Manhattan federal court along with nine others on Monday, June 28, 2010, on charges of sharing United States information to a Russian government official using electronic means.http://futuriti.com/question/4056.html [5]

In her newest venture, the flame-haired 28-year old, who has already appeared in various men’s magazines and accepted a high position in the country’s ruling political party, will host a regular weekly show on Russian television. [4]

Not to be confused with Anne Chapman. [7]

The NY Post reported this week that Russian spy Anna Chapman has been arrested. [1]

Alas, there are no night-vision secret spy orgies among the material the FBI just released under the Freedom of Information Act. [8]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If Hollywood needs help turning the 2010 U.S.-Russian spy scandal into a movie, the FBI on Monday released surveillance videos that could guide the script: femme fatale Anna Chapman and other agents meeting, doing a brush pass and leaving items at a drop site. [...] The arrest of ‘femme fatale’ spy Anna Chapman in America was the trigger for MI5 to target a Russian blonde having an affair with an MP in the UK, it was alleged yesterday. [1]

Sources:
[1] Anna Chapman - Zimbio
[2] FBI releases papers on Russian spy ring that involved Anna Chapman …
[3] Anna Chapman Photos: Pictures Of Alleged Russian Spy ‘Anya’ Chapman
[4] Anna Chapman, Former Russian Spy, To Host TV Show - ABC News
[5] Anna Chapman - Mahalo.com
[6] Anna Chapman Maxim Photos: Sexy Spy Poses for Russian Version of …
[7] Anna Chapman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[8] Anna Chapman stories - Gawker